The World Cup Day That Was
#Russia2018: Do cry for me Argentina
For once, it's not the French who are revolting.
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Argentina 0-3 Croatia
Lionel Messi wouldn’t have scored even if All Night Long was blasting over the speakers. The poor guy hardly touched the ball as a combination of a howler from keeper Willy Caballero and two more Croatia goals left Argentina staring down the barrel of a shock World Cup exit. [Full report and highlights]
France 1-0 Peru
History made and their spot in the knockouts secured. Kylian Mbappe became the youngest scorer for France at World Cups and, with that, sent Peru on their way home. [Full report and highlights]
Denmark 1-1 Australia
Australia have found the perfect VAR balance. Victims of a controversial decision in their opener, the opposite was true for their draw against Denmark. The result means they remain in with a small chance of progression, but will have to beat Peru by a large margin and hope that France do them a favour against Denmark. [Full report and highlights]
News you might care about
If you aspire to just one thing in your life, aspire to care as little about anything as Sepp Blatter does. While Vladimir Putin’s people have denied previous reports that Blatter was personally invited to the World Cup by him, Blatter rocked up anyway. And just when you thought his case of lack of self-awareness could not be any more acute, the ex-Fifa president told reporters how he did nothing wrong and how he was never voted out of the organisation that banned him. [The Telegraph]
A Nigerian singer has dedicated a song to the country’s fake football jerseys. It’s creatively titled “A Prince has died and left you with all these jerseys.” Not really, it’s just called “Fake Jersey”.
The song by Teni tells the story of how the social media star goes to the market to buy some fakes with the lyrics: “I go to Nike website, they say the jersey don sell out.”
Teni, the song tells us, is not put off by this. So, off to the market she goes and picks up a jersey for much cheaper. “Emeka tell me say the jersey na 2500 (naira).”
We probably can’t do it justice with words, so here’s the song.
Uruguay fans unfurled a giant banner that read “asado y vino” (roast meat and wine), before their 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Whether they just really like to indulge or whether they were mocking their opposite fans, nobody really knows. [AFP]
Quote of the day
“I dined with Mr Putin. You have to congratulate Russia for the organisation of the World Cup, and naturally the head of state himself.”
The world according to Sepp Blatter.
Fixtures on 22 June
14:00 Brazil vs Costa Rica
17:00 Nigeria vs Iceland
20:00 Serbia vs Switzerland
Dish of the day
Stegt flæsk. No, it’s not a swear word. It’s a dish that was voted the national dish of Denmark. Crisp pork belly served with potatoes and a parsley sauce. Simple yet delicious. And probably something you’d have for your Sunday roast anyway. If you need a recipe to cook such basic goodness, try this one. DM