Things are getting serious over in Russia. In Group A, Russia and Uruguay are through to the Round of 16 whereas Egypt and Saudi Arabia are going home. In Group B, Morocco suffered an early exit while both Spain and Portugal enjoy positions of strength. Let’s take a look at who’s become legend and who’s become a cautionary tale following day seven of the World Cup.
Gerard Pique was a man of peace and love to start Spain’s match against Iran on Wednesday. He gently helped a little birdie off the pitch before the opening whistle. By the end of the match, Vahid Amiri’s Pique nutmeg left the Spanish defender shaking his head, just happy La Furia Roja escaped with a 1-0 victory over Team Melli.
Luis Suarez needed this. His haters did not. After a miserable start to the 2018 World Cup in a narrow win over Egypt, the Luis Suarez goal vs Saudi Arabia in another 1-0 victory was just what Uruguay wanted to see from its star man on Tuesday.
To say Suarez had a poor match against Egypt would be a bit of an understatement. He missed clear chances and flopped around with his far-too-common antics.
Mexico's captain Rafa Marquez came on for the final 20 minutes of El Tri's opening match win against Germany and made a few key tackles to preserve his side a vital three points in Group F.
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.
“Does Messi do that?” Alexi Lalas sneered while looking at the camera during Fox’s halftime coverage of Portugal vs. Morocco. The act in question was a three-yard diving header off a corner from Ronaldo to give Portugal an early lead. (He doesn't; he usely takes the corners or stands at the edge of the box because he's just pushing 5-7.)
But does Messi do this?
Move over Ferenc Puskas, CR7 is No. 2 now. With the Cristiano Ronaldo goal vs Morocco, a powerful header off a corner kick four minutes into the match on Wednesday, the Portuguese star became the second all-time leading goal scorer in the history of men's international soccer.
Ronaldo and Puskas were tied with 84 goals apiece after the former’s hat trick against Spain on Friday. But Ronaldo didn’t wait long on Wednesday against Morocco to break that tie.
No event escalates individuals to the status of national hero or global villain as dramatically as the World Cup. The idolatry that follows success and the stigma that follows failure are woven into the fabric of history, and the repercussions will typically follow footballers for the rest of their lives. Daily, we’ll take a look at who played the role of hero and who played the role of villain at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
It's often the case that professional soccer players have the option of competing for more than one national team. That option is commonly the result of a player being born in a different country than where he was raised. This year's World Cup foreign-born players account for 11 percent of total roster spots.
Russia’s 3-1 win over Egypt at Saint Petersburg Stadium has almost guaranteed the hosts a place in the Round of 16 while Mohamed Salah and the Pharaohs have been all but eliminated from the World Cup. After failing to come off the bench in Egypt’s devastating 1-0 opening defeat to Uruguay, Salah was unable to make his presence felt Tuesday until earning and converting a conciliatory penalty in the 73rd minute.