As the tournament moves into the business end & knock outs start, we are witnessing some incredible results, which most game pundits could not predict. Football heavyweights & title contenders had to bite dust, & some stuttered inexplicably, while minnows have emerged out of the shadows. Its been some rather crazy games & results against the run of play.
Belgium, ranked 2nd in the FIFA World rankings, exited from the Group stage for the first time since 1998,as they struggled to find their rhythm. A team consisting of class players like Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Lukaku, Batshuayi, Mertens, Carrasco, along with Courtois under the bar, this team had reached the semis in the last edition going past Brazil. Famously known as the Red Devils, this was considered a Golden Generation of players, considered to be some of the finest to have ever donned the Belgian jersey, who would probably not be around in the next World Cup. They barely went past Canada, lost to Morocco in a major upset & drew blank with Croatia to end their campaign in a whimper.
Germany played like a dream for long periods in the group stages, but ten odd minutes of insanely poor football against Japan in the opening game saw them lose 1-2 to the Samurai Blue, despite leading early on, & then coming from behind against Spain to draw level. There was hope when they went up against Costa Rica early on, & were looking good to progress. But once again, slipping in concentration for a few minutes early in the 2nd half, cost them two goals to go behind the Latin Americans, & while they stormed back to win the tie 4-2, they had left too much on the plate for other teams to grab, as they got eliminated on goal difference to Spain. The loss to Japan coming to haunt them bad. Hansi Flick's team did not see this coming, as they were expected o coast through the minnows. In a game of finest margins, Germany paid the price of loosing control, for a few crucial moments in their matches. However, Jamal Musiala was a huge revelation for them. The 19 year old is a super star for the future, with his ability to slice through maze of opponents & create chances out of nothing. Gnabry was another such star, along with Raum, Kimmich, Fullkrug, Sule, Gundogan, Trapp, Havertz, Goretzka, Muller & the ever reliant Neuer under the bar - this team is one of the best on paper today, with riches in all departments. Its a shame to see Germany pack their bags from the heat of Qatar to return to the cold winters at home. Till next time....
In other upsets, Spain escaped narrowly from exit, thanks to their goal difference advantage. Having decimated Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening game, they started very well against Germany to lead through a Alba Morata combination, but loose defending at the later stages allowed a goal & Germany to come back into reckoning. In the last game they lost to Japan after leading in the first half, once again falling asleep in defence & allowing complacency to creep in - a dangerous side to their game. On the other game, as Costa Rica were leading Germany 2-1, & in control, it seemed curtains for Spain, who survived only by the skin of their teeth. When in flow, the Spanish armada is one of the best to watch, weaving through opposition at will in their possession tiki taka game. Hopefully, a huge wake up call for this immensely talented team, & we get to see some delightful football from them here on.
Reigning Champions, France, having secured their passage with wins against Australia & Denmark, decided to bench nine players first team players against lowly placed Tunisia in the last game. The decision back fired as Tunisia took this opportunity gleefully & went onto register one of their famous victories, 1-0 against the might France. Falling behind, Deschamps, did bring back four of his top strikers to restore parity, but lost the game, which may play heavily in the mind of the players in the next round. A scare for sure & hopefully a lessen learnt on not to tweak too much with a winning squad.
Argentina, one of the best team in the fray too stumbled, only to wring back the initiative in time. In their very first game against Saudi Arabia, Messi scored from a dubious penalty decision early on to take the lead, but then in a maniac period of 15 minutes into the 2nd half, Saudi Arabia stunned the former champions to win 2-1, & throw a spanner in the wheels of the Albiceleste, risking them an early exit. However, to their credit, Messi & co regrouped back to win the next two matches emphatically against Mexico & Poland. They look quite ominous in their flow now with Messi creating chances from little deep in the middle, & Alvarez, Di Maria, Enzo Fernandes to capilatise.
To top it all, on the last day of the group stage games, Brazil lost to Cameroon against the run of play 0-1, to mark this World Cup being the first since 1994, when no team won all three games in the group stages. Having already qualified for the round of 16, Brazil Coach Tite in an attempt to check his bench strength, fielded a second string team, with non of the first team players,. It still was a formidable outfit & Brazil should've won the game easily by at least 3 goals, but the Indomitable Lions keeper under the bar, Epassy was an impregnable fortress. He just did not let a single ball go past him into the net, & a couple of times the bar came to his rescue. In one of the biggest surprises of the tournament till now, Cameroon defeated Brazil 1-0.
Meanwhile, Japan, the team from the land of the rising sun, have stunned the world with their giant killing abilities. Not fazed to be in one of the toughest groups which included the likes of Germany & Spain, they first defeated Germany 2-1 in their first game, & then surprisingly lost to an unfancied Costa Rica to throw the possibilities wide open. Most of us thought that they let go of an golden opportunity, after failing to win against Costa Rica, but the Samurai Blue warriors, managed to conjure a stunning upset by defeating fancied Spain in the last group encounter 2-1 to top the group & move into knock out stage. A fabulous result for the Asian team & a wonderful message for all who believe in their own abilities & not get fazed by heavyweights.
South Korea's win over a more fancied Portugal will also go down as a memorable upset, that allowed the Asian team, entry into knock outs. Needing a win in their last group game, Paulo Bento's team were left with a mountain to climb, as Portugal deservingly took the lead with the first 5 minutes of the game. However, the prodigal European team were guilty of taking things for granted after the early lead & they somehow took the foot off the accelerator, allowing the hard working Koreans to ramp up. Koreans had the ball in the Portugal net within 17 minutes, but were ruled offside. Not giving up & raising the game, they levelled 10 minutes later. As the game bore on, Koreans seemed to run out of ideas, but in the dying moments of the game, an inspired Son Min's brilliant run through a maze of Portugal defenders & Chan's cool finish past the Portugal keeper, was enough to light up celebrations in the Korean's camp. They had conjured up a defeat of Portugal & eliminated Uruguay in the process. Fantastic achievement for Asian football & its future indeed.
Morocco is another glorious story of football in this World Cup. They became the 1st African team to top a group & go to the knockouts since Nigeria in 1998, & this they achieved in a tough group that had the likes of Belgium & Croatia - nobody really gave Moroccans any chance to achieve, what they did. After a goalless draw with Croatia, a stubborn, disciplined performance against the much fancied Belgium, earned them a fabulous 2-0 victory, which led to the exit of the Red Devils. In the last game they blitzed past a feisty Canada 2-1 to qualify for the round of 16. With Achraf Hakimi, En- Nesyri, Sabiri upfront & Bono under the bar, one will have to risk everything to take this team for granted. There could be more surprise in store ahead. This African outfit is supremely fit, wiry & pacy, capable of causing more heart burns, under the able coaching of Walid Regragui.
Statistically, England has performed the best in the group stages, with seven points, having nine goals scored & conceded just two. Southgate's team have been one of the just 5 teams staying undefeated along with Netherlands, Morocco, Croatia & USA. Remarkable feat this, when you consider upset defeats of Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, Germany & Belgium, all title contenders at the start of the campaign. Uruguay, Germany & Belgium have already been eliminated, while so called minnows in World Football Morocco, South Korea, Japan & Australia are surprise qualifiers as we head towards the knock out stages.
As bookies are scrambling for their assessments & predictions by various panel of experts, we look with baited excitement as the business end of the tournament unfolds. Let the best team win, & let us look forward to some really fascinating football that comes to grip the World every four years.
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