About Wednesday's Game
Argentina 2, England 1
HoustonBoiler: This was a very chippy match with Argentina being more aggressive. Perhaps they were trying to make a statement early. I was a little surprised there weren't more yellow cards given. The first half was a rock fight, but 10 minutes into the second half, Anthony Gordon scored to give England a 1-0 lead. For some reason, England parked the bus at this point while Argentina dialed up their intensity. I've been saying that Argentina keeps going with the FAFO strategy and once again they fell behind and then began another rally. Argentina really pressed the attack. In response, England coach, Thomas Tuchel, made a couple of defensive substitutions beginning in the 72nd minute by taking out Gordon and a few minutes later Declan Rice. The English goalie, Jordan Pickford made several great saves on Argentinian shots and there was at least one shot off the post. You just had a feeling it was only a matter of time because after Gordon's goal, England possessed the ball 12% of the time to Argentina's 88%. And sure enough, Enzo Fernández scored for Argentina in the 85th minute. Did that cause Argentina to take their foot off the gas pedal. No! They kept coming and Lautaro Martínez scored the match winner in stoppage time. I think we may have finally seen Argentina at their best after 55 minutes of FAing.
How could England not have known that Argentina would up their level of play late in the match? It's what they've been doing, particularly in the knock out rounds. Perhaps England felt they could withstand whatever Argentina would throw at them because they parked the bus, down a man, and withstood a furious Mexican attack. Argentina is a lot better than Mexico. Argentina has scored six goals between the 76th minute and the end of normal time, more than any other team in this World Cup. It's what they've been doing. England ... buddy ... you had to know this end of match assault was coming and you still parked the bus.
Kind of...: Yes. Quite disappointing for England, who I thought would win convincingly (though the first half was enough to convince me that England was out of sorts, so I made a halftime bet that paid off at +270). Argentina turned to the dark arts the way they always do, and it seemed like England--whose defense was always their biggest question mark--was fine with a chippy game that maybe they could win a long ball or some other suddenly goal. That's exactly what they got. But then Argentina shifted from chippy to smash ball. Except, well, they have a lot of talent, so their version of smash ball can be really effective when the opposition is as bunkered down as England was. Argentina's two goals were quite worthy, but England gave the game away by going into a shell. Three lions? How about three turtles.
About Saturday's Game
England 6, France 4
HoustonBoiler: Looking at the match of two teams that a few days ago suffered crushing losses, I thought they really wouldn't be into it. I think the cons outweighed the pros regarding playing this match. But if we have learned anything from this World Cup, it is that FIFA is ALL about the money, ticket revenue but especially the TV rights. So the match must go on!
In a battle of mainly backups, though Kylian Mbappé did start for France, England wanted it more in the first half while France seemed to be mainly going through the motions. As a result, England scored early, as Declan Rice's laser found the back of the net less than 3 minutes into the match, and often, as Ezri Konsa added a goal while Bukayo Saka added two, to lead 4-0 going into halftime.
I can only wonder what Didier Deschamps said to the French team at halftime. He also inserted four new players, including Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola, two of their best offensive players. All of the sudden, the French GAF and it was game-on. The French firepower delivered three goals, two by Mbappé and the other by Barcola, before the hydration break. This match really picked up as the French were pressing while the English brought in a few of starters, Jude Bellingham and Elliot Anderson in the 78th minute and Reece James a few minutes later.
Now we had a match that both sides GAF about. In the 87th minute, England's Djed Spence had beaten France's Malo Gusto in the penalty area and then Gusto brought down Spence. England was awarded a penalty and Saka converted it to complete the hat trick. Dembélé scored during the 6th minute of stoppage time to cut the lead to one, but then Bellingham made a brilliant run into the box before finishing from close range for the final goal of the match.
While England won, Mbappé surged into the lead for the golden boot with his ninth and tenth goals of this World Cup. He also passed Lionel Messi for the all time most goals scored in World Cup matches. The ball now rests in Messi's half of the pitch.
Kind of...: It was a fun match in the exact same way NCAA third place games in the 70's could be fun. Defense optional unless it's close late.
Championship Match
Argentina v Spain
East Rutherford, NJ. 3:00 ET/2:00 GTZ.
HoustonBoiler: Well, well, well ... we're down to two and they're the FIFA number 1 and 2 ranked teams coming into the tournament. This has the makings of a fantastic match. I expect both teams to try to do what they do. Spain will hog the ball and when they don't possess it, get into the passing lanes to take it back. If FAFO Argentina shows up, they will definitely be playing with fire because Spain will deny them chances. Argentina needs to come out with the intensity they showed after falling behind England. I just feel Spain's technical skill that is reflected in their possession advantages will carry them to their second World Cup trophy.
And of course this photo has been going viral.
This 2007 photo was taken as part of a charity calendar produced by a local newspaper and UNICEF. Yamal's mother won a raffle of families in the city of Mataró, near Barcelona, who wanted to participate. What are the odds that Barcelona's star in 2007 would be in a photo with an infant, who would be Barcelona's star in the future AND they would play against each other for the 2026 World Cup championship? According to the Athletic, "somewhere in the one in 48 billion ballpark." And here you thought winning the Powerball jackpot (one in 292.2 million per single play) would be tough.
Kind of...: I think everything favors Spain. First, they're just the better side and performance thus far clearly demonstrates that. Second, they'd be unlikely to do what England did even without England having done it. But seeing England do it makes it even more obvious that you have to play the whole 90 minutes. Third, Argentina was so "up" for England, that it will be hard to replicate that, emotionally. I know it's the World Cup final, but you can't always have your edge. And Argentina had their edge Wednesday. Really feels like Argentina might try to slow things down and play for penalties (while always hoping for a lightning strike). Hopefully they don't fully go the Netherlands 2010 route when, recognizing Spain's clear advantages, the Dutch gummed everything up hoping for penalties. 14 yellow cards were awarded, but Spain, finally, got a goal in the 116th minute. Let's not do that today, okay fellas?
