#brazil will win world cup 2018

[motleyistheonlywear]

Thibaut Courtois won the Golden Glove in 2018. 27 saves made, 6 goals conceded. Belgium came in 3rd. Dominik Livakovic made 25 saves and conceded 7 goals. 4 penalties saved (3 in Japan shoot-out, 1 in Brazil shoot-out). Croatia came in 3rd. Emiliano Martinez made 7 saves and conceded 8 goals. 3 penalties saved (2 in Netherlands shoot-out, 1 in France shoot-out). Argentina won the World Cup. So considering that Livakovic and Thibaut Courtois (the previous winner of the Golden Glove) have pretty much identical stats and Martinez is nowhere close, why isn’t Livakovic winning the golden glove again? It’s the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament, and so it should go to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Martinez’s reward for securing Argentina’s (Messi’s) win in the final is the fucking World Cup, he doesn’t deserve the golden glove as well based on his whole tournament performance. If these awards are only going to go to players that win the world cup, you might as well throw them away entirely. Call me crazy, but the World Cup trophy goes to the best team in the tournament, the individual awards should recognize the individual player achievements across all the participating teams not just the winning team.

[kevjrr]

Since these past few days have been particularly stressful, I thought maybe a fluffy Brazil nt-centric fic will cheer us up! ( I hope )

Summary : Neymar was drowning in guilt after he sprained his ankle in the very first match of the world cup. He felt like he had already let his team and country down. Thankfully, his teammates came to his rescue.

Pairing : None

Tags : angst, fluff, protective teammates, attempted humor

Third person's pov

Neymar was hiding. The doctors had finished examining and bandaging his injured ankle ages ago but he refused to leave the room. There was no one using it at the moment so, it was not as if he were bothering anyone.

He did not want to face his teammates yet. It had only been a day and he had already let his friends as well as his country down.

He glanced at his foot, he had avoided looking at it beforehand. Seeing the pristine white gauze wrapped around his swollen, aching ankle made the injury all too real. He looked away as soon as his eyes laid on it, the sight making bile rise up his throat.

The Brazilian grabbed his own hair in his fists and harshly yanked at them. He thought of all the things he could have done differently.

Maybe if he had dribbled less and passed more then he would not have gotten fouled as much.

Maybe if he had trained harder and eaten more, he would have been muscular enough to not go down so easily.

Maybe if he were faster, he would have been able of getting pass those defenders without any of them making contact with him.

Never good enough. He was never good enough. Not in 2014, not in 2018 and not in 2022.

Neymar finally let go when someone knocked on the door. He let the few strands of hair he had accidentally pulled out fall to the ground and wiped the angry tears off his cheeks. He looked at his wet fingers and scoffed. Maybe those people were right and he was an immature crybaby. Here he was wallowing in self pity when he should be out there, congratulating his teammatesfor their brilliant performance - Richi's goals were magnificent - and keeping their morale up.

Ney flinched when the knocks got louder. He inhaled shakily and hoped that his eyes would not give him away. How embarrassing would it be if someone were to find out that the Neymar Jr was crying over a sprained ankle.

"Come in." He called out, making himself comfortable on the bed. Taking extra precautions not to jostle his leg.

The small room was, in less than a second, flooded with worried Brazilians. They were all in their sweat soaked jerseys and soiled socks. There were traces of smiles on their faces, still high off their win but their concern was more apparent.

"How are you feeling? What'd the doctors say?" Thiago asked, as he walked towards Neymar and sat next to him. His hands automatically reaching up to stroke the younger man's hair.

The latter leaned against the older man's fingers, the soothing touch chasing his thoughts away. "I'm fine, doesn't hurt much. They said it's a sprain."

"Thank God you didn't tear anything. How long will it take to heal?" Lucas pitched in, smiling at the older man before plopping down on the chair closest to the bed. Richarlison and Vini took the other two remaining ones while the rest searched around the room to find places to sit.

"Around 1 to 2 weeks." Neymar replied, not making eye contact with any of them. He felt too ashamed to. They had been counting on him and now, he probably would not be able to play the rest of the knockout matches.

"We'll win them!" Rodrygo suddenly yelled out from where he was perched on a stool in the middle of the room.

Vini snickered but quickly disguised it as a cough and turned his head away before the younger boy could notice. However, the room was too small so, it did not work. He was still heard by everyone. Rodrygo glared at the back of his head in response.

Ney looked back and forth between the two madridistas, amused despite himself.

"As I was saying, we'll win all of the matches. Don't worry about us." The youngest grinned at him boyishly.

Before the older man could even get a word out, Richarlison spoke, "He's right. No need to worry about us. Just focus on healing, take your time."

"Take my time, huh?" He asked teasingly, cocking a brow at the younger man.

Richi's eyes widened and he immediately shook his head, "That-that's not what I meant! I meant that-you don't have to rush for us."

Neymar's heart melted. His boys were too sweet.

"Yeah, you better not overexert yourself. Just rest and watch us. We'll get you to the quarterfinals." Casemiro added, his tone serious. He smiled at the man on the bed, his gaze confident. Classic Casemiro.

Neymar noted how he had said 'we'd get you...'. They did not care that he would not be able to play, all they cared about was that he took good care of himself. He almost wanted to cry again but he hastily held the tears back.

Case's confidence seemed to bleed through everyone in the room as they all uttered words or sounds of agreement.

"Thank you, guys." Ney said, his tone sincere and his eyes filled with a myriad of emotions.

"For what?" Raphinha asked, beaming at him.

"Yeah, for what?" Anthony asked, somehow both teasingly and reassuringly at the same time.

For caring about me. For being you.

"Anyways! We just won, guys, let's celebrate!" Lucas said excitedly, wiping out a mini speaker from God knows where.

"You aren't done celebrating yet? Don't you guys want a shower of something?" Neymar asked incredulously. It was already pretty late, he had thought they would prefer to rest.

When all of them avoided eye contact with him, he turned towards Thiago who has been weirdly silent this entire time.

The said man switched arms so that his left hand was stroking Ney's hair and not his right. The younger man felt a pang of guilt. Not wanting the older man's other hand to get tired too, he started to move away only to be pulled back.

Thiago shook his head at him and explained, "They wanted to wait for you but since you were not coming, we went to look for you. We saw a doctor in the hallway and questioned him. He said that he did not see you leave this room."

"We thought that maybe you did not want to walk." Marquinhos butted in.

"So we brought the fun to you!" Vini finished his friend's sentence as he lifted up a mini drum in the air.

Neymar stared at the two of them for a moment before bursting out in laughter lest he started feeling emotional again. What on earth had he done to deserve such good friends?

"You-haha you guys are too much! Let's go celebrate in the locker room instead. It's bigger than here. I can walk." He said, standing up with Thiago's help.

Lucas quickly put an arm behind Neymar in case he lost his balance. "Are you sure you don't want crutches?"

"Yes, Lulu."

"Don't call me that, Ney!" The West Ham midfielder whined, pouting.

“Would you prefer a wheelchair?"

"No. I would not, Marqui." Neymar replied indulgently.

"I can carry you?" Richarlison suggested, watching their forward hop on one leg as he used their captain's arm for support. Neymar looked adorable but that could not be comfortable in his opinion.

"I'm not a damsel in distress, Richi." Neymar tried his best not to laugh. He appreciated their offers of help, really but he could manage on his own.

"But-"

"I've got him." Thiago said, sighing exasperatedly. His team was something else.

"We could-"

"I've got him. Shoo!" He replied, gesturing towards the door. His left eye twitching.

After all of them had scrambled out, he tightened his grip on the younger man leaning on him and whispered, "Don't cry anymore, alright? You aren't letting us down."

Neymar's heart skipped a beat.

"Wha-how?!"

"Your eyes were red. Don't worry, I don't think anyone else noticed."

"But how did you-?"

The captain quickly wrapped an arm around Ney's waist when he stumbled. "Why else would you be crying? It certainly wasn't because of the pain. Your pain tolerance surpasses all of ours."

When they reached the door, Thiago turned sideways to look into the youngest's eyes to show him how serious he was, "It's not your fault you got injured, hermanito. The Serbians were way too aggressive." He paused to press a soft kiss on Neymar's forehead, "We depend on you. You depend on us. It's a two-way thing, Ney. We're a team, aren't we?"

Neymar gaped at him, taken aback. He stood there still as a statue as he tried to digest the words. Slowly, his lips quirked up into a huge smile. It was crazy how Thiago always seemed to know what to say. The only thing his mind could conjure up was, "I love you!"

Thiago smiled fondly.

"I love you too." He replied, more restrained but no less sincere.

[armchairfootballer]

It’s been a rollercoaster 10 years since James Rodríguez wowed the world

It's been 10 years since James Rodríguez scored *that* goal. Yes, that one. You remember it well, surely.

The setting: Brazil's historic Maracanã stadium. In the 28th minute of their Round of 16 contest against Uruguay, Colombia's Abel Aguilar lobbed a header to James, who played it off his chest and volley-kicked it into the top of his opponents' net, near the corner, well beyond a diving Fernando Muslera. In a post-match summary of the goal, the poetic British commentator Peter Drury declared, "First touch, sumptuous. Second touch, magical. That's not a left foot. That is a wand." Uruguayan defender José María Giménez could do nothing more than stand with his hands on his hips, staring at the net in disbelief.

"My word, this boy's a star!" Drury proclaimed in the moment. James did not disappoint. He added another goal that game, taking his tally to five in the tournament after just four games. He'd add another in a quarterfinal loss to Brazil. Though Colombia would bow out at that point, James would go on to win the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer and, later, the Puskas Award for the year's most beautiful goal.

But it hasn't been a bed of roses for James in the ten years since Rio. Today, on his 33rd birthday, we take a look at the rise, fall, and revival of the Colombian midfielder.

The rising star

James had been building a strong career for himself in advance of the 2014 World Cup with productive seasons at Porto (32 goals in 107 appearances; 6 trophies) followed by a high-profile move to Monaco — a 5-year contract with a €45 million transfer fee. But in a post-World Cup interview, James said the magic words: that it would be his "life's dream" to play for Real Madrid. Ten days later, and with 4 years still left on his contract, James had signed with Carlo Ancelotti's band of superstars, a roster that included the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, Kareem Benzema, and Sergio Ramos to name just a few. (Casillas, Pepe, Bale, Marcelo, Navas to name just a few more.)

Things started well at Madrid. Even amidst a team rich in talent, and despite being out for two months with injury, James contributed 17 goals in his first season. But later injuries and diminishing returns in successive seasons meant that James could no longer keep a regular place on the squad. New Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane also didn't seem to favor James' playing style, leading the Colombian to request a loan to Bayern Munich, where we would be reunited with Ancelotti.

Internationally, James was still making waves. At 25, he was named Colombia team captain for the 2016 Copa América, leading them to third place, losing only to eventual winners, Chile.

Fading away

Injuries plagued James for quite some time, keeping him from action for both club and country. After such a dazzling display in 2014, James sat on the bench at the 2018 World Cup and watched as his team went out to England in penalties in the Round of 16.

Despite scoring some key goals to help Bayern Munich win two league titles and a Pokal, James had netted only 15 goals in his 67 appearances with the club, and the owners opted not to pick up the option to purchase him. With no home in Munich or Madrid, he moved to Merseyside for a short stint with Everton (again, reuniting him with Ancelotti).

But failing to impress in England, and with no other clubs willing to take him on, James found himself playing for Qatar's Al Rayyan and didn't contribute much to their mediocre season. The Qatari team let him go just one game into his second season. He moved to Greece where he again lasted only one season after poor results with Olympiacos.

And James wouldn't get to return to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup as Colombia failed to qualify, finishing three points behind Ecuador for the last guaranteed spot. How did the World Cup star fade so fast for James?

Fast forward to summer 2023: James once again finds himself in South America. He now plays for São Paolo in Brazil, 13 years after he had left Argentina's Banfield, where he began built the reputation that catapulted him to European football. A name that had once dominated discussions among pundits — that had been proclaimed as "the next great thing" — had now faded into near oblivion. People weren't talking about James Rodríguez anymore.

Renaissance

After their failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, James expressed uncertainty as to whether he would ever again play for his country. That may have lit a fire under the team and perhaps even under him. Something started to happen...

Colombia started to pile up the wins, or at least had avoided losing. They had racked up victories against Mexico, Germany, and Brazil, among other countries. And before you knew it, they entered Copa América 2024 on a 23-game unbeaten run.

Enter James.

The attacking midfield has been a stalwart for Colombia all tournament and has been one of the keys to their success. In Colombia's five games so far, he has netted one goal and contributed six assists, surpassing Messi's tournament assist record. He's been man of the match for four of Colombia's five games of the tournament so far.

And when Colombia face off against Messi's Argentina in Sunday's final, James will need to play a pivotal role. Will his remarkable revival culminate in extending Colombia's historic unbeaten run and winning their first Copa América since 2001?

In addition to reinvigorating this Colombia team and resurrecting his career, James may also be accomplishing something even more outlandish — he may have some neutrals paying closer attention to him and Colombia than to Messi and Argentina. Colombia has arguably been the Copa's best team. Argentina has yet to come up against substantial competition and have had two victories over Canada.

Meanwhile, Colombia have had already had to battle both Brazil and Uruguay, defeating the latter while down a player for an entire half. The talented superstars of La Albiceleste, the world's #1 ranked team for the last 18 months now, can always dazzle and can outplay any team on their best day. But we've yet to see their best at this tournament, and it's feasible Colombia's passionate, fiery play could be a game-changer.

The bookies may have already made their prediction, but Sunday's eventual outcome is anything but clear. What is clear is that James Rodríguez will have a key role to play in whatever the result.

He's hoping it's a role for the better.

[bongaboi]

United States: 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Champions

SAN DIEGO (March 10, 2024) – The U.S. Women’s National Team won the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup with a 1-0 win against Brazil in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 31,528 fans on a beautiful night in San Diego. A goal from team captain Lindsey Horan in the dying moments of the first half was enough to clinch the victory and for the U.S. to claim its 15th all-time title at a Concacaf championship tournament.

The crowd was the largest ever for a Concacaf women’s event hosted in the United States. The USA finished the tournament with 15 goals as forward Jadeyn Shaw scored four times in the tournament while Horan had three.

Shaw earned the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher earned the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper. Naeher earned four shutouts in her five starts and etched her place in USWNT history with a stellar three-save performance in the penalty shootout against Canada in the semifinal. The USA also earned the tournament’s Fair Play award.

The first half was a tight and physical contest, but the USA did well to stay organized on defense despite some heavy challenges as the teams combined for 12 fouls before the break. The Americans came close to opening the scoring on a few occasions while also doing well to create opportunities on counter attacks. The USA finally created a goal in first half stoppage time when Horan finished off a long cross from Fox that came deep from the right flank. Horan rose above her defender and sent a perfect header across the frame into the right corner, marking her third goal of the tournament and her first from open play after previously burying two from the penalty spot.

Inspired by the late goal, the USA came out strong in the second half, connecting well with quick passes and threatening Brazil down the wings with speed. On the defensive end, the U.S. put on a masterclass – led by center backs Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson, neither of whom put a foot wrong all night – to deny Brazil any shots on goal despite the South Americans taking 11 total shots, while Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox did well to limit any forwards getting behind them on the flanks.

The Americans nearly doubled their lead in the 79th minute after winning a ball from Brazil in the defensive third which led to Lynn Williams getting in behind the defense. The halftime sub beat the goalkeeper with good finish, but her goal was correctly waved off for offside.

Brazil fought until the end and strung together a few dangerous chances toward the final moments, especially on set plays, but the USA held strong – including a goal line clearance from defender Casey Krueger – to earn the victory.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN: USA – Lindsey Horan (Emily Fox), 45+1 minute: Trinity Rodman received the ball on the right wing and dribbled all the way to the end line, inviting pressure from two defenders before finding Fox open behind her. Fox sent a cross toward the far post where Horan rose to finish with a header into the right side netting from six yards out. USA 1, BRA 0

ADDITIONAL NOTES: Emily Fox’s assist to set up Horan’s goal was her first of 2024 and third in her career. Horan's four goal contributions (3 goals, 1 assist) tied with Jaedyn Shaw (4 goals) for the most on the team this tournament. Horan has now been directly involved in a goal in 4 of her 5 appearances for the USA in competitive finals. She scored in the final of 2016 Olympic qualifying vs. Canada, had an assist in the final of 2018 World Cup Qualifying vs CAN, scored in the final of 2020 Olympic Qualifying vs. Canada and now scored in the Concacaf W Gold Cup Final. At 20 years and 149 days of age, Korbin Albert became the youngest player to start a competitive final for the USA since Mallory Swanson (formerly Pugh) started the final of Olympic qualifying in 2016 at age 17. The match was the fourth matchup between the USWNT and Brazil in a final, with the USA winning each of them by a one goal margin. The USA and Brazil have played 39 times total with the U.S. leading the overall series 32W-5D-3L. The USA has won each of its last six games against Brazil, though nine of the last 10 games between the teams have been decided by two goals or fewer. Jaedyn Shaw has now won the Golden Ball in both Concacaf tournaments in which she has participated. She previously earned the honor at the U-15 level in 2018.

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT- Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Brazil Date: March 10, 2024 Competition: Concacaf W Gold Cup – Final Venue: Snapdragon Stadium; San Diego, Calif. Attendance: 31,528 Kickoff: 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET) Weather: 65 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA 1 0 1 BRA 0 0 0

USA – Lindsey Horan (Emily Fox) 45+1 minute

Lineups: USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 23-Emily Fox, 12-Tierna Davidson, 4-Naomi Girma, 19-Crystal Dunn (20-Casey Krueger, 86); 17-Sam Coffey (8-Jaedyn Shaw, 71), 15-Korbin Albert, 10-Lindsey Horan (Capt.), 22-Trinity Rodman (9-Midge Purce, 71), 7-Alex Morgan (11-Sophia Smith, 59), 16-Rose Lavelle (6-Lynn Williams, 46) Substitutes not used: 18-Casey Murphy, 21-Jane Campbell, 2-Abby Dahlkemper, 3-Jenna Nighswonger , 5-Becky Sauerbrunn, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 14-Emily Sonnett Head Coach: Twila Kilgore

BRA: 1-Luciana; 2-Antonia, 3-Tarciane, 5-Thaís; 11-Adriana, 21-Duda Santos (16-Yaya, 57), 20-Duda (15-Julia Bianchi, 80), 6-Yasmim; 18-G. Portilho, 9-Gabi Nunes (19-Geyse, 65), 10-Bia Zaneratto (Capt.) (7-Debinha, 80) Substitutes not used: 12-Barbieri, 22-Amanda, 4-Rafaelle, 8-Ary Borges, 13-Beatriz Ferreira, 14-Lauren, 17-Aline Milene de Lima, 23-Aline Gomes Head Coach: Arthur Ribas

Stats Summary: USA / BRA Shots: 7 / 11 Shots on Goal: 3 / 0 Saves: 0 / 2 Corner Kicks: 4 / 3 Fouls: 15 / 8 Offside: 2 / 3

Misconduct Summary: USA – Alex Morgan (Caution) 55th minute

Officials: Referee: Melissa Borjas (HON) Assistant Referee 1: Shirley Perello (HON) Assistant Referee 2: Lourdes Noriega (HON) 4th Official: Odette Hamilton (JAM) VAR: Tatiana Guzman (NCA) AVAR1: Daneon Parchment (JAM)

Michelob Ultra Woman of the Match: Lindsey Horan

[redsamuraiii]

Japan lost to penalty shootout to Croatia 

Despite scoring the opening goal against Croatia, Japan lost 3-1 in a penalty shootout to Croatia after a back-and-forth 1-1 draw over 120 minutes. The loss saw Japan fall short in its fourth attempt to reach the quarterfinals of a World Cup, having previous reached the stage in 2002, 2010 and 2018.

But this tournament — Japan’s seventh straight World Cup appearance — marked a shift from its previous alternating cycle of group-stage and last-16 exits, after the team defeated former world champions Germany and Spain to qualify for the knockouts as the winner of a Group E considered by many to be a “group of death.”

“We beat Germany, we beat Spain … we have that confidence. We’re not catching up anymore, we’re trying to race ahead. The future looks bright.”

“I’m sorry to our fans. Your support reached us and we wanted to match it.”

Despite the disappointment, the moment quickly passed and came out the blue trash bags as fans began cleaning the stands and pickup trash. They went across the aisles shuffling the litter into bags before handing them to smiling — and clearly delighted — stadium workers on their way out.

“It’s a sign of respect for a place,” said Eiji Hattori, 32, a fan from Tokyo, who had a bag of bottles, ticket stubs and other stadium detritus. “This place is not ours, so we should clean up if we use it. And even if it is not our garbage, it’s still dirty, so we should clean it up.”

But as usual, there are skeptics who think that they’re doing it for the spotlight. Even so, they just do what they do without caring about what others say. A fan from Tokyo said, since everyone is aware of it, he hopes they can at least set a good example but we don’t need to push anyone to clean.

Three things we can learn from them :

Don’t take life too seriously. Instead of expressing their unhappiness and venting their frustration over losing the game by causing riot or burning cars, they accept that it’s a good game and the fact that they’ve made it further than the previous World Cup is worth celebrating.

Don’t care about what others say. People will always have something to say regardless of what you do. You messed up the place, people say you are irresponsible. You cleaned up the place, people say you are showing off. Just do what you feel in your heart is right.

Think positive. Japan Coach Hajime Moriyasu bowed and thanked fans for their support. He praise the players for their efforts as they tried under such immense pressure. He’s happy that they got to defeat the world cup champions, Germany and Spain, and believes Japan will bounce back.

Defender Yuto Nagatomo added: "It's difficult to find the words. I think the regret we feel with this loss will lead to something better in the years to come."

A warrior is not someone who always win but always fight. 

They put up a good fight till the end and hold the line for as long as they could maintaining a draw of 1-1 between Japan and Croatia which results in penalty kicks. That alone to me, is admirable and commendable. It could’ve been worse if Croatia was able to crush them as Brazil did to Korea with 4-1.

Pics & News by Japan Times & New York Times

[footballconfessions]

https://www.tumblr.com/footballconfessions/724441151688589312

Wow some people are so stupid to think this & actually agree with this???!! Real Madrid is NOT the best team in the history of football. The Brazil national teams that won five World Cups, the Spain 2008-2012 golden age team that won back to back Euro+World Cup+Euro, the German teams throughout their world cup winning history would all beg to differ that stupid ask statement.

For club level: most professional footballers, pundits, fans that actually watch football, journalists, people who understand the game unanimously agree the best ever team in history is the Barcelona teams with Puyol Iniesta Xavi Messi + Pep as manager 2008 to 2012 team that won everything, the sextuple, won UCL 2009 and 2011. Plus the glorious MSN best forward partnership ever Messi Suarez Neymar 2013 to 2017. Luis Enrique's Barca can be considered one of the best teams of all time too.

Real Madrid did not win UCL for decades, the last time they won was in 2002, they didn't win for twelve years, then Tebas & Madrid started bribing refs, so many offside goals given to rm, VARdrid, they won UCLs 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 because of corruption and FIFA's favouritism towards Madrid. I agree Madrid is One of the best teams in history, not THE BEST. They had amazing dominating players Modrid Ramos Bale Benzema Cristiano Kroos Marcelo Casemiro & the best goalkeepers in the world in Navas Casillas Courtouis. It's cause they have money to buy the best players & pay them top salary. Ferguson's United, Mourinho's Chelsea's and now Pep's City are all billion dollar squads because of power & money.

Anyways, just wanna say that people who think RM is the best in history & should be Mbappe's end goal are people who only started watching football for hot players, don't actually understand the game, probably don't even know how the offside rule works✌️

[andiessoccerblog]

Group H

Expected to move on: Germany, Colombia

Expected to exit in group stage: Morocco, Korea Republic

Germany

FIFA Ranking: 2

Reputation:

Much like the men’s side, the German women’s team is a MACHINE. Unless the unthinkable happens again (see: the men’s side 2018) Germany should get out of the group with ease, and I would definitely rank them as a favorite to win the World Cup. Their style of play is crisp, clean, and a little bit curt...if that makes sense. They will lay their bodies on the line, and they will lay your body on the line too if you’re playing against them. They shockingly failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics, but were runners-up in the Women’s European Championship in 2022, which is a much more accurate indicator of their strength.

Player Pool: 

Germany is another team with extraordinary depth, with all their players on top domestic teams or premier teams in England or France. Alexandra Popp, new captain of the team, also leads in goals scored for German, but is really known for the use of her large stature to win duels. Every position is filled with veterans, and Germany has been skillful in ensuring that even its younger players have gotten experience in big games.  Every player is a team player and can be a standout in their own right, so it’s hard to pick specific players to highlight. That being said, of course there are players that rise to the top–Lena Oberdorf, Sara Däbritz, and Melanie Leupolz all deserve a shout out. 

2019 WWC performance:

Germany looked okay during the women's World Cup, but less confident than many people had anticipated. They made it through the group stage with narrow 1-0 wins against Spain and China, and an easy win against debutante South Africa. They plowed over Nigeria in the round of sixteen, but were stymied by Sweden in the quarterfinals.  On many past occasions, they had beaten Sweden, so many were surprised when the game went the other way. Dabritz, Magull, and Popp led the scoring, while young newcomer Gwinn and veteran Hegering held down the midfield and defense, playing all 450 minutes of their tournament run.

Colombia

FIFA Ranking: 26

Reputation: 

Colombia’s women’s team has historically done well in South American competition, feuding with Brazil for top honors, even as their own federation doesn’t support them as much financially as they do their men’s side.  Earlier in 2023 the Colombian Federation began an agreement with FIFA to begin increasing funding for women's soccer at all levels.  That won’t help the team in this World Cup, and they will be fighting tooth and nail against Korea Republic for the second spot in the group.

Player Pool:

Colombia has one of the older teams of the World Cup, with more veterans than newbies. After missing the 2019 World Cup, they will need to rely on players that were around for the 2015 World Cup, like Catalina Usme,  Daniela Montoya, and keeper Sandra Sepúlveda. 

2019 WWC performance:

Did Not Qualify

Korea Republic

FIFA Ranking: 17

Reputation:

South Korea is recognized as “Korea Republic” by FIFA. Asia’s women’s football culture has been improving on a regional stage, but has struggled to keep up internationally, and Korea Republic  is no exception. The best players on this team are the ones that leave Korea to play in a European or American league. They have never qualified for the Olympics. Their best result in a Women’s World Cup came in 2015, when they made it out of the group stage, but they couldn’t repeat the result in 2019, and likely won’t do it again in 2023. 

Player Pool: 

Ji So-yun (midfielder) made a name for herself and for Korea with a long career for Chelsea in England, but moved back to South Korea in 2022. Cho So-hyun is another team veteran playing in England, and the pair form a strong midfield. Captain is Kim Hye-ri, a veteran defender. She plays with about half the roster for South Korea’s Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels team, the top side in Korea’s domestic league.

2019 WWC performance:

Not great. They had a rough group, pulling Norway and France, so their only chance to advance was a third place spot, which neither they nor Nigeria achieved. They scored one goal in the tournament.

Morocco

FIFA Ranking: 73

Reputation: 

Morocco reached their first World Cup under the distinguished coach Reynald Pedros, who previously had coached Olympique Lyonnais Féminin to the french championship. Under Pedros, the team has grown to be one of the best teams in Africa. However, they have a record of falling short against teams outside of Africa, and will need this tournament and more international exposure to become a contender. 

Player Pool:

Captain Ghizlane Chebbak has played for Morocco for the last 10 years and is their top goalscorer. They have an up and coming forward in Rosella Ayane, who played for the English national youth teams, but switched to Morocco for her senior caps.

2019 WWC performance:

Did Not Qualify

[richarlison-archive]

Richarlison is now my favourite player of the Brazil nt ( yes even with his tattoo. Tho I hate the tattoo)

Also can't say Neymar is my favourite. Really didn't like him in 2018 world cup. But I think he has changed a bit in 2022 world cup?

He didn't play selfishly and gave more passes. Especially his goal against Croatia was amazing. Truly best.

But Richarlison getting Neymar's face tattooed is something that flew over my head. Like why???

So yeah Richarli's my fav now and My hatred for Neymar has decreased

Hopefully Brazil will win in 2026

tbh i get the hype around neymar cause he's basically a football icon but richarlison is my fav cause i just think he has a great personality/belief system along with his football skils.

and i hope brazil wins in 2026 too! obv i'll support my home team (usa) in the beginning stages but i have little hope that they'll make it far so brazil is the team i'll support to the finals.

[xdominiklivakovicx]

Top 5 Croatia NT games 👀👀👀👀👀👀

Huhhh okay xD

🇭🇷 VS 🇧🇷 (FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar) - Okay this one is a fucking day to remember. The Friday evening when my family and me watched this game...heck it felt like it was yesterday, the joy of screaming, crying and laughing when we kicked out the favorites out. These emotions weren't easy to describe! Livi was incredible and he literally saved our asses along with the others!

🇭🇷 VS 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧�� (FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia) - did ya all ever dream of going to finals? We Croatians always did. That match was as tought as Brazil, but we did it. Mandzo has slythered us all to the finals and thanks to him we can always talk about our journey to the finals

🇭🇷 VS 🇫🇷 (Nations League 22/23) - oh yeah...after two very heavy 4-2 losses the tables have finally turned around for Croatia. It was finally a moment of our glory to celebrate 1-0 against France in Pariz! I didn't even believe we would win, but I guess I was proven wrong by our boys!

🇭🇷 VS 🇸🇲 (Friendly Match 2016) - man, I just can't believe we managed to score 10-0 against San Marino, I mean I know they are the worst National Team in the world, but for some reason I really enjoyed that match. San Marino fans please forgive meh 😭

🇭🇷 VS 🇯🇵 (FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar) - I just wanted to say, I love Japan with all my heart and this game was kinda hard, but I did enjoy it a lot. Japan has proved that they are no joke in this World Cup, but we sadly had to play against them. I was happy that Croatia won, but deep inside I felt really sorry for kicking Japan out of the World Cup

THANK U FOR THE ASK KARIN! I am so glad I was able to answer these <3

[maaarine]

Greetings! How did you find Tar? I'm sooo excited to watch it, but I had no idea it was available already? As a lifelong Cate Blanchett fan and a classical music enthusiast, i'm interested if it really was as good as it promised to be? On the other note, what are your Men's World Cup predictions for the tournament, how are the Belgians feeling?

Tar: the movie felt like a pretext to give Cate Blanchett another Oscar

I didn’t care much for the story but I loved watching her be a well-dressed pretentious asshole

and I didn’t have subtitles for the scenes in German so I enjoyed freestyling my wunderbar understanding of those

—

how are the Belgians feeling:

Belgium’s moment was in 2018, when Hazard and Lukaku and De Bruyne and Courtois were all playing great football

the latter two are still rock stars but Hazard is a ghost of his former self and Lukaku has been injured for a while (he’s in Qatar but unsure as to when he’ll be ready to play)

our defense is old and slow and on the way to retirement: Vertonghen and Alderweireld are back playing for silly Belgian clubs this season because they’re no longer good enough for bigger teams (they both used to play for Tottenham)

and then there’s the perennial small-country problem of not having a bench: even with star players on the pitch, if one or two gets injured, we’re fucked, because they’re the only ones we’ve got

—

predictions for the tournament: every four years Brazil and France are a fine bet

France always has a giant reservoir of great players, their football schools are an incredibly well-oiled machine that keeps producing talent

but 1) they often have “discipline” problems within the group (see: Benzema’s behavior, the 2010 world cup debacle, etc.)

and 2) since 1998 the winner of the previous world cup has always been eliminated in the first round of the next one

so France won in 1998 but immediately went home in 2002, Brazil did the same in 2002 vs 2006, Italy 2006 vs 2010, Spain 2010 vs 2014, Germany 2014 vs 2018... and France 2018 vs 2022, fingers crossed!

been hearing a lot about Argentina

lowkey don’t want Messi to win it just because I’m tired of his worship, but I wouldn’t be pressed if either Brazil or Argentina won

European teams: not keen on comebacks from Germany or Spain, I’d rather have a wild card like... The Netherlands? Or fuck it, my 2022 lover Denmark

as long as it’s not France or England am I right

[idkimnotreal]

the cbf (the organisation behind brazil nt) wants to hire carlo ancelotti, current coach of real madrid, for the next world cup cycle. the guy hasn’t said yes yet and he wants to finish the current season (whatever that is, i just got into football) on real madrid, which would be june, and only then the cbf would be able to publicly announce him as the coach of brazil nt. he’ll also likely require an even bigger wage than he currently earns from real madrid - tite, our coach for this world cup and 2018, earned 7 million euros less per year than ancelotti does from real madrid. (shouldn’t be a problem, the cbf is rich as fuck, but it will sting)

so i have a question. which coach in the whole fucking world wouldn’t want to lead the most successful team so far in the history of football? i’ve heard people say that they feel more for their local team or team of choice than they do for their national team, and alright, but it’s still mostly money (i see local teams as kind of hybrid monsters moved purely by money), and there’s something else about the world cup, that it somehow means more, even if it moves most people a bit less. 

brazil was the most talented team BY FAR this year and it only lost, in my opinion, due to lack of organisation. our coach could be blamed for that, could not, but i’d wager most of the blame goes to him. he might be too “conservative”, and people have said that he insisted on a certain formation on field involving certain players even when it could be a lost strategy (like it was against croatia) because he was too fond of it.

so who would refuse to lead a national team that was 5 times world champion and has had the highest likelihood consistently to win the whole thing again, year after year after year (well, 4 years to be precise)? there’s always some kind of mistake, because realistically brazil should be winning every other world cup.

and the way i see it is that like 3 of our 26 players in this world cup were currently hired by local teams from brazil. all of the others play for european teams. always big names like real madrid, barcelona, psg. so what’s more fitting than a coach that’s used to the kind of football most of our players have been playing for most of their careers, the kind of football that, for being more “expensive”, is also the most technical, the most skilled kind of football, which you won’t find in brazil (we tend to rely on passion and talent instead, and look where that got us so far)? doesn’t matter if he’s european or not, but he needs to have extensive experience in the kind of football most of our difficult opponents play - brazil hasn’t defeated one, a single, european team in the knockouts since the 2002 final, when it won its 5th championship against germany. our smartest opponents have been playing us and we don’t care.

i mean, if that doesn’t scream “WE NEED TO CHANGE”, i don’t know what does. clearly, our “nationally produced” coaches don’t cut it anymore, when we can’t even hold our best players in brazil, and we haven’t been able to for decades now. football has changed and for me the brazil nt is currently stagnated and a foreign coach is everything we need to set things in motion again. to spur some change, which might be positive even if we revert back to brazilian coaches after 2026. maybe we’ll even learn a thing or two to bring to our own local teams.

[liamhaydn-blog]

Lionel Messi at the 2022 World Cup

The first ever winter World Cup appeared perfectly timed for Lionel Messi. The previous season, his first in the colours of Paris Saint-Germain, had been the toughest of his career to date. The flawless finishing we had witnessed for well over a dozen years momentarily deserted him and was replaced with efforts suddenly being denied by posts, crossbars and goalkeepers, more often than they were finding the net. For the first time since his teenage years, Messi failed to reach double figures in the league, scoring just six goals in 26 appearances, and 11 in all competitions. Those who saw this and declared Messi’s glory years over would quickly be proven wrong however as just a few months into his second campaign with PSG and his difficulties in the previous season were already nothing but a rapidly fading memory. 

By the time club football took a winter break for the mid-season World Cup, Messi had already outperformed last season’s goal haul, with 7 in the league and 12 in all competitions. On top of this he also added 14 assists in the 19 games he featured. The numbers and performances showed us Messi was coming into the World Cup bang on form, and given his age of 35, playing this tournament mid-season rather than at the end of another long 50+ game season, was likely to be more of a help than a hindrance. 

The Argentina side he would be captaining at the finals were unbeaten since they suffered a loss to Brazil at the 2019 Copa America, their 5th tournament in 6 years where they had been unable to end a trophy drought which stretched back to 1993. Messi may have dragged his nation to three major finals in as many years but falling short in all of them led him to announce a short-lived retirement. He was back playing for the Albiceleste shortly after but the 2018 World Cup in Russia looked like something akin to torture for him. Rarely if ever did he seem to exhibit the same joy and freedom in Argentina’s colours as when playing for Barcelona. 

That was until the 2021 Copa America in Brazil, when at his 10th major tournament, Argentina finally assembled the right supporting cast around Messi, and with it Leo dazzled scoring 4 and assisting 5 as he led Argentina to the final. In the final he wasn’t at his best, a result of an extremely physical semi-final against Colombia, but for this new Argentina they could find a way to win without relying solely on their talismanic captain. Di Maria scored the goal which won them the cup at the Maracanã against hosts Brazil and suddenly Argentina who had been so poor at the 2018 World Cup were now one of the top favourites for the next World Cup which would take place the following year in Qatar. 

Argentina only strengthened their credentials with a run of 36 games unbeaten going into the World Cup. This run took in their Copa America triumph and aswell included a 3-0 win over European Champions Italy and on the very eve of the tournament a 5-0 win over UAE. In that game Messi notched his 18th goal for Argentina in his last 22 appearances, it was with real belief he and his teammates would begin Group C. Assigned to a favourable looking group alongside Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland, it would be the Saudis first up for Argentina.

v.s Saudi Arabia 1:2- Group C

Saudi Arabia are regular World Cup qualifiers, Brazil in 2014 being the only finals they haven’t reached since first qualifying in 1994. They are not however regular World Cup winners, having won just one game since they reached the knockout stages for the one and only time at their first World Cup. They appear to be the perfect opponent for Argentina to lay down a statement of intent with an emphatic victory.

 It takes just 94 seconds for Messi to have his first shot on target, forcing Al Owais into an early save. A few minutes later and holding in the box as Saudi Arabia attempted to defend a corner drew the attention of VAR, who alerted the referee to have a look at a possible penalty. The referee decided it went beyond the acceptable level of grappling and pointed to the spot, giving Messi and Argentina the chance to make the perfect start. The chance was taken as Argentina’s number 10 calmly rolled the ball into the net for 1-0. 

Messi appeared to have his and Argentina’s second in the 22nd minute when a long ball over the top left him baring down on goal and he calmly slotted home. However the linesman’s flag was then immediately raised. Five minutes later there was an even tighter call after Lautaro Martinez had gone clear and lifted the ball over the onrushing Al Owais. This time it was VAR who intervened to rule it out, judging Lautaro’s shoulder to be offside. Remarkably 7 minutes later Argentina had the ball in the net for a fourth time, and for the third time it was disallowed for offside. This was the clearest offside of the lot, though Lautaro’s composed step-over and finish after Messi had put him through displayed Argentina’s supreme confidence and the control in which they exerted over the match. 

Despite Argentina’s dominance in the first half, they had just one goal to show for it. And the frailty of that lead was exposed just three minutes into the second half when Alshehri expertly shot through the legs of a sliding Christian Romero and from a tight angle the ball bobbled into the bottom corner past Emiliano Martinez. The goal had come from a simple ball straight down the middle after Messi had been dispossessed in midfield. Just 5 minutes later, things went from bad to worse for Argentina as Nicolas Otamendi’s failure to get distance on a clearance eventually led to the ball finding Aldawsari who made room for the shot by cutting inside and then let fly from just inside the area. Martinez got a hand to the ball, but the power beat him and suddenly Argentina were behind against Saudi Arabia. 

Argentina almost respond immediately when Messi is found in the box, but just as he is about to shoot a potentially goal-saving tackle flies in on him from Abdulhamid, who celebrates this tackle like a goal, and he isn’t the last Saudi player to do so. The Albiceleste come closer still when Lisandro Martinez’s close-range shot deflects off the knee of Tagliafico from even closer, but Al Owais’ reflexes are up to the task.  

Following these chances, you could see the panic start to set in for Argentina as the reality of what defeat here could mean began to dawn on them. They began to fall back into their old habits of relying on Messi to rescue them. Since the last World Cup, Argentina had ended their long wait for silverware and were on the verge of equalling Italy’s world-record of 37 matches unbeaten. However as the clock ran down on them here, they could have been mistaken for the Argentina of 4 years ago who had toiled against Iceland and Nigeria. 

For a period in the second half Saudi Arabia correctly identified that if they could stop Messi, they could stop Argentina as the nerves and pressure began to get to his teammates. With 10 minutes of normal time left, Messi won a free kick in a promising position for a strike at goal, but his shot sailed harmlessly over the bar. He was closer a few minutes later when he was found in the box by Di Maria, but the floated ball didn’t allow Messi to generate enough power on his header to seriously trouble the keeper. 

As they neared closer to a historic victory, the Saudi’s gave full commitment to every sprint and tackle, it was going to take something special to snatch victory from them. They time-wasted, they took yellow cards and did everything they could to see the game out. Due to the timewasting, there was in the end an extra 13 minutes of additional time played for them to defend for their lives. But it seemed not to matter if the board had showed 30 minutes, Saudi Arabia were not going to be denied 3 points on this day. 

Having turned the game completely on its head in 5 mad minutes, they refused to squander their new-found lead through any fault of their own. There would be no shortage of desire, nor intense concentration in order to maintain their advantage and in the end it was enough to ensure one of the World Cups big upsets. And we were left wondering whether Argentina were just cursed in World Cups, having reached the Semi-Finals just once since 1990. But after this result the immediate worry was now just to ensure they got out of the groups. 

v.s. Mexico 2:0- Group C

In the lead-up to what was now a do-or-die game against Mexico, Messi spoke to the media: “In five minutes of mistakes that we made, we went 2-1 down and then it was really tough, we lost organisation and started punting the ball. It's up to us to fix what we did wrong and get back to the basics of who we are. We're OK, obviously hurt by the result, very bitter. But people must trust that this team will not let them down and we are going to go for it in the next two games.” It was strong words from the skipper and Argentina were also aided by results going their way in the other group games. First Mexico and Poland played out a 0-0 draw with Robert Lewandowski missing a penalty, then Poland beat Saudi Arabia 2-0. These results helped ensure Argentina’s destiny remained in their own hands. 

However as the game began it was clear these results had done little to settle Argentina’s nerves, nor had the 5 changes Lionel Scaloni made to the starting 11, including 3 in the defence. Though you regularly see both Argentina and Mexico in the knockout stages of the World Cup, the first-half here was more befitting of a League 2 match. The match was scrappy and extremely low on quality, littered with fouls which forced the game into a stop, start nature. The first sight of goal for either team didn’t arrive until the 40th minute when Lautaro’s header cleared the crossbar after being found by Angel Di Maria. Mexico’s one moment came in the 45th minute when a Vega free-kick forced Martinez into action. 

The most concerning sight in the first half for Messi and Argentina fans had been where the number 10 constantly received the ball and the movement, rather the lack of it around him. Argentina’s forward movement was very static, the player in possession left short on options so even Messi with having difficulty in progressing his team up the pitch when receiving it around the half-way line, where nearly all of his touches were. The first half had been in many ways, even more troubling than the second half against Saudi.  

At half-time in the ITV studio, Gary Neville said: “Players aren’t fearful of Lionel Messi anymore. They are taking the ball off him easily.” Joe Cole bizarrely put Messi’s struggles in the first-half down to the fact that “It's tough to get out of bed and get your roadwork done at 5am when you're sleeping in silk pyjamas." Neville and fellow pundit Roy Keane then found time to criticise Di Maria, with Neville saying “He’s got no heart.” to which Keane responded: “He’d break your heart, I’m not sure he’s got one.” Based on these words, Argentina may aswell not have bothered coming out for the second half. 

They did, but nothing appeared to have changed from the first. 5 minutes into the half and Messi won a free-kick in a dangerous position. Due to the lack of clear-cut chances this presented as good a chance as any for him to find the target. But his effort never threatened to harm the Mexico goal, flying high over the bar. It just about summed the game up so far for him and Argentina. 

Messi disappeared from the game once more, Argentina now had less than half an hour to find a goal that was looking increasingly unlikely. They were on the verge of having just one point from their opening two games, when Messi picked the ball up in the same kind of unthreatening position he had all game. He played a simple pass forward then continued his move toward the penalty area. Mexico’s midfield all then turned their attention to the ball and ignored Messi’s positioning. Di Maria however noticed exactly where he was and found Messi in a pocket of space. With one touch he set it out his feet and with the second he arrowed the ball into the bottom corner. 

Afrer scoring the vital opener, Messi shouted to the players: "Come on, look at the scoreboard. Now that's in front of you, look at it. 88,000 spectators are looking at you and 45 million Argentines are behind us watching. We won't let them down today, guys. Defend it like savage hyenas. Focus and never miss a ball." De Paul who had been struggling in the game conceding the ball cheaply was told in no uncertain terms by Messi that if he lost another ball, he didn’t want to see his face after the match. The midfielder responded to this by playing a lot better for the remainder. 

Mexico never looked like possessing the quality to equalise but the 3 points weren’t secure until the 87th minute when Enzo Fernandez doubled Argentina’s lead. With a step-over he bought room for the shot, and he didn’t waste it by bending it in past Ochoa. Messi played the pass for the goal to become the first man to register an assist at 5 World Cups. With the full-time whistle Argentina could breathe a huge sigh of relief. They were off the mark at the 2022 World Cup, thanks in large part to their captain whose wonderful goal came at a time when he and Argentina were clinging on to their dreams of glory. 

“Well they haven’t got much, but they have got him!”- Sam Matterface as Lionel Messi opens the scoring against Mexico

“One more Messi moment and Argentina are alive!”- Peter Drury

v.s Poland 2:0- Group C

Going into the final matchday Argentina knew that a win over Poland would near certainly be enough to see them secure top spot in the group. This was due to them having a positive Goal Difference, and Saudi Arabia having a negative one. Poland though would be mathematically certain of topping the group if they beat Argentina. Finishing 1st was vitally important as 2nd place in the group would meet France. Having faced France at the same stage 4 years ago, Argentina would be keen to avoid a repeat, with memories of an 18-year old Kylian Mbappe sprinting through the middle of their defence still raw enough to know if you get the chance to avoid him, you should take it. 

However from the offset Poland had only the draw they needed for qualification in mind. They lacked the belief to try and obtain the win to ensure they topped the group and instead sat back, inviting Argentina (wearing their purple away jersey for the one and only time in the tournament) to dominate possession which they duly did. Unsurprisingly it was Messi who had the best chances of the first half. Running into the box he was faced with a tight angle, but the power generated in the shot forced Szczesny into a smart save down low at his near-post. 

A golden opportunity would arrive in the 36th minute when a cross from Julian Alvarez was missed by the Polish keeper and reached by Messi though his header ended high over the bar. However, Szczesny caught Messi in the face when attempting to reach the ball, and as it was Messi who made contact with the ball, the Polish number 1 was judged to have committed a foul after the referee watched the incident back on VAR. Though Szczesny was to redeem himself with an outstanding penalty save, guessing the right way and getting a strong hand to Messi’s kick. The penalty was struck with power, but Szczesny’s hand remained firm and palmed it to safety. 

It seemed like nothing could go straightforward for Messi and Argentina at the World Cup. Given the chance to turn all their pressure and domination into a goal from the spot, they’d been unable to convert it. Was it going to be another one of those awful days for them? Such fears were quickly dismissed as they broke the deadlock in the very first minute of the second half. Molina’s cross into the box was fired into the feet of Alexis Mac Allister who opted against needing a touch and instead just stroked it into the bottom corner, hitting the inside of the post on the way in. 

Despite now trailing, Poland were unwilling to alter their game plan and it was Argentina doing all the searching for the game’s second goal. Messi took the ball from well inside his own half and dribbled it all the way into the Poland box before scuffing the shot well wide. In the 67th minute the Albiceleste made sure of top spot, after Enzo Fernandez had threaded the ball into Julian Alvarez who took two exquisite touches to make room for a shot that flew into the back of the Polish net.    

With Mexico leading Saudi Arabia 2-0, Poland were currently only progressing through by virtue of having fewer yellow cards than the Mexicans. Rather than pushing for a goal themselves, they seemed to be relying on Argentina not getting another. This plan appeared flawed however, as Messi looked like he was starting to enjoy the World Cup stage, spraying passes with ease and dribbling past bodies at will. The pick of the passes came in the 74th minute when from the half-way line he instantly spotted the run of Alvarez, and weighted it perfectly into his path. Mercifully for Poland, he could only find the side-netting. The match finished as one of the most one-sided of the tournament with Argentina managing 12 shots on target to Poland’s 0. 

It would however, be Poland joining Argentina in the last 16, a 95th minute goal for Saudi Arabia confirming it beyond doubt. After the game Rio Ferdinand said: “he wasn’t even at his best today but the best 3 or 4 dribbles in the game was Messi, the best 3 or 4 passes in the game was Messi and the best player on the pitch was Messi.” Poland were poor opposition and therefore did not provide much of a test, but Argentina were growing in confidence. For the first time in the tournament they started the midfield three of Enzo Fernandez, De Paul and Mac Allister. Julian Alvarez also made his first start after Lautaro had struggled against Mexico, and he had not wasted his chance. This was a significant game for Argentina as from this point on those four players would start every game together.

They had lost the first game but still topped the group just like Spain did before going onto win it in 2010. There was also the curious statistic that Mario Kempes missed a penalty in Argentina’s third World Cup game in 1978 as did Maradona in game three of 1986. On those occasions, Argentina went on to lift the World Cup, with Messi missing on matchday three this time, would history repeat?

v.s Australia 2:1- Round of 16

Australia would be Argentina’s Round of 16 opponents, and also the opposition for Lionel Messi’s 1,000th official senior game. It would also be Messi’s 100th match as captain of Argentina, so the stage was set for something special and expectation was high. Australia like Argentina had lost their opening game and then won their next two. They had recovered impressively from a 4-1 loss to France by notching back-to-back 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark. 

For 34 minutes, not a lot happened. Argentina controlled the ball but they struggled to find space in dangerous areas against a well-drilled Aussie side full of tall, strong players keen to impose their impressive physicality on the contest. It would be who else but the smallest player on the pitch to spring the game into life. Messi whipped in a free-kick from the right-hand side which was headed out by Souttar only as far as Papu Gomez who recycled the ball back to Messi for him to lay into Mac Allister before moving inside, Mac Allister’s pass found Otamendi who played it back to Messi now inside the penalty area. Messi took a touch then stroked it firmly into the net, through the legs of the stretching Australian defenders and past the outstretched glove of Matt Ryan. 1,000 games, 100 as Argentina captain and a very 1st goal in the knockout rounds of a World Cup. 

“He’s only gone and done it again! A Thousand games and still he excels! They’ll never be another like him! Enjoy him while he’s here.”- Peter Drury

Argentina doubled their advantage 12 minutes into the second half as the result of an excellent press from Rodrigo De Paul, who sprinted at the Australian defence forcing them to play it back to keeper Matt Ryan. De Paul didn’t stop there and chased all the way back to the keeper who tried to take the ball past him with his second touch and tempt him into a foul. This proved a costly error as De Paul didn’t take the bait and instead let him past, as Alvarez was also on the hunt for the ball and picked the keepers pocket, before simply rolling it into the empty net.

For the rest of the second half it was absolutely vintage Messi. Receiving the ball inside his own half, he turned away from one Australian midfielder, then dribbled through a gap of another three, leaving them trailing in his wake and looking statuesque, with seemingly none of them willing to be the one to draw the short straw and attempt to tackle him. Before they could make up their mind what to do, the 35-year old had left them in the dust. Advancing onto the defence, the ball ricocheted to Alvarez who played it back to Messi who beat one challenge in the penalty area before finally being stopped by a second defender who gratefully conceded the corner.  

There is a sting in the tail however when an only half-cleared cross lands at the feet of substitute Craig Goodwin, whose powerful but wayward first-time shot changes direction in the air after cannoning off Enzo Fernandez and leaves Emiliano Martinez flat-footed and rooted to the spot as the ball diverts into the back of his net. A few minutes later and Australia almost completed the comeback, their full-back Behich embarked on an incredible driving run which saw him beat 4 Argentine shirts before finally being denied by Lisandro Martinez just as he prepared to take his short, it was a vital intervention. 

Though right back in the game, Australia could do nothing to disrupt Lionel Messi’s rhythm. He wasn’t feeling the pressure, he was playing the match as though a testimonial. He controlled the tempo and pace of Argentina’s play, if he wanted to slow things down the Australians could not find a way to rush him, if he wanted to speed things up he would subtly switch the gears and drive Argentina forward. Which ever one he opted for, the ball was always safe in his possession, and thankfully for Argentina he was seeing plenty of it. There was a chance to make the game completely safe in the 89th minute when a run from Messi enabled him to occupy all 4 Australian defenders and drag them away from Lautaro Martinez who was left in acres of room, at the perfect time Messi rolled it across to him but now lacking confidence he got under the ball and lifted a horrible shot well away from goal. 

Moments later Messi found Martinez for a second time, this time the striker was able to hit the target but Ryan was equal to it. The number 10 is doing everything to put the game to bed, beating another 2 men he finds himself in the box, faced with 3 opposition players he is still able to get a good shot away, he looks for the top corner and the keeper is well beaten, but it’s a fraction too high. As the 7 minutes of injury time run down, it’s Argentina and Messi who are pushing for the game’s 4th goal. He finds Martinez for his third shot on goal, but his deflected shot is saved by Ryan and Messi is not ready when the save rebounds at his feet, dragging his shot wide. 

Then suddenly with 30 seconds left on the clock, Goodwin’s cross finds Kuol who is able to spin his marker, luckily for Argentina Emiliano Martinez was ready and immediately sprinted off his goalline, narrowing the angle and the shot was blocked by his left arm which took the sting from the shot and allowed him to collect the ball and collapse onto it in relief. He was joined on the floor by a couple of his teammates, no doubt thanking him for getting them out of trouble. 

It had been an interesting night for all 3 of Argentina’s Martinez’s, Emiliano and Lisandro had made fantastic blocks to deny equalisers, whereas it had been a bad night for Lautaro, wasting opportunities that would have made the win certain. But overall, the game was the story of Messi. In his 1,000th game, he had produced his greatest World Cup performance to date, a performance described by Rio Ferdinand as “the best individual performance we’ve seen at this World Cup so far, by a mile.”   

v.s Netherlands 2:2 (4-3 on penalties)- Quarter-Finals 

Argentina vs The Netherlands was to be the mouth-watering Quarter-Final clash. To the surprise of everyone, the winner would not go on to face tournament favourites Brazil as earlier that day they had been dumped out on penalties by plucky Croatia. Given the history of this fixture which had been the final of the 1978 edition, the semi-final when Messi reached his first World Cup final in 2014 and produced one of the most memorable Quarter-Finals ever the last time they met at this stage in 1998, it was a game that scarcely needed spicing up. But it seemingly got it anyway, with comments made by Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal that “you would see his plan to stop Lionel Messi on Friday night” taken to be disrespectful and arrogant by the Argentine side. 

Scaloni decided to match up with Netherlands’ 3-5-2 by playing the same formation, dropping a forward out for defender Lisandro Martinez. This decision was made easier by an injury to Angel Di Maria who was only fit enough for the bench.

After a tight opening which was just about shaded by Argentina, Messi was the orchestrator of the game’s first goal in the 35th minute, the exact same minute he’d scored the games opener in the previous match against Australia. This time he was to be the provider however, with a body swerve and a drop of the shoulder Messi found the angle he wanted to thread a through ball between the legs of Nathan Ake and into the path of Molina, the weight of the pass was too perfect for Daley Blind to intercept, he was taken out of the game and Molina was left with just the keeper to beat which he duly did.

With a couple of minutes left in the half we were given a sign of what was to come as Lahoz’s fussy style of refereeing began to lose control of the match. The Spanish ref flashed 4 yellow cards in moments to Argentina coach Walter Sammuel, aswell as Dutch substitute Wout Weghorst who was yet to enter the game. More significant was the yellow card shown to Acuna, which would rule him out of the semi-final. In the second half Messi went close with a free-kick which was just too high and found only the side-netting, before an even better dead-ball opportunity presented itself when Dumfries brought down Acuna in the box giving the referee little alternative but to point to the spot.  

Faced with the 6 foot 6 inch goalkeeper Noppert, Messi stroked the penalty home with Noppert choosing to stay down the middle. With his celebration, Messi paid tribute to Juan Roman Riquelme’s trademark goal celebration, Riquelme whom it was noted famously clashed with Van Gaal when the two were together at Barcelona. Also noted was the fact Messi did the celebration with his eyes firmly set on the Dutch bench. 

The Netherlands had barely threatened all game, so the two-goal cushion was thought to have killed the contest and put Argentina safely through to the final 4. However with time running out and nothing left to lose, Van Gaal decided to throw the kitchen sink at it by taking off his more technical forwards and bringing on less gifted players who would be more of a threat in the air where they could use their height advantage. This strategy quickly paid dividends as the Dutch pulled one back with 7 minutes of normal time remaining, Weghorst directing his header past Martinez.  

With a minute of normal time left, the bad tempered game which had been simmering along finally reached its boiling point when Parades clattered into Nathan Ake and then blasted the ball into the Dutch bench. Luckily it didn’t hit anyone, if it did he may not have escaped with just a yellow card. The melee that followed saw all of the Dutch substitutes storm onto the pitch in fury, though it was Van Dijk who got to Paredes first and bumped him to the ground, for which he avoided punishment. 

The referee had frustrated both teams with his fussiness, which saw him constantly blowing his whistle to signal free-kicks for every minor and sometimes non-existent infringement. This led to 11 minutes of stoppage time being awarded and it was in the final of those added minutes when the Dutch equalised. From a free-kick, Koopmeiners, instead of shooting, worked a routine straight off the training ground by instead passing it past the wall and through to Weghorst who managed to hold off his marker and fire it past Martinez. It was the substitutes second of the game and the assist came from a fellow substitute, it had proved a tactical masterclass from Van Gaal. 

The first half of extra-time passed without notable incident, both teams looking to catch their breath. Netherlands seemed relieved to just still be in the competition, Argentina concentrated on re-composing themselves and looking to regain control of a game that had momentarily got away from them. 

All the big second half chances went Argentina’s way, they continued to probe for a winner, coming closest in added time at the end of extra-time when Fernandez let fly from outside the box and beat the goalkeeper only to be denied by the post. Like their encounter 8 years previously, the two sides would be separated by a penalty shoot-out when the referee finally called time on a game which had included 48 fouls, with 30 from the Netherlands. 

As in their 2014 World Cup shootout, the Dutch were first up. Again it would be a centre-back, then it was Ron Vlaar, now Van Dijk. Different names but the outcome remained the same, the player missed. Although more accurately, Martinez saved by diving correctly to his right and getting both hands to the ball. Next Messi faced Noppert from the spot for a second time, and the result was the same. He waited for the keeper to commit to his dive then just rolled it the other side. 

Berghuis then stepped up for the Netherlands, and he was also denied by Martinez who again guessed right, this time going left and making another outstanding penalty save. Noppert then guessed right for Parades’ kick but still couldn’t get anywhere near it due to perfect placement. Martinez stays in the middle for Netherlands third penalty and Koopmeiners blasts it into the far corner. Next up goes Montiel and he makes it 3 from 3 for Argentina sending the keeper the wrong way. 

Weghorst keeps the Dutch alive in the shootout but if Fernandez scores its all over. As he makes his way towards the spot, Dumfries is booked for gamesmanship as he goes with Fernandez, attempting to break his concentration. It seems to work as the midfielder fired wide, keeping alive slim Dutch hopes. De Jong then levels the shootout but Argentina have one kick remaining. It’s Lautaro Martinez who steps up, who had been enduring a difficult World Cup. Noppert hands him the ball and begins talking to him, begins the mind games. Martinez appears completely unruffled and he demonstrates this by sending the keeper the wrong way and his team through to the semi-finals. 

The drama still wasn’t over as quickly Argentina’s joyful celebrations were replaced with players and coaches from opposing sides coming face-to-face once more in angry confrontations. Messi became embroiled in a heating conversation with both Louis Van Gaal and assistant coach Edgar Davids. Messi’s hand gesture making plain what his issue with them was, the talking the Dutch camp had done in the build-up to the match. 

As Messi then gave a post-match interview to Argentine broadcasters he was distracted by Weghorst who was stood close by looking at him and apparently waiting for him. With the microphone still in front of his face, Messi snapped at Weghorst: “Qué mirás, bobo? Qué mirás, bobo? Andá para allá.” which translates roughly to “What are you looking at you fool? Go away.” When giving an interview to FIFA, Messi again didn’t hold back saying “It’s very frustrating. We were scared before the game because we knew what this was. I think FIFA must think about it, they cannot put a referee like that for these important games, for such a pivotal game — a referee who isn’t up to the task.” The Argentine public loved seeing this side of Messi, usually so shy and reserved. He seemed to be channelling his inner Diego Maradona as he angrily went at the Dutch coaches, Weghorst and the referee. This side of him showed just how much this World Cup meant to him and his desperation to win.

v.s Croatia 3:0- Semi-Finals

4 years prior when Argentina met Croatia in the World Cup group stages, during the national anthem, Messi had anxiously rubbed his forehead, looking like the loneliest man in the world, carrying a load too heavy for his weary shoulders, they went on to lose the game 3-0. Now as he prepared to face Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals, as the national anthem played, he stood with his chest puffed out singing from the top of his lungs. Just as much as the match to follow, this emphasised the transformation that had taken place within Messi and in the national side he represents. 

For the Semi-Final, Scaloni made another tactical adjustment. Seeing how strong Croatia were in possession and how their centre midfielders could dictate a game, Scaloni started four centre-midfielders against the Croatian three of Kovacic, Brozovic and Modric. Particular importance would be put on limiting the latter’s time on the ball, such was his role in the Croatian side. Despite this Croatia were still able to shade the opening half an hour, showcasing their impressive ability to keep the ball. The game changed in the 31st minute when a scooped through ball from Fernandez put Alvarez in on goal, his contact on the ball was not enough to find the net however goalkeeper Livakovic had taken him out and the referee pointed to the spot.  

Croatia had reached the semis by virtue of winning 2 shootouts, Livakovic had thus far faced 8 penalties, and had only been beaten by 3. However he was given no chance by Messi, his emphatic penalty was absolutely unsavable blasted right into the top corner. This goal made Messi Argentina’s all-time top goal scorer at World Cups, his 11th moving him ahead of Gabriel Batistuta. 

Argentina who had struggled to get into the game now had all the confidence and momentum. 5 minutes after Messi had given them the lead they doubled it. Messi was able to launch a counter attack by just about getting his foot to the ball after Argentina had cleared it from their area and this touch allowed them to spring an attack with Julian Alvarez driving forward with the ball at his feet. He met little resistance until reaching the box when the attempt to tackle him only ricocheted back to him, another failed Croatian clearance allowed the ball to set up nicely for him to strike after bouncing off his chest. The Croatian defenders had not covered themselves in glory but Alvarez had brilliantly profited with his perseverance.

Just shy of the hour mark, Messi gave us a little pre-cursor of what was to come when he received the ball around 40 yards from goal and dribbled to the edge of the box, all the while escaping the attentions of Josko Gvrdiol by holding him off and then playing a one-two with Fernandez to get into the box. Once there he made room for the shot but saw it saved by Livakovic from a narrow angle. 

A little over 10 minutes later and Messi was beating Gvrdiol again, only this time in even more astonishing fashion. Leo takes possession after a throw-in is touched into his path off the thigh of Alvarez, Messi is tight to the touchline but with two touches is away from Gvrdiol and driving into open space in the direction of the penalty area. Messi then slows down allowing the defender to catch up, accelerates again before checking back, all the while always keeping his body between Gvrdiol and the ball. He fakes to turn back inside with a body-swerve which sells the defender and Messi then sets off in the opposite direction towards the byline, he gets there and plays a pass into the unmarked Alvarez for a simple tap-in. 

The 20-year old Gvrdiol had been one of the standout performers of the tournament, but the man 15 years his senior had toyed with him. Messi had taken the ball in a harmless position, just inside the Croatian half and next to the touchline and had laid on a certain goal using just 15 touches of the ball. It was a masterclass in making every single touch count and placing the ball exactly where you needed it to set up your next move, no touch was wasted or less than perfect. 

It made certain Argentina’s progression into Sunday’s final and they saw out the remaining 20-plus minutes in comfort. They allowed Croatia plenty of possession but they could not land a meaningful glove on Argentina, whose attack of Messi and Alvarez had delivered a devastating one-two combination to knock them out. In the end it had been as straightforward as you could ever hope a World Cup Semi-Final to be and Messi was going to get one more chance to lift the trophy he had always dreamed about. 

v.s France 3:3 (4:2 on penalties)- Final

The final was almost certainly going to be less straightforward. Argentina would be facing France after they had defeated Africa’s first ever World Cup Semi-Finalists in Morocco. France would be looking to become the first side to retain the World Cup since Brazil exactly 60 years before and just like Argentina were looking to lift the trophy for a third time. Aswell as the World Cup, the smaller matter of the Golden Boot would be decided with Messi and Mbappe currently tied for 1st with 5 each, and their team’s strikers Alvarez and Giroud also tied on 4. Messi and Mbappe had been the two best players of the World Cup and the question was would Messi show the young pretender to his crown that he was not yet ready to exit his throne, or would Mbappe signal the start of a new era, his era.

Scaloni brought Di Maria back into the starting line-up which raised some eyebrows given the winger had not started since the group stages and had only featured in one knockout game. This decision quickly proved to be an inspired one as Di Maria and co started the game very much on the front foot, playing with an intensity and hunger France simply could not match. They constantly hounded France out of possession, swarming them, first to every ball. 

However they could not transmit their superiority onto the scoreboard in the opening 20 minutes, but the chance came in the 21st minute when trickery from Di Maria took him past Dembele and into the box, whilst assessing his options he felt the slightest of touches from behind and hit the floor. There seemed to be relatively little in it, but the referee felt he’d seen enough contact to award the penalty and VAR did not flag it as a clear or obvious error. It was soft and contentious, but the little flick of Dembele’s foot into the back of Di Maria was judged to be enough. Up stepped Lionel Messi for the most important kick of a football in his entire career. He coolly sent Lloris in the wrong direction and gave his nation the start they desperately wanted. 

The goal did little to wake France from there stupor, instead it was Argentina who played all the football, and their finest bit of football came 13 minutes after taking the lead when Mac Allister flicked the ball into Messi’s path. Just inside his own half with two touches he knocked it around the corner into Alvarez who played it first time for Mac Allister who had continued his run forward, the midfielder knew he had Di Maria for company and picked out an inch perfect pass for the winger to strike first time past Lloris. The counter-attack was the best team goal of the whole tournament, and one of the more memorable World Cup final goals with quick, incisive passing and movement that brutally exposed the disorganisation in the French team with defenders way out of position. 

The 2-0 lead was richly deserved and forced Deschamps into making 2 substitutions before half-time had even been reached, sacrificing Giroud and Dembele. The second half continued in the same vein, Argentina making all the chances, simply battering France and comfortably outplaying them. Things began to subtly shift when Di Maria who had been the man of the match up to that point, a constant thorn in the French side was taken off for full-back Acuna. This seemed to signify to Argentina’s players that they should start to be contented with the lead they already had and begin slowing the game down and trying to see it out. Rather than hungrily going for the third as they had in the opening 18 minutes of the half with Di Maria on the pitch, they now looked to just pass the ball around. This subtle change of tact appeared unlikely to be taken advantage of by France, emphasised by Varane who under no pressure passed the ball straight into touch, nowhere near any teammate. It was a pass that just about epitomised the French performance. 

Their way back into the game appeared out of the blue. A heavy touch forward from Mbappe seemed to allow Otamendi time to clear his lines but he paused for too long and substitute Kolo Muani stole in to get goal-side of him. Otamendi panicked and brought him down once the forward had already strode into the box and from nowhere France had been gifted the chance to half their deficit. Kylian Mbappe gratefully took that chance, despite Martinez guessing the right way the power was too much. 

This gave France 10 more minutes of normal time to force an equaliser, in actuality they needed just 1. Messi was caught in possession by substitute Coman who then picked out Rabiot. His flighted ball to Mbappe was headed to Thuram who returned it instantly for the forward to strike on the volley, and strike it he did, hard and low past Martinez. After being outplayed for 79 minutes, in 2 minutes France had wiped away Argentina’s 2-goal cushion and made it all square. 

From that point, it was Argentina hanging in and France the ones searching for the winner, until the 7th added minute of a scheduled 8 when Messi let fly from outside the box with what may have gone down as the most iconic goal in football history, but Lloris was able to palm it up and over the bar. Messi was going to have to go at least another 30 minutes to secure a World Cup title.

The first big chance of extra-time came in the 15th minute and it went Argentina’s way, when Messi found substitute Lautaro Martinez in the box after interchanging with Mac Allister in a brilliant one-two. Martinez wanted time to take a first touch, but he didn’t have it and after taking the touch his shot was charged down. That wasn’t even to be his last chance of the half, Acuna put him through on goal but under the joint pressure of being closed down by Upamecano and Lloris he shot wide of the target. 

3 minutes into the second half of extra-time and a ball from Montiel was controlled into Messi’s path by Lautaro Martinez, the number 10 found Fernandez with one touch who with a single touch of his own gave it back to Lautaro who touched and shot, Lloris got one big, strong hand on it but the ball fell at the feet of Messi mere yards from the goal line, he bundled it over the line and chaos ensued. Argentina’s substitutes swarmed across the pitch to celebrate with Messi and co. right on the other touchline. But with the referee giving the goal, the linesman’s flag shot up for offside seconds after the ball was in. Messi celebrated with jubilant teammates, but concern was still visible on his face, is it definitely a goal? VAR put an end to his uncertainty by confirming Lautaro was onside and the goal stood, and then and only then did Messi fully give way to full delight.

His and Argentina’s joy would still be cut short however when Mbappe’s shot from just outside the box was charged down by the arm of Montiel, very much inside it. The referee pointed to the spot for a third time in the game, and mere minutes away from victory Argentina threatened to be denied again. Mbappe kept his considerable cool and sent Martinez the wrong way, he and France were level once more as the Frenchman became the first man to score a World Cup final hattrick since Geoff Hurst in 1966.

In the 120th minute, a near inch-perfect cross from Mbappe had Kolo Muani straining his neck muscles, given the pace on the ball any contact on it may have been enough to leave Martinez with no chance but he was just short of reaching the ball with his attempted header and Argentina could breathe a big sigh of relief. Not for long. With less than 20 seconds left of the final 3 minutes added on to the end of Extra-Time, a forward ball from Konate was missed by Otamendi as he failed to make any connection with his attempted slide clearance, this miss put Kolo Muani through clear of the defence with just the keeper to beat, the ball set up perfectly to smash on the half-volley and the strike was a good one, but Martinez pulled out perhaps the save of the tournament right when he and his nation needed it most. 

In one of the most exciting minutes in World Cup history, Argentina went right back up the other end and attempted to steal the game for themselves. The head of Lautaro Martinez was picked out from a cross, he had a free header but got it all wrong. Right in front of goal he only needed to hit the target, but he mis-directed his attempt and got it horribly wrong sending it way wide. And that was that, the final chance of an enthralling game. And for just the third time the destination of the World Cup trophy would be decided by a penalty shoot-out. 

France were to go first and Mbappe stepped up for his 3rd penalty in little more than an hour. Remarkably, for a third time he was able to beat Martinez, for the second time Martinez guessed right but the power and placement was too good. After France’s talisman number 10 came Argentina’s to take his second penalty of the night. Messi passed the ball into the net, with the kind of ease that felt out of place in a World Cup final penalty shootout. It shouldn’t be that simple. Coman took France’s second penalty, his kick was missed by the gloves of Martinez, but the ball went between his gloves and firmly into his chest. He had guessed right and kept it out with a tremendous save. Dybala had been brought on for the sole purpose of taking a penalty, and that proved a good decision from Scaloni as his firmly struck penalty went straight down the middle in the space the diving Lloris had vacated. 

Tchouameni took and subsequently missed France’s third penalty, shooting wide of the post. Martinez celebratory shimmy demonstrated the confidence Argentina now felt, they were close. Parades took them yet closer when he made it 3-1. Kolo Muani had to score to keep France in it and he did, blasting it home. This meant the chance fell to Gonzalo Montiel. The substitute could have been the villain of the piece after his handball with minutes of injury time to play saw Argentina lose their lead for a second time. Now he had the chance to be the hero. He sent Lloris the wrong way and Lionel Messi and Argentina were Champions of the World.

Argentina Campeones Del Mundo

Argentina were finally ‘Campeones del Mundo’ for the first time in 36 long years and Messi had equalled the achievements of Mario Kempes and Diego Maradona. Like Kempes he scored two in the final, and like Maradona he had captained his side to glory. Mbappe’s hattrick may have meant that Leo missed out on the Golden Boot, but he did win the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best player, in doing so becoming the first player to win the award twice. 

In 4 glorious weeks Messi had answered any criticisms that could ever be levelled at him. He struggled at World Cup’s under the intense pressure and scrutiny they said, referencing him only having 6 World Cup goals in his first 4 tournaments, and being without a goal in the knockout stage. After this World Cup he had 13, more than the great Pele and the joint 4th most in history. He had become the first player ever to score in all 4 knockout stage rounds at the same World Cup, netting 5 times in 4 games. They said he wasn’t a great leader and captain, now he had led his nation to the greatest prize on earth. Even the claim that he wasn’t a great penalty taker was answered, in 3 matches he scored 5 penalties including the shoot-outs, with the highest pressure and on the grandest stage imaginable, he kept his cool 5 times with unflappable penalty kicks.   

Though this wasn’t just the triumph of one man, this was the triumph of a whole team. Scaloni had been the best manager of the World Cup, his tactical tweaks against Netherlands, Croatia and France had all worked brilliantly. Bringing Di Maria back into the side when he had rather struggled in the group stage and the team had played better in the knockout rounds without him was a big call, but this allowed Argentina to stretch the pitch wide and gave Messi more room to operate in the middle, France couldn’t crowd him as they now had another dribbling creator on the flanks. 

Argentina hadn’t started the World Cup with a team good enough to win it, but Scaloni found it. An injury on the eve of the tournament to the important Lo Celso left him trying to find the best way to plug that gap. 19 different players started for Argentina at the finals, and only three outfield players in Otamendi, De Paul and Messi started every game. The turning point came in game three against Poland when the midfield of Fernandez, Mac Allister and De Paul proved Argentina’s most effective combination to date and they got better and better as the tournament progressed, peaking in the final where all three were absolutely outstanding. Also in that Poland game came the decision to drop the mis-firing Lautaro for the young, hungry Julian Alvarez who performed exemplary adding 4 goals to Argentina’s tally.  

Not to be forgotten for their role in Argentina’s success were the fans who covered each stadium with a sea of blue and white jerseys and were the wonderful soundtrack to Albiceleste glory. Less demand for tickets at this Qatar World Cup saw more tickets than usual land in the hands of regular supporters, the real hardcore and this was one of the best things about a controversial World Cup which came with many downsides. Also not to be forgotten were the heroics of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, he provided the platform in the shootouts for Argentina to go and get the victories with his psychological warfare against opposition takers forcing 4 misses. Argentina scored 7 of the 8 shootout penalties they took, emphasising how every player including the sparingly used Dybala played their part in achieving the ultimate glory.

Rating the 16 Argentina players who started at least 2 games: 

Emiliano Martinez- 10

Made vital late saves against Australia and France, the latter being maybe the most iconic ever World Cup final save. Was the difference maker in Argentina’s two shoot-outs, dominating them with early saves to give his team the momentum.

Nicolas Molina- 7

Started all but the Mexico game and performed solidly, Argentina were rarely troubled down the flanks. Going forward he took his goal against Netherlands with great composure.  

Christian Romero- 8

Like Molina, Romero started every match bar Mexico and for the majority of the tournament he looked extremely solid. 

Nicolas Otamendi- 6

Performed well at times, and did momentarily silenced his critics and doubters. However, it always felt like he had a mistake in him, and if a costly error was going to come from the Argentina defence, he always seemed most likely to be the culprit. This was proven when he foolishly conceded a penalty in the final which made lifting the trophy much harder work for his team.

Lisandro Martinez- 8

Started against Mexico and was then brought back in for the Quarter-Final against Netherlands. Hardly put a foot wrong and made a crucial intervention off the bench against Australia to keep his side in front. A surprise he wasn’t given more minutes as when he did play he looked more solid than the calamity-prone Otamendi.

Marcos Acuña- 7

Like Molina wasn’t troubled often defensively and got into good attacking positions regularly. His end product could be somewhat disappointing, but he always proved a useful foil. 

Nicolás Tagliafico- 7

Started the opening game and was broke back into the side for the semi-final when filling in for the suspended Acuna, he did a solid job and kept his place for the final. 

Rodrigo De Paul- 9

Struggled against Saudi Arabia and especially in the first half vs Mexico, but Scaloni kept faith in him and De Paul rewarded that faith, he got better and better as the tournament progressed. His tireless running was essential to the success of Argentina’s campaign.

Enzo Fernandez- 9

Wasn’t chosen to start until the final group game. However once in the team, Enzo made the position his. He was involved in most things good in Argentina’s play, always neat and tidy but never overly cautious in possession. Deserved winner of the tournament’s best young player award. 

Alexis Mac Allister- 9

Going into the tournament we knew the Brighton midfielder was good, I’m not sure we knew he was this good. Scored the vital goal against Poland to break the deadlock, but his finest moment came in the final where he was one of the best players on the pitch, France just could not get to grips with him.

Leandro Paredes- 7

He started the opening defeat to Saudi Arabia and didn’t start again until the semi-finals against Croatia, where he came in and did a solid job. Converted both his shoot-out penalties including one in the final shootout to give Argentina a commanding 3-1 lead.

Angel Di Maria- 8

Wasn’t at his best in the group stages, however he more than made up for it with his final performance. He deserved his goal which gave Argentina a 2-0 lead, he terrorised Kounde and had the beating of him time and time again.

Papu Gomez- 5

Started the opener against Saudi Arabia and was brought back in for the round of 16 game against Australia. However he was largely anonymous in both games. 

Lionel Messi- 10

Scored one of the best and most important goals when his country needed him most as they toiled vs Mexico. He and his teammates never looked back from there. He was sensational against Australia and inspirational in the final against France. Between that he produced the two best assists of the tournament against Netherlands and Croatia. 7 goals, 3 assists, 5 converted penalties in a row, the 35-year old really could not have done much more.

Julian Alvarez- 9

Got his chance to start against Poland and was never in danger of losing his starting place. His energy, intelligence and lethal finishing were key components in the success of his nation. He led Argentina’s attack at the World Cup in ways much more experienced forwards such as Higuain, Aguero and Lautaro Martinez had been unable to do.

Lautaro Martinez- 5

His bad luck began when he had two goals ruled out for offside in the opener with Saudi Arabia. How different his tournament may have gone if one of them had counted as he finished both brilliantly. After that though, he couldn’t get into the game vs Mexico and lost his place to Alvarez. His one great moment came when he converted the winning penalty in the shoot-out v Netherlands. However he was very wasteful against Australia and again in the final, missing 3 good chances which could have proven costly. 

The Greatest of All Time

With 7 goals and 3 assists, Messi had matched the exact number of goal contributions Pele and Maradona had when they were victorious in 1970 and 1986 respectively. This brought Messi’s total to 21 goal contributions at the World Cup, which is the most of any player since the record books began counting assists in 1966. It took Messi’s goal tally in major international tournaments to 26, which is more than any other player in South American football history, and his 7 here helped win him his second major trophy with Argentina after the Copa America the previous year. 

Messi had long since surpassed Pele and Maradona at club level with an unquestionable collection of goals and honours, both team and individual. His lack of international success was always levelled at him when debating his position among the all-time greats, but now having peaked at international level in his mid-30′s, scoring more in tournaments than he ever has before, Messi has put that argument to bed. Never before had so many people around the world wanted one man to lift one trophy, Messi’s immense contribution to football had many feeling he deserved to win its showpiece event after a magnificent career spanning 17 years. People got their wish and at the 5th time of asking, Lionel Messi achieved a life-long dream formed in boyhood, he had lifted the World Cup for his beloved Argentina.

“Unparalleled. There will of course always be those who argue, always be those who debate. And the debate can rage on, if you like. But as he falls in love with the object in the world that his heart most desired, it is hard to escape the supposition that he has rendered himself today, The Greatest of All Time.”- Peter Drury

[aussiesportscorner]

One could be forgiven for having a strange sense of deja vu for this year’s FIFA world cup. Australia’s group stage opponents, France and Denmark, were also in our group in 2018. The fourth and final member of the 2018 group C, Peru, was the last hurdle for the Socceroos to qualify for the 2022 edition, a game we eventually won on penalties, 5-4. Back then an own goal against France and a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Peru was enough to send us back home from Russia.

9 minutes into our first game of the 2022 FIFA world cup, like in 2018, against France, a country dared to dream, with Craig Goodwin scoring our first goal that was not a penalty at a FIFA world cup since Tim Cahill’s iconic left foot volley against the Netherlands in 2014. However, 18 minutes later France would equalise, and after that, it was all one-way traffic, as France ran out 4-1 winners, a margin 2 goals bigger than our encounter 4 years before.

4 hours earlier, a 0-0 draw between Tunisia and Denmark would prove pivotal in our hopes of progressing to the knockout stage.

For our second game of the tournament, against Tunisia, a second loss would surely see us go home, but 23 minutes in, Mitchell Duke scored and this would be enough to see Australia’s first win at a FIFA world cup since defeating Serbia 2-1 in 2010, but unlike that tournament in which Australia missed the knockout stage on goal difference, the Socceroos would still have one more game to play, but our defeat to France made missing on goal difference a very real chance yet again.

The equation would be simple, win and we go through to our first knockout stage since 2006, and the so-called golden generation, a draw would see us relying on a France team resting players to defeat Tunisia, something that would not occur, and a loss would see us losing out on spots in the knockout stage to France and Denmark yet again.

After a scoreless first half, anyone awake at 3am Sydney time would have surely been nervous, our fate was in our hands, and with the hero against the French, Craig Goodwin subbed off shortly after play recommenced, Australia was holding out for somebody, anybody, to put them in front, and with 30 minutes of play to go, their prayers would be answered, playing in his third world cup Matthew Leckie would score his first goal in the tournament with Australia holding onto this lead for the half hour that remained, qualifying for the knockout stage for the first time in 16 years.

But what about The first golden generation, how did they fair? After a come-from-behind win of 3-1 against Japan, and a 2-0 loss to Brazil, a 2-2 draw to Croatia would be enough to see us qualify on 4 points for the knockout phase. But Australia’s 2 wins in the 2022 edition would see us make it with 6 points. As manager Graham Arnold said “I’ve been listening and hearing about that golden generation of 2006. They got 4 points and now we’ve got 6.” Suggesting that his team should go down in history as better than that team, and who am I to argue.

Next on Australia’s radar is Argentina, a team we last played in 2007, and have only defeated once in 7 matches, back in 1988. A team that also boasts one of, if not the best player of this generation Lionel Messi. There’s always a chance that we get past the round of 16 teams, but a scoreline similar to that of a game against France would not be out of the question.

[getting-messi]

Ranking of some of my favorite “arguments” from Messi antis/R****** fans 💀💀💀

1. The WC is rigged

Pure laziness. Offers no actual explanation as to how they would feasibly pull this off. Did they deliberately let Saudi Arabia win to make it look less suspicious? Did they deliberately eliminate Brazil so that Argentina would have an “easier” semifinal? Did Messi personally pay off the entire France NT to ensure they’d play like shit and Mbappe just missed the memo somehow? 🤷‍♀️ 0/10

2. Euro Cup is more prestigious than World Cup

Ah yes, because this WC has totally proven the superiority of European football compared to the rest of the world 💀💀💀 Requires some mental gymnastics though, I’ll give them that. 3/10 for effort

3. Argentina just has a Good Team (TM) and Messi got carried

Try walking up to anyone before the final and claim that Argentina has a better team than France on paper and see if they don’t laugh in your face 💀 No disrespect to the Argentina NT of course (esp Dibu, Julian, Enzo, etc.) — they’ve proven how well they work together as a unit — but please be fucking fr. -100000/10 maybe try watching some actual matches before talking shit lmaooo

LMAOOOOO I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS😭😂

are people actually saying that the Euros is bigger than the world cup????😵😵 When the literal European champions failed to qualify for the world cup and got eliminated by *checks notes*...North Macedonia???? 💀

And omg the Messi got carried by a good team argument is SOOOOOO funny to me especially now that Ronald Mcdonald fans are saying that that is the only reason why Messi is a world cup champion and their criminal doesn't have a good team with Portugal🤣🤣🤣 Like all i have to say is go look at Argentina's world cup performance in 2018 like EVERY single match and then tell me if that is a 'good team'. They lost against Croatia 3-0???? They TIED against Iceland and Messi had a penalty saved by guy who is a dentist full time (lord did we hear that a lot), we miraculously won vs Nigeria and then despite the match finishing 4-3, we played HORRIFICLY against France. Add onto the fact that they JUST BARELY qualified for the world cup on the LAST possible qualifier match. People love forgetting these things and how the players were literally coaching themselves because of how terribly Sampoali was😒 Scaloni was the assistant manager during that world cup and took the job and this is 4 years of his hard work.

A commentator highlighted it like this, he said Argentina used to play as Messi + 10 players and now they play as 10 players + Messi - signifying how they are finally playing together and not just relying solely on messi like they used to since 2014.

[newzzwired]

Brazil Coach Tite Defends Team's Dancing Celebration During FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Win Over South Korea

Brazil Coach Tite Defends Team’s Dancing Celebration During FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Win Over South Korea

Brazil’s players have divided football after they celebrated each of their goals in the 4-1 World Cup mauling of South Korea with some extravagant dance moves, with even their coach getting in on the act. The pre-tournament favourites put on a fearsome display of attacking football to send South Korea home and set up a quarter-final on Friday in Qatar with 2018 runners-up Croatia. Coach Tite’s…

[mwplanet]

FIFA: The World’s Biggest Competition Returns

The FIFA World Cup is officially underway

By Franchesca D.

Some of the best players in this year’s World Cup

Photo via FIFA

The 2022 FIFA World Cup began on November 20, 2022 in Qatar, and already holds the world’s rapt attention. 

For those unfamiliar with the FIFA World Cup, it is the biggest tournament for international soccer held every four years. It is one of the most watched sports competitions around the world, with more than 3.5 billion viewers during the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup expected to reach an audience of 5 billion. 

The FIFA World Cup Qualifiers is a lengthy process that occurs years before the final tournament. Each of FIFA’s six regional soccer confederations holds preliminary tournaments and qualifier matches. The six FIFA confederations are UEFA (Europe), CONMEBOL (South America), CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean), AFC (Asia plus Australia), CAF (Africa), and OFC (Oceania). Teams in each league play each other for points; a win is worth three points, a draw is worth one point and a loss is worth no points. The teams with the most points at the end of the qualifying period advance to the World Cup to represent their confederation. However, this means that not all confederations may be represented. 

Now the World Cup. The teams are split into eight groups of four teams, with groups lettered A to H. Each group was created through a random draw out of four points in April, with teams placed in pots based on their FIFA world ranking. The top two teams of each group advance to the round of 16. The winner of each group plays the runner-up of the succeeding letter group until there are only 8 teams left. For example, the first seed of Group A would play the second seed of Group B. In the case where two teams are tied in points, the first-place team is the team with the highest point differential. The knockout rounds continue  to the quarterfinals, where eight teams battle for a place as one of the four teams in the semi-finals. The top two teams from the semi-finals play against each other in the finals for the FIFA World Cup trophy and the title of FIFA World Champions. 

There are many strong contenders in this year’s tournament, with Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, and the reigning champion France all having strong chances of winning. The top soccer players are also scheduled to make appearances with their respective teams, including stars like Kylian Mbappe (France), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), and Neymar (Brazil) showcasing their skills. With this World Cup being the final tournament of beloved players like Ronaldo and Messi (and possibly Neymar), fans and players alike are tuning in to watch them play one last time. 

The tournament so far has seen some shocking results, specifically Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia. Argentina was higher ranked and a team favoured to win the Cup; viewers expected an easy win against Saudi Arabia on November 22. However, when Saudi Arabia, a team expected to lose, won against Argentina and fan-favourite Messi, it became one of the biggest upsets in the tournament. 

Canada has also created history. This is the first Canadian team to play in the World Cup since 1986 in Mexico and the second time Canada qualified for the World Cup in history. They played against Belgium and Croatia, with a 1-0 and 4-1 loss respectively. In their Croatia game, Canada made history as they scored their first goal in their World Cup history. Canada recently played against Morocco, hoping for a win, but lost 2-1. Unfortunately, Canada will not advance to the knockout round of 16. 

Canada star Alphonso Davies celebrates Canada’s first World Cup goal

Photo via CBC

The countries advancing to the round of 16 are Argentina, the USA, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Croatia, England, Senegal, Morocco, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Switzerland, South Korea, and Brazil. As of December 5th, Argentina, France, the Netherlands, Croatia and England are moving on to the quarter finals, eliminating Australia, the USA, Poland, Senegal, and Japan in the process.

Despite all that has already occurred, the FIFA World Cup is far from over, and fans from around the world are anticipatedly waiting and watching to see who comes out on top.