Comedy Central’s The Daily Show host Trevor Noah is a soccer fan. The native of South Africa is watching the World Cup for the first time as a resident in the United States. And the Trevor Noah World Cup commentary on Fox commentators is spot on.
Japan’s entire 2018 World Cup cycle was something of a bitter complaint. Yes, the Samurai Blue qualified for a sixth straight tournament, but manager Vahid Halilhodzic was fired ten weeks before the finals for doing things like losing to the UAE and drawing with Iraq. To begin World Cup play, Japan recorded a 2-1 win over Colombia but somehow managed to look second-best despite playing 87 minutes with a man advantage.
Mexico’s 2-0 elimination from the 2018 World Cup at the hands of Brazil will live long in the memory. Stunning victories over Germany and South Korea, coupled with a miraculous qualification to the Round of 16 despite that huge letdown against Sweden, had served to enhance the El Tri narrative to a fever pitch ahead of the match at Samara Arena.
The opening 20 minutes of Mexico versus Brazil couldn’t have gone any better from an El Tri perspective. Carlos Vela and Andres Guardado were finding joy on the left with Fagner looking set for a nightmare. Chucky looked dangerous. But more importantly, Philippe Coutinho and Neymar hardly got a sniff of the ball with Rafa Marquez, Edson Alvarez and Hugo Ayala all taking turns putting the Brazilians on their backs.
Miguel Layún came on at halftime for Mexico and immediately set about making life difficult for Neymar. After a handful of physical challenges between the two, the El Tri defender stepped on the Brazilian No. 10 on the sidelines. Should red have been shown for the Layun stomp on Neymar? Or did the latter deserve red for flopping around like a dead fish?
Brazilian soccer players have often gone by one name for more than a century. In the 2018 World Cup, 15 of Brazil's 23 players typically are referred to by a single name. For most players, it means simply going by their first name, like Neymar, or a derivative of their first name, like Marquinhos (Marcos). The practice makes Brazil stand out from most national teams, and there are a few explanations for why Brazil soccer players have just one name.
Who is Chucky Lozano? Mexico’s Hirving "Chucky" Lozano is, like France’s Kyllian Mbappé, one of this World Cup’s rising stars.
But where did he come from and where is he headed?
Hirving Lozano came out of Club Pachuca’s football academy. The institution has been a cradle for young Mexican talent, forging the likes of Héctor Herrera, Jürgen Damm, Rodolfo Pizarro and Erick Gutiérrez.
If you thought watching Javier Mascherano hurry and hassle France’s trio of Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante was a fascinating but doomed exercise pitting a warrior of yesteryear against the game’s brightest talents, boy, do we have another cracker for you: it’s 39-year-old RAFA MARQUEZ shielding Mexico’s back four against Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Paulinho. Let’s get it on!
Spain, the side many elevated to the status of favorites after landing Russia in the Round of 16 followed by a quarterfinal against either Croatia or Denmark, is out. We said it before, and we’ll say it again: if you look ahead at the 2018 World Cup then you’re already dead.
Also, if you complete 1,006 passes in one match you’re dead as well. That’s another thing we learned today.