Tuesday July 14 Links and Banter
And a happy Bastille Day to those who celebrate
About Saturday's Games
England 2, Norway 1
HoustonBoiler: England dominated possession early, though didn't have anything to show for it. After the first half hydration break, Norway upped their game. An Erling Haaland header required a nice save by England goalie Jordan Pickford, but then Andreas Schjelderup scored on a fantastic shot off the far post to give Norway the lead. Jude Bellingham netted an equalizer during the first half stoppage time. In the second half, Norway thought they had taken the lead when Torbjorn Heggem scored that was disallowed on review because of an initial push by Haaland. The heat and humidity were taking their toll on both squads as things seemed to bog down and regulation ended with the match tied at one. Early in the first extra period, Norwegian goalie Orjan Nyland saved a Morgan Rogers shot but was unable to hang on. Bellingham quickly pounced on the rebound and knocked it home. England showed some resilience in the furnace that was Miami. It was a tough loss for Norway. And, of course, the English fans had something to say:
Kind of...: This is a really lovable England team in many ways. So leave it to England fans to bring you back to reality. Cape Verde aside, Norway was maybe the best story of the tournament, and they easily could've made the semis. Nonetheless, England earned their win. Though I have laughed at England's misfortune numerous times over the years, two things have led me to conclude that I should give credit where credit is due: 1) It is good in life to try to describe things accurately and not be too much of a hater, and 2) I have fallen madly in love with Jude Bellingham.
I knew he was great. I told you all how great he was...before the Mexico match. But, damn. Put it this way. He's two goals behind Messi and Mbappe at this competition despite not taking any penalties. And go back to the Mexico match. he saved a goal right before halftime with some great defending in the penalty area. Find me footage of any of the other elite scorers doing that. (Find me footage of Mbappe being in the penalty area on defense at all.)
HoustonBoiler: Erling Haaland also purchased a souvenir during his time in Dallas. Apparently you just cannot find a stuffed raccoon clutching a whiskey bottle in Norway. Who needs the World Cup trophy when you can have this!
AlmaOtter: I have never cared for the EPL and never had an allegiance to any of those teams. But I suppose I'm a Man City fan now? Erling, you had me at "stuffed raccoon holding a liquor bottle as a carry-on."
Argentina 3, Switzerland 1
HoustonBoiler: Argentina decided to abandon their FAFO strategy in this one. Barely ten minutes in, Lionel Messi delivered a nice corner that Alexis Mac Allister knocked in to give the Argentinians the lead. Crazy, I know! Dan Ndoye netted an equalizer for the Swiss roughly midway through the second half. Then catastrophe struck as Switzerland’s Breel Embolo received a red card when a video review showed that he dived after a challenge. At this point, the Swiss parked the bus and played for penalty kicks. I have to give them credit because they almost pulled it off. However, Julian Alvarez curled an amazing shot into the top corner of the net to give Argentina the lead in the 112th minute. Swiss goalie had absolutely no chance on this one. Argentina added another goal in stoppage time as the Swiss were pressing to score an equalizer.
Kind of...: Yep. Really tough break for Switzerland. It was the right call for VAR to come down on Embolo. And nobody would've cared except that he was already on a yellow. Switzerland was game, but Argentina just has more quality...and is willing to take the initiative. I was skeptical of their ability to find meaningful non-Messi goals, so props to our envelope-pushing South American friends.
Today's Game
France v Spain
Arlington, TX. 3:00 ET/2:00 GTZ.
HoustonBoiler: This match should be spectacular! Pre-tournament, FIFA had Spain and France ranked 2 and 3, respectively. Both of these teams like to play a free-flowing style of fubol that is just beautiful. Thus far in the tournament, Spain has dominated possession while scoring 11 goals, which has been more than enough because they have surrendered only one goal in six matches. Keep your eyes on Mikel Oyarzabal who has 4 goals, Marc Cucurella who has 2 assists, and Lamine Yamal who has 23 shots on goal. On the other hand, France has been an offensive machine, scoring 16 goals in their six matches - Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, and Desire Doue have scored 8, 5, 2, and 1 goals, respectively, while Michael Olise has 5 assists. The question is which side will be able to impose their will on the other.
Kind of...: Spain was my pre-tournament pick, and, despite France marauding their way through things so far, I'm sticking with them. I love that Lamine Yamal is exuding confidence. Spain seems to be in the classic "thrive as underdog" role, and if they have less talent than France, it is only marginally. I'll go even further out on a ledge here with a couple wild guesses:
1) Nico Williams will be heard from today.
2) Everybody knows Mbappe is indifferent to playing defense. Look for Spain to turn the tables on France and find a goal on a lightning strike type of counter.
3) Post-match, the narrative will be that France was more a (fantastic, worthy) collection of talent, but that Spain displayed a cohesiveness that saw them through.
HoustonBoiler: Kind Of...'s comment regarding Lamin Yamal exuding confidence reminded me that I neglected to include this nugget in my bit above. Following Spain's win over Belgium, Yamal threw down the gauntlet ahead of facing France in the semifinal by saying, "If anyone should be afraid it should be them — we knocked them out of the Euros. Obviously we are two great teams, among the best in the world. We’ll see what happens, but we have no fear." This is what I would expect from a teenager. I have to believe this made the French locker room bulletin board.
