By Lewie Tilley
The group stage games have come to a close, and the drama has only just begun once again as the main event begins: The World Cup finals knockout stages. There have been many stories and magic moments so far, and there will be even more to come. Welcome back to the World Cup round-up as we take a look at the moments of the final games of the group stages.
28 years made even more painful.
When their group was announced, there was faith across Scotland that they would be able to qualify for the knockout rounds, especially after their 1-0 win vs Haiti in the opening game. However, for Steve Clarke’s tartan army, a tough test against Brazil was last up, with their qualification chances still in the balance. A test the Scots couldn’t handle, as Brazil and Real Madrid star man Vinicius Junior came up with the goods once again.
For the Brazilians, a win was needed and was exactly what they got. Two goals from Vinicius topped off a brilliant group stage for him, scoring in each game to take his tally for the tournament up to 4, a number only bettered by Lionel Messi so far.
Matheus Cunha all but put the Scotland hopes of reaching the next round to bed in the second half, with Bruno Guimaraes picking up another assist for Carlo Ancelotti’s formidable side up to now.
For Scotland, their only hopes of making history would come if results went their way and manage to creep in as one of the best third-place teams. However, this wouldn’t be the case as Ecuador would go on to produce a historic moment of their own, beating Germany 2-1 to push Scotland out of the qualifying places. A real heartbreaker for Scots across the world, let alone those who had been taking over Boston the last few days.
The favourites flexing their muscles.
It was yet another dominant performance from Didier Deschamps’ incredible team in their final group stage match against Norway. Although the Norwegians had fielded a ‘B-team’ as it was, the French made no mistake in taking their chances, especially former Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele. The back-to-back Champions League winner only scored his first major international tournament goal last time out, and now he has a hat-trick to go with it just days later.
For the 2018 winners, it will be another interesting test in the form of Graham Potter’s Sweden, but it will be very difficult not to predict the French to advance based on the firepower they possess all across the pitch.
As for Spain, they much improved after their 0-0 draw with Cape Verde in the opening week, producing a 4-0 win vs Saudi Arabia.
This time around, they would take on a Uruguay side, who knew anything other than a win would see them eliminated from the tournament as one of the worse 3rd place qualifying teams. And it would be more disappointment for the Uruguayans, who fell to a 1-0 win to the Spaniards thanks to Alex Baena’s lucky goal, one that Fernando Muslera could’ve easily kept out.
The Uruguayans had completely lost their heads as Agustin Canobbio saw red for a reckless challenge late in the game, topping off yet another disappointing tournament for them. Marcelo Bielsa had also clearly let the anger of being dumped out of the tournament get to him, shouting in his post-match interview…
The David and Goliath of the tournament.
After failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, it was always a success for Cape Verde after making it to the finals for the first time. However, this time around they have made their campaign even more special, after reaching the knockout rounds unbeaten after drawing their final match with Saudi Arabia.
Their reward for qualifying: a gigantic mismatch and their toughest test so far. A round of 32 fixture against the highest-ranked team in the world, with the current top goalscorer of the tournament, Lionel Messi.
Although after their massively impressive performance against Spain in the opening game, anything could happen with this Cape Verde team, one that has shocked the world just by qualifying already. Their main problem will be stopping Messi, a task that has so far been unheard of with the 38-year-old on fire.
England back to winning ways.
For Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions, it was a return to the expected standards of his team with a still slightly unconvincing performance, with Jude Bellingham showing his quality once again.
For many England fans, a fixture against Panama brings back a great sense of nostalgia to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Back then, a front line led by Raheem Sterling and hat-trick hero Harry Kane destroyed the same opposition 6-1. Fast-forward to today and that same squad now only features five players, with then 20-year-old Marcus Rashford only on the bench for the game and Jordan Pickford in goal for Gareth Southgate’s eleven.
It was another England wonderkid who made the headlines once again in this game, though, as Jude Bellingham provided a goal and assist of his own to drag England to a 2-0 win that would see them top the group ahead of Croatia, whom they also beat 4-2.
However, for an England team with much higher expectations from fans across the country, a 2-0 win against Panama could still raise some eyebrows. For a team with much more firepower, only managing to score two goals against a side who haven’t managed a goal themselves seems poor and poses the question of how they do against a top side like Argentina, France or Brazil, who England could face in the later stages.
Player of the Week: Week 3
Player of the Week: Vinicius Junior
Picture credit: Herbert De Paz, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Real Madrid superstar was at it once again in another spectacular performance from Brazil. The left-winger scored twice in a win that would eventually see Scotland out of the tournament and is clearly picking up form at the right time, scoring 4 goals across the group stages, at least one in each game.
With Japan in their next game, a team that has already been praised for their rigid structure and organisation, the Brazilian will need to continue his form and I wouldn’t put it past him to do so…
And that brings to a close two brilliant weeks of group stage football that have had magical moments, shocks and upsets galore. Who will continue and push on further to go on and win this year? Only time will tell as the illustrious World Cup knockout rounds begin…
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