A team who capitulates due to internal discord and media tittle-tattle is a time honoured World Cup tradition. Usually it’s France, but this year neighbours Belgium have manfully assumed the mantle. It’s important not to frame Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’ as some sort of slapstick group who didn’t fulfil their potential. They did. They just won’t
With nine goals, England are the current World Cup top scorers and are one of ten undefeated teams in Qatar. England have cruised to the round of 16, but it is still unclear how good or bad they might be. Gareth Southgate’s team entered the tournament with doubts surrounding their form and have yet to
The World Cup nirvana of four games a day is at its end as we move onto the simultaneous kickoffs of the final group stage games. Below we examine what’s at stake in each group and who would qualify for the World Cup round of 16. Group A With Qatar already out, two of
Germany and Spain played the highest-quality game of the World Cup so far in Group E on Sunday night. The 1-1 draw was a clinic in two styles of play which have dominated football over the last two decades. The Spanish passing patterns and the German high press were utilized by both sides in a
With every team having played one game, the World Cup is well and truly underway. We take a look at the winners and losers from the first group stage game of the World Cup 2022. Winners Brazil Although Serbia battled admirably, once Brazil scored it was over for them. Richarlison added a glorious
Japan caused an upset by coming from behind to beat Germany 2-1 in the World Cup Group E opener. The game was a classic of the ‘dominant team fails to take their chances and gets punished’ genre. With 26 shots to Japan’s 12 and 74% possession, Germany had ample opportunity to win the game. Germany
Whatever happens next, Saudi Arabia will be forever remembered for providing the first iconic moment of the World Cup 2022. Saudi Arabia showed what international tournaments are all about with a 2-1 comeback win over Lionel Messi’s Argentina. It was a glorious underdog story as they put an end to Argentina’s 35-game unbeaten run. It
England showed there is life in the team that lost the Euro 2020 final with a 6-2 win over Iran. Yes, playing against Iran in your first World Cup game is fortunate. You could even criticise England for conceding two goals. However, the manner of the victory was instructive. The narrative around England has been
Neither Qatar or FIFA will get their wish for everybody to just focus on football during the World Cup 2022. If we were to speak only about football this morning, it would inevitably lead to politics. Hosts Qatar opened the tournament with a limp 0- 2 defeat to Ecuador that highlighted their lack of football
Dark horses are the single greatest joy of any World Cup, and Qatar 2022 has a host of potential darlings. International tournaments enable underdogs in a way that domestic football simply cannot. This is because the competitive level is slightly lower. International teams have much less time to train together, and aren’t as stuffed with
