Switzerland 1 - 1 Qatar

Brazil 1 - 1 Morocco

Haiti 0 - 1 Scotland 

Australia 2 - 0 Turkiye

Apologies for the slightly delayed report today as the author needed to catch up on his beauty sleep a little after a late few nights of coverage!

While we don’t pretend to be clairvoyant, today was nevertheless a reinforcement of our belief that Morocco could be a force to be reckoned with at the World Cup. 

Meanwhile, Switzerland let things slip and Turkiye found themselves on the wrong side of possibly the biggest upset of the tournament so far. 

The day’s highlights:

• We saw our first minor offside controversy, with Switzerland scoring through a penalty after being deemed not offside in the build up to the foul. On the TV replay, they did look offside, and with FIFA choosing to not show the digital avatars / offside line drawing, conspiracy theorists are having a field day.

• Qatar scored their first ever World Cup point after their late unexpected leveller against Switzerland.

• Brazil v Morocco provided entertainment in abundance in the first half, perhaps tapering out in the second but showing why Morocco are not to be underestimated. 

• Scotland and Haiti both returned to the global stage for the first time in decades, with Scotland taking their first World Cup win since 1990.

• Australia bagged an unexpected win over Turkiye that eclipsed the other stories of the day. Irankunda’s surprise inclusion into the starting XI was rewarded in style for the Socceroos.

How were the games? What did we learn?

Plenty of twists and turns in the games today.

***

Switzerland v Qatar

This game was definitely on the verge of falling into the category of “one to forget”. It had the feeling of a training match for Switzerland, with Qatar unable to offer much in attack and Switzerland profligate despite having multiple good chances. 

In the end, it was memorable for reasons Switzerland would love to forget as they found themselves pegged back at the death by a Qatari header. Perhaps apt punishment given Switzerland's overly casual approach to the fixture. Certainly a massive moment for Qatari football.

***

Brazil v Morocco

Fireworks. In our Group C preview, we highlighted the danger Morocco pose and said that Brazil would need to beware their threat. There’s no doubt this will be the toughest game Brazil face in the group, but it was a huge indicator of how far off the pace they look and how great Morocco look.

Morocco took the lead through a slide rule pass followed by a delicious chip over Alisson. But Brazil found themselves back in it not long after with a stunning goal from Vinicius Jr, cutting inside and belting a curler into the inside netting. Phwoar. Game on.

It was a really enjoyable first half. Morocco had less possession but it felt like they did more with it - and Brazil were reliant on their individual talent to try and get them out of trouble.

The second half was a bit more balanced, with both sides cancelling each other out a little. Ayyoub Bouaddi, Morocco’s 18 year old Lille midfielder impressed us hugely. He looked so composed in possession. In all, a draw was probably a fair result. Perhaps Brazil can consider themselves quite fortunate to have had that moment of magic from Vini.

***

Haiti v Scotland 

Scotland’s return to the big stage for the first time in 28 years was packed with tension in the build up and judging from the noise in the stadium seemed like a home game, with most Haiti fans unable to travel to the tournament. 

Scotland started brightly with some of the early action taking place in the Haiti third. But as the half wore on, Haiti started to find their feet and worked a couple of good opportunities.

As the game opened up, and slightly against the run of play, McTominay rattled the Haiti post, and on the counter attack Haiti failed to capitalise on Scotland’s overcommittment. 

And then it happened. Scotland took the lead after a tactical tweak that saw them play more direct lofted balls into the channels. Their first long ball paid off.

Che Adams, Gannon-Doak and McGinn combined, with the help of a deflection, to send the Scotland fans into euphoria in the 28th minute. Haiti threatened in return, getting a lot of joy in wide areas but unable to find the final ball or finish from their many crosses into the box. 

In the second half, Scotland persisted with long balls to Gannon-Doak on the right side to a little bit less success. The game petered out a little as Haiti continued to probe, but the lack of a quality final ball was their main undoing.

Scotland’s low block defending their box presented a challenge Haiti struggled to break down, despite increasing pressure and several incursions into their third late in the game. Angus Gunn was well protected in goal.

A late Haiti free header was nodded agonisingly wide, and Scotland brought home the win 1-0 for their first World Cup victory since Italia 90.

***

Australia v Turkiye

Despite having less of the ball and fewer shots, Australia usurped Qatar’s title of surprise of the tournament over in Vancouver by beating Turkiye, a team we’d picked as being dark horses for the World Cup. 

It was a familiar tale of wastefulness being punished as Turkiye, on top in the early stages, failed to make their shots count. And it was a long ball into the channel from Australia that saw Irankunda latch onto it before taking it around a defender and slotting it home as cool as you like into the bottom left corner. A joy to watch. 

Turkiye remained a threat but couldn’t find a leveller, while Irankunda continued to probe on the counter, providing a tactical handful for Turkiye that they looked unprepared to face. 

Turkiye’s stars tested the Aussie keeper on multiple occasions, but the Socceroos held firm and with a feint and a beast of a left footed shot from distance low to the keeper’s right, they found a second late in the game. 

Turkiye seemed shellshocked and couldn’t find a way through, with Beach in goal proving to be an immovable object for Australia. 

A deserved, scintillating win and probably the story of the tournament so far. 

Bring on day four!