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 Friday, in case you missed it…
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Egypt 0, Uruguay 1, in Yekaterinburg: Match report || match stats
Morocco 0, Iran 1, in Saint Petersburg: Match report || match stats
Portugal 3, Spain 3, in Sochi: Match report || match stats
MAIN TALKING POINTS
No-hamed Salah
Maybe Egypt manager Hector Cuper was bluffing. How else to explain his comments that star forward Mohamed Salah would “100 per cent” play a part in his country’s opening game of the tournament against Uruguay. Cuper offered those words the day before the match, so either something changed or Salah, still nursing a shoulder injury suffered in last month’s UEFA Champions League final, wasn’t fit to play.
And if Salah wasn’t fit to play, why even make the promise? And if he was fit, why not start him or use him? Instead, Salah was glued to the bench on Friday, watching as Uruguay struggled to break through the stiff resistance offered by his Egyptian teammates. As the contest dragged on without a goal, Uruguay was there for the taking – the game was begging for Salah to be introduced, for the Liverpool man, who was the top scorer in the Premier League this past season, to wield his special brand of magic.
Instead, Salah continued to watch from afar, and he could only bury his head in his hands after Jose Gimenez notched a late winner for Uruguay. After the match, Cuper said he didn’t want to risk using Salah and that he wanted to make sure he’d be ready to go for next Tuesday’s affair versus Russia. But again, if Salah wasn’t ready to go against Uruguay, then he shouldn’t have been in the 18-man roster. Either Cuper was being incredibly cautious, or the extent of Salah’s injury is far worse than his manager is letting on.
[relatedlinks]
A cruel ending
The less said about Iran’s 1-0 win over Morocco the better, so I’ll keep this brief.
It seemed like we would be in for an entertaining affair, as the match began at a fervent pace, with both sides showing plenty of attacking intent and trying to force the issue. But as time wore on, the game slipped into a comfortable rhythm, and not even the loud and boisterous fans inside the stadium in Saint Petersburg could inspire the players to push themselves and give a little extra.
In the end, it was fitting that an own-goal, scored by Morocco’s Aziz Bouhaddouz in the fifth minute of injury time, settled the matter. It was an ugly end to an ugly game.
A game for the ages
It looked like we were going to be in for one those days at the World Cup following two dire contests, both of them settled off late set-piece goals, that hardly sent pulses racing. And then came along Spain and Portugal to save the day.
The two European giants combined to produce one of the best group stage contests in the history of the competition, combining for six goals in a match that provided plenty of drama, entertainment, and twists and turns in the plot.
Diego Costa shook off his reputation as an instigator and focused on the soccer for once, and Spain was better for it, as they benefitted from two beautiful finishes from the Brazilian-born striker. Defender Nacho put in an early claim for goal of the tournament with his laser beam that beat Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio. David de Gea, generally regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, committed a howler, letting a tame shot from Cristiano Ronaldo (more on him in a second) go right through him.
Twice the Spaniards went down, and twice they battled back before taking the lead through Nacho, and it appeared as though they were on their way to collecting all three points on offer. But then Gerard Pique committed a needless foul just outside the penalty area late in regulation time, essentially tempting fate. Why on Earth would you give Ronaldo an opportunity from a dead ball situation with the game still hanging in the balance? It’s a question the Barcelona defender will be asking himself tonight after Ronaldo curled a majestic free kick into the back of the net to allow Portugal earn a share of the spoils.
This was a great game, a breathless affair that reminded viewers all around the world why we love this sport so dearly, and why nothing in sports can compare with the World Cup. Nothing.
BEST GAME
After two pretty dire 1-0 contests (both of them settled with late goals off set pieces), Spain versus Portugal capped off the day in brilliant fashion, offering plenty of entertainment and drama in a six-goal thriller. It lived up to all the pre-tournament hype as one of the marquee matches of the group stage.
BEST GOAL
In the 87th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and curled a gorgeous free kick over the Spanish wall into the back of the net. Goalkeeper David de Gea could only look on. Honourable mention to Spain’s Nacho for his screamer from 20 yards out.
BEST SAVE
In the 83rd minute, Uruguay’s Luis Suarez nodded the ball back to Edinson Cavani who hit a sweet volley from inside the box that seemed destined for the upper right corner. Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy had other ideas, turning away the shot with a diving, one-handed stop.
BEST MOMENT
Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration after scoring his third goal against Spain. The pure passion displayed by the Real Madrid star was great to see, his bright smile illuminating the night in Sochi.
THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME
For all of Spain’s possession in the opening 45 minutes, for all of its creativity, despite registering more shots and out-passing Portugal by a wide distance, they still trailed 2-1 going into halftime. The game is as much about good fortune and taking chances when they present themselves, as it is about dictating the pace.
Shots: 4-9
Pass accuracy: 85%-92%
Chances created: 2-5
Possession: 32%-68%@smarkets show the market changing dramatically – https://t.co/JIoLudoqJW pic.twitter.com/9QRQ7QvA89— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 15, 2018
BEST TWEET
Uruguay ruins Mo Salah's birthday. pic.twitter.com/9sXSQFQSRV
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
[snippet id=3758859]
BEST QUOTE
“What a kick in the teeth [for Egypt].” – TV commentator Paul Dempsey after Uruguay’s late goal.
SIX PACK OF STATS
• Friday ended a wait of 10,221 days for Egypt to play a game at the World Cup. Their last match was on June 21, 1990 – a 1-0 loss to England.
• Uruguay on Friday won its opening match at World Cup for the first time since 1970 in Mexico.
• Aziz Bouhaddouz is the first substitute to score an own goal in a World Cup game since Portugal’s Petit in 2006.
• Since 1966, Iran is the first team to score a goal in a half at the World Cup without attempting a single shot in that half.
• Cristiano Ronaldo is only the fourth player to score at four different World Cups (Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose).
• At 33 years and 130 days, Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest player ever to score a hat trick at the World Cup.
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS
1) Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal: Three goals. Granted, one from the penalty spot, and the other due to a howler from the Spanish goalkeeper. But it’s a World Cup hat trick. How can you deny him the honour?
2) Diego Costa, Spain: Bailed out Spain on two occasions, scoring a pair of crucial equalizers for La Roja when it appeared as though Portugal had all the momentum.
3) Andres Iniesta, Spain: A sublime performance from the classy veteran, who combined well with Isco in midfield, and was one of the main driving forces behind Spain’s attack.
LOOKING AHEAD TO SATURDAY
Group C: France vs. Australia (6:00 a.m. ET) – Les Bleus are being touted as one of the favourites at this tournament, while the Socceroos are expected to bow out in the first round. Maybe they can stun France like Senegal did at the 2002 World Cup. But, probably not.
Group D: Argentina vs. Iceland (9:00 a.m. ET) – Lionel Messi makes his first appearance at this tournament, while Iceland will makes its World Cup debut. Iceland stunned the field at Euro 2016 by reaching the quarterfinals. If they hope to duplicate that, a win against the Argentines would be a great start.
Group C: Peru vs. Denmark (Noon ET) – The Peruvians and Danes come into this match riding high – they’re both undefeated in international play in the last 18 months. France is expected to win this group, so second place will be battle between these two sides, making Saturday’s clash all the more crucial.
Group D: Croatia vs. Nigeria (3:00 p.m. ET) – One of the best midfielders in the world will be on display Luka Modric takes to the pitch against the Super Eagles. Modric will be abetted by Real Madrid teammate Mateo Kovacic of Real Madrid and Ivan Rakitic of FC Barcelona, no slouches themselves. In other words, Nigeria has its hands full.
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB
Sports Illustrated’s Brian Straus explains how Russia’s 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia has changed the narrative surrounding the host nation:
Many feared Russia would become the second host, after South Africa in 2010, to fail to survive the group stage. Others expected it. The Moscow Times led its pregame edition with a front page headlined, “Aging and Inexperienced: Why Russia is Doomed to Fail.” Kommarsant’s more optimistic take was, “No matter how shaky the host’s situation looks before the tournament, some coming to Russia are even worse.” Kommarsant was right. Saudi Arabia was worse. Much worse. Nothing about Wednesday’s visitors resembled a team that can handle itself at a World Cup. And to Russia’s credit, it took swift advantage.
Sid Lowe of The Guardian on why fans in Argentina are not universal in their love of Lionel Messi:
The dichotomy between club and country is the single most referred-to question thrown my way when it comes to Messi, ever since he sat on the bench as an unused substitute in 2006, sulking while Argentina went out to Germany. How come he delivers so much for Barcelona and so little for Argentina? Is it Andrés Iniesta? He doesn’t sing the national anthem was one of the criticisms. And he never played in his own country’s first division.
Joel Rabinowitz of These Football Times takes this look at Iceland, the smallest nation ever to compete at the World Cup:
For Iceland to even reach the World Cup finals is a remarkable achievement in itself – a country which languished at 112th in the FIFA world rankings at the start of this decade – capping off a meteoric rise that now sees them arrive in Russia in 22nd in the world rankings, off the back of a memorable Euro 2016 campaign in which they saw off England before bowing out gallantly against France in the quarter-finals, having captured the imagination of the continent.