World Cup 2018 Diary 2 – Messi penalty miss, Germany upset
World Cup 2018 Diary 2 – Having successfully lulled us into a false sense of security in the opening couple of days, VAR made its ugly presence felt on the third day of the tournament.
By Dave Bowler
France 2 Australia 1 (Group C)
It’s a system with its pros and its cons, its supporters and its opponents. So it’s unlikely the events of this particular day will change hearts or minds in either direction. But as somebody who thinks the introduction of goal-line technology was an innovation far enough, the muddle and confusion that VAR creates was laid bare, delivering nothing that was promised.
In the opening game of the day, France were given a penalty some 15 or 20 seconds after the incident. The referee stopped play to consult on the decision with the ball now well into France’s territory after Australia had cleared. That in itself was bizarre, for what if the Aussies had broken quickly and got themselves in on the French goal? Do you stop it then? Do you wait to see if the Aussies score?
If they do, do you potentially chalk off their goal and give France a penalty? And do you do that when the game’s between England and Russia? And if you do, can you build a new prison in time to put everybody in after the riot’s finished?
VAR was supposed to be used only in correcting clear and obvious errors. Was that the case there? Was it really a blatant penalty? No, though Antoine Griezmann’s finish brooked no argument, a perfectly taken spot kick.
Australia unconvincing
Australia, on the other hand, always looked to be holding on. Despite having 45% of possession, they only managed six shots. Much of that is down to an Australian side that lacked ambition. They were gifted an equaliser by Umtiti’s comical decision to punch the ball as it sailed into the box. Mile Jedinak scored the penalty, but beyond that, they rarely convinced.
France also probed without conviction. Manager Didier Deschamps may have to dispense with his desire to field Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, and Ousmane Dembele and instead recall Olivier Giroud as a focal point around whom Griezmann can dance. Had Paul Pogba not started and finished a decisive move to win the game ten minutes from time, Deschamps would have had some stinging criticism to deal with.
Argentina 1 Iceland 1 (Group D)
Like France earlier in the day, Argentina also profited from a contentious penalty decision. Again, it was surely not obvious. Later, in the interests of squaring things up, they were then denied a clear and obvious spot kick when Cristian Pavon was chopped down. I’m really not sure how this is helping.
Messi missed his penalty and cut an ever more frustrated figure as the 90 minutes against Iceland wore on. He was surely aware of his own inability to pick open Australia’s blanket rearguard. A very sharp contrast with the way Cristiano Ronaldo took on Spain single-handed the night before.
The harsh comparison was completed in the dying seconds when Messi lined up a free-kick and clunked it into the wall rather than the top corner.
Once more, Messi looked uncomfortable playing for Argentina. Here, unlike with Barcelona, he was expected to do pretty much everything. For Ronaldo, that scenario is perfect because he loves the thought of being the one-man team. Messi, for all his extravagant skills, is an ensemble man, a team player. He does not relish the limelight in the same way.
Iceland thrilled with draw
When both are finally retired, it might be that difference that most defines them. Perhaps this will put Ronaldo on a marginally higher pedestal. There’s time to change that perception, but it has to be done soon for Messi.
Iceland were understandably thrilled with a well-deserved draw. For all that they have a way of playing that’s all about smothering the opponent. They are far less frustrating to watch than Australia were in employing similar tactics against the French.
That’s to do with their willingness to pour forward in numbers when the chance is there. They really try to hit on the counterattack and to hit back when they’ve been wounded. Had they let Argentina stay a goal up for long after Sergio Aguero’s thumping opener, then they would have been in big trouble. But, just as they did against England in 2016, they hit back almost immediately and were on terms inside four minutes. From there, they always looked well placed to get their draw.
Peru 0 Denmark 1 (Group C)
VAR was back once again in the Peru vs. Denmark game, this time more positively. The referee missed a clear penalty when Christian Cueva was hauled down just before the break. That was ultimately overruled and the penalty given, but only after another interminable delay.
If we are going to have VAR, can’t the watching panel of referees simply make the decision? With the benefit of their multiple angles, they can send on their decision to the ref without changing the free-flowing character of the game. That, after all, is one of the things that makes football unique among sports. The action can flow for five or ten minutes at a time without a single break.
Cueva’s miss proved disastrous for Peru. They played well in the second period again. They were easy on the eye and played with good technique. However, they lacked the clinical goalscorer they needed as they created chance after chance.
Denmark hang on
Denmark, on the other hand, were reduced to clinging on as much of the football was played in their half. Fortunately, poor finishing by Peru kept them in the game, giving them the chance to tuck away their one chance. Christian Eriksen’s beautifully weighted pass set Yussuf Pousen away to slot in the winner. Denmark will have been disappointed with their overall display, but they looked well set to advance with France now.
Croatia 2 Nigeria 0 (Group D)
For all the reservations about VAR, we could have done with it interfering with the dreariest of fixtures between Nigeria and Croatia. This was an untidy fixture decided by two untidy goals for the latter. A horrible deflection off Oghenekaro Etebo for an own goal set Croatia on their way. The game was settled by Luka Modric’s second-half penalty after Mario Mandzukic was unnecessarily wrestled to the ground by William Troost-Ekong.
Nigeria came into the tournament full of positive intentions and hopes for a proper run at things. In reality, they looked lifeless and completely out of sorts, leaving themselves all kinds of problems to resolve in next to no time.
Germany in first upset of World Cup 2018
Germany 0 Mexico 1 (Group F)
There are few greater disciples of the power of positive thinking than Mexican coach Juan Carlos Osorio. Through the buildup up he was quick to refute the idea that a first-ever semi-final for Mexico would be a success. He was only in Russia to win the golden trophy.
This was a game of two halves because Mexico played two entirely different styles of football. Ordinarily, that would seem tactically suicidal. However, they pulled it off with such style that Germany rarely looked comfortable at any stage.
The holders hadn’t been in vintage form going into the competition it’s true. But it was surprising to see them so laboured in possession. Equally, huge credit has to go to the Mexicans for working out the German Achilles heel. Namely, a lack of pace through the middle and full-backs, especially Joshua Kimmich. They played so high up that there is an ocean of space to exploit behind them.
Mexico did just that in the first half with bravery that bordered on the insane. They left three strikers up front at all times, producing counter-attacks by rampaging Mexican forward play that had them bearing down on Manuel Neuer’s goal in an instant. The midfielders flooded forward at express pace to add further support.
Mexico too hot for Germans
When you play with such exhausting intensity, you have to make your chances count, and as the first half slipped by with Mexican efforts going begging, it started to feel like one of those games where all the bravery in the world would add up to nothing.
But on 35 minutes, an elegant, incisive move slashed through the Germans like a scalpel through a paper bag. A ball out to the centre circle saw Mats Hummels make a stupidly rash challenge. Hernandez’s deft flick had his side away while the German was on his backside.
Mexico hold on in second half
Unsurprisingly, the second half was rather different. As the game wore on, Mexico were starting to run on fumes. The value of getting a first goal and having something to hold onto was obvious. Mexico chased every ball and allowed Germany no room to do anything with it. There were a few close calls, sure, but in truth, the game was up long before the final whistle.
And so the curse of the holders continues. This was the third straight finals where the defending champions have failed to win their first game. Italy and Spain did it in 2010 and 2014, respectively. The Germans had some big questions to answer now, just as those two nations did.
Brazil 1 Switzerland 1 (Group E)
Brazil were decidedly average in edging their way to a 1-1 draw with the Swiss. Certainly, they had the opportunities to win the game, but fluffed their lines all too often.
When Philippe Coutinho curled a sumptuous 20-yarder around the entire Swiss defence and in off the post after 20 minutes, it seemed the prelude to a Brazilian canter towards victory. However, the fluency, which is a hallmark of Brazil at their best, was rarely seen. Valon Behrami had a petulant Neymar in his pocket for much of the game.
Willian and Gabriel Jesus showed only intermittent flashes of their quality. There was never a real sense of a yellow tsunami ready to swamp the Swiss goal. This Brazil team were proving to be a far stodgier collective than their illustrious predecessors.
Switzerland fight back
If Switzerland rarely threatened in open play, they were always going to be a threat at set plays. So it proved, Zuber left alone to head in from four yards, Miranda folding like a pack of cards from the slightest shove in the back.
Like Germany earlier, it was surprising how soon the Brazilians seemed to run out of patience and ideas. Though players of their quality will always fashion chances, they lacked conviction. Or maybe it’s just a cunning plan to avoid topping the group.
Costa Rica 0 Serbia 1 (Group E)
Even lower key was the fourth day’s opening fixture, the match-up between Serbia and Costa Rica. It was not a game that will live long in the memory. The Costa Rican side which so illuminated the last World Cup with their effervescent presence, was gone.
Serbia were nothing more than efficient, but that was enough to come out on top of a largely colourless game. The pressure affected both sides, both knowing a win was essential if they were going to get out of the group. In the end, it was settled by a moment of real quality, Aleksandr Kolarov’s free-kick from distance arrowing into the top corner to seal the points.
Costa Rican wall breaks down
That said, Costa Rica won’t look back at Kolarov’s goal with any pleasure, a superb piece of execution though it was. From a difficult angle wide on the right, he somehow looped the ball in at the near post. Terrific piece of skill.
On the other hand, if two Costa Ricans in the wall hadn’t deliberately turned their back on the ball, there wouldn’t have been a gap for the ball to get through. If you’re going to stand in a defensive wall, you’ve got to be prepared to take one in the face. If you’re too pretty for that, go and find a couple of uglier blokes to do it instead.
Tunisia 1 England 2 (Group G)
Patience is a virtue, so they say. England supporters would have had theirs tried to the absolute limits by a performance which could mostly be described as turgid. But unlike previous competitions, England got their result against Tunisia. This could very easily have been another Iceland in the making.
Quite how it became so dreadful is hard to understand. Gareth Southgate’s team attacked the fixture with all the verve and energy that England fans could have hoped for. They should have been three up in the first 25 minutes. Failing to score more goals against a defence that initially had all the animation of a bus queue was something of a worry. It’s hard to think of a worse team against set pieces than Tunisia.
But after no more goals followed Harry Kane’s 11th-minute opener, England became ragged in their passing. Slowly, the Tunisians began to conclude that these Premier League emperors might be a bit short in the clothes department.
VAR concluded that Kyle Walker swung an arm at Fakhreddine Ben Youssef and awarded a penalty. A harsh decision, perhaps but once given, shouldn’t Walker’s card have been red rather than yellow? And just how did VAR miss Kane being felled like a cooling tower moments later, a rather more obvious penalty? By that stage, it was 1-1 thanks to Ferjani Sassi’s spot kick.
England leave it late against Tunisia
Nothing much happened in the second half until deep into injury time. Kane was left unguarded three yards out at a corner once more with the inevitable consequences. An England win and Group G was already sorted. There was no way that England and Belgium wouldn’t win again in the second round of games against such inept opponents.
For England, though, it was problem-solving time and some big decisions for Southgate to make. His relief at Kane’s winner was obviously that of a man who knew he’d got off the hook. Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling both underachieved massively. When they were replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marcus Rashford, the improvement was instant and obvious.
Sweden 1 Korea Rep 0 (Group F)
Sweden took on South Korea in a group where the waters had been muddied by Germany’s defeat at the hands of Mexico. It was hard to know if that represented an opportunity for those two. Was it a chance to eliminate the champions? Or jeopardy, as Mexico had given themselves an unexpected three-point bonus. What was clear, however, was that this was a game that needed winning. Anything else would start to close the door.
Sweden were competing in their ninth straight finals and were on top from the first moment. The deeply disappointing South Korean outfit were competing in their ninth straight finals. The Swedes were creating and missing a whole string of chances while the South Koreans could barely offer anything at the other end. Swedish profligacy inevitably had an air of Banquo’s ghost about it. The spirit of Zlatan hovered above the stadium as time and again, chances were missed. Others were well saved by the impressive South Korean goalkeeper, Cho Hyun-woo.
The Swedes were nothing if not relentless, though – you have to be if you’re going to work your way through all those Ikea diagrams. They eventually got their reward with a clear penalty as Viktor Claesson was chopped down in the box. Skipper Andreas Granqvist sent Cho the wrong way from the spot.
The South Koreans barely rallied, though how Hwang Hee-chan missed the target altogether with a free header is hard to understand.
Belgium 3 Panama 0 (Group G)
Without producing too much in the way of fireworks, Belgium made a solid statement of their intent at this World Cup with a thoroughly efficient and workmanlike defeat of Panama.
Sensibly, there was nothing gung-ho about them. They didn’t over-commit players forward as Germany had done. Instead, they knocked the ball around and kept possession. They made Panama chase the ball and gradually wore them down.
They received the bonus of scoring just a couple of minutes into the second half. The ball dropped beautifully for Dries Martens, and his connection was perfection. He dropped his shot over the keeper and into the far corner. There was only ever going to be one result from there.
Romelu Lukaku announced his Golden Boot intentions by pocketing two goals for himself. One was a deft header, the other a crisp clip over the advancing goalkeeper. Belgium won 3-0, a scoreline that reflected the game. And Roberto Martinez’s side were operating at no more than 75%.
Belgium show intensity
That is an ominous sign for the rest of the competition, for there was none of the flakiness that Belgium have shown at other tournaments when they’ve been highly fancied but have veered from the sublime to the ridiculous. There was a solid reliability not just to their football in this game, but to their mentality. There was no desire to do anything too flash, too tricksy, just a professional desire to get the job done.
Especially impressive about Belgium is that bit of spikiness they show towards one another if someone makes a mistake. All too often in modern football, somebody spanks a pass 20 yards too long or gets caught hopelessly out of position, and not a word is said, a hand raised in acknowledgement and then shrugged off.
But when Yannick Carrasco went to sleep at 1-0 and allowed Michael Murillo in behind, Jan Vertonghen went ballistic at the midfielder, tearing a layer of skin off him with his rollocking.
That’s not a sign of a team scapegoating, as some see it. It’s a sign of a team that went to this tournament fully focused. They were well aware that this might be their moment, just as the 2008 Euros were Spain’s.