Blood, sweat, tears and even miracles
The round of 16 in the World Cup did not disappoint and had just about everything, running the whole gamut of emotions. There were even a few boring bits.
We witnessed the heartbreak of Japan getting so close to a sensational victory, the frustration of Spain unable to polish off a stubborn Russia and the despair of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in what was most likely their Last Hurrah.
Contrast that with the joy of the Russians who couldn’t believe they have advanced so far and the relief of Belgium coming back from the dead against Japan.
But the biggest drama came in the last game when England finally won a penalty shoot-out, something almost unheard of. It was a tense match and certainly not one for fans of a nervous disposition. The football wasn’t pretty and the game seemed to go on forever. For those of us watching in Thailand it was approaching 4am when the final rites were played out.
The match turned quite ugly at times. Things boiled over when England were awarded a penalty. Chaotic scenes followed as the Colombians exploded and vented their fury on American referee, Mark Geiger, who struggled to maintain control. Harry Kane had to wait nearly four minutes to take the kick and all credit to him for burying it in such volatile circumstances.
The game was littered with fouls or players pretending to be fouled and it was a nightmare for the referee to handle. When Colombia grabbed a 93rd minute equaliser it didn’t look good for England who had been within a whisker of victory. The nervejangling shoot-out was absolute torture. There was that inevitable feeling of déjà vu amongst England fans when Jordan Henderson’s kick was well-saved by David Ospina. But with a little help from the crossbar and a superb save by Jordan Pickford, Eric Dier’s successful kick clinched it for England and there was mayhem.
For Gareth Southgate, who knows all about missing penalties, it was redemption of a sort, while waistcoat sales reportedly soared in England.
Not surprisingly the relieved English newspapers went bananas. “Miracle in Moscow” was the Daily Mirror’s take while the Daily Mail also went with “Miracle” adding “explosion of relief must have been heard in Space”. The Guardian decided on “England Break Curse” while The Sun highlighted the keeper with “Hand of Jord”.
England now face a tough clash tonight against Sweden who looked a very solid outfit in their victory over Switzerland.
The encounter between France and Argentina didn’t let us down. It’s not often you get seven goals, some of them quite brilliant, in the opening knockout game of the World Cup. For the first time in this tournament France looked the real deal against Argentina and with the pace and skills of Kylian Mbappe they could go the whole way.
The big shock on Sunday was of course Spain succumbing to Russia. The 2010 world champions, who dominated the entire match, seemed to think their tiki-taka style of passing the ball sideways on the halfway line would somehow lead to an avalanche of goals. It didn’t and was also quite boring, as appealing as a stodgy paella. The Spaniards learned the bitter lesson that 1,000 passes and overwhelming possession won’t get you anywhere if you don’t score.
It was clear the hosts knew their only hope was a penalty shoot-out and that is exactly what they achieved. Russia had a slice of fortune when the penalty by Iago Aspas looked to be goal-bound but keeper Igor Akinfeev somehow got his foot to it and Russia were through. By such fine margins are matches won and lost.
The result was great for the tournament — there’s nothing like having happy hosts to maintain the momentum of a World Cup. The Russian fans celebrated at full throttle and it was apparently one of the wildest nights ever witnessed in Moscow.
The Spanish media were unimpressed by their team. “Walking All The Way Home” was Marca’s headline in a reference to their pedestrian style of play. El Pais commented “Spain looked like they were climbing the Himalayas.”
It is hard to believe that a game in which both sides score in the opening four minutes should turn into a real bore, but that’s what happened between Croatia and Denmark. After half-time the two teams seemed to be settling for penalties and that’s exactly what we got, with Croatia prevailing.
Brazil deservedly beat Mexico and Neymar played quite well, but… there’s always a “but” with Neymar. To be fair, he has suffered very bad injuries in the past. But the Golden Boy’s simulation antics at times were embarrassing. He also has an amazing capacity of recovery, rolling around in absolute agony one moment, yet sprinting after the ball seconds later. A diva and a diver. But still a gifted player.
What can you say about Japan? Amazingly 2-0 up with just 21 minutes to go against one of the top teams in the world and another huge upset was on the cards. Alas, it was too good to be true, with Belgium staging the best comeback of the tournament so far.
Belgium had the unlikeliest of heroes, the much maligned Marouane Fellaini who has yet to win over hearts at Old Trafford, and Nacer Chadli who had only made five appearances for relegated West Bromwich Albion this past season. The match ended in tears for the brave Blue Samurai, but it was a terrific game, full of drama and entertainment.
Let’s hope there is more cracking football coming up, with not too many penalty shoot-outs.