World Cup: Day 23
Like the number from that Jim Carrey film or whatever.
Ok, Round of 32. We did it.
We made it through three games a day and the schedule lightens up now. I am aware this is a huge disappointment for a lot of you, but it is a massive win for my own sanity. Let’s get going.
Australia 1-1 Egypt (Egypt win on penalties)
Ok, let’s talk about Mohamed Salah.
He is, pretty obviously, Egypt’s biggest star. If I walked around Cairo right now, I’m guessing I’d see Salah’s face advertising a lot of products. He’s a huge deal and Australia acted like it. They clearly planned for the threat of Salah specifically. When you’re one of the most famous players in the world, that can happen. He’s also not quite the player he was. That gives Egypt some interesting choices.
Even if he’s not at his best, he’s still a magnet for defenders. He drags them towards the ball. That should be opening up the game. But they’re rarely able to do anything productive here. Salah should be opening up spaces and picking out passes for Omar Marmoush, who can definitely still run. As it is, Salah hasn’t really impacted the tournament much at all. In a World Cup where the superstars have largely turned up, he might be the biggest disappointment.
Egypt probably aren’t fixing this in time for the game against Argentina, in which no one will consider Salah the most famous man on the pitch. But it’s a disappointment. I’ve watched a lot of football over the past year that didn’t have any idea how to use Salah. It’s a shame this tournament might be the last we see of him at the highest level.
Argentina 3-2 Cabo Verde
If Argentina are to win the World Cup, this will be the turning point. This is the moment they stopped acting like it’s a fun exhibition tournament to celebrate Lionel Messi and realised it’s time for serious business.