The Day 6 at the World Cup witnessed some hard fought games, one exhilarating finish, some excellent goals and some gritty resistance. What a day indeed as the World Cup progressed to the second round of the Group Stage. So let’s have a look at the goings about in Qatar.
Wales vs Iran : Group B ( 0-2 )
It was a must win game for Iran after being steamrolled by England in their first match as they met a confident Wales at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium at Al-Rayyan. Wales were on a high after snatching a point in their previous game against Mexico. Expectedly Wales controlled the midfield and held most of the possession, but lacked quality upfront. Whereas as the game progressed Iran having good speed kept threatening the Wales goal and did fire in several shots, just to be denied. The over dependence in Gareth Bale for the Welsh did them no good. The match was meandering towards a draw, but then something snapped.
Wayne Hennessey, the Welsh Goalkeeper made a horrible tackle and was sent off in the 86th minute ( the first Red card of the tournament ). The match went into injury time post the completion of 90 minutes. With even the injury time about to end, there came a flash of brilliance from the Iranians. In a quick move down the middle Rouzbeh Cheshmi produced a real stinger of a shot with deadly precision beating the Welsh defence by a whisker as the right footer sneaked into the net. One of the finest goals of the tournament indeed. It was 90 + 8’ then. Three minutes later another move saw Iran score again through Ramin Rezaeian. Iranians had risen from the dead and the Welsh had themselves to blame. The Red card had completed distracted them. They were unable to regroup and paid the price. An excellent game for Iran. Their hopes very much alive in the tournament as they face USA next. For Wales it is looking tough now.
Qatar vs Senegal : Group A ( 1-3 )
The locals were cheering their Team and hoping for a Saudi encore. Qatar faced Senegal, the Lions from Africa at the Al Thumama Stadium as the evening sun began to disappear. It was an enthralling contest, with Qatar trying their hardest, pressing every muscle in their bodies to make a match of it. However Senegal drew first blood in the 41st minute after a defensive lapse from Qatar with Boulaye Dia putting the ball away into the net. In the 48th minute a remarkable header by Famara Diedhiou from a corner had Senegal 2-0 up. The header was a brilliant strike from a difficult angle which beat the Goalkeeper with a cross court trajectory so to say.
Qatar still hung on fighting hard for every ball against a much stronger Senegal and eventually there was joy for the locals. Mohammed Muntari who had just come off the bench as a substitute scored a fascinating header to send the stadium into raptures. Qatar had scored their first World Cup goal in the 78th minute. However the joy was short lived as Senegal struck 6 minutes later. A swift move from the right flank amidst some tiring Qatari bodies saw Bamba Dieng scoring from the centre. The match was over, though Qatar continued to work hard. It was an energy packed game and Senegal were deserved winners. Qatar unfortunately are out of the tournament but they did try hard and put up a great spectacle. Senegal have to get the better of Ecuador if they have to progress further. That would be a mouth watering contest.
Netherlands vs Ecuador : Group A ( 1-1 )
The Netherlands escaped with a draw against Ecuador at the Khalifa International Stadium. I have been a great fan of Dutch Football right from the days of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkard and the De Boer brothers. The Dutch side today is a developing side with upcoming young players who will take their time. Cody Gapko is one of the those players with tremendous potential and the same was on display when the Dutch went ahead in the 6th minute from a Gapko delight. It was terrific finish with brilliance written all over it. However Ecuador were not to buckle down.
In Enner Valencia, Ecuador have a truly inspiring player and he led the counter attacks on the Dutch. The Ecuadorians were all over their opponents, playing lovely, pacy, sublime football which was a treat to watch. The Dutch survived the first half thanks to the tall lanky Andries Noppert, a super Goalkeeper who kept on denying Ecuador. However the pressing Ecuadorians had their reward in the 49th minute with Valencia tapping the ball home. Ecuador had equalised and only the woodwork on the goal and Noppert prevented another goal from Ecuador and somehow Netherlands survived. Ecuadorians are looking dangerous. Netherlands need to be more expressive with their play if they need to progress much deeper in the Tournament.
England vs USA : Group B ( 0-0 )
The last match of Day 6 featured the English on a high with an astounding display against Iran in their previous game, locking horns with a hardworking American team at Al Bayt Stadium. I was expecting a goal fest again with an incisive English attack, however I was greatly surprised. The doughty Americans not only held the English at bay, but pounded them with scintillating moves. Christian Pulisic threatened the English time and time again only to be denied by the cross bar.
The English had their match. It would be fair to say that USA had the upper hand right through the game and the English hardly threatened the US goal despite having one of the finest players in their side. What pressure can do to a good side was clear for every one to see. England escaped with the draw and shared the spoils with the Americans. Though eventually, in my opinion, it was a moral victory for the USA and they kept their record of not losing to England ever in a World Cup safely intact. It would be interesting to see how the Iranians fare against the US and how England respond to the Welsh challenge. It’s all to play for in Group B.
The Day 6 was absolutely engrossing . The World Cup is building up beautifully. The Day 7 promises to be no different with some big names on the line. It would tremendously interesting to see how Saudi Arabia fare against Poland and how Argentina respond against Mexico in a must win game. Tunisia take on Australia and the French face up to the Danes as another exciting day awaits.
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