Lost In America - Free, Daily World Cup Newsletter: Day 12 - Big Guns
The penultimate day of the second batch of group games, and this one was far more straightforward than Sunday.
Argentina 2 - 0 Austria
I'm starting to think of Ralf Ragnick as the Marc Trestman of soccer. You'll find a lot of managers who have accomplished a lot in the game that will say he's the father of all the philosophies they employ. Or that he's the architect of the Red Bull way, which has made an impact in several countries and produced countless players that have...well, gone to Chelsea and ate shit, but the point remains. And yet, we've watched him with Manchester United, and now with Austria, and neither team has ever looked much more than seat-fillers.
Argentina weren't particularly great, and the Austrian plan was clearly to pack the middle, as Argentina don't really play with any width, and try to cut off the combinations the Argentina midfield weave together. Let's see how that went:
Austria had more than enough of the ball to create something, anything, and they ended up with one shot on target. Sure, Austria isn't the most talented team in the tournament, or anywhere close, but these are all at least serviceable Bundesliga players. Ragnick is famous for fathering the gengenpress, and getting his teams to pressure opponents into mistakes. But Austria never forced a turnover they could fashion into a chance. It's a limited team, sure, but this limited? They were basically the faceless actors you see in any pregame hype video for the home team.
I have to admit that there's just something to Argentina. We watched Mac Allister, Fernandez, and De Paul either struggle throughout the club season, or downgrade to MLS, and yet throw the blue and white stripes on them and suddenly everything is copasetic. They're stout, they're creative, and they provide the platform for Messi to do that thing he does. We won't really know for sure with Argentina until possibly the quarters, because their draw is coming up puppy-shit soft. But they're just a team, a great team, whenever they get together, no matter what goes on elsewhere.
France 3 - 0 Iraq
Obviously, this one got a little weird, what with a two-hour break right in the middle of it due to some choice East Coast summer weather. If you've never spent a summer in the Northeast corridor anywhere, run your shower for half an hour as hot as can be with the bathroom door closed, then go stand in there and fart for 10 minutes. You'll get the idea.
Once again, it felt like France only really let the lead out for 30 minutes or so, which was probably double what they needed against a foe as outgunned as this one. They got the opener early, stared at a blank spreadsheet so the boss wouldn't ask questions until halftime, let Iraq hand them one early in the second, and from there it was just about how many they wanted. Turned out, it was just one, and they could haul off Dembele and Olise to crack a beer on the bench.
It is frightening what this team might be capable of when they hit the turbo in later rounds, but there's also the niggling feeling that the longer they go trying to pace themselves, that turbo will be harder to find. Or that taking it easy for stretches of matches becomes habit, and a really good team in the quarters or semis will make them pay. But for right now, the attacking quartet at the top of the field looks like it could tear a hole in time.
Norway 3 - 2 Senegal
Another weird one, but not due any weather interventions. Norway have put 12 shots on target in two games, and scored on seven of them. Which is a ridiculous shooting-percentage, but the kind of thing a team can count on when it has a Viking automaton as a #9. Haaland will just score that often with that few chances.
That said, the fear that Norway's midfield can be blown through proved to be true, as Senegal didn't struggle to get around Norway's area. But once the Norwegians get a lead, they can just kind of pack it in, wait for a chance to counter, and get Ødegaard and Haaland into space, and it's curtains.
Darke and Donovan on commentary were speculating that the Senegalese vibes are off, and maybe something's going on behind the scenes. That's always the assumption about African teams from Western media when things go pear-shaped, though it springs from some amazing stories back in the day.
The more tangible problem is that Senegal has been built on two generational talents at each end of the field, Sadio Mane at forward and Kalidou Koulibaly in defense. But both are in their mid-3os now, both are living out glorified retirement in Saudi Arabia, and both are cooked. Koulibaly was at fault for all three Norway goals, biffing a couple clearances and then whiffing on the through-ball to Haaland for the second Norway goal. It's not an overstatement to say that if Koulibaly had been locked in a closet for this match, Senegal get at least a draw. Mane ended up with an assist, but it always feels like he's checking the teleprompter for the lyrics to the songs he wrote seven or eight years ago.
At least Ismalia Sarr rediscovered the ability to actually get the ball between the posts to make it interesting, but he could use some help. Nicolas Jackson has made an entire career out of making all the right runs, being in all the right spots, making the right passes, and scoring once a financial quarter.
It's curious how Iliman Ndiaye can't get a look, because Senegal are screaming out for more creativity. He might be position-less, but he brings some dash. The three starting Senegal midfielders combined to create two chances. That's not going to cut it. They'll need to pour it on against Iraq to have any chance. Luckily for them, with the way this tournament is set up, they'll have some idea of just how many goals they'll need by the time they take the field Friday.
Algeria 2 - 1 Jordan
There isn't too much to say about this one. Algeria scored on one of their rare attacks. But I did find humor in this facet. Here's Argentina's first goal today:
CJ Fogler
And then here's Algeria's, the kid-whose-parents-definitely-didn't-help-with-the-mousetrap-car-that-wasn't-the-kit version of above:
CJ Fogler
Funny story, my father and I attempted to build the from-the-kit version of the mousetrap car for my science project in 7th grade. It took us at least an hour too long, it rolled about four inches, and then fell apart like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. We then rolled on the kitchen floor laughing so hard we were sobbing while my mother swore at both of us for a good five minutes. Cherished memory.
Anyway, here's this match summed up better:
John Muller
Algeria have a decent shot to get out of this group now, if Austria continues to be just so...there. Or they won't be able to create anything and Austria will go through on a late Arnautovic penalty, after which he'll get himself suspended for the rest of the tournament for calling every Algerian player a terrorist or something.
Day 13 Preview
Portugal vs. Uzbekistan (1pm ET) - Look, there's a very good chance that Ronaldo will score here, even if his teammates have to Weekend At Bernie's his ass around the penalty box. A penalty when already up four, his 18th attempt at a freekick, lining him up at the six-yard box and pinging the ball as hard as they can off of him dozens of times. When he does, whoever's announcing the game will tell us this is his "response" to Messi's and Haaland's and Mbappe's work yesterday, instead of the farting corpse that it will be. Anyway, this should be a get-right game for the Portuguese.
England vs. Ghana (4pm) - England made life harder for themselves than t hey needed to against Croatia, thanks to dropping off defensively. But they learned they can survive and reverse that, and the boost from that should see them at Ghana's throats for the entire 90. Keeping Semenyo from getting loose on the counter is pretty much the entire assignment.
Panama vs. Croatia (7pm) - Croatia were able to put together a couple moments when England allowed them, but were otherwise smeared on the windshield. Panama didn't really do much against Ghana, but they did look tidy at times with the ball. As England proved, Croatia's midfield is one that can be gotten around and through, given that it spends most of its time yelling at the screen in the automatic checkout lane.
Colombia vs. DR Congo (10pm) - Colombia can't fall into the same trap as Portugal, but they have a much more direct threat through Luis Diaz. They won't get caught noodling on a 13-minute guitar solo right in front of the Congo box, as Diaz will just take the ball and run at someone.
Goodbyes
Tunisia - They showed up, got their ass kicked, fired their manager, and got their ass kicked again. Thanks for your service.
Jordan - They made Austria look somewhat interesting. They coughed up a late lead to Algeria. Getting here was the point.