Engerland

Show in the evening, show in the morning, and 4 football games to watch in one day! It's too much for one man. I know which one I'd prefer, but sometimes is not the same with what I have to do. I've even fallen behind with my WC accounts for the first time - this will happen again for sure, but on this particular occasion, there you go, I'm recovering.

I'm also writing this straight after the previous post, but breaking them into two for easier reading.

Portugal  - DR Congo 1-1

Yes, I want Portugal to win, I think Congo will be the African surprise team, and I really wanted to see the game. I did watch bits on my phone, but not enough to get a feel of which was the better team. Neither, probably, at least according to the score. And there will be endless chatter about how Mbappe, Haaland and Messi had phenomenal games the day before while Ronaldo wasn't able to make his mark on this game, but this isn't showboasting. God, even Harry Kane got a nod in this conversation. Nothing changed in the groups equation, Portugal can and probably will win the group, but this was as anti-climactic as any. I should be glad, hopefully I'll get to see the good ones.

England - Croatia 4-2

No. Just... no

Ah, England. Did you know England is playing? Well, how can you not? I did say I want England to get out of the group stage or score a goal, and that bird has flown already. I don't like England games where they win and score a lot of goals because people tend to be noisy and destructive. I have to admit though, it didn't feel like that yesterday. Maybe I was protected, inside the Battersea Power Station bubble of consumerism, maybe supporters have become aware of the damaging impact of England wins, maybe a combination of the two, but it felt very much like a normal day yesterday. No singing on the tube. no carpets of rubbish on the streets, who knows, maybe even domestic violence quotas stayed within regular limits.

So ok, I will then participate in the joy of an emphatic English victory over an ageing, but still very good Croatian team. Happy for Harry Kane, two goals, good on ya 'arry! Am I happy that Rashford scored? Rashford who? After the Barcelona betrayal, he's got a lot of work to do to ransom our love. This is no prodigal son return story, this is a Judas story. He should be fed with the pods that the pigs eat and maybe, just maybe, after a 30-goals season, we might take him back. Or just sell him now and forget he exists, ideally.

Ghana - Panama 1-0

I got home close to half time and told myself I'll watch the second half. Did some of that, but naturally I fell asleep before the Ghanian goal, 90'+5, sounds like another heartbreak. The Panama team seemed to be attacking more, Ghana is by far the better team on paper, but this was not a classic by any measure.

Uzbekistan - Colombia 1-3

Speaking of not classics... 

Funnily enough, the 3 am start in the UK worked for the timezones of both countries. Late evening in Colombia, early morning in Uzbekistan. Didn't work for me at all, I saw the beginning of it, but that's that. 

I know nothing of Uzbek football, but apparently it is the top amongst the central Asian republics. No FC Arkadag stories in Uzbekistan and apparently the top club, Paktahor FC, is actually a decent club. I'm happy, therefore, for their first participation and first goal in the World Cup, but yeah, losing 3-1 to Colombia makes sense. I do hope I'll watch their next game.

But for now, let's go see the first half of Czechia - South Africa.

Masterclass

France - Senegal 3-1

As much as the other day was great for Muslim countries, that's how catastrophic yesterday was.

But a few words on France - Senegal before that. Now, I'm not gonna pretend I'm the woke master. As much as I'd try and avoid it, there is some residual racism in me, the result of a long and deeply entrenched racist education and cultural environment I went through growing up. And to a little extent, I do like to hold on to some of the jokes, and hope for the best.

But come on guys... I could not make head or tails of who's playing for what team in France-Senegal. Mbappe scores for one, then Mbaye for the other? Someone's taking the piss here. 

That's it. That was the joke, and that's why I wrote the racism intro.

On a serious note, Senegal is a super solid team and the scoreline dosen't do them justice. Norway is gonna have a real headache with them. But. But. Not only is France a super-team, Mbappe at his best is unstoppable. And he was at his best for most of the second half. But that was enough. 

First off, never a penalty when he fell in the Senegalese box. There was no contact between his feet and the Senegal defender's. Not that it matters. The movement for his first goal was sublime. No look at the goal, all the way across the keeper, on the turn, it's a shot that defies physics.

His second goal, the one sealing the board and the one that makes him top scorer for France and two short of Klose's record... the English comentators said half-heartedly that the keeper should've done better. And yeah, maybe he should have. But the force of the shot, the misleading bend... poor keeper didn't stand much chance.

Harsh scoreline for Senegal but goddamn. Mbappe only needs a keeper and maybe someone else to pass with.

Norway - Iraq 4-1

I'm very conflicted about Norway. I like them. I like the country, I like the team, I wanted to buy the tshirt. Norway's France 1998 team made me fall in love with United. Solskjaer, Ronnie Johnsen, Henning Berg... I have a lot of love for my friend Anette and all of the team at the Norwegian Embassy, I'm gonna see them tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it and always enjoy visiting them.

But then there's Haaland. Great player, for sure. But he plays for City, and he's uncouth as hell. Really unpleasant fellow. Ugly motherfucker. A combination between the strength of Schweinsteiger, the predatory instinct of van Nistelrooy, but the character of Alf Inge Haaland.

God said he'd save Sodom if he finds 10 good people in it, so my love for Norway should not be dented by one asshole. And it's not, not really. Worth mentioning him anyway.

Purely in footballing terms, however, what I wouldn't give to have one of our forwards (maybe Sesko?) be half the player Haaland is. That first goal, what a stretch! Big motherfucker, he could've probably started the tackle on the halfway line and still get the ball in.

Iraq did really well to equalise, had some momentum going, but then that silly error comes, 2 minutes before the break. Can't be too mad at the keeper, he was always gonna have a tough day at the office, errare humanum est and all that, but that mistake of his, sloppy pass back and not coming to receive it, very likely cost his team at least a point. Which was gonna be a precious point, neither France nor Senegal are gonna be easy to get anything out of. But with Norway frustrated, you can hope you can frustrate France too to a goalless draw or something, then either snatch something from Senegal, or go for 3 draws and wait for the other results. None of that possible now. 

3-1 kinda sealed their fate, 4-1 was unnecessarily harsh. 

I gained a lot of sympathy for the Iraqi team, but their adventure in this World Cup will be limited to 3 games. give a good account of yourselves, make the home country proud, then try to build on this legacy in 4 years, I suppose that's the best course of action. A good result against France can make them heroes, but a moment of brilliance from Mbappe will prevent that.

I was happy to see Zidane Iqbal playing, United academy kid, and still a lot of potential. Didn't materialise today, but hopefully he'll feature again.

Argentina - Algeria 3-0

'He was only holding a cup'

Now, if you know me, you know I don't like Messi. I think he's overrated, annoying, and obviously the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals will always be an open wound.

But this game was a masterclass. I can't really say much other than putting my hands up and admitting that what he has done in this game was incredible. Beginning to end.

From the disallowed goal in the 5th minute - what good instincts to know that he started the run just that little bit earlier, to feel what the ref needed a computer to see! Then the goals, first and third, phenomenal left foot shots. Now, thet strong left foot has been Messi's trademark for a while, and I was acknowledging its quality even at the height of my Messi-hating days.

Did he deserve a red card? I'll be honest, I didn't see that foul. Maybe I was asleep or what. There's pictures that say he did, I tend to think nowadays, in the age of VAR, the refereeing mistakes are much more structural rather than incidental. As in, a team tends to be generally favoured by being granted the 50:50 calls, and it might as well have been the case here. But what that means, is that it was only a 50:50 red card call. I don't know.

Algeria, despite the spectacular disallowed goal, didn't put up much resistance, and I hope, for their sake, a different team will show up for the next two games, otherwise they'll be the final two games. But the Chaibi fellow looks like a more than decent player, and with Austria and Jordan the other opponents, qualification is not out of the question for them.

Argentina, what an interesting team. It looks like a team build around and for Messi. Except that, unlike 4 years ago, it works. 4 years ago it was pushed forward strongly by an agenda and some made up penalties and did not deserve to win the World Cup. In the intervening 4 years though, those players have become superstars, playing for the biggest teams, at the highest level. Lautaro Martinez, Lucha Martinez or MacAllister, players any team would want in their ranks, and yet Messi shines. Argentina does look now like a team that deserves to win the World Cup. I still think they won't, but - and this is a big admission - I will enjoy watching Messi for the rest of the tournament.

Austria - Jordan 3-1

5 am is ungodly for the 4th game of the day. I did my best, but I can't say I saw much of the game. I did say I don't rate Austria, I thought Jordan isn't playing too bad, but the only goal I saw was Arnautovic's penalty. Again, they were winning anyway, 3-1 makes it sound a lot more categorical of a win that it has been, but you know...I like Sabitzer. I miss him. Arnautovic probably aspires to a good swansong. So, why not? Let Austria battle it out with Algeria and Jordan for the second place. The real test will be if they can get anything out of the Argentina game.

Insallah

Spain - Cape Verde 0-0

Wow, what a great day for underdgos, what a great day for Muslim countries! 

There isn't much history to Spain v Cape Verde except Spain tried to score, and couldn't. In part due to the amazing Vozinha, the keeper the Internet is going crazy about. He's 40, yes, but for a keeper that's not really unheard of. Raul Jimenez or Lukaku scoring at 35 or 33 respectively is a bigger story imho. I'm looking at the Portugese second league table. Chaves, that Vozinha plays for, conceded 40 goals in 34 games last season. Finished 9th. So he's not all that extraordinary. Maybe Spain just wasn't that good.

And in truth, what in heaven's name is the manager thinking, not starting Yamal? He is clearly Spain's best player, and one of the world's best. He did make a difference, although not enough for Spain to get the three points on this particular occasion.

And very good that they didn't. Besides the nice underdog story, for all the love I have for the people of Spain, the last time I liked their national football team was last century. This result will do them good, they'll realise they have to actually work to qualify.

As for Vozinha, good on him for cvatching the highlights! I hope he'll have a great tournament, rather than just this one game. Even so, I still think the tournament will only be 3 games, I don't see Cape Verde getting out of their group. But you don't need to in order to cover yourself in glory.

Belgium - Egypt 1-1

Emam Ashour

Now, normally this might be another great underdog story. Except Egypt was the better team, and Belgium was lucky to get away with a draw. 

Oh, by the way, Giroud is not only one of the greatest footballers that ever lived, he might actually be a God. As soon as he said 'Why don't they bring Lukaku in?', Lukaku came in and scored in under a minute.

I have mixed feelings about Big Rom. He is one of ours, once a Red, always a Red and all that. And I think he enjoyed his time with us. But he's been around so much that his career will be tied much more to Chelsea or Inter Milan for instance, and he never declared any special love for United. But, you know, he didn't need to. He's a man doing a job and that's that. And at 33, he can still do a better job than Doku or Trossard, who were quite pale in front of the Egyptian defence.

My other thing is that Belgium should start Lammens in goal. For all of 'Courtois is the best keeper in the world', Lammens is younger and more in form. I'm not saying he would've changed the result, just that he'd give a better performance. 

Anyway, Belgium keeps being Belgium, a collection of stars but never a team. Lucky for them, the reservoir of stars seems to be still producing, so they need a manager capable of making them into a team. But that's gonna be for the future now, and that's gonna be without de Bruyne.

As for Egypt, I'd say the biggest pleasant surprise for me so far. Australia beating Turkey 2-0 was a shock, but mostly because I expected more from Turkey. But Egypt? I thought Salah and that'a about it. And while Salah is undoubtedly an important player, he wasn't their best player by a long chalk. Emam Ashour of Al-Ahly was certainly the MotM for me, not only because he scored the goal, but because dude absolutely owned the left side of the pitch. Even after Belgium drew level, Egypt looked like the team more in control of the game and with the bigger chances. And it wasn't just Ashour either. Marmoush was also great, while the Egyptian defense was so calm and so well organised, it reminded me of Italy or one of those teams that know how to grind you down. 

So all in all, it was Belgium taht was lucky to get a point from the game. My prediction of Belgium and Iran going throuhg might still stand, but Egypt already proved me wrong, and I love to be proven wrong. Iran and New Zealand will have a tough life.

Saudi Arabia - Uruguay 1-1

Wow, what an assault! This is what the defenders of Constantinopole must've felt like in 1453! Saudi Arabia scored first, and good on them for doing that. Great timing too, 5 minutes before the break! But they were not ready for what followed. The most one-sided game I've seen in a long long time. Muslera must've been calling his family, told them how his holiday is going, because I didn't see much of him in the second half.

Bielsa is dubbed as crazy, and his teams play crazy football, and this game totally cemented that reputation. Uruguay scoring was inevitable, but they were unlucky they didn't score twice. It feels like a weaker Uruguay team than usual (I mean, come on, Ugarte is one of their best players), but when they play like that, it's pretty hard to resist the assault. It took another brilliant goalkeeper performance from Al-Owais, and a rugged, 10-men defense to get a point from them.

I mentioned the likes of Owairan and Al-Jaber, and it's true that was a great generation forn the Saudis, but even with a team of unknowns, palying mostly in the domestic league, they were still able to beat the *ahem* world champions Argentina 4 years ago, and squeeze a point from Uruguay yesterday. So, you know, maybe the Saudi league is growing. Maybe all those hundreds of millions of dollars do help.

Beat Cape Verde and you're through, as Sky Sports says? I mean, sure. It's just that, as we've seen, beating Cape Verde might not be as easy.

Iran - New Zealand 2-2

Unfortunately, slept again, so I haven't seen any of this game. But it looks like it was another great game. Four draws, a 0-0 and only 8 games in 4 matches, but this was a great day of football. Certainly the best so far, but I mean, one of the greatest in a while. Capable underdogs, great football, insane attacking and super-organised defending and 4 surprise results. A bookies' dream.

United Nations

Germany - Curacao 7-1

Some noise has been made about the expanded format and 48 teams instead of 32. Logistical challenges aside, I think the more the merrier. It's only when facing off teams you don't normally play that the best games happen. As such, I salute Curacao's participation to this World Cup, a country with a smaller population than some gigs I've been to.

Easy prey for Germany? Sure. But what must it mean for a country that size not only to play on this biggest football stage of all, not only to be able to play against Germany, but also to hold their own and score against Germany? And yes, the German gamne was methodical and calculated whereas luck contributed some to Curacao's goal. But also, the hydration (ads) break completely killed their momentum. Add to that a soft penalty and then try and recover two goal in front of Germany. It was never gonna happen.

Biggest loss of the tournament so far, yet Curacao have plenty to be proud of.

Netherlands - Japan 2-2

If you thought Netherlands vs Japan was a done deal, you might've missed Japan beating Spain and Germany at the last World Cup. I myself have misspoken in the opening post saying Netherlands will breeze through the group. It's true, the Dutch always bring good teams, but this one feels somehow a lesser team than usual. Definetly not the potential of the 1974 or 2010 finalists, not to mention the 1988 Euro winner.

They still dominated the game, and their goals have looked a lot better built than the Japanese ones, but halfway through the first half I found myself cheering for Japan. They were amazing, relentless and persistent. Similar in a way to South Korea's game, but with more maturity in their game. They can score a goal or two, and they're not afraid of any opposition. 

They will probably stumble against Tunisia, but that's a different matter.

Ivory Coast - Ecuador 1-0

Look, no two ways about it. I thought Ecuador was the better team and they deserved to win. I know I should be happy for Amad, and I am, I really am. But I can only imagine how heartbreaking his last minute goal must've been for the hearty Ecuadorian fans. A draw would've been a lot more equitable, and would have turned the group into who can get something from Germany rather than who can pile more onto Curacao. Can Ecuador stumble Germany? Last game, and probably not a lot at stake for the Germans, but I still doubt they'll leave it without a win. 

Two other important questions after this game: how old is Enner Valencia? (he's 36), and why the hell would you not start Amad for Ivory Coast?

Sweden - Tunisia 5-1

Ah, the 3 am game... I had planned to take a quick nap between the Ecuador game and this one, btu somehow I ended up waking up at half time, with the score 2-1 for Sweden. And I fell back asleep before the end, so I only saw some of the second half. I remember the third goal well, and the fourtha  bit hazy.

I thought Tunisia isn't playing too badly, and I was certainly glad to see Hannibal leading the line for Tunisia and having a couple of chances. I hope he scores at least one at this tournament. Always liked the kid, and I think United let him go a bit too easily. 

But with ballers like Isak and Gyokeres on the other side, hard for poor Tunisia to hold the floodgates. Life is gonna be really tough for them now, neither Netherlands nor Japan are gonna be easy games. Maybe book those flights back early?

Difficult Saturdays

Qatar - Switzerland 1-1

Oh, man, Saturdays were always going to be difficult. And I'm getting a bit lost in these start times. Honestly, it's weird having the World Cup across multiple time zones, or a mandatory ads break disguised as water break. But that's USA for you.

So I didn't see much of the 4 games yesterday.

I've seen nothing of Switzerland - Qatar. Noticed it was 1-0 for Switzerland all the way until the dying stages, and I thought, well, one way or another the Swiss squeezed it through. But an own goal in the 4th minute of injury time? It must be the bad Switzerland who showed up. Hard to make sense of this group now. Canada might actually win it, spurred by home advantage, and leave Switzerland and Bosnia battle it out for second.

Brazil - Morocco 1-1

I only saw the last half hour or so, which was good witrhout being outstanding, and by that time the final score had been established, and the commentators couldn't stop talking about how much better the first half has been. Good on Morocco for scoring first and for getting a point. Not sure they can recreate the semifinal from 4 years ago, but it's good to not squander that legacy and give a good account of themselves. 

Brazil look solid, despite not destroying Morocco, but it feels like their time hasn't come. I'd hate it to come at the expense of Scotland.

Haiti - Scotland 0-1

I did watch this (almost) integrally, and I thought Scotland was the better team and should have won more emphatically. I didn't understand why the fans would be afraid of Haiti, but this was very much the mood in the camp before the game, and with 3 points in the bag they can hopefully rest a bit easier, while approaching the Morocco game from the first place in the group. And if they get a good result there, the Brazil game might be redundant.

Australia - Turkey 2-0

3 am start was a bridge too far for a long day so, while I remember the beginning of the game, I can't say much about it. Except I have no idea how this result came about. I would've never expected it, I trust Turkey, and whether it was a fluke or if this is Turkey now, or whether Australia has a solid team... I'll need to wait for the next game to see. Is USA gonna win it? Looks like ti based on the first game.

Which means my prediction for the group were far off, but I love that about the World Cup. I don't love that people keep trying to get me to work during the World Cup, but we'll do our best.

Lucky Lukic

Canada - Bosnia & Hercegovina 1-1

Just for safety, I googled Canada's national anthem. It's called 'O,Canada!', by the way, not Jagged Little Pill, as I thought for a second upon seeing Alanis Morisette singing it. That would be ironic, wouldn't it?

What with Ryan Reynolds and Mike Myers in the stands, and Justin Trudeau supporting his girlfriend gigging in California, was there anyone left in Canada, I wonder? Or was Celine Dion running all the public services all by herself?

Alright, enough of music puns, though I did feel the Canadians started the game with one hand in their pockets. Bosnia, I thought, were favourites, the better, more experienced team. And it felt like this when Lukic scored after 20 minutes from a horribly defended corner, in which luck played a part too. Oh no, this is Set Piece & Hercegovina, I was saying to myself even before the goal. It did seem like Bosnians were looking for a dead ball situation to end all of their attacks. But after the goal Canada took a lot more of the initiative, and despite the naivete of their play, they were keeping the ball and shooting a lot. Most of it without posing a serious threat, but when they had to clear a couple of balls from in front of an empty goal, I would've reconsidered the game if I was the Bosnian coach.

No matter, I said to myself, this is their game plan, they're the experienced team, happy to sit in and absorb pressure, and wait for a break. Except it didn't pay off. Canada scored, I guess they were bound to once they were allowed all of this space to attack. Good execution too for the goal. The ball fell to Larin a bit randomly, and he barely cleared the defender, but once he had a clear sight of goal, the shot was as cool as any. 

And with 10 minutes to go, Bosnians could not respond. If anything, Canada looked the likelier team to win it as we headed towards the end. Now, had Bosnia won it, one way or another, perhaps I would've said: 'Oh, yeah, told you, experienced team, good game management'. As it is, they looked the typical Eastern European underdogs, happy to defend and wait for a lucky break. To be honest, with games against Qatar and Switzerland coming up, they might just get it. Draw Switzerland, beat Qatar, and hope Canada loses. But it's not the right way to play, especially as I think they can do more as a team. We shall see.

USA - Paraguay 4-1

People like to laught at USA's football team, and are quick to dismiss the great teams and great players americans had over the years. And I confess, I also expected Paraguay to win this one. But wow! What a dominant perfomance from the americans! One can argue an unlucky early own goal that changed the dynamics of the game, but what would Ayala or Acuna, the heroic defenders from the 1998 World Cup team, to this idea? 

I was convinced Paraguay is the better team, though googling predictions now, most people seemed to favour the Americans. Well, I should watch them closer then. 

It's hard going into half time 3 - 0 down, but after 3-1 and seeing Paraguay attack, I still thought they have a chance to get something out of the game. 

Credit to the USA team though and, I suppose, to Pochettino, they were in complete control, start to finish. I didn't even register the fourth goal, I must've been asleep by then, but does it even matter?

Australia is another tough nut to crack, and Turkey always brings solid teams, so this tournament is now looking dire for Paraguay.

Today is the first 4 games days, and for all my complaining about only 2 games/day, 4 is looking like a bridge too far. Will probably miss Qatar - Switzerland and Brazil - Morocco because of the cabaret, which is a shame, especially as Brazil - Morocco looks like a really interesting one. We'll see how much of it I can catch at the end of the cabaret.

Sithole countries

Mexico - South Africa 2-0

When I saw the teams I was like, 'Oh, God, I hope this fellow with such an unfortunate name doesn't feature too proeminently!'. Little did I know...

Lost the ball in front of the keeper for the first goal, then got a red card as soon as second half started, and that's probably the end of his World Cup. Poor Sithole!

South Africa has a really poor showing, Mexico should've scored more, and they're as good as qualified with this victory. 

An overwhelming World Cup in many aspects, yes, not least the opening ceremony, but I can't fault the passion of Mexican fans, nor the beauty of the new Azteca Stadium. Always liked the Mexican teams over the years. I know very little about this one, Raul Jimenez and Guillermo Ochoa the only players I recognise, but who knows, i might know a few more once the tournament is over. I'm hoping for a strong display for them out of the groups, the only host team with a real chance of advancing into the late stages of the tournament.

South Korea - Czechia 2-1

I fell asleep at half time, so my assessment is solely based on the first half. I expected more from the Czechs, South Korea was all over them in the first half, though the few chances they had were dangerous enough. I did say at half time, South korea is playing well, but they need to be a lot more clinical in front of goal, otherwise this high tempo is taking its toll in the latter stages of the game. It didn't apparently, but also they scored before the Czechs and leave with the 3 points in the end.

They certainly played the better football, if they can sustain this and add some game management they might be a tough nut to crack. As in, they're playing South Africa next. Score one quickly, then lower the tempo, kill the game and hunt the counter attack, Even a draw gets you qualified, though 6 points in two games makes life easier in the knock-out stages.

The Czechs are a good team, but with ageing star players. They'll probably be happy to get out of the group stage and not much else, but they do need to get something out of the Mexico game, and it's easier said than done.

An ok first day, all in all, but what's the deal with just two games per day?