FIFA World Cup 2018: Match Day 1

So we are here at the end of round 1 of the biggest show of the world and it has been a roller coaster ride for football fans across the world. 6 days ago festival of football started with a lot of expectations from certain teams and less from certain teams but till now competition has turned out to be an even one which is obviously good for neutral perspective and football fans. Everybody competing for the biggest prize in world football has completed their first fixture and here we are with a summarised report.

The perfect first day of World Cup started with Iker Casillas accompanied by Russian model Natalia Vodianova and presented the trophy that the winning team on the July 15 final will be awarded. After the presentation ceremony, British pop singer Robbie Williams performed at the stadium. Then happened the most awaited kickoff between Russia and Saudi Arabia with a full packed stadium which was dominated by Russians. Russia won the game by 5-0 due to the excellent performance from first-half substitute and former Real Madrid graduate Cheryshev(2 goals) and Golovin(2 assist 1 goal).

The second day was more of a late drama day as all the games were decided in last few minutes of a game. The first game of the day was between Egypt and Uruguay which was decided by Jose Gimenez header in the 89th minute from Sanchez freekick. The game between Iran and Morocco was a tight affair and unfortunately for Morroco, their own defender Aziz Bouhaddouz scored an own goal on Ehsan Haji Safi’s freekick to give Iran a 1-0 win at the 90+5’th minute. End of the day was waiting for the best game of Round 1 and probably may even end as the best match of this World Cup as Euro Champions 2016(Portugal) met World Cup 2010 champions(Spain). Match began with a lot of promise as in early stages Spain conceded penalty and Ronaldo converted it. Diego Costa equalized for Spain with a brilliant run at 25th-minute mark but the half ended in 2-1 Portugal favour as Ronaldo scored his 2nd. In second half Costa first equalized for Spain and Nacho with a bullet shot gave Spain a 3-2 lead and when everyone thought it would be a Spain win Ronaldo equalized with a stunning freekick to end the game 3-3.

Saturday came to us with four fixtures in a day. The first fixture came up with France facing Australia where Australia showed defensive resistance against talented France lineup but somehow managed to lose 2-1 courtesy of Aziz Behich own goal. Argentina vs Iceland also was a dull affair as Argentines failed to find openings in a tight packed Iceland defence and got away with a 1-1 draw after Sergio Aguero early goal was cancelled out by Finnbogason. Denmark got an important 1-0 win against Peru from Poulsen strike from an Eriksen assist. Last game of the day saw Croatia beating Nigeria comfortably 2-0 after Nigerian defender scored an own goal and Modric converted a late penalty in the game.

And then arrived Sunday which could easily be called as Day of Upsets. Matchday kicked off with Serbia winning 1-0 against Costa Rica thanks to a brilliant freekick from Kolarov. And then happened which probably few had seen coming defending champions were rattled by energy and resistance from Mexico and lose the game 1-0 from Lozano strike. Surprisingly Brazil also drew with Switzerland 1-1 as Coutinho excellent strike was cancelled out by Zuber. So it could be said that it was the day of underdogs.

Monday arrived and World cup was more in veins as it was turning to be unpredictable with the quality of football. Zlatan less Sweden managed to win 1-0 against South Korea. Belgium down Panama 3-0 in one of the most convincing performances from any team till now as goals from Mertens and Lukaku(2) were enough to ensure Panama was beaten easily. The action continued as England registered a 2-1 win against Tunisia after Harry Kane scored 2 and 1 in last minute to give England crucial win.

As scintillating World Cup brought us with last two fixtures from round 1 and we were able to see first red card of 2018 World Cup from Colombian Carlos Moreno in 4th minute of the game which eventually led to penalty which was converted by Kagawa for Japan and match ended in a 2-1 Japan win and it was a historical moment as Japan became the first Asian side to beat a South American side  in World Cup history. The second game was won by Senegal as they beat Poland by 2-1 in the last fixture of round 1.

Apparently, some results in round 1 were surprising, but at the end of the day, past domination of any nation in football did not become a factor contributing to the results of the match. Round 1 was crucial too for the whole tournament as watching teams like Brazil, Argentina halted on draw somewhat relieves pressure off other teams in their group and dwindles Messi or Neymar fear.

But as the tournament unravels, we will be seeing if this balance in power is temporary or it defines new future for the football paving the way for a new era of international football.

Fun trivia from Round 1

• Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest ever player to score a World Cup hat-trick.
• This is Nigeria’s sixth appearance at the World Cup finals; no African nation has appeared in more since the Super Eagles’ first tournament in 1994.
• Since 1966, Brazil have scored 37 goals from outside the box at the World Cup; 11 more than any other team.
• England have scored a 90+ minute winner for the first time ever in regular time during a World Cup match.
• This is the third consecutive World Cup in which the reigning champion has failed to win their opening match – Italy drew 1-1 with Paraguay in 2010, while Spain lost 5-1 against the Netherlands in 2014.
• Poland have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine World Cup games.
• Rafael Márquez is appearing in his fifth different World Cup finals tournament, equalling the record held by Antonio Carbajal (Mexico) and Lothar Matthäus (Germany).
• Aleksandar Kolarov’s goal was the third scored from a direct free-kick in the 2018 World Cup, already as many as the entirety of the 2014 tournament.
• The two penalties scored in the game between France & Australia were only 4 mins, 7 secs apart – the shortest period of time between two penalties being scored by different sides in a World Cup match.

Reference – Opta Stats