We had a mere four matches. Yet they generated enough excitement and surprise to trigger strokes, heart-attacks and tsunami-like waves of national pride as a berth in the semis was fought over.
Those football dancers from Brazil are dancing no more! Croatia put an end to all that nonsense, maybe not quite matching the incredible German 7-1 slaughter (laughter with an 's'!) in 2014 but the outcome was the same - back to the beaches of Rio to dance to your heart's content, Neymar and co! The first 90 minutes produced no goals but Brazil confidently switched to victory mode when Neymar put them ahead after 105 minutes - they were on their way to the semis. Did Croatian heads drop and their thoughts turn to the airport and home..... let's just say that this country of less than 4 million continues to defy the football odds. The Brazilians didn't seem to be aware of Croatia's football history until they had a rude awakening in the form of a Croatian equaliser in the 117th minute - Hrvatska may be a small country but it has a colossal football heart. There was no further goal drama, meaning the match would be decided on penalties. The Croatians wrapped the thing up with confidence and ease, belting in 4 out of 4 while Brazil could only convert 2 of theirs. The wild dogs and cats of Rio freely roamed the city's serene streets that night!
We moved 500m up the road for the next match! And who should we see only Messi and his boys taking on the Dutch. The Argentinians keep improving because Messi is producing the goods. I have declared a cease fire in my anti-Messi stance - whatever about his obnoxious politics, there's no disputing his football talent. They deservedly took the lead after 35 mins with a goal that only Messi saw unfolding - he put through a perfect pass along the turf to Molina, a path that would normally take precision instruments and a team of surveyors to plot out. Messi needed half a second! Later, he converted a penalty himself to make it 2-0 after 73 mins. That should have been that. A certain Weghorst had other ideas, heading one home shortlly after Messi's peno. This put the Argentinians on edge and with the clock already over the hundred minute mark, Weghorst struck again with a brilliantly worked free kick. The ball was trickled past the bewildered Argentinian wall as it made its way beautifully to Weghorst who blasted it home. The Dutch had Argentina where they wanted them! Or did they? Strangely, in the 30 minutes of extra time, the Dutch seemed to ease off the gas or lose their nerve. The result? More damn penalties, despain for the Oranje, bliss for the men in blue, 4-3.
The Moroccons were on the pitch to size up their next potential victims, Portugal. With previous lambs to their slaughter, Belgium and Spain, already at home watching on TV like the rest of us, the Moroccan juggernaut rolled on as they sent Portugal packing. Ronaldo reacted by dashing off to the dressing room, alone and in tears - a lovely sight though I'm sure Piers Morgan was in the dressing room to console poor Cristiano, taking him by both hands and pulling him into his arms for a man hug and a comforting cuddle! Morocco scored in the first half and yet, even with so much time, Portugal never really looked like taking control. Yes, they hit the bar and forced the non-singing Bono into a few testing saves in the Moroccan goal. Passes that looked slick and incisive against CH were consistently a fraction off thanks in large part to the quick and sturdy Moroccan defence. They're not only formidable defenders but also fast and skillful on the break - they had a couple of chances to make 2-0. In the end, that solitary goal was enough. Another major football scalp for Morocco, while also making them the first Afriican country to reach the World Cup semis - a great outcome for football.
And so to the last quarter, England v France, the next door neighbours who love slagging each other but deep down respect one another. The majority pre-match opinion was that France were the better team and for the first 15 minutes, it looked that way, especially when out of nowhere France went ahead with a long range belter which hammered the metal stanchion at the back of the goals - we all heard it! And yet this was just what the doctor ordered for what had been a limp England. They came to life, less caution, more trust, less backpasses, more drives forward. Although it was still 1-0 at the break, England were ultimately rewarded with a clear penalty which Kane duly buried, his club goalkeeper not having a sniff. Where had that early French dominance gone? The longer the match went on, the more likely seemed a 3 Lions victory until France got their wine-soaked noses in front through Giroud and his hard, accurate head. And so to the defining moment - Saka was upended in the box and it was up to Kane to exhibit his penalty prowess once more. As earlier, he slammed the ball, giving the keeper no chance but this time, he also sent it on a gravity-defying orbit into space! France held on, just about! It is only fair to say that the Brazilian ref was bloody awful - he ignored a several incidents which should have gone England's way. It reeks of FIFA demanding a Messi v Mbappé showdown in the final. I wouldn't put it past the bastards - a trivial matter compared to granting a WC to a tiny country with no tradition or interest in football.
No comments:
Post a Comment