After each matchday of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Sportsnet.ca’s World Cup Daily blog will recap the day’s events, and look ahead to the next day’s slate of games.
Here’s what happened on Saturday, in case you missed it…
THE RESULTS
Belgium 5, Tunisia 2 in Moscow: Match report || match stats
South Korea 1, Mexico 2 in Rostov: Match report || match stats
Germany 2, Sweden 1 in Sochi: Match report || match stats
MAIN TALKING POINTS
Hazard talks the talks, walks the walk
Eden Hazard was not impressed. He thought Romelu Lukaku was not involved enough through the opening 45 minutes of Belgium’s opening game against Panama. So, he pulled his teammate aside to have a word with him. “It’s not easy playing with a man missing. At halftime, I told him we needed him,” Hazard told reporters after the match, which Belgium went on to win 3-0.
Lukaku clearly got the message, as he bagged a second-half brace to guide Belgium to victory over the pesky Panamanians. The Manchester United man also scored a brace on Saturday, and was directly involved in Belgium’s swarming attack right from the opening whistle against Tunisia.
You can question Hazard’s decision to reveal to the media what he said to Lukaku. As Belgium’s captain, though, he had every right to say it. What’s more, Hazard can back up his words with action on the field. The Chelsea winger put in another fantastic performance on Saturday, serving as one of his team’s chief creators and main reference points in attack. His pair of goals and visionary passing helped the Red Devils tear apart Tunisia, and now they stand on the precipice of not only qualifying for the knockout round, but also winning their group.
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Mexico and the Round of 16 curse
Mexico has routinely flattered to deceive at the World Cup. Only twice have El Tri ever won a knockout round game, and both times it happened when they hosted the tournament. Like clockwork, they have exited the World Cup in the round of 16 in each of the last six tournaments.
But maybe – just maybe – the Mexicans are ready to end the curse, and go on a run at this World Cup. They were deserved winners over reigning champions Germany in their opening match, and they followed that up with a victory over South Korea on Saturday. Mexico has won its first two contests at the World Cup for only the second time in its history, after doing the same in 2002.
El Tri have been one of the best teams of this competition thus far. They’ve been composed and professional, while throwing in a bit of flare when needed. They haven’t chased games, they’ve controlled them. Star forward Carlos Vela has played with a lot of maturity, making excellent decisions and moving the ball on quickly to teammates, while Carlos Salcedo has been immense in marshalling a defence that has given away very little. Mexican teams in the past have lacked balance. This one doesn’t, and it could be the difference for them between another early exit and a place in the business end of the World Cup.
Kroos rescues Germany
For 16 minutes, the soccer world sat silently still. That’s how long it looked as though reigning World Cup champions Germany would crash out of this tournament with one match remaining in the group stage. Make no mistake, the possibility of a German exit was real – Sweden exposed them on the counter (much like Mexico had), its best player (Toni Kroos) was having a nightmare of a match, and they couldn’t find way to unlock the Swedish defence, despite all of their possession and swarming attacking play.
Down 1-0 early in the second half, Germany was on the brink of elimination. But then Marco Reus equalized in the 48th minute, giving the Germans renewed vigour. Germany was clinging to the ropes as the game wore on, and after centre back Jerome Boetang was sent off, it appeared Sweden was about to deliver the knockout punch. A draw would have kept the Germans alive, but it still would have meant that they didn’t control their fate going into the final group stage game.
But Sweden paid for not putting the game away, allowing Germany to stick around, and threw them a life line deep into injury time by conceding a needless foul just outside the box. Having previously made the errant pass that led to Sweden’s opening goal, Kroos stepped up and delivered a wonderful curling free kick into the far corner with the last kick of the game. Kroos redeemed himself after such a poor outing, and Germany went from hopeless to hopeful within mere seconds.
A false narrative has surrounded Germany in recent times: “Never count out the Germans – they’re never out of it, and can always come back.” In fact, the last time Germany won a World Cup match after conceding the first goal was in 1998 in France. Before Saturday, they were winless in seven subsequent games at the World Cup (six losses) in which they gave up the first goal. If ever they needed a come-from-behind win, it was against the Swedes. Where there was once despair within the German camp, there is now hope. And a Germany side with hope is a dangerous proposition.
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BEST GAME
It wasn’t competitive, and when Hazard and Lukaku scored with the first 16 minutes, you just knew it was going to be a bit of a blowout. Still, Belgium and Tunisia combined for seven goals, the highest-scoring match of the tournament thus far, and put on an entertaining show.
BEST GOAL
In second-half injury time, South Korea’s Son Heung-min received the pass on the right, and quickly worked the ball to his left foot before firing a scorcher from 20 yards out that sailed past Mexican Guillermo Ochoa at the far post.
BEST SAVE
In the 27th minute, Mexico’s Carlos Vela dribbled into the box and centred a pass to Miguel Layun at the top of the box, but South Korea goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo just managed to get a finger on it and tip it over the crossbar.
BEST MOMENT
Swedish striker Ola Toivonen, who didn’t score a single goal in 23 appearances this season for a Toulouse side that was almost relegated, chipped one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Germany’s Manuel Neuer. The magic of the World Cup!
THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME
Michy Batshuayi came into the game as a second-half substitute, and he was only on the pitch for 22 minutes. But he helped a high-flying Belgian side reach a new level with his fervent play.
BEST TWEET
BEST QUOTE
“In last few days I told my players to grow five centimetres and put on five kilograms. They couldn’t do it. So instead we will have to try to win by using the ball well.” – Japan coach Akira Nishino, looking ahead to Sunday’s game versus Senegal.
SIX PACK OF STATS
• Belgium is unbeaten in its last 11 World Cup group games, winning the last six in a row.
• Lukaku is the first player to score two or more goals in consecutive World Cup matches since Argentina’s Diego Maradona in 1986.
• Carlos Vela’s penalty for Mexico was the 14th taken at the 2018 World Cup, already one more than in the entire 2014 tournament.
• South Korea is winless in its last eight World Cup matches (with six losses), losing their last four in a row
• Jerome Boateng is the first German player to be sent off in a World Cup match since Miroslav Klose against Serbia in 2010.
• At 94:42, Kroos’ strike is the latest goal Germany has ever scored in a World Cup match, not including extra-time.
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS
1) Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, Belgium: Both scored a brace. Both were intimately involved in Belgium’s blistering attack. Both tore Tunisia’s back line to shreds.
2) Carlos Vela, Mexico: Another immense game from the Mexican forward, who created scoring chances, won a number of fouls, and converted from the penalty spot.
3) Marco Reus, Germany: Scored the equalizer that pumped new blood into Germany’s veins, and was his country’s most lively attacker throughout the match.
LOOKING AHEAD TO SUNDAY
Group G: England versus Panama in Nizhny (8 a.m. ET) – An English win would secure them a berth in the second round, and knock out both Panama and Tunisia. It would also set up a tantalizing England-Belgium match next week, with first place in Group G on the line.
Group H: Japan versus Senegal in Yekaterinburg (11 a.m. ET) – Both teams are coming off wins in their opening matches, so a victory by either the Japanese or the Senegalese in this one would give them a huge advantage going into the final round of group stage games. A draw would keep both teams tied for first place in the group.
Group H: Poland versus Colombia in Kazan (2 p.m. ET) – It’s desperation time for both of these teams after suffering losses in their opening games. Good news for Poland: commanding central defender Kamil Glik, who missed the opener due to a shoulder injury, is fit and is expected to play against Colombia.
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB
Jayaditya Gupta of ESPN.com writes about what it was like to experience the famous Viking Clap during Iceland’s 2-0 loss to Nigeria on Friday.
“At the first double-drumbeat the stadium suddenly goes hush; the “Hoo!” follows a split second later. Still a hush. It’s like the first footstep of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Everyone is on edge. Then the next, about ten seconds later. Then another, a second faster; and so on until by the tenth it’s rapid-fire. I counted 30 before it broke down into the general noise of a football crowd.”