2022 World Cup – Saturday 03 December 2022

The last of the group games took place yesterday and given what was as stake there was drama to be had. Group H saw Portugal top with 6 points, Ghana second with three and South Korea and Uruguay with just a solitary point.

 

Group H:

Ghana 0 (0) – (2) 2 Uruguay (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)

Uruguay scorer: de Arrascaeta (26’, 32’)

 

South Korea 2 (0) – (0) 1 Portugal (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)

South Korea scorers: Kim Young-Gwon (27′), Hwang Hee-Chan (90’+1). Portugal scorer: Ricardo Horta (5′)

 

Focus was on the Ghana vs. Uruguay game (where both teams could progress with a win) and memories of the 2010 encounter in South Africa loomed large. Back then Ghana were denied by a handball on the line by Luiz Suarez which saw the subsequent penalty from Andre Ayew missed. What irked many at the time was not just the unsporting act of the handball, but the way Suarez celebrated the miss as he stood in the tunnel. As 12 years ago Ayew missed a penalty in the game, and as back then Uruguay won the game. The difference here was that the 2-0 win was not enough to see Uruguay through as South Korea’s last gasp winner against Portugal meant they progressed on goals scored. Ghana may have lost, but I’m sure the South Americans exit will have brought a crumb of comfort. Karma truly can be a wonderful thing and the sight at the whistle of the distraught Suarez will have brought a smile to many fans faces around the world.

 

Group G:

Cameroon 1 (0) – (0) Brazil (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail)

Cameroon scorer: Aboubakar (90’+2’)

 

Serbia 2 (2) – (2) 3 Switzerland (Stadium 974, Doha)

Serbia scorers: Mitrovic (26′), Vlahovic (35′). Switzerland scorers: Shaqiri (20′), Embolo (44′), Freuler (48′)

 

Group G was already settled in terms of Brazil being confirmed into the last sixteen and as a result they rested a number of first-choice players against Cameroon. The African side knew that they had to win to have any chance of progressing. The standout performances came from Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli who could have had a hat-trick but for the excellence of the Cameroon ‘keeper Devis Epassy. Despite all the chances they created they just couldn’t find a goal and in time added-on they were hit with a sucker punch as Cameroon skipper Aboubakar headed home and was promptly sent-off for a second yellow card after taking his shirt off in celebrating the winner. Despite the win, the Indomitable Lions were out.

In their game against Serbia, the Swiss knew that a draw would be enough to see them through. It all looked to be going to plan when Shaqiri put them ahead after twenty minutes. However, Serbia’s record goalscorer Mitrovic levelled with a stunning header and the comeback was complete ten minutes before the break as Vlahovic made it 2-1. At this point, Serbia were going through with the Swiss missing out. Once again though the game twisted, with Embolo equalising a minute before the break to put the Rossocrociati (Red Crosses) into the vital runners-up spot. They made sure of progression just three minutes into the second half, with a brilliant team goal finished by Nottingham Forest’s midfielder Remo Freuler. Serbia could find no way back but leave the competition having more than contributed to an entertaining group.

 

And so the group stages are over, and the knockout phase begins, with the last sixteen games (I can bring myself to call it the round of sixteen!) as follows:

Netherlands v USA (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan)

Argentina v Australia (Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan)

France v Poland (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha)

England v Senegal (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor)

Japan v Croatia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)

Brazil v South Korea (Stadium 974, Doha)

Morocco v Spain (Stadium 974, Doha)

Portugal v Switzerland (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail)

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2022 World Cup – Tuesday 29 November 2022

Group G: Cameroon 3 (1) – (2) 3 Serbia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)

Cameroon scorers: Castelletto (29′), Aboubakar (63′), Choupo-Moting (66′). Serbia scorers: Pavlovic (45’+1’), S Milinkovic-Savic (45’+3’), Mitrovic (53′)

 

Group H: South Korea 2 (0) – (2) 3 Ghana (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)

South Korea scorers: Cho (58′, 61′). Ghana scorers: Salisu (24′), Kudus (34′, 68′)

 

Group G: Brazil 1 (0) – (0) 0 Switzerland (Stadium 974, Doha)

Brazil scorer: Casemiro (83′)

 

Group H: Portugal 2 (0) – (0) 0 Uruguay (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail)

Portugal scorer: Bruno Fernandes (54′, 90’+3’ pen)

 

And so the second round of group games comes to a finale with a bit of a goals flourish as the tables take shape leaving everyone knowing what needs to be done to progress whilst for others its simply means packing their bags.

The opening game of the day saw Serbia take on Cameroon in a game which a draw was not really of much use to either side, given they both lost their first group game. Serbia started brightly and Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic was unlucky not to give them the lead when his curling effort struck the post. However, it was the African side who went ahead when a corner eventually found its way to the back post where Castelletto tapped in. It looked like an advantage they would take into the break but two goals in added time from Pavlovic and Milinkovic-Savic meant it was the Serbs who went in 2-1 up.

When Serbia then scored eight minutes into the second half with a simple Mitrovic finish after a slick breakaway move the game looked up for Cameroon. However, just as in the first half there was a quick burst of scoring as goals on 63’ and 66’ brought Cameroon level at 3-3. The first from Aboubakar looked it was offside and the way he cheekily lobbed the ball in and barely celebrated, indicated he felt the same. VAR check ensued and showed it wasn’t – cue Aboubakar’s celebration. Then another breakaway saw Choupo-Moting sweep home and suddenly the African side were in the ascendency. The see-saw match was nearly won late on, as Mitrovic was teed up inside the box, only to see his effort curl wide.

Ghana and South Korea then treated us to another ding-dong encounter. Ghana scored twice in the first half, when South Korea’s ability to defend balls into the box proved their undoing. From a free-kick Salisu eventually slotted home after the ball bounced around in the box and for the second, a deep ball in allowed Kudus to ghost in between the defenders and glance home – kudos indeed (sorry couldn’t resist it!) Whatever was said in the South Korean dressing room did the trick as two towering headers from Cho on 58’ and 61’ had well, turned the game on its head. However, their joy was short-lived as within seven minutes Ghana were in front again. Credit to South Korea as they took the game to Ghana and created a number of chances. At the whistle though Ghana took the points and while they celebrated, South Korea manager Paulo Bento was sent off for arguing with English referee Anthony Taylor for not allowing a corner to be taken even though time was up.

After that the Brazil Switzerland game felt like a bit of anti-climax, with Casemiro’s sweet strike seven minutes from time pretty much the only highlight.

Last up was Portugal and Uruguay in a pretty ordinary game, with two goals from Bruno Fernandes (one a penalty in time added up) taking them through to the last sixteen. The biggest talking point was whether Ronaldo had got his head to the cross-shot that opened the scoring for Portugal. Well, weren’t we all relieved when Adidas who provide the Official World Cup balls (the Al Rihla – the journey) announced that the internal ball sensor had not detected any contact from Ronaldo – I’d have lost sleep over it!

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2022 World Cup – Friday 25 November 2022

Group G: Switzerland 1 (0) – (0) 0 Cameroon (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)

Switzerland scorer: Embolo (48′)

 

Group H: Uruguay 0 (0) – (0) 0 South Korea (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)

 

Group H: Portugal 3 (0) – (0) 2 Ghana (Stadium 974, Doha)

Portugal scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (65′ pen), Félix Sequeira (78′), da Conceicao Leao (80′). Ghana scorer: A Ayew (73′), Bukari (89’minutes)

 

Group G: Brazil 2 (0) – (0) 0 Serbia (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail)

Brazil scorer: Richarlison (62′, 73′)

 

Thursday was a drab old day in West Yorkshire, rain, grey sky and a biting wind reminding all that winter has assuredly arrived. And it pretty much felt as if some of that dourness had seeped into the  first two games of the day as the first round of group games played to a conclusion.

Whilst Cameroon had an energy about them in a first half in which they were the better side, genuine chances were at a premium and there was an inevitability about it being goal-less at the break. The deadlock was broken early in the second half as a swift Swiss move saw Cameroon born Breel Embolo sweep his adopted country into the lead. After that, well, Switzerland were more positive, but it fizzled out as quickly as the crowds are want to do at these finals in Qatar. The chant of ‘we can see you sneaking out’ should be changed for Qatar to ‘switch the lights off last one out’ (I know it doesn’t properly scan at all, but you get the picture).

Uruguay v South Korea offered little more. The South American’s hit the woodwork in each half but apart from that it felt as if both sides were satisfied with a point.

Then like the sun breaking through the clouds it all changed as Portugal and Ghana offered up a bit of a belter. Ronaldo seemingly unburdened by his Old Trafford kiss and tell revelations was at the heart of all of Portugal’s best moments, with two decent chances spurned and an effort disallowed for a foul. No goals at the break, but a game nicely simmering under, which exploded into action in the last twenty five minutes. First up Portugal were rather generously awarded a penalty after a foul on the Portugal skipper, who then stepped up to convert and become the first man to score in five World Cup finals – love him or hate him, you can’t keep him out of the headlines. However, the lead was short-lived with poor Portuguese defending allowing Ayew to fire home inside the six-yard box on seventy-three minutes. Ghana though were then hit by two goals and with ten minutes remaining it looked game over as they trailed 3-1. But with just a minute left on the clock back came the Black Stars with a header from Bakari to set up a frantic finish. And it nearly came in the ninth minute of time added on. Costa the Portugal ‘keeper put the ball down to kick it up field, whilst  panto-style (he’s behind you) Inaki Williams waited. Williams dashed forward to get the ball but slipped at the crucial minute and the chance for a dramatic leveller was gone. Breathless stuff!

To round off the day, Brazil took on Serbia. I’m not a great fan of the South American team, but they were good enough to see off a dogged Serbian team, with a double from Richarlison, the second of which, a scissor-kick volley, is an early contender for goal of the tournament.

 

In a flash we are already at the start of the second round of Group Stage games and depending on results some teams will already be waving mae alsalama to the finals. Here’s todays line-ups.

Group B: Wales v Iran (Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan)

After their fine second half performance against the USA, and Iran’s heavy defeat, the Welsh will be in prime position to take three points this morning. I’ll be hoping the Red Dragons do the business, so that the final group game for both the Three Lions and Wales leaves both already through to the knockout stages.

 

Group A: Qatar v Senegal (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha)

I’m not a vindictive person but simply hoping that Qatar get another good hiding – plain and simple. Nothing else to say.

 

Group A: Netherlands v Ecuador (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan)

The Dutch already have three points in the bag after a win over Senegal and I expect nothing more than a similar outcome today.

 

Group B: England v USA (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor)

I’ll trot out the old fact that England have played USA twice in the World Cup and have yet to beat them. 1950 was the infamous 1-0 loss at the Brazil World Cup for an England side that contained the stars of the day such as Tom Finney, Billy Wright, Stan Mortensen and future England manager, Alf Ramsey. Then in 2010 when South Africa hosted the tournament, despite an early Steven Gerrard goal, the USA levelled five minutes before the break when Rob Green had a moment to forget allowing Clint Dempsey’s speculative shot to squirm its way into the goal. I don’t expect another 6-2 result but believe a solid 2-0 for Three Lions is not out of their reach.

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World Cup diary 2018 – Thursday 28 June

Going into yesterday’s fixtures there was the possibility that both Germany and Brazil could have exited the competition at the group stage. The South American’s progressed with a goal in each half, through Paulinho (36′) and Thiago Silva (68’), although Mitrovic had two decent headed chances that the Serbian couldn’t convert when the score was still at just 1-0. In the other Group E game, Switzerland took on Costa Rica, knowing that a point would be enough to take them through. Costa Rica dominated the opening half-hour and but for the woodwork and some fine saves from Swiss ‘keeper Yann Sommer, would have been comfortably ahead. However, somewhat against the run of play, Switzerland went in front when Dzemali smashed home a knock-down in the box on thirty-one minutes. Costa Rica though got back in the game after the interval with a smart header from Waston and then followed a dramatic last few minutes. First with just two minutes of normal time left. Drmic swept home sweetly to restore the Swiss advantage at 2-1. Almost immediately, Costa Rica were awarded a penalty, which was then overruled by VAR for offside. However, they weren’t to be denied the chance of an equaliser as on ninety- three minutes they were awarded another penalty. Up stepped captain, Bryan Ruiz who crashed the ball against the crossbar but as it bounced out it rebounded off the back of ‘keeper Sommer’s head and into the net to secure a 2-2 draw and a point for Costa Rico. In terms of the final placings, it meant Brazil topped Group with Switzerland in second place.

The real drama of the day though was to be in Group F. Sweden dispatched Mexico with three second-half goals from Augustinsson (50′), Granqvist (62′ pen) and Alvarez (74′ own-goal), leaving both sides with six points. It meant that Germany had to beat South Korea to advance. The 2014 Champions huffed and puffed with late pressure creating a couple of decent chances. However, as the game went into stoppage time it was the South Koreans who made the breakthrough, with Kim Young-Gwon having all the time in the world to control and slot into the German net. As Germany looked for a consolation with time running out, ‘keeper Manuel Neuer was caught in possession in midfield. Korea pumped the ball goal-wards, where Son Heung-Min gleefully slotted into an empty German goal to record an improbable 2-0 victory.

Two of the most interesting facts to emerge from this result were:

 

  1. The Champions curse – Germany fell in the Group stages four years after lifting the trophy, as did France in 2002, Italy in 2010 and Spain in 2014.
  2. It is only the second time that Germany have been eliminated from the first round at the World Cup, with 1938 the last occasion.

 

What all the results from Group E and F meant was that the last 16 games are as follows:

July 02 Brazil v Mexico   July 03 Sweden v Switzerland

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World Cup diary 2018 – Saturday 23 June

Friday’s games could all have been labelled as the ‘late, late show’ starting with the Group E encounter between Brazil and Costa Rica. VAR once again had its part to play twelve minutes from time, thankfully reversing the on-field decision of the referee to award Brazil a penalty after a theatrical collapse from Neymar. With ninety-minutes up, the score was 0-0 and a frustrated and petulant Brazilian team looked to be heading for a second successive draw at these Finals. However, in the first minute of stoppage time, Coutinho fired home after a knockdown in the box to save his teams blushes. Then just five minutes later, Neymar got a less than deserved second for the five-times World Cup winners. As with the Brazil squad in 2014, I just can’t warm to them and have fingers crossed that another beating a la Germany four years ago is waiting in the wings for Neymar and his chums.

Iceland were next up against Nigeria in Volgograd, and despite starting well, lost out to a brace from the Leicester City striker Ahmed Musa (49′ & 75′) who is currently on loan with CSKA Moscow. Despite the fantastic support of their fans, Iceland couldn’t handle Nigeria in the second-half and even a penalty ten minutes from the end, which would have given them a lifeline was blazed high and wide by Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson. It was a result that gave fresh hope to Argentina being able to now make the knock-outs.

The final game turned out to be controversial for a number of reason. Serbia were good value for their 1-0 lead at the break courtesy of on-loan Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic after five minutes. However, the Swiss were significantly better in the second-half and an absolute screamer from Granit Xhaka. Despite that Mitrovic continued to be a threat and should have had a penalty mid-way through the second period, as when he attempted to get his head on a cross, he was in what only be described as a two-man rugby tackle was hauled down. Now you don’t need VAR to see that it was a blatant penalty, so quite what German referee Felix Brych was thinking goodness only knows. The Serbs were then punished again as in the final minute Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri broke from the half-way line to score the winner. As with Xhaka, Shaqiri celebrated with a gesture that had political significance.

As the BBC explained: Serbia has hit out at a “provocative” double eagle celebration by two ethnic Albanian goalscorers in the World Cup…Their gesture is a nationalist symbol representing the double headed eagle on Albania’s national flag. Critics say it could inflame tensions among Serbian nationalists and ethnic Albanians… Xhaka and Shaqiri’s families are from Kosovo, where a Serbian crackdown on the Albanian population only ended with NATO military intervention in 1999…Xhaka’s father spent three-and-a-half years as a political prisoner in Yugoslavia for his support for Kosovan independence. Shaqiri was born in Kosovo and his family fled to Switzerland as refugees…Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority declared independence in 2008 but Serbia, its ally Russia and most ethnic Serbs inside Kosovo do not recognise it.”

Many say that sport and politic shouldn’t mix, but history is littered with examples of the when tournaments are used as propaganda or provocation by countries and their governments. And when the world is watching it is the biggest free advertisement going.

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