In group C the Norwegians had a direct duel with Honduras for 3rd place. Definitely more interesting were the meetings in group D, where three teams: Ukraine, Nigeria and the United States fought for the end of the group rivalry at the top of the table.
Norway 12:0 Honduras
There were many goals in Lublin. After the first half the Norwegians were already leading with a team from Central America 5:0. Erling Haland - a striker representing RB Salzburg on a daily basis, reached his highest level in this match. In the first 43 minutes he scored four goals. Of course, it's only Honduras, but in the penal field this boy is clearly able to find his way around. After a break, Honduras players would certainly not want to go out on the pitch.
In the second half, the Scandinavian players continued to play. With such a result, they would be able to drop a little bit from the tone, but they were driving themselves with each successive action. Like before the break, Erling Haland broadcast the rhythm. Today he played in his own league. To four hits from the first part of the match, he added five more in the second half. Adding three goals of his colleagues, the final result of this competition is 12:0. I think we already know the King of Scorers.
New Zealand 0:2 Uruguay
Both teams had some exits from the group before the meeting and, as we expected, their today's competition was not the most interesting. At the Lodz stadium, which yesterday was the loudest place in Poland, fans had the right to complain about the level of the show. There was a lot of shots, especially from Uruguay's players. However, most of the hit balls landed in the stands. New Zealanders, in turn, decided not to waste their energy on offensive actions and limited themselves to defensive games. In the first half of the game they didn't even shoot at the rivals' goal. The long-awaited goal was scored in the 40th minute. Darwin Nunez finished the beautiful action with an equally nice shot.
Unfortunately, after the break the players of both teams maintained the level of play from the first half of the game. Uruguay's players tried to construct actions, but they looked as if someone was forcing them to do so. After some inaccurate passes, Gustavo Ferreira's charges decided that shots from a distance were their best weapon. The iniquity of the blows was striking. However, they still led the way, and after playing footballers from New Zealand, it was clear that such a result does not bother them at all. As the fans gathered to leave the stadium after such an exciting spectacle, Brian Rodriguez scored a 0:2 goal at 0:2. Uruguay, thanks to today's victory, finished the competition in the group in the first place.
Nigeria 1:1 Ukraine
This match was not very popular among the fans. Ukraine had already secured its exit from the group before that meeting, and Nigeria was satisfied with a tie for second place. Despite this state of affairs, none of the teams gave up. From the very beginning we watched the fight and fierce duels. As time passed, our eastern neighbours gained more and more advantage. After the game of players from Ukraine it was clear that they are not accidental leaders of the group. They exchanged the ball well in a small space, thanks to which they easily got to the opponent's goal. The first blow was dealt half an hour after the start of the meeting. After crossing into the penalty area, Danylo Sikan directed the ball head to the net. Just before the end of the first half, the Nigerians had a chance to get even, because the judge dictated a penalty shootout. However, the goalkeeper perfectly felt the intentions of the shooter and after the first part of the match was 0:1.
The other half started with a strong impact. Arbitrator after verification of the VAR once again pointed out penalty and again to perform a penalty shootout approached Muhamed Tijani. This time, everything went according to plan. The irritated Ukrainians wanted to score the second goal as soon as possible. The Nigerians immediately went back on the defensive, knowing that a draw would give them promotion. Unfortunately, the closer it was to 90 minutes, the slower the players moved around the pitch. The athletes of both teams activated the EKO mode, saving forces for the knock-out phase. The final result of this competition is 1:1.
United States 1:0 Qatar
Tim Weah and the company came onto the pitch extremely mobilized. They were aware of the fact that the chances for promotion from second place are very high. As it turned out later, the Catholics played probably their best match in the tournament. They played responsibly on the defensive and they created better opportunities for themselves in the first half. The closest goal was in 37th minute Hashim Ali, but he hesitated at a crucial moment and the goalkeeper scored the ball. Before the break we did not watch the goals, but the match was observed with pleasure. I was hoping that the players would maintain such a high pace in the second half of the game.
The USA players couldn't refuse to want to, but what if they couldn't create a threat under the rival's gate. The team from Qatar did not intend to leave Poland with zero points. As time went by, they went deeper and deeper into their own penal field, and that's what lost them. In the 76th minute Tim Weah decided on an individual rally with a ball, which culminated in a hell of a blow. The goalkeeper couldn't cope with this shot and the Americans won the desired lead, which they didn't let go. It is a pity for the Katarians, who have shown great will to fight today.
Stay tuned - the last group games tomorrow!
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