Messi's 3-2 Escape & Australia's Shootout Heartbreak! 🇦🇷🇦🇺🇺🇦 | World Cup Daily #33

[00:00:00] Cape Verde nearly came back from a goal down twice against the world champions and still nearly did it. In the end, a deflected own goal in extra time entered their fairytale. But what a ride it was. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of FUTIN REVIEW, World Cup Daily episode 33,

[00:00:24] Day 23, Believe It or Not is done and I'm Shaq. Today you will have to have a solo show listeners and I hope this bodes well for both of us. So let's get into it. Three more games yesterday. Firstly, we had Egypt versus Heartbreaking versus Australia. Cabo Verde stood up and made an account for themselves against Argentina and Colombia just showed us what they were made of. So let's just get into it step by step. Game one, we had Egypt won, Australia won and Egypt go through on penalties, which was heartbreaking.

[00:00:53] Talk about a historical heartbreaker for the Socceroos. Australia and Egypt went toe-to-toe in a grueling physical battle in Dallas that refused to be settled in normal time. Tied up 1-1 after 120 minutes of intense football and it all came down to the ultimate test of nerves, penalty shootout. The Egypt keeper stood tall and their penalty takers were absolutely clinical, burying all four of their spot kicks to take the shootout 4-2. It's pure pandemonium for the Faros as they secure the

[00:01:20] first ever World Cup knockout stage victory in history, leaving Australia crushed at the finish line. Let's get into this game. So my thoughts, I mean, look, I'm obviously going to have a biased take on this because as an Australian, we are a huge supporter of the Socceroos, really, really expected the Socceroos to pull off this one because Egypt was not a great team. They weren't a great team today. I don't think they obviously show, they have glimpses of really good players like Mohamed Salah was incredible. He's just a level above most of the other players,

[00:01:47] but the rest of the team as well, they all stood up to the occasion. They were providing enough. But having said that, I think the resolute resolve of the Australians defending consistently and also going down a goal so early in the 13th minute, coming back to try and get an equalizer. It was still an own goal, but the cross in swinging free kick, it was just, it still was a really good, really good set piece. And this is, this is the game for the taking for the Australians. And it was heartbreaking that it went down all the way to penalties because you're sure in defense, I mean,

[00:02:17] this is, it felt like it was impenetrable. And after the first go, first lapse of concentration, there were a couple of things I went through and even the beaches, incredible save at the end, at the end as well, to keep the Australia into the game. Look, all said and done, congratulations to the Egyptians. They, they, they got through fair and square. The only thing was, I think certain, let's not go too much into refereeing decisions and things like that. I really don't want to bring my bias into the discussion, but essentially, I think losing Jody,

[00:02:46] Jody boss was a huge, huge, huge miss for Australia. And I think certain things just didn't work out in our favor. And that really did show. And Iran Kunda was, was, was completely nullified and he just, he, there was a certain attempt to try and get crosses into the box, which is how we actually scored. But the problem was Iran Kunda is not the kind of player that you can actually consistently get that through. And he was being double teamed and it was just, wasn't working. I think he did try Iran Kunda and Toure right at the start in the first game. And since then, which, which is the first thing that we beat Turkey with.

[00:03:14] And since then Popovich, the manager of Australia just didn't, just didn't go ahead and use the same sort of tactics or at least put those two together for a little while. And some of the, some of the tactical things, look, obviously I'm just talking purely from a fan perspective, certain things. And I would talk like this about Manchester United as well. It's just, it's just a fan perspective. And I think, I think we really, it just really wasn't helped by some of the team selections and the way it was set up. And it wasn't really sure whether we were actually holding on or we were trying to go for it. And it was a bit of what,

[00:03:44] but page, he, what a, what a player, what, what a tournament he's had. I mean, all of the soccerers, every single, everyone just accounted for themselves played amazing play through their skin. I cannot blame any one of them. Some of the, some gems that have been uncovered through this tournament, Harrington, what a, what a solid player just at 18 and Harry Suta are like six foot eight colossus of a defender. Incredible. Like it's just, it's great pride to, to watch this team and watch these guys play and they gave it their all. And there's, I don't think you can,

[00:04:12] you can never get disappointed in a team when they've given it their all and you feel like they've given it everything. So fair play all power to them. And that's the fan side speaking. And then I think Popovic, look, let's first, firstly say great job. He's done a fantastic job. Certain things we will discuss in some of the sections today as well, where this comes up, certain things could have been done slightly differently, but at the end of the day, amazing beating Turkey, standing up. Paraguay was a really hard game in America and America would

[00:04:41] be a difficult game. So this game we did really well on any other day. I think we could have, we probably could have gone through, so it's no issues there, but going back to Egypt, fair play to them, really fair play to them. They were just resilient. They just didn't want to give up and they went to the end. Look, penalties came through. They got all four, scored all four. What more can you ask? What more can you ask? Well, congratulations to them. And I think there's, it's great for them because they've been playing in the World Cup for,

[00:05:09] for almost a hundred years. I mean, they qualified a long time ago and then haven't qualified for a long time as well in between. However, this is the best result that they've had in history to move forward. So all power to them. Look, happy for them and hope they, hope they go ahead and do something in the next round, which we'll talk about their next opponents. So the next game we had today was Argentina three, Cape Verde two. Listeners, all I can say is,

[00:05:34] if you didn't watch this game live, just find a replay immediately because we just witnessed an absolute World Cup classic in Miami. The tournament's favorite Argentina expected a routine shift. So did I, so did I, but I think after the Australia game, all I wanted was a regular messy victory and move on. But Cape Verde just came back and played. They pushed the world champions to the absolute brink, tied 1-1. This chaotic thriller spilled into extra time. Argentina struck early in extra time, but

[00:06:02] Cabo Verde answered back with a moment of pure magic to make it 2-2. Finally, in the 111th minute, Christian Romero forced through a messy corner to break Cabo Verde's hearts and seal a breathless 3-2 victory. Argentina survived a massive scare, but what an incredible effort from the Blue Sharks. I think, look, I don't, I will try and recall all the things about this game because I had a lot of things that I had wanted to discuss and I'll try and see if I can bring everything through. The first thing I want

[00:06:31] to put forward is, I don't, I don't know if majority of people felt like this, but I certainly felt like this because every time you watch a game as a neutral, because technically I am a neutral and every time you watch a game as a neutral, you do have that feeling of rooting for the underdog. And in this occasion, I found it extremely hard to just root for the underdog because I did want Cape Verde to go through. I really did, but also I just wanted to see more of Messi because it's

[00:06:57] probably the last time we'll see him on the international stage and such a weak stage in the World Cup. So I just, it's a very conflicted sort of feeling where you do want the underdog, you do want Cape Verde. What a fantastic story. More than a story, this is not a lucky team. They are playing out of their skin. They're playing incredible football. The way they keep coming back, the resilience they've shown, they've technically not lost a game in regular time across the whole

[00:07:22] tournament. And that's a massive feat in itself. I'm talking about the perils of having 24, 25, 28 million people in Australia. This country has got 500,000 odd people and this is, this is the kind of performance they've put against the world champions. I mean, what more can you say? All you have to say is just stand up and take a bow at what they've achieved. And these, these guys will go down as a generationally remembered. I think we'll talk about, we'll talk about the way the Croatian

[00:07:50] team got to the final or the Bulgarian team in 1994 and those sorts of things. But this team will certainly, I think just the complete anonymity of this particular team will, will resonate with a lot of people going forward. I think Vazenia, the goalkeeper, incredible, absolutely incredible. Like the stuff that he, the stuff of dreams to come out and do this sort of thing. And in a World Cup of all stages against the world champions and against Spain,

[00:08:17] these are against Uruguay. These are not, these are not just random teams that they've come across. But I think one of the key things that people have forgotten as well is the fact that Cape Verde, Cape Verde has actually won their group, has progressed through winning their group and Cameroon was left behind. And in which it was in their group. So this is not a one-off successful three, four weeks. This team has been building up steam and reaching these sorts of

[00:08:42] locations. So all power to Cape Verde. And they will be remembered very, very fondly. And again, if you've had this conflicting feeling of having, wanting to go for the underdog, but just wanting to see more of Messi today, I completely am with you. And I completely understand what you went through today because I too personally went through the same sort of emotions where you want to go with the underdog. And let's go back to the winners today, Argentina. I don't know what to feel about

[00:09:10] this particular performance because the first, first half, the first half was reasonably, it felt like it was just going to be a routine victory. The way they were just, they were going about things. It felt like this is going to be a regular Joe Block kind of game, but they just, Cape Verde just came back and Argentina couldn't really get themselves going to consistently have chances to score. They had a couple of, look, Vizinha did make a few saves. He made some real point blank saves and

[00:09:38] Argentina put up a few situations where they could actually go ahead and score. But it just didn't seem to come through. And the coach changed a lot of things. Scaloni did make a lot of changes, put some people on and the fluidity was still there. And to his credit, Messi was just on, he was still on. And that goal by Alessandro Martinez, the finish as a center back. And I've seen him score, not many, but a goal here and there for Manchester United as well. But this

[00:10:07] particular goal was incredible. He just took it so neatly at the back of the net. And all power to him, all power to him. That was a lovely finish and such an important goal as well, scoring in the World Cup as a center back, regardless. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. So we have to, we have to go ahead and give him some shout out. It's just, and the final goal by Cristian Romero, it was another, another center back scoring and Messi assisting. It all worked out.

[00:10:36] It really did work out for, for Argentina. And they did, they did pull through when they needed to, but the goal, the second goal by Cape Verde, I'm completely blanking on the guy that scored the name I should, Cabral. I think, I think it was Cabral, the guy who scored the goal in. What a goal. What an incredible goal. I think that goal, that particular goal will, will go down and in history as, as one of, one of the goals of this particular World Cup. And I think he's made a name for himself and he's,

[00:11:06] what, what a finish. What an absolutely glorious finish. I think we'll, we'll park that one aside because there's a lot more I need to talk about towards the end of the show, but yeah, what a game. The third game that we had was Columbia one Ghana zero. Over in Kansas City, it was a tactical masterclass and a showcase of pure defensive grit as Columbia squared off against Ghana. Columbia struck first and struck fast. The John Arias, he, this guy is such a versatile player finding the back of

[00:11:33] the net in just the 14th minute after a tense VAR reviewed, a review confirmed the opening goal. From there, the match turned into a gritty physical midfield wall. Ghana pushed hard in the second half, earning multiple bookings as they tried to break down the Colombian backline, but Columbia just locked the gates. They held on for a tense hard fought one zero victory to points that they get to the next round while Ghana heads home wondering what it could have been. Look, I think the last line, I think Ghana wondering what it could have been. Let's put

[00:12:00] certain things aside. They clearly lacked Kudus. They're different. They would have been a completely different team. Well, completely more attacking threat with Kudus in the side. And that we have to, we have to acknowledge that. But at the end of the first half, I don't think Semenyo had even a single shot on target the whole tournament at the end of the first half. I don't know if in the end of the game, I should have checked at the end, my stats at the end of the, at that game. The whole World Cup, he's not had one shot on target, potentially, or at least

[00:12:29] at the end of the half, half time. It's just, if you cannot get the best out of your attacking players, and you just put the hand brakes on, sure, it can work, work through certain areas, like it did work through getting through the qualifying, I mean, through the group stages. Brilliant. But it has, at some point in time, it has, there has to be a way to increase that momentum and switch things up. They did try it, but I think it was a little too little too late for them to try and come back

[00:12:56] because Colombia had already scored. Colombia was comfortable. The goalkeeper, the Ghanaian goalkeeper today, Ziggy, he was incredible. He just had quite a few stops that actually kept Ghana into the game. And if not for him, I shudder to think what this game could have been. But Ghana, towards the end as well, it was really chaotic because they just literally removed all the defensive players, threw in a whole heap of attacking players and expected miracles. And you could see that their whole

[00:13:25] backline was jittery and that didn't help the squad because at that point in time, you've just taken out all the defensive solidity of the team. You've just thrown in a whole heap of attackers and said, just go ahead and do whatever you want. And then you can go ahead and confirm and get the result, which is almost in, oh, I'm just looking through some stats here. Ghana did not register a single shot on target the entire match. That is just ridiculous. It has been confirmed this and this is ridiculous. How can you, they've got an XG of 0.26. After Colombia scored so early on in the game,

[00:13:55] in the eighth minute itself, or 10th minute, 18th minute, it was just, sorry, it was just really early on that they scored and it just didn't work through for Ghana. Look, like Senegal, like the other teams that went out, like DR Congo, a lot of these African teams had a whole heap of, out of all of them, they had a whole heap of potential. But Cape Verde, you completely understand because they gave a full account for themselves before they left. I don't think Ghana gave a full account for themselves. They have a very good, really highly qualified, good quality in

[00:14:23] their squad, I should say. And they just didn't pull through. And the same goes with Senegal where they were so close to qualifying and they just didn't pull through. I think there has to be some conversations they had at some point in time. Even Ivory Coast had the same issue where the African teams are not like the African teams that we considered before. They would just go through a random performance and go away. They are, they have quality in them. I don't know if it's the lack of quality in the bench. What it is, they just are not able to pull through some results.

[00:14:48] In Ghana's case, they couldn't, they started the attacking a bit too late, which really left them very, very, very thin towards the end. And that didn't work out. But overall, I think, I'm really hoping for them to have a rethink on how they progress from here, because they have some really quality players in their squad. And you would have expected a lot more from them. A lot more. Right. We'll move on. Listeners, as you know, we have the daily segment of baller,

[00:15:12] bottler and drama. And the baller for today, I have to give the award to Nandan Kepo. I've talked, I've spoken about in numerous ways, but essentially, Vazinha, whatever you say about Vazinha is, is still, is still not enough because he's come out of nowhere. He's, he scored a, he's got a blinder. He's got a blinder against Spain and then did the same thing against the other

[00:15:37] two games. And then today as well, he just, against the world champions, he just stood up and just didn't let anything through. And you just have to hold your hand up and say, well done, just well done. It's just, he actually had a brilliant game. And then Cabral in the end, you just have just, just, just the sheer quality of that goal, the sheer, just to try and take that shot on and score that kind of goal. It's just incredible. And yeah,

[00:16:04] it's just moments like that. You will never forget for as long as you remember. Every time you think about the world cup, I'm sure going forward, this generation of people that have watched this particular world cup so closely will remember Cape Verde pleasantly for a long time. And that's a baller for today. That's brilliant. Very, very, very happy for them. The bottle of the day. I think you've heard me say this, Ghana with zero shots on target today against Colombia,

[00:16:29] no threat whatsoever out of ideas against the South American squad. Ghana for me today are the bottlers. I mean, this sort of situation worked and kind of worked against England where it was this kind of as a great outcome, but it's just, it's, it's just not, it's not what we're looking for. There's a lot more in the tank and I'm really, really, really hoping that they can pull it out next time with the next tournament they come out through because they do have players. And this is,

[00:16:55] this is, this Ghanaian team has a lot of bottle in it. So I'm really hoping that they can flourish in the future. And lastly, drama, the options. The biggest, the thing I want to talk about today is the Australian goalkeeper gamble. And the drama behind that is this has been attempted numerous times. I think the most, the one that sticks out in my mind is Louis Van Gaal. I think trying with, with the Dutch national team and putting in, I think was a cruel into goal. I can't remember if it was putting cruel on or taking cruel off. That was, and it was successful. I think he actually

[00:17:25] won the penalty shootout and it felt like it was the smartest thing to do when it works out. It's brilliant. But today you had Beach who had made brilliant saves, who probably was feeling 15 foot tall with confidence based on the save that he just made to keep Australia into the game. And then you take him off, which is apparently not even pre-planned. It was a moment of spur of the moment decision by Popovich to remove Beach and put on Ryan. Look, Ryan is

[00:17:53] extremely experienced, extremely experienced. And I get it. I completely get the thinking. But if this is not something that you've planned before and which has not been communicated with Beach, I think there's an opportunity to consider the fact that his confidence based on the way he's been performing and the way that he performed on the day would probably see him through. And it probably

[00:18:17] would be in the mind, his mind would feel like, yep, I can save everything. Sure, he might still, Australia would have gone, may not have gone through, but the opportunity would have existed for him to portray his confidence. You have Matt Ryan who comes in. No, look, nothing. There's nothing against what he did. He did the the best he could. But he had two minutes on the pitch before he started to save penalties. He started to

[00:18:41] save some penalties. And I don't really think that's fair on either of them. And I'm not saying that was the reason that Australia didn't go through, but that really had some impact. And I think since we're talking about that particular penalty shootout, I really have to have to put it out there. Harrington, he's come out of nowhere. This kid is incredible. I think he's a very, very solid defender

[00:19:04] at 18 and even going up, stepping up to take up the penalty spot to try and score a crucial penalty kick. It doesn't matter if he's missed. He's had the courage to go up. And for that, he deserves to salute. Well done, Harrington. That was just brilliant. And if you haven't seen it yet, just picture this guy. This guy's an 18 year old. Confidence is a crazy amount of courage and confidence. And it was great to see people like Zlatan coming out and sticking up for him and

[00:19:32] and giving some consoling words just to talk about from a human point of view. That shows great courage. And look, it happens. This sort of stuff happens. I think just going up and taking the courage to go up, salute him for that. Absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Right, listeners, we're 33 episodes deep into this World Cup and it just is getting more and more heavier and dramatic and crazy. And I think I was just looking at myself today. I woke up at 4am today to watch the

[00:20:02] Australia game and literally watched games all the way from 4am till about 2pm today, 1.30, 2pm. And my eyes are spinning and there's more games to come. It feels like this never-ending buffet is brilliant. And I don't want it to end, but I just don't know if I can keep up with the drama. But we will be back here again tomorrow to talk about the other games and this Brazilian game that I really want to talk about tomorrow and we'll preview the other games as well that are coming

[00:20:30] through. But at the end of the day, I hope you're having a great time. We'll see you soon.