Sunday provided a full quota of entertainment to all those who were loyal enough to stick to their couches and follow the action in Brazil. Belgium defeated Russia 1-0 and Korea Republic were beaten by Algeria 2-4. The USA-Portugal encounter ended in a 2-2 goal.
Thumbs Up
The first Thumbs Up in the match between Russia and Belgium goes to 19-year-old Romelu Lukaku, who, in the 57th minute, scored the one goal that not just propelled his team into the last 16, but also made him the youngest goalscorer in the World Cup. The second Thumbs Up goes to Belgium, who, despite the drab affair the match was turning out to be, managed to break the Russian defense and score a late one, second successive match in which they did so. Compared to the Russians’ 6 off 13, the Belgians had 7 off 11, with a better ball possession too.
Our next Thumbs Up in the tie between Algeria and Korea Republic goes to Algeria, for the many firsts they managed to achieve with their 4-goal win over Korea Republic. First is the fact that this is the first time an African nation has scored four goals in a World Cup match. Second, this is their first World Cup match win since 1982. Apart from this, they also will be proud of themselves of foiling a Korean first: an appearance in the knockout round. There was a lot at stake in this encounter: a race for the second place and a few points to gather. Algeria was the better team all through the match, 8 off 15, compared to 6 off 9 for Korea. The ball possession was also better for Algeria.
Our first Thumbs Up in the drawn encounter between Portugal and USA would go to the entire match, because there wasn’t a dull moment. The first half Nani give Portugal the lead, but just when everyone Portugal have the advantage, Jermaine Jones evened it out for USA. The second half saw stiff competition between the two sides and Clint Dempsey cracked one in the second half, but Varela came up with the equaliser for Portugal to end it in a drawn affair. Great entertainer by both the teams!
Thumbs Down
Our first Thumbs Down goes to Russia not because they lost, but because despite having great defense, they let Belgium off the hook and into the last 16. The Belgians lacked sharp finishing, but instead of taking advantage of the flaw, the Russians conceded a late goal. They even let de Bruyne and Dries Mertens play mess around with their back line. Â
The Koreans deserve a big Thumbs Down for their poor performance in against Algeria. Their standard of play was very poor and it looked like they’d already given up even before the second half started. Four forays and strikes by the Algerians in the first half broke the Korean spirit and despite the two late attempts in the second half, their spirit had already let them down.
Our last Thumbs Down might seem a tad too harsh, but it goes to Cristiano Ronaldo, who put up his struggling side on display and made a mess of the chance he had in the 62nd minute, with a shot that was way off target. This left him frustrated and unable to concentrate well on the rest of the game.