Essential reading: here are yesterday’s match reports:
And a word on Cody Gakpo, scorer of a rasping goal for the Netherlands but having a horrible time right now after the loss of his and his partner’s unborn son, as our man in Monterrey, Nick Ames, wrote:
Football is a vessel for myriad thoughts and feelings so it was an intensely affecting moment when, after he had rammed his team into a 72nd-minute lead, the entire Dutch squad piled on to the pitch in joy. More than that, they had done so in support. Gakpo had elected to play despite the announcement that he and his partner had tragically lost their unborn son. He was tearful upon making his way back to the centre circle, pointing to the sky and being comforted by his teammate Denzel Dumfries.
Key events
Klopp plays down links to Germany head coach role
Jürgen Klopp has been prominent on broadcasting duties at this World Cup, which has of course sparked speculation about his future managerial intentions. And on cue he has said it is “not the right moment” to talk about becoming head coach of Germany following their World Cup exit, PA Media reports.
Defeat has seen pressure mount on Julian Nagelsmann, but former Liverpool manager Klopp – now Red Bull’s head of global soccer – played down talk of him taking up the national-team reins.
Asked as a pundit on MagentaTV what would have to happen to consider the job, Klopp said in quotes reported on Bild: “I haven’t thought about that yet. I’ve often been in that situation myself as a coach, where a big dream has been shattered.
“I understand that when people talk about the national coach, my name is mentioned. But it’s not the right moment to talk about it, especially not with me.
“I have a job that I really enjoy [as Red Bull’s head of global soccer]. And as far as I know, it’s not a part-time job. The fact is, Germany was eliminated today, and this is not the moment for me to think about Jurgen Klopp’s future.”
Nagelsmann vowed he would stay in the role if the DFB wanted him to continue. He told a post-match press conference: “I’m not one to run away. It’s not the first time, but it’s been happening for a while now that we’ve been delivering tournaments like this and yes, there are certainly a few basic things that I don’t want to go into now.
“I’m not one of those people who sits here and says, ‘I’m resigning now, just because we’ve been eliminated’. If the DFB wants me to continue then I’ll continue and if they don’t want me to, then they can tell me that.”
The other big talking point from that game in Boston for Premier League set-piece grapple fans was the Jonathan Tah header ruled out near the end by VAR, the kind of goal that has been the norm in the English top flight in recent times. Ultimately though, Germany never looked convincing in this tournament.
Our graphics boffins have produced this neat little playable guide to the penalties in yesterday’s Germany v Paraguay shootout, a handy pointer to what type of kicks succeed and fail, which I fully intend to use against my 10-year-old son in the back garden later
Joy and disturbances on the streets of The Hague after Morocco win. This just in from AFP:
Morocco’s dramatic penalty shoot-out win over the Netherlands sparked scenes of joy Tuesday in The Hague, home to a large Moroccan community, but also violent arrests amid clashes with police.
In the Schilderswijk district of the city, AFP reporters saw fans draped in Moroccan flags dancing and cheering in the streets, as car horns blared and firecrackers exploded.
Several hundred supporters gathered at a crossroads in the district, kicking a ball in the air and celebrating wildly with passengers of passing vehicles, sometimes jumping on cars.
Around one hour into the festivities however, the mood soured as riot police arrived on the scene, deploying water cannon and conducting baton charges to clear the crowd.
AFP reporters saw around a dozen arrests, with police pinning several young men to the ground after striking them in the legs with batons. Handcuffed, they were driven away in police vans.
Dutch police on bicycles played a cat-and-mouse game with youths through the streets but there was no major damage caused.
Despite multiple attempts, people declined to speak to the media, preferring to keep their identities secret. Many on the streets wore balaclavas or other face coverings.
One of the stories of this World Cup has been the Democratic Republic of the Congo, England’s opponents on Wednesday. The assured progress of the team from Africa’s second largest country has really meant something, as Louis Mukoma writes:
The DRC is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa. There are hundreds of ethnic communities. And hundreds of languages and dialects. Four national languages have been adopted to help create cohesion. There are different cuisines, customs and histories. And today, profound political and societal fractures.The biggest story here is not a sporting one. It is what the Leopards have done for their country.
Eastern Congo has spent decades living through successive wars. Many people there have long felt abandoned by Kinshasa. Whenever violence intensifies, discussions about federalism, autonomy and the country’s fragmentation resurface. Yet, whenever the Leopards play, those divisions seem to pause.
Following the draw with Portugal, celebrations erupted not only in Kinshasa but also in Lubumbashi – in the Katanga region, which has its own secession history – as well as in Goma and Bukavu. The same happened again after the victory against Uzbekistan, but with even greater intensity.
And it is, of course, a disgrace that the DRC’s most celebrated fan, “Lumumba Vea” (nicknamed in tribute to the country’s independence leaer), has been denied a visa to the tournament that brings the world together.
Department of Homeland Security secretary celebrates Iran’s exit with ‘happy dance’
In ‘staying classy’ news, here’s Reuters’ latest report from the Dept of Keeping Politics out of Sport:
US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin celebrated Iran’s elimination from the World Cup, saying he did a “happy dance,” Sports Business Journal reported on Monday.
The Iranian team barely missed out on reaching the knockout rounds of the tournament. They drew all three of their matches in Group G and finished as the ninth-best third-place team after Austria scored a last-minute goal against Algeria in the final group-stage match. The top eight third-place teams earned spots in the round of 32.
Mullin didn’t hide his overjoyed reaction to the news that Iran was eliminated. He spoke at a World Cup security briefing in Washington, per SBJ, saying he was “so glad they’re gone” and that he was “very happy they’re going back because there wasn’t a single team that we dealt with more than them.“
With the United States in the middle of a military and political conflict with Iran, the U.S. government restricted the Iranian soccer team’s movements during the World Cup. Prior to the event, Iran moved its planned training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana. The U.S. limited the amount of time the Iranian team could spend in the country preceding each match and required the squad to exit the nation right after each contest.
Mullin told reporters following the Monday briefing, according to SBJ, “I’m just glad they’re done, and they’re not coming back. I was so happy when we were able to pull their visas and said they could leave the U.S. soil, and I might’ve sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance.“
Essential reading: here are yesterday’s match reports:
And a word on Cody Gakpo, scorer of a rasping goal for the Netherlands but having a horrible time right now after the loss of his and his partner’s unborn son, as our man in Monterrey, Nick Ames, wrote:
Football is a vessel for myriad thoughts and feelings so it was an intensely affecting moment when, after he had rammed his team into a 72nd-minute lead, the entire Dutch squad piled on to the pitch in joy. More than that, they had done so in support. Gakpo had elected to play despite the announcement that he and his partner had tragically lost their unborn son. He was tearful upon making his way back to the centre circle, pointing to the sky and being comforted by his teammate Denzel Dumfries.
Preamble
Greetings all, and welcome to the latest from the World Cup that never sleeps. When the draw was made back on that infamous night last December, it always had a lopsided look. And so it came to pass that Monday saw three potential winners (kind of) turfed out of the competition. Japan’s dark horses ultimately paid the price for sitting a little too deep against an uneven Brazil side nonetheless stacked with match-winners (how they could have done with a Mitoma to take the pressure off). Then Germany were smothered by a ruthless Paraguay defensive masterclass before choking in the first of two inept penalty shootouts. The other came in Monterrey, where Morocco beat the Netherlands who, unlike Paraguay, paid the price for being too defensive. Given Morocco’s world ranking and recent pedigree, this one was no shock.
Later on Tuesday, we’ve got another possible tie of the round in Côte d’Ivoire v Norway, the former slick and well organised in the groups, the latter a known attacking force. We’ll be across the buildup to that, as well as France v Sweden and the all-Latin American face-off between Mexico and Ecuador at what – Fifa branding conventions be damned – we will always know as the Azteca Stadium.
