day four

Germany-Japan. I used to root against the German national team, but I got over that a long time ago. But Japan's comeback was delightful. I was bothered by Argentina's collapse vs. Saudi Arabia ... if I'm honest with myself, I like sports to make sense, and I might not enjoy upsets as much as they deserve. If Saudi Arabia can beat Argentina, what can we rely on in this world? I had no such problems with Japan's win. Spain-Costa Rica. Before they won a World Cup, I used to bristle when people said Spain's soccer team was boring. Post-championship, I don't listen to those people any more. Of course, they're right most of the time. But not much was boring about this match for a Spain fan. Meanwhile, as I said on Facebook, "Folks who only tune in every four years: despite what you are seeing today, in his day, Keylor Navas was one of the greats, often called the best goalkeeper in the history of CONCACAF."

Meanwhile, Morocco-Croatia sounds like the perfect match to sleep through when it starts at 2:00 AM my time (and yes, I did sleep through it). Yesterday, I said Group F was the closest group of the tournament. Nothing demonstrates this like a scoreless draw with only 2 shots on target by each team, where Dejan Lovren is the best player on the pitch. Belgium-Canada didn't do anything to clarify the group ... it was as close as a 1-0 match could be. Canada outshot the Belgians by more than 2-to-1, had more possession, had twice the expected goals (2.13-1.06). But Belgium has Thibaut Courtois, current holder of the Yashin Trophy as the best goalkeeper in the world. Courtois stopped a penalty kick by Alphonso Davies, the Belgians grabbed a goal just before halftime, and that was that. Belgium tops the group, even though it could be said Canada looked better than any other team in the group on the day (nonetheless, they now sit at the bottom of the table).

Tomorrow, after which everyone will have played one match:

Group G:

Switzerland-Cameroon., Brazil-Serbia. I've had a soft spot in my heart for Cameroon since their delightful performance at the 1990 World Cup. Goalkeeper André Onana will help keep them competitive. I also have a soft spot for Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri, but in this group, the best they can hope for is to beat out Serbia for second place. Brazil ... well, what do I need to say? The only remotely negative thing is that there have been a couple of big upsets in the Cup thus far, so maybe Brazil can be beaten. They have won five World Cups, although it has been 20 years since their last victory. You know Neymar, but this is a squad full of riches, like Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior, and many more. They are even loaded in goal ..  #1 Alisson is one of the best, #2 Ederson is #1 for the great Manchester City. Serbia has prolific young goalscorer Dušan Vlahović and the even-younger defender Strahinja Pavlović. They will hope to keep the score down against Brazil, as goal differential will be important in the fight to finish second.

Group H:

Uruguay-South Korea., Portugal-Ghana. The probable last hurrah for two again veterans, both of whom have plenty of detractors. Uruguay has Luis Suárez, about whom Wikipedia says, "Due to his diving, biting, stamping, and other antics, Suárez has been frequently labelled as a pest and a cheat." He has also scored 68 goals for his country, and more than 350 at the club level, including for the likes of Ajax, Liverpool, and Barcelona. Uruguay's youth movement is led by Federico Valverde and Darwin Núñez. Portugal has all-time great Cristiano Ronaldo, who makes Suárez look second-best (117 goals for Portugal, nearly 500 at club level, including 311 for Real Madrid alone). They also have young players like Rafael Leão and Nuno Mendes, but their fortunes will likely rise and/or fall with Ronaldo. South Korea and Ghana will fight for also-ran status. The Koreans have the better chance to surprise, although their talisman Son Heung-Min is coming off of recent surgery to fix a fracture around his eye.