Round One

Twenty four matches down.  Frankly, things are starting to run together.  I did see more games than I expected so I have a pile of observations with no rhyme or reason.

Who Are Those Guys? (apologies to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)

Was that really the USMNT out there Friday night against Paraguay?  The final was 4-1 but it wasn't really that close.  Watching it, the US dominance was clear.  The stats agree with shots at 17/8, shots on target 6/2. possession 63/37 and expected goals 1.42/.54  (that last one seems light, though maybe because the first goal was an OG).  So often, for me anyway, when the US win it feels like it's because they were better athletes.  This time I thought they were simply better soccer players than the opposition.   We'll make Gio Reyna's stoppage time goal this week's YouTubeableMoment because it demonstrates how the US controlled the match; yes, it was 26 consecutive passes to set up the lovely outside of the foot shot from Reyna.

A Sea of Yellow

Me and Dennis and 65,000 Ecuadorians

Dennis and I were lucky enough to be at The Linc Philadelphia Stadium Sunday night for the Ecuador Ivory Coast match (thanks David C).  Attendance was over 68,000, of which at 65,000 were Ecuadorian, or at the very least, rooting for Ecuador.  It was a sea of yellow.  Great fans before, during and after.  Clearly a disappointed group on the packed subway ride home but nothing like it could have been if it was, say, an Eagles crowd.

Decent match for a low scoring affair, with Ivory Coast getting the lone goal late in the second half.  I had a slight rooting edge for them but would have loved to have seen the pandemonium that would have ensued had Ecuador scored.  A fantastic experience.

IFAB Law Changes

Just in time for the World Cup, IFAB enacted a series of rule changes entitled the Anti-shithousery Initiative.  That's not what it says on the website but trust me, it's what they mean.  Key amendments include:

- referee can start a count of five on throw-ins and goal kicks if he believes they are taking too long; the sanction is throw-in or corner kick to the other team

- players have 10 seconds to get off the field after being substituted

- players who receive assessment or treatment on the field have to go off the pitch for a minute

Some other changes:

- ARs watches buzz for offside based on semi-automated technology

- VAR can intervene for cases of possible mistaken identity in showing cards to players of either team, not just the offending team (that one has already come into play - see Mistaken Identify below)

- an incorrectly awarded corner kick can be overturned by VAR

A little less than thrilled about the asymmetry of the last one.  Kind of like refs not showing a red card for fear of having too much an effect on the result.  Well if mistakenly giving a corner is risky for the defense, not calling one is just a big a deal for the offense.

Never Too Late

Jimenez got a little tearful after scoring versus South Africa
Photo:AP

At 35, Raul Jimenez made his first ever World Cup start in the tournament's opening match between Mexico and South Africa.  He would also get his first ever World Cup goal.  That sounded so strange until you see that, despite his veteran status, he had made just six substitute appearances in the three previous cups.  It was an emotional moment for him, partly reflecting the long comeback from his skull fracture but also the loss of his father a few months ago.

 

Truth in Advertising

It only took two matches to get really tired of the three minute commercial interruption mid-way through each half.  Dennis points out that when the pause is sponsored by Powerade, it's called an Hydration Break but when Lenovo is paying for it, they call it a  Match Break; he notes that at least the latter label "gives up any pretense that they are for the players."

Aside from an being unnecessary interruption, it can affect the flow of the game in favor of one team or the other.  On Sunday, Ecuador had finally found some momentum, getting a few scoring opportunities in quick succession.  Next thing we know, it's time for the commercial break and Ecuador lost the thread.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Long-time readers of the blog know we are big fans of Miguel Almiron.  That said, we were thrilled to see him get booked for simulation in the match against the US.  You can see the play here.  This was not your average BFS though.  First, the initial call was foul and yellow card on Ream for the "tackle."  The VAR got in referee's ear and suggested he might want to look at the play based on him possibly showing the card to the wrong player.  Looking at the replay, you could see that Ream never touched Almiron, who dove anyway.  So the yellow on Ream was rescinded and transferred, if you will, to Almiron.  So the new rule came into play quickly.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Fortunately Did Not

Dennis:  Did you say that Morocco will have the edge in their match against Brazil?

Steve: No, I said Bono will be in goal for them.

So Much For the Group of Unicorns and Rainbows

Spain and Uruguay were arguably gifted the easiest group but both promptly threw away the advantage with draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia respectively.  Spain outshot Cape Verde 23 to 6 (8 to 1 on shots on goal), had 74% of possession and made 764 passes but failed to score.  Uruguay had a similar experience with shots 27/7, shots on target 10/3 and 65% possession but could only come away with a 1-1 draw.

Close, But No; Qatar

Answers to the questions 1) did Switzerland win and 2) who did they play.  Punctuation matters.

The Most Dangerous Lead In Soccer

Is one goal.  Just ask, Czechia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Switzerland, Morocco, Netherlands, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, New Zealand and Portugal, who failed to hold one goal leads. Only South Korea, Scotland, Ivory Coast and Ghana survived with a one goal lead; note that Ivory Coast got their lead in the 90th minute and Ghana took their lead in the 95th minute so neither of those two spent much time defending those leads.

When You Look Good, You Play Good

BFS Director of Historical Programs sends along this clip about the travelling attire of the DR Congo team.  The team went out and scored their first World Cup goal ever and, with the 1-1 draw to Portugal, got their first World Cup point ever as well.  Coincidence?  We'll never know.  

We were thrilled with the result as readers know we are not CR7 fans here.  However, I must admit to being slightly peeved that Yoane Wissa equaled his season goal tally for Newcastle in a single World Cup game.  

What To Watch

Here's our take on the matches in the second round of group stage matches.  There are a few additions based on the first round results.

June 18 - Mexico vs Korea - though the Group B matches (Canada v Qatar and Switzerland v Bosnia) are more interesting given that everybody drew their opening matches 1-1)

June 19 - Scotland vs Morocco, Turkiye vs Paraguay and US vs Australia (okay, that's three but they are all good)

June 20 - Netherland vs Sweden or maybe Germany vs Ivory Coast

June 21 - New Zealand vs Egypt though every other match that day (Belgium v Iran, Spain v Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay v Cape Verde) are way more interesting given that all those sides drew their first match

June 22 - Norway vs Senegal

June 23 - England vs Ghana ( not a great selection that day either)

I like to lay out the scenarios for the last phase of group play but I fear the permutations will overwhelm my bandwidth.   Still, my plan is to check in with a post on Wednesday morning.