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The big pre-match news ahead of England versus Belgium is that Harry Kane will be rested and Jamie Vardy will lead the line in the Group G decider in Kaliningrad.
Gareth Southgate is also expected to give a number of others the chance to impress against a Belgium team that could be completely different from the one that won their opening two games. Either way, despite both teams already guaranteed progression, it should be quite an intriguing night of football.
In the meantime, there are two more matches and plenty of reading to be done. . .
Marcel Desailly on Messi
Stuart James with the England v Belgium Italia ’90 players
Senegal v Colombia LIVE with Simon Burnton
Japan v Poland LIVE with Barry Glendenning
The same game in Japanese with Ben Mabley
Colin writes: “Gareth Southgate has not thought this through. He should have brought Rooney along for this kind of game, guaranteed yellow or red.”
Gareth Barry would also be useful for this situation.
Maybe I’ll just watch Panama v Tunisia to be obtuse.
Not much work is being done across the country as the nation decides how best tonight match should play out. . .
Nick offers: “I reckon the ideal scenario for England is for someone to get sent off early on – one of the second string as it doesn’t really matter if they’re suspended for the next game – and then the rest of the team hold on for a resilient, fortifying 0-0 draw. Belgium top the group on fair play countback and go into the testier half of the draw and England show they have the defensive mettle alongside all the attacking verve.
“It’s also the ideal scenario for more as I’m going to miss a potential quarter-final if we win the group – I’m on a plane. I don’t really know how this happened.”
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If you want some more mocking of Germans. . .
We’re closing on the 3pm kick-offs! We will have live blogs of both Senegal v Colombia and Japan v Poland, with the additional treat of the latter also coming with a Japanese version.
We’ve all considered it, David.
@Will_Unwin have you considered that if the two teams are drawing on all measures, it might be easier to engineer getting a yellow card to finish second in the group than to conjure up an own goal? #ENGBEL
— David Maloney (@dtrmcr) June 28, 2018
With both teams contemplating a second place finish as preferable tonight there might be plenty of shots from 45 yards in the hope neither side score.
Joseph has another potential longest goal. . .
He writes: “Was Xhaka’s goal against Serbia further out? It felt like it was from the halfway line.”
Ian ponders: “If England or Belgium deliberately and obviously scored an own goal in the last minute, would that count as unsporting behaviour? Would the ref therefore be within his rights to book the player involved and award a free kick to the other side instead?”
Surely the modern international can score an own goal and not make it look obvious.
Michal asks: “Just out of interest- what did you bring for lunch? I myself had pasta with tomato sauce and some melted gorgonzola.”
I made some chorizo and peas to go with cod last night and have used the extra with pasta for lunch.
Away from England and Belgium, Luke takes up back to the simpler time of longest goals.
He says: “At work, I have access to a software application that uses algorithms to work out distances on the pitch from a video clip. This application confirms that Josh’s estimate of 26 yards for Modric’s goal is spot on. It also confirms Richard’s suspicion that Kolarov’s was further out which it measures at 30.7 yards.
“As I have spent time working this out when I am supposed to be working, and probably broken some copyright laws by downloading the relevant clips, I would appreciate if you did not use my real name..... “Dave” would do.”
Does two second-string teams facing off make the game a bit more interesting that if both manager’s had stuck with their usual starting line-ups? Let’s be honest, if Kane et al were facing Hazard (Eden) & Co. then it might have been a slow-paced affair, with neither team wanting to get injured nor suspended. Now we will get a collection of players wanting to impress to give Martinez and Southgate a decision or two in the knockout stages.
Or am I clutching at straws?
ITV will be pleased they held out for this group-decider, as their viewers get to be enthralled by Ryan Giggsy Giggs’s views on Danny Welbeck scuffed shot and why Adnan Januzaj did not make it at Manchester United.
Anyway. . .speaking of Gareth Southgate, here he is on the his fear of missing out on being England manager.
Bobby Martinez might change his 10 outfield players. It looks unlikely that Southgate will do the same, but it might not be far off that by the look of things, with only John Stones the only outfield man guaranteed to start a third match. Will he be bold enough to change the goalkeeper, too?
Southgate has spoken about the misery of going to a major tournament and not playing, although that might be preferably to missing a penalty in a semi-final. The England manager is going what he feels is right for the encounter with Belgium, who will also rest a number of players, and it will be a great boost for those two teams to really be able to go for it.
All the other big-name teams have been forced to put our their strongest team for three games, so having 90 minutes fewer under the belt could be a great help for England’s key men.
More from our man in Kaliningrad on Vardy starting
Jamie Vardy is to make his first World Cup start in England’s final Group G game against Belgium this evening, with the tournament’s top scorer to date, Harry Kane, set to start the match on the bench.
Gareth Southgate is to make a number of changes to his lineup with progress into the knockout phase already secured, with Vardy – who came off the bench in the 6-1 win over Panama – to begin the game up front. Kane had indicated to the manager that he wanted to start the game in Kaliningrad, and add to his tally of five goals to date, but it appears as if the side’s captain will have to make do with a place among the substitutes.
Raheem Sterling has been rested for the fixture, with Marcus Rashford the likeliest to start alongside Vardy up front. The Leicester City forward’s pace will be seen as a potent weapon on the counter-attack against the Belgians, who will see more of the ball than England’s two previous opponents in the group. Kyle Walker, who picked up a yellow card conceding a penalty against Tunisia, is also likely to be rested, with Phil Jones and Gary Cahill expected to start alongside John Stones in the back three.
Eric Dier will play in defensive midfield and may captain the team, while Danny Rose will feature at left wing-back. Fabian Delph, who will return home to attend the birth of his third child after the game, has been pressing for a place in midfield and could come in for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, while Trent Alexander-Arnold could also feature given Kieran Trippier has been nursing a slight injury in the build-up.
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Well. . .after all the posturing of if players were going to be rested, we finally have an answer. Kane has had a long season and merits 90 minutes off during the chaos of the World Cup. It should also be noted that due to the lack of pace in the Belgian backline that Vardy might be the better option anyway.
I am in favour of give a few different players a game and keeping them fit for the knockout stages. If Kane turns his ankle tomorrow, then you’d need Vardy, which would then result in a completely different formation and style for England, so it’s positive news in my book.
Vardy to start for England in final group game
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is set to lead the line for England tonight against Belgium, with captain Harry Kane the man likely to be rested.
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David emails in...
He says: “I guess one thing we’ve learnt is with the bricklayer’s first touch he displayed yesterday, Neuer’s no sweeper-midfielder.”
Luckily, Manuel now has plenty of time to work on this for the rest of the summer.
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While manning the daily World Cup blog yesterday, I agreed to consume some surströmming if Sweden progressed and I will fulfil this promise once I find the time and muster the energy to do so.
I planned ahead and brought my lunch, which will be consumed upon Michael’s return as I prepare my mind for a long day of football, which will conclude with me doing the pod tonight. Get your questions in early as I prepare to discuss the positives of England finishing first/second in the group.
Good afternoon! As Michael goes in search of an ostrich burger, I will provide some light relief.
Whatever the Swedish is for Schadenfreude etc etc. . .
On that bombshell, I’m going for some lunch. Will Unwin is here to pick up the reins.
“Regarding longest strike, surely Kolarov’s free kick? No?” Richard Dennis emails.
Balls. You’re quite right Rich. The angle means it’s definitely > 26 yards.
Today’s World Cup fiver, which features Rob Smyth’s England-Belgium preview …
… and quite a sad Bit/Bob about Iran’s Sardar Azmoun, who has quit international football because barbs aimed at him had damaged his mother’s health.
“Unfortunately because of the unkindness of some people, and the insults that me and my team mates in no way deserved, her illness has become severe. This has put me in a difficult position where I must pick one or the other – and as a result I pick my mother.”
Some lunch-time reading for you:
There’s also this from Stefan Stern on Gareth Southgate learning a few things Harvard Business School.
“My team at work had no interest in the World Cup - two colleagues actually asked what it was,” emails Josh. “To drive interest I pinned up the obligatory wall chart and ran a sweepstake. To ensure enthusiasm remains high there are various prizes available, some ripped off from Will Dean’s 2016 article. Problem is - I can’t find any stats for the goal scored from the furthest distance!
“Can you help/suggest a place I can find this out? This will help me provide a post-group stages update to the team tomorrow.”
I’m going to say Luka Modric’s goal against Argentina, which based on me measuring the pitch markings is 26 yards-ish out. Don’t agree? @ me.
🔥 @lukamodric10 🔥
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 21, 2018
The goal of the tournament so far? 🤔#WorldCupGOT @Hyundai_Global
Highlights 👉 https://t.co/LOdKDX2Cwn
TV listings 👉 https://t.co/xliHcxWvEO pic.twitter.com/dbbLVwUrOE
WORLD CUP FEVER KNOWS NO BOUNDS.
The Queen has pulled out of an engagement today as she is feeling 'under the weather'https://t.co/9xnl08Sylx pic.twitter.com/Mk4IVB2Gh1
— ITV News (@itvnews) June 28, 2018
2002 Fifa World Cup legend Alexey Smertin, showing a few competition winners around Red Square earlier today.
@IkerCasillas, @Carles5puyol, Ronaldo meet on Red Square for a World Cup friendly. Vladimir Putin opens the game. #WorldCupRussia #FifaWorldCup2018 pic.twitter.com/EP3wLTseYP
— Igor Zhdanov (@IgorZhdanovRT) June 28, 2018
Harry Kane really does have it all.
Waste even more of your employer’s valuable time by perusing our all singing-dancing World Cup player guide, which includes match ratings for every active player. Remarkably, Manuel Neuer managed to scrape a 4/10 for yesterday …
Also, this is funny.
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“Good morning Michael, or should I say good evening,” emails Thomas Partridge. “I’m an Englishman living in Japan and I’ve been catching with the Guardian live-blog diligently during my breaks at work. It’s particularly difficult being an England fan over here because all of our games seem to be starting at 3am, so I’ve been having to rely on the wonderful write-ups of your reporters to keep up to date. This World Cup has really been capturing the imagination of my Japanese colleagues. Before the tournament everyone here expected them to finish bottom of Group H , but Japan are currently the leaders! We are starting to believe!
“Anyway, one World Cup story that’s getting a fair bit of play over here is the curious story of a Colombian fan who deceived a couple of Japanese fans into repeating horrible things about themselves in Spanish. I’m sure you can imagine what sort of thing he told them to repeat considering Colombia had just lost to Japan. I didn’t read anything about it in the English press, but it caused an uproar in the Colombia. The fan in question is now a national pariah and I believe he was even fired from his job in absentia. It was quite heartening to read about South American fans standing-up to sexual harassment in this post #metoo age.”
We need to talk about Group H. Japan v Poland and Senegal v Colombia both kick-off at 3pm BST. This is how things stand.
For those of you that didn’t see this earlier: Japan will progress if they get at least a draw against eliminated Poland. Colombia and Senegal face each other. A draw in that game will be enough for Senegal to progress. A draw might also be enough for Colombia to progress, but they would be relying on Poland beating Japan at the same time.
This is also the only group in which a European team will not qualify for the knockout round. In fact, the non-European winner of Group H will go into the ‘easier’ half of the group, in which every other team is European: Spain v Russia, Croatia v Denmark, Sweden v Switzerland, Group H winner v Belgium/England.
Viva Group H.
Marcel Desailly’s column, right here.
Which is the perfect excuse to shoehorn this into the liveblog. Could genuinely watch it on repeat all day.
Two perfect touches. pic.twitter.com/rUd6GDBxvt
— Ryan 🇦🇷 (@xLioneI) June 26, 2018
So where is everyone watching the game tonight? I’m clocking off at 3pm.
Interesting to see how many tune in to ITV4 for the big one tonight: Panama v Tunisia.
Teams better than Panama #ENGPAN pic.twitter.com/FdAtKCJYsT
— David Brent (@DavidBrentMovie) June 24, 2018
We’ve talked a little about Diego this morning. You should click on this piece by Marcela Mora y Araujo, and not just because of its magnificent picture.
Manuel Neuer has spoken into a DFB dictaphone this morning, with the following results:
You have to say we do not deserve (to go through). In the second round everybody would have liked to play against us. How are we going to be dangerous to an opponent if we do not get our performance (right)? We gave a bad picture in the three games. I can not answer why that happened. We have to take responsibility. We screwed up, (and) we screwed up together.”
Asked whether he felt he had a future with the national side, Neuer replied: “I do not intend to stop.”
An email from Kevin O’Rourke, who is not alone in my inbox in thinking Croatia are among the favourites to WIN THE BLOODY WORLD CUP.
“I’m thinking that Croatia are finalist material. They seem the most dangerous team and waltzed through their relatively strong group. England losing to Belgium gives a semi against Croatia. Beating them means a quarter against Brazil – shocking defensively - Neymar is a reductive show pony who makes them less than the sum of their parts. And semi against most likely France or Uruguay – one has been toothless in a middling group, the other had too many teeth in the weakest groups.”
“Wutcha Michael,” emails Paul Lees. “I’ve been loving the World Cup so far and I think it will go down as a classic. There’s been some terrific team performances so far but who do you think has been the standout individual player so far? Personally I can’t really think of any one player … Hazard? Kane? Ronaldo? Tripper?!”
Hard to look past Coutinho in my book, although Ronnie surely can’t be far behind. The quick quiz of the Guardian’s other web bods today yields the following results:
James Dart: Rakitic
Will Unwin: Granqvist
Paul Campbell: Modric
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And if you think you know what’s going on, this is a good place to carry on.
If you have absolutely no idea what’s going on at the World Cup, this is a good place to start.
Here's how the #WorldCup draw is shaping up https://t.co/0cUQTXKCU7 pic.twitter.com/9uxfzl2wqf
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) June 28, 2018
If we’re getting military, have a go on this piece as well.
Ten points for spotting Gianluca Vialli …
We’ve talked a lot about how toilet Germany were yesterday, but will somebody give it up for the South Koreans? Yes they rode their luck a little (thanks Hummels!), but they defended magnificently against the No 1 ranked team in the world, and got their counter-attacking tactics spot on. They can go home with their heads held high.
Whether or not that win over Germany will do anything for the players’ mandatory two-year military service remains to be seen. South Korea’s prime minister Lee Nak-yeon joined tweeted on Thursday “Reality beat our imagination today” whilst many of the country’s newspapers had headlines like “We are so proud of you” and “We sent the world number one packing”.
Online petitions have been launched on the presidential website, urging Moon Jae-in to exempt star players, including Tottenham forward Son and goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo. At present only winning the World Cup (or an Olympic medal, or the Asian Games, which is later this summer) can automatically earn you an exemption.
John Duerden wrote this excellent piece before the tournament, if you want to do a bit more background reading.
Some new Maradona quotes have just surfaced on PA. He’s fine. I, for one, can’t wait to see him flip the birds again on Saturday.
I was shocked that [reports suggested] there had been a stretcher, an ambulance. Nothing happened. We were all together, the Telesur team and my team, and we could not believe how social networks started to make a big lie, which made no sense, go viral like that.
“It makes me a bit angry, because my sister, yesterday she made me whistle on the phone to see if I was okay, and I went [whistles]. ‘What else do you want me to do?’ I asked her. My brother in Italy, my nephew in the United States worried, because of course the bad news travels much faster than the good news. I am very much alive, and very well taken care of.”
Whilst we are (sort of) on the subject, here’s this week’s Classic YouTube.
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Germany’s press were left “speechless” by their side’s shock exit from the World Cup. We mopped up all the reaction in this handy guide.
It was also nice to see how some sectors of Brazil’s media reacted to Germany’s loss.
AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
— FOX Sports Brasil (@FoxSportsBrasil) June 27, 2018
“On the first v second conundrum,” writes Martin Kane, “I think dropping to second after being in pole position (even if only on yellow cards) does risk injecting negativity into the players or checking the momentum. The ideal scenario is a fine win over Belgium, followed by a points deduction for Brexit-induced, anti-Brussels chanting. No loss of confidence or momentum and the easy half of the draw. Time for the Brexit dividend!!!!”
And if by magic, here’s Martin Belam:
Anybody out there that is thinking of throwing a World Cup group game today might want to refer to the 1998 Tiger Cup game between Thailand and Indonesia, which is excellently detailed in this Knowledge, way back in 2002.
“Whoever won would get to face hot favourites Vietnam in the next round, so both teams tried to throw the match,” James Syme said. “At 2-2 and with a few minutes left, the Indonesians dropped all pretence and turned on their own goal, now defended by Thai players.
“In injury time the Indonesian keeper-captain Mursyid Effendi ‘saved’ the ball, turned round and thumped the ball into his own goal for a 3-2 final result.”
Justice was eventually served, however. For not only did Indonesia and Thailand lose their semi-final games (to Singapore and Vietnam, respectively) but both were also fined $40,000 for “violating the spirit of the game.” Meanwhile Mursyid Effendi was banned for life.
We have our first email.
“Morning Michael!” writes David Penney. “When you’re brought up on Careca, Romario & Bebeto and The Three Rs, anything less from a Brazil team just comes across as contemptible. Especially when their only player of any notable flair is so unlikeable.”
Have to disagree on this: Neymar aside, this Brazil team is quite likeable, no? It feels like they are slowly shedding the shadow of that 7-1 defeat four years ago under Tite, who himself is quite likeable, and endeared himself to me in Russia with that majestic tumble against Costa Rica.
PARTY TIME! Brazil boss Tite takes a tumble whilst celebrating Coutinho's goal pic.twitter.com/XIcz6uC0qP
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 22, 2018
Plus, their kit once again looks beaut, they have a nicely balanced midfield with Paulinho and Casemiro, Coutinho is the cutest man I’ve ever laid eyes upon, despite being one of the best No 9s in the world, Bobby Firmino has no issue playing second fiddle to Gabriel Jesus, whose own story is pretty remarkable.
📸 | Gabriel Jesus painting the streets for the 2014 #WorldCup in Brazil.
— City Watch (@City_Watch) June 17, 2018
The boy who dreamed... pic.twitter.com/adrBJeEe2W
I’d say they are pretty likeable.
There's retweeting yourself... then there's this pic.twitter.com/xXAyxLZirq
— James Titcomb (@jamestitcomb) June 27, 2018
I’m also a little sceptical of people that “Like” every single “Happy Birthday!” post on their Facebook feed.
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Much like the World Cup, this liveblog is nothing without it’s supporters.
You can also help to ‘support’ this caffeine-free liveblog by sending an email or a tweet. Tell me a story. I’m on michael.butler@theguardian.com or @michaelbutler18.
Of course, there is much to unpack about yesterday. My favourite stat about Germany’s shock exit is that of the last five World Cup tournaments, they are the fourth current champions to go out at the following tournament. France won in ‘98, finished bottom of Group A in 2002. Italy won in 2006, finished bottom of Group F in 2010. Spain won in 2010, finished third in Group B in 2014. Only 2002 winners Brazil got out of their group in 2006. So hat’s off to Germany for honouring this tradition. That said, it’s fair to say our columnist Thomas Hitzlsperger has not taken it well.
This is lovely piece from Stuart James, in which he spoke to England and Belgium players from their 1990 World Cup tie.
There’s also this from Daniel Taylor, on Southgate’s latest musings.
Something I didn’t know before this World Cup, Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave, commonly referred to (wrongly) as an enclave. Anyway, it’s pretty difficult to get to, if you’re an England fan travelling to today’s game. Allow for five hours of delays at the border, apparently.
As Richard has mentioned, both England and Belgium could probably do with losing this game, to earn themselves a place in the ‘easier’ half of the draw.
The runners up of England/Belgium’s group will potentially play:
- one of Senegal/Japan/Colombia in the last 16
- one of Sweden or Switzerland in the quarter-final
- one of Spain, Russia, Croatia, Denmark in the semi final
The winners of England/Belgium’s group will potentially play:
- one of Senegal/Japan/Colombia in the last 16
- one of Brazil or Mexico in the quarter-final
- one of Uruguay, Portugal, France, Argentina in the semi-final.
With all this in mind, Belgium manager Bobby Martínez isn’t that bothered about beating England …
Hello world! Welcome to England Day! You’ve had it booked off for months, presumably. I have. Why? Because it’s coming home. Haven’t you heard? The last time England won the World Cup in 1966 …
- Real Madrid won the European Cup
- Burnley qualified for Europe
- Manchester City won their league
- Chelsea finished fifth
Oh, it’s ON alright. Need I say more? Probably.
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And so, dear reader, my time in the chair is sadly over. As always some terrific emails, tweets and comments coming in, apologies we couldn’t include more of the interesting points of discussion you’ve raised!
Stepping in for me, Richard Parkin, is the one, the only Michael Butler (I’ve not checked the phone book though, there could be others) to take you ever nearer the great Group G showdown!
To unpack the various machinations of all that, perhaps the best place to start is our good friends at World Cup Football Daily, who have Barney Ronay’s running the rule over that particular conundrum (“to win, or not to win? That is the question - whether ‘tis nobler in the mind..” etc), as well as raking the coals (with some relish, I’d imagine) on Germany’s shock dissolution.
Go on. Put it in your ears.
But as England awakes (top of the morning to you!) perhaps we should finally start the inevitable build up towards “the battle for second”.
With the knowledge that top place in Group G wins a one-way ticket to the side of the draw with Brazil/Mexico, France/Argentina and Uruguay/Portugal on it, the final round between the two already qualified sides of England and Belgium becomes an intriguing match up, not so much as to who can win, but as to who can lose!
Already we’ve seen a contrast in comments from the two managers. And while Gareth Southgate’s words on the matter are eminently admirable, should England win and then subsequently watch as Belgium enjoys a relative armchair ride to the final/semi-final, you watch these be recast as “naive” in the press.
In contrast, Belgium’s Roberto Martinez has been relatively circumspect, and you’d imagine if anyone was the more likely to wave a little white flag it might be the former Wigan boss, who has already mentioned resting players as a priority.
Returning to Germany’s shock exit for a moment, where German fan “HorstMohammed” has this to say:
I actually felt relieved when the referee gave the goal for Korea. Not just because it was the right call, just because it meant this awful campaign was finally over. I couldn’t take another minute of it. From the beginning, there was a feeling of mind-numbing fear hanging over it that the players couldn’t shake off, not even after Kroos’ winner against Sweden. That, much more than complacency, was what completely paralyzed this team - everybody was afraid to make mistakes, which led to a general avoidance of risky passes or going on speculative runs. We knew the result we needed against Korea, it didn’t change no matter what Sweden did, and still never looked likely to achieve it. They didn’t do us the favor of chasing their remaining 1% chance of advancement, and instead settled for finishing their campaign with a decent result against the title holders. A rational approach that played to their strengths, and Germany either didn’t see it coming or couldn’t do what was necessary to overcome it.
This speaks to the fear that comes with expectation and defending a title, but perhaps also the utter joylessness that is its reflexive partner?
I’ve wondered myself amid talk of the “disappointing” performances of players like Thomas Mueller, of Neymar, of Lionel Messi - whether the psychological weight of expectation hasn’t grown too much for even the “biggest stars” as the tournament continues to grow ever more grandiose.
The counterpoint to that I guess is Cristiano Ronaldo, who if anything appears to only come out to play when the brightest lights are on.
It’s another reason why the skipping Senegalese or even Gareth Southgate and his inflatable unicorn brigade are attracting admirers I guess.
But, let us now turn our sights to today’s decisive fixtures!
And while we’ll get to England v Belgium shortly (‘old ya ‘orses!), let’s start perhaps with Group H, and the respective fates of Japan, Senegal and Colombia, where my colleague Martin Belam has the equations:
Japan will progress if they get at least a draw against eliminated Poland. Colombia and Senegal face each other. A draw in that game will be enough for Senegal to progress. A draw might also be enough for Colombia to progress, but they would be relying on Poland beating Japan at the same time.
Sounds pretty straightforward.
For the neutral observer it’s tough to decide which of these three would be a sentimental favourite to progress.
We’ve already seen how wonderfully both the Japanese and Senegalese fans have conducted themselves throughout the tournament.
And then there’s the issue of both Japan and Senegal being the lone remaining representatives of their respective continents. Can Japan do “a South Korea” of 2002? And can Senegal do, well, “a Senegal” of 2002?
As noted previously on this blog, at the last World Cup AFC nations won 0/12 of their group stage matches. Japan’s win over Colombia (as well as the heroics of South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia) has already delivered the confederation it’s best group stage points haul. You’d imagine that’s largely meaningless though if none of its five representatives progress.
Korea’s victory over Germany, means Asia have their BEST EVER #WorldCup total of 15 points. A point ahead of 2002 (14) and 2010 (14). 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
— Dan Pordes (@danpordes) June 27, 2018
What also remains to be said about Colombia, one of the surprise packaged at Brazil 2014, who have their own remarkable stories, none more so than Radamel Falcao or their enigmatic coach José Pekerman?
Ooh, can’t we please just let all three of them through?
Another constantly moving story we’re frantically keeping an eye across is the current health status of world football legend, Diego Maradona.
After requiring assistance from his seat following Argentina’s nerve-wracking final moments against Nigeria, the hero/scourge of ‘86 posted an update on Instagram suggesting he’s “fine”.
If you missed it though, there’s an absolutely terrific feature on the larger-than-life Argentine by Marcela Mora y Araujo. Wrap your bife de lomo chomping teeth into this one:
And some news fresh off the Brazilian BBQ for our antipodean readers - as #Optusgate takes another turn with the announcement that SBS will continue to simulcast the entire World Cup.
Great news for free-to-air viewers in Australia, but commiserations to hardworking SBS presenter Lucy Zelic who just discovered she gets to spend even more time locked in a box with Craig “many strong opinions” Foster.
And in keeping with coach Tite’s request to take some of the media attention off his star striker Neymar, this blog has humbly made it this far without acknowledging that he of the awful hair and his talented friends yesterday also successfully navigated a tricky fixture against Serbia.
And yes, if you check the latest Golden Boot stats, Mile Jedinak, Andreas Grandqvist and John Stones are all still ahead of our special mate.
Now, now, Neymi. Dry your eyes.
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Sweden’s shock progression as the winner of Group F (who honestly would have dared to pick that, this time yesterday) sets up a quite fascinating round of 16 encounter with Switzerland, who survived a late resurgence from Costa Rica to book their own passage.
And at risk of shameless self-promotion, here’s a fun fact, had Poland cared to come to the party in Group H.
Remarkably, had #POL finished top of Group H we would have had an entirely European bottom half of the draw, and thus a guaranteed European finalist.
— Richard Parkin (@rrjparkin) June 28, 2018
This utterly mental #WorldCup continues to deliver!
Spain and Russia, Croatia and Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland - it’s all feeling a bit Euro-centric down that half of the draw.
With either England or Belgium set to fill the other berth, who fancies one of Colombia, Senegal or Japan to go on an absolute rampage through Europe, all the way to the Luzhniki Stadium on 15 July?!
The way this tournament’s been going thus far, don’t yet rule it out.
As we’ve seen over a pulsating fifteen days thus far, the demise of Germany is but one story from this tournament; and in the thousands of lines of commentariat hand-wringing that will no doubt emerge, another incredible story from yesterday will perhaps also be overlooked. Sweden’s rejuvenation.
It’s fair to say after their last gasp (plus some) defeat to Germany on their second matchday many might have written off the Swedes. But to produce a 3-0 defeat against a Mexican side that was still yet to guarantee its passage? Hugely impressive.
One of our esteemed Northern American colleagues, Graham Parker, offers quite a telling insight into this result from a Mexican perspective, but again, that shouldn’t sell short the achievements of Sweden.
Coach Janne Andersson a few days ago had expressed his strong disappointment at what he considered to be some graceless full-time celebrations from his German counterparts. This one’s therefore is for you, Oliver Bierhoff et al.
According to the futuristically named “ID5933171” Germany’s downfall had many fathers:
Arrogance, under-prepared, wrong team, lack of youth team building, complacency - you can write your own list. Out of the luck that has often got them off the hook? Certainly. But the reality is they were a poor team who played poorly and were beaten by a team who wanted, and deserved, to win.
But for our commenter “Surrealistic” such assessments are perhaps a touch unkind:
The line between success and failure is so slim isn’t it? If Germany had done an Argentina and managed to scrape through the group stage, then everyone - and I’d include myself in the list - would be saying things like “Ah, that German team. They often start slowly and unimpressively but watch them go and win the World Cup now”. Such things balance on the width of a goalpost, the stretch of a goalie’s arm or the slight misjudgment of a shot or header.
I must admit, I have flashbacks to both the game against Mexico and against Sweden where the promising young winger from Bayer Leverkusen, Julian Brandt, flashed firstly one of the finest volleys we’ve seen all tournament whiskers past the goal, and then against Sweden clattered a fierce shot back off the post. Slim margins indeed.
What did you make of this remarkable upset?
It’s been variously attributed to German overconfidence or arrogance; as the necessary outcome of something being fundamentally rotten with the champion’s entire campaign, and so forth. But was it simply just “one of those days”? A montage of Mats Hummels headers might suggest that.
And do we undersell the remarkable performance from South Korea; stripped of its influential captain just days earlier, for whom their goalkeeper, Cho Hyun-Woo, who famously came into the World Cup as third choice ‘keeper, was a one-man marvel in defying the Germans?
He’s certainly earned himself a drink from every Mexican supporter for the rest of his days, several hundreds of whom mobbed the South Korean embassy in Mexico City to demonstrate their gratitude after Germany’s unlikely defeat secured their own passage.
A Mexican restaurant in California even announced a 25% discount for customers of Korean heritage, in honour of their win. Magic.
Korea’s goalscorer, Kim Young-Gwon, had also been a recent target of fan dissatisfaction; but as Benjamin Haas writes from Seoul, he can expect a slightly kinder reception upon return:
And with a team that has become the very byword for success suffering such a harrowing capitulation it prompts the question: is this also the end for Joachim Löw?
A source of fun in recent years due to his sartorial sideline, erm, elegance, and his nose-thumbing antics of four years ago, such trivialities only distract from the reality of a coach who has delivered serial success.
At five consecutive major tournaments, three European championships and two World Cups under his stewardship, Germany have consistently made the final four. For fourteen years Löw has been involved with the German national side. It’s almost hard to imagine them without him.
Jonathan Wilson caught the immediate post-match reflections of the German coach, who was understandably tight-lipped:
And while the German FA has only recently re-signed the man from the Black Forest, it’s not unimaginable that calls for his exit might soon follow, given the emotion currently flying around.
A man who played under Löw, and now writes for the Guardian, Thomas Hitzlsperger offered some decent insights, as the mission to pick up the pieces begins afresh:
And so where to start. The morning after the night before.
I’ll not lie, the opening paragraph of Jonathan Wilson’s match report put it perhaps as well as any:
This, then, is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. There are certain events so apocalyptic that it feels they cannot just happen. They should be signalled beneath thunderous skies as owls catch falcons and horses turn and eat themselves.
How else can you even begin to describe it? Germany: out in the group stages. The Germany. The group stages.
Needless to say, the British tabloids responded with sombre understatement:
That’s about it, folks. The #tomorrowspaperstoday flame 🔥 passes back to Ms @BBCHelenaLee tomorrow night. G’night all 😵😵😵 pic.twitter.com/C1qccMCxGw
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) June 27, 2018
OUT Wiedersehen being perhaps my personal favourite.
Nor was the reaction much kinder from the local media:
Or indeed the German fans themselves:
All said and done though. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel for some of the German supporters, as captured in this terrific photo gallery:
Hopefully somebody’s set up a buddy-system where a desolate German can sit down with a heartbroken Nigerian or Iranian fan. Or a Peruvian who sold their house to watch their nation’s first appearance of their lifetime end after only two games.
Football, eh?
Preamble
Hier sitz’ ich, forme Menschen
Nach meinem Bilde,
Ein Geschlecht, das mir gleich sei,
Zu leiden, zu weinen,
Zu genießen und zu freuen sich,
Und dein nicht zu achten,
Wie ich!
For so long shielded from the full range of emotions that buffet fans of football around the world, like’s the children of Goethe’s Prometheus, finally Germany fans have thrown off their protective coverings to embrace not just joy, but also the full weight of suffering!
Yes, the curse of the defending champions has struck once again with Germany becoming the fourth winner of the last five tournaments to crash out during the group stages. Having seemingly found redemption late against Sweden, their final fixture against South Korea was meant to be a near-formality. But Group F provided another day of high drama, as Mexico also capitulated to Sweden in stunning fashion, but nevertheless saw their tournament hopes rescued elsewhere by “the South Korean David De Gea”.
And so, with 12 of our knockout teams identified we turn to the final two pairings.
It has already become Asia’s most successful tournament (in terms of points accrued) thanks to South Korea’s late heroics - but will Japan go even better than its AFC neighbours and secure progression from Group H against the eliminated Poland? And will Senegal fly the flag for the continent of Africa as it battles Colombia?
And of course, the big one (for fans of things that come home). The “both of us will be really trying, this is in no way a race for second” decider between England and Belgium, to see who can finish not first in Group G.
It’s another fascinating evening, in a tournament that refuses to not delight and amaze.
Day 15 fixtures:
3pm BST/5pm MSK/midnight AEST: Japan v Poland, Volgograd
3pm BST/5pm MSK/midnight AEST: Senegal v Colombia, Samara
7pm BST/9pm MSK/4am Friday AEST: England v Belgium, Kaliningrad
7pm BST/9pm MSK/4am Friday AEST: Panama v Tunisia, Saransk
By now you know the drill, but if you’d like to join our coverage do send us your best thoughts and insights, via email (richard.parkin.casual@theguardian.com) or twitter (@rrjparkin), or simply comment the below the line. Like an extrovert at a dinner party, this blog literally feeds off your energy.
