Tuesday, December 13, 2022

World Cup News: Semifinal Matchups Set; Croatia Shocks Brazil; Messi Win for Argentina; No Kane Do For England As France Advances; Stingy Morocco Sweeps Portugal and Ronaldo From Tournament

Tournament favorite Brazil was bounced by a tenacious Croatia squad looking to make a second consecutive World Cup Finals appearance. The two sides failed to score in regulation before Neymar Jr. scored in extra time to put Brazil on the brink of advancing. Neymar’s goal was his 77th international goal, tying Pele for the FIFA sanctioned record by a Brazilian player. Brazil’s hopes for a sixth World Cup title were smashed, however, when Croatia’s Bruno Petkovic scored in the second period of extra time to throw the match into penalty kicks. Brazil’s tournament then ended when Croatia converted all four of its penalty tries while Brazil was missing twice. Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic registered 11 saves in the match, the highest total by a goalkeeper in this tournament and he and his teammates were victorious in penalties for a second consecutive World Cup match. Eight of Croatia’s last nine knockout matches in major tournaments have now gone to overtime. Brazil was eliminated by a European side for a fifth consecutive World Cup.

Argentina faces Croatia in Tuesday’s semifinal after a messy quarterfinal win over the Netherlands. The match saw a tournament record 17 yellow cards. At one point Argentina’s Leandro Paredes intentionally booted a ball at the Netherlands bench before being shoved to the ground by Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk. Lionel Messi, meanwhile, was involved in verbal altercations with the Netherlands coaching staff. Argentina seemed to have had things under control when Messi’s penalty kick in the 73rd minute gave Argentina a two-goal lead. Wout Weghorst, who had a cup of coffee in the Premier League last season for Burnley, then entered the match for the Netherlands. The 6’6” striker would score twice in the final ten minutes of regulation and force extra time and ultimately penalties. Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez then made saves on the Netherlands’ Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis to send Argentina to the semifinals to face Croatia.

Defending champion France made it to the final four by defeating England 2-1. Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud’s fourth goal of the tournament proved the winner as England’s Harry Kane failed to convert a late penalty kick. Kane had scored England’s first and only goal earlier in the match on a penalty but his attempt to put a second past his Tottenham Hotspur teammate and France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was blasted well high of the net. Kane’s earlier conversion had tied him with Wayne Rooney for the England scoring record of 53. His failed attempt to break that tie, however, will be more remembered by English fans. England outplayed France for much of the match but were unable to score from open play against Lloris who made six saves against England after notching only two in his previous four matches of the tournament.

The Cinderella story of this year’s World Cup is Morocco which has become the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. The Moroccans defeated Portugal 1-0 and have allowed only a single goal, an own goal at that, all tournament. Manager Walid Regragui has seen his Morocco side keep seven clean sheets in his eight-match tenure leading the Atlas Lions, four of those goose eggs coming in this World Cup. Morocco shut down a Portugal side which had just scored six goals against Switzerland earlier in the week. Cristiano Ronaldo tied the record for international appearances with his second half substitution for Portugal. Ronaldo’s removal from Portugal’s starting eleven this tournament has fueled more drama for the controversial legend as rumors fly concerning where he will next ply his trade after his fiery exit from Manchester United. 


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Thursday, December 8, 2022

World Cup News: Quarterfinal Matchups Set; US Exits As Dutch Advance; Giroud Milestone in French Win; Foden Happy to Assist England; Ronaldo Benched As Portugal Romps; Morrocco Shocks Spain in Penalty Kicks; Brazil Steamrolls South Korea; Injury Blow for Arsenal

Quarterfinal matchups are set after a revealing round of 16. The US was eliminated by the Netherlands 3-1. Christian Pulisic missed on an early opportunity for the US and the Netherlands quickly settled into the game and clinically punished defensive mistakes by the young US squad. Denzel Dumfries had two assists and a goal for a Netherlands side which moves on to meet Argentina in the quarterfinals.

The Argentines defeated surprise Round of 16 participant Australia as Lionel Messi scored his 789th goal in his 1,000th career match.

Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez scored the winner as he took advantage of a gaffe by former Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper Matt Ryan. Current Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a key save for the Argentines in the 97th minute to preserve the victory.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud broke his tie with Thierry Henri to become France’s all-time leading scorer in a 3-1 France victory over Poland. Kylian Mbappe scored his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament for a French side which now moves on to a headline match against England on Saturday.

England received a burst of creativity and energy as Manager Gareth Southgate finally unleashed Manchester City star Phil Foden. Starting on the left wing for the first time this tournament, Foden responded with two assists and combined with 19-year-old Jude Bellingham to put Senegal on its heels for much of the match.

Foden became the first Englishman to post two assists in a World Cup knockout contest since David Beckham last accomplished the feat twenty years ago. Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, Spurs’ Harry Kane and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka were the goal scorers for a suddenly dangerous England attack under the normally conservative Southgate.

It was Portugal, however, which put on the most impressive performance of the Round of 16 with a dominant 6-1 win over Switzerland. Cristiano Ronaldo was controversially benched and his replacement, 21-year-old Benfica striker Goncarlo Ramos, struck for a hat trick in Portugal’s win. Rumors, of course, swirled after the match that Ronaldo would leave the Portugal squad as family members again launched to his defense on social media, decrying the injustice of his changed playing status. Rumors at the same time are circulating regarding Saudi Arabia being the next stop in Ronaldo’s club career. Switzerland’s shell-shocked goalkeeper Jan Sommer, meanwhile, has been linked to Ronaldo’s former club, Manchester United. Tuesday’s result could require a rethink on Sommer as the potential successor to current United keeper David De Gea.

Former Barcelona Manager Luis Enrique is out as Spanish national team manager after his squad exited the tournament in penalty kicks versus Morocco. Following a goalless regulation and extra time, La Roja failed to score with their first three penalty tries. PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, born and raised in Madrid, registered the winning penalty kick, “Panenka” style, for Morocco. Spain’s futility in penalties echoed the frustration suffered during play as the Spanish made over 1,000 passes but only directed one shot on goal. Enrique raised eyebrows by bring only one striker to the World Cup in former Chelsea man Alvaro Morata. Surprising Morocco moves on to face Portugal on Saturday.

Neymar returned from an ankle injury and contributed a penalty score in an easy 4-1 Brazil victory over South Korea. Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison and West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta also scored for the Brazilian as did Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. While his Brazilian teammates were having fun at one end of the pitch, Liverpool goalkeeper Allison protected their back with numerous key saves, including a stop of Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min on a breakaway opportunity. Brazil faces Croatia in the opening quarterfinal match on Friday.

Croatia got a tying goal in regulation from Tottenham Hotspur’s Ivan Perisic, assisted by a cross form former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren, to ultimately force penalties against Japan. Perisic’s 10th goal in major tournaments established a new mark for his country. Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic then thwarted the Blue Samurai with three penalty kick saves to put Croatia through. Croatia moves on to face high flying Brazil which will be looking to defeat a European squad in the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time in 20 years. Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus, however, will not be participating in the balance of Brazil’s World Cup run. The forward for the Premier League leaders underwent knee injury for an injury suffered in Brazil’s final group stage match versus Cameroon and could be sidelined for as long as three months. Acquiring another striker in the January transfer window could prove critical to the Gunners’ title chances.

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Friday, December 2, 2022

World Cup News: Round Of 16 Set; Belgium Out; Germany Out; Mexico Out; Szczensy Saves Poland; Japan Strikes Back; Morocco Tops Group; South Korea Leaves It Late; Pulisic Fitness Key to US Chances

An era would appear to be over for Belgium as its Golden Generation exited the World Cup after a goalless draw with Croatia. The Belgians strangely played passively in the first half of a match it desperately needed to win. That changed in the second half with the insertion of Romelu Lukaku as teammates repeatedly found the imposing striker in the opponent’s box. Unfortunately, the one-time Premier League star missed on numerous chances and collapsed in tears after the match as Kevin De Bruyne’s prediction that Belgium was too old to win a World Cup proved true. Belgian Manager Roberto Martinez announced he would no longer continue as Belgium’s manager after a six-year run which delivered no major trophies despite a star-studded roster.

Few would have predicted that it would be Morocco which won the group which included traditional powers Belgium and Croatia.

Yet Morocco’s 2-1 victory over Canada, which included a goal by Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, clinched the top spot with Croatia advancing as runner-up. The Atlas Lions of Morocco return to the World Cup Round of 16 for the first time since 1986. Canada, meanwhile, exited the competition by losing a third straight match and failing to put a shot on target versus the Moroccans.

Germany failed to make it out of the group stage for a second consecutive World Cup despite a 4-2 win over Costa Rica. Japan’s 2-1 win over Spain meant that Germany would have need to score five more goals to win a tiebreaker with Spain. A second half brace by Chelsea’s Kai Havertz proved too little too late for Germany in this tournament.

Japan, meanwhile, rebounded from a disappointing loss to Costa Rica to shock Spain with a controversial goal which clinched the group’s top spot for the Blue Samurai. Controversy surrounded whether the ball had gone out of play before the cross which led to Japan’s winner. The 51st minute goal stood after VAR review and the Japanese defended furiously over the balance of the second half to finish as the surprising group winners, Spain advancing as runners-up.

Nottingham Forest’s Remo Freuler had the winner as Switzerland defeated Serbia 3-2 to qualify as runner-up to Brazil in their group. Brazil had already clinched the group before a surprising 1-0 final group match loss to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. Former Stoke and Liverpool player Xherdan Shaqiri scored the opening goal for the Swiss to join Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only three players to score a goal in each of the last three World Cups.

Wolverhampton’s Hwang Hee-Chan scored in stoppage time to put South Korea through to the next round with a 2-1 win over Portugal. Hwang’s goal eliminated Uruguay from the tournament despite the South American side’s 2-0 win over Ghana. Uruguay players were seen following the referee down the tunnel after the match, much of the emotion focused on an uncalled penalty on a perceive foul on Edinson Cavani. An additional goal would have moved Uruguay past South Korea in the qualification battle. Cavani and former Liverpool star Luis Suarez have now probably played their last World Cup match.

Mexico was eliminated from the tournament in similarly heartbreaking fashion as it failed to advance to the World Cup Round of 16 for the first time since 1978. Mexico defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 but needed one additional goal to have secured qualification. The frantic Mexicans took 26 shots and put 11 on target for the match but failed to find that final goal which would have given them the tiebreaker advantage over Poland to advance from the group. Poland owes its advancement to goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny who made 11 saves and stopped a Lionel Messi penalty kick in a 2-0 loss to Argentina. Despite the loss, Poland advanced by the narrowest of margins on goal difference. Argentina received goals from Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister and Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez to clinch the top spot in the group and set up a Round of 16 meeting with Australia on Saturday.

Knockout play begins earlier that day when the US matches up against the Netherlands. The Dutch have been getting needed goals from PSV winger Cody Gakpo while relying on a stalwart defense led by Liverpool center back Virgil Van Dijk. The US chances could hinge on the fitness of Christian Pulisic who suffered a pelvic injury on the winning goal for the Americans versus Iran. Pulisic, as well as striker Josh Sargent, are listed as day to day after suffering injuries in the US victory.

England returns to action Sunday in an elimination match against Senegal which impressively made it out of the group stage despite the absence of injured former Liverpool star Sadio Mane.

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