The quarterfinals are over, and Croatia’s shootout win deprives us of an Argentina vs. Brazil semifinal, which would have been like Duke vs. North Carolina in the NCAA basketball tournament. Also, the World Cup chief cited the death of a Filipino worker at the World Cup and then said, “Death is a part of life.” Damn, why didn’t the cops who killed George Floyd use that line?
Because it would have made us hate them even more?
Oh yeah, right.
So, can Croatia keep doing this?
I said the only way they were going to beat Brazil was if Dominik Livaković played like he did against Japan, and that’s exactly what happened. That saves me from looking silly, but only just. Logic says they can’t keep taking games to penalties and winning them there, but if they can beat Brazil that way, then they can do it against anyone, and I trust Livaković in a shootout more than Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez. Livaković is the shot-stopper for Dinamo Zagreb, and you can bet that after this tournament, some team in one of Europe’s “Big Five” leagues is going to snap him up in the January transfer window.
Is he the best goalkeeper in this competition?
Yes, but it’s close. Even though England outplayed France in their quarterfinal match, Hugo Lloris won the match for Les Bleus, stopping a number of shots and coaxing his Tottenham Hotspur teammate Harry Kane into shanking his second penalty over the bar. At least Kane won’t be on the receiving end of racist hate the way his Black teammates were at the end of last year’s Euro tournament. Meanwhile, Morocco’s Yassine Bounou also made some good stops to allow his country to upset Portugal, though his job was easier because the Portuguese’s shooting touch deserted them. Look for Bono to go to a team that’s bigger than Sevilla during the window as well.
Can Morocco beat the French in the semis?
The old axiom still holds: When you have good goalkeeping and goalscoring, you have a puncher’s chance against anyone. The Atlas Lions have those, and even France’s coach Didier Deschamps said Les Bleus were lucky to get past England. Thing is, when you have as much talent as France, you just need a dash of luck instead of a whole hot streak. We’ll see whose good fortune runs out on Tuesday afternoon.
Whose side do we take in the Gio Reyna foofaraw?
USA coach Gregg Berhalter said he didn’t play a certain player because of that player’s crappy attitude, and while he didn’t name names, everyone knew it was Reyna. This could just be a bit of politicking on Berhalter’s part after the team’s elimination, but Reyna’s teammates haven’t exactly rushed to his defense. This would explain why Number 7 wasn’t enjoying the playing time you would expect. We can question Berhalter’s tactics and substitutions, but he sent home Weston McKennie at the beginning of World Cup qualifying for breaking Covid regulations, and the player hasn’t stepped wrong since. Gio is only 20 and still has time to get over himself, and he could take pointers from his dad Claudio, who always had his head on straight when he played for Team USA. We’d be happy to have that Gio on board for 2026.
Who was Grant Wahl?
The American soccer journalist died while covering the World Cup, from an apparent attack of bronchitis that he contracted in Qatar. FIFA honored him during the England-France game, an ironic tribute given his repeated scourging of the organization during the last 20 years. He not only exposed corruption within global soccer during its numerous scandals but also used his post to advocate for the women’s game, gay fans and players, and the poorest of the poor, from whose ranks great players often emerge. Strangely enough, he did much of his work from Sports Illustrated, which had been a reliable bastion of “soccer is for America-hating pussies” sentiment during the 1990s, before he got there. This column probably wouldn’t exist without his example, and I vow to carry on his work of connecting the sport to the myriad issues in the larger world, much like others who’ve been inspired by him. Someone else should probably run for FIFA president in his honor.
