Matchday 23 of the World Cup could only end one way: with drama. At the end of the day, Egypt, Argentina and Colombia managed to secure their spots in the next round after another instance of World Cup magic.
Egypt needed to go all the way into the penalty shootout to beat its Australian counterpart. Meanwhile, in the second on the schedule, Cape Verde nearly gave us the ultimate upset as it put the reigning champions Argentina against the ropes during several stretches of the match. Finally, Colombia
defeated Ghana to book the final ticket to the Round of 16, completing the activities of this World Cup’s Round of 32.
Check the recap of today’s game below!
Egypt makes history after a penalty shootout win
Australia and Egypt started the day’s activities with an entertaining level game, where the African nation ultimately came out on top after a penalty shootout.
Australia would be the first to have a clear opportunity after winger Cristian Volpato hit the crossbar after a long-ranged attempt in the fifth minute. In the 13th minute, though, Egypt took the lead through a header by Emam Ashour, after a Karim Hafez curled a cross to the far post to make it 1-o. The first half ended with Egypt ahead, although both teams had some mildly dangerous opportunities.
The second half started with Egypt creating danger, as Marmoush found himself in a 1-v-1 situation against the Australian keeper after a through ball by Mostafa Ziko. Marmoush’s shot went just wide off the mark, though. In the 55th minute, Australia knotted the game after an unfortunate own goal by Mohamed Hany. The Egyptian full-back deflected a ball into his own net while trying to defend a free kick cross from the wing by Aiden O’Neill. The game went on with chances for both teams, the clearest being Australia keeper Patrick Beach;s astonishing stoppage-time save to deny Ramy Rabia’s header, sending the game into extra time.
The first period of stoppage time saw Mohamed Salah send his shot over the crossbar in the 95th minute. The remainder of the extra time saw no big chances, aside from the occasional attempt from Egypt. To the penalty shootout it was.
The first player from the spot would be Australian captain Harry Soutar. He actually sent the keeper the wrong way, but leaned his body backwards a bit too much, skying his attempt. Unfortunate! The following penalty kicks in the subsequent second and third rounds, including Egypt’s first round shot, were successfully buried into the back of the net, including a cheeky Panenka chip from Salah in round three.
Eventually, 18-year-old substitute Lucas Herrington fired his shot into the crossbar. Next, Egypt defender Hossam Abdelmaguid scored his penalty to send his nation into the next round, gifting Egypt the chance to play in a World Cup’s fifth game for the first time. Egypt will now play reigning champions Argentina in the Round of 16.
So close, yet so far for debutants Cape Verde
Cape Verde fell just short of making history as it put titleholder Argentina against the ropes during several stretches of their match.
Argentina had its first chance in the 15th minute with a shot by Lionel Messi after he burst into Cape Verde’s box, sending his shot just wide off the far post. In the 30th minute, though, the Argentine phenom gave us yet another masterpiece. Lisandro Martínez started the play with a lobbed pass from the midfield circle. Messi beat his defender on raw positioning and speed, controlled the ball on a dime, and buried his shot into the back of keeper Vozinha’s net for the 1-1. Vozinha deflected an attempt from Enzo Fernández in the 45th minute just before the half-time.
In the second half, Cape Verde came out with the ultimate goal of giving Argentina a hard time. Its first chance came in the 54th minute when a ground level shot by Cape Verde midfielder Deroy Duarte tested Argentine keeper Emiliano Martínez. Five minutes later, Cape Verde finally managed to knot the game after captain Ryan Mendes nutmegged defender Franco Medina in the box; Duarte received the ball and promptly slotted it home.
Vozinha made yet another save by denying Messi’s attempt in the 63rd minute, when the Argentinian found space into Cape Verde’s box after a first-touch through-ball from Lautaro Martínez. The tournament sensation would made another extraordinary save in the 73rd minute, blocking a beautifully struck free kick from Messi. Both Messi’s shot and Vozinha’s save were simply footballing poetry.
Roberto “Pico” Lopes nearly scored into his own net in the 81st minute while blocking a low cross from Nahuel Molina. The final relevant play of the regular time came in the 90+2 minute with a long-range shot by Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes; Vozinha had things under control and kept the ball after stopping the shot, though. The game had to go into extra time.
Argentina took the lead two minutes into the first half of the extra time with a goal by Lisandro Martínez after a corner kick for Argentina was deflected to the far post by Alexis Mac Allister. Martínez pushed forward, finding the ball before sending a rocket past Vozinha’s near post, leaving the keeper with zero chance to react in a timely manner. Cape Verde responded with a goal by Sidny Lopes in the 103rd minute. The full-back received the ball on the left wing, entered the box, cut inside — humiliating Mac Allister in the process — and took a stunner of a curled shot into the far corner.
For a moment, it looked as if the tiny African nation would be able to shock the football world. Their dream of a performance ended in the 111th minute, though, with an unfortunate own goal by defender Diney Borges. Messi sent a corner kick into the box, where it found a header from Cristian Romero. The ball struck Borges’ hand, which deflected it into the goal. Nothing to do for keeper Vozinha. Cape Verde was not able to tie the game in the remaining ten to twelve minutes, although there was a good opportunity through a free kick in the 115th minute, was saved by Martínez.
With this remarkable performance, Cape Verde says goodbye to its World Cup dream, but not without surprising the whole soccer world — by becoming the smallest nation to reach the knockout stage, and having put in a praiseworthy performance. Argentina will face Egypt on Tuesday, July 7 at Atlanta Stadium.
Colombia wins match, but loses player
The last game of the day did not produce the same over-the-top spectacle that the previous two matches offered, but gave Colombia their ultimate goal: a spot in the World Cup Round of 16. Colombia looked in control for the entirety, never seeming to be threatened by the Ghana national team.
The match started with early injuries for both teams. Colombia striker Jhon Córdoba had to be subbed off after apparently pulling his groin/thigh muscle in the 7th minute; while Ghana right-back Marvin Senaya had to be substituted in the 13th minute after a non-contact muscular injury. This event seemed to disrupt Ghana’s defensive composure, as Colombia went on to open the score just one minute later via Jhon Arias. The Colombian buried a cross by substitute Luis Suárez.
This goal allowed the Colombians to dictate the tempo of the match, while the Ghanaians were never a serious threat. During the first half, Colombia dominated possession, forcing Ghana to sit back and defend the Cafetaleros attempts. Colombia had a big scoring chance in the 45+1 minute, but Johan Mojica’s header was denied by Ghana keeper Lawrence Ati Zigi.
In the second half, the match saw an African team with more initiative, but ultimately unable to break Colombia’s defensive structure. In the 56th minute, Bayern Munich forward Luis Díaz’s goal was disallowed by VAR after determining that he was offside by a slight margin.
The game would eventually finish with the Colombian team ahead, guaranteeing its ticket to the last team advancing to the Round of 16. Colombia will face Switzerland on Tuesday, July 7 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
That’s it for the recap of this World Cup matchday. The Round of 16 will start later today when Canada faces Morocco.
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