The FIFA World Cup has not stopped short of entertainment as more underdog sides continued to put up brave fights in the group stage. The results rarely reflect the flow of the games involved as this tournament has its way of bringing out the best from the rest when the moment matters.
Longevity is overrated. Just presence alone can often ask the question, what is the output of an important position being taken by a veteran partly due to their legacy and aura? Longevity seems overburdening when the choice
is between the country and a name. Especially when the name has brought a lot of glory and is not willing to retire.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the two biggest names in football in modern times. Lionel Messi is his partner rather than rival in the battle against age in the beautiful game. At 41 and 39 respectively, both legends are well past the usual expiry date for attacking footballers in a tournament as big as the FIFA World Cup.
Coming from Portugal and Argentina, their nations are brimming with younger talents who can play in their positions. But, these legends just proved to the world that their presence always comes with impact. And in a game that rewards moments over dominance, impact always trumps longevity.
MD 13 had brilliant moments that saw one game full of goals and the others with very few. The excitement and the tension however, were full to the brim in every single game.
Portugal bounced back with a blistering 5-0 win over Uzbekistan
The white wolves took on a hungry Portuguese side in the first Group K match of the matchday. The gap in quality, technical ability and big names between the two sides was too wide on paper. The Uzbekistan coach Fabio Cannavaro aimed to bridged this gap with tactics, disciplined marking and hounding after half chances like nothing else mattered. And his team gave him exactly that. But, the gap could not be bridged.
Portugal proved to be just too good for its opposition. Against DR Congo, the team movement was lethargic and lacked chemistry to break the defense. However, the second game saw a completely different side of Roberto Martinez’s men. They moved liked they meant every pass and willed every movement aimed to score a goal. The exceptional technical ability was fused with total domination of space during attacks. This forced mistakes and technical fouls from the opposition to prevent getting overwhelmed. The mistakes and fouls were converted into goals by Portugal’s skill and guile.
Ronaldo’s strikes were impeccably perfect. The first, a volley at short range saw him deflect a knee height ball. The acrobatic leaning angle turned a powerful cross from Cancelo into a missile that Nemetov had no chance of stopping. The second goal was a vintage CR7 goal. Beating his markers for pace and laser guiding the shot into the far corner from the tightest of angles.
Nuno Mendes, Bruno Fernandes, João Félix, João Cancelo, Vitinha. The list of names goes on. Against Uzbekistan, they showed what can become of this list. If they can continue, then this Portugal is the darkhorse of the tournament.
Ghana was immovable in the face of England
Despite heavily dominating the ball, Thomas Tuchel’s England squad was left frustrated by a resilient Ghanaian defense. So meaningless was the possession of England that they have set a new record. Their 79 percent possession against Ghana is the highest without a goal in 60 years at the World Cup.
The shot accuracy was wayward with only 3 of 19 shots from Tuchel’s men were on target. Ghana on the other hand did much better with a 50 percent accuracy of their two shots taken. Ghana’s marking was as precise as it was rigid. Facing against a wildly precise England side, they did not let lanes open up. England were forced to make a majority of their shots from within the box.
The Ghanians were happy to absorb all the efforts of the English side. 22 tackles, 8 interceptions and 39 clearances coupled with 24 long balls is a clear reflection of their strategy to react to England’s mistakes and find an opening.
England almost were done in by one of the long balls that saw Prince Adu run away with space and take a dangerous lead but for a last moment tackle. It was a frustrating game in Group L that got chaotic but ended up scoreless.
Croatia waded their way through Panama with a slim lead
Croatia needed to win against Panama to survive in Group L. Having lost the first game to England, they were in a dangerous position in the group with both Ghana and England ahead with three points. Panama proved to be a surprisingly difficult opponent that needed a lot of work to understand and create any opportunity.
Lacking the blistering pace of attackers across the lineup, Croatia relied more on tactical movement to open up spaces. The xG 1.65 was a fair reflection of Modric and co.’s outing. A 34-year-old Ante Budemir slotted home the only goal as Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanišić played a sensational ball that beat three opponents before reaching the striker. Budemir held his composure to get a cool finish for his nation.
Marco Pašalić had a great chance that but was rushed into making a decision by the Panama keeper Orlando Mosquera, who ultimately prevented the goal with a great save.
The Croatians could have done better had they managed to push the opposition more into their own half. Kudos to Panama to put up a stiff resistance. They matched the opposition’s and made 62 passes in the final third. This was just 10 short of Croatia’s final third passes. It captures presence and movement in the opposition’s own third. Zlako Dalić will need to do more as keeping up with some of the teams in the World Cup will need more than just grinding out low scoring results.
Colombia threw everything and the kitchen sink at DR Congo
This was the most entertaining 1-0 victory of MD 13. Colombia are a great side and it is always a lot of fun to watch them play. They are probably one of the few teams who are not winning the World Cup on paper, but always play their hearts out. It is very rare that any player on their sheet to have a bad game. Everybody is doing something and are always in the action somehow.
Coming up against DR Congo in Group K’s second game, this was the unstoppable force coming up against the immovable object. The Congo side is so well structured, it is a phenomenon of this tournament. They have not cracked open at the back they maintain an incredible press and marking tactic that needs constant micro movements and adjustments. Colombia were always outnumbered in any active zone of the pitch other than their own third. Such was DRC’s sheer dominance by numbers.
Colombia did create chances even against an opposition that always had an advantage in numbers. This is thanks to the rare combination of magical flair and unyielding work ethic. However, the chances that cameby were not easy tap-ins. The Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi was a master in making every shot seem very inconvenient for Colombia. He made a total of eight saves and has kept the game to just 1-0.
Luis Diaz missed out narrowly due to the brilliance Mpasi. Diaz was perhaps one of the few players who could temporarily break free from his marker and create a tiny pocket of time before being hounded back. Nonetheless, the goal to give Los Cafeteros the three points came from Daniel Muñoz.
Juan Quintero, a player who mixes the number 8 and number 10 role all into one found an impossible through ball between two charging defenders at the edge of the box. Muñoz redemeed his earlier missed chances with a gorgeous finish that finally beat Mpasi legally.
Both these teams will bother every opponent they face in a way that no else can. Portugal and Ronaldo will face a stiff test against Luis Diaz and Colombia. And DRC could genuinely make it to the knockouts and can deliver a shocking knockout in the playoffs!
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