We continue plowing our way through the second round of the World Cup. I’m still of the opinion, as fun as this tournament has been thus far, that 48 teams is too many. When will World Cup fatigue start kicking in? I expect soon, and we’re not even through the group stage.
Here’s your daily recap and upcoming matches for today.
Day 11 Recap
Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia (Group H)
Goals: Yamal (10’), Oyarzabal (21’, 24’), Al Tambakti [OG] (49’)
Spain cut through the Kingdom’s defense like a bone-saw.
Belgium 0-0 Iran (Group G)
Goals: none
Iran is one of the oldest teams at this tournament
and due to the ongoing war they haven’t had much of a chance to play matches or even train. Consequently most of their team ran out of gas around 65-70’, so it’s no wonder they weren’t able to snatch a winning goal despite Belgium going down to ten men due to a DOGSO foul by Nathan Ngoy. Belgium looked incredibly unimpressive in this match. This whole group is up for grabs.
Uruguay 2-2 Cape Verde (Group H)
Goals: Araujo (44’), Cannobio (45+6’) | Pina (21’), Varela (61’)
There have been a lot of good stories thus far on the pitch in this World Cup, but out of those Cape Verde is possibly the best. One week after holding favorites Spain to a scoreless draw, the Blue Sharks did it again on Sunday, scoring first and then coming form behind for a 2-2 draw against Uruguay. Cape Verde now can clinch progression with a win over Saudi Arabia, while Uruguay face a buzz-saw vs. Spain in their final match. Rodrigo Bentancur, it should be said, looked ponderous and off the boil in this one and was very lucky not to concede a late penalty to Cape Verde in second half injury time.
New Zealand 1-3 Egypt (Group G)
Goals: Surman (15’) | Zico (58’), Salah (67’), Trezeguet (82’)
New Zealand is actually one of the lowest ranked teams in this tournament, which made it surprising when they headed home a first half goal to go ahead vs. Egypt. But then the All-Whites decided to shut up shop and defend the lead, which led to some bad football and an even worse result. By the time Egypt equalized in the second half they were already in firm control. Two more goals were almost predictable by that point. And I don’t even think Egypt is that good a team. NZ still has a shot to escape the group with a win over Iran.
Day 12 Matches
Argentina vs. Austria (Group J)
1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, USA
TV: FOX (USA), Telemundo (USA – Español), BBC One (UK)
Stream: Fox One, Peacock (Español)
Current/former Tottenham players involved: Cuti Romero, Marcos Senesi, Giovani Lo Celso (Argentina), Kevin Danso (Austria)
France vs. Iraq (Group I)
5 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. BST
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, USA
TV: FOX (USA), Telemundo (USA – Español), BBC One (UK)
Stream: Fox One, Peacock (Español)
Current/former Tottenham players involved: none
Norway vs. Senegal (Group I)
8 p.m. ET / 1 a.m. (Monday) BST
Metlife Stadium, New Jersey, USA
TV: FOX (USA), Telemundo (USA – Español), ITV 1 (UK)
Stream: Fox One, Peacock (Español)
Current/former Tottenham players involved: Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
Jordan vs. Algeria (Group J)
11 p.m. ET / 4 a.m. (Monday) BST
San Francisco Stadium, San Francisco, USA
TV: Fox Sports 1 (USA), Telemundo (USA – Español), ITV 1 (UK)
Stream: Fox One, Peacock (Español)
Current/former Tottenham players involved: Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria)
