We’re at an even dozen now. Hard to wrap my head around to be honest. Today we got to see Messi, Haaland and Mbappe take the field again with chances to take their teams to the next round and/or top their groups.

Argentina 2-0 Austria

With both teams on 3 points heading into this one, it was another one of those games where each team had the opportunity to take control of their group. It was expected that Argentina would be the one to do so. And that is what we got. After missing a penalty wide in the in 9th minute, Lionel Messi responded in the 38th. He finished off a beautiful team move with a trademark left-footed finish placed perfectly past the goalkeeper. That is all it would end up taking for Argentina to all but guarantee finishing first in the group but Messi would add another for good measure right before the final whistle.

I thought this was a good performance from Argentina but not as dominant as it could have been. Austria were in this game and Argentina never really put them away until deep into stoppage time. Similar to last World Cup (where they won it all), this Argentina team looks like a well set up side that is going to rely on some magic from Messi in front of goal to carry them through. He is certainly capable of doing so but I don’t think this team is unbeatable.

As for Austria, they’re pretty much exactly what I expected them to be. They’re a solid team but they lack the star power to make any noise in this tournament. They’ll likely get out of the group and probably won’t roll over against one of the big sides. But I don’t see them pulling off any upsets or providing any surprises.

France 3-0 Iraq

It was another stroll in the park for France, albeit a rainy and delayed one. Kylian Mbappe scored in the 14th minute to give France the 1-0 lead they’d take into halftime. Then, the game was delayed nearly two hours due to lightning in the area. France would pick up where they left off anyway and they got a second goal from Mbappe in the 54th after a goalkeeper error. Ousmane Dembele added the third for France in the 66th to seal things, as if it was ever in doubt.

There really isn’t much more to say here. France are just really good. There’s a reason they’re one of the favorites in this tournament. The players they can bring off the bench would start for most teams. Just completely unfair. As for Iraq, this is pretty much what we expected as well. They aren’t good enough to hang with the teams in this group. Their tournament is almost surely over.

Norway 3-2 Senegal

I was a bit concerned heading into this one that we’d get another delay. The game was played at Metlife, not that far away from the France/Iraq game. It ended up being fine though and we got to watch what was the biggest game of the day on time. Norway took a 1-0 lead late in the first half through substitute Marcus Pedersen. He was only in the game because of an injury to Julian Ryerson. Senegal looked like they were about to fall apart right after the goal and nearly conceded again before halftime. You would think that going it at 1-0, they would be able to settle themselves coming out of the break. But Erling Haaland put his side 2-0 up just three minutes into the half. Ismaila Sarr would pull one back five minutes later for Senegal but then five minutes after that Haaland would get a second to make it 3-1. Sarr scored again three minutes into stoppage time to make it a bit of a nervy finish but in the end, Senegal couldn’t get an equalizer.

First, this was a big disappointment for Senegal. I had high hopes for them despite being in such a tough group. This was a critical game for them and they weren’t able to get it done. It leaves them in a nearly impossible situation heading into the final group game. For Norway, this was a crucial win. Haaland looks like, well, Haaland. The players around him are doing their jobs as well and Norway look really dangerous. This win sets up a fantastic end to the group, which we’ll get to shortly.

Algeria 2-1 Jordan

This was a game where both teams were looking to stay alive in the tournament after losing their opener. Surprisingly, Jordan got the first goal through Nizar Al Rashdan in the 36th minute. They were able to take that 1-0 lead into halftime. While Jordan did get forward on the counter on a few occasions, the rest of the game was really dominated by Algeria. Jordan were unable to hang on and conceded in the 69th and 82nd to have their dreams of a first ever World Cup win crushed.

I thought Algeria looked ok but but they really made this hard on themselves. Still, they have every opportunity to finish second and move on as we’ll soon see. For Jordan, it was such a great moment when they went ahead. But it was clear that they just didn’t have enough to be able to compete and get a historic win.

Group Updates

Group I has played out in a way where the final group game between France and Norway will decide the group winner. Both sides are guaranteed to advance and will finish as the top two. A France win or draw will get them first while Norway need to win to get the top spot. For Senegal and Iraq, it’s a tall mountain to climb to be able to advance as a third placed team. They play each other in the final group game and both need a win. Not only that, they need to pour on the goals and vastly improve their goal difference. With Iraq at -6, that’s really unlikely. Even for Senegal at -3, it’s going to be really difficult.

Group J now has a winner. By winning their game and Jordan failing to beat Algeria, Argentina are guaranteed to finish top of the group. This is because they’ve already beaten both teams who could catch them on points, Austria and Algeria. Jordan are now eliminated, as they both lost to Austria and Algeria. And speaking of those two teams, they will play to determine who finishes second in the group. Algeria need a win to go second while Austria just need a draw or a win.

Stray Thoughts

• I guarantee I said this last time this group of teams played, but how about the stars showing out yet again. A brace each for Messi, Mbappe, and Haaland. Those guys just continue to deliver
• We had our first weather delay. Around 2 hours! The weather has been mostly great this tournament so I suppose we were due for something like this. It didn’t really end up impacting the result anyway, as if we’re being honest there was nothing Iraq would’ve been able to do to slow down France and get a result

Well, that’s yet another day in the books. The stars showed out and we got some decent drama at the end of the day. As for Matchday 13, we’ll get to finish out this second round of games with groups K and L playing. There’s a lot to look forward to as Portugal need to turn things around after a disappointing draw in their opener, and we get to see England again. Can’t wait to do this all again tomorrow. See you then!