World Cup Groups G, H, and I settled their accounts on Friday, and there were still a number of competitive matches to determine the standings in each group. All three group winners came from UEFA, as we’re now just one day away from finalizing the World Cup round of 32.<\/p>\n
In Group G, Belgium was expected<\/a> to win the group, but the circumstances in which they did so were less than ideal. A win and two draws was all Belgium could manage from this tournament so far as Rudi Garcia failed to get his attack going for two consecutive games. On matchday 3, Belgium began the day in third place in the group, but a winnable contest against New Zealand was on deck, and the UEFA side finally responded to adversity with a statement result. The attacking pressure was constant from the start, New Zealand conceded their first goal in the 28th minute, after a penalty shout had been revoked by VAR in the 21st. It was Leandro Trossard that got Belgium over the hump, he ended up with a brace as Belgium broke down New Zealand in the second half. Kevin De Bruyne<\/a> had his best game for his nation in quite some time, and Romelo Lukaku found the scoreboard once again for his second goal of the World Cup.<\/p>\n Elijah Just from the SPFL continued to be the revelation for New Zealand, but ultimately their achilles heel of not being able to maintain shape when defending resulted in a landslide outcome. New Zealand conceded eight goals in their last two games.<\/p>\n On the positive side, Belgium have only conceded two goals in three games, but the offense is streaky at best, they had to labor to get a draw against Egypt, and then offered nothing against Iran in a scoreless draw. Expectations remain modest.<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the group, both Mo Salah’s Egypt, and an Iran side that has endured significant adversity will both be happy to advance to the last 32. Egypt got a key draw against Belgium, then thumped New Zealand and survived an Iranian side that had a number of chances to beat them but just couldn’t do it. This is not an elite team but Egypt are consistent.<\/p>\n Iran will reach the last 32 without winning a game, three draws, all of them interesting, but this is still not a side expected to make a deep run.<\/p>\n We can continue to marvel and enjoy the football of all the nations left in the tournament, but France remain the clear favorites<\/a> to win the World Cup, and their group stage performance shows why. 3-1 against Senegal on matchday 1, with the sheer quality of Kylian Mbappe leading to a pair of goals. A routine Mbappe brace against lowly Iraq on matchday 2, and then a 4-1 rout of Norway’s backup XI on matchday 3 to win the group. Ousmane Dembele scored a hat trick against Norway, and this is simply a team that looks like it can’t be stopped in open play.<\/p>\n Norway having Erling Haaland shows the value of a quality striker in international football. The elite Haaland led Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq, and a 3-2 shootout win over Senegal to ensure passage into the last 32 as the second-place team. Manager Stale Solbakken was clear minded<\/a>, when he decided to rest his starters on matchday 3 and he’s clearly trying to steer Norway to the best strategic position. The defence remains less than elite, but with Martin Odegaard, Erling Haaland, Alexander Sorloth and Antonio Nusa, Norway’s attacking quality is in line with some of the best teams in the world.<\/p>\n While Iraq were battered in Group I, scoring just one goal and ending up -11 on goal difference, it’s not a huge surprise for a team that were a late FIFA qualifier and lack players in the world’s top leagues. Senegal avoided disaster on matchday 3, the problems<\/a> within their camp remain real, and the losses against France and Norway have certainly dampened expectations for Sadio Mane’s side, but they needed a big win against Iraq and they got it, with Papa Gueye scoring a brace. We could see England vs Senegal in the last 32.<\/p>\n The matchday 3 clash against Spain was Uruguay’s<\/a> reckoning, and it was a complete disaster from start to finish for Marcelo Bielsa’s side. While Spain needed only a Fernando Muslera goal keeping error, one of many this World Cup, to top the group, it was Uruguay that finished the tournament on 2 points and out of the last 32, a second consecutive World Cup group stage elimination.<\/p>\n Spain never found and consistently maintained their best form this group stage. Stifled against a brave Cape Verde on matchday 1, held to a scoreless draw, Lamine Yamal inspired a 4-0 rout of Saudi Arabia on matchday 2 that qualified them for the last 32. Mikel Oyarzabal scoring a brace in that game. Against Uruguay, heavily fouled, and at times disinterested, it was just an Alex Baena goal that separated the teams. The reigning European Champions finished their group on 7 points, but with real concerns<\/a> about their attacking prowess.<\/p>\n Bielsa’s feud with Uruguay’s players, including Federico Valverde, who had an awful World Cup, was on display in the Spain clash, but ultimately Uruguay’s failure was going through the entire World Cup without a quality striker. Darwin Nunez and company looking helpless against the defences of Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, and Spain.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia went winless at the World Cup, meeting the low expectations that were set for them. Their inability to score against Cape Verde is something that every team has experienced thus far. Cape Verde’s organized and brave brand of football was three draws, and a historic round of 32 result. 2-2 Against Uruguay, and 0-0 against Saudi Arabia were how the last 2 games went. This Cape Verde side will be generational underdogs against Argentina, but this tournament is already a massive success<\/a> for them.<\/p>\n Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" World Cup Groups G, H, and I settled their accounts on Friday, and there were still a number of competitive matches to determine the standings in each group. All three group winners came from UEFA, as we’re now just one day away from finalizing the World Cup round of 32. Belgium Avoids Disaster With Confident […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1442,"featured_media":671551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"France Goes Undefeated and Remains World Cup Favorites, Senegal Reaches Last 32<\/h3>\n
Uruguay Crashes Out As Spain Top Group H<\/h3>\n