After Brazil, more and more teams entered the top 16 from the group stage.
For example, France, the seed team in Group C, defeated Iran 4:1 in the first round and then defeated Russia 2:0 in the second round, qualifying from the same group.
Uruguay, who is in the same group as France, also won two consecutive games after defeating Iran 1:0. After winning two consecutive games, Uruguay joined hands with France to qualify.
This made the last round of the group stage of Group C completely meaningless.
In the final round, France and Uruguay, two teams whose qualification is a foregone conclusion, will definitely rotate their respective lineups and will not be able to go all out in the game.
With the huge goal difference between the two teams, Uruguay will not want to compete with the French team for first place in the group.
The game between the two teams is likely to be like tasteless, tasteless and a pity to abandon.
The German team in Group D was not so lucky.
Although they easily defeated Morocco, the weakest team in the group, 2:0 in the first round of the group stage, they failed to defeat Poland in the second round of the group stage.
In this game, the two forwards of the German team, Mark Becker and Janus Edman, failed to open their scoring accounts.
After losing their core midfielder Søren Gribsch due to injury before the World Cup, the German team played too simply and crudely, and was blocked by the united Poland team.
A 0:0 draw allowed Poland to accumulate a total of two points and still retain the hope of advancing to the group.
In another match, Morocco also drew with Mexico 1:1.
Before the final round of the group stage, Germany ranked first with four points, Mexico ranked second with two points, and Poland also had two points. The goal difference was the same as Mexico, but because the total number of goals was one less, it ranked second.
Third, Morocco ranks fourth with one point.
In the final round, the German team faced Mexico, the second strongest team in the group, while Poland challenged Morocco, the fourth team in the group.
Any team, even Morocco, actually has the possibility of advancing to the top 16.
The most talked about team in Group E is of course Argentina with Mellie Banega.
After Kendall Cabanca had led the Brazilian team to break out of the siege, as his old enemy, Melli was naturally considered to do the same thing.
But it is a pity that Melli failed to break the deadlock when facing the Czech Republic who built a wall in front of the goal.
He did not score or assist in this game. The Argentine national team shook hands with the Czech Republic 1:1.
On the other side, Belgium defeated Costa Rica 3:0, scored six points, and qualified from the group early.
In the last round of the group stage, Argentina can qualify with its opponents as long as it draws with Belgium. But just qualifying will not satisfy the two teams. Because if they qualify as second in the group, they will bump into Group F.
First place in the group.
As for Group F, if nothing else happens, the first place should be the Netherlands...
In order to avoid the Netherlands, both Argentina and Belgium will definitely try their best in the final round of the group stage. If Argentina loses to Belgium, and the Czech Republic beats Costa Rica by a large margin in the last round, the Czech Republic may even have a chance to squeeze out Argentina.
Fight your way out of this group...
For Argentina, this is no less than a life and death battle.
Unexpectedly, Argentina, which defeated Costa Rica 3:1 in the first round of the group stage, would be in such a situation. So after the first round of the group stage, Melli was praised by the media, but after the second group stage, he was scolded by the media again.
Damn it...
In fact, Melli's performance in this game was not bad. At least he did not have such a bloody performance as "missing an empty goal three times". But in everyone's eyes, for a superstar like Melli Banega, as long as there is no
A goal or an assist is considered a poor performance - the same criterion applies to Kabangka and Hulay.
Kabangka was blacklisted for two consecutive seasons before this season.
What about Hu Lai?
After failing to score in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals last season, he was also hit by the net.
Any player trying to stand at the top will face such a situation. They can't complain, they must adapt and get used to it.
Otherwise they won't be able to become true top stars.
After all, the scenery on the top of the mountain is beautiful, but the wind on the top of the mountain is also very cold.
※※※
Maxi Carey ran into the space in front of the Chilean penalty area and asked for the ball.
Aylmer van Ooyen on the wing saw this and passed the football.
Carey took the initiative to face the football, allowing the Chilean defenders to follow him.
Then just when the opponent thought he was going to catch the ball, he spread his legs and leaked the football from his crotch to behind him!
At the same time he turned away!
The Chilean players had no choice but to reach out and pull him down.
The Dutch fans in the stands booed loudly.
The commentators also felt sorry for Kyrie: "What a pity! This should have been a beautiful escape! As long as he can turn around, there are almost no Chilean defenders in front of Kyrie! He can shoot and pass.
The ball can completely disrupt Chile’s defense!”
The referee gave the Netherlands a free kick in the frontcourt.
Of course, this ball was given to Maxi Carey, the Dutch team's top set-piece scorer, to take the kick.
Kyrie also had this consciousness. After getting up from the ground, he kept holding the football in his hand.
The players of the Chilean team did not argue with the referee. After all, this foul was nothing to argue about. There was no need for the video referee team to intervene. Moreover, they were already three goals behind in terms of score. It was meaningless to argue whether the ball was a foul.
.
At the 58th minute of the game, the Chilean team fell behind by three goals, and the morale of the entire team was very low.
After placing the football, Carey stood up and retreated. The Chilean team's wall on the opposite side was also lined up.
Five people are in front, and one person is lying behind them, forming an all-round three-dimensional human wall.
Danny Drew wanted to go up and help break down the wall, but Kyrie waved at him and motioned for him to go away.
Drew had no choice but to hide in the penalty area.
Then Carey put his hands on his hips, tilted his head slightly and looked at the wall and the goal behind the wall.
This is a free kick about thirty meters away from the goal and slightly to the left.
Logically speaking, it is most appropriate to kick with your right foot.
But Kyrie was standing on the back right side of the football - he was going to kick it with his left foot.
In order to block his shot, the Chilean team's wall took an extra step to the outside.
The goalkeeper stands on the right half of the goal, ready to go.
As the referee blew his whistle, Carey took a running start.
Two steps later, he raised his left leg and kicked the football.
The football hit the inside of his foot!
The ball rose into the air and flew towards the outside of the wall as expected!
The Chilean team's right back Benjamin Maldonado, who was on the outside of the wall, jumped up hard and poked his head outward to increase his defensive area.
But he failed to touch the ball.
The football still flew past the outside of his face!
Then he quickly circled back, made a very obvious arc, and went straight to the upper left corner of the goal behind the Chilean team's wall!
When the Chilean team goalkeeper saw the football suddenly coming around from the side of the wall, it was too late to start and pounce to the left... Although he made a save, his outstretched hand was still far away from the football!
The football plunged into the goal from the junction of the crossbar and the post!
"Wow! Beautiful! Wonderful free kick! Maxi Carey! He scored his first goal in the World Cup! At the age of thirty-five years and one hundred and ten days, he also became the first goal in the World Cup.
The oldest Dutch player to score a goal!"
"The Netherlands leads Chile 4:0! The victory has been locked! The qualifying spot in the group has also been locked!"
After scoring the goal, Carey ran towards the corner flag area, then held the corner flag pole with one hand, crossed his feet, and leaned against the corner flag pole.
The calm smile on his face and the ecstatic faces of his teammates behind him formed an excellent contrast. It made him seem like a stamen surrounded by petals.
At the age of thirty-five, he is still a graceful superstar on the court!
※※※
"Sowerberry! He's in! Beautiful!"
With the commentator shouting, Fredrik Sowerberg, wearing the Swedish team's No. 7 jersey, dribbled the ball from the left into the Korean team's penalty area, and then faced the defender who came up to block him.
The right foot rubbed the football to the far corner!
Although the South Korean team's veteran goalkeeper Son Hae-min tried his best to stretch his arms, his body could not fully jump up. Therefore, facing this arcing shot, he was powerless and could only watch the ball fly into the goal from the back...
"3:0!! There are twelve minutes left in the game, and the Swedish team leads the South Korean team 3:0! The South Korean team has become the third Asian team to be eliminated from the group!"
The England players in front of the projection screen started talking about it.
"The Korean team is really rubbish. How come they can't even score a goal? Couldn't they have scored a goal against us before?"
"Hey, that ball was a penalty..."
"Park is really old. His situation is really similar to Caesar's. He can no longer rush on the court... Sigh!"
"After all, he is 35 years old. To be honest, I am surprised that he can still participate in this World Cup..."
Because Park Soon-tae once played football at London Bridge and is familiar with many current England players, some people felt sad for Park Soon-tae.
It is indeed a very sad thing to see the South Korean captain who was once so dazzling in the Premier League, but is now faltering.
Because in yesterday's game, England defeated the United States 2:0 and won the right to qualify in advance.
So now England players can watch this match against their opponents in the same group with a relaxed mood.
Although the game is not over yet, everyone knows that the Swedish team has won.
The victory brings the Swedish team to four points now.
In the final round of the group stage, Sweden faced England, who qualified early. As long as they did not lose, they would be able to qualify together with England.
While England, which has already qualified ahead of schedule, is destined to undergo lineup rotation, Sweden still has a great chance.
Jay Adams noticed his teammate Pete Williams was deep in thought and nudged him with his elbow: "What are you thinking about?"
"I was wondering...if we could play Hu in the quarterfinals," Pitt replied.
Jay Adams was stunned for a moment. This question was not easy to answer.
Whether England can meet the Chinese team in the quarter-finals depends on two conditions.
First, the Chinese team has to qualify from the group.
Secondly, if England is first in the group, then the Chinese team must be second in the group. Otherwise, if the two teams want to play against each other, they will have to wait until the semi-finals...
On the other hand, if England is defeated by Sweden in the last round of the group stage and becomes second in the group, and wants to play against the Chinese team in the quarter-finals, the Chinese team must become the first in the group.
"Let's take a look at the result of their match against Italy for a while." In the end, Jay Adams could only say, "Fortunately, we don't have to wait too long, the game will start in more than an hour."
"Is the starting lineup for Italy out yet, Jay?"
"Yeah, I haven't paid attention yet..." Adams took out his phone and looked at the starting lineups of both sides for the next game.
He quickly found Italy's starting lineup, then lowered his voice and exclaimed: "The rumors are true, they really let Caesar sit on the bench!"
Pete Williams frowned: "This is not good news for the Chinese team..."
※※※
PS, congratulations to Croatia and Magic Flute, this third place is their reward.
It is appropriate to commemorate Modric's last dance at the World Cup with a bronze medal.
Today is the last day of the World Cup.
The guessing activity has been with you for more than 20 days and has come to an end.
Before this book is finished, this should be the last large-scale event like this, and there will be no more contests in the future.
Thank you all for your support and understanding along the way. I am very happy to guess the outcome with everyone, no matter whether I am right or wrong.
Hope you feel happy too.
In the last final, of course, I am still unswervingly optimistic that Messi will lead Argentina to win the championship just like the beginning of this World Cup.
Without him, the compatibility between this team and Messi is really perfect.
I think Argentina will beat France by one goal and win the Hercules Gold Cup!
Believe me, this is really not poisonous milk. Except for the first super upset in Argentina, I guessed correctly in all other games.
This is not because I am lucky, but this Argentina team is really reasonable and can go all the way to the finals.
