Mixamatosis
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Lpez. The BBC invited the British public to vote for the best player in the World Cup following the first round of games, and top of the list was Hirving Lozano of Mexico. I thought you'd like to know. Reply #261. Jun 21 18, 4:01 PM |
joecali
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Best players I see only 11 or 12 games.... 1. Cristiano 4 goals excellent in the first game and win the second 2. Cherishev 3 goals it's not the titular and with goals in both games it's an amazing striker. 3. Luka modric in a great shape with goals and a good skill to manage the time and space. 4. Kane 5. Lozano 6. Lukaku Reply #262. Jun 21 18, 11:12 PM |
Mixamatosis
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joecali. I would agree with you. You are taking into account some second round games maybe? I think maybe the positions on the BBC list will change after the second round of games finishes because they are doing it round by round. Reply #263. Jun 22 18, 2:13 AM |
Mixamatosis
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Perhaps we should also have a list of players who have disappointed us the most. I've been rather disappointed by Suarez, Messi and Salah But one player cannot lift a poor or mediocre team by themselves and I don't think Salah is yet 100% fit. He's playing cautiously because of his shoulder. Reply #264. Jun 22 18, 2:19 AM |
Mixamatosis
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joecali. I've just noticed that all the players in your top players list have names that begin with a K or L sound. Reply #265. Jun 22 18, 4:15 AM |
Lpez
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Thank you Mix, those are fantastic news! I mentioned in one of the first recaps that Lozano would be the breakout star of this World Cup. Yesterday’s recap is coming soon! In the meantime, Brazil-Costa Rica just started. Reply #266. Jun 22 18, 6:02 AM |
Lpez
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Today's Games Denmark 1-1 Australia A good match, as many of you pointed out. Both teams did a good effort to score but also to defend well. I could see either of them going through the next round, though at this point it seems that Denmark will pass (and then likely be eliminated in round of 16. Australia, I must recognize, is doing much better than I and many thought it would do, which is always a good thing! France 1-0 Peru Mbappe scored a great goal that gave France the win and eliminated Peru, but France still has a lot of work to do. I would have expected many more goals from France, and even though Peru did a pretty decent job in both of their matches, it wasn't enough to remain in the tournament. Just like in the last match against Denmark, Peru missed too many goal-scoring chances, and you cannot do that in a World Cup. Argentina 0-3 Croatia In a surprise result, Croatia humiliated Argentina and left it at the edge of elimination, pending on the result of Iceland vs Nigeria. The Argentine team is a complete mess, from head to toes. The Argentina FA is terribly managed, the manager Jorge Sampaoli seemed completely out of control (there are even versions that players are asking him to resign) and even insulted some Croatian players. It is not fair to blame Messi for everything, but he certainly looked out of shape, and perhaps even out of desire to play. It must be too much pressure to carry a whole team, a whole country on his shoulders (some will say Ronaldo does that with Portugal, though.) Argentina missed the little chances they had, and Croatia played a good game. The first goal was a terrible mistake by goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who hadn't played in months and was not the fans' favorite to be the goalkeeper. Some say the second and third could also be stopped by the GK. If any Argentine friends are reading this, I do not intend to insult, but this is a consequence of many years of arrogance. The Argentina FA, players, and fans have been arrogant for years, and now this is the result. And I don't say that because they eliminated Mexico in 2006 and 2010! A sad day for Argentina. Today's Refs Good work by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz. No big hiccups, a good, firm performance. I hope to see him again. The only good refereeing job of today. Mohammed Abdulla Hassan had a terrible day, IMO. I did not like his performance, very shy and missed many clear fouls. He also did not card some players that deserved a card. He did give a card to the wrong player! (VAR later helped him correct the mistake.) There are better refs than him in the World Cup, he shouldn't need to repeat. And finally, Uzbek Ravshan Irmatov did one of the worst jobs of the entire World Cup. And the VAR team was also bad, because they didn't intervene when they had to. Irmatov is one of FIFA's favorite referees, being the ref with most World Cup matches in history. I hope they come to their senses and don't designate him again. He missed three clear red cards, including a foul by goal-scorer Rebic and a completely unsportsmanlike conduct by Nicolas Otamendi by kicking the ball towards a Croatian player (where was the VAR??) I hope not to see Irmatov again, not a good ref. Today's Facts - Denmark's Yusuf Poulsen became the second player to cause penalties in two matches in a row against his team in history of the WC, something that didn't happen since 1938. - Mbappe became the youngest French player in history to score a goal in the World Cup, ending the record of Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet. - As surprising as this may sound, Luka Modric became the first Real Madrid player to ever score to Argentina in a World Cup. What's Next This list only has the matches to be played the next day (tomorrow) as well as the next ones involving the teams that played today. That is why some of you have noticed that I am "skipping" some matches. Friday June 22: Brazil vs Costa Rica, 6am FST REFEREE: Bjorn Kuipers (NED) Friday June 22: Nigeria vs Iceland, 9am FST REFEREE: Matthew Conger (NZL) Friday June 22: Serbia vs Switzerland, 12pm FST REFEREE: Felix Brych (GER) Tuesday June 26: Denmark vs France, 8am FST Tuesday June 26: Australia vs Peru, 8am FST Tuesday June 26: Nigeria vs Argentina, 12pm FST Tuesday June 26: Iceland vs Croatia, 12pm FST Today's Questions - Blame is obviously shared for Argentina's failure. But can anyone be particularly pointed out? Messi? Sampaoli (coach)? The FA? The other players? - Why do you think football powerhouses like Argentina and Germany (finalists in 2014) are not performing well? Thank you all for your comments and for reading. I really appreciate you being on these forums and participating. As always, feedback is welcome. See you tomorrow! Reply #267. Jun 22 18, 7:10 AM |
Lpez
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Second half is underway. Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica Reply #268. Jun 22 18, 7:10 AM |
Lpez
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VAR disallows a penalty kick for Brazil. Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica Reply #269. Jun 22 18, 7:36 AM |
Lpez
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At 91', Brazil scores! Brazil 1-0 Costa Rica Reply #270. Jun 22 18, 7:47 AM |
Lpez
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At 96', Brazil scores! Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica Reply #271. Jun 22 18, 7:53 AM |
Lpez
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The match is over, and Costa Rica is eliminated. Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica Reply #272. Jun 22 18, 7:56 AM |
horadada
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Horrible match. Bad sportsmanship all round. Reply #273. Jun 22 18, 8:02 AM |
Lpez
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I agree horadada. Nigeria-Iceland is underway. Reply #274. Jun 22 18, 9:00 AM |
Lpez
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At 30', in a rather uneventful game, Nigeria 0-0 Iceland Reply #275. Jun 22 18, 9:32 AM |
Lpez
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At half time, Nigeria 0-0 Iceland Reply #276. Jun 22 18, 9:47 AM |
Lpez
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At 48', Nigeria scores! Nigeria 1-0 Iceland Reply #277. Jun 22 18, 10:08 AM |
Lpez
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At 74', Nigeria scores again! Nigeria 2-0 Iceland Reply #278. Jun 22 18, 10:33 AM |
Lpez
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At 85', VAR awards a penalty to Iceland but they miss. Nigeria 2-0 Iceland Reply #279. Jun 22 18, 10:43 AM |
Lpez
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Full time, and a glimmer of hope for Argentina. Nigeria 2-0 Iceland Reply #280. Jun 22 18, 10:56 AM |
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