by Craig Laycock
Original article:
Spain 4 - 0 Saudi Arabia
Belgium 0 - 0 Iran
Uruguay 2 - 2 Cape Verde
New Zealand 1 - 3 Egypt
It was a day of delight for two of the underdog teams as Iran and Cape Verde secured famous consecutive draws to nudge them closer to potentially getting out of their respective groups.
Meanwhile, Spain finally showed up to the tournament with an inspired first-half performance by Lamine Yamal showing why they’re considered favourites, and Egypt, lifted by a Mo Salah goal, showed their last 32 credentials.
The day’s highlights:
Spain gave Saudi Arabia a lesson in attacking prowess with an assured first-half performance that saw them score three goals in the first 25 minutes, their first goal coming from teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal.
Belgium’s struggles continued as they limped to a 0-0 draw with a resilient Iran side, the European side looking a shadow of their former selves with focal points Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne unable to get a grip on the game.
Cape Verde showed their draw against Spain in the first round of fixtures was not a flash in the pan, demonstrating attacking confidence to draw 2-2 with Uruguay in Miami.
Egypt put New Zealand to the sword after spending the first half a goal down, winning that encounter 3-1 and strengthening Egypt’s case for progressing into and possibly through the knockout Round of 32.
How were the games? What did we learn?
It was a day where we certainly learned about some of the weaknesses of the historically better-regarded teams, such as Belgium and Uruguay. Belgium looked bereft of ideas in their game against Iran, and lacked the cutting edge or final ball quality that we’ve historically seen from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne.
Bielsa’s Uruguay also looked shaky against Cape Verde and they find themselves in real trouble in their group.
***
Spain v Saudi Arabia
This was a game that was ultimately decided in the first 25 minutes, with Spain seemingly coming out of the traps keen to consign their Cape Verde draw in the first game to the annals of history and underline their credentials as tournament favourites.
Who better to set that tone than superstar Lamine Yamal, a player already performing at an elite level and with aspirations of dominating the game for years to come. His goal, ten minutes into his very first World Cup start, saw him get on the end of a Mikel Oyarzabal cross and put Spain into a commanding early lead that they never looked like letting up.
Provider then turned scorer, with Oyarzabal firing past Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Owais to make it two after some questionable defending following a Spanish corner. Three minutes later he made it three after converting Dani Olmo’s far post flick on.
If that wasn’t enough, Oyarzabal hit the crossbar soon after to almost register a hat-trick.
The second half was a more tepid affair, with Spain withdrawing their attacking prowess of Oyarzabal and Yamal to the bench and somewhat taking their foot off the gas. The contest at that point was effectively dead, and the quality of viewing went with it.
But Spain still managed to get a fourth goal, with Marc Cucurella’s shot cannoning off Al Tambakti and into the Saudi goal. It’ll go down as an own goal, much to my Fantasy Football chagrin.
***
Belgium v Iran
Belgium toiled to a 0-0 draw against Iran in disappointing style, with a lot of credit going the way of Iran who could have won this game on another day.
Belgium managed 23 shots, but in truth never really looked much like scoring, ending the match with ten men after the dismissal of Nathan Ngoy for a professional foul.
Much has been made of Romelu Lukaku’s fitness coming into this tournament - not least by his own manager - and in truth this didn’t seem the right time to hand the record scorer his first start as he toiled in the LA heat and generally didn’t look at his best.
The idea from Belgium was to have Lukaku as the focal point and bounce balls off him from De Bruyne out to other Belgium players swarming the box. But it was clear early on that Iran were wise to that, and were surrounding Lukaku to deny him the short passing outlets to act as a hold up player.
It was a lacklustre performance that looked like it was playing out in slow motion at times.
Credit has to go to Alireza Beiranvand in the Iranian goal, who performed admirably between the sticks to keep out a range of efforts from the Red Devils.
For Iran, a side that has undoubtedly had to deal with, frankly, a lot of shit coming into this tournament, they find themselves avoiding defeat for the first time in consecutive World Cup matches.
Indeed, they could have pinched a win were it not for their clever free kick routine being ultimately ruled as offside by VAR. It was beautifully worked and deserved a goal, but Taremi was adjudged to have moved slightly offside before receiving the ball.
***
Uruguay v Cape Verde
Story of the tournament Cape Verde went on to produce another sensational display to hold Uruguay at bay, and showed they’re no mugs going forwards either, scoring two goals to inflict a major blow on Uruguay’s chances of progression from this group.
While their gritty display against Spain was heralded for the goalkeeping heroics of Vozinha, today it was Kevin Pina’s turn to take the spotlight as he delivered a long-range free kick that penetrated the Uruguay wall in the 21st minute and nestled in the back of the net.
Cape Verde then pressed for a second, leaving some space in behind that Uruguay managed to exploit through a Araújo leveller. Araújo then assisted Canobbio who made it 2-1 Uruguay right before the break.
A devastating time to concede two goals, and you’d have been forgiven for thinking that would be Cape Verde down and out, but Uruguay’s defensive uneasiness was exploited by Helio Varela, who pounced on a mistake as Mathias Olivera tried to play a ball across his own box.
Uruguay almost made it three at the end, but Valverde had a goal ruled offside and neither side could convert in the final frantic minutes to win the game. It ended 2-2, a thrilling game and a reminder to the world that the “smaller” World Cup sides aren’t here to just make up the numbers.
***
New Zealand v Egypt
New Zealand looked like they were about to have their best start to a World Cup in their history after taking an early lead against Egypt, but found themselves powerless to resist the African side in the second half of the game.
Finn Surman headed New Zealand ahead in the 15th minute of the game, from an excellent Tim Payne corner. But for all of New Zealand’s set piece prowess, they have looked open at the back in the tournament already, and so it proved to be the case again today as Egypt put them to the sword in the second half.
The floodgates opened in the 58th minute as Mostafa Zico headed home to make it 1-1. As the imperious Mo Salah grew into the game, his influence became clear and his one-two with Zico ended with a tidy finish from Salah to take the lead.
And it was a set piece that proved to be the final nail for New Zealand, with Mo Salah’s corner meeting the head of Trezeguet to make it 3-1 and game over.
Egypt will progress to the Round of 32 if they beat Iran next, while New Zealand have it all to do against Belgium, with only a win potentially being enough to qualify.
***
It’s a tasty day in prospect next, with shining lights Argentina and France in action in groups J and I. Norway’s Erling Haaland will hope to boost his Golden Boot chances against Senegal.
Bring on day 12!
17 min read
Spain 4 - 0 Saudi Arabia
Belgium 0 - 0 Iran
Uruguay 2 - 2 Cape Verde
New Zealand 1 - 3 Egypt
It was a day of delight for two of the underdog teams as Iran and Cape Verde secured famous consecutive draws to nudge them closer to potentially getting out of their respective groups.
Meanwhile, Spain finally showed up to the tournament with an inspired first-half performance by Lamine Yamal showing why they’re considered favourites, and Egypt, lifted by a Mo Salah goal, showed their last 32 credentials.
The day’s highlights:
Spain gave Saudi Arabia a lesson in attacking prowess with an assured first-half performance that saw them score three goals in the first 25 minutes, their first goal coming from teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal.
Belgium’s struggles continued as they limped to a 0-0 draw with a resilient Iran side, the European side looking a shadow of their former selves with focal points Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne unable to get a grip on the game.
Cape Verde showed their draw against Spain in the first round of fixtures was not a flash in the pan, demonstrating attacking confidence to draw 2-2 with Uruguay in Miami.
Egypt put New Zealand to the sword after spending the first half a goal down, winning that encounter 3-1 and strengthening Egypt’s case for progressing into and possibly through the knockout Round of 32.
How were the games? What did we learn?
It was a day where we certainly learned about some of the weaknesses of the historically better-regarded teams, such as Belgium and Uruguay. Belgium looked bereft of ideas in their game against Iran, and lacked the cutting edge or final ball quality that we’ve historically seen from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne.
Bielsa’s Uruguay also looked shaky against Cape Verde and they find themselves in real trouble in their group.
***
Spain v Saudi Arabia
This was a game that was ultimately decided in the first 25 minutes, with Spain seemingly coming out of the traps keen to consign their Cape Verde draw in the first game to the annals of history and underline their credentials as tournament favourites.
Who better to set that tone than superstar Lamine Yamal, a player already performing at an elite level and with aspirations of dominating the game for years to come. His goal, ten minutes into his very first World Cup start, saw him get on the end of a Mikel Oyarzabal cross and put Spain into a commanding early lead that they never looked like letting up.
Provider then turned scorer, with Oyarzabal firing past Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Owais to make it two after some questionable defending following a Spanish corner. Three minutes later he made it three after converting Dani Olmo’s far post flick on.
If that wasn’t enough, Oyarzabal hit the crossbar soon after to almost register a hat-trick.
The second half was a more tepid affair, with Spain withdrawing their attacking prowess of Oyarzabal and Yamal to the bench and somewhat taking their foot off the gas. The contest at that point was effectively dead, and the quality of viewing went with it.
But Spain still managed to get a fourth goal, with Marc Cucurella’s shot cannoning off Al Tambakti and into the Saudi goal. It’ll go down as an own goal, much to my Fantasy Football chagrin.
***
Belgium v Iran
Belgium toiled to a 0-0 draw against Iran in disappointing style, with a lot of credit going the way of Iran who could have won this game on another day.
Belgium managed 23 shots, but in truth never really looked much like scoring, ending the match with ten men after the dismissal of Nathan Ngoy for a professional foul.
Much has been made of Romelu Lukaku’s fitness coming into this tournament - not least by his own manager - and in truth this didn’t seem the right time to hand the record scorer his first start as he toiled in the LA heat and generally didn’t look at his best.
The idea from Belgium was to have Lukaku as the focal point and bounce balls off him from De Bruyne out to other Belgium players swarming the box. But it was clear early on that Iran were wise to that, and were surrounding Lukaku to deny him the short passing outlets to act as a hold up player.
It was a lacklustre performance that looked like it was playing out in slow motion at times.
Credit has to go to Alireza Beiranvand in the Iranian goal, who performed admirably between the sticks to keep out a range of efforts from the Red Devils.
For Iran, a side that has undoubtedly had to deal with, frankly, a lot of shit coming into this tournament, they find themselves avoiding defeat for the first time in consecutive World Cup matches.
Indeed, they could have pinched a win were it not for their clever free kick routine being ultimately ruled as offside by VAR. It was beautifully worked and deserved a goal, but Taremi was adjudged to have moved slightly offside before receiving the ball.
***
Uruguay v Cape Verde
Story of the tournament Cape Verde went on to produce another sensational display to hold Uruguay at bay, and showed they’re no mugs going forwards either, scoring two goals to inflict a major blow on Uruguay’s chances of progression from this group.
While their gritty display against Spain was heralded for the goalkeeping heroics of Vozinha, today it was Kevin Pina’s turn to take the spotlight as he delivered a long-range free kick that penetrated the Uruguay wall in the 21st minute and nestled in the back of the net.
Cape Verde then pressed for a second, leaving some space in behind that Uruguay managed to exploit through a Araújo leveller. Araújo then assisted Canobbio who made it 2-1 Uruguay right before the break.
A devastating time to concede two goals, and you’d have been forgiven for thinking that would be Cape Verde down and out, but Uruguay’s defensive uneasiness was exploited by Helio Varela, who pounced on a mistake as Mathias Olivera tried to play a ball across his own box.
Uruguay almost made it three at the end, but Valverde had a goal ruled offside and neither side could convert in the final frantic minutes to win the game. It ended 2-2, a thrilling game and a reminder to the world that the “smaller” World Cup sides aren’t here to just make up the numbers.
***
New Zealand v Egypt
New Zealand looked like they were about to have their best start to a World Cup in their history after taking an early lead against Egypt, but found themselves powerless to resist the African side in the second half of the game.
Finn Surman headed New Zealand ahead in the 15th minute of the game, from an excellent Tim Payne corner. But for all of New Zealand’s set piece prowess, they have looked open at the back in the tournament already, and so it proved to be the case again today as Egypt put them to the sword in the second half.
The floodgates opened in the 58th minute as Mostafa Zico headed home to make it 1-1. As the imperious Mo Salah grew into the game, his influence became clear and his one-two with Zico ended with a tidy finish from Salah to take the lead.
And it was a set piece that proved to be the final nail for New Zealand, with Mo Salah’s corner meeting the head of Trezeguet to make it 3-1 and game over.
Egypt will progress to the Round of 32 if they beat Iran next, while New Zealand have it all to do against Belgium, with only a win potentially being enough to qualify.
***
It’s a tasty day in prospect next, with shining lights Argentina and France in action in groups J and I. Norway’s Erling Haaland will hope to boost his Golden Boot chances against Senegal.
Bring on day 12!
Day eleven: Spain are back, baby
The Cape of Good Hope.
Original article:
Last updated:
Spain 4 - 0 Saudi Arabia
Belgium 0 - 0 Iran
Uruguay 2 - 2 Cape Verde
New Zealand 1 - 3 Egypt
It was a day of delight for two of the underdog teams as Iran and Cape Verde secured famous consecutive draws to nudge them closer to potentially getting out of their respective groups.
Meanwhile, Spain finally showed up to the tournament with an inspired first-half performance by Lamine Yamal showing why they’re considered favourites, and Egypt, lifted by a Mo Salah goal, showed their last 32 credentials.
The day’s highlights:
Spain gave Saudi Arabia a lesson in attacking prowess with an assured first-half performance that saw them score three goals in the first 25 minutes, their first goal coming from teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal.
Belgium’s struggles continued as they limped to a 0-0 draw with a resilient Iran side, the European side looking a shadow of their former selves with focal points Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne unable to get a grip on the game.
Cape Verde showed their draw against Spain in the first round of fixtures was not a flash in the pan, demonstrating attacking confidence to draw 2-2 with Uruguay in Miami.
Egypt put New Zealand to the sword after spending the first half a goal down, winning that encounter 3-1 and strengthening Egypt’s case for progressing into and possibly through the knockout Round of 32.
How were the games? What did we learn?
It was a day where we certainly learned about some of the weaknesses of the historically better-regarded teams, such as Belgium and Uruguay. Belgium looked bereft of ideas in their game against Iran, and lacked the cutting edge or final ball quality that we’ve historically seen from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne.
Bielsa’s Uruguay also looked shaky against Cape Verde and they find themselves in real trouble in their group.
***
Spain v Saudi Arabia
This was a game that was ultimately decided in the first 25 minutes, with Spain seemingly coming out of the traps keen to consign their Cape Verde draw in the first game to the annals of history and underline their credentials as tournament favourites.
Who better to set that tone than superstar Lamine Yamal, a player already performing at an elite level and with aspirations of dominating the game for years to come. His goal, ten minutes into his very first World Cup start, saw him get on the end of a Mikel Oyarzabal cross and put Spain into a commanding early lead that they never looked like letting up.
Provider then turned scorer, with Oyarzabal firing past Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Owais to make it two after some questionable defending following a Spanish corner. Three minutes later he made it three after converting Dani Olmo’s far post flick on.
If that wasn’t enough, Oyarzabal hit the crossbar soon after to almost register a hat-trick.
The second half was a more tepid affair, with Spain withdrawing their attacking prowess of Oyarzabal and Yamal to the bench and somewhat taking their foot off the gas. The contest at that point was effectively dead, and the quality of viewing went with it.
But Spain still managed to get a fourth goal, with Marc Cucurella’s shot cannoning off Al Tambakti and into the Saudi goal. It’ll go down as an own goal, much to my Fantasy Football chagrin.
***
Belgium v Iran
Belgium toiled to a 0-0 draw against Iran in disappointing style, with a lot of credit going the way of Iran who could have won this game on another day.
Belgium managed 23 shots, but in truth never really looked much like scoring, ending the match with ten men after the dismissal of Nathan Ngoy for a professional foul.
Much has been made of Romelu Lukaku’s fitness coming into this tournament - not least by his own manager - and in truth this didn’t seem the right time to hand the record scorer his first start as he toiled in the LA heat and generally didn’t look at his best.
The idea from Belgium was to have Lukaku as the focal point and bounce balls off him from De Bruyne out to other Belgium players swarming the box. But it was clear early on that Iran were wise to that, and were surrounding Lukaku to deny him the short passing outlets to act as a hold up player.
It was a lacklustre performance that looked like it was playing out in slow motion at times.
Credit has to go to Alireza Beiranvand in the Iranian goal, who performed admirably between the sticks to keep out a range of efforts from the Red Devils.
For Iran, a side that has undoubtedly had to deal with, frankly, a lot of shit coming into this tournament, they find themselves avoiding defeat for the first time in consecutive World Cup matches.
Indeed, they could have pinched a win were it not for their clever free kick routine being ultimately ruled as offside by VAR. It was beautifully worked and deserved a goal, but Taremi was adjudged to have moved slightly offside before receiving the ball.
***
Uruguay v Cape Verde
Story of the tournament Cape Verde went on to produce another sensational display to hold Uruguay at bay, and showed they’re no mugs going forwards either, scoring two goals to inflict a major blow on Uruguay’s chances of progression from this group.
While their gritty display against Spain was heralded for the goalkeeping heroics of Vozinha, today it was Kevin Pina’s turn to take the spotlight as he delivered a long-range free kick that penetrated the Uruguay wall in the 21st minute and nestled in the back of the net.
Cape Verde then pressed for a second, leaving some space in behind that Uruguay managed to exploit through a Araújo leveller. Araújo then assisted Canobbio who made it 2-1 Uruguay right before the break.
A devastating time to concede two goals, and you’d have been forgiven for thinking that would be Cape Verde down and out, but Uruguay’s defensive uneasiness was exploited by Helio Varela, who pounced on a mistake as Mathias Olivera tried to play a ball across his own box.
Uruguay almost made it three at the end, but Valverde had a goal ruled offside and neither side could convert in the final frantic minutes to win the game. It ended 2-2, a thrilling game and a reminder to the world that the “smaller” World Cup sides aren’t here to just make up the numbers.
***
New Zealand v Egypt
New Zealand looked like they were about to have their best start to a World Cup in their history after taking an early lead against Egypt, but found themselves powerless to resist the African side in the second half of the game.
Finn Surman headed New Zealand ahead in the 15th minute of the game, from an excellent Tim Payne corner. But for all of New Zealand’s set piece prowess, they have looked open at the back in the tournament already, and so it proved to be the case again today as Egypt put them to the sword in the second half.
The floodgates opened in the 58th minute as Mostafa Zico headed home to make it 1-1. As the imperious Mo Salah grew into the game, his influence became clear and his one-two with Zico ended with a tidy finish from Salah to take the lead.
And it was a set piece that proved to be the final nail for New Zealand, with Mo Salah’s corner meeting the head of Trezeguet to make it 3-1 and game over.
Egypt will progress to the Round of 32 if they beat Iran next, while New Zealand have it all to do against Belgium, with only a win potentially being enough to qualify.
***
It’s a tasty day in prospect next, with shining lights Argentina and France in action in groups J and I. Norway’s Erling Haaland will hope to boost his Golden Boot chances against Senegal.
Bring on day 12!
17 min read
Day eleven: Spain are back, baby
The Cape of Good Hope.
Spain 4 - 0 Saudi Arabia
Belgium 0 - 0 Iran
Uruguay 2 - 2 Cape Verde
New Zealand 1 - 3 Egypt
It was a day of delight for two of the underdog teams as Iran and Cape Verde secured famous consecutive draws to nudge them closer to potentially getting out of their respective groups.
Meanwhile, Spain finally showed up to the tournament with an inspired first-half performance by Lamine Yamal showing why they’re considered favourites, and Egypt, lifted by a Mo Salah goal, showed their last 32 credentials.
The day’s highlights:
Spain gave Saudi Arabia a lesson in attacking prowess with an assured first-half performance that saw them score three goals in the first 25 minutes, their first goal coming from teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal.
Belgium’s struggles continued as they limped to a 0-0 draw with a resilient Iran side, the European side looking a shadow of their former selves with focal points Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne unable to get a grip on the game.
Cape Verde showed their draw against Spain in the first round of fixtures was not a flash in the pan, demonstrating attacking confidence to draw 2-2 with Uruguay in Miami.
Egypt put New Zealand to the sword after spending the first half a goal down, winning that encounter 3-1 and strengthening Egypt’s case for progressing into and possibly through the knockout Round of 32.
How were the games? What did we learn?
It was a day where we certainly learned about some of the weaknesses of the historically better-regarded teams, such as Belgium and Uruguay. Belgium looked bereft of ideas in their game against Iran, and lacked the cutting edge or final ball quality that we’ve historically seen from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne.
Bielsa’s Uruguay also looked shaky against Cape Verde and they find themselves in real trouble in their group.
***
Spain v Saudi Arabia
This was a game that was ultimately decided in the first 25 minutes, with Spain seemingly coming out of the traps keen to consign their Cape Verde draw in the first game to the annals of history and underline their credentials as tournament favourites.
Who better to set that tone than superstar Lamine Yamal, a player already performing at an elite level and with aspirations of dominating the game for years to come. His goal, ten minutes into his very first World Cup start, saw him get on the end of a Mikel Oyarzabal cross and put Spain into a commanding early lead that they never looked like letting up.
Provider then turned scorer, with Oyarzabal firing past Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Owais to make it two after some questionable defending following a Spanish corner. Three minutes later he made it three after converting Dani Olmo’s far post flick on.
If that wasn’t enough, Oyarzabal hit the crossbar soon after to almost register a hat-trick.
The second half was a more tepid affair, with Spain withdrawing their attacking prowess of Oyarzabal and Yamal to the bench and somewhat taking their foot off the gas. The contest at that point was effectively dead, and the quality of viewing went with it.
But Spain still managed to get a fourth goal, with Marc Cucurella’s shot cannoning off Al Tambakti and into the Saudi goal. It’ll go down as an own goal, much to my Fantasy Football chagrin.
***
Belgium v Iran
Belgium toiled to a 0-0 draw against Iran in disappointing style, with a lot of credit going the way of Iran who could have won this game on another day.
Belgium managed 23 shots, but in truth never really looked much like scoring, ending the match with ten men after the dismissal of Nathan Ngoy for a professional foul.
Much has been made of Romelu Lukaku’s fitness coming into this tournament - not least by his own manager - and in truth this didn’t seem the right time to hand the record scorer his first start as he toiled in the LA heat and generally didn’t look at his best.
The idea from Belgium was to have Lukaku as the focal point and bounce balls off him from De Bruyne out to other Belgium players swarming the box. But it was clear early on that Iran were wise to that, and were surrounding Lukaku to deny him the short passing outlets to act as a hold up player.
It was a lacklustre performance that looked like it was playing out in slow motion at times.
Credit has to go to Alireza Beiranvand in the Iranian goal, who performed admirably between the sticks to keep out a range of efforts from the Red Devils.
For Iran, a side that has undoubtedly had to deal with, frankly, a lot of shit coming into this tournament, they find themselves avoiding defeat for the first time in consecutive World Cup matches.
Indeed, they could have pinched a win were it not for their clever free kick routine being ultimately ruled as offside by VAR. It was beautifully worked and deserved a goal, but Taremi was adjudged to have moved slightly offside before receiving the ball.
***
Uruguay v Cape Verde
Story of the tournament Cape Verde went on to produce another sensational display to hold Uruguay at bay, and showed they’re no mugs going forwards either, scoring two goals to inflict a major blow on Uruguay’s chances of progression from this group.
While their gritty display against Spain was heralded for the goalkeeping heroics of Vozinha, today it was Kevin Pina’s turn to take the spotlight as he delivered a long-range free kick that penetrated the Uruguay wall in the 21st minute and nestled in the back of the net.
Cape Verde then pressed for a second, leaving some space in behind that Uruguay managed to exploit through a Araújo leveller. Araújo then assisted Canobbio who made it 2-1 Uruguay right before the break.
A devastating time to concede two goals, and you’d have been forgiven for thinking that would be Cape Verde down and out, but Uruguay’s defensive uneasiness was exploited by Helio Varela, who pounced on a mistake as Mathias Olivera tried to play a ball across his own box.
Uruguay almost made it three at the end, but Valverde had a goal ruled offside and neither side could convert in the final frantic minutes to win the game. It ended 2-2, a thrilling game and a reminder to the world that the “smaller” World Cup sides aren’t here to just make up the numbers.
***
New Zealand v Egypt
New Zealand looked like they were about to have their best start to a World Cup in their history after taking an early lead against Egypt, but found themselves powerless to resist the African side in the second half of the game.
Finn Surman headed New Zealand ahead in the 15th minute of the game, from an excellent Tim Payne corner. But for all of New Zealand’s set piece prowess, they have looked open at the back in the tournament already, and so it proved to be the case again today as Egypt put them to the sword in the second half.
The floodgates opened in the 58th minute as Mostafa Zico headed home to make it 1-1. As the imperious Mo Salah grew into the game, his influence became clear and his one-two with Zico ended with a tidy finish from Salah to take the lead.
And it was a set piece that proved to be the final nail for New Zealand, with Mo Salah’s corner meeting the head of Trezeguet to make it 3-1 and game over.
Egypt will progress to the Round of 32 if they beat Iran next, while New Zealand have it all to do against Belgium, with only a win potentially being enough to qualify.
***
It’s a tasty day in prospect next, with shining lights Argentina and France in action in groups J and I. Norway’s Erling Haaland will hope to boost his Golden Boot chances against Senegal.
Bring on day 12!
17 min read