WC 2022: No more small teams, maybe except Qatar

Wales - Iran 2-0

Senegal - Qatar 3-1

Netherlands - Ecuador 1-1

England - USA 0-0

The first day of the second round was a great one. I didn't start out with a favorite in Wales - Iran, but by the time Iran opened the scoring, I found myself cheering for them. Red card on the Welsh keeper was a bit harsh, I thought. It was a strong collision, but he went for the ball and there was no malicious intent toward the player. Besides, a red card always throws the game off-balance. Not that Wales would have gotten more from the game, but the red card throws a shadow over the Iranian victory, which was thoroughly deserved. A lot has been said about politics at this World Cup, and the Iranians are bringing the right kind of politics into it: clearly stating their position in regard to the social turbulence in their country, and the better they do in this competition, the more they can inspire their compatriots to push for change.

Kudos to them for keeping their mental composure after the battering against England. They do now have a great chance at qualifying, though it's not to be taken for granted. USA has played two very good games and is unlucky not to be on 4 points, rather than 2. So USA - Iran is gonna be a VERY interesting game!

England will probably win the group, as Wales have been poor and I don't really see them getting anything from the last game. I haven't seen any of the England - USA game, but I'm really happy with the outcome. All the pubs were full to the brim - England playing in the World Cup on a Friday evening, and both Maria and I were dreading the prospect of a high-scoring game, which would have punctuated our show with regular shouts. Such is the nature of Barons Court Theatre that when a loud event happens in the pub upstairs, we hear it. So our desire for an uneventful game has been heard by the theatre gods.

Group A also has an interesting battle for second place. I saw the first half of Senegal - Qatar, and although it's obvious that Qatar is one of the weakest teams in the tournament and Senegal won easily, I thought Ecuador brought a better game plan. Which showed against the Netherlands as well. I mean, the sensible bet is an easy win for Netherlands, and it looked like that after the early goal. But there's so many things that the Ecuadorian team does well, and so much to admire about them, that in the end it almost felt like they deserved more than the 1-1.

They are super-disciplined; maybe only South Korea can maintain the formation as well as they do, from what I've seen. They have their soul in the game, and they work really hard. Add to this a bit of South American technique and flair, and a couple of star players - current or in the making - and you get one of the most exciting teams at this World Cup outside the big boys' club.

Of course, it can all fall flat in the last game against Senegal, though somehow I doubt it will. It's gonna be tight and dramatic, but it matters a lot that Ecuador has the option of a draw as well. And judging by the closing minutes of the game against the Netherlands - when they slowed down a touch and signaled they'd settle for a draw, they are good at game management as well, something I've only seen in Brazil and France so far.

So yeah, I'd go England, Iran, Netherlands, Ecuador from here.