What the first week of the World Cup has brought us
We’re already one week into the biggest sporting event in the world, and the World Cup has already brought several special moments. Let’s look at what they are and how the first week has been different from previous World Cups.
Late goals
This World Cup has already seen many late goals, with hosts Russia starting off this World Cup with 2 late goals in a comfortable 5–0 win against Saudi Arabia. At the time of writing, out of 45 goals, 7 of the goals have occurred after the 85th minute, with each match having an average # of goals of 2.45.
While late goals has always been a characteristic of World Cups, the reason why there’s many late goals scored could probably be explained by the team’s shape. If a team’s looking for a goal, then they’ll commit more bodies forward, which allows them to attack with more numbers, but also the opportunity for the opposing team to exploit them on the counter. In fact, the late goals scored in Egypt vs. Uruguay and Morocco vs. IR Iran were from set pieces, which could probably explain why these late goals were scored.
Penalties
Every match on day 3 had at least one penalty. 2 were saved/missed, while 3 were scored (60% conversion rate)
Penalty kick success rate: 66.67%
When it comes to set pieces, than penalties is probably the best opportunity that you’ve got to score a goal. On paper and for what it seems, it looks extremely easy to score a penalty, after all, you just have to put the ball in the back of net. However, at the World Cup, there’s heightened pressure.
You have a nation’s hope on your shoulders and while players like Andreas Granqvist have been able to deal with the pressure, others like Lionel Messi and Christian Cueva have struggled. But at the same time, while some players are missing important penalties and keepers are saving important penalties, the increase of the amount of penalties given has to do with VAR.
The video assistant referee (VAR) is a football assistant referee who reviews decisions made by the head referee with the use of video footage and a headset for communication. The Peru, Australia, and Sweden penalty were all given from VAR, and as a result, many have benefitted from the system. While VAR still assesses human judgement, it also gives the referees a second chance when it comes to making crucial decisions.
Upsets
At the time of writing, day 4 of this World Cup was definitely a day of upsets. Reigning champions Germany faced a shock 1–0 loss against Mexico, a victory that saw so many Mexico fans celebrate that they caused an earthquake in Mexico City.
Many entered this World Cup thinking that Germany would be a safe bet to win the World Cup, and while they’re still very much in contention, the defeat has put a dent in their credentials for winning the World Cup. The defeat exposed the flaws of the lack of defensive protection that Germany had against a Mexico, a game that saw so much attack from Mexico going down the left flank, usually in times when German right-back Joshua Kimmich was out of position. Not only did Germany prove that they’re flawed after all, but Mexico had always shown how other teams need to play against Germany, a high-press quick counter-attacking system.
Following Germany’s shock defeat, Brazil faced Switzerland, a game of which many expected the Seleção to comfortably beat Switzerland, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Following Coutinho’s goal, the Swiss decided to adopt a more physical approach, which included tacking Neymar at every single opportunity, committing 10 fouls on him, the most that any World Cup player has received over the past 20 years.
Yet while the Swiss had a plan to pretty much break the Brazilians legs, Brazil failed to take their chances. According to a statistics website FiveThirtyEight, Brazil entered the tournament as favourites, with a 19% chances of winning the World Cup, however, as of now, Brazil’s chances have slightly dropped to 17%, while Germany’s chances have significantly dropped to only just 9%.
Yet one of the biggest upsets arguably in the World Cup so far is the humiliating 3–0 defeat that Argentina faced against Croatia, a defeat that put Argentina’s chances of reaching the knockout stage in serious doubt. While Argentina haven’t been as good of recent years, they still came into the game as favourites, with a 40% chance of winning in comparison to Croatia’s 29%. And while before the start of the tournament, FiveThirtyEight put Argentina as the main favourites to top their group, the loss has seen them with a slight 33% chance of advancing to the knockout stage. And while the defeat didn’t cause any earthquakes, it certainly has damaged Argentina’s credentials to go all the way.
Big players have turned up
Despite being some of the best attackers in the world, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, and Harry Kane haven’t performed to levels that they are capable of doing when it comes to performing in international major tournaments. However, Ronaldo, Lukaku, and Kane have all stepped up for their nation, as they all look to clinch the Golden boot.
Even though it’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s 4th World Cup, he’s already managed more goals than his past 3 World Cups combined, and is the first player to score a hat-trick against Spain in the World Cup and has become the first Portugal player since José Torres in 1966 to score a goal with his right foot, left foot and head in a single World Cup tournament. Should Ronaldo be able to continue this goalscoring streak throughout the tournament, he’ll almost certainly win the Golden Ball and will end the Ballon D’or debate for this year once and for all.
Following his best goalscoring season to date, Romelu Lukaku has started this World Cup well, bagging a brace against debutants Panama. Yet while it was only against Panama, Lukaku took both of his goalscoring chances and continuously proved to be a menace in the box. It’s no surprise to see why Manchester United spent big on him last season, but now he’s looking to prove himself on the global stage.
Even though England needed a last minute goal from Harry Kane to beat Tunisia, Harry Kane still got a brace and has started his chase for the Golden Boot on the right foot. Similar to Lukaku, Kane took most of his chances and with the striker continuously linked to Real Madrid, a successful World Cup could see him complete a move to Los Blancos, despite recently signing a long term contract.
Players making a plea to Europe’s big clubs
While Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, and Harry Kane have continued to prove their quality on the global, there’s been breakthrough stars such as Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and Aleksandr Golovin that have been making a case for the big European clubs to sign them, including the likes of FC Barcelona and Juventus being heavily linked with these players.
During his first season at PSV, Lozano has impressed, scoring 19 goals in 34 games, hence why it’s no surprise to see him doing well on the global stage. In the first half alone, he scored 1 goal, completed 3 dribbles, created 3 chances, and had 2 shots outside the area. The Mexican seriously impressed against the reigning champions, and as a result, the likes of Liverpool and FC Barcelona have been heavily linked with the player.
“With his incision, penetration and goals from a wide position, Lozano is a player very much in the mold of the modern winger not too dissimilar from Mohamed Salah and Leroy Sane. He can play on either flank but is best on the left, cutting inside as he did to score against Germany.” (ESPN)
Despite playing in the Russian League, CSKA Moscow midfielder Aleksandr Golovin has impressed at this year’s World Cup. Golovin has shown everything that makes him an ideal candidate for a transfer to Europe’s big clubs, as he flashed his technical ability, superb passing vision, and threat on free-kicks.
Against Egypt, Golovin continued to be a presence all over the pitch. Constantly whipping in good crosses to his teammates, he is someone defenders have to be consistently aware of. Golovin’s motor is also quite high, as he runs box to box while his energy seems to never dip. He has glimpses of the ability to drop deep to receive the ball and then push it forward on Russia’s attacks, able to create attacking moves at ease. Everything the young Russian has done so far has been an absolute joy to watch.
With so many World Cup favourites dropping points in the group stage, the favourite for the World Cup still remains unknown, but while there’s been special moments, I’m going to end the article with the most special moment of the World Cup so far: Milad Mohammadi’s failed somersault throw.
