Finals

Last world cup, I didn't even make a final post. Partly because I was annoyed with the cheating, with the result, and with the disgusting display of the closing ceremony.

This year's ceremony had its share of disgusting scenes, but it's the ridiculous that was the prevailing feeling. Anyway, before the final we've had the....

Third place play-off (losers' final): France - England 4-6

The game no one wants to be in , the game, dare I say, no one really wants to see. It is perhaps different when a small(er) team gets in, like Morocco last year, they might've been happy to play another game. Or Bulgaria-Sweden in 1994 (FMM Prunea), a fairly competitive game. Or the 2002 Turkey-South Korea, when Turkey administered the world's revege over the very much pushed-forward South Koreans.

So there is a case for playing the third place play-off. But this wasn't it. Two big teams with final aspirations, both former WC winners, none of them wanted to be in this game. So they very clearly stated the case for not having a third place play-off. Me, I don't know. It's extra money for FIFA, so I'm sure Infantino don't mind.

People have been saying, during and after the game, what an amazing football match this was. It wasn't. And to prove it wasn't, there were no massive celebrations on the streets, no joy, no singing, and no vandalising on the tube, no pissing on fences and buildings afterwards. It was just comentators and the English public at large trying to convince themselves the game mattered. To assure you it didn't, take England's third goal, the clearest illustration of how non-competitve it was. Saka and Rashford break on the counter against 3 French defenders. I think they exchange 4 passes between them, barely troubled, before Saka scores. A solid 15-20 seconds. And by the time he scores, there's still only 3 defenders in the French box. In a competitive game, 8 people would've been there within 10 seconds, and it would not have been a goal.

But it looked like a nice little friendly, the score was one of a friendly, After England went in the break 4-0 up, I didn't for a second doubt that France will score a lot. Came back 10 minutes into the second half, it was 4-2 already, and it would've very likely ended a draw, had this been possible. It wasn't, and no one wanted another 30 minutes of this, so England got their win - which they wouldn't have in a competitve game - and France got Mbappe to be the golden boot at this tournament and the highest scorer ever at World Cup tournaments. 10 goals in 6 games in impressive, as is 22 goals across 3 World Cups, and his record will probably last for a while, considering he's still got at least two World Cups left in him. Biggest story of the day.

Spain - Argentina 1-0

This is it, the World Cup final. No occasion bigger than this, and if the game itself didn't match the expectations, the memes certainly did.

Now, last two World Cup finals had 6 goals each and were a topsy-turvy of momentum. This one ended 1-0 with a goal in extra-time. But, as Nick Hornby says, complaining about a 0-0 means you've somehow missed the point. It wasn't the most beautiful game, far from it. I still enjoyed it. Spain knew they were up against a team that would bully team and would play physically agressive without being punished. So they came well prepared for that. The Spanish players came well prepared, they never got dragged into arguments or fights, as the red cards would have been quick to come out. They also knew how to counter Argentinian aggression without fouling, and that was the real art. Probably where the game was won.

Leandro Paredes only got a first yellow in the second half, after giving the ref plenty of reasons to get a red card three times over in the first. Enzo Fernandes only got a first yellow for insulting the ref, and the second becasue the foul was so blatantly obvious.

Still, Spain had a goal by Nico Williams disallowed for what would've otherwise not have been a foul - Merino stepping on Otamendi. Even that they handled admirably. And after they finally scored without any possibility of cancellation, 10 minutes later, they were well prepared to withstand a last ditch Argentinian attack. Luis de la Fuente did well for not falling into the same trap as England did, but also, the depth of the Spanish bench is impressive, they are able to field two teams of equal value easily.

And so it ends. The goat leaves the stage in disgrace, mocked by the internet and bringing back the Messi v Ronaldo debate, after Portugal's weak performance buried it for good. Ema Martinez is great keeper, and he put an awfully solid shift in this final, but his shithousery doesn't work if the opponents come prepared. And the rest of the favela gang is well deserving of spending their holidays with internet mockery chasing them.

My only worry is that Lucha Martinez had a few critical errors during this world cup, I hope he clears his act. 

I am now much mellowed about Spain winning the World Cup - I should've been since the Euros, really - and the thought of not seeing Messi or Scaloni at a World Cup again is comforting.

Oh, I said the ceremony was full of ridicule and I didn't mention Trump... but I don't really need to do that, do I?

Not coming home

England - Argentina 1-2

Well, I was genuinely upset at this. And the worst thing is, Argentina deserved to win this game.

For sure, they played dirty, the first half was chocked with all the tricks from the dirty book, Simeone should've been sent off within the first 15 minutes, and the ref was only blowing in one direction. But England came prepared. Excelent game management, stay clean, keep as much as the ball as you can, wait for the opportunity.

We barely saw Messi, he must've had like 3 touches in the first half. And opportunity came 10 minutes after the break, with Gordon doing really well to sneak behind the defender and slot Rogers' cross home. 1-0 England, and we're cooking.

Argentina ups the pressure, but England absorbs, Pickford makes an excellent save then immediately asks for the water break. Look at England, being all mature, doing game management and prepping for the World Cup final.

But this, the fourth quarter as our fellow Americans would say, is where it went tits up. More specifically, the substitution in the 72nd minute, Konsa for Gordon. You take out the biggest attacking threat of the game and the only goal-scorer to play a central defender in? That's small team mentality, that's not a World Cup winning team mentality. I suggested England plays hoofball, but it wasn't even that. It was keeping formation along the 16 yard box and lettign Argentina enjoy long spells of possession and have 20 minutes to come up with a plan.

Their goal wasn't even Messi, it was divine punishment. Although yeah, ok, Messi crosses the ball completely unbothered, and Enzo Fernandes heads it from the center of the box with 0 people marking him or challenging him for the ball. True, Josh Stones almost headed it away, but likewise, England ALMOST saw this game through.

1-1 with 5 minutes to go, everyone's thinking extra-time, but I already fear for England. And at least the suffering is cut short, with Lautaro Martinez hitting one from just outside the box, central. Pickford might've gotten it, but in hit Bellingham's leg on the way in, gave the keeper no chance.

Sure, let's put Rashford in for the last 5 minutes, see if he can come up with something. He can't. Argentina, mush as it pains me to say it, deserved to win the game, and they did it without being awarded a penatly or playing with superior numbers.

Spain are latey opportunists too though, with better organisation in midfield. I fully expect the final to be boring, but hopefully Marino will seal it at the death.

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?

Iconic

Australia - Egypt 1 - 1 (2 - 4 pen.)

Didn't watch this game (couldn't, really), but I thought Egypt was gonna win easily in 90 minutes. I discounted the Aussies pretty hard, but they did come to this World Cup to play. Beating Turkey is remarkable, and yaking Egypt to penalties makes for an honorable World Cup exit for them. See you in 4 years, Oz!

Argentina - Cape Verde 3-2

The most anticipated game of the round of 32 did not disappoint. Of course, we were all rooting for Cape Verde, but the big upset ws not to be. It is annoying when glory is all you take from a game of football, but this is what the tiny nation of Cape Verde will have to contend with.

Still, beyond the Hollywood drama and in pure footballing terms, they are faultless. Pushing the world champions to extra time and levelling them twice is not for everyone, and it's certainly more than just capitulating, which is what teams playing Argentina so far have done.

Messi's first goal was divine. The run, the stop, the shot, everything was perfection. Compare to an attempted Lautaro Martinez stop in a similar position in the second half. It pains me to praise Messi, but I really don't have a choice. I'm actually wondering how many great moments like these I've missed for being a Messi hater for the past 17 years? 

Vozinha is definetly one of this World Cup's heroes, but he could do nothing for the first goal. He did a lot in the game anyway, includign blocking Messi one a few occasions, shots that most keepers would have let in. It's amazing that he's out of contract, but this tournament surely must've won him another year or two on a good contract somewhere in Europe, even if as a back-up goalkeeper. And that would be fully deserved!

I have criticised Cape Verde before for relying too much on individual executions and not playing like a team enough. They did a lot better in this regard last night, but my God, it will be the individual executions that stand out.

The first equaliser is a shot along the face of goal, through Lucha Martinez's legs and stretching Emi Martinez all of his length to no avail. Lukaku and Ronaldo scored similar in this tournament, and that's good company to be in. It bothers me somewhat that it was a United defender who let in the shot, but Lucha Martinez made up for it by scoring Argentina's second, 2 minutes into extra time. And that should've done it, really. Alright Cape Verde, you pushed the World Champions into extra time, 2-1 is an honourable scoreline, let life take its natural course.

Well, Sidny Cabral thought differently. What a brilliant execution for Cape Verde's second equalizer! The kind that only works one time in a hundred, and it would certainly be a contender for goal of the tournament if it wasn't of course for Messi's first goal.

In the end Argentina did win, good, decent goal from a corner with Messi curling the cross in, and a fought out header that neither the defenders nor the keeper could do much about. If I was more into conspiracy theories, I'd say it worked out almost too neatly for the film.

Argentina through, to Cape Verde be the glory, and if Argentina wins the tournament it would be only the second time in history when a team has won it back to back. Plus, Italy in '34 and '38... maybe we shouldn't talk about that. Although word is that the team was good too.

Colombia - Ghana 1-0

In all honesty, I was hopeful, but I expected Argentina to beat Cape Verde, with a thrashing not being completely out of the equation. But Colombia - Ghana is where it's at, and it is what the World Cup is about: two exciting, evenly match teams, battling it out for glory and for the chance to take on one of the giants.

I found it hard to call, but I was leaning slightly towards Colombia. Colmbia have the experience and the football tradition on their side, while Ghana are one of the new footballing powers of the world, have the 2010 elimination at the hand of Uruguay to revenge and get over, and an enormous amount of worldwide sympathy which I don't fully understand (something about the black star?).

In the end, it was an ok game, but fairly anticlimactic for the expectations, and especially when compared to the earlier one. Incredibly one sided, I barely remember Ghana attacking at all, and the keeper is their most proeminent figure in the game. Colombia's goal came early, 14 minutes in, and the Africans had more than 70 minutes to do something about it, but they never seemed willing. Which is probably a sign they were never able. 

Insult to injury, Jhon Arias was completely unbothered when he scored from inside the box, for some reason Yikenikyi completed switches off.

I thought Luis's Diaz goal was phenomenal, the speed and the precision with which Bayern's striker hits the ball is outwordly, but he was clearly off-side and the ref did good to cancel the goal. Shame though.

And then... this was it. Colombia goes through and Ghana has nothing to say about it. I'm sorry for Carlos Queiros, there is a lot of love for him within the United fandom and last night's performance does not speak well for him.

This Colombian team looks a lot less glamorous than others (including the 1994 one with Asprilla, Valencia and Rincon), but a lot more solid and mature. And this is the type of team that brought them the best result - QF in Brazil in 2014. This will probably be equalled this time round - if they beat Switzerland they'll face Argentina in the quarters. I'm rooting for them, I really enjoyed their games so far, especially the 0-0 draw with Portugal. And they have something else on their side. 

Alright, with the round of 32 now over, time for another prediction round? I got 5/12 groups right, which is... ok, I suppose? For the rfound of 16 I'm going with:

Morocco to beat Canada

France to beat Paraguay

Brazil to beat Norway

Mexico to beat England

Spain to beat Portugal

USA to beat Belgium

Argentina to beat Egypt

Colombia to beat Switzerland

Which would result in France v Spain and Brazil v Argentina in the semis. Yep, it's a deja vu, France v Argentina in the final.

Late drama

England - Congo DR 2 - 1

Clearly one for the underdog, it wasn't even my anti-English sentiment that made me happy about Congo taking the lead. They had a couple more chances before half time, and it didn't really look like England was gonna trouble them.

But, of course, pressure intensified somewhat in the second half. A few saves from Mpasi, but it felt like Congo can still fob England off. Well, they couldn't. As soon as the first Harry Kane goal went in, it became a case of Congo needing to hold on until the end. England is not really a team to amp up the pressure, but they did so on this occasion. It was mostly driven by Harry Kane, and it feels right that it was him again who scored the winning goal, 5 minutes from time.

Also, because I saw some debate on the internet: was there a penalty on Mpasi stopping Harry Kane? Easy one. Clearly not. It doesn't matter in the end, but it would have become a national injustice had England gone out. And... it was a correct decision not to award a penalty.

Heartbreak for Congo, who had a great tournament, and they played really well against England, but it is massively important to know how to deal with advantage against a better team. It worked for Paraguay against Germany, it didn't work for Congo. Easy for me to say, but not much more to do now, but wait for the next time.

Belgium - Senegal 3 - 2

Speaking of game management, it did look like Senegal took a sheet out of that book. Cruising comfortably against Belgium, 2-0 at half time and being the more attacking team. Flirting very closely with 3-0 on a couple of occasions in the second half. Them all of a sudden...

BAM BAM! Super-gol from Lukaku, and a keeper goal to draw it level. 86' and 89', 2-2. Lukaku's goal can be forgiven, it's a brilliant execution from Belgium's best player this tournament. It is baffling to me that Lukaku doesn't start for Belgium, he carried them almost single-handedly so far and he'd be in the league with Haaland, Ronaldo or Harry Kane is they'd make place for him in the starting line-up.

The second goal was very much a keeper mistake, coming out but missing the ball, thus leaving Tielemans to send it into the open net. It will be very much a case of FMM Prunea in Senegal in the coming years. But yeah, 5 minutes slip-up and all the good work done in the first 80 minutes of the game stands for nowt.

Belgium did not deserve to go into extra time, but sometimes they squeezed through, and the rest is history. Penalty in the 120+5 minute, and the latest goal ever at a World Cup sends Senegal home. Was it a penalty? Well... kind of. It wasn't given on field, and VAR said it's worth another look. There was contact, the defender touches Tielemans' foot, but by that time the ball has gone. Reason enough for a penalty, but, had it not been a foul, that would have been a ball of no consequence. And, it being the 120th minute of a World Cup knock-out game, I feel more consideration should be given to the idea that the game should be decided by the action on the pitch rather than by official decisions. 

With all the evidence considered, I would not have given a penalty. But the ref did, and Tielemans made it 3-2 with virtually no time for Senegal to do anything about it. More than heartbreak, Senegal will feel hard done by, and not without reason if you ask me. Plus, it further enforces the narrative of FIFA having an agenda against African countries. Not a stretch to believe this to be true.

USA - Bosnia 2-0

This being the late game, like all late games, I've struggled with. So seen very little of it, and only scattered bits, and now I wonder if it isn't by design that we only get big drama for the prime time games. But 2-0 USA, with the second goal scored while haivng played in 10 for 20 minutes, does not say a flattering story about Bosnia. They slogged through the group and capsized in front of half-decent opposition. Not a great story for a team that left Italy home.

Spain - Austria 3-0 

Once again, a game without much of a story. Spain dominating beginning to end with Austria never looking like they stand a change of progressing. Comfortable win for a Spanish team that hasn't yet been properly tested. They will now face Portugal, who is at the opposite end of the spectrum, having been put through the grinder a few times already. That will be am amazing game. 

Portugal - Croatia 2-1

What a game! I have said before the torunament, Portugal are my favourites, and I genuinely believed they can win it. I'm a lot less sure now, but they have delivered some of the best games in the tournament so far, and this one was certainly the most dramatic.

I had lost count of the amount of goals cancelled, and it decided by a VAR call once again in the dying moments. Perisic opened the scoring, only for Ronaldo to have two goals cancelled for offside on either side of the penalty he levelled from. Penalty that, once again, was not given on field, but came from a VAR review.

Then Portugal scores from a cross in the 90'+4' minute. Uncontested by technology, for once. Deep into injury time, Croatia scores again, which is a bit of a house specialty. Then VAR called it off. Debate about offside, and apparently IT WAS offside, but only decided by the sensor inside the ball, explained by FIFA and based on data that is not publicly available.

Talk about hard done-by. To be fair, had the goal had stood, game would have gone to penalties, and that's as much a lottery, as this VAR malarkey. Only that's more out in the open.

But I feel for Croatia, I really do. People slagging them off as a past-it team, all of the 'Modric's last stand' bullshit that's been going on for more than 5 years now, and yet they really did pull some performances! I thought they're past it myself after the England game, but it turns out that was the outlier. If I was to be conspirational I could even say that was a write-ff, knowing they only need 4 points from games against Panama and Ghana. They are tough motherfuckers, always fearsome as an opponent, and they are right to feel done-by. The match with Portugal was pretty even, either of the team could have won it, despite the very different styles of play. It was Portugal on this one occasion, but Croatia will be back. The idea that they're going home while Belgium, for instance, is still in the torunament - pretty hard to digest.

Switzerland  - Algeria 2-0

Another late game, another failed attempt to watch it, though the result was a bit of a given from the off. Algeria only qualified because they had Jordan in their group, one of the weakest teams of the torunament, and because they held Austria to that crazy 3-3 draw that I didn't see. But they couldn't have hoped for much more, even if Switzerland is probably one of the easier draws they could've had. The buck will stop here for Switzerland too, they are to play either Columbia (most likely) or Ghana, and wither of those is favourite ahead of them. 

Round of 32 will be completed today with Egypt beating Australia, Colombia and Ghana offering us a very entertaining and evenly matched game and... how amazing would be if Cape Verde goes through? Vozinha vs Messi is the ultimate David v Goliath fight, and I know who I'll be rooting for.

Anyone for tennis?

Ivory Coast - Norway 1-2

This is a match I really wanted to see. Ivory Coast it can be opportunistic, solid and mature in a game, taking advantage of the snatched last-minute win against Ecuador to qualify without emotions despite losing to Germany. And that loss was not a match written off, they had the lead over Germany for quite a bit, and were only defeated by an injury time goal.

Norway, on the other side, are as scary as a Viking raid, and definitely one of the sensations of this World Cup. It must've been a great clash but, with tickets to Wimbledon in the inbox, watching the football was always gonna be a tall order. Wavrinka - Berettini was also a great game, but in regards to Ivory Coast - Norway, I'll have to settle for watching an empty scoreline and regret not having seen what was presumably a great goal from Amad.

France - Sweden 3-0

Ramenez

One of the more unbalanced games of the round of 32, though the impression is, pretty much all the games France will play in will be unbalanced. I did watch the second half on my phone in a taxi, but with 2-0 at half time, it promised little excitement. Saw a great goal by Mbappe (another one), and the Frenchman together with Messi have now left Mirko Klose's record of most goals scored at World Cups in the dust. Klose took 4 tournaments to get to 16, Messi is now on 19, with Mbappe closely trailing at 18, and having time on his side.

France is playing really well, Deschams has done a great job getting them to play like a team, with a chemistry that is almost club-level and certainly unmatched at this World Cup so far. They look more and more like favourites to win it, and yet Paraguay will still put them through the grinder. Try and hold Mbappe, though Mbappe is unholdable.

Mexico - Ecuador 2-0

It annoyed me that the game was postponed by an hour, I was getting ready to see it. But an extra hour after a long day - couldn't make it.

Mexico were slight favourites, lest we forget Ecuador beat Germany, but the victory was fairly categorical. And the Mexicans are creating the aura of invincibility at the Azteca which will serve them well. They have england next, so definetly a chance to move one more round.

Right-o, off to watch another host - USA. Which I think will go past Bosnia, only just.

Schaisse!

Brazil - Japan 2-1

Now this looks more like a World Cup, doesn't it?

It was expected fro Brazil - Japan to be a good game, and it was. Of course, Celecao were slight favourites, but everyone knew it's not a clear cut game. Japan scoring 5 minutes before half time and going in with an advantage only enforced that. I was travelling in the beginning of the second half and only saw highlights, but Brazil's attacks in the beginning of the second half looked furious. So again, no wonder they scored. Casemiro. I'm glad for him, and he'll always be a part of our folklore now, but you have to feel for Japan. Case was knocking on the door a few minutes before, and his perfectly placed headers are merciless.

Still, Japan were at least equal to Brazil all the way to the end. Martinelli's 95th minute goal was very fortuituos, but even after, the Japanese were pushing towards the Brazilian goal and they ended the game on the front foot.

One of those games in which no team deserves to lose, but it had to be one. I have to say, I have greatly enjoyed watching this Japonese team, perhaps even more so than Brazil, and would've loved to see them play at least one more game, but the draw was unlucky. Japan go home, but they've done themselves proud!

Germany - Paraguay 1-1 (3-4 pen.)

Now, this was a bit unexpected. Understatement of the century. After having just squished through a group from 3rd with 4 points, the expectation was that Germany would have a field day. We have, however, learned, as far back as the days of Chilavert, that if there's one thing Paraguayans do well, it's defending.

Even so, their goal was magnificently well constructed, with the German defense nowhere to be found, not in the pass to the covering winger, not to mark Enciso who got a free header from the middle of the box. Again, 1-0 at half time for the underdog, and the Germans came out blazing in the second half. They did score, weird goal but they all count.

As for the cancelled goal in the extra time: always a foul! The keeper was impeded to follow the ball, and was on the ground as Tah was getting ready to pounce. Do not touch the keeper in the 6y box, I tought this much is clear.

Orlando Gill, Paraguayan hero

And then, the more the Germans attacked as the game was getting close to penalties, the more the Paraguayan keeper's confidence grew. Bit of a bad idea if you ask me.

First penalty shoot-out of the tournament, and what an eventful one it was! Germany missing the first, Paraguay blowing to chances to win, only for the first round of 5 to end 3-3. But then Tah, sends one high over the bar, and Paraguay closes it, sending Germany packing.

Great underdog story, and Paraguay did not really deserve it, but my God did they defend solid! France is up next for them, and it took 114 minutes of play and a great strike from Laurent Blanc back in 1998 to beat them, but things might be different this time around. Against Mbappe, there's no defence.

Netherlands - Morocco 1-1 (2-3 pen.)

Morocoo eliminating Netherlands, if I'm honest, I don't even know if it's that much of a surprise. Again, 2 am game with a lot on my mind and a lot on my plate, try as I might I fell asleep throughout. Woke up in time to see the Moroccan goal, such a well hit header!

But Morocco is such a solid team, it's ridiculous. They have Canada on Saturday, and they should be brushing the hosts aside easily.

Done with groups

Panama - England 0-2

Croatia - Ghana 2-1

Colombia - Portugal 0-0

Congo - Uzbekistan 3-1

Jordan - Argentina 1-3

Algeria - Austria 3-3

This is it, the last 3 groups have been settled on a fairly uneventful Saturday. England has won their group, in a blatant disregard of my prediction. I have to say, after the Croatia game I thought the streets were fairly well behaved. The Ghana game was a damp squid, but already after the Panama game vandalism on the London Underground began to seep in.

If they must beat Congo, I hope it will be a squeaky bum, penalty after 0-0 affair, and I believe England can get past either Mexico or Ecuador, but they will lose to Netherlands in the quarters.

I'm glad to see Croatia came into their senses, they finish the group second and will play Portugal. I feel like Portugal will edge it, even if only because of the extra intensity.

Speaking of, Portugal - Colombia was a highly entertaining game, I'd venture to say it's the most entertaining 0-0 I remember maybe since the Champions League final in 2006, Arsenal - Barcelona. I didn't see Congo - Uzbekistan, when Uzbekistan scored first I thought we might be in for a more interesting end to this group, but the natural order was soon restored, and Congo goes forward as a well placed 3rd.

Argentina dared start without Messi, and he still scored! I thought this would be the more interesting games, but Jordan did not present serious opposition to Argentina, even without Messi. Algeria - Austria went a bit off the rails with a 3-3 draw, but how was I to know?

Canada - South Africa 0-1

The first of the knock-out games was a damp squid affair, exactly as I expected it to be. As it was slowly crawling towards the end of the 90, I prayed that one team scores so that we don't have to witness another half an hour of it. Canada did, pretty much at the death, so it saved us the pain. 

Also, only game of the day, felt a bit like a day off. Brazil - Japan (about to start) will be much more interesting of an affair.

Messi, Haaland, Mbappe (Mhm)

Senegal - Iraq 5-0

Norway - France 1-4

Uruguay - Spain 0-1

Cape Verde - Saudi Arabia 0-0

New Zealand - Belgium 1-5

Egypt - Iran 1-1

The day when Messi, Mbappe and Haaland all play is less exciting when they play each other isn't it?

Well, Haaland didn't even play. And I lowkey despise resting your best player to go as further as possible in the tournamentat the expense of the 3 points. It's basically an admission from manager Solbakken that he didn't care if they lose against France, which is akin to cheating. Not honouring the game, in any way, and the game have a tendency to punish you when you do that. So I'm now hoping Ivory Coat to beat Norway in the knockout round.

It did promise to be a very good game, Norway - France and, well, it wasn't. Treating it like a friendly certainly didn't help. Because of a chatter fella who kept me at the theatre much longer than I should have, I only saw the second half, and by then it was 3-1, and the game as good as done. Even so, a substantially weaker Norway side almost managed to pull back from 2 down against France,m or it would have if Larsen would have scored from the spot early in the second half. 3-2 with a whole half to play would've been interesting. But that was such a piss-poor, half-arsed excuse of a penalty kick that certainly doesn't justify the overinflated ticket prices the amazing Norwegian supporters paid for tickets.

France's 4-1 goal was good, but inconsequential. Them scoring 10 in the first 3 games is a much clear indication of intent, and I'm kind of ready to call France to go into the last 4.

The other game of the group, I was hoping it wouldn't, but it was a rout. Highest scoring victory from an African team ever at a World Cup, a nice peculiar little stat. Iraq would've maybe deserved better, but beyond pure football qualities, this tournament will be remembered as one marred by Islamophobia, and I fully support the Iranian captain complaining about how they've been treated in the world's only fundamentalist Christian autocracy.

In Group H, I thought - funnily enough - that Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia would be the more interesting game. Even funnier - I was right, it was the more interesting game, though not by much. Either Cape Verde or Saudi Arabia would have qualified with a win, assuming of course, Spain would beat Uruguay. Yet I'm not sure either team played for a win. More understandably for Cape Verde than Saudi Arabia, though the West Africans were the more attacking team. They deserved to win I thought, though I'm sure they'll take qualification no matter how. Saudi Arabia is a team with a long World Cup tradition, with some notable results, such as beating Germany in 1994, and have one of the strongest domestic leagues in Asia. They really should be doing better. Cape Verde is probably the biggest fairy tale at this World Cup so far. I think they lack a lot of maturity, they play like a collection of individuals rather than a team, they can't pass to save their life, and it's only so much you can rely on Vozinha. But somehow, through sheer power of will and a super-disciplined defense, they managed to get to the knock-out stages, which is a massive over-achievement. They will play Argentina, which I'm afraid will be a brutal awakening to reality, like a hammer to the face. Or, who knows, the dream might not yet be over. I know of another team who played Argentina from an underdog position in the first knock-out stage in 1994, and that worked out well.

Spain - Uruguay was a Spain win, as everyone predicted, btu it was hard to know just how drab it was gonna be as a game. Even the one goal was a weak shot that was fumbled by Muslera. He was such a legend in his prime, reaching the semi-final in 2010 and challenging for the World Cup, and now this? In the immortal words of Jamie Carragher, you have to leave football before football leaves you, and I feel like for Muslera that ship has sailed.

The whole Uruguayan team covered themselves in shameat this World Cup, unable to score against Saudi Arabia or to beat Cape Verde, and just quietly surrendering in the last chance game against Spain. I'm disappointed in Bielsa too, whose praises everyone kept singing for a while there, and I never quite understood why. Suarez and Forlan would've played better than these guys. Shame. Obviously I have sympathies for Pellistri and... yeah, even Ugarte, and Araujo looks like a decent player, so maybe the fault does lie with Bielsa?

And again, barely made it to the end of the Cape Verde game, so the 4 am was out of the question. I would've watched Egypt-Iran, and I'm surprised Egypt didn't win. Belgium are the most undeserving group winners, and annoyingly, they might even squeeze past South Korea in the knock-outs. Egypt not winning also means Iran qualifies to the detriment of Scotland. And I am sorry for Scotland, they made a good name for themselves in America, but you can't JUST beat Haiti 1-0 and hope that's enough to qualify you. They can hope that Algeria loses by two to Austria, mmm, ok, doable, but then also Croatia needs to lose to Ghana by 3. Fat chance.

Escucha me!

Ecuador - Germany 2-1

Curacao - Ivory Coast 0-2

Tunisia - Netherlands 1-3

Japan - Sweden 1-1

Turkey - USA 3-2

Paraguay - Australia 0-0

I did try and watch Curacao - Ivory Coast, hoping, but expecting a miracle. Once Ivory Coast when 2-0 up, I abandoned hope and, especially with Ecuador - Germany tied on 1 at half time, I switched to that

Plata o plombo

game. Much more exciting indeed. Germany felt a bit toohless, though it's also true that they'd won the group regardless. Ecuador did really well not to be afraid, first of all, then pushing for the goal. It was spectacular, yet bizzare. A keeper like Neuer would not let an attacker hit the ball from in front of him like than in a million attempts. This was the milionth and one, probably, and well done to Plata for snatching it. He played well throughout, I'd be surprised if we don't see him in Europe next season.

Of course, in the last 20 minutes or so Ecuador had to withstand a bit of heavy attacking, but they didn't lose their cool, stayed disciplined and somehow managed to see it through. This is a historical result for them, and I reiterate they were really unlucky to lose to Ivory Coast with that late goal. Then again, how come they didn't beat Curacao? All in all, qualification for them from the 3rd spot and they'll probably get England. Hard, but doable. TBH, Croatia would be a more difficult game.

Apparently I got this group right, but at the end of it I gained a lot more sympathy for Ecuador and Curacao who, despite finishing 4th, leave the tournament with a goal and a point, which is a really good account of themselves. Come back stronger, Curacao!

Group F went as expected. I did expect Japan to beat Sweden though, and they were the better team, though they played maybe a bit too prudent. It was a spectacular game, and Sweden's attack, with Gyokeres, Isak and Elanga is truly scary. But to this, Japan opposed imepccable discipline and relentless energy. Only two goals, but both spectacular, and again, it makes me wonder why United let Elanga go so easily, he's an insanely good attacker. Didn't watch any of the Netherlands game, but with a goal after two minutes and 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, there wasn't much history to it. Netherlands feel like a one-trick pony, with goals coming from low crosses in front of goal, and if Morocco manages to block those, they'd struggle. But Netherlands - Morocco promises to be a really good game, as does Brazil - Japan. Brazil are certainly favourites, but they should not take victory for granted. I was really impressed with Japan so far.

And then group D, I didn't stay awake to watch much of Tukey - USA, but I did wake up in the 85th minute at 2-2. I appreciated how positive the game was, and Turkey managing to score in the very last minute, 90+7, but to what end? Where was this fighting spirit so far? They might well be the only team in 4th place with 3 points, while watching Australia and Paraguay qualify after what I imagine was a drab 0-0. Certainly one of the disappointments of the tournament Turkey, I saw then as group winners, but can you blame me?

Looking forward to Norway - France tonight, a case of unstoppable force hitting the unmovable object, Senegal - Iraq will be hard fougt, but Senegal will get it, I'll be rooting for Cape Verde, they can totally beat Saudi Arabia and qualify from second place, which will be amazing. Even a draw might be enough, as Spain will beat Uruguay.

And I'll probably not stay awake for group G at 4 am, but Egypt and Belgium will go through.

Czeched out

Switzerland - Canada 2-1

Bosnia - Qatar 3-1

Morocco - Haiti 4-2

Scotland - Brazil 0-3

Czechia - Mexico 0-3

South Africa - South Korea 0-1

I watched bits of every game, I think there must more people who are trying to figure out how this 6 games in a day malarkey works.

We've had 4 in a day in the previous world cups, but with two hours breaks one could have watched some games on catch up, and some would not matter. But 6 games does feel excessive, and it also feel like we should start being selective. Because otherwise, don't get me wrong, I've always been a fan of an expanded World Cup format. I'd make it 200 teams if it was me, but obviously you do need to fit all of the games in a month, and can't go much higher tham 8-9 games in a month for the winning team. It's 7 at the moment.

How many points, Patrick?

Let's take the groups in alphabetical order then: Group A brings the biggest disappointment and the biggest surprise. I'm happy for Mexico to have won all 3 of their games, and they'll be formidable opponent for whoever they'll play in the knockouts. As it stands it looks like it's Scotland, which would be ironic, but Scotland keeps falling down in the 3rd placed teams league. However, massively disappointed with Czechia. To have only won one point from this group is a crime. I thought they'd win it. Not sure what happened, they have some great players, and are certainly a better team than South Africa, but sometimes it's not enough. Sometimes you have to get down and dirty, and the case might be that the Czechs thought that being favourites is enough. Well, it's not.

South Africa beating South Korea is a massive surprise. I was really impressed with South Korea when they beat Czech Republic, and the game against Mexico, even though lost, was a hard fought one that could've easily gone their way. South Africa, on the other side, had a really poor showing in the first game, then stole a point from Czechia. Them beating South Korea is a mix of lcuk, and the Koreans maybe taking the foot off the pedal a little bit.

Group B was pretty clear, and that's because Qatar was useless. Baffling they managed to get a point, really, and from Switzerland nonetheless. Switzerland is the strongest team in the group and have done well to win it. Canada played ok, and they get South Africa in the knock-outs, so they might go one more, but they're a mediocre team really. They only finished second becasue Bosnia was disappointing. But because of Qatar, even they had 3 points in the bag, and the draw against Canada will be enough to see them through.

And Group C... oh, Scotland! Of course Brazil was always gonna be a tough game, but you can't let them walk all over you! Vini's goals were opportunistic rather than well constructed, but Scotaldn played with fear, attacking very little and having a pretty permeable defense. With 2-0 at half time, nothing spectacular was gonna happen, and I'm only sorry I didn't watch Morocco - Haiti, 2-2 at the end of the first half. I switched at half time, and Morocco took full control of it.

In terms of early predictions, I only got one out of three right so far, but no matter. It's a good World Cup, bar the organisation. Looking forward to Japan - Sweden now. Money's on Japan.

Good morning Ronaldo!

Portugal - Uzbekistan 5-0

England - Ghana 0-0

Panama - Croatia 0-1

Columbia - DR Congo 1-0

Ronaldo is awake. Two goals in a half, a brilliant shot 5 minutes in, and the second half was all about him getting the hattrick. Which he didn't, but him showing joy at Rafael Leao's goal is a solid sign of maturity. He also let someone else hit a free kick... honestly, he's growing.

Ronaldo now has 8 goals at World Cup finals, half of Messi's. It would be quite a turn if he'd close in, but I don't quite see it.

I am sorry for Uzbekistan, I doubt they'll get anything from the Congo game, but their game was better than the numbers are saying. And I'm sorry for Cannavaro, how frustrated he must be watching teams rip through his defending! Oh well... Congo will go hard after the 3 points, so they can qualify along with Colombia and Portugal.

Columbia - Congo was a pretty even game, but also pretty boring. I guess both of them knew victory secures second place. Potentially first in Colombia's case, but that is a red line I think Ronaldo will not stand for.

England - Ghana was also pretty dull, a reality check Alan Shearer dubbed it, but I think this is it. This is England, as they say. They've done well to beat Croatia so decisively, and Panama is easy prey, but England don't look on par with Germany or France.

I'm a bit disappointed with Croatia too. They did get the 3 points from Panama, but onlyu after a dull 1-0. Croatia - Ghana is gonna be a tough game, certainly a more interesting watch than England - Panama.

6 games from today on, but one can only watch 3. And the step down from 4 to 3 already feels like the World Cup starts fading. But not yet. Not yet. Not all the stories have been written yet, good memes are still to come. 

Games to watch today: Switzerland - Canada, Bosnia will beat Qatar; I'll be cheering for Scotland against Brazil, and Czechia - Mexico, with the Czechs fighting for survival.

A day without football

Argentina - Austria 2-0

France - Iraq 3-0

Norway - Senegal 3-2

Jordan - Algeria 1-2

Yesterday was almost a non-World Cup day. Life took over and, as much as I wanted to see the games, I couldn't quite make it work. 

Caught the last bit of Argentina - Austria, in time to see Messi's second goal. I was hoping it would be a more interesting game, but 2-0 tells a story of Argentinian domination and Austria showing their limits. The big story is, of course, Messi's brace which takes him to 5 for the tournament and 18 in all WC tournaments, beating Klose's record by 2, and there'll be a few more to come, for sure.

Reading some of the United groups only confirms that the way things are going, the Messi v Ronaldo debate will be over with this tournament. I'm still hopeful Portugal can win it, but the setup of the teams, and the roles Messi and Ronaldo play in their respective teams kind of makes that redundant.

I did watch the first half of France - Iraq, another Mbappe bomb, Kylian is goign strong and probably wants to avenge the final he lost unfairly 4 years ago. And to be honest, if it's not Portugal, I'd rather it be France. So far, Argentina, France and Germany stood out, but still too early to call the winner.

At the half time of the France game, it was all systems fail for me. As well as for Lincoln Fields in Philadelphia, I hear second half was postponed by more than an hour. I was in dreamland by then, and I have to confess, it's pretty good getting a good night's sleep.

That's not to say I don't regret not watching Norway - Senegal, it was bound to be a good game, and it sound like it was, 5 goals and small margins. Senegal were really unlucky and in any other group they'd have more than 0 points after two games. They can still qualify with a high scoring win against Iraq which will make me sorry about Iraq, but it is all for the cause of the underdogs.

And Jordan - Algeria... yeah, I would've struggled with it at the best of times. As it was, there was only the faintest glimmer of hope that I can watch it but no, didn't happen. Probably the least glamorous fixture at this World Cup, however Algeria can really pull one out of the hat if they beat Austria. Comforting to know that even the draw qualifies them. And Austria... is really possible. I'll watch that with interest, because Argentina - Jordan is gonna be a butchering.

Draw the line

Spain - Saudi Arabia 4-0

Ok, so Spain is awake. I only got home in time to see the second half, but by half time the game was over. Still, I thought Spain were not as clinical in front of goal. They could've scored more, and the fact they didn't can be forgiven on this one occasion, but in the knock-out stages, it can hurt. And before that, they still need to play Uruguay in desperate need of a win. They'll probably win, and send Uruguay home, but it's not gonna be an easy game.

Belgium - Iran 0-0

Belgium comntinues the tradition of disappointing in major tournaments. They are now a meme. They were the better team in this game, but just being better doesn't get you points. Egypt is clearly the best team in the group and luckily they managed to get a point out of that game. So beat New Zealand and you're through, but to what end? So many great footballers, and unable to make a team.

Iran won a point through a disciplined defense and they were a bit unlucky with the cancelled goal. After the Belgian red card, their life became a bit easier, but they should've kept pushing for a goal. I don't think they'll get anything from Egypt, which probably means they'll be eliminated from the group stage. And they played well enough to deserve better, hence, when you have the opportunity, go for it. With a bit more attacking intent, they could've gotten 3 points from Belgium.

Uruguay - Cape Verde 2-2

Of course I'm happy for Cape Verde. They should not rest on their laurels, the world wants them to beat Saudi Arabia and qualify, but it might be easier said than done. Regardless, they have already covered themselves in glory, so anything from here on would be a bonus.

But. But. It was not a good game by any stretch of imagination. Cape Verde's first goal was opportunistic, and that's fine, at this stage you gotta get anything you can. Uruguay really only played the 5 minutes at the end of the first half, when they scored the two goals. The first one was really unlucky, Vazinha had to go for the ball, and the ball jumped really unfortunately off the post. Good on Araujo for being there and taking advantage, he'll now have the 2 goals at the World Cup on his cv forever, and a one or two phone calls might come in for him this summer.

The second goal was a good execution of a disorganised defense, and the closeness to the half time break might have something to do with it.

But to not be able to hold a lead against a debutant team is beneath a double WC winner. I'm really disappointed with Uruguay and with Bielsa so far, they have a history to honour and this is not the way.

Again, really well done on Cape Verde for equalising, Muslera fucked up big time for the second goal, and Varela had the good sense to take advantage of it, but for God's sake Cape Verde, play like a team! So many opportunities to build an attack, to throw a pass to a sole attacker, to take a defender out with a pass, yet all they're relied on was individual actions. At times it looked like 5-a-side football, and you only get away with that so much. Will they against Saudi Arabia? My guess is Spain will beat Uruguay and Cape Verde will draw Saudi Arabia. Cape Verde to qualify.

New Zealand  - Egypt 1-3

I did not see any of this game, and in all honesty I'm starting to enjoy the idea that late night games are soon gonna be less of an everyday thing. It must've been a good game, Egypt impressed against Belgium and they might well be winning the group. They're certainly the best team in it. When the first round of games was 1-1, 1-1, it's a bit difficult to know which way things are gonna go, but now it's clear. Egypt and Belgium for the first two places.

The Germans always win

Medium busy Saturday, but with no cabaret show, so I had time to actually watch some of the football.

Netherlands - Sweden 5-1

After Netherlands were equal to Japan in the opening game, and after Sweden thrashing of a decent-looking Tunisia, I though this will be veyr much an even game. A draw to be expected, or one of the team will edge it, but a 2 goals difference would be exceptional, I thought.

I only watched the first half, to be honest the Dutch double-scoring was too quick and too stunning. It didn't feel like the Swedes had it in them to come back from it, so I went to watch some theatre for the second half.

Even so, I expected 2-1, maybe 3-1, but not for the Dutch to come in with their finger on a trigger like that in the second half too. Good on them, and woe to Sweden for not being able to respond to the hits.

The goal at 4-0 was too little too late, and the fact that the final scoreline is 5-1 is a bit ironic, considering one might've thought this same scoreline ensured them a little cushion should goal difference become a criteria.

Happy that Elanga scored, and a good goal too. Why the hell did we get rid of Elanga?

Germany - Ivory Coast 2-1

Ok, this was painful. It was painful for me as a neutral. Cote D'Ivoire played so well, and it's not that the Germans played poorly or nothing, the Ivorians simply matched them, and then some. Great goal from Kessle, and they didn't pull back either. Going into half-time 1-0 against Germany is a feat, but they were well worthy of it.

The dildo of consequences came without lube though, and just as they broke the hearts of Ecuadorians with that late goal, Ivory Coast saw their hopes crashing down with that Undaev shot in the 90'+4 minute.

BUT, but... they have fully proved their worth, Ivory Coast, along with Senegal and Morocco they are worthy representatives of AFCON, and will join Germany in the knockout stages. And whoever draws them will not have an easy life. As it stands, that's France. France would win, but that would be a good game.

Ecuador - Curacao 0-0

This is what the World Cup is about! Staying up until 3 am to watch a 0-0 draw between Ecuador and Curacao!

Beautiful teams, both of them, I was impressed with the Ecuadorian support in the first game, but on this one occasion, their performance has been disappointing. Playing pretty much back to the wall, against the weakest opposition in the group, this should've been their 3 points. It's baffling that not only did they not manage to score, they were quite toothless. As a matter of fact, Curacao were their equals and had their chances. And while for the WC debutans Curacao this one point is huge, for Ecuador is a disappointing performance against weaker opposition, and a blow to their chances of advancing.

Where was the fighing spirit from the Ivory Coast game? Or was that the fluke? The Germans will not be walkovers, you know?

Tunisia - Japan 0-4

Tunisia was another disappointment. After holding their own against Sweden, at least for the first half, this was very much a meltdown. Not to take anything away from Japan's performance, which was pure poetry. But I'm sure the Japanese would've taken the 1-0. The fourth goal, as the commentator said, sums up Tunisia's presence in this World Cup: sloppy, toothless, careless.

I'm sorry for Hannibal, but his team did not show they'd deserve more.

Watch out for Japan - Sweden though, that's gonna be a great game!

Manifest Destiny

USA - Australia 2-0

Well, two emphatic wins have got people talking. USA has won the group (direct game is the first criteria rather than goal difference) and in fairness to them they did so in some style. A lot of things I don't like about the World Cup being held in the USA this time around (it was amazing in 1994 btw), but I've always had a soft spot for the US national team, they've always been a team with a lot of heart, if not a lot of talent. This time though, Pochettino has done something to them. They look like a solid team. The thrashing of Paraguay was completely unexpected. With Australia, I was a bit in doubt after the Aussies beat Turkey: are they a good team, or is Turkey having a really bad tournament? The latter, it seems. There wasn't much fight in the Aussies, they pretty much took it on the chin, and I don't fancy their chances agains Paraguay. Or they might draw it and qualify together, but that implies Paraguay conceeding second place, which I'm, not sure they would.

Scotland - Morocco 0-1

Alright, somehow Morocco just squeezes through. They beat Portugal 1-0 4 years ago to become the first African team to reach WC semis, but it felt against the course of the game. Same here, a fast goal, then deaf punching on both sides. The Scots should've been more courageous, trusted themselves more, and they could've won the game. And, of course, start the game more focused, don't conced after two minutes. 

I also think Scotland was robbed. The McGinn fall in the box... a case can be made that he'd lost the ball already. But the McTominay fall looked like a penalty to me. Baffled a bit as to why it hasn't been given. It can cost Scotland the tournament, and it ensures Morocco can have a chill day against Haiti. 

I'm less convinced about the demanded red card for the foul on Che Adams, but you know, together, they pile up.

Scotland should've still been more emphatic in their attacking, but it can be disheartening when you've done enough but it's not enough.

They are perfectly capable of getting something against Brazil, btu that's never an easy task. And they can qualify with 3, but the route is a lot more arduous.

Brazil - Haiti 3-0

I sleep-saw this game, but it looked a bit run-of-the-mill. I would've loved a Haiti tshirt with Touissant L'Ouverture, and of course, the Carraibean nation has doen great just by qualifying, but - with all the love in the world - they're not making much of a mark on the tournament.

Can they beat Morocco? Don't think so. Morocco are oily, I can kinda see them winning 1-0 and winning the group.

Turkey - Paraguay 0-1

The 5 am start was once more too much for me. I didn't see any of this game. Something tells me I haven't missed much. Turkey deserves to be the butt of all the Internet jokes though, they should do better than 0 points after games against Australia and Paraguay. I do not predict a happy send off for them in the last game, the way USA's been playing.

Oh, and I do not think the USA's route to the final has been prearranged. I would not have guessed they'd win this group.