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What to watch for today
Yesterday gave us two winners after the 89th minute and a Ronaldo hat trick in a six goal thriller. Now we get four matches in one day?! How did we get so lucky?
France v. Australia | Group C
France have an absurdly talented squad – Griezmann, Mbappe, Kante, Pogba, Umtiti – but they haven’t yet found a clear plan to cohesively utilize those talents. But out of all the problems to have, how to best integrate your many stars isn’t a bad one. France doesn’t even need to be at full speed to reach a final, as they showed in Euro 2016. Australia faced the longest qualifying battle to get here – 22 matches including continental and inter-continental playoffs. With that, they’re lucky to be here, let alone with aspirations of a deep run. However, what they lack in fireworks, they make up for in grit and could frustrate France today.
Argentina v. Iceland | Group D
Messi, it’s your turn. After Ronaldo’s heroics, the Argentinian has a chance to reply a day later. Argentina have reached three consecutive finals in major tournaments, but this time will be managed by former Chile and Sevilla mastermind Jorge Sampaoli. If he can enter the tournament with a clear vision for La Albiceleste, it could be the difference between reaching a final and winning one. Their first opponents, Iceland, are at their first World Cup after topping a qualifying group that included Croatia. Iceland’s two most important players – creative force Gylfi Sigurdsson and captain Aron Gunnarsson look to have recovered from their injuries in time to start.
Peru v. Denmark | Group C
A winner in this match will be the favorite to exit Group C alongside France. Denmark’s play flows through Christian Eriksen, who had 11 goals in qualifying and would be an influential creator in any side in the world. And with Kasper Schmeichel in net, they allowed only 8 goals in 10 group qualifiers. Peru are at their first World Cup in 36 years after a qualifying campaign that included draws against Colombia, Argentina (twice), and a win over Uruguay. They’re led by energetic captain Paulo Guerrero, whose attacking burden will be shared by Jefferson Farfan and Edison Flores.
Croatia v. Nigeria | Group D
AIn a wide open Group D, either of these teams could realistically finish first, or last. Croatia are yet another squad with insane talent, but infrequent cohesion. Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic, and Inter’s Ivan Perisic are just three names in a star studded attack that finished second in their qualifying group behind Iceland. Nigeria are likewise more interested in attacking than defending, which should give us an entertaining finale to this evening. Alex Iwobi and Victor Moses bring Premier League talent to their attack, but as seen in their friendly against England, it’s their defence that could be their undoing. No matter how this match finishes, we’ll be treated to some stylish kits.