Some days are harder than others.
Australia started brightly, without actually being too threatening and then on Peru's first real chance they score and put Australia behind the eight ball. It's a story that isn't exactly uncommon but there's only so much heart you can take from a good performance and still end up on the losing side. It's as if the trophy for meritorious performance already has Australia's name on it. There's no such award of course. If there were, and Australia won, it would be just another slap in the face.
It was a very good goal, the Peruvians can be justifiably happy. The Australians at least got on with now having to score at least twice. At halftime being 1-0 down was not great... that France and Denmark were at 0-0 in the other match came as no huge surprise but you have to concentrate on the task that you can control and not worry about the one you cannot.
When early in the second half Peru scored their second goal it was pretty much all over. I mean you cling onto the hope that some sort of miracle will descend on the pitch at Sochi and somehow deliver the win Australia so desperately require but that the same kind of hope you harbour when you hand over your money for a lottery ticket.
Meanwhile France and Denmark were passing the ball about waiting for the clock to run out.
The introduction of Tim Cahill was about one match too late but his legend has obviously been heard by the Peruvians and his introduction had an effect. Still it wasn't enough and while the overwhelming majority of the crowd were cheering the win that their team was putting together ultimately both sides are on the plane home after this. Again though.. .a win is a win. Even a hollow one. If only Australia could enjoy the hollowness of a victory at the finals. It has been a while.
As the game progressed the Peruvians got more niggly in their tactics, Australia more desperate but still shots on target were at a premium for both sides and as Australia pressed for at least a goal they were repeatedly exposed on the counter-attack.
There was a lot of discussion about luck, obviously having it helps. There was an element of it in both Peru goals and you could argue in all goals. It's rare for Australia to get that kind of luck and they really need to find a way to get it. You can always say that the handball penalties that have been Australia's only source of goals at this event were lucky but on so many occasions the last pass, the unexpected turn, the first time shot all didn't come. Perhaps Graham Arnold, who will take over as coach at the end of this game, has a way to get those things but first he has to get Australia qualified for the Qatari World Cup.
As completely expected the France v Denmark game was a complete non-event and played out a 0-0 draw which drives home the point that probably we failed to qualify not so much for the loss to Peru but for the draw against Denmark that took away our chance to remain masters of our destiny.
Craig Foster philosophising after we go out of the world cup is full of worthy discussion points. Again.
France 7 points
Denmark 5 points
Peru 3 points
Australia 1 point
Sigh!
Argentina needed to beat Nigeria to advance (or at least hope to) to the knockout rounds and the one man team got off to the kind of start they needed thanks to that one man. Lionel Messi scoring a very clean goal to assuage the frayed nerves of the Argentine team.
He ight have cored another but for a flying save to turn his free kick to cannon off the post. Nigeria for their part did come back but had to wait for a Javier Mascerano hug to be rewarded with a penalty that was scored with a kind of swaggering indifference that makes me wonder if Victor Moses knew that he had just put his team into position to knock out Argentina and take a place in the round of 16.
And this is where competitive spirit, belief, confidence, history... whatever you call it, here is where great teams set themselves apart from good teams. Nigeria are a brilliantly talented side and there's no reason they couldn't have completed the task but for the weight of that task bearing on them. Just like North Korea started realising what was going on when they led Portugal 3-0 after 20 minutes in 1966 and then imploded and many more examples thereafter here too Nigeria allowed Argentina to beat them because that was what the world order expects.
Certainly that's clearly on FIFA's minds because when there was a handball (admittedly unintentional) by Argentina on a movement that should have seen Nigeria score anyway the penalty was declined. There was an inconsistency in that call that rankles more than the "correctness" of the decision. Had the game ended in a draw you might say it didn't make much of a difference.
It didn't end in a draw though.
With less than 5 minutes to go in the game Machado crossed the ball into the box and Rojo was on hand to tuck the ball away into the net and break Nigeria's hearts.
In the other match that might have mattered if Iceland could beat Croatia. That looked slightly more promising than it initially sounds because Iceland came up against the Croatia B team having decided that Modric and Perisic were the only players required from the side that had contested the "live" (for Croatia) group matches. Iceland had the better of what few chances there were in the game until halftime after which the Icelandic resistance melted away to give Badelj the lead for Croatia.
Croatia, who clearly like a fairytale, conceded another handball penalty to give Iceland hope of getting a win and maybe making things a bit uncomfortable for Argentina after all. But the kind of fairytale they seem to enjoy is a cruel one that ends with the heroine dying in vain. Right on full time they picked the pocket of some tiring player in the Icelandic half and pushed the ball forward for Perisic to calmly slot home for a 2-1 win, end the hopes of Iceland and secure a spot in the Quarter Finals against Denmark, relegating Argentina to a spot against France.
On form I would expect France and Croatia to progress, but you can't expect much when it gets to the knockout stages.
Croatia 9 points
Argentina 4 points
Nigeria 3 points
Iceland 1 point
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Monday, June 25, 2018
Episode 13 - The final round begins - Groups A and B
In the final round of games the matches are played simultaneously, just to make it less likely that teams might manipulate the outcome in their favour safe in the knowledge of the outcome of the corresponding match in the group. The challenge here is which of the games to watch live and which you watch afterwards... or at all.
In Group A it was already known which sides would progress and which would be eliminated so I chose to watch the match to determine first place as Uruguay take on Russia. Sometimes a team might be motivated to win (or lose) such games because of their likely opponent in the round of 16. Here the opponents for the two sides playing comes from Spain, Portugal and Iran. Iran play Portugal in a game Iran have to win if they wish to proceed so Spain are a more likely Group B winner. Loser of this match would likely play them.
Uruguay and Russia, to their credit, played to win whether for that reason or any other and the match was graced with an early goal courtesy of Luis Suarez. Notably the free kick from which he scored was assisted by one of the Russian players as he pushed two Uruguayan members of the Russian wall out of the way and a wrong footed keeper was stranded. Russia pushed back and had some chances of their own until a speculative long shot was deflected by Cheryshev who was credited with an own goal as the Russian keeper, again, was left wrong footed and watched the ball roll into his net a second time.
The match was effectively settled when Igor Smolnikov was booked for the second time as he sought to stop Laxale from making something happen on the left side of the Uruguayan attack and left the home side with an improbable 3 goals to score against a better opponent with only 10 men. In order to make up the defensive gap created by the red card Chryshev's ignominy was completed when he was replaced by the typically Russian player named Mario Fernandes.
Meanwhile Salman converted a penalty that was conceded by Al Gabr, awarded by the Referee, VAR flagged, reviewed and confirmed in a highly extended run of added time at the end of the first half to ensure that the game was tied at 1-1 after earlier Mohammed Salah lofted the ball over the advancing keeper after running onto a well weighted long ball for a splendid opening goal. Saudi Arabia had had a penalty awarded around the 40th minute for a handball on a cross but Fahad Al Muwallad had his shot saved.
The Colombian referee awarded a second penalty that the new penalty taker converted. On balance Egypt possibly had the better of the chances in the game so far but obviously not of the scoreline.
As the second half resumed back in the Uruguay v Russia match the hosts were doing their best to swing the game back in their favour but Uruguay are a very experienced side and know how to close out a game in a way that wins praise with terms like "tenacity" and "grittyness" which is usually code for "sneaky" and "rough".
The Russian effort waned towards the end of the game and Cavanni got a tap in goal from a parried header to close out the scoring and take top place in the group with a 3-0 win. As something of a consolation, and possibly a case of foresight on the part of the planners, the Russians will play their round of 16 match in Moscow rather than Russia.
Away in Volgograd Saudi Arabia were making most of the running as the Egyptian players started to think about which inflight movie to watch on the way home. The Saudis left it very, very late to snatch a winning goal by Al Dawsari as a well worked move saw him squeeze away a shot that eluded defender, keeper and snuck in after clipping the far post from a tight angle. An enthusiastic flip to celebrate Saudi Arabia's first win at the World Cup finals since 1994 was a fitting way to finish as the whistle ended the game immediately after the restart of play.
The group finished thus...
Uruguay 9 points
Russia 6 points
Saudi Arabia 3 points
Egypt 0 points
So we move on to Spain v Morocco and Iran v Portugal. The latter of those 2 games is "live" in the sense that both teams can still progress with Iran needing a win to do so at their opponents' expense. A highly unlikely combination of an Iranian win and a Spain loss would mean that both teams could qualify.
In truth Iran have failed to make much of an impression in matches so far managing only a late own goal and barely any shots at goal of their own. Portugal, or rather Ronaldo, has been having a much better time of it and he managed a shot on goal on two and a half minutes that was well saved. Iran however did better than simply sitting back and trying to absorb the Portuguese attack, helped no doubt by the insight of their coach Carlos Queiroz who has coached Portugal for 2 separate stints. Not much better, but a little.
On 15 minutes Portugal managed to get themselves a free kick (there was no contact in the attempted tackle) for Ronaldo to have a go at goal, because clearly he's the only player allowed to score. The ball clipped the top of the wall this time. I imagine Iran are under strict instructions to not concede any free kicks anywhere even remotely close to their goal. This, of course, is made harder when there is a certain flopsiness to the Portuguese.
On 20 minutes Iran got a free kick near the Portuguese goal and the raucous fans in the stadium took it up a notch as the kick missed the wall (good) and the goalkeeper (also good) but also the goal itself (bad).
Meanwhile the Moroccans scored an early goal against Spain with a defensive mixup between Iniesta and Ramos giving Boutaib to race through on goal and put it uder De Gea to score. A suitably jubilant Moroccan team stayed jubilant for only 5 minutes as Isco got to the pullback from Iniesta before anyone else and gave the Spaniards the kind of reassurance that trailing 1-0 doesn't.
Following that the only point of note in the half was that Morocco was doing their best to ensure if they didn't score then at least the referee would remember all their names because he had to write down many of their names.
Over in Saransk there wasn't much in the way of goals either but intriguingly Iran was getting some "moments". That is to say not direct chances (save a header straight at Rui Patricio) but opportunities to make those chances and tellingly Portugal wasn't really doing a lot better. As stated Portugal can afford a draw, but risk playing Uruguay in the next round which would be a harder task than Russia... or at least that's the thinking.
Turns out that the rule about only Ronaldo being allowed to score isn't as hard and fast as you'd think. In something of a lull before halftime Quaresma received the ball near the sideline, cut inside and after a one-two pass curled the ball beyond the outstretched hands of the keeper with the outside of his right foot and scored a goal as good as you could hope. Halftime in both games suggested that neither game was entirely done but it certainly felt like both Iberian sides would progress to opposite sides of the knockout draw.
And so it was. On 50 minutes a tackle just inside the Iranian penalty area was waved away by the referee before the VAR encouraged him to look again and a penalty was awarded ad Ronaldo stepped up to take it. As it turns out Ronaldo is not infallible and Beiranvand saved the penalty and clutched onto the ball like it was the most precious thing in the world. Iran still needed to score twice to win, but that's still better than having to score 3 times.
Iran kept pushing, Portugal pushed back and they would be relieved that Ronaldo wasn't red-carded for an incident he merely got a yellow card for. Ultimately though the VAR came to Iran's aid and a handball decision went Iran's way into stoppage time for a penalty. Ansarifard as Iranian captain stepped up to take an unlikely equaliser and made no mistake.
Unbelievably it wasn't the end of the chances as the frenetic ending to the match saw Iran hit the side netting when cooler heads might have seen them score... and top the group!!!
The final whistle came and the Iranian players were various levels of inconsolable as they clearly had given their all and pushed the European champions if not into crapping themselves then at least into mentally taking account of the nearest bathroom.
Over in the other group Spain and Morocco were also getting up to some mischief as Morocco's En Nesyri put the cat among the pigeons by heading home from a corner with 10 minutes to go leaving Spain sitting on the same number of points as Iran and behind Portugal. While there was nothing for Morocco to play for but pride you can't argue that it wasn't a worthwhile prize.
Spain managed to pull a goal back into stoppage time, with some questions about offside brushed away, to draw a game they possibly didn't really deserve to.
Spain 5 points
Portugal 5 points
Iran 4 points
Morocco 1 point
In Group A it was already known which sides would progress and which would be eliminated so I chose to watch the match to determine first place as Uruguay take on Russia. Sometimes a team might be motivated to win (or lose) such games because of their likely opponent in the round of 16. Here the opponents for the two sides playing comes from Spain, Portugal and Iran. Iran play Portugal in a game Iran have to win if they wish to proceed so Spain are a more likely Group B winner. Loser of this match would likely play them.
Uruguay and Russia, to their credit, played to win whether for that reason or any other and the match was graced with an early goal courtesy of Luis Suarez. Notably the free kick from which he scored was assisted by one of the Russian players as he pushed two Uruguayan members of the Russian wall out of the way and a wrong footed keeper was stranded. Russia pushed back and had some chances of their own until a speculative long shot was deflected by Cheryshev who was credited with an own goal as the Russian keeper, again, was left wrong footed and watched the ball roll into his net a second time.
The match was effectively settled when Igor Smolnikov was booked for the second time as he sought to stop Laxale from making something happen on the left side of the Uruguayan attack and left the home side with an improbable 3 goals to score against a better opponent with only 10 men. In order to make up the defensive gap created by the red card Chryshev's ignominy was completed when he was replaced by the typically Russian player named Mario Fernandes.
Meanwhile Salman converted a penalty that was conceded by Al Gabr, awarded by the Referee, VAR flagged, reviewed and confirmed in a highly extended run of added time at the end of the first half to ensure that the game was tied at 1-1 after earlier Mohammed Salah lofted the ball over the advancing keeper after running onto a well weighted long ball for a splendid opening goal. Saudi Arabia had had a penalty awarded around the 40th minute for a handball on a cross but Fahad Al Muwallad had his shot saved.
The Colombian referee awarded a second penalty that the new penalty taker converted. On balance Egypt possibly had the better of the chances in the game so far but obviously not of the scoreline.
As the second half resumed back in the Uruguay v Russia match the hosts were doing their best to swing the game back in their favour but Uruguay are a very experienced side and know how to close out a game in a way that wins praise with terms like "tenacity" and "grittyness" which is usually code for "sneaky" and "rough".
The Russian effort waned towards the end of the game and Cavanni got a tap in goal from a parried header to close out the scoring and take top place in the group with a 3-0 win. As something of a consolation, and possibly a case of foresight on the part of the planners, the Russians will play their round of 16 match in Moscow rather than Russia.
Away in Volgograd Saudi Arabia were making most of the running as the Egyptian players started to think about which inflight movie to watch on the way home. The Saudis left it very, very late to snatch a winning goal by Al Dawsari as a well worked move saw him squeeze away a shot that eluded defender, keeper and snuck in after clipping the far post from a tight angle. An enthusiastic flip to celebrate Saudi Arabia's first win at the World Cup finals since 1994 was a fitting way to finish as the whistle ended the game immediately after the restart of play.
The group finished thus...
Uruguay 9 points
Russia 6 points
Saudi Arabia 3 points
Egypt 0 points
So we move on to Spain v Morocco and Iran v Portugal. The latter of those 2 games is "live" in the sense that both teams can still progress with Iran needing a win to do so at their opponents' expense. A highly unlikely combination of an Iranian win and a Spain loss would mean that both teams could qualify.
In truth Iran have failed to make much of an impression in matches so far managing only a late own goal and barely any shots at goal of their own. Portugal, or rather Ronaldo, has been having a much better time of it and he managed a shot on goal on two and a half minutes that was well saved. Iran however did better than simply sitting back and trying to absorb the Portuguese attack, helped no doubt by the insight of their coach Carlos Queiroz who has coached Portugal for 2 separate stints. Not much better, but a little.
On 15 minutes Portugal managed to get themselves a free kick (there was no contact in the attempted tackle) for Ronaldo to have a go at goal, because clearly he's the only player allowed to score. The ball clipped the top of the wall this time. I imagine Iran are under strict instructions to not concede any free kicks anywhere even remotely close to their goal. This, of course, is made harder when there is a certain flopsiness to the Portuguese.
On 20 minutes Iran got a free kick near the Portuguese goal and the raucous fans in the stadium took it up a notch as the kick missed the wall (good) and the goalkeeper (also good) but also the goal itself (bad).
Meanwhile the Moroccans scored an early goal against Spain with a defensive mixup between Iniesta and Ramos giving Boutaib to race through on goal and put it uder De Gea to score. A suitably jubilant Moroccan team stayed jubilant for only 5 minutes as Isco got to the pullback from Iniesta before anyone else and gave the Spaniards the kind of reassurance that trailing 1-0 doesn't.
Following that the only point of note in the half was that Morocco was doing their best to ensure if they didn't score then at least the referee would remember all their names because he had to write down many of their names.
Over in Saransk there wasn't much in the way of goals either but intriguingly Iran was getting some "moments". That is to say not direct chances (save a header straight at Rui Patricio) but opportunities to make those chances and tellingly Portugal wasn't really doing a lot better. As stated Portugal can afford a draw, but risk playing Uruguay in the next round which would be a harder task than Russia... or at least that's the thinking.
Turns out that the rule about only Ronaldo being allowed to score isn't as hard and fast as you'd think. In something of a lull before halftime Quaresma received the ball near the sideline, cut inside and after a one-two pass curled the ball beyond the outstretched hands of the keeper with the outside of his right foot and scored a goal as good as you could hope. Halftime in both games suggested that neither game was entirely done but it certainly felt like both Iberian sides would progress to opposite sides of the knockout draw.
And so it was. On 50 minutes a tackle just inside the Iranian penalty area was waved away by the referee before the VAR encouraged him to look again and a penalty was awarded ad Ronaldo stepped up to take it. As it turns out Ronaldo is not infallible and Beiranvand saved the penalty and clutched onto the ball like it was the most precious thing in the world. Iran still needed to score twice to win, but that's still better than having to score 3 times.
Iran kept pushing, Portugal pushed back and they would be relieved that Ronaldo wasn't red-carded for an incident he merely got a yellow card for. Ultimately though the VAR came to Iran's aid and a handball decision went Iran's way into stoppage time for a penalty. Ansarifard as Iranian captain stepped up to take an unlikely equaliser and made no mistake.
Unbelievably it wasn't the end of the chances as the frenetic ending to the match saw Iran hit the side netting when cooler heads might have seen them score... and top the group!!!
The final whistle came and the Iranian players were various levels of inconsolable as they clearly had given their all and pushed the European champions if not into crapping themselves then at least into mentally taking account of the nearest bathroom.
Over in the other group Spain and Morocco were also getting up to some mischief as Morocco's En Nesyri put the cat among the pigeons by heading home from a corner with 10 minutes to go leaving Spain sitting on the same number of points as Iran and behind Portugal. While there was nothing for Morocco to play for but pride you can't argue that it wasn't a worthwhile prize.
Spain managed to pull a goal back into stoppage time, with some questions about offside brushed away, to draw a game they possibly didn't really deserve to.
Spain 5 points
Portugal 5 points
Iran 4 points
Morocco 1 point
Episode 12 - You'd think a 7 goal game would be exciting...
... it wasn't.
At a world cup where there have been surprising results its surprising how surprisingly well England has fared these 2 games so far. Tunisia and Costa Rica are not really top line opposition but you can only play the teams the tournament draw gives you. Now that with this 6-1 win, and guess which of those 7 goals got the biggest cheer, both Tunisia and Costa Rica are out and it's just a case of which team finishes first and second. Goal difference between England and Belgium currently isn't. So we'll see what happens but for now England are one of the more impressive sides of the tournament.
Russia, Portugal, Croatia and Belgium have all fared well so far also. A new champion perhaps?
The night's (morning's) entertainment concluded with the completion of the second round of matches which saw Japan take on Senegal and Poland v Colombia.
Japan and Senegal were first up winners so a second victory for either would pretty much guarantee a place in the round of 16. Plenty of motivation there.
Senegal were looking like the more eager of the sides... no that's not the right word. They looked more physically imposing. A little bit faster, a little bit stronger. Whether that played a role in scoring the opening goal in what was probably borne more of Japanese defensive failings than Senegalese endeavour is hard to say. Sadio Mane won't mind either way.
To their credit the Japanese weren't cowed and did what they could to repair the damage. Their efforts paid dividends just after half an hour into the match when Inue received the ball in the penalty area and excellently curled the ball beyond the diving stretch of the keeper. 1-1... interesting... and surprising.
The contrasting styles of the two sides made for an entertaining match and the second half again saw Senegal take the lead again and Japan equalise again. It was a fair result and means that if either Colombia or Poland lose against the other then the losing side is out of the World Cup. A draw would keep the hopes of all 4 teams still in the balance in the final round of games. Surprising.
Ultimately Colombia defeated Poland 3-0 to ensure Poland's role is to determine whether or not Japan get one of the first two spots in the final round of games while Colombia and Senegal sweat on the outcome. Senegal a little less so.
It is surprising that Poland were the first side eliminated from this group.
At a world cup where there have been surprising results its surprising how surprisingly well England has fared these 2 games so far. Tunisia and Costa Rica are not really top line opposition but you can only play the teams the tournament draw gives you. Now that with this 6-1 win, and guess which of those 7 goals got the biggest cheer, both Tunisia and Costa Rica are out and it's just a case of which team finishes first and second. Goal difference between England and Belgium currently isn't. So we'll see what happens but for now England are one of the more impressive sides of the tournament.
Russia, Portugal, Croatia and Belgium have all fared well so far also. A new champion perhaps?
The night's (morning's) entertainment concluded with the completion of the second round of matches which saw Japan take on Senegal and Poland v Colombia.
Japan and Senegal were first up winners so a second victory for either would pretty much guarantee a place in the round of 16. Plenty of motivation there.
Senegal were looking like the more eager of the sides... no that's not the right word. They looked more physically imposing. A little bit faster, a little bit stronger. Whether that played a role in scoring the opening goal in what was probably borne more of Japanese defensive failings than Senegalese endeavour is hard to say. Sadio Mane won't mind either way.
To their credit the Japanese weren't cowed and did what they could to repair the damage. Their efforts paid dividends just after half an hour into the match when Inue received the ball in the penalty area and excellently curled the ball beyond the diving stretch of the keeper. 1-1... interesting... and surprising.
The contrasting styles of the two sides made for an entertaining match and the second half again saw Senegal take the lead again and Japan equalise again. It was a fair result and means that if either Colombia or Poland lose against the other then the losing side is out of the World Cup. A draw would keep the hopes of all 4 teams still in the balance in the final round of games. Surprising.
Ultimately Colombia defeated Poland 3-0 to ensure Poland's role is to determine whether or not Japan get one of the first two spots in the final round of games while Colombia and Senegal sweat on the outcome. Senegal a little less so.
It is surprising that Poland were the first side eliminated from this group.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Episode 11 - Germany blinks
This night brings us Belgium v Tunisia first up and you'd have to have made sure you took your toilet break early because 5 minutes in Belgium won a penalty and the distinctly Belgianly named Eden Hazard slotted it away. Not long after another typically named Belgian called Romelu Lukaku scored on a quick counter to make it 2-0 and it looked like Belgium might have a nice afternoon of target practice.
They got a fair bit of it as expected, but unexpected was that less then 2 minutes later the unmistakably Tunisian sounding Dylan Bronn headed in a goal for Tunisia to make it 2-1 inside 20 minutes. I guess it gave Belgium pause to think that perhaps it wasn't completely unwise to play a bit of defence every now and then. So defend they did against Tunisia's enthusiastic attempts at an equaliser and just to rub a bit of salt into the wound went 3-1 up just before halftime.
Some tenacious chasing and good ball control gave the Belgians a 4-1 lead with now Hazard and Lukaku having scored 2 each and Tunisian enthusiasm for the task at hand definitely waning. The Belgian Batshuayi made it 5-1 and the Belgians decided that was the end of it. Tunisia disagreed, scored another to make it 5-2, before the referee called a halt to the game decided long ago.
Next Mexico and South Korea met to decide if Germany's progression would be put in further jeopardy (though Germany at this stage are still masters of their destiny) or if hopes for top spot remain alive.
There's a certain air of workmanlike naivety about South Korea and while that is enough to beat most other Asian sides regularly at the World Cup that is sub-optimal. So it was for most of the opening 25 minutes or so that Mexico had the bulk of possession and South Korea defended, perhaps shakily, but successfully. That said the best opportunity for a goal was South Koreas with only a desperate defensive lunge stopping a goalbound shot and a near certain goal. So in some respects it was a shame that Mexico won a clear penalty for a defensive handball and despite the lanky Korean keepers attempts at delay and gamesmanship Carlos Vela held his nerve to score.
Mexico managed to extend the lead and realised that it's possible (should Sweden beat them and Germany win both their remaining games) that goal difference might play a big part in the final reckoning. So they were certainly open to the idea of scoring more but failed to do so... infact the Koreans scored an impressive long range goal to the hard working and long suffering Sun to end the game 2-1 to Mexico. Korea are not technically done, oddly enough. If Mexico and Germany both beat Sweden, then the Koreans could join Sweden and Germany on 3 points and it's down to goal difference. That last minute goal could still count for something.
So we move on to the Sweden Germany match to see whether Korea's hopes are still alive, and indeed Germany's. If Germany lose both they and Korea are out.
Sweden without Zlatan Ibrahimovic (again a very Swedish sounding name) are less good than with him. However they are still a solid side against whom an out of form German team would have trouble. The match began that made it look like Germany were completely over their hangover against Mexico. They reached triple digit in passes before Sweden got to double digits. They created chances and it pretty much looked like they would score a few... eventually.
So when Toni Kroos gave up the ball with a rare errant pass and Sweden found a tightly marked Ola Toivonen who looped the ball over the advancing Manuel Neuer to score an unlikely Swedish goal German fans got to find out what most other teams' fans experience fairly regularly. For the remaining 15 minutes of the half Sweden threatened, seriously, to extend that lead. It was like you were suddenly placed in some alternate reality where Germany were fallible, defensively weak and lacking in goalscoring punch.
Without any familiar reference points to cling onto you kind of worried for your sanity, the kind of moment where you might pull out your drivers licence and check to see if all the details there tally with what you know.
Early in the second half Germany scored an equalising goal so scrappy I wasn't at all sure it actually went in. It wasn't inspiring stuff but Marco Reus' fortunate thigh/knee deflection eluded the hard working Swedish keeper and deflated the Swedes. For a bit. Then they went right back to being utterly determined to not just draw, but win the game.
And they made a good fist of it.
The Germans were getting more remonstrative, agitated, exasperated and all the other things that you tend to do when it looks like you're relying on Mexico doing you a favour (they wouldn't) as well as pummelling the South Koreans.
Then in the midst of this Jerome Boateng (good German name there) was sent off for his second yellow card offence that left an already shaky German defence utterly flimsy and the clock slowly ticked down as crosses went unmet, posts were hit, and hands thrown in the air.
The 5 minutes of added time dwindled to 3, then 2, then 1, then Sweden conceded a foul on the edge of the box, almost at the goal line with a minute to go... seconds. In a set piece from the training ground Toni Kroos curled the free kick over the heads of the defenders, beyond the diving keepers reach and inside the far post in an exquisitely executed, utterly crucial and joyfully celebrated goal.
I was holding my son at the time and he's lucky I'm not an emotional man. I rubbed my eyes and blinked. Had Germany just done the same and awoken or will they return to the slumber that will see them exit the World Cup? Who knows.
They got a fair bit of it as expected, but unexpected was that less then 2 minutes later the unmistakably Tunisian sounding Dylan Bronn headed in a goal for Tunisia to make it 2-1 inside 20 minutes. I guess it gave Belgium pause to think that perhaps it wasn't completely unwise to play a bit of defence every now and then. So defend they did against Tunisia's enthusiastic attempts at an equaliser and just to rub a bit of salt into the wound went 3-1 up just before halftime.
Some tenacious chasing and good ball control gave the Belgians a 4-1 lead with now Hazard and Lukaku having scored 2 each and Tunisian enthusiasm for the task at hand definitely waning. The Belgian Batshuayi made it 5-1 and the Belgians decided that was the end of it. Tunisia disagreed, scored another to make it 5-2, before the referee called a halt to the game decided long ago.
Next Mexico and South Korea met to decide if Germany's progression would be put in further jeopardy (though Germany at this stage are still masters of their destiny) or if hopes for top spot remain alive.
There's a certain air of workmanlike naivety about South Korea and while that is enough to beat most other Asian sides regularly at the World Cup that is sub-optimal. So it was for most of the opening 25 minutes or so that Mexico had the bulk of possession and South Korea defended, perhaps shakily, but successfully. That said the best opportunity for a goal was South Koreas with only a desperate defensive lunge stopping a goalbound shot and a near certain goal. So in some respects it was a shame that Mexico won a clear penalty for a defensive handball and despite the lanky Korean keepers attempts at delay and gamesmanship Carlos Vela held his nerve to score.
Mexico managed to extend the lead and realised that it's possible (should Sweden beat them and Germany win both their remaining games) that goal difference might play a big part in the final reckoning. So they were certainly open to the idea of scoring more but failed to do so... infact the Koreans scored an impressive long range goal to the hard working and long suffering Sun to end the game 2-1 to Mexico. Korea are not technically done, oddly enough. If Mexico and Germany both beat Sweden, then the Koreans could join Sweden and Germany on 3 points and it's down to goal difference. That last minute goal could still count for something.
So we move on to the Sweden Germany match to see whether Korea's hopes are still alive, and indeed Germany's. If Germany lose both they and Korea are out.
Sweden without Zlatan Ibrahimovic (again a very Swedish sounding name) are less good than with him. However they are still a solid side against whom an out of form German team would have trouble. The match began that made it look like Germany were completely over their hangover against Mexico. They reached triple digit in passes before Sweden got to double digits. They created chances and it pretty much looked like they would score a few... eventually.
So when Toni Kroos gave up the ball with a rare errant pass and Sweden found a tightly marked Ola Toivonen who looped the ball over the advancing Manuel Neuer to score an unlikely Swedish goal German fans got to find out what most other teams' fans experience fairly regularly. For the remaining 15 minutes of the half Sweden threatened, seriously, to extend that lead. It was like you were suddenly placed in some alternate reality where Germany were fallible, defensively weak and lacking in goalscoring punch.
Without any familiar reference points to cling onto you kind of worried for your sanity, the kind of moment where you might pull out your drivers licence and check to see if all the details there tally with what you know.
Early in the second half Germany scored an equalising goal so scrappy I wasn't at all sure it actually went in. It wasn't inspiring stuff but Marco Reus' fortunate thigh/knee deflection eluded the hard working Swedish keeper and deflated the Swedes. For a bit. Then they went right back to being utterly determined to not just draw, but win the game.
And they made a good fist of it.
The Germans were getting more remonstrative, agitated, exasperated and all the other things that you tend to do when it looks like you're relying on Mexico doing you a favour (they wouldn't) as well as pummelling the South Koreans.
Then in the midst of this Jerome Boateng (good German name there) was sent off for his second yellow card offence that left an already shaky German defence utterly flimsy and the clock slowly ticked down as crosses went unmet, posts were hit, and hands thrown in the air.
The 5 minutes of added time dwindled to 3, then 2, then 1, then Sweden conceded a foul on the edge of the box, almost at the goal line with a minute to go... seconds. In a set piece from the training ground Toni Kroos curled the free kick over the heads of the defenders, beyond the diving keepers reach and inside the far post in an exquisitely executed, utterly crucial and joyfully celebrated goal.
I was holding my son at the time and he's lucky I'm not an emotional man. I rubbed my eyes and blinked. Had Germany just done the same and awoken or will they return to the slumber that will see them exit the World Cup? Who knows.
Episode 10 - Italy are already out, will other former World Cup winners join them as spectators to the knockout rounds
So there's a lot of football games on and it can be hard to know what any of them mean. So depending on who is reading this (so far nobody, but maybe in 300 years time) each of the 32 teams is allocated to one of 8 groups of 4 teams each and play 3 games, one each against the other group members. With 3 points of a win, 1 for a draw and nothing for losing the top 2 teams in each group advance to the knockout rounds. By the time the second round of matches is played you start to narrow the options. This time we conclude group D's 2nd matches with Nigeria defeating Iceland 2-0.
In the first half it looked like Iceland might continue the fairy tale (and still they might) but in the second half Nigeria suddenly became a better team and Musa scored twice before Iceland won a penalty but blazed it over the bar to keep the score at 2-0. This has helped Argentina a bit who are on 1 point after 2 games because while they can't overtake Croatia they can still overhaul Nigeria and/or Iceland for second spot. So France is likely to play against either Argentina, Nigeria or Iceland in the round of 16 if France finish first in their group. It's all very exciting stuff.
Actually the most interesting thing is that Argentina failing to progress is a distinct possibility.
The other 2 matches of the night/morning were the Group E games with Brazil v Costa Rica and Serbia v Switzerland. Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in the first round of games and after 90 minutes they were 0-0 against Costa Rica. Sadly for the Costa Ricans the game had a bit of added time during which Brazil managed not just one but 2 goals to break the dogged resistance of their opponents. In a lot of ways it was unfair, ultimately though that's what you get with Brazil. They will now face Serbia in the final round and as unthinkable as it might be if Serbia win Brazil will be out. I take into account the result of the other game when saying this of course. So potentially both Argentina and Brazil might not go through to the fun part of the tournament. In truth Serbia would not normally be credited such an optimistic outcome for them but the Brazil on the field has fallen somewhat short of the reputation they carry. They could also still finish top of their group. It's pretty tight. Except for Costa Rica, they're out.
The final match sees Switzerland take on Serbia and as alluded to the Swiss won. The Serbs went ahead early and led through Mitrovic after only 5 minutes when he headed in from a cross. You started to think that maybe Switzerland had already played their final against Brazil... sometimes you think wrong.
It didn't actually happen until the second half for Switzerland to equalise but this one was worth the wait s a Xherdan Shaqiri shot was blocked by the keeper Stojkovic only for it to rebound to Granit Xhaka who launched some sort of missile from his feet from a long way outside the penalty box but by the time you could react the missile had disappeared, was replaced by a ball and lay in the Serbian net.
I wanted to make a joke about precision or timing but really I just marvel at the fact that the Swiss team is fielding so many players with an 'X' in their names. And not like in "Baxter" but as the initial. Both have Albanian heritage so if you ever wanted to see a phonebook that had more than 3 entries under "X" go there. Still, that wasn't the end. As the game wore on it certainly looked like the Swiss were the more likely to pull off the win but much like Australia and Denmark it would seem that the final step towards a winning goal was a step too far.
Or not.
With only minutes left in the game Shaqiri received a long pass as he raced out of his own half steaming towards the Serbian goal like an angry Walnut and eluded the defence and the outstretched legs of the Serbian keeper sliding the ball home before making his shirt surplus to requirements.
Fair call. Infact if it were me I might have considered it a shorts-optional moment as well.
In the first half it looked like Iceland might continue the fairy tale (and still they might) but in the second half Nigeria suddenly became a better team and Musa scored twice before Iceland won a penalty but blazed it over the bar to keep the score at 2-0. This has helped Argentina a bit who are on 1 point after 2 games because while they can't overtake Croatia they can still overhaul Nigeria and/or Iceland for second spot. So France is likely to play against either Argentina, Nigeria or Iceland in the round of 16 if France finish first in their group. It's all very exciting stuff.
Actually the most interesting thing is that Argentina failing to progress is a distinct possibility.
The other 2 matches of the night/morning were the Group E games with Brazil v Costa Rica and Serbia v Switzerland. Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in the first round of games and after 90 minutes they were 0-0 against Costa Rica. Sadly for the Costa Ricans the game had a bit of added time during which Brazil managed not just one but 2 goals to break the dogged resistance of their opponents. In a lot of ways it was unfair, ultimately though that's what you get with Brazil. They will now face Serbia in the final round and as unthinkable as it might be if Serbia win Brazil will be out. I take into account the result of the other game when saying this of course. So potentially both Argentina and Brazil might not go through to the fun part of the tournament. In truth Serbia would not normally be credited such an optimistic outcome for them but the Brazil on the field has fallen somewhat short of the reputation they carry. They could also still finish top of their group. It's pretty tight. Except for Costa Rica, they're out.
The final match sees Switzerland take on Serbia and as alluded to the Swiss won. The Serbs went ahead early and led through Mitrovic after only 5 minutes when he headed in from a cross. You started to think that maybe Switzerland had already played their final against Brazil... sometimes you think wrong.
It didn't actually happen until the second half for Switzerland to equalise but this one was worth the wait s a Xherdan Shaqiri shot was blocked by the keeper Stojkovic only for it to rebound to Granit Xhaka who launched some sort of missile from his feet from a long way outside the penalty box but by the time you could react the missile had disappeared, was replaced by a ball and lay in the Serbian net.
I wanted to make a joke about precision or timing but really I just marvel at the fact that the Swiss team is fielding so many players with an 'X' in their names. And not like in "Baxter" but as the initial. Both have Albanian heritage so if you ever wanted to see a phonebook that had more than 3 entries under "X" go there. Still, that wasn't the end. As the game wore on it certainly looked like the Swiss were the more likely to pull off the win but much like Australia and Denmark it would seem that the final step towards a winning goal was a step too far.
Or not.
With only minutes left in the game Shaqiri received a long pass as he raced out of his own half steaming towards the Serbian goal like an angry Walnut and eluded the defence and the outstretched legs of the Serbian keeper sliding the ball home before making his shirt surplus to requirements.
Fair call. Infact if it were me I might have considered it a shorts-optional moment as well.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Episode 9 - Not quite alive, not quite dead. Australia, the World Cup Zombies
Australia at the World Cup is a wonderful thing for Australia. It has for so long eluded us since that first World Cup appearance in 1974 that it almost took on a mythological quality. When eventually we got there again in 2006 that was the win. That we made it out of the group was the making of a new mythology. Since then we've qualified for every World Cup and the getting there is no longer special, we want, nay need, to progress.
That's the Australian view.
Elsewhere that Australia has a football team is as cute as finding out the Netherlands have a cricket team. It's nice that they're trying to compete but how good could they be really? A casual glance at the group would result inmost people picking Denmark and France to go through. And every time they do this pervading belief that Australia's presence lends credibility to the word "world" but not so much to the World Cup itself.
"Brave" or "Heroic" defeats are not something to be celebrated (much as that is part of the Australian psyche) because if we take a moment to have a look at what the opponents are doing it's that they're going into the knockout phases of major tournaments and don't care they got an undeserved draw or win against Australia.
Australia needs to win, and they needed to win against Denmark. It looks like they also felt there was an advantage in an all green strip, any advantage is a good advantage, right? So when Denmark started strongly and scored through Erikson after 7 minutes it was hard to reconcile that harsh reality with the desired outcome. There was every opportunity to believe that narrative that Australia are just making up the numbers and would follow the other teams out the door.
However there's a strange dynamic that plays out in a teams psychology. Both for the team going 1-0 up and the one going 0-1 down. On the one hand the team behind knows that the only thing that will get them out of the mess is a goal and they push harder than they did when it was level and they could afford to bide their time with a hope that a chance will present itself.
The team going ahead will, perhaps even subconsciously, think to itself I don't have to bust a gut to score anymore let's take it a bit easier.
This didn't happen right away n the match but it did happen and with the balance of play slowly shifting Australia managed to finish the half with an equalizer exactly as it did against France. With, this time, a VAR endorsed, penalty for handball that was perhaps a bit harsh on the Danes. Then again anyone who remembers the penalty decision against Australia in the past will say stuff that. With the scores locked at 1-1 and Australia having their tails up halftime was going to be telling. Would the Danes re-group, could Australia maintain the rage?
As it happened Australia had the balance of the play and their main downfall was the lack of a cutting edge to put that final ball away. When Kruse made way for Arzani the young teenager had a fantastic impact and had himself a great shot at goal saved and a number of other potential assists foiled. When Andrew Nabbout's shoulder popped out and he was replaced you thought Tim Cahill would be the obvious choice because of the number of crosses Australia were able to generate. Instead Tomi Juric came on and had less impact but the fresh legs still helped. Finally Irvine came on for the excellent Rogic, who himself had a great shot at goal saved, but try as they might Australia could not find a way to beat Denmark and sadly the VAR couldn't find anymore handballs.
For their part Denmark did well enough to generate a few opportunities of their own but they too failed to take advantage and seemed to falter physically late in the game. Ultimately the 1-1 draw keeps Australia in the hunt but the situation now is that Australia needs to beat Peru. Also...
- If France beats Peru we need France to also beat Denmark
France 9
Australia 4
Denmark 4
Peru 0
- If Peru beats France, it gets complicated. It actually offers Australia more outs but Denmark beating France works. Denmark and France drawing might work depending on goal difference and France beating Denmark might, again, work depending on goal difference.
Denmark 4 (+0, 1, 3)
Australia 4
France 3 (+0, 1, 3)
Peru 3
If Peru and France draw then we could also still make it on goal difference, the problem is Peru will be thinking the exact same thing and if Denmark and France draw in that scenario it's all over red-rover. So no draw.
With all that in mind a rejigged French lineup took on Peru in the ensuing game and immediately you sensed that this was a France team that wanted to prove the doubters wrong. Mbappe's first half goal was one of several they could have scored, though to be fair Peru could have had two of their own as well.
In the second half Peru began by hitting the frame of the goal, but it was from a long way out. The rest of the half was spent expending a lot of energy to achieve very little. The French certainly weren't setting the world alight with their prowess but they did enough and you did get the sense that they could have upped their tempo a bit if it were required. It wasn't.
The final game of the night is Croatia v Argentina.
Sometimes you're not playing against the 11 on the pitch but against the weight of storied history. Play against Argentina and you play against a team that has won world cups, and lost a few in the final. Players like Kempes, Ardiles, Burruchaga, Batistuta and of course Maradona have worn those shirts (well, ones like it...laundering can only do so much) and when you face them you're not really expected to win as much as you hope to. Even if you're Brazil, Germany or Italy. This is why Icelands disregard for history in getting that draw mattered. Over time Argentina might look a lot more like Uruguay. A decent team whose best years are long behind them.
Croatia themselves are no slouches but their history goes back barely 30 years. Before then their players represented Yugoslavia and identity is what the World Cup is all about. Are the USSR and Russia the same? Of course not... but how many Latvians look at the USSR team results and identify that as "their" team. So too Croatia whose players like Suker and Prosinecki... and Simunic haven't had enough time for their exploits to attain the kind of mythology that comes only with time and the retelling of those stories of heroism.
Argentina needed a win to assuage the doubters and take their tally to 4 points with a game against Nigeria to seal progression. Croatia already had that win and a second would mean 6 points and at least 2 more games to play. The early stages of the match saw Argentina miss some very gettable changes. Infact the misses were so uncharacteristic a little voice deep inside coughed politely to gain attention and suggested "maybe this isn't going to be Argentina's night".
Pish, posh strange voice. This is Argentina. Land of steaks, football and a massive inferiority complex about their more storied neighbours. Little by little though Croatia realised it was a match against just these 11 guys, and apart for one of them (who was having a poor night) they're not that good. Things got a bit rough but at 0-0 the halftime whistle brought us no closer to the result but you felt that one way or another there would be one.
In the 53rd minute the first goal could hardly have been more calamitous. The ball was played back to Caballero, the Argentine goalkeeper, in one of those let's reset the attack movements that employ the gloveman as some sort of sweeper. As Caballero went to loft a pass to his fullback he quickly realised there was too much loop, and not quite enough oomph. As a reult the ball pretty much landed where the lone Croat forward in the vicinity, Ante Rebic, stood and taking full advantage he swung his leg expertly at the ball on the full and stuck it into the net for a 1-0 lead.
10 minutes later Argentina were denied a goal they would have scored 98 times out of 100 and a little voice cleared its throat.
With 10 minutes to go Luka Modric did what he could to ensure his exploits might become legend by thumping the ball from well outside the box past some defenders he got sick of trying to dribble past and despite the heroic dive Argentina were now 2-0 down. A loss here wouldn't necessarily end their dreams but goal difference is important. Goals conceded here will have to be made up by Argentina elsewhere, against Nigeria to be specific. Their 1994 World Cup encounter might play on the minds of both sides. Still, at 2-0 with 10 to go Argentina were at long odds to get anything out of the game, so the important thing was to ensure that if there were to be another goal it would be to the credit of Argentina.
"Ahem..!"
"Quiet you!"
Otamendi then did his best to get sent off, clearly he'd had enough of being associated with the side that was losing and kicked the ball into a fouled Croatian players head. What's surprising is that from a full 50 cms away he hit the target, if only the Argentine forwards had such accuracy.
The free kick resulting from that foul (Otamendi only got a yellow card), slammed into the crossbar. Argentine hearts were shaking. In added time they broke as Croatia passed the ball around and while Argentina appealed for offside the Croats followed up the goalkeeper save and passed the ball into the net.
Who knew?
"Harrumph!"
That's the Australian view.
Elsewhere that Australia has a football team is as cute as finding out the Netherlands have a cricket team. It's nice that they're trying to compete but how good could they be really? A casual glance at the group would result inmost people picking Denmark and France to go through. And every time they do this pervading belief that Australia's presence lends credibility to the word "world" but not so much to the World Cup itself.
"Brave" or "Heroic" defeats are not something to be celebrated (much as that is part of the Australian psyche) because if we take a moment to have a look at what the opponents are doing it's that they're going into the knockout phases of major tournaments and don't care they got an undeserved draw or win against Australia.
Australia needs to win, and they needed to win against Denmark. It looks like they also felt there was an advantage in an all green strip, any advantage is a good advantage, right? So when Denmark started strongly and scored through Erikson after 7 minutes it was hard to reconcile that harsh reality with the desired outcome. There was every opportunity to believe that narrative that Australia are just making up the numbers and would follow the other teams out the door.
However there's a strange dynamic that plays out in a teams psychology. Both for the team going 1-0 up and the one going 0-1 down. On the one hand the team behind knows that the only thing that will get them out of the mess is a goal and they push harder than they did when it was level and they could afford to bide their time with a hope that a chance will present itself.
The team going ahead will, perhaps even subconsciously, think to itself I don't have to bust a gut to score anymore let's take it a bit easier.
This didn't happen right away n the match but it did happen and with the balance of play slowly shifting Australia managed to finish the half with an equalizer exactly as it did against France. With, this time, a VAR endorsed, penalty for handball that was perhaps a bit harsh on the Danes. Then again anyone who remembers the penalty decision against Australia in the past will say stuff that. With the scores locked at 1-1 and Australia having their tails up halftime was going to be telling. Would the Danes re-group, could Australia maintain the rage?
As it happened Australia had the balance of the play and their main downfall was the lack of a cutting edge to put that final ball away. When Kruse made way for Arzani the young teenager had a fantastic impact and had himself a great shot at goal saved and a number of other potential assists foiled. When Andrew Nabbout's shoulder popped out and he was replaced you thought Tim Cahill would be the obvious choice because of the number of crosses Australia were able to generate. Instead Tomi Juric came on and had less impact but the fresh legs still helped. Finally Irvine came on for the excellent Rogic, who himself had a great shot at goal saved, but try as they might Australia could not find a way to beat Denmark and sadly the VAR couldn't find anymore handballs.
For their part Denmark did well enough to generate a few opportunities of their own but they too failed to take advantage and seemed to falter physically late in the game. Ultimately the 1-1 draw keeps Australia in the hunt but the situation now is that Australia needs to beat Peru. Also...
- If France beats Peru we need France to also beat Denmark
France 9
Australia 4
Denmark 4
Peru 0
- If Peru beats France, it gets complicated. It actually offers Australia more outs but Denmark beating France works. Denmark and France drawing might work depending on goal difference and France beating Denmark might, again, work depending on goal difference.
Denmark 4 (+0, 1, 3)
Australia 4
France 3 (+0, 1, 3)
Peru 3
If Peru and France draw then we could also still make it on goal difference, the problem is Peru will be thinking the exact same thing and if Denmark and France draw in that scenario it's all over red-rover. So no draw.
With all that in mind a rejigged French lineup took on Peru in the ensuing game and immediately you sensed that this was a France team that wanted to prove the doubters wrong. Mbappe's first half goal was one of several they could have scored, though to be fair Peru could have had two of their own as well.
In the second half Peru began by hitting the frame of the goal, but it was from a long way out. The rest of the half was spent expending a lot of energy to achieve very little. The French certainly weren't setting the world alight with their prowess but they did enough and you did get the sense that they could have upped their tempo a bit if it were required. It wasn't.
The final game of the night is Croatia v Argentina.
Sometimes you're not playing against the 11 on the pitch but against the weight of storied history. Play against Argentina and you play against a team that has won world cups, and lost a few in the final. Players like Kempes, Ardiles, Burruchaga, Batistuta and of course Maradona have worn those shirts (well, ones like it...laundering can only do so much) and when you face them you're not really expected to win as much as you hope to. Even if you're Brazil, Germany or Italy. This is why Icelands disregard for history in getting that draw mattered. Over time Argentina might look a lot more like Uruguay. A decent team whose best years are long behind them.
Croatia themselves are no slouches but their history goes back barely 30 years. Before then their players represented Yugoslavia and identity is what the World Cup is all about. Are the USSR and Russia the same? Of course not... but how many Latvians look at the USSR team results and identify that as "their" team. So too Croatia whose players like Suker and Prosinecki... and Simunic haven't had enough time for their exploits to attain the kind of mythology that comes only with time and the retelling of those stories of heroism.
Argentina needed a win to assuage the doubters and take their tally to 4 points with a game against Nigeria to seal progression. Croatia already had that win and a second would mean 6 points and at least 2 more games to play. The early stages of the match saw Argentina miss some very gettable changes. Infact the misses were so uncharacteristic a little voice deep inside coughed politely to gain attention and suggested "maybe this isn't going to be Argentina's night".
Pish, posh strange voice. This is Argentina. Land of steaks, football and a massive inferiority complex about their more storied neighbours. Little by little though Croatia realised it was a match against just these 11 guys, and apart for one of them (who was having a poor night) they're not that good. Things got a bit rough but at 0-0 the halftime whistle brought us no closer to the result but you felt that one way or another there would be one.
In the 53rd minute the first goal could hardly have been more calamitous. The ball was played back to Caballero, the Argentine goalkeeper, in one of those let's reset the attack movements that employ the gloveman as some sort of sweeper. As Caballero went to loft a pass to his fullback he quickly realised there was too much loop, and not quite enough oomph. As a reult the ball pretty much landed where the lone Croat forward in the vicinity, Ante Rebic, stood and taking full advantage he swung his leg expertly at the ball on the full and stuck it into the net for a 1-0 lead.
10 minutes later Argentina were denied a goal they would have scored 98 times out of 100 and a little voice cleared its throat.
With 10 minutes to go Luka Modric did what he could to ensure his exploits might become legend by thumping the ball from well outside the box past some defenders he got sick of trying to dribble past and despite the heroic dive Argentina were now 2-0 down. A loss here wouldn't necessarily end their dreams but goal difference is important. Goals conceded here will have to be made up by Argentina elsewhere, against Nigeria to be specific. Their 1994 World Cup encounter might play on the minds of both sides. Still, at 2-0 with 10 to go Argentina were at long odds to get anything out of the game, so the important thing was to ensure that if there were to be another goal it would be to the credit of Argentina.
"Ahem..!"
"Quiet you!"
Otamendi then did his best to get sent off, clearly he'd had enough of being associated with the side that was losing and kicked the ball into a fouled Croatian players head. What's surprising is that from a full 50 cms away he hit the target, if only the Argentine forwards had such accuracy.
The free kick resulting from that foul (Otamendi only got a yellow card), slammed into the crossbar. Argentine hearts were shaking. In added time they broke as Croatia passed the ball around and while Argentina appealed for offside the Croats followed up the goalkeeper save and passed the ball into the net.
Who knew?
"Harrumph!"
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Episode 8 - How far can a one man team go?
I suspect there would be many people, say the population of Portugal, who would deny that Portugal was a team where 10 guys all try to either pass the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo or feign injury to get a free kick that Ronaldo will take. I've accused Argentina of the same thing and they had the decency to put a goalscorer other than Messi on the sheet in game 1.
Ronaldo has all 3 of Portugal's goals so far and in the first few minutes of this match against Morocco added a 4th. He headed in from a corner and offered his trademark celebration but even that has the smell of "adore me". Which is silly because he adores himself far more than any other human could.
The thing is that an early goal does tend to open the game up and in particular if the team who is a goal down are in danger of following Egypt out the door as teams who have lost all hope of progressing past the group stage. Of course Portugal only have a draw to show for their efforts so far so they're keen to keep the scoreline as it stands which lends itself to the approach of "well, we'll defend well and if we get a chance at the other end great, if not we're still winning as long as we don't concede a goal". So Morocco spent a great deal of the first half peppering the Portuguese area with crosses which, in truth, never really amounted to much. At the other end Portugal managed a chance or two to extend their lead also without success.
You felt that Morocco's endeavour deserved some sort of reward, but you have to admire the pragmatism of the part of Ronaldo + 10 other guys to be able to stem that flow of attack from being nothing more than an assault on the possession stats.
The second half began in much the same fashion as the first ended. With the referee's whistle and a series of Moroccan attacks being repelled, one way or another, by the other 10 guys who were not Ronaldo.
It's harsh for Morocco because really they could have won both the matches they lost but when you can't put the ball into the net in 3 hours of football... well that makes it hard to win games.
The Uruguay v Saudi Arabia game was a lot more even than I expected but not exactly packed with highlights. So it came as a surprise when Uruguay scored from a corner, indeed the scorer, Suarez, at first glance appeared to be hit by the ball more than the ball hit him. Ultimately it was the fault of the keeper for having the corner sail over his head as he tried to slap it away and land at Suarez' feet at the far post.
The only other action of note in that half was Taiseer Al Jassam trying to do the splits as he was looking for the shooting chance to put Saudi Arabia back on level terms. However just as anyone who isn't Jean Claude van Damme he just busted his hamstring and had to be subbed off.
The second half, much like the earlier Portugal v Morocco game, was a case of one team valiantly trying to equalise with a wealth of possession but few actual chances at goal. The other was happy to soak up the pressure and take the odd chance here or there. Now Saudi Arabia join Egypt and Morocco as confirmed departures from Russia.
The final match of the night was the Spain v Iran encounter which certainly played out much as you'd expect. Spain had the bulk of possession and Iran stuck to what they are good at, which is to defend the living daylights out of this game.
With a few tense moments (but not too tense) that was the story of the first half.
In the second Spain redoubled their effort and managed more shots in the first 5 minutes of the second half than in all of the first. Within the first 10 they had the goal they'd been denied for so long. It was a simple enough looking thing with a turn and a shot by Diego Costa rolling into the net but replays show all sorts of ricochets. After that you assumed it was just a question of how much Spain would win by.
Which is why it was surprising that Iran scored from a goalmouth scramble on a free kick. However the linesman flagged for offside and the VAR confirmed that the goal should be ruled out but not before the Iranian team had some deserved celebrations.
An almost comical goal mouth scramble came close to doubling Spain's lead and the most curious thing about that was the corner that led to it was played along the ground along the goal line. You don't see that a lot. Usually because there's someone there to defend that.
Iran managed to make Spain worry a bit, notably with a header that fizzed over the crossbar but really it was the kind of worry you have about being struck by lightning in a storm. It's possible... but unlikely. Iran can still qualify is they manage to stop Ronaldo from scoring :-)
Ronaldo has all 3 of Portugal's goals so far and in the first few minutes of this match against Morocco added a 4th. He headed in from a corner and offered his trademark celebration but even that has the smell of "adore me". Which is silly because he adores himself far more than any other human could.
The thing is that an early goal does tend to open the game up and in particular if the team who is a goal down are in danger of following Egypt out the door as teams who have lost all hope of progressing past the group stage. Of course Portugal only have a draw to show for their efforts so far so they're keen to keep the scoreline as it stands which lends itself to the approach of "well, we'll defend well and if we get a chance at the other end great, if not we're still winning as long as we don't concede a goal". So Morocco spent a great deal of the first half peppering the Portuguese area with crosses which, in truth, never really amounted to much. At the other end Portugal managed a chance or two to extend their lead also without success.
You felt that Morocco's endeavour deserved some sort of reward, but you have to admire the pragmatism of the part of Ronaldo + 10 other guys to be able to stem that flow of attack from being nothing more than an assault on the possession stats.
The second half began in much the same fashion as the first ended. With the referee's whistle and a series of Moroccan attacks being repelled, one way or another, by the other 10 guys who were not Ronaldo.
It's harsh for Morocco because really they could have won both the matches they lost but when you can't put the ball into the net in 3 hours of football... well that makes it hard to win games.
The Uruguay v Saudi Arabia game was a lot more even than I expected but not exactly packed with highlights. So it came as a surprise when Uruguay scored from a corner, indeed the scorer, Suarez, at first glance appeared to be hit by the ball more than the ball hit him. Ultimately it was the fault of the keeper for having the corner sail over his head as he tried to slap it away and land at Suarez' feet at the far post.
The only other action of note in that half was Taiseer Al Jassam trying to do the splits as he was looking for the shooting chance to put Saudi Arabia back on level terms. However just as anyone who isn't Jean Claude van Damme he just busted his hamstring and had to be subbed off.
The second half, much like the earlier Portugal v Morocco game, was a case of one team valiantly trying to equalise with a wealth of possession but few actual chances at goal. The other was happy to soak up the pressure and take the odd chance here or there. Now Saudi Arabia join Egypt and Morocco as confirmed departures from Russia.
The final match of the night was the Spain v Iran encounter which certainly played out much as you'd expect. Spain had the bulk of possession and Iran stuck to what they are good at, which is to defend the living daylights out of this game.
With a few tense moments (but not too tense) that was the story of the first half.
In the second Spain redoubled their effort and managed more shots in the first 5 minutes of the second half than in all of the first. Within the first 10 they had the goal they'd been denied for so long. It was a simple enough looking thing with a turn and a shot by Diego Costa rolling into the net but replays show all sorts of ricochets. After that you assumed it was just a question of how much Spain would win by.
Which is why it was surprising that Iran scored from a goalmouth scramble on a free kick. However the linesman flagged for offside and the VAR confirmed that the goal should be ruled out but not before the Iranian team had some deserved celebrations.
An almost comical goal mouth scramble came close to doubling Spain's lead and the most curious thing about that was the corner that led to it was played along the ground along the goal line. You don't see that a lot. Usually because there's someone there to defend that.
Iran managed to make Spain worry a bit, notably with a header that fizzed over the crossbar but really it was the kind of worry you have about being struck by lightning in a storm. It's possible... but unlikely. Iran can still qualify is they manage to stop Ronaldo from scoring :-)
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