What a day we had ahead of us for Matchday 9.  Two of the big teams in this tournament (Brazil and Morocco) were playing.  The USA also got to take the field for the second time with a chance to advance to the knockouts.  Here’s my thoughts on how it all played out:

USA 2-0 Australia

The two biggest questions for the US coming into this one were about the fitness of Christian Pulisic and whether or not the 4-1 win over Paraguay was an anomaly.  To the first one, it turned out Pulisic was not ready to play.  As for the second question, I think the US proved the opener wasn’t a fluke…for the most part.

Just like in their opening game, the US got the scoring started by forcing an own goal.  It once again came down the left as a ball was played into the box that went off a defender and in.  Alex Freeman would get the second just before halftime after heading a ball in from close range.  Australia made some substitutions in the second half and looked much better but the US were able to ride things out and secure the win and their advancement to the knockout rounds.

I thought the US looked dominant again in the first 45 but had a much more subdued second half.  Australia were on the front foot and had the better chance of getting a goal in that last 45.  I was hoping to see a more complete performance from the US but they still got the job done.  It was encouraging that they were able to suffer and defend for a decent stretch in the second half, even if it was against a team that didn’t have much quality on the ball.  All in all, I’m happy with the performance and just hope Pulisic can get healthy soon as the team will certainly need him against tougher opponents. 

Morocco 1-0 Scotland

For Morocco, this game was going to be about improving upon their performance against Brazil and getting 3 points.  For Scotland, the question was whether or not they could compete with one of the two powerhouse teams in the group.  In the end, both did end up happening.  Morocco got their three points and Scotland proved they could compete.  But the result Scotland needed was just out of reach.

Ismael Saibari, who scored against Brazil, got Morocco in front here just over a minute into the game.  It was a blast from a relatively tight angle that Angus Gunn could do nothing about.  Morocco would control the rest of the half and probably should have scored another goal or two.  Scotland got back into it after halftime with their energy pressing to win the ball back.  They pushed hard for the equalizer and created some chances but ultimately couldn’t get it done.

Brazil 3-0 Haiti

Let’s be honest, there’s not much to say about this one.  It went exactly as expected.  Brazil easily took care of Haiti in a very straightforward win.  A Mateus Cunha brace and late first half goal from Vinicius Jr put Brazil 3-0 up at halftime.  The only question was whether or not Brazil would add to the lead in the second half.  They weren’t able to, which may come back to haunt them when it comes to finishing first in the group.  But for now it’s job done and they move on.

For Haiti, their tournament ends here.  This game was always going to go this way given how Haiti play.  They don’t sit back and instead prefer games to be open.  In a way, you have to give them credit for having the guts to go at Brazil.  But it was also very naive. 

Paraguay 1-0 Turkiye

Both of these teams lost their openers.  Meaning avoiding a loss here was critical to their chances of moving on.  And really, they each needed a win.  That’s what makes these games so enticing.  That, and the fact that the result had a huge effect on the US.  But we’ll get to that soon.

Paraguay midfielder Matias Galarza fired his team ahead just over a minute into the game with a perfectly placed finish from right outside the box.  They then defended for their lives for the rest of the game.  Paraguay are kind of used to being on the back foot like this though.  They beat Argentina and Brazil in qualifying with 23% and 29% possession.  And they got it done here with 21%.  Add in the fact that they had to play a man down the entire second half and it’s just a monumental performance.

For Turkiye, this ends their tournament.  What an awful way to go.  It’s honestly pretty embarrassing.  On paper, they easily had enough talent to get out of this group.  But it often looked like these players had never played together.

Group Updates

In Group C, Haiti have now been eliminated.  Morocco will be looking to not only beat them in the last group game but run up the score so they can improve their goal difference.  This would give them a chance to pass Brazil assuming Brazil also win against Scotland.  None of those three teams have clinched a spot in the round of 32 yet so they all have a lot to play for on the final day.

In Group D, the US have moved on to the knockouts.  Not only that, but with the Paraguay/Turkiye result they have now won the group.  This is a huge achievement and they can now theoretically rest players in their group  finale against a Turkiye side who are eliminated.  It will help with fitness but also with protecting players on a yellow card from getting a suspension.  Paraguay and Australia are still alive and will be playing one another for second in the group.  A win or draw would secure second for Australia with a Paraguay win giving them second spot.  It would then be up to the other groups to determine if either side would get through as a third place team.

Stray Thoughts

• We had some weird kickoff times today.  All tournament we’ve had three hours between games but here we had kickoffs at 3pm, 6pm, 8:30pm, and 11pm.  Not sure why this happened but I suppose it works.  Only complaint is it gave me less time between games to work on the blog.  Hopefully FIFA reads these and changes things
• Miguel Almiron’s red card for Paraguay was a new one.  FIFA decided to implement a rule that states a player cannot cover their mouth when confronting another player.  The idea behind it is, if you’re covering your mouth to say something then it’s likely something that crosses the line.  I understand the reasoning but it felt a little bizarre.  Obviously there are things you can’t say but making the assumption that a player said something because they covered their mouth is a bit strange

That’s another day done.  I can’t believe it’s been 9 straight days of this.  But I love this sport and tournament so much.  I’ll be back at it again tomorrow where we’ll have some good matchups with Netherlands/Sweden and Germany/Ivory Coast standing out.  Can’t wait to do this again tomorrow!