Today saw the conclusion of groups A, B, and C. I’m going to change the structure of the blog a bit. And it’s going to be a really long blog which to be honest, was the exact opposite of my goal with these. But with 6 games a day for the next 4 days, it is kind of unavoidable. There’s just a lot to go over. So without further ado, let’s just get into it.

Group B

Switzerland 2-1 Canada

This was the game that was going to decide who finished top of the group. Coming in, the two teams were level on points but Canada had the advantage due to goal difference. Meaning, all Canada needed was a draw to finish first. They weren’t able to get it done.

Canada didn’t come out with the pressing energy that you’d expect from them to start the game. The Swiss almost took advantage when in the 11th minute, Breel Emobolo was through on goal. He wasn’t able to score and the game ended up going into the half at 0-0. Switzerland would get on the board immediately after the break when Ruben Vargas scored less than a minute into the half. Johan Manzambi would add a second ten minutes later and the Swiss looked like they’d be cruising into first. But Canada came alive in the 76th minute when Promise David scored just a minute after coming on. They’d push for an equalizer with their best chances coming from crosses or long throws into the box. Switzerland would hang on though and take all three points and the top spot in the group.

Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Qatar

Both teams needed a win here to secure third place and a chance at advancing out of the group. Qatar also needed to make up a huge deficit with their goal difference, which was always unlikely. Bosnia were the more likely team to win and they got it done with some style.

Bosnia got on the board in the 29th minute when 18 year old winger Kerim Alajbegovic scored one of the best goals of the tournament. He weaved around multiple defenders just outside the box and fired a rocket past a diving goalkeeper. They would get a second just five minutes later when an Edin Dzeko shot went off a defender and the goalkeeper and into the net. It ended up going down as an own goal. Hassan Al Haidos would pull one back just before the half for Qatar to give Bosnia something to think about. There were some nerves for the Bosnians as another goal for Qatar would eliminate them from the tournament but Ermin Mahmic poked one past the goalkeeper in the 80th minute to seal the 3-1 victory and third place for Bosnia.

Final Group Standings

I know there’s no proof of this anywhere, but you’ll have to believe me that this is exactly how I thought this group would play out. I promise I’ll point out the ones where I was completely wrong, which will be often. Switzerland were the best team in this group and they got the job done. The draw to Qatar to open things up was really surprising but didn’t hurt them in the end. I thought Canada and Bosnia were pretty even on paper with Canada playing at home being the difference between them. In the end, it was the 6-0 win over Qatar that secured them second as the goal difference was way too much for Bosnia to overcome. Bosnia finishing third here likely sets up a meeting with the US in the round of 32. And for Qatar, drawing against Switzerland was a great moment for them but was always likely to be the height of their tournament.

Group C

Brazil 3-0 Scotland

Both teams had something to play for heading into this one. Brazil were hoping to secure first place in the group while Scotland were realistically trying to put themselves in a good position to advance as a third place team, although a surprise win would have guaranteed them a top two finish in the group. The end result was a disaster for Scotland while Brazil got just what they needed.

Brazil took the lead in the 7th minute when Scotland defender Scott McKenna gave the ball away in his own box. Vinicius Jr took advantage and scored one of the easiest goals he’ll ever get. Around 15 minutes later, Scotland did it again. This time it was Jack Hendry that gave the ball away when under pressure from Vinicius Jr but it ended up being overturned after review due to a foul. Vini would get his second goal anyway just before the half to put Brazil 2-0 up. Matheus Cunha would add Brazil’s third in the 60th minute to put the game completely beyond reach.

It has to be said here that this was a huge letdown for Scotland. They gifted Brazil their first goal and yet continued to try to play through Brazil’s press. It was not a great strategy. The three goal loss now puts them in a bad position. Meanwhile, Brazil didn’t have to work all that hard to get the win and secure first.

Morocco 4-2 Haiti

What a great game to watch. Haiti were eliminated already after losing their first two games but still went for it just as they did in their previous two games. Morocco were hoping to get a big win here to make up some goal difference on Brazil. In the end, they got their win but it wasn’t enough to pass Brazil.

It was a back and forth first half with Haiti scoring in the 10th, Morocco in the 39th, Haiti again in the 43rd and Morocco again in the 45+1′. The best goal of the bunch was Haiti’s second, a thunderous strike from Wilson Isidor to put his side up 2-1. Morocco would go on to finally take the lead in the 78th through Soufiane Rahimi and got a fourth just over ten minutes later from Gessime Yassine to fully put the game away

Final Group Standings

This is one of the groups where I got it wrong. I expected Morocco to win the group over Brazil. It turns out that way really stupid, as Brazil have now won their group for 12 consecutive tournaments. I just thought Morocco were going to be the better team after making it to the semifinal last time around. The separation between the two teams came down to Brazil getting much more convincing wins over Scotland and Haiti than Morocco ended up getting. As for Scotland, they’re likely to be doomed by only beating Haiti by one goal and by losing to Brazil by three. We’ll have to see how all of the other groups shake out with their third placed teams, but there’s a good chance that three points and a -3 goal difference won’t be enough for Scotland to advance. Lastly, Haiti should feel really proud about their tournament. Sure, they didn’t come away with any points. But Haiti probably should have gotten a point against Scotland and they played with no fear whatsoever despite coming up against some huge star players.

Group A

Mexico 3-0 Czechia

There honestly isn’t much to say about this one. Mexico had already secured the top spot in the group and were able to rotate some players. It was all to play for for Czechia who needed a win to have a shot of progressing out of the group. It never looked like it would happen.

The first half was a pretty dull affair but Mexico got the party started in the second half. Goals from Mateo Chavez, Julian Quinones and Alvaro Fidalgo secured a 3-0 win for Mexico. They even got to bring Guillermo Ochoa on in the 78th minute. This is the sixth World Cup that Ochoa has been at, though he didn’t get to play in his first in 2006. Still, appearing at 5 straight World Cups is pretty cool. Just a great all around moment for Mexico.

South Africa 1-0 South Korea

Now this is what the last group games are supposed to be all about. Coming in, South Korea only needed a draw to secure second place in the group. South Africa needed a win and had to hope Czechia didn’t also win and get a better goal difference. What ended up happening was pretty shocking.

South Korea just never looked right. It was like they couldn’t decide between really going for the win or just trying to be cautious and get the draw that they needed. In the end, they’d learn you can’t rely on just scraping out a 0-0. South Africa got their winner in the 63rd minute when Thapelo Maseko fired a shot low and past a diving goalkeeper into the corner. South Korea pushed for the equalizer they so desperately had to have but really never looked close to getting it. What a result for the South Africans.

Final Group Standings

This was another group that didn’t go exactly how I’d expected. I thought South Korea had a shot of winning this one with Mexico second, Czechia third and South Africa fourth. How wrong I was. Credit to Mexico for taking advantage of being on home soil and cruising to a perfect record. But bigger credit to South Africa for bouncing back from a horrendous opening game to pull out a draw against Czechia and then a famous win over South Korea to put them into their first knockout round ever at a World Cup. For the Koreans, what a huge disappointment this was. I thought they looked good against Mexico and that game could’ve gone either way. But they were miles off it today and are paying the price. There’s a decent chance they don’t advance as one of the 8 third placed teams. And finally, Czechia were just really poor this whole tournament. Despite going 1-0 up on South Korea in their opener, they weren’t the better side and deserved to lose that game. The draw against South Africa really needed to be a win. And then against a Mexico side that had nothing to play for as far as the standings went, they just didn’t really turn up. Not good enough.

Final Thoughts

That’ll be all for groups A, B, and C. No stray thoughts here, as this blog has certainly been long enough. They’ll likely return once we get to the knockouts, where there won’t be six games a day to talk about. Tomorrow we’ll get to see the conclusion for groups D, E, and F. The Australia/Paraguay and Sweden/Japan games look to be the two biggest ones. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. See you then!