Monday was fairly low on drama compared to the previous couple of days at the 2018 World Cup.
However, there was still some excitement as Harry Kane’s late winner helped England edge Tunisia 2-1. Belgium was held scoreless for 45 minutes by debutants Panama, until Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku pounced out of nowhere to lift the Belgians to a 3-0 win. Sweden also edged a toothless South Korea 1-0 thanks to an Andreas Granqvist penalty.
Here are three winners and three losers from Day 5 at the World Cup.
WINNERS
Harry Kane
No England striker had scored multiple goals in a World Cup game since Gary Lineker in 1990. Harry Kane finally snapped the 28-year-long run with his brace in the 2-1 win over Tunisia.
Just when it appeared that England was going to settle for a draw in a match they largely dominated, there was Kane, left unmarked at the back post on a corner to bail out the Three Lions.
For all of the consistency and calmness instilled by coach Gareth Southgate, one of the major differences for England is having a clinical centre forward. Sometimes the finishing in a game just isn’t there, which was the case on Monday.
England generated 18 shots and eight hit the target. There were incisive, fluid movements in the final third, but the final product wasn’t there for the vast majority of the game. That’s why strikers such as Kane are so valuable.
Jaime Penedo, Cho Hyun-woo
Both Jaime Penedo and Cho Hyun-woo ended up losing their respective matches. Regardless, both goalkeepers were outstanding.
Panama lost 3-0 to Belgium, which was expected. However, Penedo was practically standing in his head in the first half. His quick decision-making and agility helped calm a Panamanian defence that was largely under siege. The 36-year-old timed his punches and catches on crosses very well, which seemingly boosted the side’s confidence. In fact, the ex-LA Galaxy shot-stopper kept the score line respectable for the World Cup debutants.
As for Cho, he was arguably the man of the match in the 1-0 loss to Sweden. This was only his seventh cap for South Korea but he did not appear fazed by the grand stage.
Cho’s best save was probably the sprawling stop on Marcus Berg in the 20th minute. He came across, made himself big and then immediately jumped up to smartly parry the ball out of danger.
The Daegu FC goalkeeper will likely stay busy throughout the group stage due to South Korea’s conservative tactics. If he keeps performs like this, Cho might start piquing the interest of European clubs.
Pontus Jansson
Victor Lindelof, one of Sweden’s stalwart centre-backs, was forced out of the team’s 1-0 win due to illness, so Pontus Jansson was a late addition to the starting XI.
Monday’s match was only Jansson’s third competitive appearance for Sweden. He didn’t appear out of place at all, though.
The Leeds United man won 10 duels, completed two tackles and two interceptions to help the Swedes preserve their sixth clean sheet in their last seven games. His willingness to roam forward and distribute in the middle third of the pitch also provided another calming presence for Sweden.
Lindelof should return for the second match versus Germany, but at least coach Janne Andersson knows Jansson is a more-than-capable replacement.
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LOSERS
Kyle Walker
In an otherwise faultless performance, Kyle Walker conceding a penalty was one of the strangest moments at the World Cup thus far.
With the ball in the air, Walker – duelling with Fakhreddine Ben Youssef at the top of the box – swung his arm backwards and struck Ben Youssef’s face. The Tunisian forward wasn’t in a threatening position, either.
There were also moments when Walker was on the ball and was nearly dispossessed around his box in the first half. Chalk it up to first-game nerves for now, but with England’s insistence on playing out from the back, the defender has to be more astute.
Shin Tae-yong
Whether this was affected by coach Shin Tae-yong or improvisation from the players, the Korean attack was woeful for most of the 90 minutes.
Despite Ki Sung-yueng producing a strong performance on both sides of the ball in midfield, Son Heung-min’s presence up front and Hwang Hee-chan’s dynamism on the right, South Korea’s attack was rather dull.
They opted for a more direct style of play, which played right into Sweden’s hands due to their height advantage. When South Korea opted for shorter build-up, the Taegeuk Warriors heavily favoured the right flank, so it was mandatory for the Swedes to shut it down.
The exciting Lee Seung-woo should have started on the left because after he checked in, the pace of Korea’s attacks dramatically changed.
Even reporters who cover South Korea admit that Shin’s more conservative approach is not working, if the zero shots on target wasn’t evidence enough.
Nikola Kalinic
While the Croatians don’t play again until Thursday, they still made the news.
After refusing to enter as a substitute versus Nigeria, Nikola Kalinic has been sent home. The Croatia striker cited a back injury as the reason why he did not want to come off the bench.
It’s been a horrible year for Kalinic, who struggled in his first season at AC Milan. He didn’t fit into Gennaro Gattuso’s system as a target man and finished the campaign with just six goals in 31 Serie A appearances.
Despite his misfiring fortunes, coach Zlatko Dalic still called up Kalinic and clearly trusted him. Unfortunately for Dalic, that faith was broken.
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