Wales’ Gareth Bale did what he had to yesterday. Expectations are that Argentina’s Lionel Messi will do the same today.
The results of yesterday’s Group B were as expected. England beat Iran with 6 goals to 2, with a number of coming stars scoring; Jude Bellingham, 19 and Bukayo Saka, 23 scoring twice. The talk of the game, however, was that the Iranians refused to sing their national anthem before the game, interpreted as a silent protest towards the existing regime, where local protests have been going on for months.
The match between USA and Wales ended 1-1, after Gareth Bale scored on a penalty in the second half. Until then the game was dominated by the US team.
WATCH: Gareth Bale score, penalty (FIFA)
The Netherlands beat Senegal with 2 goals to 0 in a match where the absence of Senegal’s star, Sadio Mané, was obvious.
Yesterday’s buzzes were on the long periods of time added, FIFA banning the rainbow armband (shameful according to many) the half empty arena, 60 minutes into the game, after “paid fans” left, and the Japanese cleaning the stadium after the game – a Japanese culture or just another group of paid guest workers?
Additional reading:
World Cup: The moment Gareth Bale sent Wales fans wild against USA (BBC)
Jude Bellingham is a shining example of England’s emerging generation (The Guardian)
Tuesday, November 22, Group C
Today’s matches start with Argentina meeting Saudi Arabia and anything but a victory for Argentina would be surprising. Argentina is one of the tournament’s favorites, being undefeated in 36 straight matches. The major question concerning Argentina is if Messi can take this last chance to bring his team to glory. The last Argentinian World Cup victory was in 1986 with Diego Maradona as the star.
Messi: The last chance to achieve my dream (FIFA interview with Lionel Messi)
In the afternoon Mexico plays against Lewandowski’s Poland and Tunisia meets Denmark, where focus is on Christian Eriksen, being back after his heart condition last year.
In the evening the reigning champions, France, will play against Australia, the latter being a weaker team, with its best result in the last 20 years, being in 2006, when it reached the round of 16. If you are considering watching one single game, seeing Giroud, Mpappé and Griezmann enter the pitch will definitely be time well spent.
Additional reading:
Group C: Match Analysis and Players to Watch (FIFA)
Argentina v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2022 – live (The Guardian)
World Cup 2022 briefing: Mbappé and Messi step up on day three (The Guardian)
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia prediction: How will World Cup fixture play out today? (The Independent)
Kylian Mbappe set World Cup challenge by France boss after Karim Benzema blow (Mirror)
How Qatar got to host the World Cup – BBC News
Images: Getty Images