TouchlineFootball

  WC 2022 REVIEW: PART SEVEN OVERVIEW OF GAMES 29 TO 32 - Mitansh Kagalwala   Goals, we finally got goals! Day Nine brought two goalfests, heartbreak, jubilation, joy, and disappointment. Cameroon and Serbia went toe-to-toe in a six-goal thriller, South Korea’s comeback was spoilt by Ghana, Brazil just about beat Switzerland, and Portugal dominated Uruguay. Here’s what we made of it: Cameroon 3-3 Serbia Jean-Charles Castelletto 29’, Vincent Aboubakar 63’, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 66’ ; Strahinja Pavlovic 45+1’, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic 45+3’, Aleksandar Mitrovic 53’ Pause. Take a moment. Get your breath back. We’ve just witnessed the game of the group stage so far, and boy, can we not get enough of it. In a must win game for both sides, it was Cameroon who had a disadvantage before the game even began, with first-choice keeper Andre Onana going home after a disagreement with head coach Rigobert Song. Once the game did start, it was all Serbia in the opening, Aleksandar Mitro

  REVIEWING THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2022: PART SIX GAMES FROM DAY SEVEN AND DAY EIGHT - Mitansh Kagalwala   Day Seven and Day Eight brought with them must-win games for several of the favourites, and more upsets. At this point, we might as well rename Day Eight as the Day of Upsets. Argentina cruised past Mexico to bring their World Cup campaign back on track, Costa Rica upset Japan, Morocco smashed Belgium, and Germany and Spain played out an enthralling draw. Here’s what we made of it: Argentina 2-0 Mexico Lionel Messi 64’, Enzo Fernandez 87’ They say that a man only ever needs six feet of land. If that “man” is Lionel Messi, then all he needs is two. Let’s be honest, the moment Messi got the ball on his left foot at the edge of the box with a little space, we all knew it was over for Mexico. A brilliant strike into the bottom corner, followed by a beautiful curler into the far past from Enzo Fernandez, and Argentina had saved themselves. But boy, they did not make it easy for

  WC 2022 REVIEW: PART FIVE OVERVIEW OF GAMES 17 TO 20 - Mitansh Kagalwala   Day Six kicked Matchday Two off to a start, bringing with it the chance to get our first qualified nation and must-win games. Iran saved themselves from elimination with two late goals against Wales, Senegal dumped Qatar out of the tournament, the Netherlands just about earned a point against Ecuador, and the USA and England shared the spoils, which means the sport is now called Socball. Here’s what we made of it: Iran 2-0 Wales Rouzbeh Cheshmi 90+8’, Ramin Rezaeian 90+11’ Football gives us fans several moments that make us cry: last-minute goals, last-minute misses, and last-minute penalty calls, among others. It’s not often, however, that the sport makes us tear up before the game even starts. When you’ve been through as much strife as the Iranians have recently, it’s not hard to imagine why hearing your national anthem play for the world to hear causes such emotion, giving us some of the most ic

  WC 2022 REVIEW: PART FOUR OVERVIEW OF GAMES 13 TO 16 - Mitansh Kagalwala   Day Five closed out Matchday 1, giving us a glimpse of where the teams stand, and lining up the groups for the first time. Switzerland overcame a spirited Cameroon side, South Korea held firm against Uruguay, Portugal just about scraped past Ghana, and stylish Brazil arrived at the World Cup, defeating Serbia. Here’s what we made of it: Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon Breel Embolo 48’ The Swiss continued their unbeaten matchday 1 streak with a victory over Cameroon, extending their record to six World Cup participations, traced back to 1966. Cameroon looked the more threatening of the two sides in the first half, but were unable to capitalize on their chances. Bryan Mbuemo was selfish, shooting at straight at Yann Sommer when Eric Choupo-Moting was free in the centre of the box. They would come to regret that, as three minutes into the second half, Granit Xhaka moved the ball out wide to Xherdan Shaqiri,

  WC 2022 REVIEW: PART THREE OVERVIEW OF GAMES 9 TO 12 - Mitansh Kagalwala Day Four of the World Cup came with its fair share of shocks and surprises. Morocco continued the African Nations’ excellent record, holding Croatia, Japan arrived late to upset Germany, Spain absolutely demolished Costa Rica, and Belgium scraped past Canada. Here’s what we made of it: Morocco 0-0 Croatia Croatia’s golden generation might finally be past it. In 2018, the Croatians, led by Luka Modric, made their way to the finals, exceeding all expectations. This time around, it doesn’t the Croatians are upto matching that same level. The Croatian spine is ageing, and they looked their age, looking shaky against Morocco’s intense high pressing. Mario Mandzukic, who scored the winner for Croatia in the semi-finals last time around, is now on their coaching staff, and Ante Rebic and Ivan Rakitic are also gone. Indeed, only Josko Gvardiol was particularly impressive, cool and calm on the ball, and one of th

  WC 2022 REVIEW: PART TWO OVERVIEW OF GAMES 5 TO 8 - Mitansh Kagalwala Day Three of the World Cup came fast, furious, and full of surprises. Saudi Arabia came from behind to shock Argentina, Tunisia held Denmark, Mexico drew to Poland courtesy of regular World Cup hero Guillermo Ochoa, and France routed the Australians. Here's what we made of it:  Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia Lionel Messi 10’ (P); Saleh Alshehri 48’, Salem Aldawsari 53’ We’re only 3 days into the World Cup, and we’ve already got one of the biggest upsets of all time. Argentina were coming off a 36 games-unbeaten streak, including victories against Brazil and Italy. Saudi, on the other hand, came into the game following a loss to Croatia, a draw against Panama, and narrow victories against Iceland and North Macedonia. Of course, the Saudi’s won. They put on a defensive masterclass, along with one of the best offside traps you’ll ever see (3(!) Argentinian goals were correctly ruled out in the opening half-hou

  WC 2022 REVIEW- PART ONE OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST FOUR GAMES - Mitansh Kagalwala And we’re off! Qatar broke the host country tradition of never losing the first game, England were magnificent as they trounced Iran, the Netherlands left it late to overcome Senegal, and Wales and the USA shared the spoils in a fiery encounter. Here’s what we made of it: Qatar 0-2 Ecuador Enner Valencia 16' (P), 31 Man, that scoreline really flatters Qatar. Amid rumours of Qatari officials allegedly offering bribes to the Ecuadorian players to lose, Ecuador showed up to the Al Bayt Stadium in the mood. From the start, the South Americans were clearly the better side, opening Qatar up time and time again, and it was only a matter of time before they eventually scored. When they did, we got to see the semi-automated offside technology in action for the first time, ruling out Ecuador’s opener. The scoreboard finally ticked forward after Saad Al Sheeb gave away a penalty, which was emphatically dis

  THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2022, QATAR OVERVIEW OF THE FAVOURITES- PART TWO - Samarth Purohit  and  Mitansh Kagalwala Photo Via:  OldTraffordFaithful FRANCE The reigning champions enter this World Cup with aspirations of repeating their 2018 run. With the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Christopher Nkunku developing immensely since then, along with Karim Benzema’s Balon Dor winning form, France has a goal threat few others can compare with. However, things are not all sunshine and rainbows in Paris, as Deschamps’ squad has weakened compared to 2018, particularly in regards to the midfield and defence. France could possibly fill an entire squad with its injury list, with the likes of Paul Pogba and N’golo Kante missing out through injury, while Samuel Umtiti’s stock has plummeted in the last few years. Raphael Varane has been brilliant for Manchester United this season, but has been injured for the last few games, so his form and fitness are suspect as well, and he is expected t

THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2022, QATAR OVERVIEW OF THE FAVOURITES- PART ONE - Mitansh Kagalwala Photo Via:  OldTraffordFaithful BRAZIL The Brazilians go to Qatar as the No. 1 Ranked side in the world, looking to add a sixth World Cup to their trophy cabinet. The South Americans are possibly the strongest side in the tournament, with a terrifying frontline featuring an in-form Neymar Jr. Central defence is another part of the team sorted, with Tite able to rely on Eder Militao, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Bremer. The fullbacks, however, are the clear sore spot in the squad, with Marcelo, Alex Sandro, Danilo and Dani Alves not exactly the most reassuring of options. Creative midfield is another area where the Brazilians are lacking, but Lucas Paqueta, Neymar, Bruno Guimaraes and Antony, among others, will be their main providers. The overall squad selection by Tite is not without controversy either, with the exclusions of Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Magalhaes in favour of Richarlison and Dani