Today's Games
Denmark 1-1 Australia
A good match, as many of you pointed out. Both teams did a good effort to score but also to defend well. I could see either of them going through the next round, though at this point it seems that Denmark will pass (and then likely be eliminated in round of 16. Australia, I must recognize, is doing much better than I and many thought it would do, which is always a good thing!
France 1-0 Peru
Mbappe scored a great goal that gave France the win and eliminated Peru, but France still has a lot of work to do. I would have expected many more goals from France, and even though Peru did a pretty decent job in both of their matches, it wasn't enough to remain in the tournament. Just like in the last match against Denmark, Peru missed too many goal-scoring chances, and you cannot do that in a World Cup.
Argentina 0-3 Croatia
In a surprise result, Croatia humiliated Argentina and left it at the edge of elimination, pending on the result of Iceland vs Nigeria. The Argentine team is a complete mess, from head to toes. The Argentina FA is terribly managed, the manager Jorge Sampaoli seemed completely out of control (there are even versions that players are asking him to resign) and even insulted some Croatian players. It is not fair to blame Messi for everything, but he certainly looked out of shape, and perhaps even out of desire to play. It must be too much pressure to carry a whole team, a whole country on his shoulders (some will say Ronaldo does that with Portugal, though.) Argentina missed the little chances they had, and Croatia played a good game. The first goal was a terrible mistake by goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who hadn't played in months and was not the fans' favorite to be the goalkeeper. Some say the second and third could also be stopped by the GK. If any Argentine friends are reading this, I do not intend to insult, but this is a consequence of many years of arrogance. The Argentina FA, players, and fans have been arrogant for years, and now this is the result. And I don't say that because they eliminated Mexico in 2006 and 2010! A sad day for Argentina.
Today's Refs
Good work by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz. No big hiccups, a good, firm performance. I hope to see him again. The only good refereeing job of today.
Mohammed Abdulla Hassan had a terrible day, IMO. I did not like his performance, very shy and missed many clear fouls. He also did not card some players that deserved a card. He did give a card to the wrong player! (VAR later helped him correct the mistake.) There are better refs than him in the World Cup, he shouldn't need to repeat.
And finally, Uzbek Ravshan Irmatov did one of the worst jobs of the entire World Cup. And the VAR team was also bad, because they didn't intervene when they had to. Irmatov is one of FIFA's favorite referees, being the ref with most World Cup matches in history. I hope they come to their senses and don't designate him again. He missed three clear red cards, including a foul by goal-scorer Rebic and a completely unsportsmanlike conduct by Nicolas Otamendi by kicking the ball towards a Croatian player (where was the VAR??) I hope not to see Irmatov again, not a good ref.
Today's Facts
- Denmark's Yusuf Poulsen became the second player to cause penalties in two matches in a row against his team in history of the WC, something that didn't happen since 1938.
- Mbappe became the youngest French player in history to score a goal in the World Cup, ending the record of Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.
- As surprising as this may sound, Luka Modric became the first Real Madrid player to ever score to Argentina in a World Cup.
What's Next
This list only has the matches to be played the next day (tomorrow) as well as the next ones involving the teams that played today. That is why some of you have noticed that I am "skipping" some matches.
Friday June 22: Brazil vs Costa Rica, 6am FST
REFEREE: Bjorn Kuipers (NED)
Friday June 22: Nigeria vs Iceland, 9am FST
REFEREE: Matthew Conger (NZL)
Friday June 22: Serbia vs Switzerland, 12pm FST
REFEREE: Felix Brych (GER)
Tuesday June 26: Denmark vs France, 8am FST
Tuesday June 26: Australia vs Peru, 8am FST
Tuesday June 26: Nigeria vs Argentina, 12pm FST
Tuesday June 26: Iceland vs Croatia, 12pm FST
Today's Questions
- Blame is obviously shared for Argentina's failure. But can anyone be particularly pointed out? Messi? Sampaoli (coach)? The FA? The other players?
- Why do you think football powerhouses like Argentina and Germany (finalists in 2014) are not performing well?
Thank you all for your comments and for reading. I really appreciate you being on these forums and participating. As always, feedback is welcome. See you tomorrow!
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Lpez
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