Who played with whom?. The Cape Verdean team (a country with a population of half a million people) reached the playoffs for the first time in history. Three draws were enough to achieve this: 0:0 with Spain, 2:2 with Uruguay, and again 0:0 with Saudi Arabia in the last match of the group stage. France beat Norway 4:1 thanks to a Dembélé hat-trick (the Norwegians fielded a semi-reserve team, and both teams qualified for the qualifiers in advance). Senegal beat Iraq 5:0 Spain – Uruguay 1:0. Egypt – Iran 1:1. Belgium – New Zealand 5:1.
Tournament layouts. Iran scored against Egypt in the third minute of stoppage time, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. If they win, Iran will qualify for the qualifiers, but now they will have to wait for the results of the other matches (there is still a small chance of leaving the group from third place). The main disappointments in the tournament are Uruguay, Turkey and the Czech Republic. Especially Uruguay – no one expected to allow Cape Verde to go forward.
A separate fan truth (more precisely, a very sad truth). Uruguay lost to the Spaniards due to a mistake by 40-year-old goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. He didn’t hit a fairly simple ball that he should have hit. During the break, Uruguayan coach Marcelo Bielsa replaced the goalkeeper – and after the match he explained that this was the goalkeeper’s decision: “He decided to leave on his own.” In the previous two group stage matches, Muslera had also made mistakes – and in many ways, it was his poor performance that cost Uruguay a place in the qualifiers.
What are they talking about?. June 26 is LGBTQ+ Equality Day in the United States. Even before the tournament began, it was decided to organize a “Pride Match” in Seattle on that day. The decision was made before the draw was made, and no one knew who would play that day. It turned out to be Iran and Egypt. In both countries, homosexuals are punished – in Egypt they are sentenced to prison, and in Iran they can be executed. Both countries protested, but were unable to cancel the protest. As a result, the event turned out to be not large-scale – there were not many LGBTQ+ symbols in and near the stadium where the match was held. Politico published with address “The Pride Match That Never Happened”
Picture of the day. Channing Tatum came to Norway’s match with France to cheer for Norway. He wore shirt number 9, which is the same shirt worn by Erling Haaland, the main star of the Norwegian national team. Before the World Cup, Holland and Tatum starred in a Nike commercial.
Next in the program. On Sunday night, Moscow time, six more matches will be held. Uzbekistan will play against the Democratic Republic of Congo, and will not qualify from the group, but can score its first points in the tournament. Argentina – Jordan (we expect more goals from Messi, while he is the only one who has scored for Argentina – five out of five). England vs. Panama (the British played very cheerfully with Croatia and very sadly with Ghana). Portugal – Colombia (both teams are already in the qualifiers). Austria – Algeria (nothing is clear for them yet). Croatia – Ghana (Croats must not lose).
Full tournament schedule and detailed results – here.