#Russia2018
Diego’s hand of WTF and the worst game of the tournament
Diego Maradona's theatrics in the stands soured what was a gutsy display from the young Super Eagles on the same day when the tournament had its first 0-0 draw.
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Read our guide to group scenarios and an explanation of tie-breakers here.
What happened in Group C
France and Denmark played out the worst game of the World Cup so far, finally giving everyone what they’d been waiting for: a goalless draw. Delightful.
Peru, meanwhile, finished on a high, beating Australia, whose coach was left fuming as he claimed the first Peru goal should have been offside.
What happened in Group D
Argentina somehow managed to stay in the World Cup, with Lionel Messi finding the back of the net with a fine effort early on. Victor Moses equalised through a penalty and, for a long time, it looked like that was the way things would remain. Messi and Co haven’t looked their best this tournament and while they came alive in this fixture, the frozen Argentine pose returned after the Super Eagles equalised.
Yet, somehow, Marcos Rojo crafted a goal to rescue the South Americans and send the youngest side at this year’s tournament packing. But they still looked there for the taking.
Croatia, meanwhile, finished the group stage with a perfect record, thanks to a 2-1 win over Iceland. It wasn’t quite the theatrics of the other game, but it left the Croats topping the group.
What does this mean for the last of 16?
France play Argentina and Croatia will take on Denmark.
News you might care about
It’s only news because of who he is, but it’s worth mentioning. Lionel Messi, who has had a ‘mare of a World Cup, scored the 100th goal of the competition on Tuesday night.
Landon Donovan got under the skin of Americans after calling for them to support Mexico. Donovan appeared in an advertisement holding up a scarf emblazoned “my other team is Mexico” and declaring “vamos Mexico!”
Ex-US international Cobi Jones Tweeted his disapproval, saying that rivalry should be “sacred”. Donovan replied saying his heart bleeds red, white and blue but added that he believes in supporting each other and building bridges, not barriers… or walls. We added that part about the wall. [AFP]
Diego Maradona’s reaction to Messi’s goal was quite something. No words needed. Just watch it.
VAMOS ARGENTINA pic.twitter.com/oheWKP4Yli
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) June 26, 2018
And then he fell asleep.
Not content with that erratic display of weirdness, he added two middle fingers to whoever was looking from the Nigerian fans below – and the whole world’s television cameras – after Argentina snatched a win from the jaws of a group exit.
Good to see Maradona remains as sporting as ever… 🙄 #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/SL4RMz9WDu
— Chris Chambers (@CapitalChambo) June 26, 2018
But hey, at least he managed a bit of dancing.
Maradona officially not worried pic.twitter.com/6scd3T9AeH
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) June 26, 2018
Imagine being as nice as Messi and this is the guy who represents your country.
Quote of the day
“I don’t really know what chances South Korea have of winning this match and I don’t know ours either.” Like the rest of us, Joachim Loew finds the complications of this group far too much.
Fixtures on 27 June
16:00 Mexico vs Sweden1
16:00 South Korea vs Germany
20:00 Serbia vs Brazil
20:00 Switzerland vs Costa Rica
Dish of the day
Pão de queijo or Brazilian cheese bread is a gooey, delicious bread made with, you guessed it, cheese. It’s gluten-free, too, made using tapioca flour. So the Brazilians were hipster before the restaurant culture colonised it. Try this recipe. DM
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