Analysis

As frustrating as it was to watch (the 78,000 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow deserve a refund), France’s scoreless draw against Denmark — our first of the tournament — wasn’t hard to predict. Les Bleus wanted top spot in Group C and Denmark loves nothing more than an amicable bit of chumminess, and so that’s how it played out.

England vs Belgium kicks off Thursday, June 28, at 2:00 p.m. ET on FOX and Telemundo, with the winner taking top spot in Group G. With both nations sitting on six points and with a goal difference of +6, it’s possible a draw could see FIFA fair-play points determine who wins the group. (England currently has one less yellow card than Belgium.) 

Mexico take on Sweden Wednesday, June 27 at Ekaterinburg Arena on the final matchday of Group F action at the 2018 World Cup. The match begins at 10:00 a.m. ET on FOX and Telemundo with Sweden needing a big win to advance following that remarkable 2-1 defeat to Germany. For El Tri, a victory or draw secures top spot in the group. 

We’re getting into the nitty gritty of the World Cup group stage. That means one thing: It’s time to pull out those calculators and abacuses (abaci?) and start crunching numbers for the countless World Cup knockout stage possibilities. 

Croatia has just showed us how to win the World Cup. After demolishing Lionel Messi’s Argentina, the Balkan side lectured the planet on how to play the perfect game.

Croatia’s 3-0 victory over Argentina was one of the tournament’s biggest upsets matched only by Mexico’s 1-0 defeat of world champions Germany.

However, El Tri’s victory was nothing short of miraculous. 

Watching Lionel Messi vs Croatia was like watching LeBron James against the Golden State Warriors. Even the best players in sports are only as good as their supporting casts — and Messi’s midfield right now is just no good.

LeBron James couldn’t come close to beating the Warriors in the NBA Finals this year because the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have much going for them aside from James. Sure there’s Kevin Love and JR Smith, but, yeah, it’s Kevin Love and JR Smith. 

There’s no more important player at the World Cup than Olivier Giroud. France, one of the favorites, has looked terrible thus far. They struggled past a turgid Australian side thanks to a deflected goal and a penalty. There’s no doubt that France has one of the best squads at the tournament, but it really doesn’t look it at the moment. 

Monday’s match against Tunisia was England’s best performance at a major international tournament for close to a decade. After trying and failing and trying even more desperately and then failing even more stupendously than ever before, the Three Lions finally have an opening game in which they can take great pride.