Ou est Mbappe?

France - Spain 0-2

Oh my, didn't the bookies sleep well tonight?

I got no explanation for this game. Reminds me a bit - though that memory has long ben repressed, it's just the feeling that survives - of Barcelona beating a seamingly unstoppable Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final.

How did it happen? We all saw it, none can explain it. Mbappe, Dembele, Olise, they were all on the pitch, yet none showed up. If I were to throw my mind back even further, to the 1989 Champions League final, I'd wonder - like we all wondered after the AC Milan's hammering of Steaua, if the players have been drugged or something.

The truth is, you don't have to be glamorous to be efficient. I also think the French had an off day, but if you're having an off day, make sure it's not the World Cup semi-final.

Was there a penalty for the first goal? I would not have given it. Digne's leg movement had started before Yamal attacked the ball, so the hit did not look to be intentional. I'm not even sure it would be a foul if it happened in midfield. Also true that it was a solid hit, fully into Yamal's leg. So I don't know. Once again, I'd like games to be decided by players rather than refs, but what do I know?

Whether it was or it wasn't a penalty is immaterial though, not because Spain scored another one, but because France never really looked like being in the game. Funnily enough, the stats tell a different story. France, having more shots on target? When? The half-arsed effort by Dembele deep into injury time, when it wouldn't have mattered anyway?

xG seems to be the most accurate description of the game, a stat I made fun of many times in the past. It's 0.31 to 1.63 for Spain. 

A lot of things I made fun of in the past are coming back to bite me in the ass. So I'll be cheering our boys tonight against Argentina along with the rest of the country.

Is this Spanish team as good as the 2010 one? I'd say certainly not. But they're incredibly well organized, disciplined in defence and relentless attacking, not losing heart until it's done. Went through R16 and Quarters with injury time winners. They have Lamine Yamal, who did not shine as bright as the other stars of the tournament so far, but he's still in it. And sometimes you don't have to score 8 goals, you have to score one when it matters. And Nico Williams has been playing more in recent games, maybe in time for him to be fully fit for the final.

I kind of want Spain to win now. Words I'd never thought I'd say.

Rule Britannia!

Norway - England 1-2

Ah, England playing on a Saturday, and I was off - kind of, so I could take refuge at home from the masses and the noise, and watch the game in peace. And what a great game it was!

Norway has done supremely well at this World Cup. As a matter of fact, last time they were at an World Cup, in France 1998, they had such a wonderful team that in the end it was a big reason of why I fell in love with Manchester United - a love story that still lasts today. Henning Berg, Ronnie Johnsen and of course, Ole Gunnar and, if we're to be completely honest, David Beckham had something to do with it too.

Back then, they lost the first knock-out game to Italy. This time, Ivory Coast and mighty Brazil were brushed aside. and England was looking shaky for large swathes of the game, but they used cunning.

Let me explain. The way the first half was going, it was Norway's game. That shot that opened the scoring was stunning! Pickford didn't know what hit him. And on a couple of occasions, I was left open-mouthed by Haaland's headers. They way he lifts himself in the air so effortlessly, with barely any flexing of the knees, the height he can reach and the power he puts in the ball, they're something out of this world. Very different than prime Ronaldo, but just as physics-defying, just as unstoppable.

And again, one cannot help but notice how disciplined, how well organised, how confident, and how strong in possesion this Norway team is.

Admittedly, England has done really well to pull back so close to half time. Bellingham's first goal was a thing of wonder, knotting defenders legs and throwing the ball across the keeper, with no chance for poor Nyland. Harry Kane was unfortunate to have his goal called off for offside just seconds later, but the execution was beautiful. Old school chip, the kind that forwards are to afraid to try nowadays. It would've been a different game, and not necessarily easier for England had they gone in 2-1 at half-time.

On Heggem's cancelled goal, and the preceeding Haaland foul: look, I don't know. The rules get changed, adjusted, interpreted and debated in all sorts of ways. It's obvious that Haaland's push is a foul. It comes before the ball was in play and has no bearing on the action. But a foul is still a foul, even if the ball is not in play. If it's a foul, corner should not be taken, and the ball should go to England. But why then, when the goal was cancelled, the decision was to retake the corner? Was it not a foul then?

It would be too much to suspect conspiracy, although I'm sure FIFA prefers England to Norway in the semifinal. But it is still poor refereeing, it's official decision taking precedence over what happens on the pitch. It's also a far cry from Egypt's second goal against Argentina, called off by VAR for a very soft step on foot 30 seconds earlier at the other side of the pitch. I saw a similar one in this game by the way, that was not sanctioned in any way whatsoever, nor was it brought into discussion by commentators, pundits or anyone. So Egypt's goal was clearly cancelled because of an agenda. Norway's... I'd say probably not. Should it have been cancelled? It's a 50:50 for me.

Even so, Norway knew they needed to score again. However. After the cancelled goal, and especially for the last 20 minutes of the 90, I think the Norwegians started to tire. Whether it was simply fitness, or that plus being overwhelmed by the occasion, by the intensity of the game, or both, their excellent shape and organisation started to crack. A marked drop in offensive intent, and allowing England to get close and threaten the goal on a couple of occasions, things that did not happen in the first half. As we headed towards the end of 90 minutes, Norway looked less and less like a team capable to score.

And it's in this that Engalnd's better game management showed. They held on, pushed as much as they could push, but most importantly, stayed calm and waited for their chance.

It didn't come in 90 minutes, but came pretty quickly after that. Rogers shot from a distance, Nyland spilled the ball, Bellingham was focused, and knew both how to be opportunistic, and how to convert the dropped ball. This goal looked pretty much identical with Marino's winning goal against Belgium the day before. Yet there was no talk about 'Nyland's big mistake', how the keeper should've done better and all of that. But Nyland's not playing for Manchester United, is he?

And after Bellingham's second, the game was pretty much up. Norway was tiiiired, and only threatened through a few individual actions from Nussa. Nothing to write home about, the game was done. Tuchel was right to say after the game that England didn't play as well as they should have, but Belligham is also right to reply 'whatever' to that. It was a tough, tough game, and they came out on top. 

I wanted Norway to win, but well done England! They did better on the day.

Argentina - Switzerland 3-1

Now, of course, I want Argentina to lose at the first available opportunity. That Egypt game was shambles, they should no longer be in the competition.

I didn't have much hope though, didn't see Switzerland capable of troubling them. It's probably why I fell asleep shortly after MacAllister's goal.

Woke up sometime in the 70-something minute, to see the score at 1-1, and Switzerland playing in 10. I wonder how red exactly was Embolo's red card, but I have not seen the action, so won't speak about it.

But of course, Switzerland did really well to pull level. The final minutes were an Argentina onslaught, and it was obvious that the Swiss are not hoping for much but penalties. They lookde tired too, especially going into extra time, but they did really well to anihilate Messi and hold on as much as they could.

The second goal, Alvarez in the 112th minute, was an opportunistic shot aided by a bit of luck, btu if you let your opponent get this close to your goal this much of the time, one of these what if shots is bound to get in at some point. 

There was an attempt to attack from the Swiss in the last 10 minutes, but it really was too little too late. Lautaro Martinez's 3rd goal sealed the faith of the game, but it was otherwise as useless as Neymar's penalty against Norway.

So, I don't know, well done Argentina I guess. They proved they can do it even when Messi has an off day, and they proved they can persist in attack until they get it. They were also 10 minutes away from elimination, but history is made up of what happened, not by what could have.

*

This is it then, France versus Spain and England v Argentina. I'll refer back to the movie Sixty-Six, when Eddie Marsden asks the kid: 'At the end of the day, who do you really want to win? Honestly?' and the kid replies reluctantly: 'England'

This is it, I switched allegiances, turncoat that I am, and after Portugal and Norway, I now want England to win. They won't, it's still France's tournament bar a miracle or some more cheating, I'm hoping at least England will dispatch Argentina quickly. Yes, exactly, like in the Falklands.

Watch out for Belgium

Spain - Belgium 2 - 1

One thing I really liked in this world cup is how I decide who I support during the game. Sometimes I start off as fully neutral, and am fully converted by the end of the 90 minutes, usually on the side of the underdog.

For instance, I wanted Portugal to win the tournament, but after a drab game against Spain, I cheered for Merino's late goal, as it meant we won't have to watch another 30 minutes of that game.

Throughout this tournament, I've been fairly indifferent towards Spain, although I was happy to see them draw with Cape Verde, and happy to see them beat Uruguay. Registered with indiffeernce their wins against Saudi Arabia and Austria.

Belgium, I started rather not liking them. A golden generation that has never quite achieved its potential, and now it's a swansong for most of them. Plus, I don't like the players individually. Tielemans and Witsel were always overrated, and de Bruyne is a great player, but surely you can't expect me to like him? 

I was laughing at them when they drew Egypt in the first game, but after seeing Egypt's tournament, maybe I shouldn't have. They did win their group. They didn't deserve to win against Senegal, but yeah, it's just the West African's fault for not being able to hold on to their lead. And I supported their emphatic win against USA due to politics more than anything. 

So for some reason, maybe remembering my hatred fron Spain from 15 years ago, and Belgium growing in my eyes, I kind of wanted them to win. Thought it a bit hopeless, but it costs nothing to want it.

Fabian Ruiz's goal for Spain didn't help my cause. I was wondering if Belgium is able to pull back, after all, for all their faults, Spain is a much more mature team than Senegal. And yet. And yet... I have no idea where Belgium pulled this weird looking Ketelaere kid, but my God, that equalising shot was phenomenal. 1-1 just before half time, and 3 world cup goals for the De Ketelaere kid.

And even though Spain dominated all of the game, it was flowing more into Belgian's hands. After Big Rom came in, danger was looming.

Now, the BBC comentataors made a huge deal of Courtouis having to go out injured, but Lammens is the better goalkeeper. Hugely unfortunate the way Spain's winning goal came in, but it gives ample opportunity to pundits to criticise him now, and we won't hear the end of 'if Courtouis was still on...'. But let me ask you this: it was a powerful shot, hard and low, like the manual says. Lammens keeps it out without emotions, but can't retain the ball. In such a situation, is it not the central defenders' job to get to the ball first? Why is Merino allowed to get to the ball free from any pressure? And what chance does tha fallen keeper has in this circumstance? So, lay off of 'Lammes' fault wagon' please.

Also, weirdly, everyone glossed over very quickly over the fact that Belgium should have had a penalty at 1-1, when their central defender hit a ball with the hand, far away from the body. Not sure why, and in the interest of not gettign too conspirational, let's say I have a blind spot in the rules of football. They changed the rules of handball so much, most refs probably have blind spots too.

I was hoping for a late Belgium equalizer, and Big Rom went relatively close on a cross, plus de Bruyne had a great shot on the turn, but it was not to be.

At the end of the day, it feels right that Spain would progress. I dreamt of a Norway-Belgium final but this is not a fairytale. This is real life, with Mbappe impossible shots, with Haaland the beast dispatching Brasil like it's nothing, and with refereeing decisions always going Argentina's way.

Not yet

Morocco - France 0-2

Well, that was harsh, wasn't it?

I thought Morocco played ok, but France is on a different level. And even if on TV the shape of the Moroccan team looks good, they looked well organised in defense and having some attackin and especially counter-attacking intent, the numbers tell a different story. That momentum graph was all white.

The xG is a stat I still don't understand well, hence I don't trust a lot, but France had 10 shots on target before Morocco's first. 

And you know, all of that is good and swell, you can still frustrate them into 0-0 and penalties, which the Moroccan keeper Bounou has proved a great saver of. It happened in the first half.

By the way, that penalty that Mbappe missed looked soft to me. Not to say there was any favouring of the referee, but also, not sure if Morocco would have gotten it if it was on the other side. Also, weird that Mbappe's execution was so poor. I guess even the best have their off moments.

Not that it mattered in the end. That first Mbappe goal was a wonder. Most forwards take a step on the inside in that position, to make space to shoot. Not Kylian. He curled that bloody shot to perfection. 

And then Dembele killed any hope fo Morocco getting back into the game with another banger which looked effortless. 18 yards out, barely any pendulation of the foot, powerful, precisely aimed shot. Poor bounou had a hand on it, but try and stop that if you can.

It is as predicted in the end, and the last African team goes out in the quarter-final, an all-too familiar story. Morocco have a lot to be proud of, not least showing that last tournament's semi-final was not a fluke, and showing, maybe for the first time, that an African team CAN go all the way. Cameroon 1990, Nigeria 1994, Senegal 2002, Ghana 2010 have shown that African teams should be taken seriously, but it will forever be Morocco the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final. 

Before the quarters started, I was hopeing for a Morocco-Norway final, now it kind of looks like there's no stopping France, but I would like to see Norway in the final.

And how cool would it be, in 4 years time in Spain, to have maybe a Japan-Morocco world cup final?

Disgrace

First day without football yesterday, and it really felt like it's coming to an end. It would've felt even better if it wasn't for the daylight robbery that was

Egypt - Argentina 2-3

I've said a few times already, the GOAT debate has been settled. But why do they both have to try so hard to taint their legacy? After an amazing tournament, of course the whole planet will want Messi & Argentina to lose now. Was this robbery absolutely necessary?

Light penalty for Argentina (missed), goal cancelled for Egypt for a very light foul way before the goal, in the build-up (is that even allowed to be checked, or did we just need a reason, any reason, to overturn the goal?) and yes, Argentina scored 3 times in the last 12 minutes, but it gets much easier when your opponents have been taught that the lightest touch in their own box will result in a penalty.

This should've been a massive win for Egypt, instead, it's another disgrace for FIFA, and one of the biggest, if you can believe it. Good thing World Cups are every 4 years, so that people can forget the fixes of the last one before we do some more this time around.

A shameful tournament by a shameful organization, and Argentina will carry this shamfeul legacy of cheating in two world cups long after Messi would have died. Bit like Italy 1934 & 1938 if you will.

Switzerland - Colombia 0-0 (4-3 pen)

The internet will tell you this was a boring game. While not having the levels of excitement of the earlier one, it also didn't have its levels of match fixing.

Colombia has specialised in entertaining low scoring goals this torunament, while Switzerland, though never spectacular, plays a very efficient football.

Yes, it was a 0-0, but coming from two teams confronted with the possibility of advancing further in the world cup than they ever had before. And the game was open, there was plenty of attacking intent, as a matter of fact I'm not sure Colombia knows how to play any different.

By the run of play, Colombia should have won it, and they should've also known that it's better to force a win before the penalties, not introduce Yerry Mina in the last few minutes to preserve the draw.

As it happens, they were the most nervous party in the penalties, so they missed two. Poor form from Davidson Sanchez to miss, but Switzerland had a star player missing too, Akanji.

I'm sorry for Colombia, the QF should've been Egypt-Colombia, where Egyptian flair would've probably prevailed after an entertaining 1-0. Instead, we have Switzerland - Argentina, and I'm hoping the Swiss will frustrate the cheaters to a 0-0 draw, then beat them on penalties. Fully expect penalties in normal time too though.

Red

Portugal - Spain 0-1

The Iberain derby is a weird affair. Either a spectacular affair of no consequence, or a drab game that consignes one side to underachievemnt for a generation.

Yesterday's one was one of the latter. The force that can't move anything versus the object that immediately folds. The amount of talent on the pitch is riduculous, including two of what are universally acknoledged as the best footballers on the planet: one of the greatest ever at the zenith of his career, and the 18 year old superstar, mature beyond his years and set to become one of the greatest of his generations. The clash should have been epic.

Well, it wasn't. It was a slow leak of enthusiasm over the course of 90 minutes in which, when normal time was heading to a close, the objectiev viewers were begging for a goal, any goal, just so we don't have to watch another 30 minutes of this. Enter Merino of Arsenal, specifically for this purpose. Good goal, but by that point it didn't even matter.

Ronaldo has been an immense footballer, but never great for his country. They won the Euro in 2008 without him on the pitch, and hopefully they'll have a better run without him in the next world cup, on home soil. I want a good run for Bruno.

USA - Belgium 1-4

This game was meant ot be dominated by the talk around the cancelled red card to Folarin Balogun, but was instead dominated by Belgium, and thank fuck for that.

The issue with Balogun's red card cancellation was not the deed in itself, after all, it would not be the first nor last injustice in football. The issue is the blatant disregard for rules, common sense, or supporters with which it's been done. An affair between two strongmen heading highly corrupt organizations, both highly disliked, and both oblivious to it. People like Trump or Infantino make me wish there was a hell.

And annoyingly, Pochettino didn't have the common sense to keep the American forward on the bench. Had he scored, the scandal would've been even bigger, so thank fuck Belgium dominated in such a categorical manner.

Belgium did not deserve to beat Senegal, but I dare say Senegal would not have beaten USA. So maybe somewhere on a higher plane things are being arranged. Now Belgium will face Spain, and I don't even know. Sounds like a good game on paper, and one that Spain should win. But who knows what the gods of football have in store for us?

Never heard of Ketelaere before yesterday, but kid has done amazing. Happy for big Rom too, 3 goals at a World Cup is not too shabby for a 37yo, and I still don't get why he doesn't start. And a good fucking thing Trump will no longer be president (or alive, God willing) next time USA will play in a World Cup. I tried hard to like them, they tried hard to make it difficult. But now it's over.

Bellingham from Birmingham

Canada - Morocco 0-3

Paraguay - France 0-1

I won't say much about these two games as I couldn;t watch any football on Saturday. The needs of the farm called for more urgency than those of my heart.

People surprised at the big Morocco win have not been paying attention lately. Canada have had an amazing tournament, but Morocco is an established powerhouse.

France needed a penalty to edge Paraguay, strong 1998 vibes. I will watch the highlights, but talking points seem to be how brutal the Paraguayan defending has been. To which I say... what other chance did they have?

It's funny that in this day and age you don't really need to watch a football game anymore. Livescore will show you the goal clips and the internet memes will tell you how it went. That is, of course, missing the point of watching a game of football, though it increasingly looks like we're heading towards a world where we're all missing the point of things, or - more likely - it's just me understanding less and less of the world we live in.

Alright, that went philosophical really fast, let's take a quick look at the magnificent day of football we've had yesterday.

Brazil - Norway 1-2

Even on paper this game looked tight, so Norway defeating Brazil is not that big of a surprise. What's surprising is the relaxed, confident, comfortable manner in which they've done it. 

Brazil is flashy, but Norway has been the better team since the off. Even when they conceded the penalty, Nyland looked calm and secure. Not so Bruno Guimaraes, who did a piss poor job of it. And from here on, the flow was clear.

I was thinking at half time, I should be really supporting Brazil. They have Casemiro and Cunha, whereas Norway have Odegaard and Haaland. But there wasn't much to Brazil's game to draw me their way. Flashiness, but without substance. Norway, on the other hand, always looked comfortable in posesion, solid, composed and calm.

And the goals, poster shots, both of them! The first, training pitch header and I pity the fool who dares jump with Haaland. The guy doesn't even need to move, and it would still be a challenge to match him in height. And you can see in the replay, his body is almost twice as wide as the defender's.

The second looked simple, but there was so much power in that shot, and it went so close to the post, Alisson stood no chance. Big beast didn't even celebrated, this is how routine he thought his world stopping shot was.

Rare to see Ancelotti running out of ideas, but throwing Neymar in the game felt like it's only to shame him. And shame him it did, for even if he scored a questionable penalty deep in injury time when it didn't matter anyway, we've had plenty of time to see that not only has Neymar no fight in him, he doesn't even seem to care all that much. Which, between you and me, it's not even that new. Possibly the most overrated player in the history of the game has kicked his last on the international stage, and I'm hoping that a refreshed Brazil will become the footballing power it once was again.

Mexico - England 2-3

Boy, was this an adventure!

Starting with the one-hour postponement, and the hype on all media channels in England, every aspect of the game has been over-analyzed before the game even started. Yet no one quite got it correctly.

Bellingham hit two almost identical goals 2 minutes of each other, and yet no one was convinced it's enough to see England through. It's been enough. Mexico pulled one back quickly to go into half time only 1-2 down. But this is where it went wrong for them. 

Even though they came out dominating the play in the second half too, and had England play with 10 men in the last 40 minutes, something of the energy from the first half was missing. And this was mental more than anything. Mexico have lost the game in their heads, not in their feet.

One penalty each in the second half made the scoring line look a bit bigger, and there was plenty drama, but none of it helpful to see Mexico through. Good team Mexico, but not good enough to take out the big boys in the manner Norway has dispatched Brazil.

Norway - England is gonna be a really interesting game to watch, and I'm beginning to look like the kid in Sixty Six, always betting against England, but I swear, I'm over my grudge once they got out of the group stage. I genuinely fancy Norway. Besides, England always loses in the quarters, no?