End of Group D: Fvcker

No, I didn't mean a person who does a certain verb.
It's a word I used a lot on the previous set of games,
In a comparative form, because God, it was such a crazy

End of Group D

NGA vs ARG | ISL vs CRO

Pic's from here and here.

Unlike Group B, which both spots for first and runner-up were still questionable and the top three teams were still on the run to make it to the knockout stage, this group, already saw one winner: Croatia. Meanwhile Nigeria whose points were 3, and Argentina as well as Iceland whose points were both 1, still had to fight their asses off for the remaining seat. And that's what made this one tempting. Again, and obviously, I watched both matches on two screens.

Looking at the situation, Nigeria would go through and I was confident about it. Their points were higher. They only needed a draw, and it was against Argentina whom got tied on their first match -against Iceland, for God's sake- and lost on their second. It shouldn't be a difficult task, but just when I tried to sit back and relax, Messi scored his FIRST goal in this World Cup. Oh, finally. What took him so long, I wondered? Waiting for the team to be on the edge first then he could finally showed up? The Latin Americans got really fired up from then onwards, because all of a sudden, their future seemed much brighter. Croatia, on the other hand, didn't seem to go easy on Iceland although any result wouldn't matter to them. But Iceland, crazily, played like a hungry yeti. The first half was all about them, and how fierce they were against Croatia. Sadly, no goals were made.

Then entered second half.

On minute 49, Nigeria was awarded a penalty and Moses CONVERTED IT TO A GOAL! YEAH!! They were once more back as the runner up! And once again, everything looked so much clear for Group D because on minute 52 Croatia scored against Iceland, making them the group's absolute leader. Iceland keeps attacking, and attacking though -their headers were killer! and that's what made me restless throughout the rest of the games! Until I could finally rest.

That hopeful moment for Nigeria. Pic's from here.

Iceland got rewarded a penalty on minute 75 of a handball, and just like Nigeria, the underdog CONVERTED IT TOO THROUGH GYLFI! OMG ANYTHING REALLY COULD HAPPEN! It was a really nice comeback for the match, and also for Gylfi remembering that he missed the penalty given when against Nigeria! Both games now saw a draw, and if Iceland could make just one more goal, my newest favorite team would proceed alongside Croatia!

While this, is the hopeful moment for Iceland. Pic's from here.

But dream was just a dream. Entering the last 4 minutes of the match, LAST 4 MINUTES FOR GOD'S SAKE, WHY ALL THE MAJOR TURNING POINT HAPPENED IN THE LAST MINUTES!? the desperate Argentina climbed their ass back up there thanks to a dramatic goal from Marcos Rojo. And everyone flipped. The commentators, the spectators, the substitutes poured into the field like a leak in your shower to the floor. I'm not a big fan of Argentina, and heck I hate Messi remember? But seeing this fantastic goal, bringing back the hopes for the team, and those emotions too, well, I'm a human, and it hit me right in my tiny soft heart.

But all are ruined by the hopeful goal from Rojo. Pic's from here.

As I said, Iceland too, still had the chance to proceed if they could make one more goal against Croatia and earned the crucial 3 points. But then it wasn't them. It was Croatia instead, through a freaking MINUTE 90 GOAL -see!? What the hell is happening between the players and last minute deals!?- made by Perisic.

Wow.

I know, the drama isn't as crazy as Group B. But still, I think it was more mindblowing because, remember how it started? Nigeria was statistically higher, and it should be easy to handle a team who had so far been so unstable. And Argentina, who had been humiliated by taken a draw pill against underdog Iceland, and stripped-naked in a big loss against Croatia, could make it to the next round.

No one can guess what would happen.

No one. And that's why, all these were a

Fvcker

Match Twenty Three: Bloodbath

After one failed to impress on the first match,
And the other one was the only winner of the group,
Plus, both teams are actually considered big ones,
Everyone was looking forward to their meeting.

Argentina vs Croatia

Group D

Pic's from here.

You know how Argentina was embarrassingly got tied by newcomer Iceland on their opening match. It was really a shock. Jorge Sampaoli would of course play mercilessly against their next opponent Croatia on the group's second matchday, especially knowing that the latter won their first match against Nigeria--giving them a one-step-further chance to get into the next round.

So indeed, it was a tight-ass match. At first. The earlier half was too stiff it was almost boring -you know, some 'stiff' match sometimes could be a fun one too, when both teams are attacking like hungry beasts, but not this one. So let's skip to the second half, where all the crazy shit happened.

And by 'crazy', I really meant it.

Because when you thought that the team you thought would dominate the game, you thought it wrong.

Yes, it was Croatia who owned the game. Not just owned, they scored goals, didn't concede any, and eventually won what I considered the best game yet so far. And Argentina, were once again strip-naked. Only this time, it was much worse.

The Argentinian nightmare began when Caballero made a very, VERY deadly blunder by passing the ball casually despite Croatia's presence around. He did it once on the first half, but it was still manageable. He did it again on the second half, and you know luck seldom comes twice: Ante Rebić took benefit of the goalkeeper's weak pass, really beautifully, and there you go. The first goal, that led Argentina to the verge of the abyss.

They didn't just stand by and gave in though, and they kept attacking. But it was a mess. There were no great assisting, no pattern, there even seemed to be no strategy. So came their second hit of the night. This time it was by the team's star Luka Modrić. A stunning, skillful kick done outside the penalty area, flying smoothly far the reach of the disappointed Caballero's left hand, to land on the goal. Undoubtedly one of the best goal I've seen so far in the tournament, and one of the heartbreaking moment in football history. Especially for Argentina.

And I swear that was the point where I saw Argentina started losing hope. They didn't seem to bother when Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Rakitić came by to meddle with their defense No fight, no battle, many Argentinian players were there -even Messi too!- but it looked like they were just watching the Croatian guys to dribble the ball, easily strike through and BAM, third goal happened. Sending Sampaoli inside the locker room right away in anger after the final whistle blew, without even shaking hands with Croatia's coach.

CRAZY MATCH! Crazy entertaining second half to be exact -it finished at 3AM my time, but I could finally sleep at 4-ish because I was so excited to read all the tweets and highlights of what I just  technically saw! and maybe the most nerve-wrecking half so far because, HOW COULD IT BE SO DRASTICALLY CHANGING!? Hats off to Croatia, and I must say I'm sad for Argentina too... the heartbroken spectators, the pissed off coach, the speechless Aguero... this is what I actually can't have from a competition...

If one expected Argentina to lose, I bet he wouldn't dare thinking a mind-blowing 3-0. And Messi was there, Aguero was there, Higuain was there too to substitute Aguero, but it was useless. I think they were so burdened by the shame they felt against Iceland that they put too much pressure on themselves.

Especially Messi, of course. I can tell how he's so depressed. It can be clearly seen by how he lost all his focus, frowned all match long, and seen giving a massage to his head during their national anthem! As much as I hate him, it's such a waste to see him go without even see him once doing something we all know Messi would do.

Not the way I wanted him to fail... pic's from here though.

Crazy match, for f's sake.

Who would've thought that
It's Croatia who'd be bathing in
Argentina's bleeding?

Match Six: The Whiz and The Apprentice

Believe it or not,

I was eager to see this game more than the last one.

It's not the biggest match, but I somehow knew that

It'd be really, really entertaining.

Argentina vs Iceland

Group D

This is phenomenal on so many levels. Pic's from here.

No, it's not because of Argentina. Together with Portugal and Brazil, those three are my least favorite teams I kinda wish they don't do well -thanks to Ronaldo, Messi, and Neymar who have been on my hatred list since 2014 and even 2010. So leave them be, because I'm here to talk about the other team.

I think it's not only me.

The whole world was blown away by Iceland and their performance for Euro 2016. During the cup, the underdog's underdog played solid unexpected games that no one would ever imagine they'd finish in the quarter final stage. The uproar may be gone after Euro ended, but the talk over the team remained hot, and exciting -it became a big deal when they came to Indonesia to have a friendly match with our national team, that when they secured their spot in Russia, despite it being their first World Cup ever, no one dared to underestimate them.

This match was like, their moment of truth. I saw it as a proof of their quality. And it's not something to take for granted. I couldn't imagine how hard they trained for this, because, it's their very first match, it's their first time to show what they got in France 2016 wasn't just mere luck, and, it's against Argentina, for God's sake. I somehow knew, that it'd be really really interesting, I told you, and it turned out to be.

Let's start by how solid their defense was. Throughout the game, it was solid as a rock -there was a meme saying that even wi-fi can't make it through their defense. The defender, the goalkeeper oh don't get me started with the goalkeeper, he omitted quiet a number of crucial saves! It's expected though, because dude, Iceland is facing Argentina. Of course the latter will be attacking, with Messi, with Aguero, di Maria, it's their nature. So Iceland need to think wise, and play safe instead. Surprisingly, it wasn't boring. It was outstanding instead, to see them so firm, so neat that attacks of Argentina's level couldn't break their walls.

Aguero eventually made a goal, though. And it was a beautiful one, I must admit. BUT. It was only a matter of minutes before Iceland made a comeback! Not that typical world-class fabulous type of goal, but smart enough because they took benefit of Argentina's uncertain defense. And again, it's a goal through Argentina, so no matter how ugly it could be, IT IS A BIG DEAL.

But the best highlight is not of those. It was when Argentina was awarded a penalty kick. From  a fallen Messi, who else... And it was him who'd execute the shootout, who else... Everybody else was pretty sure that it'd be it. Argentina's second goal, that would eventually lead to Iceland's defeat on their pilot performance in World Cup. Even I believed that's what would be happening. But I don't know, I'm not trying to make this superstitious nor am I trying to make it up but... something inside of me told me that it's not going to happen, and my fingers were crossed without me realizing it and

IT WAS FUCKING TRUE! THE PENALTY WAS A FAILURE! A shootout from Lionel Messi, the five Ballon d'Or winner, the best player in the world, and of all time, was blocked by a debut goalkeeper from a nation so far away, whose main job is not even a football player, whose name just emerged after he successfully gloved away Messi's famous death penalty kick!

OH MY GOD FUCK IT I SWEAR I'M STILL CRINGING REMEMBERING THOSE MOMENTS! I was watching it outside at a somewhat sports cafe, so crowded, with everyone else supporting Argentina while I was there sitting on the back, screaming every time the squad of Sons made a move to mess around with Messi's team, and I swear I was the one who screamed the loudest when Alfreð Finnbogason scored, AND I SWEAR I SCREAMED EVEN LOUDER WHEN HANNES HALLDÓRSSON BLOCKED MESSI'S PENALTY KICK FUCK FUCK FUCK!

Best match so far. And you know what, I can't hold it. I'm gonna post the official highlight video from FIFA itself.

It's just so nice to support an underdog.
Because you won't be expecting much at first.

Yet when they did good,
Especially these certain noobs,
Could kick the proud asses of pros
It's like stealing the jackpot

The Round of 16 (Unexpected Teams)

This World Cup now, seriously, argh I can't even describe!

The underdogs remained wild! Five out of six big-team-versus-moderate-team matches went really tough. I repeat, FIVE!!! The other one was even flipped: the unfavorited team won over the high up in the sky one -talking about Colombia against Uruguay. The other two matches are moderate versus moderate, which Costa Rica by luck won against Greece, while Belgium and USA is entering their second round.

So yeah, I'm still mind-blown by the fact that those mediocre teams could give a hell of a game for them big nations. Chile, Mexico, Nigeria, Algeria and Switzerland. All five of them really caused pains in the asses of Brazil, Netherlands, France, Germany and Argentina. All five matches were so offensive/defensive at the same time, lack of goals, full of revenge-scorings. Three matches proceeded to the extra time, and one ended up with penalty shootout.

Boo ya, guys, you didn't win my heart at all

Those winning teams, to be honest, I prayed for their loses -especially Brazil and Argentina, of course. I mean, c'mon, they're big and full of talented players already, it's getting boring I want to see new teams crowding the semifinal rounds. And seeing them taking pains in trying to beat their opponents which world -and God- knows were technically weaker, pft, they lost my respect.

Therefore my voice ran to those who were not the favorites. Which means that all teams I supported on those five matches, yes they went home. But then at the end of each match, I always felt satisfied and proud, gave the best rounds of my applause and took my hats off for those five teams.

They're extraordinarily entertaining.

And it's crushing my heart to see them sad.

For me personally, you guys were all the winners

See, my heart is vacant now, after England left. It's easier for me since I can now support whoever I want, in each game. But then I think I have no interest in cheering for big teams so, it's now either Colombia as the one who'll be against Brazil, Costa Rica as Group D alumni, or USA if they win over Belgium after this.

This is getting much more exciting.

Nobody, even real analysts, and pros,

Can predict what will happen in each game.

This World Cup is sick!!!