Wild Ride

The first ever Round of 32 produced a slew of wild matches and some interesting calls.  I count 10 of the 16 contests being decided after the 85 minute mark.  There were some yawners in there but overall this was great viewing.

Less Than Their Best

Balogun scores again for the USMNT

The USMNT were in the rare position of being the favorite in a knockout round.  And mostly they justified that role against Bosnia & Herzegovina, but it wasn't easy.  Late in a less than crisp first half, Folarin Balogun put the US up, taking deflected pass from Tillman and deftly (though not necessarily prettily) putting into the net.  The second half got way more interesting in the wrong way when Balogun got a straight red card for an unfortunate tackle (see Tough Calls below).  BIH had never really threatened and in fact didn't even do that much after the sending off.  Still, we know a one goal lead is the most dangerous in soccer.

Then, at 82 minutes Malik Tillman doubled the lead with an "improbable" free kick from just outside the box; we make it this week's YouTubeableMoment (see Dr. Tillman below for more details).  That moved the last 15 or so minutes out of the "squeaky bum" territory and into a more comfortable place.    

No doubt this was a test of character which the US passed with flying colors.  Perhaps I'm greedy but I would have preferred seeing them beat a lesser opponent like BIH by simply playing better soccer.  They will surely need to do so against Belgium.  And please stop calling me Shirley.

Dr. Tillman I Presume

When the US were awarded the free kick just outside the box late in the second half, my initial reaction
was that this was just too close to goal to have a realistic chance of scoring.  Thanks to BFS Artistic Director Laura O for sending along this analysis of the physics involved and exactly how difficult this shot was.  Dennis and I both noticed something else about the play.  Check out the replay and you'll see that BIH did not have a "draft excluder" lying down behind the wall and that the wall barely jumped.  That may have provided the tiny window for Tillman to slip the ball through on goal.

The Coach Wore Jeans Again

Brito sticks with the jeans. Well,
 it was Friday (photo Amanda Perobelli

Cape Verde is the story that keeps on giving.  In their Round of 32 match against Argentina, they took the defending champions to added extra time, conceding the deciding goal at 111 minutes. They came back from one goal deficits twice, including once in added extra time on this golazo from Cabral (Dennis tells me it's worth .03 xG).  Even after conceding the go-ahead goal, the Blue Sharks kept battling and forced a critical save from Argentine keeper Emi Martinez.  Fantastic viewing.  And the coach wore jeans again. 

"Conversation" That Did Take Place

Dennis (at the 70th minute of Argentina - Cape Verde with the score 1-1): OG gonna get the game winner.  [Initially Romero was credited with the game winner but it was changed to an own goal.]

Nein

After Germany's PK loss to Paraguay, it emerged that four players passed on taking the sixth kick.  Details are here.  As noted in the article, the guy who did step up (Tah) had never taken a PK before.  Of course, it might not have gotten to this without the disallowed goal for Germany (see Tough Calls below).

Newcastle Players Reverting to Form?

No heroics from Magpies this week.  To wit:

- Woltemade missed his PK for Germany

- Wissa did have an assist but hit the post on a shot that would have put Congo up two

- Elanga quiet for Sweden

- Thiaw was one of the players who passed on taking a PK for Germany 

Tough Calls

Three stand out for me.

1) Germany had a goal disallowed in added extra time for a foul against the keeper.  Here's that play.  While we generally think keepers get too much deference in calls where there's a legitimate challenge for the ball, this is not one of those situations.  The German player was not moving in an attempt to play the ball but took steps toward the keeper specifically to impede his progress.  Plus, Rules Analyst Mark Clattenburg (who you can here at the end of the clip) noted that the referee was following specific advice given to officials before the tournament on how to handle that situation.  Correct call for me.

2) Then we have Balogun's  red card; you can see the play here. Before diving in, I'll admit that I could be biased on this one.  I don't think the challenge involved excessive force.  Whether it could constitute dangerous play is a tougher question.  I don't think so and neither did Rules Analyst Mark Clattenburg.  Real time the referee did not, as he didn't even call a foul.  VAR sent him to the monitor and he changed his mind.  No doubt, when you see the slow motion replay, the challenge looks worse and you can see how one might conclude it was dangerous play.  But this is where a second factor comes in; VAR protocols say you are not supposed to use slow motion for this situation as outlined in The Laws of the Game.  The relevant passage is:

 

• The referee can request different cameras angles/replay speeds but, in general, slow motion replays should only be used for facts, e.g. position of offence/player, point of contact for physical offences and handball, ball out of play (including goal/no goal); normal speed should be used for the ‘intensity’ of an offence or to decide if it was a handball offence

If the decision on the field had been red card, I'd be okay with the reversal.  But for me this was inappropriate use of VAR.  

3) Croatia had a stoppage time equalizer against Portugal ruled out for offside. You can see that play here. This one was a difficult because at the time of the first kick, the Croatian attacker was onside.  However, there was a question about an intervening touch as the ball made its way to that attacker.  If there was a touch, the play was offside, if there wasn't the goal would stand.

Sensor Don't Lie

To the monitor went the referee.  However, he would not be relying on just video evidence.  The ball used in the World Cup has a sensor to detect the slightest of touches; as you can see from the picture left, there was a touch so the goal was ruled out.

Correct but cruel is the only description for this decision.  BFS Track and Field Consultant Jack W wondered whether this was what the rule was intended to address.  Probably yes but a fair question to ask.  Along those lines, I'll ask whether we think the call would have been different without the sensor.  The video looked inconclusive to me and the guidance would have been to leave the call alone.  In other words, as Ian Malcolm would ask, do we need this level of precision?

More Please

The pace will slow down now, with just two matches a day for the Round of 16.  Most of these matches make sense in terms of rankings, with two glaring exceptions.  That would be Portugal - Spain (Iberian Derby) and Mexico - England.  The matches with rankings in parentheses are below:

Canada (30) - Morocco (6)

Paraguay (34) - France (1)

Brazil (5) - Norway (21)

Mexico (10) - England (4)

Portugal (7) - Spain (3)

USA (16) - Belgium (9)

Argentina (2) - Egypt (24)

Switzerland (15) - Colombia (11)

Maybe the England-Mexico match isn't out of line, as Mexico are not one of the top eight remaining sides.   

We get our first day off on Wednesday.