Cabo Verde continued to make history as the Cinderella story of the FIFA World Cup.
The day also saw Spain get on form and Egypt get their first-ever win in the tournament.
Spain 4 – 0 Saudi Arabia
Lamine Yamal finally got his first start at the World Cup for Spain, and in the opening minutes, he was already dictating the play as expected. The young winger was explosive and creative, sending in crosses into dangerous positions.
Saudi Arabia was understandably forced defensively, but they held themselves well, not giving Spain any big chances going forward.
It did not take long for Yamal to make an impact on the score line. Mikel Oyarzabal raced down the left of the pitch and laid in a hard, low cross across the mouth of the goal for Yamal, who was on his own run towards the back post.
The ball got through everyone of Saudi Arabia and landed on Yamal’s foot for the easy tap-in in the 10th minute.
Spain added a second goal in the 21st minute. First-goal provider became the goalscorer as Oyarzabel got on the end of the second phase of a corner, a ball that bounces around a couple of times before the striker popped it into the net.
Oyarzabel got his second goal moments later in the 24th minute. Dani Olmo entered the 18-yard box and got his head on the ball, flicking it onward for the Spanish striker who was sitting at the far post, completely unmarked.
From there, it was another easy tap-in for Spain, giving them the three-goal lead within the first half hour.
Oyarzabel had a chance for a first-half hat-trick, but his cheeky lob over the Saudi keeper, Mohammed Al Owais, in the 35th minute, bounced on the crossbar and out to touch.
Spain did not let up as the second started. Marc Cucurella hit the low volley off a corner that was initially saved, but the ball bounced off Hassan Al Tambakti and into his own net. It was Spain’s fourth goal in only 49 minutes.
Substitutions throughout the half did not hurt Spain, but they were content to rest their stars and see out the match without pushing forward as much as they had in the first half.
Ferran Toress thought he had added a fifth goal for Spain in stoppage time, but a lengthy review deemed it offside.
Their keepaway play limited their chances, but their job was done as they ended the match winning 4-0.
Belgium 0 – 0 Iran
Belgium began positively. Leandro Trossard, in particular, was excellent at making space for himself with twists and turns, enabling him to lay off dangerous balls for his teammates to get on the end of. Iran’s Saleh Hardani struggled to mark Trossard.
However, Iran was the nation that thought it had the opening goal. In the 25th minute, a free kick by Ehsan Hajisafi went straight at the Belgian wall, where Mehdi Taremi was waiting. His turn and shot beat Thibaut Courtois low on his left.
But after a VAR check, it was deemed offside.
Belgium had a great second-half chance in the 59th minute when Kevin De Bruyne brought an overhead ball down inside the 6-yard box.
His cutback was meant for Maxim De Cuyper, but the pass was excellently intercepted by Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
A pivotal moment occurred at the 66th minute as Belgium’s Nathan Ngoy was given a straight red card for bringing down an Iranian player who was at the start of a clear break.
Harsh perhaps, but the reaction from Ngoy was intentional, albeit a touch instinctive.
Yet, Iran was unable to take anything from the man advantage. It was another draw for their two nations, leaving Group G with a winner or loser in any of its matches so far.
Uruguay 2 – 2 Cabo Verde
Both sides drew in their first match of the World Cup, and the first 20 minutes looked as though they were content with a single point yet again.
But Cabo Verde’s Kevin Pina had other plans.
This free kick in the 21st minute from 32 yards out cut through the two-man Uruguay wall and beat the keeper low on the left. It was Cabo Verde’s first-ever goal in a World Cup, a game after they secured their first-ever point in the tournament,
Uruguay managed to tie it up just before the half. Roberto Bentancur’s header went off the inside of the post and bounced fortuitously to Maxi Araújo. The goalscorer for the South American side from the first match popped up for the easy tap-in.
And Uruguay was not done. They got their first go-ahead goal in the tournament late into first-half stoppage time.
Araújo got high to head the initial cross into the path of Agustín Canobbio. Canobbio redirected the ball into the corner of the net, sending Uruguayan fans into a frenzy.
The second half began quietly. Uruguay had the momentum after their first-half finish, but they did not pressure Cabo Verde much.
In contrast, Cabo Verde looked shocked at what happened. But they did not stay that way for long as Hélio Varela tied the match back up only 33 seconds after being subbed on in the 61st minute.
An errant pass by Uruguay’s Guillermo Varela was picked off by H. Varela. He got past Fernando Muslera, Uruguay’s keeper, who came out far from his net, and lobbed the ball into the back, completely rewriting the script of the match.
Cabo Verde and Uruguay fought for the winning goal throughout the final half hour, but neither was able to find it despite valiant efforts. An entertaining match, it ended in a draw, fair for what the two teams offered.
New Zealand 1 – 3 Egypt
Both teams started strongly and positively, looking for attacking positions rather than sitting back.
New Zealand was first to make something of their attack, taking advantage of a corner in the 15th minute. Finn Surman was unmarked as move from the back stick and rose high for Tim Payne’s set piece, giving the Kiwis the match’s first lead.
Egypt’s attack was thwarted by New Zealand throughout the first half. The African nation managed only one shot on target, a low-xG chance from outside of the box.
Egypt did grow into the match after the goal, forcing the Kiwis into defence for long moments of the latter part of the first half, but they came away empty-handed. Both teams headed down the tunnel for the break.
Mohammud Salah had a half-chance to bring the second half, but he was unable to get any power on his shot. Still, Egypt looked better to start the half, winning balls and pressuring New Zealand in recoveries. There was more intensity to their game and a better understanding between the players.
It finally paid off in the 58th minute. Mostafa Ziko rose high as a cross floated in from the right. His header had power and got past the Kiwi keeper, Max Crocombe.
Crocombe got a hand on the header, but it was not enough to keep it out.
Salah gave Egypt their first lead of the night in the 67th minute as he played a beautiful 1-2 passing sequence with Ziko, found space at the top of the 18-yard box and unleashed a hard, low shot under Crocombe.
Trezeguet secured the Egyptian win in the 82nd minute. The attacker got in front of everyone at the near post for the headed flick off a corner just a few minutes after he had entered play as a substitute.
The superb comeback by Egypt cemented their first-ever win in a World Cup as they ended the day at the top of Group G.
Up next
Tomorrow sees World Cup favourites France take on Iraq and last year’s champions Argentina versus Austria.
Jordan will play Algeria as Portugal try to get their World Cup turned around against Uzbekistan.
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