Russia 2018

[Galfon]

A lifeline for Arg..Nigeria turn over the Ice men in the Volgograd heat, 2-0.
All to play for in the last round in Group D ..the VAR crew will be busy in the Arg / Nig game.

[rowan]

Nigeria's 2-0 win over Iceland was just the third for a non-European team against a European opponent from 19 such encounters at this tournament so far (there have also been 3 draws). It was also the biggest, surpassing Mexico and Senegal's single goal victories over Germany and Poland, respectively.

The bad news (for the Africans) is that one would still expect Argentina to beat Nigeria, provided they finally get their act together. Apparently the players tried to have the manager sacked on the spot after yesterday's 3-0 drubbing! But this is just the kind of game the South Americans would be likely to come out & win...

Meanwhile, Super Eagles star Ahmed Musa is from the divided city of Jos, which has seen horrendous inter-religious warfare. Here's hoping his effort as talisman of the national side has a unifying effect.

[rowan]

I was going to do that at the conclusion of the second round of games Anyway, looks about right. Of course, if Brazil lose to Serbia, they'll almost certainly miss the cut (unless Costa Rica thrashes the Swiss).

Belgium and Mexico should clinch their spots when they face Tunisia & SKorea tomorrow, while Germany ought to get their campaign back on track with a victory against the Swedes.

Sunday will almost certainly see England qualify when they play minnows Panama, but the other two match-ups are going to be very interesting, with Senegal and Japan both coming off impressive wins, and Colombia and Poland disappointing losses. Winner of the former will advance, loser of the latter will drop out, but there'll probably be a draw or two which would see it all come down to the final round of games.

[Galfon]

You have to admire the G's resilience, but Swe should have had more of a go when against 10.
Another VAR howler - the Swe player had his leg taken away.( in modern wendyball parlance )
Ger have an excellent chance to progress now & could even top their group...the organisers and sponsors will be chuffed.
1 team could be out after winning 2 matches in F, funny ol'game !

[rowan]

You have to admire the G's resilience, but Swe should have had more of a go when against 10.
Another VAR howler - the Swe player had his leg taken away.( in modern wendyball parlance )
Ger have an excellent chance to progress now & could even top their group...the organisers and sponsors will be chuffed.
1 team could be out after winning 2 matches in F, funny ol'game !

Sweden didn't play smart football at the end. They just had to waste time and not give away silly freekicks, but did the opposite. Mexico are also big losers here. They were seconds away from a berth in the second round. Now they'll have to avoid defeat to Sweden. Germany will almost certainly qualify, with a win over Skorea likely to be enough. Fudge!

[WaspInWales]

You have to admire the G's resilience, but Swe should have had more of a go when against 10.
Another VAR howler - the Swe player had his leg taken away.( in modern wendyball parlance )
Ger have an excellent chance to progress now & could even top their group...the organisers and sponsors will be chuffed.
1 team could be out after winning 2 matches in F, funny ol'game !

Sweden didn't play smart football at the end. They just had to waste time and not give away silly freekicks, but did the opposite. Mexico are also big losers here. They were seconds away from a berth in the second round. Now they'll have to avoid defeat to Sweden. Germany will almost certainly qualify, with a win over Skorea likely to be enough. Fudge!

They didn't have the ball!

Germany strangled the life out of them. Even with 10 men, Germany were a threat.

I'll be the first to admit that had Sweden managed to hold out for a draw, it would've been a truly outstanding result, but the Germans got due reward for their dominance.

Kroos' finish was sublime. Some blame is with the Swedish keeper and his positioning, but what a finish!

Sensational stuff.

The group F 3 team standoff makes for pleasant viewing imo.

[WaspInWales]

Interestingly Martinez has said he will rest players for the England match.

Can't argue with that logic. Even if England beat Panama by a couple of goals, they will still need quite a few more against Belgium to top the group, and by 'resting', Martinez will still have the luxury of bringing the likes of Lukaku and Hazard on from the bench if need be.

The pressure is well and truly on England.

They're expected to beat Panama with the same ease Belgium did, and a draw against Belgium will likely see them finish group runner up, unless they have a scoring frenzy against Panama.

But, this is England and we will no doubt struggle to score a single goal against Panama, let alone more than 1!

[rowan]

Yes, I see England battling to a one or two-goal win over Panama, who have been unfairly written off after their first-up hiding from the talented Belgians. We have seen that Tunisia lost by the same margin yesterday. But this group was always likely to be an easy one for the Europeans and I don't know who the England manager thought he was trying to kid when he claimed it was one of the toughest.

Don't disagree with your comments about the Germany - Sweden match either, except that the Swedes did have a little time on the ball and seemed to be more interested in getting a second goal than winding down the clock against the defending world champions. Maybe that's to their credit, but it's the reason they lost the game five minutes into injury time - and it could well cost them a place in the knock-out rounds.

Mind you, the way this tournament is going, I wouldn't be surprised if Sweden beats Mexico and goes through behind Germany. The Central Americans will now be ruing the injury time goal from Korea! The only real bright spot for the non-Europeans so far has been the West Africans, but it's still early days and neither had clinched their spot in the playoffs yet.

[Galfon]

But, this is England and we will no doubt struggle to score a single goal against Panama, let alone more than 1!

This would be the norm. in the past..hopefully not so with this lot.The pacy fluid style should generate lots of chances, and despite regular chokes by the younger players where the ball appears to be covered in soap, they ought to bag at least a brace.
I was hoping Southgate would do what RM said and put out his 2nd string for the Belg. game if qualified...there is hardly anything in it on selection and may help prep. for next round and good for team morale.
Eng. should back themselves against any from Group H, so the venue may be the only waiving factor.
Belgium have so much talent they left Benteke behind..'kinell.

..anyhow, with the tournament hotting up like the weather, this latest 'chant' will be resonating ad nauseam,( as well as the new 'WillGriggsonFire' ..reworked to 'Vardysonfire')

'1, 2, 3, 4
Woaah, England are in Russia !
Woaah, drinking all the vodka !*
Woaah, England’s going all the waaaay !!'

(* alt..'we've got [who-ever] !
...'he never gives the ball away !!'...)

to the tune of Earth Wind & Fire's 'September', courtesy I think to the Hammers fans who used it this year for 1 of their own.

[rowan]

Very few teams have really stood out so far - Russia, Belgium, Croatia. I guess we could say the Swiss now. Mexico? Not sure they'll go very far after the Korean game. If there is a winner between Senegal and Japan we should probably add them to the list, to be fair. But, as we know, the group stages are rarely any indicator of what is to come later in the knock-out rounds, and I still wouldn't be surprised to see Germany go on and win this; or Argentina beat Nigeria by a few goals and wind up in the final or something! That's the World Cup. The nice thing about the group stages, meanwhile, is having games on a daily basis. That creates a real festival atmosphere. Rugby could do something similar if it expanded to 24 and returned to four team pools. Nothing sucks more than an empty day during group stages. The knock-out rounds are almost like a separate competition, where every game sees one team continue and the other drop out and all the emphasis is on single results, rather than the group standings and who requires what in order to progress...

[Galfon]

Well 2 after 21 mins ok in the stifling heat...
the messing about by Panama is ridiculous..the ref. needs to stamp down on this.
Great pen. by HK.

[Galfon]

3 - 0 after 36.min..great finish by lively Lingard
should be enough to see them off & get Eng. through.

[Galfon]

Another set-piece gem..goal Stones
4 - 0 after 40.

[Galfon]

Hilarious..what rules are they following ?
5 - 0 Kane, pen. 45 min.
Torres has lost it.

[WaspInWales]

Loving it!

Two perfect penalties from Kane. Just unstoppable!

[WaspInWales]

Panama won't be finishing with 11 players, that's for shewer! Gobby bastard.

England well and truly good value for the lead. Creative set pieces, disciplined and clinical.

Best England performance for a long time, even accounting for opposition.

[Galfon]

HK flukes one..6 - 0 after 62 min....then gets the crook for a rest..Vardy on

[Galfon]

Sloppy..6 - 1 after 78 min.

[Galfon]

FT: Eng 6 - 1 Pan
Ran out of puff in the heat 2nd half and subs. affected the flow a bit, but fair do's.
Same g/d as Bel.going into final round.

[rowan]

Panama really were crap. Worst CONCACAF team I've ever seen at the tournament. Even El Salvador rebounded from their heavy loss to Hungary in 1982 to run defending champions Argentina and subsequent semifinalist Belgium close. Just confirms for me that the US made no real attempt to get to Russia, for the obvious reasons. Anyway, you can't ask more of England than to go out and thrash the opposition that's in front of them. It will be a shame if they and/or Belgium do rest players for their final game, but it's not going to make an awful lot of difference who they get in the next round - Senegal or Japan, possibly Colombia or Poland.

Here's the likely playoffs picture as it stands at present:

Russia v Portugal (provided Russia don't lose to Uruguay)
Spain v Uruguay (Unless Portugal blitz Iran - or Iran beat them)

France v Nigeria (provided France don't lose to Denmark)
Croatia v Denmark (unless Denmark lose & Aussie win)

Mexico v Switzerland (unless Sweden beat Mexico)
Brazil v Germany (unless Brazil lose to Serbia)

England v Japan (Japan currently a goal down to Senegal)
Senegal v Belgium (unless Belgium beat England)

Those are just some of the variables, of course. Many other things could happen, especially in group H)...

[rowan]

Slow reactions by the Senegalese defense allows Japan to equalize with just over half an hour gone. 1-1 is a pretty fair reflection of the game so far. Japan are a well-drilled side who do the basics right. Senegal are a little less structured but have real pace on attack. Good game so far.

2nd half not so good. Quality of attack has dropped a little. Both teams seem more afraid of losing than anything. But I've said that a couple of times before in this tournament only for one side or the other to break the deadlock in the closing stages. Indeed, Japan just hit the crossbar after a nice little maneuver inside the Senegal box.

2-1 Senegal. Nice shot from an acute angle after some deft skills on attack by the Africans inside the Japanese box. About 20 mins remaining. Plenty of time for Japan to come back, as they appear well capable of...

2-2. That didn't take long. Big mistake by the Senegalese keeper, diving and missing to leave the goal wide open for the follow up shot. & still plenty of time for a winner in this game too, given neither defense looks particularly sound.

4 mins of injury time. Probably not a bad thing if it stays like this. Both teams well-poised to advance with a draw in their final games. Right now Japan looks a little more threatening. Fitness levels higher, perhaps? A loss could really put the loser under pressure in the final round of the group stage. Yellow cards all over the show.

2-2 it ends. I'll take that, and I don't think either team will be too unhappy with the result. Pressure's on Colombia and Poland now...

[rowan]

Final match of the second round of games underway. I'm hoping for a Colombian win (and no red cards). So far this has been perhaps the poorest showing by teams from outside Europe at a World Cup since Italy hosted it in 1934 - when none of the 4 who showed up progressed beyond the first round of games (it was KOs from start to finish). Of the 7 teams who have been eliminated thus far, none are European, and of those who are through already, 5/6 are European (Uruguay being the exception). The North African trio are gone, 2/3 CONCACAF teams are gone, and from Asia only Japan seem likely to progress, with Australia hanging on by a thread and both SKorea and Saudi eliminated. Realistically we should see Senegal, Nigeria and Mexico in the KO rounds as well, but this is by no means certain with all of them needing to avoid defeat in the final round of the group stages against the likes of Colombia, Argentina and Sweden. & then we see who they are likely to face in the round of 16, (France, Switzerland, England and Belgium, for example), and the chances of any of them reaching the Q-finals looks fairly bleak. On top of which, Argentina will obviously struggle to make the KOs, while Brazil could well end up facing their 2014 nemesis Germany. That leaves Uruguay, whose round of 16 opponent will almost certainly be Spain or Portugal. So could we see an all-European Q-finals for the first and only time since 1934? It's certainly on the cards...

[rowan]

Colombia have looked more dangerous so far but lack the finishing touch. Trying to be a little too clever at times. So no score midway first half. The loser here is out, if there is one. A draw will require both teams to win their final games by a couple of goals if they are to progress.

1-0 Colombia. It had to come. They've been increasingly dominant in the first half and finally get it right just before the break, with a precision cross and header. If it stays like this, Poland will become the first European team eliminated. & Senegal v Colombia is going to be a cracker. But there's another half to play yet.

HT 1-0. Colombia totally dominant. But we've seen games turned completely around in the second half, such as Switzerland v Serbia and Germany v Sweden. So anything could happen.

Poland have certainly upped the tempo in the second half as you would expect, but no addition to the scoring as yet. Colombia getting their chances too, though the finishing has been diabolical.

Chances at both ends, half an hour remaining, you'd have to think another goal will come. A Polish equalizer seems more likely at this stage, as the Colombians have really been pretty awful this half.

& seconds after I write that Colombia go downfield and score a sweet goal, nice pass and cool finish. 2-0. Is that it for Poland? I think the key to that goal was they beat the offside trap, surprising the Polish defense.

Action replay a few minutes later!!! Cuadrago (is that his name?) gets a great pass and finishes off superbly. Now it looks like a hammering. Poland surely out. 3-0 with about 15 mins regulation time remaining. Look out Senegal. 11-man Colombia is a force to be reckoned with. . .

Perhaps the Poles have lost heart, but the Colombians have been very impressive since scoring their second. If they get past Senegal they could well be the team that tears up the script in the knock-out rounds. They just need to avoid any more red cards!

FT 3-0. Dasvidaniya, Poland; 8th team out of the tournament and the first from Europe. & thus concludes the second round of games.

[rowan]

Bummer. Now they start synchronizing the games so that you can't watch them both. I only hope local TV gives us Russia-Uruguay at 5pm (Turkey time) and not Saudi-Egypt, which is a dead rubber. In the late game, at 9pm, it's gotta be Portugal-Iran, not Spain-Morocco which is basically a dead rubber except that Spain could still dip out with a freakish 2 or 3-goal loss.

[rowan]

Group F
Mexico - Pretty much going through
Germany - Possible
Sweden - Possible
South Korea - 안녕

This is pretty much dependent on two factors. Sweden has to beat Mexico, and either by a bigger margin than what Germany will likely defeat South Korea by. Both Germany and Sweden need each other to lose, so you'll probably find a lot of German fans cheering on the Mexicans, and a lot of Swedes cheering on the Koreans.



I don't think it's quite so comfortable for Mexico. A simple loss to Sweden by any margin is going to see them out of the tournament if Germany beats Korea by a margin of 2 goals or more. That's a fairly plausible scenario.

Senegal, as you correctly mention, are in the same position. A simple loss to Colombia by any margin is going to see them out of the tournament - unless Poland hammers Japan.