After a day of draws, the FIFA World Cup continued on.
This was a day featuring some big teams. It all got started at New York/New Jersey stadium where heavyweights France took on reigning AFCON champions Senegal. Then it was off to Foxborough where Erling Haaland and Norway took on Iraq. Lionel Messi and the reigning world champions Argentina went to battle against Algeria in Kansas City. Finally, the day ended with Austria taking on Jordan at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
It was a day where the stars shone bright.
France vs Senegal: Mbappe masterclass
It was France’s offensive firepower against Senegal’s physicality.
Early on, Senegal was settling in nicely. They were keeping the ball in the French half and were forcing turnovers. France had trouble getting up the pitch. Kylian Mbappe was also having trouble with his first touch.
When France had the ball in the Senegalese half, they had a tough time breaking down the mid-block. Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise were stifled. 20 minutes in and the French were starting to get settled in.
The best chance came 25 minutes in courtesy of Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson. After Malick Diouf forced a turnover, Jackson sprinted down the left wing. His shot went off the left post and off French goalkeeper Mike Maignan for a corner. France knew that they had to be careful with Senegal’s transition.
Both teams were struggling with their attacking rhythm. The final ball and first touches were very poor from both sides.
Sadio Mane had a shot stopped by Maignan, and Ismaïla Sarr blasted a sitter to the Empire State Building right before halftime. France managed just one shot, none on target and had a 0.02 expected goals in the first half. For Senegal, they had one shot on target, five shots total and a 0.47 xG.
That half was just as boring as the Korean film, The Policeman’s Lineage.
In the second half, it looked like Mane took down Mbappe in the box, but the ref gave no penalty. VAR did look at it, but no penalty was given. Hmm…
It took 66 minutes for a goal to finally arrive. Olise and Mbappe were coming alive. Olise found Mbappe in the box with a brilliant pass and the French superstar buried the ball behind Edoaurd Mendy. The pass from Olise was pure class.
Senegal continued pressing. Jackson did tie the game shortly after the Mbappe goal, but he was offside. He also missed another close-range chance.
The French attack kept cooking. They were starting to find space between the Senegal backline.
Less than two minutes after coming on for Dembele, Bradley Barcola got in behind the Senegalese defence and received Adrien Rabiot’s through ball. Then, he made no mistake with the finish.
Senegal made it interesting five minutes into stoppage time. 18-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye scored a belter past Maignan.
But Mbappe was on the pitch. He said: “Anything you can do, I can do better.” The French superstar sealed the win for his country with this screamer. This is easily the goal of the tournament so far.
After a dull first half, the second half was much better. That has been the theme of many World Cup games so far.
Norway vs Iraq: Haaland is inevitable
Early on, it looked like Norway was poised to score. In particular, Haaland was dangerous.
But as is known, teams can’t stop Haaland; they can only contain him. It was him who opened the scoring in 29 minutes. As he does best, Haaland charged towards the goal and buried the chance.
Norway had a lot of the ball, but Iraq didn’t want to be underestimated. Ayman Hussein’s header brought it level and announced Iraq’s arrival on the world stage.
The euphoria did not last long for Iraq. Just a few minutes later, Haaland struck again. This time, Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan hesitated on a poor back pass, and Haaland made him pay. Oh no, what was Iraq doing? You cannot do that, let alone against Haaland in the World Cup.
In the second half, both teams were cautious. At the same time, they still wanted to be ruthless in attack, but the defending from both sides got the better of the attackers. Iraq had a few chances on Norway’s goal, but none of the chances really tested Ørjan Nyland. For Norway, they couldn’t break down Iraq’s backline, who really hunkered down. However, Norway dominated possession.
Well, that was until the 75th minute. Substitute Leo Østigård managed to find a bit of space in the box during the corner kick and pounded the header into the net. He isn’t the biggest guy at 5’9″, but the header was pinpoint.
Haaland nearly got his hat trick after receiving a nice through ball, but Hassan made himself big and made a nice save.
Near the end of the game, Hassan and the Iraqi defenders made another error. They couldn’t clear the ball from Haaland’s header, and Kristian Thorstvedt got the last touch.
It was a solid win by Norway. With the win, they top Group I on goal differential.
Argentina vs Algeria: Messi magic
Down in Kansas City, Messi and Argentina began their title defence against Algeria.
Argentina nearly opened the scoring early with Lautaro Martinez’s header. However, Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane made the easy save. Yes, that is the son of legendary French midfielder Zinedine Zidane. Through his father’s Algerian heritage, Zidane represents Algeria despite being born in Marseille.
Messi announced his arrival to the World Cup just five minutes in, but he was clearly offside. He even knew it.
But it was the Algerians who broke through first. The Argentine defenders left Fares Chaibi get in behind to receive Ibrahim Maza’s through ball. Chaibi beat Emiliano Martinez, but VAR declared the goal offside. 10 minutes in and we got two offsides. Time to grab the popcorn.
17 minutes in, Messi proved he was inevitable. As seen many times over his illustrious career, he created some magic with his left foot. Just outside the box, Messi’s shot was blasted by Zidane. The Argentinian magician put Algeria under his spell. In his 200th cap for Argentina, Messi scored his 14th World Cup goal. He also scored this goal on the 20th anniversary of his first World Cup goal.
That goal seemed to have sucked the life out of Algeria. They had trouble keeping the ball and couldn’t create any form of attack. Martinez didn’t really have to make a save. Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez were also formidable at the back for Argentina.
However, it did look like Messi should’ve been sent off for this push. Make of it what you will.
In the second half, Argentina continued to suffocate Algeria at both ends of the pitch.
And guess who? Messi struck again. After Zidane stopped Alexis Mac Allister’s long-range effort, Messi put in the rebound. Where on Earth were the Algerian defenders?
The man many call the GOAT continued to make history. 16 minutes later, Messi perfectly picked out a corner and secured his first-ever World Cup hat trick. With that, he tied Miroslav Klose with the most World Cup goals. (16)
Once again, the man from Rosario wrote another chapter of his incredible story. Argentina started their World Cup defence off with a bang.
Austria vs Jordan:
To end the day, it was off to Santa Clara.
The Austrians were on the front foot early, with Konrad Laimer and Marcel Sabitzer leading the charge. Jordan were content with sitting back and relying on the counter-attack.
It nearly worked 17 minutes in. Odeh Fakhouri shot a rocket of a shot, but it was saved by Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
Austria continued to dominate possession. 20 minutes in, Romano Schmid sent a screamer in the back of the net. Austria’s passing was also very crisp in the lead-up to the goal. Jordanian goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila had no chance.
Austria continued to control possession. However, they couldn’t get that second goal. As the first half wound down, Jordan started knocking on the door. Austria looked like they were taken aback by Jordan’s counter-attacks. But the Jordanians couldn’t keep their shots down.
Austria’s goal was their only shot on target, while Jordan had three on target in the first half. This was pressing and possession against structure and counter-attacks.
Just three minutes into the second half, Jordan found the back of the net for the first-ever FIFA World Cup goal. Noor Al-Rawabdeh forced a turnover and sent Ali Olwan sprinting down the left wing, and he beat Schlager.
Austria continues to press and win back possession. However, Jordan’s defenders came up big with blocks and tackles in the box. In the 67th minute, off the corner kick, Abulaila couldn’t clear it and neither could his defenders. As a result, substitute Marko Arnautovic deflected the ball in the net. But after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was disallowed for a handball because it went off Stefan Posch’s arm before Arnautovic put it in. It did look like Posch’s arm was in a natural position; not sure about this one, but no surprise it was called.
Austria were not letting that faze them. A minute after the hydration/advertisements break, Jordan’s Yazan Mahmoud Ali deflected the Austrian corner into his own net. Not quite Jordan’s tempo. Ball don’t lie.
After that, Austria shut down Jordan by keeping the ball and continuing to attack. They sealed their win with Arnautovic converting a penalty after there was a handball in the box. (After a VAR check)
Jordan gave a valiant effort. But their structure wasn’t enough to handle Austria’s free-flowing attack.
Player of the day
Mbappe or Haaland could easily have been the player of the day. But we’re giving it to the guy who scored the hat trick: Messi.
Stat of the day
Messi is an ageless wonder.
Meme of the day
WTF of the day
Mbappe just goes beast mode during the World Cup.
Fan moment of the day
Now that is one way to make an entrance!
Wrap-up
The World Cup resumes on Wednesday at 10 AM Pacific as Cristiano Ronaldo will look to shine bright as well. He and Portugal take on DR Congo from Houston Stadium. Then at 1 PM PST, England begins their World Cup campaign against Croatia at Dallas Stadium. From Toronto Stadium, Ghana and Panama kick off at 4:00 pm PST. Finally, at 7:00 PM PST, Uzbekistan and Colombia face each other at Mexico City Stadium.
Hopefully, we’ll see plenty of goals.
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