Matchday 20 of the World Cup gave us some electrifying matches, as favorite France and hosts Mexico made their way into the next round of the tournament, with Norway also completing their job under the leadership of Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland.
Through all of that, though, it has become clear — this is France’s tournament.
The French squad is an absolute powerhouse and shows no signs of slowing down. With an embarrassment of talent, France can pick how it wants to beat its opponents and when
it wants to ramp up the pressure that has made every team standing in its way just crack.
For the third straight World Cup cycle, France is dominant and this version of Les Bleus might be the best of the lot.
That is kind of terrifying.
Here is a recap of the day’s games.
Norway manages to squeeze themselves into the Round of 16 with a late winner
Norway defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 in a tense showdown in Dallas to secure their place in the Round of 16. After doing some rotation in their final Group Stage match against France, including benching Erling Haaland, Norway managed to get the result against the African nation.
It was not a dominant performance by the Norwegians, with Ivory Coast managing to make things hard for the Scandinavians for stretches of the match.
The Vikings would open the score in the 39th minute at the hands of Antonio Nusa, finishing the first half ahead. By the second half, Ivory Coast started to cause some problems, making it feel as if they would be able to force the game into extra time after a superb individual effort by supersub Amad Diallo.
However, if someone with the scoring ability like Erling Haaland is playing, one can be sure he will appear in the most needed moment, which is what the Norwegian viking did. The Manchester City striker came in clutch in the 86th minute to secure Norway’s spot in the next round.
Norway will now face Brazil in the Round of 16, in what will surely be an exciting clash.
France showed its hierarchy
The most dominant showing of the day came from Kylian Mbappé-led France, who completely dominated Sweden at New York New Jersey Stadium, finishing the match with a score of 3-0. Didier Deschamps’ squad controlled the match from the very beginning, preventing Sweden from ever having entering into the game.
The highlight of the match was without doubt attacker Michael Olise, who now leads the tournament’s assists tally with five, after a couple of assists to Mbappé and Bradley Barcola. On his part, Mbappé now has 18 goals overall in the major tournament, only one short of Argentina’s legend Lionel Messi. With at least two potential World Cups remaining in the Real Madrid striker to play, Mbappé will probably surpass Messi’s record, regardless of what the Argentine phenom achieves this tournament.
The French team, one of the favorites to win the tournament, will now face Paraguay in the Round of 16; a match in which the odds will be overwhelmingly in their favor.
Mexico sends the country into a jubilant chaos
In the primetime match of the day, hosts Mexico achieved a historic 2-0 win against Ecuador to reach the long-coveted fifth match, in a game delayed due to a dense electrical storm that fell upon the Estadio Azteca (Mexico City Stadium). The game started and for the most time stayed under control of the local team, who pressed the Ecuadorian side since the first minute. The Aztecs showed a drive rarely seen before, being agressive, composed and dominating over a completely overwhelmed Ecuadorian team.
Julián Quiñones opened the score in the 22nd minute after a half-pitch run that barely avoided being offside. Next, Raúl Jiménez took advantage of a mistaken pass in Ecuador’s box edge and managed to tip the ball to Quiñones, who gave the ball back to Mexico’s No. 9, who sent a powerful shot past Ecuador keeper Hernán Galíndez. Mexico continued to press, dominating possession, and preventing Ecuador from creating chances.
In the second half, Mexico looked comfortable giving Ecuador the ball, mostly attempting to damage La Tricolor on the counter. However, the central american team did not seem to have the ability to create danger in Mexico’s half. By the late minutes of the match, the game opened more, with Ecuador finally creating some chances, and Mexico trying to put the game to bed on the counter.
Ecuador even had Piero Hincapié sent off in the stoppage time, after he covered his mouth to say something directed at Mexican attacker Santiago Giménez. Instants before, both players had faced-off nose-to-nose. The action was VAR’d by the referee, resulting in the Ecuador defender being sent-off. This is part of FIFA’s recent rule against players covering their mouth in order to say something potentially abusive, racist or homophobic.
This marked Mexico’s first knockout stage victory in 40 years, since the 1986 World Cup, which they hosted as well. As it might have been expected, the result sent the whole country into a jubilant chaos.
Mexico will face the winner between England and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Round of 16.
This was the recap of the World Cup matchday 20. The action continues today with England facing DR Congo, Belgium facing Senegal, and host USA battling Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place in the next round.
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