World Cup rewind: France and Denmark owe us an apology
If you haven’t heard, there’s a World Cup going on. We’re here to help, with a daily recap of the biggest news.
We could talk about France and Denmark’s 0-0 draw, the first of the World Cup so far, which was so hideously boring both managers spent most of their post-game press conferences fielding questions about why they forced us to sit through such a miserable match.
Or, instead of that, we could talk about the drama over in Group D, where Argentina somehow scraped into the round of 16 thanks to their 2-1 win against Nigeria and Iceland’s loss to Croatia by the same score.
The the Albiceleste didn’t just win 2-1, they won because Marcos Rojo, Manchester United’s second-choice left-back, scored a superb right-footed volley in the 86th minute. Lionel Messi finally got some help.
Not that he didn’t contribute himself, scoring the opening goal with a beautiful series of touches to control Ever Banega’s pin-point pass. Heading into the knockout round, where Argentina will play France, Banega may be a big difference maker.
He played well as a substitute against Iceland, but didn’t make it onto the pitch in the embarrassing loss to Croatia. His quality in possession and ability to break the lines with his passing should make him a guaranteed starter.
The other major news from the match was that it sent Diego Maradona to hospital. Don Diego has been a, um, enthusiastic presence in the stands during Argentina’s past few games, but thankfully after Tuesday’s brief health scare he’s doing fine.
In the other match in Group D, Iceland lost 2-1 to Croatia to exit the tournament with only one point. Still, they played well against Croatia, and could easily have come away with a spot in the round of 16 if not for some profligate finishing.
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Tuesday also saw Peru score their first World Cup goals in 36 years in a 2-0 win against Australia. Los Incas will be disappointed not to make it out of the group, having outplayed Denmark in their opener, but they exit the tournament with their reputation enhanced.
On Wednesday, Germany play South Korea (10 a.m. ET) knowing they need to win to make it to the knockout rounds. Mexico play Sweden at the same time. A Sweden win would leave both teams, along with Germany, on six points, with the group likely to be decided on goal difference.
The final set of matches see Brazil take on Serbia and Switzerland play Costa Rica (both at 2 p.m. ET). Brazil need only a point to go through, but if Switzerland better their result they could fall into second place.