There are always surprises and surprises at the World Cup. Both matches on Sunday (Russian time) left the suspense in the final moments, with Uruguay winning with a header in the 89th minute and Morocco giving Iran an own goal in the 95th minute.
Uruguay beat Egypt 1-0 in Group A at the 2018 World Cup in Russia on June 15, Beijing time. The picture shows the moment Jimenez scored the goal.La Liga standings.
The stand-off before the “knockout” was just as good. Egypt held out for more than 80 minutes against a Uruguay side led by Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, even without their top star, Mohamed Salah. Although Uruguay, a better side, were on the attack quickly after the opening period, Egypt did not flinch, giving away too many chances with a fierce scramble and a high frequency of passing. In the second half, Egypt stepped up their tempo and defended the front of the penalty area tenaciously.
Salah, who had been on the bench for the first 80 minutes, was caught on camera at times, looking relaxed and even laughing, as if delighted with the performance of his team-mates.
Salah is considered the third man in international football behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but his injury in the Champions League final has clouded Egypt’s World Cup prospects. But Egypt coach Coopever has admitted that while he is optimistic about Salah’s recovery, the team cannot rely on him too much and he plans to keep him against arch-rival Russia.
At least for the first 80 minutes, Egypt was still strong without Mohamed Salah. A draw against the better Uruguay might have been a victory for Egypt, which has yet to win in its only two previous World Cup appearances. Salah clearly feels the same way and if Egypt can hold on until the end, it might be a good gift for him on his 26th birthday.
Uruguay, the inaugural winners of the tournament, have remained a major force in international football, but since 1970 they have fallen into the curse of a long opening match. After more than 80 minutes of goalless action against an Egypt team that lacked a backbone, many would have thought Uruguay could not break the spell.
The breakthrough came in the 89th minute when Uruguay’s centre-back Jimenez headed in a corner kick to secure a 1-0 victory over Egypt. On camera, Salah looks disappointed, clearly not expecting this to happen.
Morocco played Iran in the first round of Group B of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in St. Petersburg on June 15. Iran won 1-0. Photo by Fu Tian, China News Service
More unexpected, perhaps, was the match that followed. Less than 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute, Bouhadus scored an own goal in the 95th minute of Iran’s match against Morocco. After scoring his own goal, Buhadus fell to the ground for a long time, unable to hide his disappointment.
With the lucky goal, Iran beat Morocco 1-0, its second World Cup victory and ended a seven-game losing streak in the World Cup for Asian teams.
In fact, there have been many such stunning moments in the World Cup. In the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, Mateus scored from 40 meters in the 89th minute for Germany to beat Morocco 1-0. In the 1990 World Cup quarter-finals, Gascoigne lofted a free-kick into the box in 119 minutes and Platt turned and volleyed home for a 1-0 win over Belgium. Bergkamp scored in the 90th minute to give the Netherlands a 2-1 win over Argentina in the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals.
Perhaps even more impressive was the 113th minute of the World Cup final four years ago, when Schuerrle picked up the ball from the left and sped it down the middle. Gotze stopped the ball on his chest and then volleyed it into the net to give Germany a 1-0 win over Argentina and win the World Cup.
The knockout makes the classic. The knockout is also the most passionate, never give up, will leave the suspense at the last moment. This is perhaps the charm of the world’s biggest sport, football. But there is more to the rapidly changing playing field than luck. As Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said after the game, it was luck and hard work that allowed us to win in the end. (finish)