Amazing Goals

Group C is off to a wicked start folks. I’m going to get this out of the way early.

I never understood why Gonzalo Higuain got time over Sergio Aguero on the Argentina national team. That decision really personifies the shit show that is the Argentine FA. Sergio Aguero, who's been out with a knee injury since the end of April, made his return and showed just why he’s more valuable than Higuain. He can make something out of nothing in an instant and finish. (Now watch Higuain come in a score the game winner.)

France defeated Australia without entirely convincing, and the same sort of analysis could be applied to its myriad of attacking talent. Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe are both absolute spectacles in full flight and Antoine Griezmann is the spice that is the variety of life, but the three just couldn’t combine with the sort of intricacy and understanding that fellow frontrunners Spain and Brazil enjoy.

Cristiano Ronaldo has finally arrived at a World Cup. Sure, he’s scored at the last three tournaments, but the goals came against inferior competition. The Ronaldo hat trick vs Spain was one of the Portugal striker’s greatest moments for his country, as the Iberian derby finished in a 3-3 draw on Friday in Russia. 

Anyone else hungry for nachos? I mean, I’m always hungry for nachos, but something about that Nacho goal vs Portugal has me even hungrier that usual.

The first half of the Portugal-Spain matchup was absolutely bonkers. But the second half didn’t peter out like the first season of Westworld (I haven’t watched Season 2, so no spoilers).  

THE WORLD CUP IS BACK, PEOPLE!

The most anticipated matchup in the group stage didn’t waste any time getting the people going. It has lived up to the hype. We’ve gotten:

Vintage Cristiano step overs. Cristiano earning a PK with said stepovers. Two VAR instances. Diego Costa giving Pepe a forearm shiver. Diego Costa playing the Portuguese defense like a fiddle. An Isco shot off the bar that needed goal-line technology. And a shocking howler from David de Gea

At halftime, it was 2-1 Portugal. 

Let’s get to the Spain vs Portugal goals footage:

Denis Cheryshev scored two beautiful goals in the opening game of the 2018 World Cup against Saudi Arabia. He was voted man of the match and made the game that everyone thought would be a total snooze fest an absolute stunner.

Russia crushed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the World Cup opener on Thursday, a perfect result for the host nation. So was Russia that good or Saudi Arabia that bad? Let’s just say Russia vs Saudi Arabia was a mix of both thanks to Russia’s two stoppage time goals. 

If every country has it’s own lesser version of Lionel Messi (“The Alpine Messi”, “The Egyptian Messi”, etc.) then Russia’s is certainly Denis Cheryshev. The 27-year-old has spent his entire career in Spain (including coming through at Real Madrid and making two appearances for the club before joining Villarreal in 2016), and he demonstrated his talents Thursday after coming on as a 24th minute substitute for the injured Alan Dzagoev.

19 minutes after coming on, Cheryshev doubled Russia’s advantage with a sweet strike in the 43rd minute. 

Back in January of 2016, Tottenham attacker Dele Alli announced his talent to the world by scoring what BBC Match of the Day would later vote Goal of the Season against Crystal Palace. Alli controlled a Christian Eriksen knock-down with his thigh, flicked an audacious sombrero over the head of an onrushing defender, swiveled and struck a 22-yard volley inside the post.