Previously in this blog.....

Thursday, 8 December 2022

Round 4 - We're down to the last 8 teams and the last 8 matches

The most depressed player after the last 16 was actually on a winning team! Yes, that man of endless modesty and decency, that ultimate team player, Ronaldo! To be sitting on the bench and watch in horror as his successor, Goncalo Ramos, grabbed a hat trick and assisted in a fourth must have made him physically sick - I sincerely hope it did! There was also Pepe, who seems to have been around for decades - he'll be 40 in 2 months. It was incredible to see him leap up and smack the ball home with his glistening, bald head. I was expecting Portugal to win but I never imagined that they would fillet and barbecue the poor old Swissies with such style and skill. 

There's no denying that Argentina were good again though Australia were no pushover. The biggest contributor to Argentina's win wasn't even on the pitch! The Argentinian fans were fantastic, filling the stadium with the sound of Buenos Aires, cheering every Messi touch, even applauding him as he stood waiting for the ball like a commuter waiting for a bus. And like a bus, he might not see the ball for 5 to 10 minutes only for two or three balls to come along in quick succession, allowing him to show-off his magic. As against Mexico, Messi got Argentina off the mark with that still-lethal left foot of his. When the second came from Alvarez, it looked as if the Socceroos would quietly fade away until a crazy, deflected own-goal header in the 77th. min. gave Aus a sniff of hope. They sprang into life, the yellow and green attacking the Argentine box with intent. A couple of very real chances came their way.  Imagine the eerie silence that would have descended had Aus equalised with that very last kick of the match - sadly Martinez, in the Argentine goal, just about scrambled to block it. In spite of my best efforts to jinx him and his team, Messi and his boys are in the last eight -maybe lavish praise is the way forward!

The Dutch were being run ragged by the US who should have scored after just 3 minutes only for the Dutch to cruelly take the lead in the 10 minute totally against the run of play. It was a blissfully-created goal, made up of 21 passes and finished in style. That knocked the stuffing out of the US, forcing them to abandon their high-tempo game for the mediocrity of caution and inevitable defeat. Just before half time, the Dutch went 2 up. There was a sliver of hope when the US grabbed a goal but, as befits a country which generally seems cool and composed,  that hope was short-lived as the Dutch added a third a few minutes later. Goodbye USA!

Polska is a country which knows a thing or two about defending, so it was good to see a vastly improved Polska give France a match for the first 45 minutes though they were nabbed on the stroke of half time by Giroud. Let's face it, they were never going to win this and MbappĂ© saw to that in the second half. His two goals were phenomenal - he seemed to have so much time for both that it looked as if he could afford a little lie-down before burying the ball in the back of the net. The match closed with a Polish penalty which Lewandowski approached with a walk, a stop, a walk and a tap straight at the goalie! Total farce except that it had to be re-taken. Why change a losing formula! Lewandowski repeated his ludicrous antics only this time the ball trickled past the goalie - a nonsensical conclusion.

Senegal had fans to match Argentina's - there was a constant rumbling of drums throughout the match. This is the sound of a World Cup for me. Their drumming was accompanied by beautiful, natural, swaying dance moves which would have looked skillful and elegant with a ball at their feet on the pitch. In the match itself, things were not quite so beautiful for Senegal even though they started well and had the English lads fluffing their lines and looking a touch nervous. They had two great chances to go in front but failed to convert them. Instead England finally got their act together and swept down the pitch to score a lovely goal thanks to Bellingham and Henderson. The goal celebration was straight from a sci-fi film - the rubbing of foreheads, allowing them to swap their deepest football secrets with each other.  A few minutes later, on the stroke of half-time, Kane made it 2 and that was that. England added a third by which time Senegal were dead and buried.

Brazil strolled past Korea - it was all over after 13 minutes, 2 up and 4-0 by half-time. The second half was virtually meaningless, Brazil strolling around with almost no intent and the Koreans trying to salvage a bit of pride, eventually succeeding in pulling one back. The Brazilian dancing goal celebrations were painful to watch, rubbing Korea's battered noses in it. It might have been acceptable for the first goal but to repeat it a further 3 times was a kick in the teeth to the already-downed Koreans. I'd love to see Brazil hammered but sadly, Germany are not around to inflict another 7-1 on them- over to you, Croatia or Netherlands or (oh-oh!) Argentina.

Japan fell on their Samurai swords, painfully and fatally, by taking some of the worst penalties ever seen at a World Cup  (until Spain followed their example a mere 24 hours later). Japan led Croatia only for Croatia to equalise and then 30 minutes of extra-time  where Japan were the livelier. Liveliness without goals is useless though and so it went down to stinking, stupid, ridiculous penalties.  Japan converted a miserly 1 penalty while Croatia hit 3 out of 4 with real confidence.

And then there was Morocco! They've been brilliant throughout the tournament, the darkest of dark horses. They topped their group, sent the Belgians packing convincingly and now the Spanish were about to fall under their Arabic spell. Spain may have had nearly all of the possession but they didn't know what to do with it - like that maniac Musk and his billions! Morocco defended with their bodies and their minds and yet often looked the more likely to score. After 120 minutes of goallessness, we were back at the penalty spot and more football atrocities. The Spanish failed with all 3 of theirs while Morocco were able to wrap it up with their 4th. penalty which Hakimi coolly trickled into the middle of the goal as the goalkeeper leapt into the freshest of Qatari air on his right! A nice little twist is that Hakimi is Spanish born and bred of Moroccan parents!

There are only 8 teams left which means one of them is just three wins away from  lifting the ultimate football trophy. As long as it's not Messi or, even worse, Neymar.....


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