Lucky Lukic

Canada - Bosnia & Hercegovina 1-1

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

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

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

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

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

USA - Paraguay 4-1

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

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

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

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

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

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