This years World Cup is in Russia ,and unfortunately the USA failed to qualify for the first time in 22 years, but that doesn't stop me from watching all the thrills and spills that can happen at a World Cup!
So much has happened and we aren't even in the knockout stage yet, so let's recap what madness has gone down so far.
GROUP A : THE HOMETOWN GROUP
It was no surprise that Russia and Uruguay came out of this group and into the last 16 , but what captivated us is what we saw from these two teams in the group stage. Russia started things off with a 5-0 drubbing over Saudi Arabia, in a game that was controlled by Russia throughout , but they didn't really pour it on until late in the game with some outstanding goals.
Meanwhile, Uruguay started their World Cup run off with a late 1-0 win over Egypt, It was a win that came with controversy , because Egypt decided to rest their star player Mohamed Salah because of a shoulder injury .
All game long , it seemed like Uruguay would never break through the Egyptian defense , until they finally did in the 89th minute as Joe Gimenez headed one home that gave Uruguay a 1-0 win ,and sent Egypt back to their Russian hotel thinking "What could have been if we put Salah in ?"
In round 2 of group play , Russia defeated Egypt 3-1, with Salah being the lone scorer for Egypt,while Uruguay made an early goal stand up in a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia to clinch their spot in the last 16 along with Russia.
In the Groups final games , Saudi Arabia overcame an early Salah goal with a buzzer beater ,and a backflip celebration in a 2-1 win over Egypt to nab 3rd place in Group A , and finish their World Cup with a 1-2 record , meanwhile sending Egypt home at 0-3.
As for Russia and Uruguay , they played each other in their final game to determine who wins the Group ,and which team will be advancing to the round of 16 via Wild card.
In front of a hometown crowd, Russia couldn't get the offense going and Uruguay took advantage in a 3-0 win. This win, gave Uruguay an undefeated Group stage as they finished 3-0, while Russia finished 2-1.
Both teams now look to the round of 16 ,where they will both continue their chase for that coveted World cup trophy.
GROUP B: THE ALL-STAR GROUP
Just like the previous group, no surprise here , Portugal and Spain both moved through to the last 16, but that almost wasn't the case , here is why.
Both teams World Cup run couldn't have started off any better with Portugal and Spain going head to head, it was the superstar ( Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo) vs the super-team from Spain . The game was a classic as expected, and surely lived up to the hype. Ronaldo wasted no time getting started as he fired a penalty shot into the net just 4 minutes into the game, and just like that it was 1-0 Portugal.
Spain would answer back as Diego Costa, one of Spain's many stars ,would show off his footwork all while tying the game at 1.
But that goal would only be answered back by Ronaldo who showed off his speed in giving his team a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
If you think that first half was incredible , the second half was even better , as Costa would sock in his second goal of the game , and then 3 minutes later , Nacho would drill one from the point that went off the post and in to give Spain a 3-2 lead. That lead looked like it would stand up until Ronaldo showed his urgency and determination once again with an amazing free kick goal under the crossbar in the 88th minute that eventually robbed Spain of a win and the two teams would settle for a 3-3 tie.
The madness of this group would continue when Iran defeated Morocco 1-0 via an own goal by Morocco in the 95th minute.
In round 2 of group play , Ronaldo scored early once again 4 minutes in, which eventually was enough to lift his team over Morocco 1-0. Meanwhile, as for Spain another Costa goal combined with a game tying goal for Iran that was waved off, gave the Spaniards a 1-0 win in game 2.
However, the Group winner and wild card wouldn't be decided until the last game , as 3 teams were still alive with only 2 spots up for grabs . Those teams were Portugal , Spain ,and Iran , with Morocco being mathematically eliminated from making the last 16.
The final group matches were Iran vs Portugal, and Spain vs Morocco . Spain and Portugal needed at least a tie to move on, while Iran needed a win.
with the clock winding down on both games , Morocco was leading Spain 2-1, and Portugal was clinging just barley to a 1-0 lead over Iran. Portugal's goal didn't come from Ronaldo , it came from Ricardo Quaresma , as for Ronaldo he missed many opportunities ,none bigger then when his Penalty shot was blocked that could have possibly sealed the game for Portugal.
Knowing that their was little time on the clock Iran pressured the Portuguese defense but couldn't get a bounce to their way ,until a foul was called against Ronaldo that upon review was turned into a penalty shot for Iran.
Karim Ansarified was able to sock one past the Portugal goalie to tie the game at 1. Iran only needed 1 more goal to advance , and right off the draw ,they had that chance but just missed, as the ball hit the side of the net ending Iran's hopes of staying in this World Cup with a 1-1 tie. Meanwhile , Spain was able to get one into the net in the final minutes as Iago Asaps was able to put one in to give Spain a 2-2 draw with Morocco and a spot in the round of 16, as your group b winner via most goals scored over Portugal , who gets the group wild card spot.
GROUP C: THE BORING GROUP
In what was probably the most boring group of this years World Cup, France and Denmark were able to advance to the round of 16. This is good for us writers because it gives us a challenge , let's see how deep we can dive into this group without our minds drifting away due to boredom .
To open this group, we had France face Australia , and after a scoreless first half, in which Australia showed their resiliency ,France struck first , as Antonine Griezmann converted to give France a 1-0 lead, only for Australia to rally and tie the game,when Millie Jedinak converted on a penalty shot to tie the game at 1.
But you know what they say " Great teams aren't going to beat themselves", well Australia isn't a great team and they proved it when an own goal was scored to give France a 2-1 win in their opening game of the World cup.
As for the other two teams, Denmark was able to fend off Peru 1-0 and start their World cup run on the right foot.
In round 2 of group play Australia showed their resiliency , as despite not being a great team, they were able to salvage a 1-1 tie with Denmark on a penalty shot goal by Mile Jedinak . But get this, that goal was in the first half , as the second half produced no goals and the teams tied 1-1.
Meanwhile , France was able to make a first half goal stand up in a 1-0 win over Peru that clinched France a spot in the round of 16.
The final games in this group were to determine the group winner, the wild card , and 3rd place in the group as Denmark faced France in a battle for first place in the group , while Peru faced Australia in a battle for 3rd .
In their first World cup since 1982, Peru wasn't about to go home winless as they defeated Australia 2-0, to finish their World Cup at 1-2. Meanwhile , in an uninspiring game, Denmark and France tied 0-0 as France was able to hold on to the group over Denmark by 2 points in the standings .
On the bright side, it was the first time in franchise history that Denmark tied 0-0.
GROUP D : THE CINDERELLA GROUP
If you are looking for a group with cinderella stories, then this is the group for you!
We had Croatia and Argentina move on in stunning fashion ,so let's cut right to the chase with the openers!
First up, was Argentina led by their superstar Lionel Messi against Iceland. Last World Cup in 2014, Argentina fell in the World Cup finals 1-0 to Germany in overtime and were looking to start their revenge tour on the right foot.
But it didn't start that way, as Argentina wasn't able to capitalize on a game wining opportunity .
With the clock winding down and in a 1-1 tie, Messi was awarded a penalty shot and was looking for his first goal of the tournament . What better way then to start your tournament off with a game winning goal right ?
Well that wasn't the case for Messi , as his penalty shot was stopped , and shockingly Iceland( who became the smallest nation to reach the world cup) was able to walk away with a 1-1 tie against Argentina .
Meanwhile , Croatia started their World Cup run with a 2-0 win over Nigeria in a game that produced an own goal.
In round 2 of group play , Nigeria defeated Iceland 2-0 , while Croatia stunned Messi and Argentina 3-0 to book their spot in the round of 16 , while Argentina needed a miracle in their final game to advance with Croatia into the last 16. The groups final matches , were Argentina vs Nigeria ,and Croatia vs Iceland .
Argentina needed a win and an Iceland loss to advance ,as well as a win on goal differential .
Meanwhile ,all Nigeria needed a win to advance to the last 16 ,while Iceland needed a win , a Nigeria draw, and a win on goal differential to move on, and boy did this come down to the wire! Croatia was able to defeat Iceland 2-1, finish with an undefeated Group stage and eliminate any Iceland hopes of moving on to the round of 16 as they were now out of the World Cup.
That meant it all came down to Nigeria vs Argentina , winner moves on, loser goes home , with a tie going the way of Nigeria! The game started with a bang from Messi as he socked one past the Nigerian goalie 15 minutes into the game to give Argentina an early 1-0 lead. The rest of the first half saw back and forth action as both teams had many opportunities to score but weren't able to do so, and that includes hitting the post, at halftime Argentina was clinging to a one goal lead at 1-0. In the second half , Nigeria came out with a lot of intensity and it paid off , as Victor Moses socked a penalty shot to tie the game at 1.
With the clock ticking down, it looked like Nigeria would stunningly advance to the knockout stage as all they needed was 1 point and they looked to have gotten it with this tie. But out of nowhere came Marcos Rojo who fired a strike past the Nigerian goalie to propel Argentina to the round of 16 with a 2-1 win!!
This group was truly the cinderella group.
GROUP E: THE REDEMPTION GROUP
The teams that were in this group, were all out to rebound from past or recent heartbreak , especially Brasil who in the 2014 World Cup (on their own turf) suffered an embarrassing 7-1 defeat in the semifinals at the hands of the eventual champions Germany. So this time, you knew that they were going to come out hard and they did , as Brasil became one of the teams to move on from this group along with Switzerland .
the group started with Serbia facing off against 2014 Quarter finalists Costa Rica. It was Serbia who came out victorious on a free kick goal by Aleksander Kolarov in the 56th minute of play.
Meanwhile, Brasil star Neymar was a disappointing in his teams opening game against Switzerland despite a sluggish 1-1 tie.
In round 2 of group play, Brasil eliminated Costa Rica with 2-0 with 2 late goals including one from Neymar who broke down in tears of joy and relief. Meanwhile, it was Switzerland who set up a chaotic final round of group play , by rallying in the second half with 2 unanswered goals including a 90th minute goal by Xherdan Shaqiri to defeat Serbia 2-1.
Going into the final day of group play , Brasil and Switzerland needed at least a tie to move on. while Serbia needed a win to move on , or in the event of a tie needed a Switzerland loss and a win on goal differential over Switzerland. The final matches were Serbia vs Brasil ,and Switzerland vs Costa Rica .
Unfortunately for Serbia , on this day, the two big guns showed their skill and power as Switzerland was able to move on to the last 16 with a 2-2 tie despite a last ditch effort by Costa Rica to cause the upset, and as for Brasil , they were able to eliminate Serbia with a 2-0 win and continue their fight for redemption as they were able to in the group over Switzerland by 2 points and advance to the round of 16 with the Swiss getting the wild card.
GROUP F : THE KINGS GROUP
This group had the reigning kings of soccer Germany as it was their group to lose with Mexico , Sweden , and South Korea the other 3 teams in this group. But what transpired not only rocked this group , but the whole soccer world to its core with Mexico and Sweden somehow , someway advancing to the last 16 with no Germany to follow them in historic fashion!
Just by the way that this group started , you knew the result was going t0 blow your mind ,Hirving Lozano scored in the first half of the game as Mexico wound up stunning Germany 1-0 ! Mexico came into this tournament as huge underdogs but were able to somehow win their opening game. Meanwhile, Sweden was able to take down South Korea 1-0 on a penalty shot goal by Andreas Granqvist in the 65th minute of play.
In the second round of play , more madness ensued as Germany rallied to stun Sweden and just barley keep their World Cup hopes alive ! After Sweden struck first in the 32nd minute on a goal by Ola Toivonen. Germany leveled the match in the 48th minute as Marco Reus ( Who missed nearly all of the 2014 World cup ) fired one into the net and just like that we have a 1-1 tie. The madness wouldn't stop there as both teams had numerous chances down the stretch , but weren't able to put one home due to some sensational goalkeeping by both teams.
However, in the 82nd minute , Germany was dealt a big blow when their star Jerome Boaeteng was called for his second yellow card , meaning he was ejected in a must -win game for Germany to keep their World Cup hopes alive . With their star player out, Germany needed a miracle , and they got it when Toni Kroon blasted a Free kick past the Sweden goalkeeper to propel Germany over Sweden 2-1!
Meanwhile, Mexico eliminated South Korea from knockout stage contention with a 2-1 win.
The Germany madness set up a frantic final round of group stage play with South Korea still having something to play for in their final game of the World Cup . The Matches were Mexico vs Sweden , and Germany vs South Korea . All Mexico need was at lest a tie to make the last 16 .
Meanwhile Sweden, needed a tie or a Germany loss for a wild card berth, but if they wanted to win their group they needed to beat Mexico by at least 3 goals because of Goal differential. That's exactly what happened as Sweden won 3-0 ,and snatched first place in the group away from Mexico who were now hoping for a German Tie or loss against South Korea , and because of Goal differential , even a 1 goal win by Germany , would put them through to the next round.
But South Korea had other plans , as Kim Young Gwon sent one home in front of the net that was originally waved off, but upon further review it was a goal !!!!! Just like that 1-0 South Korea in the 93rd minute , and they wouldn't stop there. Germany ( knowing they needed 2 goals ) pulled their goalie in hopes for some more late magic. But that magic never came as South Korea sealed the win it with an empty net goal scored by Son Heung-min ! With this win, South Korea finished 1-2 but that win left an historic mark as Germany fell in the group stage for the first time ever !!! The king has been dethroned !!!
THERE ARE ONLY 4 SPOTS REMAINING IN THE ROUND OF 16! TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY OF THE GROUP STAGE!
HERE ARE THE MATCHES :
GROUP H
SENEGAL VS COLUMBIA
JAPAN VS POLAND
GROUP G:
ENGLAND VS BELGIUM
TUNIASIA VS PANAMA
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