GOOD MORNING!
Hello and good morning! We have not one, not two, not three but FOUR World Cup fixtures to look forward to! France and Argentina – two of the favourites to make the final in a month’s time – kick-off their campaigns today.
We will also have updates from the Germany and Belgium camps to bring you, as well as a round-up of all the other news and views from the tournament.
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That is it for our World Cup coverage on this page today folks. But you can follow the rest of today’s World Cup fixtures on the Happyghana.com website, and we will be back up and running tomorrow morning – when Brazil and Germany come to the party.
Thanks and see you tomorrow!
ARGENTINA 1-1 ICELAND
Incredible scenes in Moscow as Iceland hold on to a stunning 1-1 draw against Argentina.
The South Americans may feel hard done by however – Lionel Messihad a penalty saved, and they should have been awarded another one only for the decision not to be referred.
As for Iceland, their incredible story goes on and they have given themselves a real chance of progressing from arguably the toughest group at the tournament.
‘THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO’
Australia manager Bert van Marwijk says France got lucky when they beat his side 2-1 in Group C earlier on Saturday.
“They beat us with us such a lucky goal”, he protested. “Nobody had expected that we could play like this against France.
“I think there were a lot of moments they didn’t know what to do any more.”
MORE VAR CONTROVERSY!
Yet more controversy involving VAR today! We truly have been spoilt.
Argentina winger Cristian Pavon gets in behind Iceland before being tripped by a defender. The referee waves away the protests, and then VAR inexplicably does not advise him to review his decision.
Looked like a clear and obvious penalty to me.
SWISS NOT INTERESTED IN ‘LOVELY’ FOOTBALL
Switzerland manager Vladimir Petkovic says he is not interested in playing attractive football when his side take on Brazil on Sunday – all he wants is a win.
“We’re not here to make a lovely match but to win it,” Petkovic said.
“We’ll try to be as organised as possible, you need to provoke a team like Brazil into making mistakes so you can create opportunities, that’s the mentality you need to have because we’ll need to score one or two goals to win the game.”
Switzerland have lost just one of their last 22 matches, while Brazil have won 17 of their last 21.
CAHILL: WE WILL PICK OURSELVES UP
Australia legend Tim Cahill says they deserved more from their game against France, and will be ready to go again when they take on Denmark on Thursday.
POGBA ‘VERY HAPPY’ AFTER SCRAPPY WIN
“Very happy with the win, go the Blues!”, said Paul Pogba after his goal secured three points for France against Australia earlier on Saturday.
ALL SQUARE AT HALF-TIME
Iceland are at it again. They have pegged back Argentina and take a scoreline of 1-1 in with them at the break.
Sergio Aguero opened the scoring with his first ever World Cup goal – a brilliant finish on the turn – before Alfred Finnbogason levelled the scores with a tap-in.
Argentina – unsurprisingly – look heavily reliant on Lionel Messi, while Iceland are fighting and scrapping for every single ball.
SOUTHGATE: IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO FEEL PRESSURE
Gareth Southgate has been speaking to FIFA.com, and he says it is impossible to tell his players not to feel the pressure of playing for England at the World Cup.
“Whenever you represent England or any other country there’s expectation, there’s hope, you carry the dreams of a nation, and it’s impossible to say to any player you can go out and play without any feeling of pressure or any feeling or fear”, he said.
WHO WANTS SOME ICELAND INSIDER INFO?
A friend of mine is quite well-known within Icelandic footballing circles, and he reckons Iceland may just pull off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup group stage history today.
Alfred Finnbogason starting means Iceland have chosen a poacher to lead their line, and suggests they may not be planning on sitting back and containing Argentina for the full 90 minutes.
Kari Arnason and Birkir Mar Saeversson both play their domestic football in Iceland’s premier division – the Pepsi-Deild Karla – a world away from a World Cup match against Lionel Messi and co.
DELPH DEPARTS
That is our lot from England midfielder Fabian Delph and he gave us some interesting information.
It seems as though Gareth Southgate has almost certainly decided which 11 players will start against Tunisia on Monday, while Delph also gave us a fascinating insight into the no-holds-barred attitude amongst the players in training.
“I am absolutely delighted to be in this squad having not been here for quite a while. Whenever I’m needed I’ll give nothing less than 100 per cent.”
Asked if it was tough being away from her at such a time, he said: “A little bit. It’s very exciting.
“It’s been a fantastic year for me on a personal level. To be expecting our third child is absolutely amazing.
“I’m waiting on the text to say get back home but so far she’s doing fine.”
Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero makes the cut, as do Javier Mascherano, Marcos Rojo and Angel Di Maria.
For Iceland, key man Gylfi Sigurdsson has recovered from injury in time to start. Burnley man Joey Gudmundsson joins him in midfield.
DELPH: ENGLAND TRAINING IS FIERY
Fabian Delph has dismissed the suggestion that England could become complacent due to the close relationships between the players.
Asked about negative attitudes creeping in, Delph said: “No I don’t think so. We’re a close bunch but once training starts it’s fiery. It’s spicy and the intensity is there.
“People are not afraid to dig people out. Nothing’s ever personal, that’s what I’ve found with this squad. As long as it’s constructive criticism, people take it on the chin.”
“Honestly, in this squad we’ve got, it’s not like that at all”, he explained. “Everybody will be behind the team that’s picked to play.
“Everybody will have a part to play, whether that’s in training or in games. When you’re called upon, you’re expected to give nothing less than 100 per cent.”
However, he says the training drills Southgate has had his players doing have hinted at the starting XI.
Delph said: “We’ve worked on various different systems with various personnel.
“The team’s not guaranteed, there could be changes. But from the set-up that we’ve done, it’s pretty clear who’s going to be starting.
“None of my family and friends are coming. Obviously there’s concerns because it’s happened in the past”, said Delph.
“We’ve spoken about and we know how to deal with it. If it does happen we’ve got people around us who will help us with that sort of stuff.”
DELPH: I WASN’T AWARE OF ROSE ISSUES
“I wasn’t aware. Rose is my best-mate, I’ve known him since I was 10-years-old”, said Delph.
“We’ve spoken since and he’s a strong guy mentally. He’s got great people around him so I’m sure he will be fine going forward.”
“He’s helped to develop us, you can see that from some of the changes the players at Manchester City have made this season. He’s definitely helped to improve us”, he said.
“The lads from City are very confident, as are the other lads in the squad. It’s exciting times.”
“The preparation’s still the same. It’s all about the team. Everybody sticks together and the manager picks the best team to face the opponent”, he said.
DELPH: I KNOW THE TEAM
But fear not Fabian fans! He is just running late and we will be bringing you his quotes as England build-up to their World Cup opener against Tunisia on Monday.
It is very lucky as well – Paul Pogba breaks forward and pokes the ball onto the tackling defender. It then spins up and over Matt Ryan in the Australia goal, before bouncing just over the line.
WE HAVE VAR!
Controversy in Kazan! The referee Andres Cunha waves away a penalty claim for a foul by Josh Risdon on Antoine Griezmann.
However, he watches a replay on the pitch-side monitor and overrules his original decision, pointing to the penalty spot!
Griezmann tucks home the resulting spot-kick and, if you ask me, VAR did its job correctly there.
LOW: ENGLAND HAVE IMPROVED
Germany head coach Joachim Low has been speaking ahead of their clash with Mexico.
He is confident ‘Die Mannschaft’ have improved since their victory in the 2014 World Cup (an ominous sign for all the other sides), but he was also positive about England’s progress under Gareth Southgate.
He said: “I get asked if our team is stronger than 2014. Every team becomes a bit stronger in four years, at least the teams of the top-nations.
“France, Spain, England is definitely better, definitely better than 2014. This is what you will experience.
“We also have got some more options now.”
DENMARK’S KEY MAN: CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN
We take a look at Denmark’s talisman Christian Eriksen’s best moments from the Premier League last season as the Danes prepare to take on Peru in their Group C opener.
‘MEXICO CAN HURT GERMANY’
Joshua Kimmich has warned his Germany team-mates that Mexico can hurt them when they face each other in Group F tomorrow.
The two sides played in the Confederations Cup last year, when Mexico outplayed the Germans but somehow contrived to lose 4-1.
MBAPPE, POGBA START FOR FRANCE
The teams are in for France vs Australia, and Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba both start for Les Bleus.
Australia have a few English-based players in their XI – Matt Ryan, Aaron Mooy and Mile Jedinak (sporting a quite extraordinary beard) all make the team.
PERU’S TIME TO SHINE?
By all accounts, Peru fans are taking over Russia as they return to the World Cup after going decades without qualifying.
They begin their 2018 campaign against a Denmark side searching for a way to recover from the injury that ruled Lord Nicklas Bendtner out of the tournament.
ELSEWHERE IN GROUP D…
…it’s time to get that Nigeria shirt you bought before the World Cup out of the drawer and get ready for the Super Eagles’ clash with Croatia. I got Luka Modric’s boys in the office sweepstake, so forgive me if a little bias creeps into the blog.
FRANCE KICK-OFF CAMPAIGN
Just 90 minutes to go before France and Australia begin their World Cup campaigns.
Hear the latest from both teams’ camps in the video below, as well as a prediction from the Psychic Sausage…
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
If you missed the thriller that was Portugal 3-3 Spain last night, then I genuinely feel sorry for you.
Anyway, here is a round-up of all the action from the game of the World Cup so far, as well an analysis of Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible record at major tournaments.
WHAT’S ON?
A bumper day of World Cup action for you today. France vs Australiakicks us off at 11am, with the likes Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezman ready to come to the party.
Argentina vs Iceland follows at 2pm as Lionel Messi begins his latest attempt at World Cup success with his country.
Peru vs Denmark starts at 5pm in what promises to be a key clash in deciding who progresses from this competitive group.
And if that is not enough for you, Croatia vs Nigeria kicks off at 8pm to bring a hectic day to a close.
Folks, the World Cup is well and truly underway!