Sunday saw four games played for the fourth day of the FIFA World Cup. Fans everywhere sat back, relaxed (well, kind of) and enjoyed the games.
First, it started in the Texas heat of Houston, where Germany took on first-timers Curacao. Then it was on to Arlington, a nearly four-hour drive south of Houston. In the stadium that is home to the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, there was an intriguing matchup: the Netherlands were taking on Japan.
In the City of Brotherly Love, there was a battle between two World Cup dark horses: Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador were butting heads at Philadelphia Stadium. Finally, it was off to Monterrey for a Group F matchup between Sweden and Tunisia.
Germany vs Curacao: German attack was unstoppable
Everything is bigger in Texas, even soccer games.
The Germans were known for Gegenpressing. Of course, that is how they played against Curacao. It did not take long for Germany to open the scoring.
Felix Nmecha scored six minutes in. He and Florian Wirtz displayed some really nice link-up play. Nmecha’s shot was also a bullet.
Germany couldn’t keep the clean sheet. Curacao got a historic first-ever World Cup goal. That was courtesy of Livano Comenencia as he blasted the ball past Manuel Neuer. The Germans’ defending was woeful here as they looked as bad as burnt schnitzel. For Curacao, this was an emotional moment. A country with a population of about 158,000 (less than the population of North Vancouver!) saw their heroes score a goal in the World Cup against the mighty Germans. Unreal.
However, the four-time World Cup champions were not happy with conceding. Borussia Dortmund centre-back used his big frame to head in a corner kick in the 38th minute. That was his first-ever goal for his country.
Just before halftime, Germany widened their lead. Arsenal’s Kai Havertz calmly rolled the ball past Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room from the penalty spot.
Just after the break, the Germans showed they weren’t done. Like a Rammstein song, Germany came out with full force. Once again, their link-up play was beautiful to watch. Joshua Kimmich slid a lovely ball to his Bayern Munich teammate Jamal Musiala. Musiala found the left corner, and this game looked like a rout. This was a great finish.
Germany were doing a good job pressing and finding space to break down Curacao’s low block. Their passing and creativity were on point. Players like Musiala and Wirtz were hypnotizing Curacao with their one-two passes.
The beautiful soccer continued. Substitute Deniz Undav made a brilliant pass to find Nathaniel Brown. Brown’s half volley found the back of the net. It was also his first goal for Germany. Lovely stuff.
Germany continued to reintroduce themselves. They took advantage of some dreadful Curacao defending. Undav was all alone on an island, and he tapped the ball into the open cage. Undav has scored seven goals in his last seven games for Germany.
Havertz took on the Curacao defence after receiving Undav’s through ball and made it 7-1 for Germany. Not the first time Germany played in a game with that scoreline! Brazilians look away.
You’ve got to feel for Curacao, but this was an attacking masterclass from Germany.
Japan Vs Netherlands: Dull first half, epic second half
This was a game that could potentially decide Group F. It was also a battle between two dark horses.
Early on, the Netherlands were pushing, and Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki had to make a big save early.
After that, Japan grew into the game. Daizen Maeda, Takefusa Kubo and Ritsu Doan were leading the charge. But the Dutch and their defensive resilience stood tall in the box.
Japan were also locked in defensively. Cody Gakpo, for instance, was having a tough time getting by Tyuoshi Watanabe.
It was a defensive battle. Neither of these teams wanted to slip up. Virgil Van Dijk, Jean Paul Van Hecke, Denzel Dumfries and Mickey Van De Ven were rock solid for the Dutch. That same thing could be said for Watanabe, Shogo Taniguchi and Hiroki Ito for the Japanese backline.
Suzuki nearly gave away a costly goal for Japan. The Parma goalkeeper managed a point-blank save of Dutch striker Donyell Malen’s header from the corner kick. But Suzuki spilled the rebound. Thankfully for him, his defenders cleared it.
Reims’ Keito Nakamura nearly brought the Japanese fans to their feet with a half-volley on the edge of the box. But the weak-footed shot was wide of the net.
Japanese striker Ayase Ueda’s shot from the right side of the box was also too high. It was better from Japan, but still needed to be better.
Expected goals were 0.41 to 0.15 in favour of the Netherlands after the first half.
Five minutes into the second half, the breakthrough came. It was Van Dijk who got the goal. The Liverpool star was left unmarked by Japan as he headed his club’s teammate Ryan Gravenberch’s cross past Suzuki. It had to be Van Dijk, an important player on both ends of the pitch for the Dutch.
The Dutch lead only lasted just seven minutes. Japan finally broke down the orange wall. Kubo weaved his way around the Dutch defenders with great composure. Then Nakamura’s one-time shot fooled everyone and got behind Bart Verbruggen. Game on!
But the tie game didn’t last long! Gravenberch set up Crysencio Summerville and made a nice overlapping run. Summerville’s shot was then blasted into the net. Boy, that escalated quickly.
Japan did not want to go down quietly. They started moving the ball up the pitch well and were attacking the Dutch box. But the orange wall was once again standing tall.
Never count out the Samurai Blue. In the 89th minute, substitute Koki Ogawa flicked the ball that deflected off Daichi Kamada. Verbruggen’s fingers seemed to be made of butter at that moment, and then the Japanese players, staff and fans were in bedlam. The marking was really questionable from the Dutch.
The first half featured cautious defensive soccer. The second half was full of offensive fireworks; it was as beautiful as a Yorushika song.
Côte d’Ivoire vs Ecuador: Amad Diallo breaks the deadlock late
Another matchup between two dark horses and two good defensive teams.
Ecuador had the best chances within the first 15 minutes. Their captain and veteran striker Enner Valencia, as well as midfielder John Yeboah, had chances in the box that they missed. Valencia’s was from close range, and it looked like he slipped on a banana peel while taking the shot.
Côte d’Ivoire started getting chances of their own. Yan Diomande on the right side was given a lot of space by the Ecuadorian defence. The young winger of RB Leipzig was causing problems for the Ecuadorians with his speed. Piero Hincapie in particular was being put in a blender by Diomande.
Bazoumana Touré nearly opened the scoring after receiving a nice through ball from Franck Kessie, but the shot was stopped by Hernán Galíndez.
Unfortunately, the World Cup doesn’t have a crossbar challenge. If it did, Ecuador would be 1-0 up. Alan Minda nearly scored a screamer, but it went off the bar.
Minda nearly redeemed himself again after he ran in behind the Côte d’Ivoire defence after receiving Pedro Vite’s pass. But again, he hit the crossbar. He was two for two on the crossbar challenge at least.
It was full of end-to-end action in the first half. Ecuador tried to attack through the middle while Côte d’Ivoire attacked on the wings.
In the second half, it was more of the same early on. Both teams wanted to score on the transition. However, Valencia for Ecuador and Diomande for Côte d’Ivoire missed chances on the transition.
It turns out Elye Wahi joined Minda in the crossbar challenge. He deflected Diomande’s excellent low cross, but the bar kept it out. Soccer really is a game of inches.
Both these teams were bending but not breaking. They knew one little mistake meant trouble.
It looked like it was going to be an exciting 0-0 draw. But Côte d’Ivoire had other ideas. After both these teams battled it out, it was the men in orange that nailed their transition. Wilfried Singo’s ball found Amad Diallo in the box. (Somehow he didn’t start this game?) Somehow the Manchester United man was given a ton of space, and then he buried the chance. The Ivorians were elated, and the Ecuadorians were distraught. It took 89 minutes for this game to get a breakthrough.
Ecuador was usually solid at the back, but they let one small crack break through at a bad time.
It was a low-scoring but exciting game. Côte d’Ivoire got their first World Cup win 12 years to the day of their last one: A 2-1 win over Japan at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
For Ecuador, the final third is an issue. They only managed one shot on target, with 12 shots total.
Sweden vs Tunisia: Swedish Romp
It took only six minutes for Sweden to strike first. After Viktor Gyökeres’ shot was blocked by a Tunisian defender, midfielder Yasin Ayari scored an absolute screamer into the empty cage. The fans dressed in yellow and blue were on their feet.
The 22-year-old Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder was born in Sweden to a Moroccan mother and Tunisian father. That explains why Ayari did not celebrate his goal. Also, Tunisian goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh displayed some dreadful handling and positioning here.
Tunisia then tried to respond. But the Sweden defence held their own. 30 minutes into the game, Gyökeres sprung Aleksander Isak, who sped down the left wing. Chamakh should’ve handled the ball better, but it was an incredible effort from Isak. After a season of disappointment and injuries with Liverpool, that had to feel good for Isak.
It looked like Sweden were going to then pummel Tunisia. But the Tunisians had other ideas.
A few minutes before halftime, Hannibal Mejbri whipped a cross into the box, and Omar Rekik headed it in. That was Tunisia’s first shot on target.
For Tunisia, it seems like their attack went through Hannibal. His creativity was on display, and he was trying to cut through the Swedish midfield and defence like he was trying to eat some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
For Sweden, Gyökeres and Isak were leading Sweden with their runs on the transition. It was those two again who got involved in the third Swedish goal. Isak hunted down Tunisian goalkeeper Ellyes Skhiri and stole the ball. Then Gyökeres made Skhiri pay and did his iconic Bane-inspired celebration. The shadows betrayed Skhiri, because they belonged to Gyökeres.
Hannibal was doing everything he could to get Tunisia back into the game. However, his teammates were struggling to muster anything offensively.
Meanwhile, Sweden was looking for more. Substitute Mattias Svenberg redirected the ball past Chamakh, but the flag was raised for offside. However, VAR intervened and saw that the ball redirected off Isak first, therefore putting Svenberg in an onside position. So the goal counted, and it was scored 18 seconds after Svenberg came on as a substitute.
Sweden rubbed more salt in the wounds for Tunisia in stoppage time. It was Ayari again with another missile. This was even better than the first goal, and this time, he celebrated.
It was a Swedish masterclass. Tunisia had no answer.
Player of the day
He only played 26 minutes, but Undav managed a goal and tallied two assists in Germany’s 7-1 demolition of Curacao. He has been on fire for Germany, even before the World Cup.
Disasterclass of the day
Chamakh really showed a disasterclass in goalkeeping against Sweden, especially on the first two Swedish goals.
Stat of the day
Now that is clutch. When the Ivorians needed him the most, Diallo has delivered.
WTF of the day
It sounds crazy, but it is true. Wayne Rooney scored only one goal in the World Cup. That was in 2014 in the group stage against Uruguay when he scored the game-tying goal, but Uruguay won the game 2-1 thanks to a Luis Suarez winner.
Rooney also has the same amount of World Cup goals as Alphonso Davies and Cyle Larin.
Fan moment of the day
As they do at every World Cup, the Japanese fans always stay behind to help clean the stadium, win, lose or draw. It is always very classy.
Meme of the day
Looks like Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu wrote down the entire Dutch team’s name in his Death Note. No wonder they all froze when Kamada tied the game.
Wrap-up
That was a fun day of soccer. It all goes down again at 9 AM Pacific from Atlanta Stadium as reigning UEFA EURO champions Spain take on Cabo Verde. At noon PST, Jeremy Doku and Belgium face Mohamed Salah and Egypt at Seattle Stadium. Then, from Miami Stadium, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay kick off at 3 pm PST. Finally, Iran and New Zealand end the day from Los Angeles Stadium at 6 pm PST.
Area 51 Sports Network will be covering all the games.
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