day thirteen
Friday, December 02, 2022
This will be quick. I spent part of the day at a memorial service for a friend, missing the last two matches in the process. South Korea beat Portugal on an extra-time goal, and even though Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0, the Koreans advance because they scored more goals than the South Americans. Cameroon are out, as well, although they beat Brazil with their own extra-time goal. That goal resulted in one of the more delightful moments of the Cup. The scorer, Vincent Aboubakar, celebrated by removing his jersey, which is a yellow-card offense. Aboubakar already had a yellow, and two yellows means a red. So Aboubakar scored the winning goal against Brazil in a World Cup, and was immediately sent off.
Tomorrow:
Netherlands-USA, Argentina-Australia. The Dutch and Argentina are favored, Argentina especially so. Dutch players to watch, based on their form so far in the tournament, are Frenkie de Jong and Cody Gakpo. American hopes lie with Christian Pulisic, who may be injured, and goalkeeper Matt Turner. Argentina revolves around the inevitable Messi, while the surprising Socceroos have benefitted from the defensive play of Harry Souttar.