The World Cup Boot Battle: Day 6
Another day, another World Cup day full of penalties and the odd own goal. When will it stop? Will it ever stop? Do we want it to stop? I don’t think we do.
Poland lose as Salah on the brink
Salah came, he scored, he didn’t conquer: Russia 3-1 Egypt
Salah came, he scored, he didn’t conquer: Russia played Egypt in the first match of the second round of group games. A win for the hosts would see them all-but through. A loss for Egypt and they are pretty much gone.
And that is exactly what happened, as Russia simply blew them away in the second half. The first came from a spectacular own goal. Roman Zobnin had a terrible shot that bounced into the box. Ahmed Fahti stuck out a leg and it sliced backwards into the corner.
Denis Cheryshev continued his cracking goalscoring form by tucking home nicely from Mario Fernandez’s ball. Hang on, Mario Fernandez. Doesn’t sound too Russian does it? Apparently he is Brazilian but Valdimir Putin allowed him to play for Russia, as if he is some kind of God-like sorting hat for nationalities.
Just three minutes later, Artem Dzyuba scored a lovely solo goal to pretty much send team Salah home after just 180 minutes of football. The Liverpool star did manage to get a goal though, after he was brought down in the box. His resulting penalty was finished nicely but it more than likely won’t be enough to save his side from elimination.
Sanchez takes lessons from Umtiti as Colombia lose: Colombia 1-2 Japan
This one was a good game right from the off. Carlos Sanchez must have seen that France game, and thought nah. Samuel Umtiti, this is how you handle the ball in the box. If you are going to do it, do it properly. Shinji Kagawa’s shot was going in until Sanchez’s intervention which saw him receive the second-quickest red card in World Cup history – 177 seconds.
Kagawa scored the penalty as Colombia got off to the worst possible start. Japan wasted chances and were made to pay when they conceded just before halftime. Juan Quintero tapped, and I mean lightly nudged the ball along the floor. Per Mertesacker has walked faster as the ball trickled under the jumping wall and somehow crept in.
Japan did find a winner though as Yuya Osako heading in from a corner to condemn yet another decent side to an opening-day defeat.
Senegal repping the Africans: Poland 1-2 Senegal
This one was an interesting clash on paper. It seems with all of the African teams, they have the capabilities to physically dominate opponents, but also look at times as though they aren’t playing a formation and have been told to ‘just run about a bit and have fun.’ Poland’s team is full of excitement and talent but hasn’t really fulfilled its potential as of yet. They are a BTEC Belgium if you like.
And they look worse than a BTEC as they went 2-0 down to the Lions. The first came from an Idrissa Gueye shot that was pretty poor, but hey, I guess he is used to missing the target playing all season for Everton. Ha. Ha. Ha. Some more top banter. Anyway, it deflected on the way to the goal and deceived the keeper as the ball trickled into the net.
Their second was even more comical. M’Baye Niang was off the pitch receiving treatment. He was waved back on at the same time Grzregorz Krychowiak played a bit of a random lofted back-pass which didn’t reach anywhere near the goal. Wojciech Szczesny and Jan Bednarek decided to meet each other, and the ball at the edge of the box, but Niang’s invitation had an earlier time as he raced in ahead of them both to slot into an empty net.
Krychowiak pulled one back with his head but it was not enough. A below-par Poland got what they deserved.
Boot of the day – Nike Hypervenom Phantom IIIs
Nike Hypervenom Phantom IIIs football boots
Nike’s Hypervenom Phantom IIIs are the football boots of Niang. Clearly, they gave him that extra burst of pace to nick ahead of Szczesny and score what proved to be the winner.
Goal of the day – Artem Dzyuba
First, he controlled the ball from the sky with his chest. Then he wriggled through a defender. And to finish, he calmly slotted into the corner. Great composure.
Assist of the day – The ‘Russian’ Mario Fernandez
Fernandez’s ball to Cheryshev for the second finished off a lovely move.
Moment of the day – Salah’s penalty
Although seeing an African side beat a seeded team, Salah’s penalty brought a little warmth to our hearts. With his tears in the Champions League final and his time on the bench as an unused sub for the first match, it was good to see a player who was tipped to have such a good tournament have a bit of luck in front of goal.
The World Cup Boot Battle: Day 6
Points Awarded
Colombia v Japan
Yuya Osako +8 (Asics) – Was the MOTM and scored the all-important goal.
Shinji Kagawa +4 (Adidas) – Got the ball rolling with that penalty.
Juan Quintero +4 (Nike) – Scored a very cheeky free-kick.
Poland v Senegal
Grzegorz Krychowiak +4 (Adidas) – Pulled one back for the Poles.
M’Baye Niang +8 (Nike) – Used his pace to get himself a tap-in and was also MOTM.
Kamil Grosicki +2 (Nike) – Assisted Krychowiak.
Russia v Egypt
Mo Salah +4 (Adidas) – Banged in the penalty.
Denis Cheryshev +8 (Nike) – Finished off a nice move to double the host’s lead and was MOTM.
Artem Dzyuba +4 (Nike) – Scored a lovely-taken goal.
Mario Fernandez +2 (Nike) – Assisted Cheryshev, got down the wing all game.
Ilya Kutepov +2 (Puma) – Played a long ball up for Russia’s third, Dzyuba did the rest.
The World Cup Boot Battle: The best football boots in the world
| Adidas | Asics | Diadora | Mizuno | New Balance | Nike | Puma | Umbro | Under Armour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 189 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 501 | 78 | 2 | 4 |
A great performance from Osako puts Asics on the board and they’re not too far behind Puma. Meanwhile, Nike pushes forwards. Is there anything that can stop Nike taking the number 1 stop?
Tomorrow’s World Cup matches
Portugal v Morocco 13:00 (GMT)
Uruguay v Saudi Arabia 16:00 (GMT)
Iran v Spain 19:00 (GMT)
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