Day 8 of FIFA Knockout Rounds – Round of 16; Major Goalkeeping, Mistakes, and Mishaps

Starting this tournament, we’ve focused a lot on offense, and while the offense was great today, the goalkeepers shined. All of the teams today faced a few costly mistakes and mishaps that shaped the game and the outcome of their tournament. Which goalies saved their teams, and did one goalie potentially seal their fate? Let’s see with today’s recaps!

Brazil vs Norway

Norway came out firing on all cylinders. They took control early and created chances until the 10th minute when a poor slide tackle resulted in a penalty kick. Thankfully, an amazing save by goal keeper Ørjan Nyland kept the game tied at 0s. Norway did put up more pressure in the first half though, and reduced the speed of Brazil to a minimal factor. Norway even scored in the first half before it was disallowed by an obvious offside. Two mistakes in the first half could have proven to be game changing, an offside penalty that disallowed the goal, as well as a penalty in the box that gave Brazil a penalty kick. In the 40th minute another mishap by the Norwegian captain, Martin Ødegaard gave up the ball inside of the box and created a shooting opportunity for Vinícius Juníor, which again, was saved by Nyland.

Martin Ødegaard did make up for his mishap on a shot he took against the Brazilian keeper, but again, on a shot within maybe 10 yards of the goal, Alisson Becker made a fantastic save. The first half was full of ups and downs for both teams, and I’m sure plenty of mixed emotions for fans. 

The second half was taken over by Norwegian possession, but another turnover from Ødegaard resulted in a great offensive fast break for Brazil but the fresh substitute Endrick who pushed his shot wide left. Another mishap from the Brazilians. The true moment of the match came in the 79th minute where a beautiful cross from Andreas Schjelderup met Erling Haaland cutting across the center of the box to find the lower left hand corner for a goal. It was poor defense and unmarking of Haaland. A poor turnover by Norway also opened the door for Brazil to score in the 84th minute but again, Nyland made a miraculous save. Then, again, in the 89th minute… Erling Haaland was unmarked on a cross by Schjelderup. Unmarking Erling Haaland is the biggest mishap that Brazil could have made, and they did it twice. That’s how they lost this game. Despite a late penalty in the box, a penalty kick goal by Neymar, Jr. and some trash talk to goalkeeper Nyland, Brazil simply ran out of time to find an equalizer.

This game honestly felt like it was Norway against Vinicius Junior. Brazil did not play together, they played solo soccer for the majority of the game. Norway was a united front and did the little things right. That isn’t just a testament to the coaching but a testament to the team as a whole. Norway’s head coach, Ståle Solbakken, did a good job of keeping his team prepared to face the speed and physicality of Brazil. His players also knew not to retaliate once the Brazilian players started to cause a ruckus in the second half.

Mexico vs England

The first 35 minutes were controlled by Mexico. It had seemed that getting Bukayo Saka back in the starting lineup had no effect on the team. Until Bukayo Saka crossed the ball into a streaking Harry Kane… oh wait, Kane let it go, and Jude Bellingham was there to score. Almost before you could get done celebrating, England stole the kick off from Mexico and another cross, this time from Harry Kane, met Jude Bellingham again. Two goals, in two seconds. I was very critical of Jude Bellingham in my last article that included England. I thought he looked lackluster, but today? Not today. Bellingham was almost always in the right spot. 

Mexico answered 4 minutes later on a set piece from a free kick. A ball that was poorly cleared, a mistake clearance, went off of England and directly to Julián Quiñones. Not too much later, another ball came into the goal box on to foot of César Montes and it looked like it would be a clear goal until Jude Bellingham, yes, offensive powerhouse, Jude Bellingham, got his foot in on the shot and deflected it over the English net to save a goal. The first half was dominated by Mexico and they somehow still came away with a one goal differential.

The match completely changed when in the 54th minute Jarrell Quansah was sent off with a red card, on a play where he got all of the ball and then after slipping his heel on the ball he connected with the Mexico player. Similar to Folarin Balogun, this red card didn’t make much sense. England then received a penalty kick after Anthony Gordon got behind the defense and was taken out by the goalie. Harry Kane slotted that one for a 3-1 lead, down to 10 men. Mexico answered quickly as Harry Kane shortly after getting a penalty kick for his team, committed a penalty in the box and gave a penalty kick to the Mexico team. Raúl Jiménez buried it and brought the game to a 3-2. The 30 minutes after the Harry Kane penalty kick were taken over by Mexico, as to be expected with England down a man. However, paired with a great back line of England and a spectacular showing by Jordan Pickford. 

The 4 goalies today all looked great. The only goalie who had one clear mishap was Raúl Rangel, who committed a penalty in the box, giving England a penalty kick. The three other goalies played mistake free games. Today we saw world-class goalkeeping, costly mistakes, and just enough mishaps to remind us how thin the margins become in the knockout rounds. What will we get tomorrow? We shall see. Cheers!