World Cup 2022: Matchday Eight Talking Points

The Indomitable Lions only have themselves to blame for failing to maximize on all three points against Serbia yesterday, in a game laced in goals.

Cameroon got into this fixture needing an all three points, given they face an uphill task against Brazil in their last match of the group stages. Victory would have given them a more solid platform to build upon heading into matchday 3.

After Jean-Charles Castelletto had put them ahead in the 28th minute, Cameroon decided to sit back in a mid-block 4-3-3 narrow formation that emphasized on denying Serbia any spaces to create inroads.

They also tried not to tight mark Mitrovic, who is very good at holding the ball up and using his brute strength to spin away from opponents while also creating spaces for other people.

However, they just could not concentrate, as they conceded two quick goals before the break heading into halftime.Cameroon just could not find a way to mitigate Filip Kostic’s threat down the left hand side, as he was giving them all sorts of problems with his dangerous deliveries.

For Serbia’s third goal, he combined well with Mitrovic, before giving a dangerous low cross that caused confusion in the Cameroonian penalty box which resulted in a goal by Mitrovic.

The introduction of Vincent Aboubakar stretched the Serbian defense, which eventually resulted in an equalizer for Cameroon in the 66th minute. From then on, Cameroon tried to huff and puff, but they could not find a way to score a fourth. Their superior 2.29 xG to Serbia’s 1.18 suggests that they were slightly the better side, but concentration lapses defensively cost them bigtime.

Ruthless Ghanan finish off South Korea 

Mohammed Kudus showed the world why most sides are after his signature, as he netted a brace that was vital in giving Ghana a much needed 3 points at the expense of South Korea.

The first of his two goals was a timely header past Kim Seung-Gyu’s net after getting on the end of Jordan Ayew’s well weighted cross to put his side 2-0 up.

The second was the winning goal for Ghana, after they had forfeited the lead and let South Korea back into the game through two goals from Gue-Sung Yo.

Left back, Gideon Mensah got to the byline and delivered a cut back meant for Inaki Williams, but Williams intelligently dummied it before it got to the path of Kudus who hit it first time into the back corner.

Kudus’ finishing summed up Ghana’s luck in front of goal last night, as all their 3 goals were from a 1.80 expected goals (XG), which now sets them up well for their third match against Uruguay.

Uruguay’s tactical tweak troubles Portugal

Uruguay are a side well renowned for being successful in a 4-2-2-2 formation, first under the legendary Oscar Tavarez, and now under current incumbent, Diego Alonso. In qualifying, they were very successful using this formation.

The main highlight of their tactical blueprint involved the midfield pivot of Rodriguo Bentancur and Fede Valverede were excellent at taking turns dropping between the center backs to collect the ball before spraying it forwards as the other made runs to support the attack.

However,Alonso opted for the 3-5-2 formation with the aim of blocking the spaces Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes are capable of operating in before creating chances, and although it helped mitigate this, it still was not enough to prevent the loss to Portugal.

Using Cavani as a withdrawn striker to help create overloads in the midfield, Portugal’s technicians struggled to create inroads in the first half, and it had to take until Bruno Fernandes’ attempted cross to Ronaldo to get into the back of the net.

Portugal sealed all three points through Bruno’s late second goal of the night through the penalty spot, sealing their place in the round of 16 and leaving Alonso scratching his head as to whether he should revert to basics ahead of their final match.

Casemiro unleashes inner joga bonito

Casemiro is renowned for being a discrete player in the mold of Gilbeto Silva, in that he wins the ball back and gives others a platform to express themselves. He did it countless times at Madrid as he allowed both Luca Modric and Tony Kroos to set the tone for their matches which contributed to their 3 consecutive champions league titles.

For Brazil, he occupies a role not too dissimilar, as he allows Lucas Paquetta and Neymar to have the freedom to create inroads and win matches for Brazil. To be the water carrier, the less flashy player.

Against Switzerland last night, he got the all-important goal for them, after a finesse shot past Yann Sommer’s net. Marquinos sprayed the ball wide to Vinicius Junior, who then passed it to Rodriguo who then instantly layed it onto Casemiro’s path before striking the ball in.

The goal was enough to seal Brazil’s place in the round of 16 with a game to spare.