Congrats to Paraguay and to Germany

For some time, Germany appeared to be going the same way as Italy; since they won their fourth World cup they have been awful! 

In 2010 and 2014, following their famous 2006 victory, Italy failed to get past the group stages. The same has happened to Germany, who after winning in 2014, failed to get past the group stages in 2018 and 2022. So this is where Germany has improved compared to Italy. 

The Italians have failed to qualify for all World Cups since 2014, while Germany in this World Cup improved markedly from their two previous World Cups in that they moved beyond the group stage and to the last-32. However, today this was the end for Germany, who lost on penalties to a difficult Paraguay side, after a tough 1-1 (Germany's first loss in World Cup penalty contest ever). 

While some may say this is disappointing for Germany, I applaud them for getting out of the group stages and playing a good match against Paraguay; they were the better team but lacked speed and imagination against a South American side that played like they always do: organized, defensive, and counting on corners and free kicks. And with a strong goalkeeper in the San Lorenzo’s Orlando Gill, Paraguay proved too much for the German feeble attacks.... 

Germany are, like Italy, not at the level of former times; the players they produce are nowhere near the level of the players they used to produce and not only lack the skills and speed to defeat a team like Paraguay, but also lack a winning mentality that in the end might have been why they could not win on penalties. Paraguay are surely celebrating and will look forward to play another defensive and organized match in the last-16. 

Congratulations to Paraguay but I will certainly not support them as I do not like how they play.

In the meantime, I congratulate Germany for getting through the group stages and hope they continue improving after having fallen so far from their 2014 pinnacle. 

The World Champions have checked in

Defending world champions often struggle to defend their title, but for Argentina tonight this was not the case. A solid 3-0 victory over Algeria, but most notably with an incredible Lionel Messi, who at his tender 38 years appeared to be everywhere on the pitch, and scored all three Argentine goals, equaling Miroslav Klose as the most scoring player in a World Cup.

Argentina also appeared solid in defense although I find it hard to assess how good the Algerians were. They passed the ball well and at times managed to put pressure on Argentina, but never really appeared to threaten the South American goal. At the same time they played slowly, something that only appeared to make the Argentineans comfortable. But it all may be to the credit of solid defense by Argentina.

While Spain grossly disappointed with 0-0 against Cape Verde, France won 3-1 over Senegal on a great second half and two Mbappé goals. Three of the biggest favourites for the title have started at different levels, but one thing is sure; everyone will be watching for Messi to break yet another historic record in his 6th World Cup.

Two matches today

 Two matches stood out for me today:

- Japan-Netherlands 2-2: Two of the sides we are looking forward to in the World Cup did not disappoint. Netherlands were dominating much of the match, but the Japanese were dangerous in their patience. Even though the Dutch went ahead after steady pressure, it was somewhat clear that the Japanese were never going to let the Europeans win. The Netherlands will likely win the group, but Japan will likely get far.

- Côte d’Ivoire-Ecuador: It was 0-0 for too long in a match that could have had many goals between two different styles of football. The Ecuadorians hit the post twice in the first half with their technical style, but the Ivorians were patient and much better physically. Manchester United’s Amad Diallo gave them a late victory that was painful for the South Americans, but also makes the following matches incredibly exciting, following the German thrashing of Curaçao.