World Cup Round of 16 – France and England Clinical

The government of Qatar is repressive and fascist. FIFA is corrupt and hypocritical. Simple as.

Neither match was a close one in the end today, but we have ourselves a serious showdown set in the quarterfinals here.

France vs. Poland

This was the early match of the day and defending champions France won fairly comfortably in the end 3-1, but there were undoubtedly a few moments of panic for them before and after they scored the opening goal on 43 minutes via Olivier Giroud. The Polish defense gave him far too much space and he was able to redirect a shot back across goal. Giroud actually hit the ball into the ground a bit first, which caused it to bounce over the hand of Polish keeper Wojciech Szczęsny and in for 1-0. It could be argued though that Poland should have already been ahead, and would have been if not for some goal line clearances by the French defense around the 35 minute mark. Szczęsny had been brilliant up until then, but his defense really let him down.

France were the better team on the day, as they were frequently the ones pressing the Polish and winning the ball high up the pitch to create chances. When the opposition’s front four contains Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Antoine Griezmann, giving the ball away to them is suicidal. The Polish were lucky to hold the French out for the first 40 minutes, and they were also fortunate to keep it at 1-0 until the 76 minute mark.

It was then that Mbappe decided to take over the game, and he did so by scoring two goals in quick succession, each of them powerful and precise finishes over Szczęsny that gave him absolutely no chance. Mbappe is one of, if not the, best players in the world right now and he showed why with those two goals. Everyone knows he’s a world-class sprinter, but he showed a real striker’s instinct and technique today too. Mbappe is the current top scorer at this World Cup with 5 goals.

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski got a goal back for his side from the penalty spot in the dying seconds of the match, and while it fooled French keeper Hugo Lloris it was nothing more than a consolation goal. Even Lewandowski knew it was just going to be one for the statistics, and of no other real significance.

France decisively move on to the quarterfinals. They look incredibly strong right now, even if it took them a while to score today. I was concerned about their injuries and team spirit coming into this tournament, but so far those worries have been unfounded. It helps that Mbappe is in absolutely scintillating form right now. Poland will be sad to be going home, but they lost to an extremely good team today.

England vs. Senegal

My stomach was turning itself inside out in anticipation of this match. England were favored coming in, probably in part due to the unavailability of Senegalese all-world winger Sadio Mané (injury) and industrious midfielder Idrissa Gueye (suspension). But the team known as the Lions of Teranga were not to be underestimated, as they are the reigning African champions.

And indeed, it was the Senegalese who were on the front foot almost from the off. They were using their pacey forwards to press England’s defense high up the pitch, knowing that England like to play the ball out from the back. This tactic employed by manager Aliou Cissé worked quite well for a bit, and they almost caught England out several times. Their best chance came around half an hour into the match, when forward Boulaye Dia found some space in the box and lashed a powerful shot towards goal that required a rather magnificent save from England keeper Jordan Pickford. He stuck out his left arm and held it firm to deny Dia, and England cleared.

England had a lot of possession in the opening 35 minutes or so, but they weren’t really doing anything with it. The middle of the park was devoid of England shirts, so there was nowhere for the center backs to pass it to. However, England finally got a meaningful attack going down the left wing on 39 minutes, and it resulted in the first goal from midfielder Jordan Henderson. A neat backheel fell to striker Harry Kane, who spotted the run of midfielder Jude Bellingham ahead of him. His weighted pass made it through the defense, and Bellingham latched onto the ball just outside the box. He ran into the box as his marker was level with him, but his cutback cross found Henderson in space. Henderson hit it first time along the ground, and it rolled into the goal just past the reach of keeper Edouard Mendy. A massive relief for England and very much against the run of play, but we’ll take it! Henderson is the 8th different English player to score at this tournament.

Senegal pushed forward to try and find an equalizer, but it was England who got an important second goal on the very stroke of halftime. England won the ball back via Bellingham after a deflected cross fell into his path, and he carried the ball forward while riding challenges from the opposition. He found winger/forward Phil Foden ahead of him to his left in a one-on-one with a defender. Foden hit a return pass into the path of Kane, who was running forward in support and unmarked. The ball deflected off a defender before falling to Kane, who took a touch and then buried a powerful shot into the net from about 12 yards out, just to the right of the penalty spot. Mendy had no chance, and Kane is now just one goal behind Wayne Rooney’s all-time England scoring record. Kane has been a wonderful facilitator of play so far this tournament, but getting him on the scoresheet today was very important. He showed his striker’s instincts with that finish, and England will need those instincts going forward.

The England fans in the stadium and around the world went from anxious to buoyant in the span of about 8 minutes! Cissé was forced into making three changes at halftime, but they failed to make much of an impact as England got the next goal on 57 minutes from winger/forward Bukayo Saka. This time it was Senegal giving the ball away in a dangerous area, with it being brought forward by Kane. Kane was tackled though and the loose ball fell to Foden, who beat a defender on the left wing before spotting the diagonal run of Saka across his man. The cross from Foden was inch-perfect, and Saka deftly lifted it over Mendy with his first touch for 3-0. England were running rampant and well on their way to the quarterfinals.

The tempo of the game slowed down a bit from there, as both managers made changes. England boss Gareth Southgate was keen to get some of his key players off to save them for the next match, while letting the talents of the bench players shine as well. Although no more goals were scored, England were closer to finding a fourth than Senegal was to finding a first. In the end it was a very satisfactory day for the Three Lions, if a bit nervy to start off.

Credit to Southgate for sticking to his guns and going with the team he felt was right. I was surprised at the omission of forward Marcus Rashford and the inclusion of Henderson in the starting line-up today, but both of those worries were without merit. It turns out that Southgate might just know what he’s doing, although I certainly could do without the slow starts in the future. In the first half hour I feared this game would go the way the one against the Americans did, with it ending 0-0 and England generally looking lackluster. But once England moved the ball up the levels of the pitch with pace and purpose, there was little Senegal could do about it. The first goal today was a product of Southgate’s system, make no mistake about it. The players’ positioning on the wings and playing the ball out from the back led to the opening for Kane to find Bellingham. The system does not always work of course, but today it did.

A special shoutout to Bellingham, who was Man of the Match (among many fine candidates) for me today. The 19 year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder showed a range of skills today I have not seen from an Englishman since maybe…ever? He can pass, he can dribble, he can head the ball, he can tackle, he has positional awareness, and while he did not score today he did so against Iran in the first match. This lad can do it all, and he can do it all at an extremely high level. If he keeps going like this, he can develop into the best midfielder in the world. Not being hyperbolic.

CAM ON INGERLAND!!!

Quarterfinals – England vs. France – Saturday, December 10th at 11 AM PST

United Held by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

The Red Devils traveled down to west London earlier today to take on Premier League leaders and reigning European champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. United were underdogs going into this match given their horrendous recent form in the Prem, and caretaker manager Michael Carrick knew that it would be his last match in charge thanks to the appointment of interim manager Ralf Rangnick on Thursday.

Carrick made the bold decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench and play without a true central striker. Technically the line-up was a 4-3-1-2 with Bruno Fernandes playing behind Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, and it seemed like Carrick wanted to accomplish two things – 1) keep it at 0-0 for as long as possible, and 2) flood Chelsea out of midfield so they can’t as easily keep possession and create chances through the middle of the pitch.

One of those objectives was largely achieved, and the other was largely not. Thanks to some heroics from United’s time and time again savior David De Gea, Chelsea were not able to score in the first 45 minutes. However, they were dominating the match in every other possible statistic. They had an overwhelming amount of possession, more attempts, more shots on target, and more corner kicks. It was serious pressure almost from the opening whistle. United were without usual starting defenders Harry Maguire (suspension) and Luke Shaw (injury), but their replacements Eric Bailly and Alex Telles weren’t really having too many issues. It was United’s right hand side of the defense however, in particular Aaron Wan-Bissaka, that had the worst time of it. He was beaten for shots on target at least twice and generally did not play well. To compound matters, United habitually gave the ball away and invited pressure that Chelsea were only too happy to apply. While De Gea did make several key saves, it must be said that Chelsea’s finishing was generally poor as well.

The second half got underway with more Chelsea pressure, but United were the ones to break the deadlock on 50 minutes via Sancho. Bruno cleared the ball about 50 yards through the air up the pitch, and it fell directly to Chelsea midfielder Jorginho. The usually sure-footed Italian unintentionally controlled the ball with a very heavy touch and the ball was pounced on by an onrushing Sancho with Rashford along side him. Jorginho was taken out of the play by being off-balance, and United found themselves with two forwards clean through on Edouard Mendy’s goal. Rashford stayed wide of Sancho in case he wanted to pass, but Sancho used him as a decoy while he calmly dribbled the ball forward and slotted past a stranded Mendy for 1-0. I was shocked that a player of Jorginho’s quality made such a calamitous error, but it just goes to show that even the best are still human and they can make mistakes. A real smash-and-grab goal!

For the next ten minutes or so, United were more in the ascendancy. All of a sudden the passes started stringing together more easily, and it was easier to win the ball off Chelsea. Confidence is key in this sport, and there is nothing that gives a big shot of confidence like a goal. However, all of that came to a screeching halt when Wan-Bissaka was adjudged to have fouled Chelsea defender Thiago Silva in the United penalty box. He was attempting to clear a bouncing ball but he kicked the back of Silva’s ankle instead. Referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty, which Jorginho dispatched fairly easily from the spot. He got to redeem himself for his earlier error, and at 1-1 on 60 minutes I was concerned that United were in danger of surrendering completely. For me the foul itself was a penalty, but there were questions about whether or not Chelsea should have been awarded the corner from which the foul resulted. Chelsea may have gotten their equalizer anyway, but messing up the decision of corner vs. goal kick is inexcusable in today’s game. If we can have VAR for fouls and offside calls, why can’t we have it for everything else?

Chelsea resumed their dominant display of possession and attempts after they scored, but again did not manage to create many dangerous chances or force De Gea into difficult saves. United couldn’t forge anything despite the introduction of Ronaldo on 64 minutes, and some questions will be asked about his performance today in particular. He was isolated for most of his time on the pitch and I don’t think he had many meaningful contributions. How he fits into the counter-pressing system of Rangnick will be interesting to see. United did create one half-chance on 80 minutes or so when midfielder Fred won the ball high up the pitch, but he couldn’t find the proper pass and ended up lobbing the ball straight to Mendy. Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger had a dangerous chance to win it in stoppage time, but again the finish was wanting and he skied it over De Gea’s bar. The match ended 1-1, with it feeling like more of a positive for United than it did for Chelsea.

If you had offered United fans a draw beforehand, they’d have taken it happily. But it is always disappointing to score first and then give away a lead, even against a superior side. The plan by Carrick almost worked, and he would argue that it worked well enough. Carrick can pat himself on the back for these past two matches. A satisfactory job, in the end. The win over Villarreal in Spain was massive and spoiling Chelsea’s day at Stamford Bridge provides some confidence in the lads for Rangnick to build upon and work with. There is a lot of talent in this team, and even more players will be available once they recover from injury.

Rangnick is expected to be on the touchline next Thursday evening at Old Trafford when United take on Arsenal in another Premier League match. It will take a few matches to fully implement his ideal first team, formation, and tactics, but I am excited to see how we are different from whatever it was we were doing previously. United have 4 matches in 10 days, so he will be getting a baptism by fire in the English game. Whatever he decides, I’d like to see Wan-Bissaka and Bruno given a rest if possible. I think a match on the bench will help them recover and get them back into better form.

United now sit 8th in the Premier League table, 12 points back of leaders Chelsea and 5 points adrift of the top 4.