It’s day 5 of the Round of 32. We got to see Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo vs Luka Modric, and…..Switzerland and Algeria. On paper it was set to be fun start, a great middle, and a probably subdued finish to the day. Did it play out that way? Let’s take a look:

Spain 3-0 Austria

Well, that went just about as expected. To their credit though, Austria did come out a little stronger than I thought they would. They didn’t just sit back and allow Spain to have all the possession. It was always going to be important to keep the ball a little bit in order to take the pressure of the defensive side of the game. Austria were able to do that and even had a couple chances to get a goal. Still, it was clear who the better team was. Marc Cucurella had the ball in the back of the net in the 29th minute following a corner but it ended up getting ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper. Spain would get their breakthrough seven minutes later when Cucurella’s low cross was met by Mikel Oyarzabal who swept it past the goalkeeper. They almost got a second right before halftime when Alex Baena’s free kick went off the top corner of the post/crossbar.

The second half carried on just like the first. Austria did have a chance to equalize just after the hour mark but Sasa Kalajdzic headed over. A short time later in the 66th, Pedro Porro would nod home a cross from Baena to finally put Spain two goals ahead. They would get a third in the 89th when Oyarzabal secured his brace after slotting home from a Cucurella cross. In the end it was simple and straightforward win for Spain.

This was an easy one to predict. I had it as an easy 2-0 win for Spain. Oyarzabal just had to get that third goal right at the end to prevent me from being spot on. How dare he? Anyway, I’m finally ready to say that Spain can win this whole thing. I thought they needed to get Lamine Yamal more fit but in this one, everything actually ended up coming down their left side. Cucurella and Baena were fantastic down the left and easily picked apart the Austrian defense. Spain will be a really tough out.

For Austria, they helped provide an all-time moment in this World Cup. So, success? That final group game against Algeria will certainly go down in World Cup history. I think it was always going to be hard for them to make a run here. Being in a group with Argentina meant it was almost assured that the best they could do was finish second. That meant a more difficult game in the knockouts and they never had a chance to get past Spain.

Portugal 2-1 Croatia

And……….Exhale. What a game we had in Toronto.  Getting right into it, I thought Portugal were clearly the better team in the first half.  Croatia created a few chances but the play was overwhelmingly in Portugal’s favor.  They had 69% possession in the first half and used it to create some good opportunities.  A lot of their best moves came down the left where Rafael Leao and Nuno Mendes continually punished the Croatian defense.  Especially Leao.  However, it didn’t result in any goals and the game went into the half at 0-0.

Croatia came out a lot stronger in the second half and were rewarded pretty early on.  In the 53rd minute Ivan Perisic found himself unmarked at the far post after a Josip Stanisic cross eventually made its way to him.  He buried his shot past an onrushing Diogo Costa and Croatia were 1-0 up.  They almost made it 2 three minutes later when Igor Matanovic had the ball in the back of the net but was offside.  Both teams nearly scored a couple minutes later when Leao hit the bar and Petar Sucic went down the other end and had his ball across tipped wide by Costa.  Then in the 61st, Cristiano Ronaldo thought he scored with a great finish but he was leaning offside and it was called back.  Ronaldo would end up getting his goal in the 68th after Portugal were awarded a penalty and he buried it.  After the equalizer, Croatia nearly scored on three separate occasions.  Ronaldo would then be taken off in the 81st in order to solidify a Portuguese midfield that had been sacrificed for more attackers when they were trailing.  With Gonçalo Ramos now the lone striker, he made his impact. 

Four minutes into stoppage time, Ramos got between the two center backs and on the end of an inch perfect cross from Leao that he’d head past Livakovic.  What a dramatic moment.  But the drama wasn’t done.  Croatia had the ball in the back of the net 13 minutes into stoppage time to draw level at 2-2 and certainly take the game into extra time.  Except, the goal was ruled out for offside in controversial fashion.  Perisic crossed a ball in towards Matanovic, who jumped to meet the cross.  The ball then found its way to Mario Pasalic and eventually Josko Gvardiol who put it in the back of the net.  Pasalic was onside when Perisic crossed the ball but was in an offside position when Matanovic jumped. Through the chip in the ball it was determined that Matanovic got a touch on it, therefore making Pasalic offside.  I trust the technology but it’s an incredibly cruel way for Croatia to go out. 

First on Croatia, you have to think this is it for their legend Luka Modric. Perisic is also 37 and may be near the end too.  It was a good tournament for Croatia but in the end they’ll feel hard done by going out in this fashion.  They did everything possible to go through.

Now, on to Portugal.  If you haven’t been able to tell yet, I’m a huge Portugal fan due to being half Portuguese.  So this game was stressful.  The main takeaway from me is that unlike their next opponents Spain, I’m nowhere near ready to say they have a shot at winning this tournament.  It took a penalty and an incredibly harsh (but correct) decision to get them past Croatia.  This game should have been put away in the first half.  And yet again, the player at the center of it all is Ronaldo.  I’m honestly sick of hearing that the rest of the team isn’t getting him the ball.  Because when Gonçalo Ramos came in, magically the team looked so much better going forward.  He absolutely deserves to start over Ronaldo but everyone knows it’ll never happen.  They’ll have an uphill battle against Spain on Monday.

Switzerland 2-0 Algeria

This ended up being a relatively straightforward game to close out the day. Switzerland were the better side throughout and got themselves an early goal to immediately put pressure on Algeria. In the 10th minute, one of the rising stars of the tournament Johan Manzambi made a great run from just inside the Algerian half all the way to the end line and put the ball on a platter for Breel Embolo to tap in. Algeria didn’t create much to try to get themselves back into the game and went into halftime down 1-0.

Switzerland would quickly double their lead under a minute into the second half. Dan Ndoye collected a clearance on the edge of the box and neatly finished into the far corner. Algeria had a chance to get a goal back in the 50th minute but Riyad Mahrez saw his shot blocked in the box. It looked likely to hit the back of the net were it not for the intervention. From there, the biggest highlight was in the 81st minute when Swiss midfielder Fabian Rieder somehow missed a tap in. It only went down as a 0.67xG chance but he still should’ve made it three. Either way, Switzerland were able to cruise to a 2-0 victory and secure their spot in the Round of 16.

Nine African teams made the knockouts but Algeria have become the fifth of the six to play so far to be eliminated. Overall though I don’t think Algeria can be too disappointed with their tournament. Just like I said about Austria earlier, they provided us with an all time moment with that final group game. I think their defense and in particular goalkeeping was their undoing. They probably had enough in attack, despite not getting any goals today. But conceding nine goals across four games in the tournament just isn’t going to cut it.

Switzerland have had a very good tournament so far. They had a bizarre draw with Qatar in their opener but have since gone on to win their next three games by a combined 8-2. I think they look a step above what we normally see out of a Swiss team at a World Cup and they will have a decent chance to move on to a quarterfinal. They’ll meet either Colombia or Ghana in the Round of 16.

Tomorrow’s Predictions

• Egypt 2-0 Australia
  • Egypt are just the better team here, despite what the typically flawed FIFA rankings might tell you. As long as they don’t get caught on the break, Egypt should get a couple goals and advance
• Argentina 4-0 Cape Verde
  • Look, I hate this. But I just can’t see the Cape Verde cinderella story continuing. Argentina are just too good. I think they get a goal early and a second goal just before halftime before two late goals seal it
• Colombia 1-0 Ghana
  • This will depend on how Ghana come out. I think they’ll be defensive and try to do what they did to England. Colombia will eventually get their goal though and take a close one
• We’re through day 5. Just one more ahead for the Round of 32. It’s been quite the round so far. Most games have been close and we’ve had some unforgettable moments. While I don’t foresee tomorrow’s games providing any surprises, I can’t wait to see if I’m proven wrong. Until then!