Day 3 at the 2018 World Cup is in the books after an eight-hour long, four-game marathon.
Saturday began with France’s nerve-wracking 2-1 win over Australia and ended with Croatia shutting out Nigeria 2-0. However, we witnessed a pair of outstanding goalkeeping performances and a woeful attack in between those two fixtures.
Here are a few winners and losers from Saturday’s games at the 2018 World Cup.
WINNERS
Hannes Halldorsson and Kasper Schmeichel
From former filmmaker to World Cup hero.
Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson faced 27 shots from Argentina, saved a Lionel Messi penalty, and withstood another one of world soccer’s traditional superpowers to help his side earn a 1-1 draw with Argentina.
Halldorsson was a calming presence in goal, consistently gathering or punching aerial threats into the box. The 34-year-old also telegraphed Messi’s penalty beautifully to preserve a point for Iceland when it appeared its luck was running out.
Meanwhile, in Saransk, Kasper Schmeichel had an equally busy day.
Schmeichel faced 16 shots and made six ridiculous saves to keep Peru at bay in Denmark’s 1-0 win in what could be a massive three points in Group C. The Peruvians and Danes are very popular picks to reach the round of 16, so this was a decisive match.
The Leicester City shot-stopper certainly played a key role. He made two fantastic stops on Jefferson Farfan and Andre Carrillo on either side of halftime, which appeared to be certain goals. Schmeichel’s reflexes were tested time and time again, but he was up to every challenge.
At the 2014 World Cup, Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa stole the show as he made several acrobatic saves to guide his country to the round of 16. Schmeichel might follow the same trend in Russia.
VAR
The addition of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for the 2018 World Cup was controversial. However, on Day 3 of the tournament, the system was used correctly for the opening goal in France’s 2-1 win over Australia.
With Antoine Griezmann rushing towards goal in the 56th minute, he was caught from behind by Australian right-back Josh Risdon. Initially, no penalty was given. After consulting VAR, referee Andres Cunha overturned the decision and awarded a spot kick, which Griezmann eventually buried.
It was the correct decision as there was definite contact that prevented Griezmann from attempting a clear-cut chance.
In the third match of the day, Peru’s Christian Cueva appeared to be fouled at the top of the box against Denmark, only for the referee to wave away the protests. After reviewing the incident, he awarded a penalty, which was skied by Cueva.
On Friday, VAR was also used after Spain’s first goal against Portugal when it appeared Diego Costa elbowed Pepe before winning the aerial duel. The officials in the VAR centre determined that no clear and obvious error was made, so the goal stood.
VAR won’t be perfect, and fans won’t always agree with particular decisions because some might be arbitrary. However, for today, video review is a winner.
Croatia’s wingers
For a team that has been defined by its embarrassment of riches in midfield, it was the wingers who stood out for Croatia in their 2-0 win over Nigeria.
Because Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel, Wilfried Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo were shutting down the central channels all game long, Croatia was forced to spread the ball out wide.
This enabled Ivan Perisic and Ante Rebic to thrive in more open space. Croatian full-backs Ivan Strinic and Sime Vrsaljko became heavily involved in the final third as well. In fact, most of Croatia’s attacks were generated on the wings.
Both goals were scored via set pieces, but it must be comforting for coach Zlatko Dalic to have such strong wing play.
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LOSERS
Argentina’s attack
New tournament, same issues for Argentina.
In CONMEBOL qualifying, Argentina only scored 19 goals in 18 games, mainly due to its dependency on Messi. Against Iceland, La Celeste had 27 shots and 78 per cent of the possession. The match finished 1-1.
Only seven attempts hit the target, including Messi’s saved penalty. Throughout the match, Argentina’s attack constantly repeated the same pattern: get the ball from Messi, make a run down the flank, cross into the box, have it cleared by an Iceland defender, recover possession, repeat.
Once Cristian Pavon entered the game for the disappointing Angel Di Maria, there was more width and directness in the attack. That has to convince coach Jorge Sampaoli to start the Boca Juniors winger for the Croatia match on June 21.
Corentin Tolisso
Adding Corentin Tolisso to the French midfield with N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba versus Australia was a wise decision on paper from coach Didier Deschamps.
In reality, Tolisso was underwhelming.
I was very in favor of starting Tolisso, but he's been entirely too conservative.
— Mike L. Goodman (@TheM_L_G) June 16, 2018
There was a lack of urgency from the Bayern Munich midfielder when he was on the ball. Tolisso seldom advanced forward and ignored the overlaps out wide with Benjamin Pavard. This, in turn, allowed Australia to restrict France to the central channels.
Given his qualities as a box-to-box midfielder, Tolisso should have been far more dynamic.
Nigeria’s set-piece defending
While Nigeria wasn’t aided by its attack, the defending on set pieces likely cost the Africans a crucial point.
It started with Mario Mandzukic winning a header in the 32nd minute with four Nigerian defenders in the vicinity. Mandzukic is very strong in the air, but with that strong aerial presence, they should’ve been prepared.
In the second half, Nigerian centre-back William Troost-Ekong ensured Mandzukic didn’t beat him in the air by wrapping his arms around the Croatian forward before a set piece. The referee spotted the infraction and signalled for a penalty, which was converted by Luka Modric.
Nigeria is the youngest side at the World Cup, but that doesn’t excuse the defenders from committing these basic errors.
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