After yesterday’s sparrowfart start we really needed a slower one today.
Thus it was that we had only finished breakfast at a leisurely 11:45 or so when the Socceroos were on the field against Egypt.
Let me say that as much as I’m disappointed to not progress I feel it was the fair reflection on the play. Egypt created more chances and were decisively better in both extra-time and the penalty shootout. Highlights here.
The big moment for Australia was the equaliser – pretty wild in Sydney and Melbourne – and from there I think it was either go on and finish it or suffer. We suffered, mostly.
My gut feeling is that neither coach Tony Popovic’s initial line-up nor changes were particularly effective, particularly playing Irankunda out of position (again) and the removal of Patrick Beach for the shootout (particularly as it seemed that the goalkeepers weren’t aware of the plan). Former Socceroo stalwart Mark Schwarzer also wasn’t a fan of the move.
Toure did nothing when brought on, Mabil tried hard but is frankly not at this level, while Hrustic continues to disappoint from quite good opportunities. Old man Behich was badly exposed at left-back and Hrustic had to sit very deep mostly to cover for him which meant we were denied his outlet on the counter attack. Conor Metcalfe was not the right selection for left-side midfield (FWIW I would have preferred Degenek). Kyle Trewin at least did serviceable job at right-back after the injured Bos had to be replaced.
Alessandro Circati was my player-of-the-match for Australia and was simply class all the way through. If he has a good run with injuries I can imagine that in another few World Cup cycles he will be our most-capped player and an absolute legend.
The brutal reality of a tournament of this magnitude is that the show rolls on and few will pause to reflect on the achievements of the Socceroos. With the youngest team at the event we have achieved (marginally) our best ever result, a loss on penalties after an extra-time draw in an elimination round. The core of this group will still be around in four years’ time so I feel we have taken one on the chin to set ourselves up for the future. In 2030, anything less than the last 16 will be an underachievement.
And there’s an odd feeling that as much as coach Tony Popovic did take us to that best ever result, he was also responsible for squandering a golden opportunity to go further.
For a very comprehensive analysis of structure and tactics, check this out. Also worth noting the comments from Tommy Oar and others.
After that you probably need some light relief. You’ll be pleased to know that a lot of urinals around the traps here in Mexico feature these little goal and ball set ups. Maybe Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington needed to use them more often to practice hitting the target?
Men are easily amused.
Argentina battled to an extra-time victory 3-2 over Cape Verde in what was the game of the tournament so far. The plucky Africans will be absolute heroes in their home country for a jaw-dropping performance that almost no-one saw coming. Highlights here, or treat yourself to the mini-match. Argentina now face Egypt in the Round of 16.
We’ll be sorry to see Cape Verde go. From their super-cool goalkeeper Vozinha to yesterday’s brilliant goalscorer Sidny Lopes Cabral, their passion was simply a delight to behold. And it’s a shame Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not a pundit on Australian TV.
Colombia won ugly 1-0 (highlights here) against a Ghana team that does not have a lot going for it. The Coffee-Men will have to get their misfiring forward line into shape to progress much further as they take on Switzerland in the next round.
We watched the Colombia game in the zoo whoops FanFest and Miguel ended up being interviewed about four times: once by local TV, once by the Arab version of Bein Sports, and twice by YouTubers. I’m only a pseudo-Colombian so was able to conveniently blend into the background when required.
But at least personally, seeing my adopted team win was a balance to Australia’s loss and a reminder that I still have a horse in this race. It felt a little hollow to be out partying on a day when Australia was dispatched, and somewhat cruelly at that, but…a party is a party ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here’s what it was like at the final whistle:
Saturday games in the Americas see the start of the Round of 16 with co-hosts Canada taking on Morocco in a Big Red Derby, while France are favourites against Paraguay.
And now the initial 48 teams in the World Cup have been whittled down to 16, it’s about the size of a manageable music playlist. Of course it is.
Re the Mexico v England game on Sunday, strong rumours have been doing the rounds that FIFA wants to move the game forward from 6pm to mid-day to avoid forecast evening thunderstorms, currently a 90% chance. FIFA have a safety protocol in place where if they experience lightning strikes within a 12km radius of the stadium the match must be halted for 30 minutes, which includes 15 minutes for the players to warm up again. Hence the proposed change.
Reportedly both teams are not happy about it, and there are a host of other logistical problems from broadcasting to staffing and beyond. As of the time of writing the time change has not been confirmed and I’m starting to suspect it was a thought bubble that is about to be popped. We might just be in for more fireworks and a very long and wet night.
Enjoy the football and have fun!
ELIMINATED TEAMS NOW MARINATING IN THE QUAGMIRE OF PUNGENT SADNESS
Now that we are at the stage where teams are being eliminated I am keeping a running list of them and also doing a brief summary of how they went. The list will be in three groups: Overachieved, About As Expected, Underachieved. Newly-addeds are higher-up and in bold.
Overachieved – Cape Verde, Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, DR Congo, South Africa, Curacao, Haiti
Cape Verde – Round of 32 – easily the surprise packet of the tournament. First-timers who looked like cannon-fodder showed up for draws with former champions Spain and Uruguay as well as Saudi Arabia to bag three points and finish second in their group. They twice equalised against current holders Argentina and battered their goal in a furious finale as they went down 3-2 in extra-time. Every player will be a legend in their home country and the ‘Blue Sharks’ are a surprising new force in African football. I feel like sending this team thank you cards for the sheer entertainment they provided.
Australia – Round of 32 – not the exit we wanted, but an honourable loss after a penalty shootout is something we know what to do with. The defensive effort was very good for all four games although it feels like coach Tony Popovic has no natural instinct for how to structure an attack. As much as we swell with pride at our best ever World Cup result, any team we need to play any time soon will be comforted by the lack of potency in our attack. In the end it’s another Beach-head for Australian football, but we can and will do better. The late, great Johnny Warren would expect as much. And that will require a braver personality than Tony Popovic who is prepared to let our naturally-talented players do their thing. Mark Milligan said it well.
Bosnia-Herzegovina – Round of 32 – copping the USA in the elimination round was bad luck, particularly this USA that has a bit of swagger about it and home support to boot. The country’s football set-up is improving steadily as the war years fade into the past and they surpassed their 2014 World Cup achievement. BH getting out of the group that included another co-host in Canada and the experienced Switzerland was already a fine achievement. The Bosnians will farewell the classy Edin Dzeko but their future looks bright with some classic Slavic ballplayers in their line-up.
Democratic Republic of Congo – Round of 32 – only their second time on the world stage, and a decisively better account than in 1974 when they lost all three matches and conceded 14 goals. This time around they notched a draw with Portugal, a narrow loss to Colombia and their first ever win 3-1 over Uzbekistan. Unfazed by England, they pushed a much more experienced tournament team all the way in a narrow 2-1 loss. “They died with their boots on,” said Diego sagely as we watched the game over breakfast on a mobile phone because the breakfast cafe wasn’t showing football because reasons. This DR Congo team was way under-rated going into the tournament and stereotypical jibes about dictators, genocides and so on seem even more ridiculous now.
South Africa – Round of 32 – after making history in 2010 as the first host nation to not pass the group stage, the Bafana Bafana had a point to prove here. No-one was confident of that after their opening round shocker losing 2-0 to Mexico with two players sent off. A come-from-behind draw against Czechia gave them a sniff before they did the business with a historic 1-0 win over Korea. The Saffers pushed Canada all the way with a respectable 58% possession in the round of 32 game but lacked punch up front. Overall the tournament was a big learning experience and a marker of progress for South African football.
Curacao – Group stage – the smallest nation at the tournament, and from their first appearance they will go home with a goal and a point. The entire squad will be legends in the nation’s footballing history.
Haiti – Group stage – not the worst, and if they had got something out of their first game to Scotland instead of a 1-0 loss maybe things could have been different. They put a couple of goals on the board against decent teams in Morocco and Brazil and overall put up a better showing than their only previous World Cup appearance in 1974.
About As Expected – Ghana, Algeria, Austria, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Sweden, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Panama, Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Scotland
Ghana – Round of 32 – I don’t feel the Ghanaians showed much as they bowed out without a shot on target against Colombia. After a slim win against Panama and a grungy draw with England were enough to secure a third-place ticket out of the group, my expectations were low. Mainstays Jordan Ayew and Thomas Partey look well past their use-by date for international football. Coach Carlos Queiroz’s future is in doubt.
Algeria – Round of 32 – it’s one thing to bully other African nations that often lack facilities, quality administration, a stable background and so on. It’s quite another to put yourself about on the world stage against bona fide football countries that have their act together. Algeria are dynamite at the former and pants at the latter and this tournament did not change that. Third in the group and then despatched 2-0 by Switzerland in the first elimination match is the proof of the pudding. The Algerians are fine by African standards and struggling to make the next level. See you next time, hope you have a bigger vision.
Austria – Round of 32 – forever in the shadow of neighbours Germany, Austria has a poor record at major tournaments. A win over Jordan and a draw with Algeria either side of a loss to Argentina gave them four points and second place in the group. Spain easily ended their campaign in the knockout round and this team will need to learn from experience to become capable of going further; in the Europa Nations League they are a B team and it shows.
Ecuador – Round of 32 – a win over Germany to secure their passage from the group was their tournament highlight and one that they will surely talk about for a long time. That said they were unadvisably clinging to an ageing Enner Valencia in attack and struggled in their eliminator against the pace and movement of Mexico. Facing a host country was always a big ask. Energetic coach Sebastian Beccacece is out the door with his contract finishing with this tournament. I suspect he’ll land on his feet, as will the Ecuador which has plenty of young talent to work with.
Ivory Coast – Round of 32 – a far cry from the 2010 version that featured absolute stars like Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou, an aura still surrounds the IC as one of the classier African outfits. It’s surely fading now after this team eked out modest wins against Curacao and Ecuador, lost to Germany, then lost a winnable eliminator against Norway. They didn’t show a lot to be honest and an exit at this stage is their current level.
Sweden – Round of 32 – a sparkling 5-1 win over Tunisia got them off to whirlwind start, though they reversed that scoreline in the next game against Netherlands before drawing with Japan. That only put them in third place in their group and yes the punishment for that is banging heads with one of the top teams. France duly showed them what football is about. This is not a bad Swedish team but really needs a very gifted manager to make it a better-than-the-sum-of-its-parts outfit. Currently ranked 38 in the world and that feels about right.
Japan – Round of 32 – really the Blue Samurai didn’t do too much wrong. They started with a credible 2-2 draw with Netherlands, bushwhacked Tunisia 4-0 and drew with Sweden to finish second in their group. Unfortunately the draw paired them with Brazil in the eliminator and that was never going to be easy. With a 1-0 lead at half time they were in a position to cause an upset, but late Brazil pressure told with an equaliser and then Martinelli’s winner five minutes into stoppage time. As a team ranked 18 in the world they were capable of going further and might look back at this as a missed opportunity. Overall very competitive and a chance in any tournament when a slice of luck goes their way. I’ll monitor fan reaction and see if they agree with my categorisation!
Saudi Arabia – Group stage – the team struggled in qualifying and is clearly going through a generational change. I expected them to slot into third at best and in the end they were stonewalled by the brave Cape Verde unit.
Tunisia – Group stage – before this tournament Tunisia had qualified for the World Cup finals six times and failed to progress beyond the group six times. Make that seven and seven. Sacking the manager after game 1 smacked of chaos in the camp. They have a major goalkeeping problem with Chamakh rating 2.9 for the first game loss against the Netherlands, one of the lowest I have ever seen on Flashscore.
Panama – Group stage – only their second appearance at the finals, they lucked out with a difficult group. They drew three teams that have been at the quarter-finals or better since 2010 and all still with decent pedigree. Unsurprisingly they went down to straight losses, although all quite competitive. Better luck with the lotto ball sorting next time.
Iran – Group stage – on paper a good side but war and US immigration hard-ball was against them. Their travelling fans being denied entry and having their tickets revoked also didn’t help. I expected the dramas to be a bit much to handle and they were. As formeroo Socceroo and pundit Craig Foster said: “Above all, the World Cup must have exactly the same rules, treatment for all teams. Otherwise, it is not a ‘level playing field.’ Which is the inviolable premise of competition in football. Equal opportunity to compete, to excel. That has not been the case. And it’s shameful.”
Uzbekistan – Group stage – first time at the Big Dance for the Uzbeks. They certainly boasted a star coach in former WC winner Fabio Cannavaro, but still lack a bit of quality on the field. Some impressive moments and they will not be too disappointed in the end.
Jordan – Group stage – another debutante who copped a group with very experienced opponents including of course reigning champions Argentina. Three defeats was in the tarot and thus it was.
Scotland – Group stage – ‘as expected’ as this is their first appearance at a Finals since 1998 and they clearly lack major tournament know how. That said, with the classy McTominay and other players from the Serie A and Premier League this is a somewhat golden generation that were very impressive in qualifying. After a win against Haiti the lack of any points against Morocco or Brail left them flapping in the third-place repechage. I think they’ll go on from here and Scots fans can look forward to next European Championship with a positive mood. Coach Steve Clarke stepped down after the exit.
Underachieved – Croatia, Senegal, Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Qatar, Uruguay, Czech Republic, Turkey, Iraq, Korea Republic
Croatia – Round of 32 – the Croats have plenty of pedigree, having reached the final just eight years ago where Luka Modric (still playing) was the best player at the tournament. This time around they were beaten by England in their opening match before lumbering to slim wins over Panama and Ghana. A dominant Portugal defeated them 2-1 in the first elimination round and for a country ranked eleventh in the world that will feel like underachievement.
Senegal – Round of 32 – after losses to both France and Norway, no disgrace as such, Senegal relied on a 5-0 goal feast against Iraq to catapult themselves into the last of the eight slots allocated for the best third-placed teams. This guaranteed them a tough opponent and thus they fell to Belgium through a cruel last-minute penalty after coughing up a 2-0 lead with just minutes of normal time left. Senegal had come into the tournament after having beaten Morocco in the African Cup of Nations Final earlier this year (although the title was later stripped for ‘excessive protests’ against the referee), and they are indeed the second-highest-ranked African country in the FIFA list. In that context they would have fancied a run to the quarter-finals or beyond. They will be very disappointed at having condeded three goals to all three European opponents and that is not a winning recipe.
Netherlands – Round of 32 – still probably the best footballing country to have never won the trophy. The Dutch have been runners-up three times and are out in here in the first elimination round. After they coughed up a lead to draw 2-2 with Japan in their opener, they were flattered by the 5-1 scoreline against Sweden. 3-1 over the abject Tunisia gave them deserved pole position in their group, but unfortunately put them on course for Morocco who finished second in Brazil’s group. The Africans looked marginally superior all game it was no surprise they held their nerve in the shootout. At least on the surface it’s hard to understand why a team who scored 10 goals in the group games sat so low (more players behind the ball than the 4-2-3-1 formation used in the group) and surrendered so much possession. Coach Ronald Koeman will have a lot of explaining to do. With the Netherlands having plenty of experienced coaches with big egoes looking for their next challenge, I think Koeman’s a goner. A Dutch fan commented: “Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) never misses with the truth bombs. He’s right the Dutch have always been about attacking flair, total football, taking risks. This team looked lost and defensive. Losing your identity in a big tournament is the ultimate sin for Oranje. Koeman under pressure now. What do you think: time for a change?” Update: Koeman gooooorrrnnee.
Germany – Round of 32 – after crashing out in the group stage for the last two World Cups, this is a slight improvement. But for the second-best national side in World Cup history after Brazil, it’s just not good enough. This was not a German team with anywhere near the pedigree of some of the former incarnations. Clinging on to goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who is now over 40 was to me symbolic of a lack of decisive leadership by coach Julian Nagelsmann. Bullying Curacao 7-1 in the first game was fools’ gold, 2-1 over Ivory Coast acceptable, but the writing was put on the wall with a 2-1 loss to Ecuador in the last. Nagelsmann had several days to sort out his team’s issues with South American opposition and didn’t quite get it right. One German fan commented: “Julian Nagelsmann should be sacked with immediate effect. The squad has not improved since he took the helm. There is a fundamental lack of personality in this squad. Robotic in nature, not clinical, pass backwards, can’t dribble, etc. That includes the Bayern Munich players as well. When all of the players get worse, there’s a structural problem and for that, Nagelsmann must go.”
New Zealand – Group stage – the All Whites dared to dream after a promising 2-2 draw to start and fine team goals. That was as good as it got with Egypt and then Belgium showing the gap in quality that is still to be bridged. I think third in the group was gettable so it feels like an underachievement to head home with another wooden spoon to add to that of 1982.
Qatar – Group stage – playing their second World Cup in a row, and in hot conditions, and presumably with a generation coming through that was inspired by hosting the tournament in 2022, I thought the Qataris might have been competitive. A 1-1 with Switzerland must have given hope of qualifying, but a 6-0 reverse to Canada flipped the script. Another loss to Bosnia and the departure lounge it is.
Uruguay – Group stage – trying to find something polite to say. Failing. Uruguay fans expect better than third place in the group and a miserable two points. As coach Marcelo Bielsa admitted, he failed to get the best out of the squad he had available. No excuses, their tournament was a disaster. Good analysis here.
Czech Republic – Group stage – have players playing in top leagues but did not put it together as a team. Just disappointing all round and the side looked strangely intimidated by the atmosphere and conditions.
Turkey – Group stage – they were a bit full of themselves prior to the tournament and paid the penalty. Their very expensive forward line failed to hit the target in the first two games and by then it was too late. Personally I think they were flattered by their ranking of 22 in the world and it will perhaps fall back to a more realistic 30-something after this tournament.
Iraq – Group stage – 1-4, 0-3 and 0-5, the Iraqis leaked goals to everybody. The Lions of Mesopotamia (spoiler: there are no lions and never have been in Mesopotamia) are renowned as a steely side and it just vanished here. See ya! As a caution to Australia, some of the Asian sides that have been caned at the World Cup will be licking their wounds and determined for a better showing in the Asian Cup in early 2027.
Korea Republic – Group stage – a shock 1-0 loss to South Africa in the final game left them on only three points. The Koreans generally put themselves about pretty well in World Cup group stages and this is definitely a fail by their standards. Coach Hong Myung Bo was sacked the day after their exit was confirmed. Aaaand South Korea president Lee Jae Myung says he is “utterly baffled” at the national team’s World Cup group-stage exit and called for the country’s sports ministry to investigate. Taking it well then…
Alan Whykes is a Tasmania-based writer and an ex- too many things to list.
This blog is the start of a new section called Tas At Large which showcases stories of Tasmanian diaspora let loose upon the world.
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