As the Argentina vs Croatia highlights show, Lionel Messi and company collapsed against an altogether superior opponent on Thursday in Nizhny Novgorod, 3-0. Spearheaded by the influential play of the sublime Luka Modric, Croatia is through to the Round of 16 while Argentina is on the verge of a shock group stage elimination.
Sergio Romero is normally Argentina’s goalkeeper. The Manchester United backup picked up a knee injury before the World Cup, and, according to the FOX broadcast, he apparently felt like he would've been fit by the time the tournament rolled around.
Denmark escaped with a 1-1 draw against a resilient Australia earlier this morning, and the Danish can thank their lucky stars that Australia didn’t convert more of its chances.
The Danish Dynamite opened the game with a bang, as striker Nicolai Jørgensen and star midfielder Christian Eriksen combined in a beautiful pass-and-move play, and Eriksen rocketed a volley past Socceroos keeper Mat Ryan.
19-year-old PSG forward Kylian Mbappe, already the game’s second-most expensive player ever and the winner of the prestigious 2017 Golden Boy award, has become the youngest goalscorer for France at any major international tournament after opening the scoring for Les Bleus against Peru.
Mexico take on South Korea Saturday, June 23 at the Rostov Arena on the second matchday of Group F action at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The match begins at 11:00 a.m. ET on FOX and Telemundo with South Korea desperate for a result following a 1-0 opening defeat to Sweden, whereas Mexico is riding high following a 1-0 victory over defending champions Germany.
There’s no more important player at the World Cup than Olivier Giroud. France, one of the favorites, has looked terrible thus far. They struggled past a turgid Australian side thanks to a deflected goal and a penalty. There’s no doubt that France has one of the best squads at the tournament, but it really doesn’t look it at the moment.
After Day 6 had three 1-0 matches, we figure Thursday will yield some more goals. Australia faces a crucial match against Denmark after falling to France thanks to an own goal from Aziz Behich. France on the other hand will look to have a better performance but will take on a Peru side that got robbed of securing any points against Denmark. Then Lionel Messi and Argentina will take on Croatia, the leaders of Group D. All eyes will be on La Pulga to see if he can dig Argentina out of a hole after their 1-1 draw with Iceland.
Things are getting serious over in Russia. In Group A, Russia and Uruguay are through to the Round of 16 whereas Egypt and Saudi Arabia are going home. In Group B, Morocco suffered an early exit while both Spain and Portugal enjoy positions of strength. Let’s take a look at who’s become legend and who’s become a cautionary tale following day seven of the World Cup.
Gerard Pique was a man of peace and love to start Spain’s match against Iran on Wednesday. He gently helped a little birdie off the pitch before the opening whistle. By the end of the match, Vahid Amiri’s Pique nutmeg left the Spanish defender shaking his head, just happy La Furia Roja escaped with a 1-0 victory over Team Melli.