Day 10 of FIFA Knockout Rounds – Round of 16; Heroes Get Remembered, But Legends Never Die

Two games today and two legends were settled in the World Cup history books. One legend we already knew about, and a new face and name that will be etched into the memories and World Cup lore for years to come. 

Argentina vs Egypt

Lio Messi may have missed a penalty kick… but this was a legendary performance. After this game, I told my dad and some friends that Messi, even at his age, is still the greatest player in the world. Everyone knows that a two goal lead is the most dangerous lead in soccer, but Egypt really let this one get away from them. Mo Salah played well in a new position this game, while Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico put the goals in for Egypt. They still gave up a two goal lead that lasted until the 79th minute. That can’t happen and looks really bad for the Head Coach, Hossam Hassan. The response after the game to blame officials for the loss was also a bad look. I’d rather have a team take responsibility over their mishaps than see what Hassan did. 

I really need to dive deeper into what Lio Messi did today though. Messi at 39 years old played the entire game, both offense and defense, winning 8 duels, scoring a goal, and tallying an assist. He also set the FIFA World Cup record for goals with his 21st. Everyone knew how goal Lio Messi was, but today, he solidified his status of one of, if not the greatest player to play the game of soccer. The Argentinian team deserved to win, too. They had almost 20% more possession than Egypt, had over double their shots and big chances, and had 4 times as many crosses. Lio Messi himself has 2 big chances created to lead all players, 91 touches which trailed only midfielder Leandro Paredes (which is absurd that a forward had that many touches), and was involved in every goal that Argentina had, in one way or another. He is still the spark plug for the Argentinian team. He is still the heartbeat and soul of Argentinian soccer. He is still the best player on the field, whenever he’s on it. He is a legend that whoever has seen him play, will never forget. Lio Messi is the reason Argentina is still in this tournament, and as long as Messi is on the field, there’s never a time where Argentina is out of the game. 

Colombia vs Switzerland

I’ll start this part off with… when will coaches learn to not elect to have center backs take penalty kicks within the first 3 shooters? This entire game was fantastic! Substitutes brought good energy, Granit Xhaka was fantastic the whole game, Ruben Vargas came in off the bench and was good for Switzerland. The sole mistake I could say for Switzerland was having Manuel Akanji take a penalty kick that missed by a mile. Gregor Kobel was by far the best player of the match, though. After that miss, Kobel followed up with a huge save on Cucho Hernández. Kobel may have single handedly won the game for the Swiss team. This was a legendary performance by a goalkeeper. The Swiss fanbase will never forget this. 

On the other side, Colombia also had a great deal of offense. Luis Diaz and John Arias were really strong, and actually, the Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas was really good, too. Unfortunately, I think the Colombian Head Coach made the sole mistake in this game and that was by sending his center back Davinson Sánchez for a penalty kick. The miss took the wind out of the sales for the Colombian team. 

Two legends arose today, one in Lio Messi, a proven star who is aging but still shining. The other is a middle aged goalkeeper who showed up in the biggest moments for Switzerland, Gregor Kobel. Will we see more players become legends in the quarterfinals, or will the already solidified legends show up and show out like Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappe, just to name a few? We shall see as the FIFA World Cup continues on Thursday. Until then, cheers!