Why so surprised?

England were great in their first match winning 4-2 over Croatia, so they were obviously favourites against Ghana today. But Ghana managed to hold the favourites to a 0-0 draw that is probably a small disappointment for the English, who nevertheless appear to have the best odds of winning the group in their last match against Panama.

That said, I find it somewhat baffling that Mexican TV commentators called it one of the big surprises of the tournament: Ghana are in my view a solid side, with technically skilled, disciplined and athletic players, who can match all European sides, and defeat many of them, something they have proven before. Besides the fact that they are managed by the experienced manager Carlos Queiroz, they count players in top clubs in England, Spain, France, with wide experience at all levels.

Anyone who did not know that Ghana would not be a walkover for England, does not watch enough football.

Ghana have four points for two matches, and nobody has yet scored against them. They will face Croatia in their last match in what will surely be one of the matches to watch. Croatia fought hard to defeat a solid Panamanian side 1-0 (more surprising than Ghana is in fact how good Thomas Christiansen's side is), so they need a victory to pass Ghana in the group, and at least a tie to ensure a best third place.

I put my money on my dear old Black Stars. 

Nations League Quarterfinals

 If UEFA had wanted a good publicity for the Nations League, they could probably not have fixed the matches to be so perfect as they were yesterday in the second leg of the quarterfinals: full of goals, drama and excitement.

• Portugal defeated Denmark, perhaps not so surprising overall, but certainly in a dramatic fashion after losing 0-1 in Copenhagen. Ronaldo missed a penalty early in the match, but Joachim Andersen equalised via an own goal, before my namesake Rasmus Kristensen equalised for Denmark. In the second half Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored, before Christian Eriksen again equalised for the Danes, and in was only a late strike by Francisco Trincao that brought the match into extra time, and Portugal finally winning 5-2. But credit to the Danes!
• Germany appeared to have it all after winning 1-2 in Italy, and winning 3-0 at half time on goals by Kimmich, Musiala and Kleindienst. But in the second half Italy was reborn, and managed to equalise to 3-3 on two goals by Moise Kean and a late penalty equaliser by Giacomo Raspadori. It was all too exciting for the Germans who are nevertheless through
• Croatia had won 2-0 in the first leg against France, and held in the first half. But in the second half the French equalised the tie on goals by Bayern Munich's Michael Olise and PSG's Ousmane Dembele. It was sufficient to take the match to extra time and penalty kicks, where the French stood tall and won 5-4, as expected, but to great disappointment by the always great Croatians.
• Spain versus Netherlands was probably one of the most expected matches after the first leg between the two rivals ended 2-2 in Amsterdam. The Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal gave Spain an early lead on a penalty kick. It held until the second half when Memphis Depay equalised on another penalty, but Mikel Oyarzabal again brought Spain ahead, before Ian Maatsen equalised again, and the match ended 2-2. In extra time the young superstar Lamine Yamal scored a splendid goal to bring Spain ahead 3-2, but again the Dutch equalised to 3-3 by Xavi Simons on a penalty. There had thus been plenty of penalties as the match went into penalty kicks. Despite the fact that the young Lamine Yamal missed for Spain, the Spaniards still managed to pull a 5-4 victory.

So yes, these were very exciting matches for a tournament that most people do not care much about.

At least it is better than boring friendlies.

New Spain and Old Italy

Before the tournament Spain did not look like the big favourites, but they certainly do now. Under the leadership of the hapless Luis Enrique Spain had not impressed, but the former youth manager, Luis de La Fuente, has forged a splendid side based on the immense talent base in Spain. Lamine Yamal, only 16 years old, is only one example, but other players that have come forward include Nico Williams, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, as well as players whose talent was wasted during Luis Enrique, such as Dani Olmo and Marc Cucurella. And frankly, older experienced players are there too.

Spain last night defeated Albania 0-1 with ten substitutions. They have won the group with maximum points and a score of 5-0, and are looking like the team to beat in the tournament.

It seems we have a new super Spain in the making, more direct that the old Tiki-Taka side.

Croatia and Spain were playing their everything to follow Spain through. Croatia had to win, while a tie would be sufficient for Italy to defend the title they won in 2021. As would be expected it was a match full of drama. In the second half the veteran superstar Luka Modric brought Croatia ahead after having missed a penalty, and a lot of relief to a Croatia side that nevertheless drew back to defend. Italy understandably pushed forward, but we had to move to the 97th minute, the last kick of the match, before the Lazio winger Mattia Zaccagni brought relief to Italy and deep heartbreak to Croatia. 

1-1 and Italy are through to continue defending their title, like in the old days, while Croatia are out, and are probably looking at a farewell to the veterans that have done so much for Croatia over the years, most notably the Great Luka Modric.

Thank you.

The Greatest Euro Matches: Spain-Croatia (2021)

Many things were special about the Euro 2020: first of all, it did not take place in 2020. Due to the global Covid pandemic of 2020 the tournament had to be postponed to 2021. Secondly, UEFA had decided that not one nation would host the tournament, but instead the tournament was to be hosted by 11 cities in 11 different countries. Even though the pandemic was in its wane, this caused enormous logistical problems as many countries still had restrictions about travel and assembly. It was a mess, but a mess with a lot of memorable football. 

24 countries participated, and two of the greatest, Spain and Croatia, gave us a memorable match in Copenhagen. 

Spain entered the country as favourites as always. Most of the players from their legendary 2008, 2010 and 2012 side were out, but one remained namely the captain from Barcelona, Sergio Busquets, who had played in 2010 and 2012. That said, the team counted a long list of experienced veterans and highly talented youngsters: Manchester United’s David de Gea guarded the goal with Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta providing defensive coverage alongside Barcelona’s veteran Jordi Alba, and Aymeric Laporte and Eric Garcia, both from Manchester City. In midfield alongside Busquets was the veteran Koke from Atletico Madrid, Thiago from Liverpool, and some hugely talented youngsters in Rodri and Ferran Torres from Manchester City and Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig. Attacking power appeared not to be as awesome but they had the young Pedri from FC Barcelona, alongside more experienced Alvaro Morata from Juventus and Gerard Moreno from Villarreal. In a side with so much talent from some of Europe’s best clubs, it was notable that there was not a signle player from Real Madrid for thge first time ever, something that the Manager, and ex-Barcelona player and manager Luis Enrique, was highly criticised for. 

Spain had appeared strong in qualification, winning their relatively easy group ahead of Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands and Malta. Despite all the criticism they were a team to count on, and most people expected them to win their first round group to be played against Sweden, Poland and Slovakia. 

But Spain did not look good at home in Seville and it appeared that Luis Enrique struggled with setting a team in the first two matches when they tied Sweden and Poland 0-0 and 1-1 respectively. Only in the last match did they oipen the floodgates when winning 5-0 against Slovakia, but this only put them in second spot behind Sweden, meaning that they would be going to Copenhagen to face Croatia. 

The Croatian side that had come second in the 2018 World Cup  was still a powerful but ageing side. The captain was the great Luca Modric from Real Madrid, who nevertheless was not always up for a full match. And although the great Ivan Rakitic was no longer part of the squad, the midfield was still awesome with players like Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic from Inter, Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, and Mario Pasalic from Atalanta. Defense was also solid with Dejan Lovren from Zenit St. Petersburg, Sime Vrsaljko from Atletico Madrid, Duje Caleta-Car from Marseille, Domagoj Vida from Besiktas and a young Josko Gvuardiol from Dinamo Zagreb. In attack the side counted players like Ante Rebic from AC Milan and Andrej Kramaric from Hoffenheim. 

Croatia had qualified first in their group ahead of Wales, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, and had landed in a group with England, Czechia and Scotland, where they had not impressed: after losing 0-1 to England they had gone on to tie Czechia 1-1 and then a 3-1 victory over Scotland was good enough to make them runners-up behind the English, which put them face to face with Spain in Copenhagen. 

Neither side had impressed in the first round, going through only on their last match, so both managers started with similar lineups as in their last group matches. 

It was splendid match between two different, but equally splendid, sides. 

The first 19 minutes were all Spain with Croatia struggling to keep the Spaniards away, and Koke should likely have brought the Spaniards ahead. Instead, in the 19th minute, one of the weirdest drops in Euroean championship history happened. Croatia had hardly had a shot on goal, but Pedri made a pass back to goalkeeper Unai Simon, who totally missed an easy ball, which passed him and went into goal... 

 0-1 for Croatia, and the Spaniards were shaken as a confident Croatian side pushed forward and Vlasic and Kovasic had good chances for a second. That said, Spain slowly worked themselves back into the match and managed to again pressure the Croatians. In the 37th minute a string of shots and saves by goalkeeper Livakovic ended with PSGs Pablo Sarabia who equalised for Spain. 

Second half started with a new round of Spanish pressure, although a bit more careful. That said, it resulted in 2-1 when Cesar Azpilicueta scored his first goal for Spain on a header after a good center pass from Ferran Torres. The match flowed a bit more, and Croatia also had some chances, specially one where Unai Simon made a spectacular save, forgiving his mistake at the first half. But it was Spain that would not forgive: a long pass towards Ferran Torres, who rounded a young Gvuardiol and placed the ball perfectly behind Livakovic. 

3-1 Spain. 15 minutes to go. Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic put Ante Budimir on for Kovacic, and Matio Pasalic on for Vlasic. And then we all know that Croatia is never beaten! 

Croatians not only fight to the end, but they are also gifted footballers. They managed to put pressure on a Spain side that never really looked too strong in defense, and in the 85th minute it was the Dynamo Zagreb striker Mislav Orsic, who had come on for Rebic, who brought the score to 2-3 in a messy situation in the penalty box. 

Spain then got nervous while a hard-fighting Croatia got confident. Two minutes into added time Atalanta’s Pasalic made a perfect header from a perfect pass to make it 3-3, and extra time of an epic match. 

Croatia had a couple of good chances early in extra time, but while both sides were clearly tired after a fantastic fight, it seemed that the Spaniard’s technique might be their advantage. And so it was when Alvaro Morata scored a great goal for Spain: he perfectly controlled a difficult ball in the area and shot the ball into the near top corner of goal from a tight angle. It was a relief for the Spaniards as Morata had been highly criticised during the tournament, but this goal showed his quality. 

Three minutes later the Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal, who had come on for Ferran Torres, made it 5-3. 

It was in reality the end, although the heroic Croatians pushed forward as much as they could, and the Spaniards defended with the last of their strength. All in all, it was one of these splendid matches that have a bit of everything: mistakes, fantastic technique, heroic fights and a fair result. 

Croatia left the tournament with their heads held high (but surely knowing them, they were disappointed), while Spain went to the quarterfinals. They were to be considered one of the favourites, but after defeating Switzerland on penalty kicks, they went on to lose on penalty kicks as well to the later champions of Italy in the semifinals  

Copenhagen, June 28th, 2021, Parken 
Attendance: 22,771 
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir, Turkey 

Spain-Croatia 5-3 

Spain: Unai Simon; Eric Garcia (Pau Torres, 71), Aymeric Laporte, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jose Gaya (Jordi Alba, 77); Sergio Busquets (c) (Rodri, 101), Koke (Fabian Ruiz, 77), Pedri; Alvaro Morata, Pablo Sarabia (Dani Olmo, 71), Ferran Torres (Mikel Oyarzabal, 88). Manager: Luis Enrique
Croatia: Dominik Livakovic; Domagoj Vida, Duje Caleta-Car, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Juranovic (Josip Brekalo, 74); Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric (Luka Ivanusec, 114), Mateo Kovacic (Ante Budimir, 79); Bruno Petkovic (Andrej Kramaric, 46), Nikola Vlasic (Mario Pasalic, 79), Ante Rebic (Mislav Orsic, 67). Manager: Zlatko Dalic 

Goals:
0-1 Pedri (OG) (20) 
1-1 Pablo Sarabia (38)
2-1 Cesar Azpilicueta (57)
3-1 Ferran Torres (77)
3-2 Mislav Orsic (85)
3-3 Mario Pasalic (92)
4-3 Alvaro Morata (100)
5-3 Mikel Oyarzabal (103)

Wet dynamite

We are entering a period of vacation, and there is not much quality football after the Champions League final. National teams have been playing qualifiers and friendlies, where Spain's victory in the European Nations League after penalty kicks against Croatia is perhaps the most interesting thing that has happened (personally, I missed the match, having even forgotten it was being played).

Last night I watched one of the qualifiers, that between Slovenia and Denmark. Denmark has been struggling since their poor show at the World Cup, and in what should have been an "easy" group of qualification for the Euros 2024 in Germany, Denmark is just on third spot, most famously having lost 3-2 to Kazakhstan in April, after being 0-2 up.

Just last week Denmark managed to defeat Northern Ireland 1-0 in an otherwise poor showing, so their qualifier last night against Slovenia in Ljublana was an opportunity to set things straight. Denmark had the ball most, but looked insecure in defense, where otherwise experienced player like Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjær, and even Kasper Schmeichel, made mistakes that could have cost goals. In the meantime, they did not create many chances in the first half, and while Rasmus Højlund managed to equalize Slovenia's lead by Andraz Sporar, Denmark were not looking secure.

There was clear improvement in the second half, but it appeared more because Slovenia pulled back, but Denmark did not manage to score a winner, and 1-1 was overall an acceptable result.

Despite this, Denmark looks fragile. Too many mistakes and some of the youngsters not taking the lead (except perhaps Rasmus Højlund, who despite needing to grow, has come on strong with six goals in four matches) makes qualification far from guaranteed in a group currently led by Finland and Kazakhstan.

World Champions in other things

 Croatia are World Champions in winning penalty contests, but that did not help them today against Argentina, who got a thorough revenge for the 2018 loss to Croatia.

It was most certainly the best we have seen Argentina play in the tournament, and although the Croatian team had its moments dominating possession, they never really looked to threaten the Argentines who were concentrated, organised and fought with a spirit that perhaps is better only by Morocco in this World Cup.

And although they were all good, two Argentine players stood out: firstly, the young Julian Alvarez, who joined Manchester City in September, scored two goals and forced the penalty that Messi scored on. And secondly the veteran Lionel Messi, who not only scored on a penalty, but also made a perfect run around Josko Gvardiol to set up Alvarez for the third goal. It was the kind of Messi one saw when he was young, but he is also showing the qualities of a leader that Argentina needs and wants.

Argentina are World Champions in World Cup semifinals: this was their sixth (1930, 1978, 1986, 1990, 2014 and 2022), and they have won every single time, but still only two title to show for it. The way they played today, Argentina can beat anyone in the final. But they still display some weaknesses and nerves (the pressure is enormous on these players), meaning that they can also lose to anyone.

I hope to see them win their third title.

No matter what happens in the final, Argentina are World Champions football fans: the passion the fans have put into the matches is unique, and surely it will carry the team to try harder and harder.

Tension and surprises

 I have had a lovely weekend with great friends and traveling half across the world, so have had limited time to reflect on the semifinals.

I watched Argentina's match in a nice bar in San Salvador. Over beers and ribs I suffered greatly: Argentina apparently had the match under control after Nahuel Molina and Lionel Messi had brought them ahead 0-2, but Wout Weghorst, coming on for the Dutch, scored two for the Dutch to equalize and take it into extra time and an eventual nerve-wrecking penalty shootout.

I shit my pants as Argentina's Emiliano Martinez, Dibu, held strong and saved the penalties from Virgil Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis, with Lautaro Martinez in the end scoring the winner for Argentina.

It was an intense and dramatic match, but most of all, ugly, full of hate, mutual provocation, and a referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, that interestingly was accused by both sides of favouring the other side (maybe in the end that is the greatest compliment to a referee's neutrality). It is a pity that these players descend into that state of primitive cave-man mentality, but hey, that is why these guys are all footballers: they lack brains to be anything else.

As to Argentina: can they be World Champions? Yes, all four semifinalists can. But they are not the best or most stable team of the four. They could win the whole thing or end up losing 0-3 to the Croatians as they did in 2018. 

Because watch out for Croatia! Just as four years ago in the semifinals after two penalty shootouts, and having eliminated a great Brazilian side! Because Brazil were great and it is truly sad to see them eliminated, but they lost again to a strong European side (Brazil has not defeated a European side in a World Cup knockout match since 2002!) who proved disciplined, organized and were not at all intimidated at playing against Brazil.

Morocco are the first African team ever to make it into a semifinal, and that in itself is truly historical, besides the fact that they repeated their feat of 1986 by defeating a Portuguese side that had not watched Morocco's other matches. It is great and refreshing to finally see and African team through, and they will face their biggest challenge in France, the defending World Champions, but also a country with which they have strong bonds; I hope it will be a fair and great match of mutual respect rather than the hateful nationalistic shit we are seeing in the tournament.

If not, rather watch Netflix.

The World's 16 best footballing nations

The Qatar World Cup continues to be an ugly political event that has come to symbolize ugly nationalism, disrespect, inequality, abuse and greed.

But I think this is just a symptom of our world.

In footballing terms the group stages have been interesting. After Brazil sensationally lost to Cameroun (and frankly this is as surprising as Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia or France losing to Tunisia) it is the first tournament since 1994 during which no team has gone through with maximum points (the same happened in 1958 and 1962, so it is not a common occurrence). But more interesting is that this is the first World Cup where all continental federations (except Oceania) are represented with at least one team (CONCACAF 1, CONMEBOL 2, CAF 2, UEFA, 8, AFC 3). 

The eight matches are as follows:

• Netherlands-USA: The Dutch got through with two victories and one difficult tie to Ecuador, and are surely not as strong as they should be. USA is the only representative from CONCACAF and looked well-organised to defeat Iran and tie England. It will surely be difficult for the Dutch, but I hope they prevail
• Argentina-Australia: Despite their opening loss to Saudia Arabia Argentina won the group and remain favourites. They are surely huge favourites against Australia. The Asian representatives went through on hard work but winning against two poor sides, Denmark and Tunisia. They were overrun by France and should be on their best to defeat Argentina (but certainly not impossible). I support Argentina wholeheartedly.
• France-Poland: The defending champions are looking strong, but lost to Tunisia in a match with many substitutes. They are surely favourites against the Poles, who look delighted just to have gone through. That said, no expectations could be Poland's strength as they still have quality players who could hurt France. But I expect France to prevail.
• England-Senegal: England will underestimate Senegal, that is a given, and I will surely support Senegal, where other players have stepped up in the absence of Sadio Mané. Koulibaly was spectacular against Ecuador and will face English players he knows well. It will be a close match I think, with England as weak favourites.
• Japan-Croatia: Japan winning the Group of Death is one of the surprises, and Croatia have surely seen that Japan defeated both Germany and Spain, although also that the Japanese do have weaknesses. If Croatia can take advantage of their quick passing then they could hope for a repeat of 2018. Japan I think are slight favourites though.
• Brazil-South Corea: The Corean victory against Portugal means that they prevented us from a repeat of the "Maracanazo" classic between Brazil and Uruguay. Don't mind that though. Corea and in particular their fans are the best side through. Brazil are enormous favourites, but the Coreans do and should not fear anybody, and could cause a sensation!
• Morocco-Spain: This is probably the clash I look most forward to. Neighbouring countries; the African upstart with a great team and confidence, against the European giants with some truly fantastic players. It has all the ingredients to be a fantastic match!
• Portugal-Switzerland: The Portuguese went through on first place with two wins and one loss, but appear not to have been tested yet. Switzerland will surely be a test. They showed their quality already in last year's Euro when eliminating France in an extraordinary match, and in this tournament have shown themselves solid in the back, but also strong in attack when it counted against Serbia. This match could go to either side!
  

Canada out, Morocco in

 Canada has been a joy to watch in this World Cup; led by Alphone Davies they have a young and talented side, and mark my words: this is not the last we will have heard of Canada.

Against Croatia the Canadians were up against a great side that kept their cool after Davies' shock opener, and through Andrej Kramaric and Marko Livaja managed to turn a difficult match around, with Lovro Majer making it 4-1 in injury time in a too-large victory. 

Croatia are serious about this tournament, and may reach as far as they did in 2018.

Canada were very unlucky to lose 0-1 to Belgium. Belgium's performance appears to not have been a one-off, and today a great Moroccan side were superior to the famous Belgians. Morocco went ahead on a free kick goal by Abdelhamid Sabiri (and Courtois did not look too good either), while Zakaria Aboukhlal made it 0-2 in injury time. Hakim Ziyech was simply fantastic and is certainly a player that can carry Morocco very far in this tournament.

I was recently in Morocco, and can imagine the partying in that football-crazy nation!

Morocco can take first place in the group with a victory over Canada (it will not be easy!), while Belgium is forced to win against a Croatia that looks far stronger than Belgium. It appears unlikely, and it may be that elimination in the first round of this World Cup will be the end of Belgium's golden generation of players.

Greatest World Cup Matches: France-Croatia (2018)

Russia had been a controversial choice to host the World Cup, but had prepared well for a tournament that covered large distances, but also showed Russia from its best side, despite all the initial misgivings.

France had entered the tournament as one of the pre-tournament favourites, just as they had done two years before at the 2016 Euros, where the team had nevertheless been defeated by Portugal in a very boring final. Manager Didier Deschamps, who had captained France to their 1988 World Cup title most definetly counted with one of the most talented sides in the world: a solid midfield with some of the world’s best midfielders in Manchester United’s Paiul Pogba and the Chelsea’s ever-working genius Ngolo Kanté, as well as Juventus’ experienced Blaise Matuidi. Also defensively the teams stood strong with Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris on goal, behind Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti, and two excellent backs in Stuttgart’s Benjamin Pavard and Atletico Madrid’s Lucas Hernandez. But what was strongest was its attacking prowess, led by the young genious of Paris St. Germain’s Kylian Mbappé, alongside Ateltico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann and Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembelé. France’s manager, Didier Deschamps, had even cut out the star striker from Real Madrid, Karim Benzema, amid some controversial rows among players.

France had won a difficult qualification group ahead of Sweden, Netherlands and Bulgaria, but were not impressive in the first round of the tournament: they defeated Australia 1-2, Peru 0-1, to tie Denmark 0-0 in a bore of a match to win the group. In the last-16 France faced a potentially strong Argentina with a shambolic defense in what turned out to be a great match, France won 4-3 with some fantastic goals, and France coming back from being 1-2 down. In the end it was in Kyllian Mbappé’s speed that made the difference, him winning the penalty kick of the first goal, and scoring two other goals to put France in the quarterfinals.

Uruguay were defeated 2-0 on goals by Varane and Griezmann for them to face the best team of the tournament in the semifinals: Belgium. In a strong match with many chances but two great goalkeepers, France won 1-0 on a header by the Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti, and were ready for their first World Cup final since their 2006 defeat to Italy, where they were to face a surprising Croatian side.

Croatia had been at the top of World football since their independence, and had already made it far in the 1998 World Cup, when they reached the semifinals. They were always a team to be reconned with, having a long list of players in Europe’s biggest clubs, and the 2018 squad was no exception: an experienced defense that included Atletico Madrid’s SimeVrsaljko, Sampdoria’s Ivan Strinic and Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren, in front of Monaco’s Danijel Subasic in goal. Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic and Juventus Mario Mandzukic were strong strikers, but the big stars were in midfield, where two of the world’s best midfielders dominated: Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic.

Despite this amazing lineup Croatia had not qualified directly: they had come second to the surprising Iceland (who in 2018 qualified for their first World Cup ever), but had qualified to Russia through a play-off victory over Greece.

Croatia were paired again with Iceland in the first round group, alongside Argentina and Nigeria, and the Croatians cruised through a group that looked difficult: they defeated Nigeria 2-0 in the first match, and completely outplayed Argentina, winning 3-0, in a match where Modric and Rakitic completely tore apart the South Americans. In the last match in Rostov, they defeated Iceland 2-1 and were alongside Uruguay and Belgium the only side to win all their matches in the first round.

In the last-16 Croatia faced Denmark in a very close match that ended 1-1 (with Modric missing a penalty in the dying minutes of extra time), and had to go to penalty kicks, where Croatia proved cooler, winning 3-2.

In the quarterfinals Croatia faced an exciting Russian home-team, who had unexpectedly made it to the quarterfinals after defeating Spain in the last-16. It proved an exciting match, with Denis Cherysev bringing the Russians ahead on a splendid goal, but Croatia equalising through Andrej Krmaric, and then going ahead 1-2 in extra time, before a fighting Russian side equalised in the dying seconds of the match. But as against Denmark, Croatia were the better side from the penalty spot, and were to face England in the semifinals.

There were, as always, huge expectations amid the English fans that they could make their first final since 1966, and probably also a bit of under-estimation of the Croatian side, whose penalty wins were also seen as lucky. And England did indeed start the best, and went ahead after only five minutes, but if anything, Croatia proved that they never give up, and after pressing in the second half equalised through Ivan Perisic, and in extra time Mario MAndzukic gave the Croatians the victory, and their first World Cup final ever.

Against all expectations and in their first World Cup final, Croatia started as the best team dominating possession and controlling the midfield. But as often happens, it was the French who went ahead in what was basically their first attampt: a free kick into the area was touched by Mario Mandzukic head, and the hero of the semifinal had brought France ahead with an own-goal. However, it did not shake the Croatians who deservedly equalized ten minutes later when Ivan Perisic controlled and powerfully shot from the edge of the area.

The 2018 World Cup had been the first to introduce Video Assistance Refereeing (VAR) to help referees in difficult decision. And VAR intervened for the first time in a World Cup final, although not without controversy. During a French corner kick the ball hit Ivan Perisic’s hand; initially the Argentine referee did not make a call, but watching the repeat on the VAR screen, he changed his mind and gave France a penalty kick that Antoine Griezmann scored.

In my opinion it was not a penalty.

2-1 at halftime, and although Croatia came out to play their chance in the second half, France appeared in control and ready to utilize the young Kylian Mbappé’s speed for their counter-attacks. France made it 3-1 by Paul Pogba, and it was indeed Kylian Mbappé who made it 4-1 with a powerful shot from the edge of the area. At only 19 years of age he became the youngest goalscorer in a World Cup final since the legendary Pelé in 1958. While Mbappé was not the revelation of the tournament, he was the tournament’s best young player, and had probably been awarded player of the tournament award had it not been for the brilliant Luka Modric.

With a 4-1 lead the match was effectively over, but France’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris decided to give Mario Mandzukic a present but losing control of the ball in front of goal and letting Mandzikic push it into goal. Mandzukic is thus the only player to have scored for both teams in a World Cup final.

4-2 and France were champions for the second time since 1998, but Croatia had been a worthy and dignified finalist, and won many hearts. It was also the first final since 2002 that did not go into extra time, and was thus one of the most special finals in World Cup history, and a worthy final for a great tournament in Russia.

July 15th 2018  

Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow 

Attendance: 78,011 

Referee: Nestor Pitana (Argentina) 

Teams: 

France: Hugo Lloris (c); Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez; Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kanté (Steven Nzonzi, 55), Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Blaise Matuidi (Corentin Colisso, 73), Olivier Giroud (Nabil Fekir, 81). Manager: Didier Deschamps 

Croatia: Danijel Subasic; Slime Vrsalkjo, Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Strinic (Marko Pjaca, 81); Ivan Rakitic, Marcelo Brozovic, Ante Rebic (Ante Kramaric, 81), Luka Modric (c ); Ivan Perisic, Mario Mandzukic. Manager: Zlatko Dalic 

France-Croatia 4-2  

Goals: 

1-0 Mario Mandzukic (OG) (18) 

1-1 Ivan Perisic (27) 

2-1 Antoine Griezmann (p) (38) 

3-1 Paul Pogba (59) 

4-1 Kylian Mbappe (65) 

4-2 Mario Mandzukic (69)

Exhaustion from so much excitement!

The two last-16 matches in the European Championship today were two incredible matches that left me exhausted after such rides of drama, goals and emotion! But this is truly what football is all about!

Spain had to fight unusually hard to defeat Croatia in what frankly should have been a relatively easy game for Spain against a Croatian side that still wins morally by the mere fact of their never-ending fight. Unai Simon's own goal was the single most comical moment of the entire tournament (and congratulations to the goalkeeper for rising up to the challenge and having some great saves afterwards), and put Croatia ahead when everyone was expecting Spain to score the first goal. That said, when the Spaniards finally managed to score by Pablo Sarabia, they were in complete control, and we all thought that the match was over after Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres made it 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.

But Croatia never gives up, and they managed to score two late goals by Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic to take the game into extra time.

In extra time, after Alvaro Morata made it 4-3 for Spain following some dreadful Croatian marking, the game was nevertheless over, and when Mikel Oyarzabal made it 5-3, the tired but brave Croatian had little energy left to mount a comeback.

Spain are in the quarterfinals, and very likely semifinalists, as Switzerland, whom they will face (and probably defeat) in the quarterfinals did them the favour of eliminating France in another exciting match.

Switzerland took an early lead by Haris Seferovic, the Benfica  striker, and they took their lead to halftime. France mounted a feeble pressure early in the second half, until Switzerland were given a penalty, that could have given them a decisive lead, but Hugo Lloris saved Ricardo Rodriguez penalty kick. After that France were like another team, and Karim Benzema put them ahead with two quick goals, before Paul Pogba made it 3-1 on a spectacular strike.

By this time France were in total control, and it seemed unlikely that the Swiss could make a comeback, but alas, they did: Seferovic made it 3-2 on another header where the French central defenders (Rafael Varane and Clement Leglet) looked very poor, and in the dying second Mario Gavranovic made it 3-3 on an excellent strike that also exposed a slow French central defense.

The French appeared defeated even when they were up 3-2, and despite some chances in extra time we all had the feeling that the Swiss would pull the surprise in penalty kicks (and the Swiss seemed very happy when it went to penalty kicks). There were some great kicks by both sides until it came down to the last kicker: Kylian Mbappe, who had played a very poor match to say the least, and the youngster crowned it by having his penalty saved by Yann Sommer, and putting Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Kylian Mbappe is only 23, and I hope he can overcome this. That will define him as a great player, or merely another good youngster.

The World Champions are out, and Switzerland have made it further that even they had dared dream (and in all likelihood as far as they will make it).

England through

England entered the tournament as one of the favourites, and have proceeded to win their group D today after defeating the Czech Republic 1-0 on a first half header by Raheem Sterling. England thus go through with seven points and a score of 2-0. In their last-16 match England will face the runner-ups of Group F (France, Germany, Portugal, or even Hungary, who could defeat Germany, and with France beating Portugal, could become runner-ups, as unlikely as it may appear), and will thus face a quality team. England have not looked like a world-beating team in the first round, but that makes them, in my view, more likely to succeed: a winning team needs to pace itself to the knock-out matches, and that may be what England needs to do to make it all the way. No matter who they face, it will be an exciting match with England playing at home.

Croatia made it as runner-ups with a 3-1 victory over Scotland. While not looking as good as they did in Russia, Croatia is a team that, on a good day, can beat any team in the world. After a solid start the Czechs only took the third spot. In the match against England it was a bit disappointing that they did not try harder to go for a goal and become group winners, but they appear satisfied to just make it beyond the group stages. I doubt that the Czechs will make it any further, and their memory from the tournament is likely to be Patrick Schick's spectacular 2-0 goal against Scotland.

The 2018 World Cup table

The World Cup has ended, and as usual I prepare a table with the final positions of the tournament, based on a three-point system, goal difference (GD) and in case of tie (Australia, Costa Rica and Iceland), I have used FIFAs fair play (number of yellow cards):

	Country	Games	Won	Tied	Lost	GF	GA	GD	points
1	France	7	6	1	0	14	6	8	19
2	Croatia	7	4	2	1	14	9	5	14
3	Belgium	7	6	0	1	16	6	10	18
4	England	7	3	1	3	12	8	4	10
5	Uruguay	5	4	0	1	7	3	4	12
6	Brazil	5	3	1	1	8	3	5	10
7	Sweden	5	3	0	2	6	4	2	9
8	Russia	5	2	2	1	11	7	4	8
9	Colombia	4	2	1	1	6	3	3	7
10	Spain	4	1	3	0	7	6	1	6
11	Denmark	4	1	3	0	3	2	1	6
12	Mexico	4	2	0	2	3	6	-3	6
13	Portugal	4	1	2	1	6	6	0	5
14	Switzerland	4	1	2	1	5	5	0	5
15	Japan	4	1	1	2	6	7	-1	4
16	Argentina	4	1	1	2	6	9	-3	4
17	Senegal	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
18	Iran	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
19	South Corea	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	3
20	Peru	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
21	Nigeria	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
22	Serbia	3	1	0	2	2	4	-2	3
23	Germany	3	1	0	2	2	4	-2	3
24	Tunisia	3	1	0	2	5	8	-3	3
25	Poland	3	1	0	2	2	5	-3	3
26	Saudi Arabia	3	1	0	2	2	7	-5	3
27	Morocco	3	0	1	2	2	4	-2	1
28	Australia	3	0	1	2	2	5	-3	1
29	Costa Rica	3	0	1	2	2	5	-3	1
30	Iceland	3	0	1	2	2	5	-3	1
31	Egypt	3	0	0	3	2	6	-4	0
32	Panama	3	0	0	3	2	11	-9	0
TOTAL	32	64				169	169	0

It is clear that France were the best team in terms of points. Belgium, on third place, in fact had more points than the vice-champions, Croatia, who had to go through a couple of ties, while Belgium only lost one match. Uruguay, with four victories won more matches than England, who nevertheless got a well-deserved fourth place. Notice though, that both Uruguay and Belgium were eliminated by the later champions. Belgium was also the team with most goals and the best GD, while the best defenses according to least goals were Denmark, Iran and Peru. The worst defense was that of the Panamanian debutants, who also ended dead last in the table. The 2014 champions from Germany ended in the 23rd spot, which is their worst performance ever.