by Craig Laycock
Original article:
Portugal 1 - 1 DR Congo
England 4 - 2 Croatia
Ghana 1 - 0 Panama
Uzbekistan 1 - 3 Colombia
It was a day of drama on day 7 with Portugal finding themselves unexpectedly held, a dramatic topsy-turvy game featuring England and Croatia in which we saw a new side to England, a tense battle between Ghana and Panama and a gritty performance by Uzbekistan that saw them narrowly bested by Colombia in Mexico City.
The day’s highlights:
A disappointing Portugal were held by DR Congo in a 1-1 draw in which the European side didn’t really seem to get going at any stage. Yoann Wissa earned DR Congo their first ever World Cup point.
England survived an early high press to turn up the heat in the second half and show their attacking class and depth from the bench against Croatia, with Harry Kane imperious all over the pitch for the Three Lions. He’s now joint-top English goalscorer at a World Cup alongside Gary Lineker.
Ghana and Panama played out a game that was notable for poor finishing after the thrills and spills of the England v Croatia match, with Ghana taking a last minute win through Caleb Yirnekyi, leaving Panama with a huge mountain to climb in Group L as tempers flared in Toronto.
Uzbekistan and Colombia met in Mexico, a game in which Colombia dominated in terms of possession and Uzbekistan sat back in an effort to grind out a result on the counter.
How were the games? What did we learn?
England v Croatia was undoubtedly the pick of the games today, with Thomas Tuchel injecting a tactical shot in the arm at half time after the two sides went into the break level at 2-2. We learned a lot about how England will tweak their setup mid-game and insight into the terrifying attacking breadth from the bench at Tuchel’s disposal.
Whisper it rather than shout it, but Cristiano Ronaldo had a very poor game for Portugal against DR Congo. Compared with Messi’s performance last night, Ronaldo looked statuesque at times and seemed to be struggling to find the half yard of space required to make a difference.
We also saw that FIFA is prepared to continue with hydration breaks even when it’s pissing down with rain in 20 degree weather in Toronto. Fans seem to be turning against the breaks in their droves now, with vocal opposition clearly audible in the stadia.
***
Portugal v DR Congo
After Lionel Messi’s heroics last night, you would imagine that Cristiano Ronaldo was giving himself the pep talk of all pep talks in the dressing room before the DR Congo match. After his greatest rival scored three goals yesterday, and Mbappe and Haaland picked up two goals, it was over to centre stage for Ronaldo.
But the 41-year-old, today becoming the oldest outfield player to ever start a World Cup match, seemed to lack a spark in this game, asking the question, did he deserve to start?
But critics of Ronaldo would also need to look at the contribution of the wider Portugal team, for which CR7 cannot be held solely responsible for.
Things started well enough for Portugal, with a Joao Neves header from Pedro Neto’s cross putting the team in red into a sixth-minute lead. But their early dominance started to fade and DR Congo came back into the game through a well-taken Wissa goal.
Arthur Masuaka crossed the ball into the box, for Wissa to connect with, giving DR Congo fans something historic to celebrate: their first ever World Cup goal, 52 years after their maiden appearance at a World Cup finals in 1974.
Portugal thought they’d escaped with a win after Joao Cancelo’s inventive bicycle kick ended up in the back of the net, but it was soon correctly ruled as offside.
DR Congo probably had the better chances as the game came towards its conclusion, but couldn’t find a historic winner, and at the full time whistle Portugal boss Roberto Martinez would have been scratching his head ruminating on what went wrong for his side in a game they were expected to comfortably win.
***
England v Croatia
What a game. Being touted by some as a “game of the tournament” contender, England and Croatia played out a high-energy, entertaining encounter which had it all from an attacking perspective.
Croatia are ranked 11th in the world, and could not be considered an easy group stage opponent for England, especially given the recent history between these two sides.
England took the lead early on through a Harry Kane penalty, after some confusion and a retake due to some encroachment in the box after Kane missed his first effort. He made no error the second time around, burying his shot into the far corner.
Croatia were pressing high, perhaps trying to unsettle the defensive pairing of Konsa and Stones, knowing that Stones has not played much football this season. And the tactic almost paid off, with Croatia hemming England in and preventing them from playing their preferred style of attacking football. Martin Baturina scored for Croatia, before Kane wrestled England back into the game with a delightful header from a Declan Rice corner.
The lead wouldn’t stick, though, and Croatia found their way back into the game again to make it 2-2. England looked half-there, but a little timid, suppressed, in their shells.
And then an inflection point.
Perhaps where the risk-averse England of old would have played slow possession, probing football, with the hope of working a perfect opportunity or holding on for a draw, Tuchel’s England went out and attacked the moment.
“Go for it”, urged Tuchel, telling his side at half-time that if we lose, we’ll do it our way and not by playing a style of football that isn’t our identity. Having that reassurance to do just that seemed to unlock a different side to the Three Lions and we saw them at their effervescent best.
In truth, England blew Croatia out of the water in the second half, even if Croatia had their own chances to get back into the game. It looked like England being pressed in would open up space behind Croatia in the channels, and that’s exactly what England then exploited with a rapid ball from Anderson delivered into the feet of Jude Bellingham, who ran it into the box and finished smartly.
A great goal from Rashford sealed the deal, cutting inside onto his right foot and placing a shot into the bottom right corner, and in truth the scoreline probably flattered Croatia in the end.
4-2, England up and running, and Croatia will be instead looking to their games against Panama and Ghana to secure their expected qualification from this stage of the competition.
***
Ghana v Panama
Maybe not a game that will live long in the memory, except for the scenes towards the closing stages where Ghana grabbed the win and tempers flared in the cool atmosphere of Toronto Stadium.
Panama started the best of the two sides, with Waterman having a fine hit saved, although the impression from the early chances created was that both sides were struggling to be clinical enough to make the difference. Panama continued to press and Ghana hung in there as Cristian Martinez banged an effort into the side netting.
Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, though, became a constant thorn in Panama’s side, continually probing for openings and looking to make the difference with his substantial individual quality.
In the second half, Brandon Thomas-Asante for Ghana proved to be a menace with his direct runs at the Panama defence. He combined well with Jordan Ayew, but Panama got back to defend their lines with Ramos making a critical challenge doing just enough to put him off.
The game had 0-0 all over it until Yirienki broke the deadlock. Thomas-Asante made a trademark run, bursting into the area and squaring it for the youngest player on the pitch Yirienki, who converted the tap in. That was his first ever international goal, on the biggest stage of all.
The game ended with a bit of tetchiness as Panama sent their keeper up for a corner and almost scored from the opportunity, but a good save from Ghana’s keeper denied the opportunity, and a misplaced boot on him led to a small scuffle as Panama frustrations boiled over.
Panama fans looked distraught at the final whistle, knowing this was their best chance to get out of the group. Extremely tough games against 11th ranked Croatia and 4th ranked England now follow. Surely a bridge too far for even the most wildly optimistic pundits.
***
Uzbekistan v Colombia
We’ll start with how the first half went, should we?
In our preview of Uzbekistan, we said “Expect them to be in pressure-absorption mode and try to get something from a set piece.” That was definitely the case in the first half, as you can see from the graphic above.
That white peak you see is around a set piece for Uzbekistan. What did they do with it? Hit it straight at a one man wall.
They stuck to their guns of the gritty low block football that got them here, but Colombia probed and pressed and kept on persevering, hammering the side netting, shooting wide and finally getting their just rewards after a beautiful pass from Luis Diaz was flicked into the net by Crystal Palace defender Muñoz.
It was a striker’s finish from the defender, and one that stands up to repeated viewing. Undoubtedly the highlight of the first half.
In the first half, a cameraman was also inadvertently wiped out by an Uzbekistan player on the touchline leading to some dramatic first-person pictures of the incident. He had treatment on the sideline but we think he’s OK.
In the second half, the unbelievable happened. Uzbekistan started playing a little higher, and a ball landed to Shomuradov who hit a half volley from 10 yards. The keeper flapped at it and Fayullaev pounced to knock it home. Cue wild celebrations from manager Fabio Cannavaro.
Before you knew it though, that man Luis Diaz was stamping his authority on the game again. After Colombia pressed high and won the ball back, Diaz slotted it home past Uzbek keeper Yusupov. It was poor from the Uzbekistan keeper, in truth.
Néstor Lorenzo kept things on the front foot for the remainder of the game, with Uzbekistan unable to find the energy to hit Colombia on the counter leading to a relatively safe close-out for the South American side.
Colombia will need to step up their clinical side against stronger opposition because they could have been home dry against Uzbekistan but couldn’t make their advantage count, and Colombia punished them late on with a header from Campaz in 9th minute of added time.
Uzbekistan rattled the crossbar with a stunning shot at the death, but it wasn't in and it wasn't enough.
***
That’s it for day seven. 24 games down, over 36 hours of football watched, and I’m still loving every single minute.
Bring on day eight!
23 min read
World Cup day seven: Kane's domain, CR7's pain
63 in all competions for the England man.
23 min read
Portugal 1 - 1 DR Congo
England 4 - 2 Croatia
Ghana 1 - 0 Panama
Uzbekistan 1 - 3 Colombia
It was a day of drama on day 7 with Portugal finding themselves unexpectedly held, a dramatic topsy-turvy game featuring England and Croatia in which we saw a new side to England, a tense battle between Ghana and Panama and a gritty performance by Uzbekistan that saw them narrowly bested by Colombia in Mexico City.
The day’s highlights:
A disappointing Portugal were held by DR Congo in a 1-1 draw in which the European side didn’t really seem to get going at any stage. Yoann Wissa earned DR Congo their first ever World Cup point.
England survived an early high press to turn up the heat in the second half and show their attacking class and depth from the bench against Croatia, with Harry Kane imperious all over the pitch for the Three Lions. He’s now joint-top English goalscorer at a World Cup alongside Gary Lineker.
Ghana and Panama played out a game that was notable for poor finishing after the thrills and spills of the England v Croatia match, with Ghana taking a last minute win through Caleb Yirnekyi, leaving Panama with a huge mountain to climb in Group L as tempers flared in Toronto.
Uzbekistan and Colombia met in Mexico, a game in which Colombia dominated in terms of possession and Uzbekistan sat back in an effort to grind out a result on the counter.
How were the games? What did we learn?
England v Croatia was undoubtedly the pick of the games today, with Thomas Tuchel injecting a tactical shot in the arm at half time after the two sides went into the break level at 2-2. We learned a lot about how England will tweak their setup mid-game and insight into the terrifying attacking breadth from the bench at Tuchel’s disposal.
Whisper it rather than shout it, but Cristiano Ronaldo had a very poor game for Portugal against DR Congo. Compared with Messi’s performance last night, Ronaldo looked statuesque at times and seemed to be struggling to find the half yard of space required to make a difference.
We also saw that FIFA is prepared to continue with hydration breaks even when it’s pissing down with rain in 20 degree weather in Toronto. Fans seem to be turning against the breaks in their droves now, with vocal opposition clearly audible in the stadia.
***
Portugal v DR Congo
After Lionel Messi’s heroics last night, you would imagine that Cristiano Ronaldo was giving himself the pep talk of all pep talks in the dressing room before the DR Congo match. After his greatest rival scored three goals yesterday, and Mbappe and Haaland picked up two goals, it was over to centre stage for Ronaldo.
But the 41-year-old, today becoming the oldest outfield player to ever start a World Cup match, seemed to lack a spark in this game, asking the question, did he deserve to start?
But critics of Ronaldo would also need to look at the contribution of the wider Portugal team, for which CR7 cannot be held solely responsible for.
Things started well enough for Portugal, with a Joao Neves header from Pedro Neto’s cross putting the team in red into a sixth-minute lead. But their early dominance started to fade and DR Congo came back into the game through a well-taken Wissa goal.
Arthur Masuaka crossed the ball into the box, for Wissa to connect with, giving DR Congo fans something historic to celebrate: their first ever World Cup goal, 52 years after their maiden appearance at a World Cup finals in 1974.
Portugal thought they’d escaped with a win after Joao Cancelo’s inventive bicycle kick ended up in the back of the net, but it was soon correctly ruled as offside.
DR Congo probably had the better chances as the game came towards its conclusion, but couldn’t find a historic winner, and at the full time whistle Portugal boss Roberto Martinez would have been scratching his head ruminating on what went wrong for his side in a game they were expected to comfortably win.
***
England v Croatia
What a game. Being touted by some as a “game of the tournament” contender, England and Croatia played out a high-energy, entertaining encounter which had it all from an attacking perspective.
Croatia are ranked 11th in the world, and could not be considered an easy group stage opponent for England, especially given the recent history between these two sides.
England took the lead early on through a Harry Kane penalty, after some confusion and a retake due to some encroachment in the box after Kane missed his first effort. He made no error the second time around, burying his shot into the far corner.
Croatia were pressing high, perhaps trying to unsettle the defensive pairing of Konsa and Stones, knowing that Stones has not played much football this season. And the tactic almost paid off, with Croatia hemming England in and preventing them from playing their preferred style of attacking football. Martin Baturina scored for Croatia, before Kane wrestled England back into the game with a delightful header from a Declan Rice corner.
The lead wouldn’t stick, though, and Croatia found their way back into the game again to make it 2-2. England looked half-there, but a little timid, suppressed, in their shells.
And then an inflection point.
Perhaps where the risk-averse England of old would have played slow possession, probing football, with the hope of working a perfect opportunity or holding on for a draw, Tuchel’s England went out and attacked the moment.
“Go for it”, urged Tuchel, telling his side at half-time that if we lose, we’ll do it our way and not by playing a style of football that isn’t our identity. Having that reassurance to do just that seemed to unlock a different side to the Three Lions and we saw them at their effervescent best.
In truth, England blew Croatia out of the water in the second half, even if Croatia had their own chances to get back into the game. It looked like England being pressed in would open up space behind Croatia in the channels, and that’s exactly what England then exploited with a rapid ball from Anderson delivered into the feet of Jude Bellingham, who ran it into the box and finished smartly.
A great goal from Rashford sealed the deal, cutting inside onto his right foot and placing a shot into the bottom right corner, and in truth the scoreline probably flattered Croatia in the end.
4-2, England up and running, and Croatia will be instead looking to their games against Panama and Ghana to secure their expected qualification from this stage of the competition.
***
Ghana v Panama
Maybe not a game that will live long in the memory, except for the scenes towards the closing stages where Ghana grabbed the win and tempers flared in the cool atmosphere of Toronto Stadium.
Panama started the best of the two sides, with Waterman having a fine hit saved, although the impression from the early chances created was that both sides were struggling to be clinical enough to make the difference. Panama continued to press and Ghana hung in there as Cristian Martinez banged an effort into the side netting.
Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, though, became a constant thorn in Panama’s side, continually probing for openings and looking to make the difference with his substantial individual quality.
In the second half, Brandon Thomas-Asante for Ghana proved to be a menace with his direct runs at the Panama defence. He combined well with Jordan Ayew, but Panama got back to defend their lines with Ramos making a critical challenge doing just enough to put him off.
The game had 0-0 all over it until Yirienki broke the deadlock. Thomas-Asante made a trademark run, bursting into the area and squaring it for the youngest player on the pitch Yirienki, who converted the tap in. That was his first ever international goal, on the biggest stage of all.
The game ended with a bit of tetchiness as Panama sent their keeper up for a corner and almost scored from the opportunity, but a good save from Ghana’s keeper denied the opportunity, and a misplaced boot on him led to a small scuffle as Panama frustrations boiled over.
Panama fans looked distraught at the final whistle, knowing this was their best chance to get out of the group. Extremely tough games against 11th ranked Croatia and 4th ranked England now follow. Surely a bridge too far for even the most wildly optimistic pundits.
***
Uzbekistan v Colombia
We’ll start with how the first half went, should we?
In our preview of Uzbekistan, we said “Expect them to be in pressure-absorption mode and try to get something from a set piece.” That was definitely the case in the first half, as you can see from the graphic above.
That white peak you see is around a set piece for Uzbekistan. What did they do with it? Hit it straight at a one man wall.
They stuck to their guns of the gritty low block football that got them here, but Colombia probed and pressed and kept on persevering, hammering the side netting, shooting wide and finally getting their just rewards after a beautiful pass from Luis Diaz was flicked into the net by Crystal Palace defender Muñoz.
It was a striker’s finish from the defender, and one that stands up to repeated viewing. Undoubtedly the highlight of the first half.
In the first half, a cameraman was also inadvertently wiped out by an Uzbekistan player on the touchline leading to some dramatic first-person pictures of the incident. He had treatment on the sideline but we think he’s OK.
In the second half, the unbelievable happened. Uzbekistan started playing a little higher, and a ball landed to Shomuradov who hit a half volley from 10 yards. The keeper flapped at it and Fayullaev pounced to knock it home. Cue wild celebrations from manager Fabio Cannavaro.
Before you knew it though, that man Luis Diaz was stamping his authority on the game again. After Colombia pressed high and won the ball back, Diaz slotted it home past Uzbek keeper Yusupov. It was poor from the Uzbekistan keeper, in truth.
Néstor Lorenzo kept things on the front foot for the remainder of the game, with Uzbekistan unable to find the energy to hit Colombia on the counter leading to a relatively safe close-out for the South American side.
Colombia will need to step up their clinical side against stronger opposition because they could have been home dry against Uzbekistan but couldn’t make their advantage count, and Colombia punished them late on with a header from Campaz in 9th minute of added time.
Uzbekistan rattled the crossbar with a stunning shot at the death, but it wasn't in and it wasn't enough.
***
That’s it for day seven. 24 games down, over 36 hours of football watched, and I’m still loving every single minute.
Bring on day eight!
World Cup day seven: Kane's domain, CR7's pain
63 in all competions for the England man.
Original article:
Last updated:
Portugal 1 - 1 DR Congo
England 4 - 2 Croatia
Ghana 1 - 0 Panama
Uzbekistan 1 - 3 Colombia
It was a day of drama on day 7 with Portugal finding themselves unexpectedly held, a dramatic topsy-turvy game featuring England and Croatia in which we saw a new side to England, a tense battle between Ghana and Panama and a gritty performance by Uzbekistan that saw them narrowly bested by Colombia in Mexico City.
The day’s highlights:
A disappointing Portugal were held by DR Congo in a 1-1 draw in which the European side didn’t really seem to get going at any stage. Yoann Wissa earned DR Congo their first ever World Cup point.
England survived an early high press to turn up the heat in the second half and show their attacking class and depth from the bench against Croatia, with Harry Kane imperious all over the pitch for the Three Lions. He’s now joint-top English goalscorer at a World Cup alongside Gary Lineker.
Ghana and Panama played out a game that was notable for poor finishing after the thrills and spills of the England v Croatia match, with Ghana taking a last minute win through Caleb Yirnekyi, leaving Panama with a huge mountain to climb in Group L as tempers flared in Toronto.
Uzbekistan and Colombia met in Mexico, a game in which Colombia dominated in terms of possession and Uzbekistan sat back in an effort to grind out a result on the counter.
How were the games? What did we learn?
England v Croatia was undoubtedly the pick of the games today, with Thomas Tuchel injecting a tactical shot in the arm at half time after the two sides went into the break level at 2-2. We learned a lot about how England will tweak their setup mid-game and insight into the terrifying attacking breadth from the bench at Tuchel’s disposal.
Whisper it rather than shout it, but Cristiano Ronaldo had a very poor game for Portugal against DR Congo. Compared with Messi’s performance last night, Ronaldo looked statuesque at times and seemed to be struggling to find the half yard of space required to make a difference.
We also saw that FIFA is prepared to continue with hydration breaks even when it’s pissing down with rain in 20 degree weather in Toronto. Fans seem to be turning against the breaks in their droves now, with vocal opposition clearly audible in the stadia.
***
Portugal v DR Congo
After Lionel Messi’s heroics last night, you would imagine that Cristiano Ronaldo was giving himself the pep talk of all pep talks in the dressing room before the DR Congo match. After his greatest rival scored three goals yesterday, and Mbappe and Haaland picked up two goals, it was over to centre stage for Ronaldo.
But the 41-year-old, today becoming the oldest outfield player to ever start a World Cup match, seemed to lack a spark in this game, asking the question, did he deserve to start?
But critics of Ronaldo would also need to look at the contribution of the wider Portugal team, for which CR7 cannot be held solely responsible for.
Things started well enough for Portugal, with a Joao Neves header from Pedro Neto’s cross putting the team in red into a sixth-minute lead. But their early dominance started to fade and DR Congo came back into the game through a well-taken Wissa goal.
Arthur Masuaka crossed the ball into the box, for Wissa to connect with, giving DR Congo fans something historic to celebrate: their first ever World Cup goal, 52 years after their maiden appearance at a World Cup finals in 1974.
Portugal thought they’d escaped with a win after Joao Cancelo’s inventive bicycle kick ended up in the back of the net, but it was soon correctly ruled as offside.
DR Congo probably had the better chances as the game came towards its conclusion, but couldn’t find a historic winner, and at the full time whistle Portugal boss Roberto Martinez would have been scratching his head ruminating on what went wrong for his side in a game they were expected to comfortably win.
***
England v Croatia
What a game. Being touted by some as a “game of the tournament” contender, England and Croatia played out a high-energy, entertaining encounter which had it all from an attacking perspective.
Croatia are ranked 11th in the world, and could not be considered an easy group stage opponent for England, especially given the recent history between these two sides.
England took the lead early on through a Harry Kane penalty, after some confusion and a retake due to some encroachment in the box after Kane missed his first effort. He made no error the second time around, burying his shot into the far corner.
Croatia were pressing high, perhaps trying to unsettle the defensive pairing of Konsa and Stones, knowing that Stones has not played much football this season. And the tactic almost paid off, with Croatia hemming England in and preventing them from playing their preferred style of attacking football. Martin Baturina scored for Croatia, before Kane wrestled England back into the game with a delightful header from a Declan Rice corner.
The lead wouldn’t stick, though, and Croatia found their way back into the game again to make it 2-2. England looked half-there, but a little timid, suppressed, in their shells.
And then an inflection point.
Perhaps where the risk-averse England of old would have played slow possession, probing football, with the hope of working a perfect opportunity or holding on for a draw, Tuchel’s England went out and attacked the moment.
“Go for it”, urged Tuchel, telling his side at half-time that if we lose, we’ll do it our way and not by playing a style of football that isn’t our identity. Having that reassurance to do just that seemed to unlock a different side to the Three Lions and we saw them at their effervescent best.
In truth, England blew Croatia out of the water in the second half, even if Croatia had their own chances to get back into the game. It looked like England being pressed in would open up space behind Croatia in the channels, and that’s exactly what England then exploited with a rapid ball from Anderson delivered into the feet of Jude Bellingham, who ran it into the box and finished smartly.
A great goal from Rashford sealed the deal, cutting inside onto his right foot and placing a shot into the bottom right corner, and in truth the scoreline probably flattered Croatia in the end.
4-2, England up and running, and Croatia will be instead looking to their games against Panama and Ghana to secure their expected qualification from this stage of the competition.
***
Ghana v Panama
Maybe not a game that will live long in the memory, except for the scenes towards the closing stages where Ghana grabbed the win and tempers flared in the cool atmosphere of Toronto Stadium.
Panama started the best of the two sides, with Waterman having a fine hit saved, although the impression from the early chances created was that both sides were struggling to be clinical enough to make the difference. Panama continued to press and Ghana hung in there as Cristian Martinez banged an effort into the side netting.
Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, though, became a constant thorn in Panama’s side, continually probing for openings and looking to make the difference with his substantial individual quality.
In the second half, Brandon Thomas-Asante for Ghana proved to be a menace with his direct runs at the Panama defence. He combined well with Jordan Ayew, but Panama got back to defend their lines with Ramos making a critical challenge doing just enough to put him off.
The game had 0-0 all over it until Yirienki broke the deadlock. Thomas-Asante made a trademark run, bursting into the area and squaring it for the youngest player on the pitch Yirienki, who converted the tap in. That was his first ever international goal, on the biggest stage of all.
The game ended with a bit of tetchiness as Panama sent their keeper up for a corner and almost scored from the opportunity, but a good save from Ghana’s keeper denied the opportunity, and a misplaced boot on him led to a small scuffle as Panama frustrations boiled over.
Panama fans looked distraught at the final whistle, knowing this was their best chance to get out of the group. Extremely tough games against 11th ranked Croatia and 4th ranked England now follow. Surely a bridge too far for even the most wildly optimistic pundits.
***
Uzbekistan v Colombia
We’ll start with how the first half went, should we?
In our preview of Uzbekistan, we said “Expect them to be in pressure-absorption mode and try to get something from a set piece.” That was definitely the case in the first half, as you can see from the graphic above.
That white peak you see is around a set piece for Uzbekistan. What did they do with it? Hit it straight at a one man wall.
They stuck to their guns of the gritty low block football that got them here, but Colombia probed and pressed and kept on persevering, hammering the side netting, shooting wide and finally getting their just rewards after a beautiful pass from Luis Diaz was flicked into the net by Crystal Palace defender Muñoz.
It was a striker’s finish from the defender, and one that stands up to repeated viewing. Undoubtedly the highlight of the first half.
In the first half, a cameraman was also inadvertently wiped out by an Uzbekistan player on the touchline leading to some dramatic first-person pictures of the incident. He had treatment on the sideline but we think he’s OK.
In the second half, the unbelievable happened. Uzbekistan started playing a little higher, and a ball landed to Shomuradov who hit a half volley from 10 yards. The keeper flapped at it and Fayullaev pounced to knock it home. Cue wild celebrations from manager Fabio Cannavaro.
Before you knew it though, that man Luis Diaz was stamping his authority on the game again. After Colombia pressed high and won the ball back, Diaz slotted it home past Uzbek keeper Yusupov. It was poor from the Uzbekistan keeper, in truth.
Néstor Lorenzo kept things on the front foot for the remainder of the game, with Uzbekistan unable to find the energy to hit Colombia on the counter leading to a relatively safe close-out for the South American side.
Colombia will need to step up their clinical side against stronger opposition because they could have been home dry against Uzbekistan but couldn’t make their advantage count, and Colombia punished them late on with a header from Campaz in 9th minute of added time.
Uzbekistan rattled the crossbar with a stunning shot at the death, but it wasn't in and it wasn't enough.
***
That’s it for day seven. 24 games down, over 36 hours of football watched, and I’m still loving every single minute.
Bring on day eight!
23 min read
World Cup day seven: Kane's domain, CR7's pain
63 in all competions for the England man.
Portugal 1 - 1 DR Congo
England 4 - 2 Croatia
Ghana 1 - 0 Panama
Uzbekistan 1 - 3 Colombia
It was a day of drama on day 7 with Portugal finding themselves unexpectedly held, a dramatic topsy-turvy game featuring England and Croatia in which we saw a new side to England, a tense battle between Ghana and Panama and a gritty performance by Uzbekistan that saw them narrowly bested by Colombia in Mexico City.
The day’s highlights:
A disappointing Portugal were held by DR Congo in a 1-1 draw in which the European side didn’t really seem to get going at any stage. Yoann Wissa earned DR Congo their first ever World Cup point.
England survived an early high press to turn up the heat in the second half and show their attacking class and depth from the bench against Croatia, with Harry Kane imperious all over the pitch for the Three Lions. He’s now joint-top English goalscorer at a World Cup alongside Gary Lineker.
Ghana and Panama played out a game that was notable for poor finishing after the thrills and spills of the England v Croatia match, with Ghana taking a last minute win through Caleb Yirnekyi, leaving Panama with a huge mountain to climb in Group L as tempers flared in Toronto.
Uzbekistan and Colombia met in Mexico, a game in which Colombia dominated in terms of possession and Uzbekistan sat back in an effort to grind out a result on the counter.
How were the games? What did we learn?
England v Croatia was undoubtedly the pick of the games today, with Thomas Tuchel injecting a tactical shot in the arm at half time after the two sides went into the break level at 2-2. We learned a lot about how England will tweak their setup mid-game and insight into the terrifying attacking breadth from the bench at Tuchel’s disposal.
Whisper it rather than shout it, but Cristiano Ronaldo had a very poor game for Portugal against DR Congo. Compared with Messi’s performance last night, Ronaldo looked statuesque at times and seemed to be struggling to find the half yard of space required to make a difference.
We also saw that FIFA is prepared to continue with hydration breaks even when it’s pissing down with rain in 20 degree weather in Toronto. Fans seem to be turning against the breaks in their droves now, with vocal opposition clearly audible in the stadia.
***
Portugal v DR Congo
After Lionel Messi’s heroics last night, you would imagine that Cristiano Ronaldo was giving himself the pep talk of all pep talks in the dressing room before the DR Congo match. After his greatest rival scored three goals yesterday, and Mbappe and Haaland picked up two goals, it was over to centre stage for Ronaldo.
But the 41-year-old, today becoming the oldest outfield player to ever start a World Cup match, seemed to lack a spark in this game, asking the question, did he deserve to start?
But critics of Ronaldo would also need to look at the contribution of the wider Portugal team, for which CR7 cannot be held solely responsible for.
Things started well enough for Portugal, with a Joao Neves header from Pedro Neto’s cross putting the team in red into a sixth-minute lead. But their early dominance started to fade and DR Congo came back into the game through a well-taken Wissa goal.
Arthur Masuaka crossed the ball into the box, for Wissa to connect with, giving DR Congo fans something historic to celebrate: their first ever World Cup goal, 52 years after their maiden appearance at a World Cup finals in 1974.
Portugal thought they’d escaped with a win after Joao Cancelo’s inventive bicycle kick ended up in the back of the net, but it was soon correctly ruled as offside.
DR Congo probably had the better chances as the game came towards its conclusion, but couldn’t find a historic winner, and at the full time whistle Portugal boss Roberto Martinez would have been scratching his head ruminating on what went wrong for his side in a game they were expected to comfortably win.
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England v Croatia
What a game. Being touted by some as a “game of the tournament” contender, England and Croatia played out a high-energy, entertaining encounter which had it all from an attacking perspective.
Croatia are ranked 11th in the world, and could not be considered an easy group stage opponent for England, especially given the recent history between these two sides.
England took the lead early on through a Harry Kane penalty, after some confusion and a retake due to some encroachment in the box after Kane missed his first effort. He made no error the second time around, burying his shot into the far corner.
Croatia were pressing high, perhaps trying to unsettle the defensive pairing of Konsa and Stones, knowing that Stones has not played much football this season. And the tactic almost paid off, with Croatia hemming England in and preventing them from playing their preferred style of attacking football. Martin Baturina scored for Croatia, before Kane wrestled England back into the game with a delightful header from a Declan Rice corner.
The lead wouldn’t stick, though, and Croatia found their way back into the game again to make it 2-2. England looked half-there, but a little timid, suppressed, in their shells.
And then an inflection point.
Perhaps where the risk-averse England of old would have played slow possession, probing football, with the hope of working a perfect opportunity or holding on for a draw, Tuchel’s England went out and attacked the moment.
“Go for it”, urged Tuchel, telling his side at half-time that if we lose, we’ll do it our way and not by playing a style of football that isn’t our identity. Having that reassurance to do just that seemed to unlock a different side to the Three Lions and we saw them at their effervescent best.
In truth, England blew Croatia out of the water in the second half, even if Croatia had their own chances to get back into the game. It looked like England being pressed in would open up space behind Croatia in the channels, and that’s exactly what England then exploited with a rapid ball from Anderson delivered into the feet of Jude Bellingham, who ran it into the box and finished smartly.
A great goal from Rashford sealed the deal, cutting inside onto his right foot and placing a shot into the bottom right corner, and in truth the scoreline probably flattered Croatia in the end.
4-2, England up and running, and Croatia will be instead looking to their games against Panama and Ghana to secure their expected qualification from this stage of the competition.
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Ghana v Panama
Maybe not a game that will live long in the memory, except for the scenes towards the closing stages where Ghana grabbed the win and tempers flared in the cool atmosphere of Toronto Stadium.
Panama started the best of the two sides, with Waterman having a fine hit saved, although the impression from the early chances created was that both sides were struggling to be clinical enough to make the difference. Panama continued to press and Ghana hung in there as Cristian Martinez banged an effort into the side netting.
Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, though, became a constant thorn in Panama’s side, continually probing for openings and looking to make the difference with his substantial individual quality.
In the second half, Brandon Thomas-Asante for Ghana proved to be a menace with his direct runs at the Panama defence. He combined well with Jordan Ayew, but Panama got back to defend their lines with Ramos making a critical challenge doing just enough to put him off.
The game had 0-0 all over it until Yirienki broke the deadlock. Thomas-Asante made a trademark run, bursting into the area and squaring it for the youngest player on the pitch Yirienki, who converted the tap in. That was his first ever international goal, on the biggest stage of all.
The game ended with a bit of tetchiness as Panama sent their keeper up for a corner and almost scored from the opportunity, but a good save from Ghana’s keeper denied the opportunity, and a misplaced boot on him led to a small scuffle as Panama frustrations boiled over.
Panama fans looked distraught at the final whistle, knowing this was their best chance to get out of the group. Extremely tough games against 11th ranked Croatia and 4th ranked England now follow. Surely a bridge too far for even the most wildly optimistic pundits.
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Uzbekistan v Colombia
We’ll start with how the first half went, should we?
In our preview of Uzbekistan, we said “Expect them to be in pressure-absorption mode and try to get something from a set piece.” That was definitely the case in the first half, as you can see from the graphic above.
That white peak you see is around a set piece for Uzbekistan. What did they do with it? Hit it straight at a one man wall.
They stuck to their guns of the gritty low block football that got them here, but Colombia probed and pressed and kept on persevering, hammering the side netting, shooting wide and finally getting their just rewards after a beautiful pass from Luis Diaz was flicked into the net by Crystal Palace defender Muñoz.
It was a striker’s finish from the defender, and one that stands up to repeated viewing. Undoubtedly the highlight of the first half.
In the first half, a cameraman was also inadvertently wiped out by an Uzbekistan player on the touchline leading to some dramatic first-person pictures of the incident. He had treatment on the sideline but we think he’s OK.
In the second half, the unbelievable happened. Uzbekistan started playing a little higher, and a ball landed to Shomuradov who hit a half volley from 10 yards. The keeper flapped at it and Fayullaev pounced to knock it home. Cue wild celebrations from manager Fabio Cannavaro.
Before you knew it though, that man Luis Diaz was stamping his authority on the game again. After Colombia pressed high and won the ball back, Diaz slotted it home past Uzbek keeper Yusupov. It was poor from the Uzbekistan keeper, in truth.
Néstor Lorenzo kept things on the front foot for the remainder of the game, with Uzbekistan unable to find the energy to hit Colombia on the counter leading to a relatively safe close-out for the South American side.
Colombia will need to step up their clinical side against stronger opposition because they could have been home dry against Uzbekistan but couldn’t make their advantage count, and Colombia punished them late on with a header from Campaz in 9th minute of added time.
Uzbekistan rattled the crossbar with a stunning shot at the death, but it wasn't in and it wasn't enough.
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That’s it for day seven. 24 games down, over 36 hours of football watched, and I’m still loving every single minute.
Bring on day eight!
23 min read