Monday July 13 Links and Banter
WHERE ARE OUR WORLD CUP GAMES
About Yesterday's Game
France 2, Morocco 0
Kind of...: Morocco is one of the ten best national squads in the world, and it was 3.69-.14 in expected goals. I'd call it an ambush (since it's from the French), except that was no element of surprise. France just went out and did their thing with scarily competent professionalism. I guess you could wonder if they peaked too soon, but that's looking for an angle.
HoustonBoiler: I expected this match to be closer than it was. France's offense was as good as advertised, producing 22 shots with 9 of those on target. The Moroccan goal keeper, Yassine Bounou, played very well and deserves a shout-out given that he faced the French barrage. While Morocco did well possessing the ball, they just were not as effective in generating shots from their possessions. Both teams showed great counter attacks. It's sad that a team as talented as Morocco has to depart in the quarter finals, but that's the un-luck of the draw.
Spain v Belgium
Inglewood, CA. 3:00 ET/2:00 GTZ.
Kind of...: Perhaps surprisingly, if you go by aggregate expected goals, Spain, not France, has been the most dominant team so far this tournament. Mostly because nobody has really come close to scoring on them. That said, France had a clearly tougher group.
Can Belgium beat Spain? Sure...they could. But there's a clear discrepancy in talent. Like so many similar matchups, the underdog will look to hunker down and hope to catch a break. Spain isn't going to press the way the USMNT did (and their back line isn't nearly so leaky), so Belgium will be prepared to defend. That said, Spain's, um, comfort with 1-0 wins always leaves some room to fate. Portugal got to stoppage time 0-0 before capitulating, so Belgium could hang around if things break well for them.
MaximumSam: Spain has a few options for dessert but number one is the Flan. A custard topped with caramel is pretty classic and tough to beat. Belgium pulls out, you guessed it, the Belgian Waffle. There are actually two types. The Brussels Waffle is more what we know as the waffle, while the Liege Waffle has dough mixed with pearl sugar so that is comes out caramelized and crispy. Sounds like something I need in my life.
HoustonBoiler: Will Spain surrender a goal is the top question on my mind? Thus far, they have not. Plus, they are extremely talented and maintain possession. I expect them to win this match though Belgium is a quality opponent and deserves to be here. Can they get a few breaks? If they do, they might be able to pull off an upset.
