Senegal it is and it's not going to be an easy ride. I look forward to this game in the hope of progressing. Not that it will get any easier as France seem to be the most likely opponent in the quarter-finals, and they have looked good so far.
Holland fortunate that Josh Sargent may not be fit to face them? Matter of perspective Rick. Edit:- Only 29°here at 5.22 in the evening. Thought I'd cheer you up.
Indeed, but they still have a sprinkling of well-known names in that side. Should be a good (nail-biting?) match
Seeing Sargent on the pitch comforting Iranian players would seem to indicate nothing serious injury wise.
Josh says he's not sure about how bad his ankle is but he's having a precautionary scan to assess it. https://the72.co.uk/2022/11/30/norwich-city-star-set-to-undergo-scan-amid-injury-fears/
Aussies through to the 16 having dispatched Denmark. It was all Denmark in the first half before a great breakaway goal from Leckie. Small matter of Argentina next.
Don't know how reliable this is, but 'The Sports Bank' are saying: "Josh Sargent, battling an ankle knock, should be okay too, but there were some initial scares with him." No reference to scan results, which should be seen before such a statement but I haven't seen any photos of Josh in a protective boot, so hope it's true. https://www.thesportsbank.net/football/chelsea/pulisic-sargent-mckennie/ CBS sports reports: "A source close to the player told CBS Sports that "Josh tentatively looks good for Saturday." CBS sports also produced this on why Josh should be the first choice striker for the USMNT: https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/ne...-for-usmnt-vs-netherlands-in-world-cup-clash/
Josh saw twice as much of the ball against Iran as he did against Wales. If he can play on Saturday, they need to get the ball to him again.
And now Germany has gone out as well, in spite of beating Costa Rica. Japan's win against Spain moves them to the top of that group, with Spain just edging out Germany on goal difference.
It was pretty hectic following who was qualifying out of that group during the game... For 3 minutes it was Japan and Costa Rica.
There have been some fantastic, edge-of-your-seat games in the last round of the 8x4 set-up of this World Cup. So, of course, the bigwigs at FIFA are going to mess around with the format to make sure it doesn't happen again. Corrupt AND incompetent. Shall we invite them to join the UK government?
The real reason is that the 'big sides', like Germany and Belgium, have failed to get through the group stage. Serbia are now leading Switzerland 2-1 and will go through if they win. Strangely, the weird Quatari environment has been a leveller to some extent, upsetting the big money media income prospects.
After the group stage: What else have we learned? Games last longer: So far, there have been 525 additional stoppage time minutes of football at the World Cup. That's equivalent to almost six extra games. Fans are certainly getting their money's worth. Fewer goals than the last couple of World Cups, especially in the first half: 2.5 per game is the lowest in the past three World Cups, with just 36% of those coming in the first half. Teams are taking fewer, better shots: 22.3 per match, but with a best all-time World Cup conversion rate of 11.2%, although a record low 8% of goals have come from outside the box. Teams are passing more: An average of 960 passes per game is more than any other tournament.
Regarding the first point, I really think it's time that the clock was stopped every time the game stops, with no added time at the end of games. This would reduce the amount of unlawful time wasting (e.g. players pretending to be injured when they're not) but shouldn't affect what I would call legitimate ways of running down the clock, like taking the ball into the corner.
