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 Thursday, in case you missed it…
THE RESULTS
Japan 0, Poland 1 in Volgograd: Match report || match stats
Senegal 0, Colombia 1 in Samara: Match report || match stats
Panama 1, Tunisia 2 in Saransk: Match report || match stats
England 0, Belgium 1 in Kaliningrad: Match report || match stats
MAIN TALKING POINTS
A cruel way for Senegal to go out
Senegal has been a delight to watch at this World Cup. Its commitment to playing attacking soccer and its brilliant fans, noted for their passion and colourful costumes, have been a credit to this tournament. How unfortunate, then, it exits in the cruellest of fashions. Senegal and Japan tied for second place in Group G with identical records, an equal number of points, the same goal differential and same number of goals scored. Japan advanced, though, based on a better Fair Play record. Translation: It had only four yellow cards, compared to six for Senegal.
I’m not sure what else FIFA can do when all other tiebreaker scenarios have been exhausted. And breaking the tie based on disciplinary records is a better way than drawing lots, which would have been the next tiebreaker had Senegal and Japan had the same number of yellow cards. Still, there is a bitter irony here for Senegal, losing out on “Fair Play” to Japan, who were unsportsmanlike in the final stages of their game against Poland. The Japanese played it safe, stroking the ball in their half with no intention of going forward in search of another goal, and cautious not to put themselves in a situation where they would have to commit a foul and thus earn another yellow card.
A bit of a farce between England and Belgium
Austria and West Germany shamefully conspired with one another at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Algeria looked sure to go through to the knockout round after defeating Chile in Oviedo in its group stage finale. Austria and the Germans faced off in the final match of the group the next day in Gijon. Because FIFA did not require the final two matches of the group stages to be played simultaneously, Austria and West Germany knew that a 1-0 win for the Germans would be enough for both nations to advance.
And so, the two neighbouring countries stopped playing when the Germans went 1-0 up after 10 minutes. From that point on, the game slowed down to a crawl with neither team seriously venturing forward, and they both advanced at the expense of Algeria. Some good came out of that match, infamously known as the “Disgrace of Gijon.” FIFA wisened up and mandated that the final two group stage games be played at the same time to avoid such chicanery. That rule was instituted at the 1986 World Cup, and it’s been in play at the tournament ever since.
One wonders if FIFA will take action following Belgium’s 1-0 win over England. Both sides entered this game in a tie for first place, and having already booked their spots in the next round. However, whoever finished first would be placed in the much tougher half of the bracket with teams such as France, Uruguay, Portugal and Argentina, and where a potential quarterfinal showdown with Brazil looms. The second-place team gets the much easier half of the bracket (although it does contain Spain and Croatia) and a second-round matchup with Colombia.
I’m not sure if Belgian manager Roberto Martinez and his English counterpart Gareth Southgate took this into consideration when choosing their teams. But the fact they made 17 lineup changes between them certainly suggests they weren’t going for it, and would be happy with finishing second and taking the easier path towards the final. Lots of the English changes were questionable. Top scorer Harry Kane, who was not at risk of a suspension if he picked up a yellow card in this match, was on the bench, and remained there even after Belgium took the lead in the second half – another indication that, perhaps, Southgate wasn’t interested in winning. The fans in Kaliningrad certainly took notice, as they booed both sets of players off the pitch at the halftime whistle after a dull and lifeless opening 45 minutes.
It was suggested on Twitter (forgive me, I don’t recall who posted it) that FIFA should hold a draw once the group stage is completed. Put all the first-place teams in one pot, and all the second-place teams in another, and hold a blind draw. UEFA does this with the Champions League, and FIFA might follow this example, as it would eliminate the possibility of teams “throwing” games in order to gain an easier path in the knockout round – or least it would eliminate the poor optics. Doing this would pose organizational issues, and it’d be harder on travelling fans to make plans on such short notice. But it’s something FIFA should consider ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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BEST GAME
Not much to pick from today, but the nod has to go to Senegal versus Colombia. At least it featured two teams who went for it with their World Cup fates at stake.
BEST GOAL
In the 51st minute, the ball fell to the feet of Belgium’s Adnan Januzaj on the right side of England’s penalty area. Januzaj cut back to give his defensive marker the slip, and then hit a gorgeous, curling shot that beat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the far side of the net.
BEST SAVE
In the 32nd minute, Poland’s Kamil Grosicki connected on a header and Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima made a diving save to his right, getting his hand on the ball and clearing it out of danger for a corner kick.
BEST MOMENT
Celebration game on point #SENCOL 0-1 pic.twitter.com/Ttfr66aym3
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 28, 2018
THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME
Japan locked it down late against Poland, as mentioned previously:
BEST TWEET
BEST QUOTE
“I don’t know if the regulation is cruel or not, but I can’t ask my players to go on the pitch in order to avoid yellow cards. You have to be in contact with other players when you play football. This is how you play football. It worked against us.” – Senegal coach Aliou Cisse
SIX PACK OF STATS
• For the first time since the introduction of the Round of 16 at the 1986 World Cup there will be no African team present in the last 16 of the tournament.
• Colombia is the only team to reach the knockout stages of this World Cup despite losing its opening game of the competition.
• Eight of Poland’s last 10 World Cup goals have come off set pieces.
• Fakhreddine Ben Youssef’s goal for Tunisia was the 2,500th scored in World Cup history.
• Panama’s goal versus Tunisia means this is the first World Cup in history that featured every team scoring at least twice.
• The average age of England’s starting lineup against Belgium (25 years and 251 days) was its second youngest ever in a major tournament match, after its game versus Sweden at the 2002 World Cup (25 years and 207 days).
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS
1) Adnan Januzaj, Belgium: Scored that wonderful goal (his first in nine appearances for his country) that secured a win for the Belgians.
2) Yerry Mina, Colombia: Scored the goal that allowed his country to win Group H and go through to the knockout round.
3) Thibaut Courtois, Belgium: Made a few big saves to earn the clean sheet versus England.
LOOKING AHEAD TO SATURDAY
Round of 16: France versus Argentina in Kazan (10 a.m. ET) – France sleepwalked its way through Group C, but still managed to finish in first place. Argentina was a bit of a train wreck in Group D, and needed a late goal to avoid elimination. Will we finally see the best these teams have to offer now that we’re in the knockout round?
Round of 16: Uruguay versus Portugal in Sochi (2 p.m. ET) – The South Americans have yet to concede a goal at this tournament, while Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the top scorers with four goals. Can the Real Madrid star find a way to breach Uruguay’s defence? Can Diego Godin and his cohorts stop Ronaldo?
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB
Raphael Honigstein of ESPN.com looked at Germany’s failed World Cup campaign, and blames a casual attitude for the team’s early exit:
Every World Cup has its defining image. In 2014, it was Mario Gotze buzzing through the Maracana night like a drunk bumble bee. Four years later, the picture that will come to sum up Germany’s campaign in Russia – if you can even call it that – doesn’t depict a football scene. Quite the opposite, in fact: it shows Joachim Low in sunglasses, interrupting his morning jog in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to lean on a street lantern, posing for an agency photographer. The photo, taken before Germany’s second Group F game against Sweden, was supposed to project calmness. “I’m in control,” it said. “Don’t worry.” But the mantra-like belief in that sentiment, in the idea that everything would be all right on the night, was exposed as naive and misguided in Kazan [vs. South Korea].
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