Day 10 of the FIFA World Cup saw action from Groups E and F.
It was a day full of goals, great saves, misses, and soccer magic. Let’s dive into the days World Cup action.
Netherlands vs Sweden: Dutch Demolition
The Swedes were coming off a 5-1 beatdown of Tunisia. Meanwhile, the Dutch were coming off a thrilling 2-2 draw with Japan.
At Houston Stadium, the two teams squared off. The Netherlands were clearly still frustrated with the draw against Japan. It took six minutes for the men in orange to strike. Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey opened the scoring. Tijani Reijnders sent Cody Gakpo speeding down the wing. Brobbey charged towards the net and tapped it in.
The Dutch continued to control the match. 12 minutes later, it was Brobbey again. He once again displayed his ability as a poacher and charged towards the front of the net. Brobbey managed to deflect Denzel Dumfries’ cross and put the Netherlands up by two.
Slowly but surely, like Vikings getting ready for an expedition across the Atlantic, they started to awaken from their slumber. The blue and yellow tried to control the game themselves and swarm the Dutch box. Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres was denied by a great save by Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
The Swedes didn’t want to go down quietly.
Gyökeres and Aleksander Isak were creating chances for Sweden, but Verbruggen was shutting the door. The Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper made brilliant saves off Gyökeres and Yasin Ayari.
Just three minutes into the second half, the Netherlands widened the lead. Dumfries played another great ball into the box, and Gakpo was there to tap it in.
Sweden seemed to run out of answers. They looked unsure what to do with the ball as they struggled to bypass the Netherlands’ midfield. The Dutch were pressing well.
The Dutch didn’t let up. Crysencio Summerville made an excellent run down the pitch, and he found Gakpo. The Liverpool winger had his second. It was a Dutch demolition.
The likes of Virgil Van Dijk, Mickey Van De Ven and Jean Paul Van Hecke were having a solid game at the back for the Dutch. But there were times when they made it easy for Sweden. The clean sheet couldn’t be kept. Sweden’s Anthony Elanga came off the bench and got in behind the Dutch defence and put his team on the board.
Despite the scoreline, the game was exciting with end-to-end action. Even down by a big margin, Sweden kept attacking, but they couldn’t convert. The Netherlands looked to kill the game off with the transitions.
Summerville did just that with his speed and fired a blast by Swedish goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt.
It was a statement win by the Dutch. For Sweden, they won a game 5-1 and lost a game 5-1, funny. It’s not like Sweden were terrible. Their attack displayed a good effort, but their backline let them down. The Netherlands were firing on all cylinders.
Germany vs Côte d’Ivoire: Another Denis Undav Masterclass
It was then off to Toronto Stadium.
Germany were coming off their 7-1 demolition of Curacao in Houston and Côte d’Ivoire were coming off a late 1-0 win over Ecuador in Philadelphia.
As expected, the Germans started the game with what they do best: pressing. They were pushing the Ivorians in their own half. Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz were creating chances. Havertz and Musiala missed some very close chances. Felix Nmecha and Aleksander Pavlovic were doing well with their press and passes.
Germany were toothless with their attack in the first half. They couldn’t break down the Côte d’Ivoire mid-to-low block. Plus, the chances they got were poor. Havertz and Pavlovic got goals called back due to fouls.
The Ivorians slowly got into the game. They made Germany pay with their first shot. The young phenom Yan Diomande blew by Kimmich and ran down the pitch. Amad Diallo had his shot blocked, but Côte d’Ivoire captain Franck Kessie put the rebound past Manuel Neuer. Now this was something that hardly anyone expected.
Early in the second half, Côte d’Ivoire started to overwhelm Germany. They started moving the ball well, looking for spaces behind the German backline. Diomande once again was using his speed to breeze by the German defenders, and Diallo was creating the chances, but Côte d’Ivoire did nothing with the service. The Ivorians could’ve blown the game wide open.
Germany slowly regained their energy from the first half. That was also due to substitutes Antonio Rudiger, Denis Undav, Nadiem Amiri and Jamie Leweling.
It took 67 minutes, but Germany finally put the ball in the net. Undav had a masterclass off the bench against Curacao with a goal and two assists. Why didn’t he start in this game? He flicked the ball into the net to draw the score level.
It looked like this game was going to be a draw. Both teams’ finishing looked appalling. For instance, Wirtz was stopped by Ivorian goalkeeper Yahia Fofana point blank. Shortly after, Nicolas Pepe sprinted down the right wing, and his cross found Simon Adingra, who had loads of room. But instead he decided to take a shot, and the opportunity passed him by. Why in the world did he not shoot it on the one time?
That turned out to be very costly for Côte d’Ivoire. Undav was the hero for Germany. The Ivorian players were frozen like statues, and Nmecha’s pass found Undav, and he got his second of the game.
After getting knocked out of the group stage in 2018 and 2022, Germany were heading to the Round of 32.
Ecuador vs Curacao: Eloy Room Saves The Day
It was then off to Kansas City Stadium. Ecuador are a good team in the midfield and defence. But in attack, they were dreadful against Curacao.
They had 3.05 expected goals with 27 shots. Ecuador could not beat Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room, who was a brick wall. He made 15 saves. Room, a 2023 MLS Cup winner with the Columbus Crew and current goalkeeper for Miami FC in the USL Championship, had the game of his life. Nothing could get past him.
Ecuadorian striker Enner Valencia had six shots, including five on target. He’s probably going to have nightmares about Room.
Midfielder Moises Caicedo had a solid game with his passes and defensive work. But it wasn’t enough as Room and Curacao got their first-ever World Cup point. Curacao is a country with a population of 156,000. That is less than the population of Kelowna. The World Cup was made for moments like this one.
Tunisia vs Japan: Japan Goes Full Throttle
The match between Tunisia and Japan at Monterrey Stadium was the 1000th in World Cup history.
Tunisia fired manager Sabri Lamouchi after their 5-1 loss to Sweden. As a result, former Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire and French women’s team manager Hervé Renard took his place.
But it was a rough start for Renard and Tunisia. Keito Nakamura cut into the Tunisian box with no one marking him. His low cross was deflected into the net by Daichi Kamada, and the Samurai Blue were ahead three minutes into the game.
The Japanese drew first blood and were ready to feast. They kept swarming the Tunisian box and kept attacking with speed and flair.
Takahiro Tomiyasu looked like he got Japan’s second as his shot went through traffic. Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen made one of the saves of the tournament as he stretched out to keep the ball from crossing the line. After a VAR check, it was confirmed as no goal. It was a whisker away from going in, but the overhead angle and goal line technology made it look like it was over the line. Hmm…
Japan were controlling the game. Tunisia barely had any answers. The Samurai Blue were fast on transitions, and their passes hypnotized the Tunisian defenders. Ayase Ueda doubled the lead with a brilliant strike outside the box. Project Blue Lock was in full effect. No overthinking on this shot, just pure ego.
Tunisia had trouble getting up the pitch. Actually, they could barely get the ball. Japan was slicing them apart down the wings and down the middle. Nakamura and Ao Tanaka in particular were winning the midfield battle. Tunisia were chasing the game.
It was more of the same in the second half. Japan’s back three of Hiroki Ito, Ko Itakura and Tomiyasu kept shutting down Tunisia. The three of them knew where to be, and their tackles and blocks were perfectly timed.
They don’t count secondary assists in soccer (except in MLS), but if they did, Tomiyasu would have gotten credit. He played a nice ball to Ueda, and for whatever reason, Tunisia parted like the Red Sea, and Ueda flicked the ball on for Junya Ito. Ito made no mistake with the shot. It was full throttle from Japan. They were like the Shinkansen, running efficiently at top speed.
Japan were showing no mercy. All Tunisia could do to respond was get physical. That wasn’t enough; the Japanese were too lethal.
Ueda got his second of the game with a header from Kaishu Sano’s cross. Again, no marking from Tunisia. Ueda was all alone. Japan finished the job.
Japan were efficient and effective from kickoff and did not look back. The Samurai Blue have arrived and are here to conquer. As for Tunisia, they have been eliminated from the World Cup.
Stat of the day
Room’s 15 saves against Ecuador are the most saves made by a goalkeeper in a World Cup game that was played 90 minutes. If you want to get technical, Room is second because Tim Howard made 16 saves in a game for the USA against Belgium in the Round of 16 in the 2014 World Cup that went to extra time. That doesn’t take away Room’s achievement, though; it is still historic.
Masterclass of the day
Many to choose from, but we are going to go with Room’s historical performance. Got to give a goalkeeper some love. Room is likely now a national hero in Curacao.
Disasterclass of the day
Not a good start at all for Renard with Tunisia. His team looked like a Sunday league team against Japan. All the players looked bad.
WTF of the day
Seriously, why didn’t Adingra just shoot? He wasted the opportunity of a lifetime and let his country down.
Meme of the day
Talk about copying. The Netherlands and their fans could argue they did it better.
Wrap-up
Day 11 of the World Cup begins from Atlanta Stadium at 9:00 am Pacific. Spain look to bounce back from their draw with Cabo Verde as they take on Saudi Arabia. At noon Pacific, Belgium take on Iran at Los Angeles Stadium. Then at 3 pm Pacific, Uruguay face Cabo Verde at Miami Stadium. The day ends at BC Place Vancouver as Chris Wood and New Zealand take on Mo Salah and Egypt.
More soccer magic at the World Cup will be made.
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