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?

Mohamed Salah

I know.

I may not be the biggest fan.

I may not be the most loyal one either.

I may not always be in front of the screen to watch each and every single of his games, but, I've seen him since his very first day. I've followed his amazing growth with the team. I've been in the ups and downs of the club with him in it until finally, I realized I've grown love towards him.

Mohamed Salah

Pic's from here.

It's been a joy to have him in Liverpool. The team made some progress with the arrival of Klopp, but he completed everything. And God he was not only shining within the club, but throughout the league, the nation, the continent, the world, he stole everybody's attention! Scoring 32 goals alone in Premier League, effectively made himself to be the cup's top scorer, then winning awards after awards all in just one year after joining Liverpool, and not to mention his sun-bright achievements at international level for Egypt, well this paragraph summarizes why we love you, Mo!

And let's not forget that he is a Muslim. That alone makes me feel like we have additional bond, beyond just our Liverpool roles -he's the player, I'm the watcher, haha. I've always had respect to famous Muslim footballers, which usually got disappointed because not a few of them began to lose their Muslim identity thanks to the fame they got. But I don't think he'd do that, because unlike them who are mostly from the land of Europe, he's from the Arab world, and I'm sure he'll fight for his belief as he fights for his team. A true champion indeed.

And oh, speaking of champion, it makes me remembered something—wait, "something"? It's not just "something". It's actually the core reason why I'm writing this post for him, so why did I miss this!? Ah well okay let's get into it:

The Champions League.

Something Liverpool has been so in an extreme ups and downs for the recent years. But his arrival made it seem possible, and brought fresh air to the whole club. What he did in England, he did it in Europe. Second best goalscorer only one spot below Cristiano Ronaldo, that's NOT BAD at all! And I saw every—well, no, MOST of his games! Up til' the one against Porto, against City, against Roma...

For the last 8 years of being an on and off fan of Liverpool, I don't remember myself feeling so much hopeful and confident as I was on last year's Champions League. We made it to final, with him on squad, and battling title holder Real Madrid didn't seem really frightening at all.

I was so sure that it'd be the time I had been waiting for since I picked Liverpool as the club I'd love to cheer on. Those 10 goals he made in the league will be paid off, topped with sweet victory over the Spaniard giant, completed his brightness in England. Then with the World Cup just around the corner, his performance will be really anticipated, and extremely adored.

Such a scenario only to be seen in a dream ya?
Well it could've really been a dream come true,

If Sergio Ramos weren't ever born.

Or if he wasn't played during that devastating Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. That low key bastard. I swear I never had a grudge so big towards somebody I don't personally know before. But this man deserves all the hatred from everybody. It's not a secret that the guy plays dirty all the time, but to do it to Salah, while he's on his prime career, the asshole picked just not the right time to be an asshole he usually is. Pathetic loser. I'm running out of ideas I don't know any other cunt-like names to refer him to, because I think I've used everything.

The moment it was all starting to crumble. Pic's from here.

The foul Ramos made on that match, that caused Salah's dislocated shoulder, it ruined it all. The dream Salah's been building for the last one year for Liverpool. The hope Liverpudlians have been slowly growing for this whole season. The ultimate wish to finally reach the highest podium on Europe by regaining the title we hadn't won for 13 years, yea it was all ruined by that one filthy move. But let's not be selfish. Some millions other people suffer greater loss from Salah's injury.

Yes, the Egyptians.

With Salah, they progressed beyond belief internationally. Earning a spot at World Cup 2018 marked their 3rd entrance to the tournament, while breaking their 28 years curse after their last appearance. I can't imagine how ecstatic the whole nation were, because even I was so excited when I found out that Egypt, a team I never seen in my life fighting in a World Cup, would grace the tournament with their superstar Mo Salah, a player we all adore.

But with Sergio Ramos, the dream was swept away in just a matter of minutes. Salah's injury remained serious, despite all the positive air published in media. He missed Egypt's opening game against Uruguay, a match where Salah was supposed to be starring with pride on his first ever World Cup campaign. They eventually lost, though it wasn't a big loss, but still, I couldn't imagine how it was like being an Egyptian...

Salah was finally included in the lineup against hosts Russia for their Group A Matchday Two. I swear the whole world was so psyched seeing him about to play again, as he was the sole headline and main topic of any media and any commentator. However, it's pretty clear that he was still suffering. The injury was real, and it was obvious to see it from how he played.

It was a nightmare to see the match. To see Egypt raided by Russia, whose supporters make them three times stronger, was not a nice thing to watch. To see Salah, who usually played like a hungry beast, was so spineless and fragile, was like seeing a helpless little kitten in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. And to see the Egyptian supporters, whom two months ago was still hopeful to go far in this World Cup, seeing their national dream crumbling before their own eyes, I swear Ramos,

I never had a grudge so big towards somebody I don't personally know before, never but YOU.

It was really heartbreaking.
For me, for us Liverpudlian,
For those hopeful Egyptians...

I REALLY WANNA HUG HIM AND LET HIM KNOW THAT HE STILL
GOT US SUPPORTING HIM!!! Pic's from here.

Oh, Egypt :(

Liverpool can still repeat their glory immediately next season, after this World Cup nightmare ends. But you guys, only God know when you can get to feel this blessing again. Well Salah's still 25, and he's got a promising future before him, and let's not be pessimistic about other potentials we may discover in upcoming years, given the fact that Salah must have really inspired so many talented Egyptian youngsters. But it's just so unfortunate that this big once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has to be gone so quickly, because a fucking ignorant bitch sabotaged your national hero.

His tears that night in Kiev wasn't only his. It was all ours too. Really heartbreaking, really dream-shattering. He really didn't deserve all these, but I think it's obvious as it happens everywhere... good people has lots of haters waiting to destroy them.

But as we all know from what our religion taught us,
Allah never gives obstacle beyond His creature's capabilities.

So dream on, Egypt.
And dream on, our hero,
Mohamed Salah

End of Matchday One: Rise of the Underdogs

So all 32 teams had played.

So far quiet entertaining, as some of the big teams struggled to prove that they really ARE the big teams -some struggled because they didn't want to lose face, and some smaller ones start to show that they worth the spot in the tournament.

Some smaller ones.

These are what I've been waiting for.

And reaching the end of matchday one,

They appeared in three, consecutive matches.

Colombia vs Japan

Group H

Pic's from here.

Everybody remembers how Colombia blasted to be one of the sweet surprises in Brazil, and James Rodriguez earned the spotlight that earned him the fame he has now. The only one that stopped their moves were the host, which defeated them at Quarter Final round. It's only nature to predict them winning this game against Japan, a World Cup regulars, actually, but somewhat taken for granted.

Apparently, the strategy to start the opening game by keeping Rodriguez benched instead of including him on the starting IX brought karma to Colombia. Only 3 minutes after the kick-off, defender Carlos Sanchez was red-carded for touching the ball, and Japan was rewarded a successful penalty. Colombia could score one before half time, but Japan showed their real self by dominating the second half, kept pushing Arsenal's David Ospina until he gave in to Yuya Osako's header that led to Japan's winning goal. The offensive approach then suddenly switched to fabulous defensive mechanism, where Japan several times successfully blocked Colombia's attack frenzy -one of the remarkable saves was surprisingly committed by Osako!

This quickly became one big, important victory not only for Japan, but for us Asians, because it was the very first Asian victory over a South American team, that happened in 70 years!

Poland vs Senegal

Group H 

Pic's from here.

Yep, who would've thought that this group is apparently a death one too?

Now. Poland may not be the biggest team. But they had Lewandoski, and Pizczek, and many other quiet notable players while Senegal, aside of Mane, I don't think many know much of them. HOWEVER, one shouldn't underestimate the energy of Senegal. They depicted warriors from epic movies. Physically amazing, and their speed... I'm not sure which word to use here. Their goals weren't the best though, one was an OG from Thiago Cionek, and their second goal by Mbaye Niang was of Polish defenders' errors -moreover, Poland's counter header-goal by Grzegorz Krichowiak showed more quality to me than all Senegale's goals- but all and all, those are the rewards for Senegal from being such strong and effective team.

While their fellow continental nations struggled really hard in Russia, they won over Poland, recording the first African win at 2018 World Cup. I can't tell how happy I am for Mane. Yet on the same time I had to feel broken too, because the same joyous moment didn't come to his Liverpool teammate.

Russia vs Egypt

Group A

Pic's from here.

I marked this as the worst of World Cup Russia 2018 so far. For Egyptians, for Liverpudlians, for Mohamed Salah. I'm planning to talk about him on a separate post, because he deserves it, so let's just go with the outer layer and how the host broke free to be one of this World Cup's rising stars.

It's been a smooth journey for them so far. They took benefit of their home supports really well, that they converted it to such incredible power. A 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia clearly proved it all. Then they won 3-1 against Egypt. It wasn't all their power though -since their first goal was of Egypt's own mistake, that eventually ruined their pace and led them to defeat, and both of their opponents were actually not ones considered big teams but, it was enough for them to lift their own confidence in facing Uruguay on Group A's Matchday Three.

The game between Russia and Egypt marked the start of Matchday Two. Lots of other big matches are waiting to be played, and I'm so eager to see each one of them!

And by "them", of course,

I meant the underdogs

Match Ten: King Down

Another big match I kinda waited.
Because it's between the reigning champ,
And one of the rising stars from Brazil 2014.

Germany vs Mexico

Group F

Pic's from here.

I have no particular interest in either team. Well, I tend to be more on Mexico's side though, because, again, back in 2014, they showed that they were a team worth considered about. While Germany, duh, they're the champion from the last World Cup. It's obvious that they're technically above Mexico, so why bother having one more support from an insignificant Indonesian guy? Haha.

But the goalkeepers from both teams are the main reasons why I was looking forward to this game.  Remember how the quality of goalkeepers were surprisingly amazing and entertaining four years ago? Yes, Manuel Neuer and Guillermo Ochoa were among them and they were actually the first that came to my mind when I discovered that Germany will be facing Mexico on the opening match of Group F.

And I was right. Of course, I was right. Strikers from both teams attacked like wild dogs, that both Neuer and Ochoa were pushed like crazy to their edges. But unfortunate to my big brother -Neuer, because we ridiculously share the same birthday, he got robbed while Mexico was counter-attacking and Hirving Lozano assisted by Chicharito claimed the only goal that sent Mexico winning. Germany tried to get back, but Ochoa being Ochoa, showing that he still got what he had from Brazil, the attempt led to nothing.

Two reasons why I was looking forward to this match. Pic's from here.

Though it was only an opening match, and only one goal ahead -well, not only, one goal is a big struggle why did you say 'only' you nonsense rascal?? it felt like winning the cup for Mexico when the final whistle blew. They flooded the pitch in joy, applauding like there were no other matches to do left. Well, it's worth celebrating of course, giving the fact that it is THE champion that they took down.

It's like, when playing the chess.

And you finally take the queen away.

You're not the winner yet, but at least soon

The king will be bowing down

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