Archives for June 2018

Both England and Belgium head coaches said after their clash in the third round group match that they wanted to win, but not at any cost.

The game in the Kaliningrad Stadium on Thursday evening ended with Belgium winning 1-0. That result means the Red Devils topped Group G and will face Japan in the knockout stage, while England will take on Colombia, reports Xinhua news agency.

It had been speculated before the game that both teams may have wanted to avoid finishing top of the group, as the winner may face tricky ties against the likes of Brazil, France, Portugal or Argentina.

However, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez played down the notion that his team would have been happier to lose. “I don’t think in the World Cup you can be successful by trying to hope to get an easy path,” the 44-year-old said.

“What you should try is to create a group, with everyone desperate to contribute and perform for each other,” he added.

However, Martinez noted that his team was clear from the outset that “winning at all costs is not an option”, explaining his decision to make nine changes to Belgium’s starting lineup.

“We have to spread the responsibility in the group. We have to see who is ready. We have to see how well some players are recovering from injury,” he said.

The Spaniard said he was satisfied with his team’s performance. “The young players showed they are ready to contribute,” he said, reserving special praise for Youri Tielemans, 21, and 23-year-old Adnan Januzaj.

“Maybe we are a little bit slow in finding the route we need to penetrate. But I think that is normal when you make nine changes,” he added.

Gareth Southgate, coach of England, seemed to share Martinez’s safety-first approach. “We would have potentially risked players that we didn’t have to risk,” he said, adding that it would have been foolish to play top goalscorer Harry Kane and risk him being injured.

“The game was a really good test for us. We knew that the level of the game was going to be high, even with both teams making changes. Belgium had controlled possession. We found it difficult to press,” he said.

“But in terms of effectiveness and chances, we were probably fairly even. We had a couple of good chances and counterattacks. So I think we will learn a lot from the game. Tactically, it is a good game for us to review,” he added.

In response to a question from Xinhua, Southgate described his team as young, enthusiastic, energetic, and improving. “We are showing signs of being an exciting football team. Even tonight was a brilliant experience for people like Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] to play in World Cup matches. They are 19, 21, but they both showed they were trying to make things happen,” he said.

“Belgium are [ranked] third in the world for a reason, because they have played together for a long time, and they had extremely experienced players even in the game tonight. So we still have some work to do, but we are pretty realistic about where we are,” the England coach noted.

Discussing the match against Colombia next week, Southgate said it would be a fantastic challenge, but a game that England were capable of winning.

Japan chief coach Akira Nishino admitted he had instructed his footballers to accept a 0-1 defeat to Poland in the closing minutes of their final Group H match of the FIFA World Cup here on Thursday.

Although Japan lost to a 59th-minute goal scored by Jan Bednarek and were ‘out’ of the tournament for around 16 minutes, news of Yerry Mina’s 74th-minute goal for Colombia against Senegal which saw Japan into the last 16 on fair play rules clearly filtered through. And the closing minutes saw both sides happy to pass the ball among themselves with no real efforts to win possession or to launch any attacks, reports Xinhua news agency.

“It was a tough decision to make as there was always a chance that Senegal would score, but I chose for us to stay put and to keep the status quo and make sure nothing happened on our pitch. I decided I’d rely on the result of the other game,” said Nishino in his post-game press conference.

“I’m not too happy about this, but I told my players to do what I said,” explained Nishino, adding that “these things happen in a World Cup. This kind of football does exist and it’s the first time I have felt this way. It was a massive decision to make to get us out of the group stage,” he continued.

The Japanese coach said it had been a “very tough situation” but with qualification in the balance, he asked “what would have happened if we had conceded another goal?”

“My message on the pitch was to ‘stay put’ and the players listened to me, they were going to keep things as they were.

“It was slightly regrettable, but at that points I didn’t have any other plans,” he admitted, before insisting Japan had “earned” the place in the next round.

Belgium topped Group G after beating England 1-0 here on Thursday in a clash between teams who had already qualified for the FIFA World Cup pre-quarterfinals.

Adnan Januzaj’s 51st minute strike proved to be the difference between the teams who were playing their third and final Group G game.

With this win, Belgium took their points tally to nine, while England have six points as they finished top-two in this group to enter the second round.

In the next round, Belgium will meet Japan, while England will take on Colombia.

In Saransk, Tunisia defeated Panama 2-1 in the other game of the group to finish third with three points from three games. Tunisia and debutants Panama are eliminated from the tournament.

World No 3 Belgium stretched India till the final minutes of the match to split the points with a 1-1 draw at the men’s hockey Champions Trophy here on Thursday.

India made too many slip-ups in their defense that gave away five penalty corners in the last quarter, eventually messing up their 1-0 lead as Loick Luypert (59′) converted Belgium’s 10th attempt at a penalty corner to equalize. Harmanpreet Singh (10′) was India’s lone goal scorer that put Belgium on the back foot right at the start.

Sitting at the bottom of the pool table, Belgium were desperate for a win and they began with that very intent, playing aggressive and attacking hockey.

If not for an early save by India’s seasoned goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh off Cedric Charlier in the opening minute, Belgium would have well been ahead by a goal. But that didn’t dent Belgium’s pursuit as they continued to keep possession and even won the first penalty corner of the match after the ball hit Jarmanpreet Singh’s foot.

The chance was wasted though.

India, meanwhile, built on their momentum steadily but tactfully. The effort helped win a penalty corner. Though the first attempt by drag-flicker Harmanpreet resulted in another penalty corner being awarded, and the chance was capitalized by the 22-year-old when he powerfully flicked it past Belgium goalkeeper to take a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.

India continued into the second quarter with the same intensity but the pressure in defending right resulted in an infringement conceding a second penalty corner.

But Sreejesh continued to be India’s strong wall of defence at the post denying Belgium an equaliser.

Both India and Belgium traded penalty corners in the following minutes, though neither made hay of the opportunities.

India had made 17 circle entries by the second of the second quarter with 11 shots on goals and five penalty corners as opposed to Belgium’s 10 circle entries with ten shots on goal and three penalty corners.

Belgium made an encouraging start to the third quarter, winning a penalty corner in the 33rd minute but the effort was well defended by India.

India gave away two more penalty corners this quarter but Surender Kumar and Sreejesh were up to task to keep India’s narrow lead intact.

Tom Boon’s attempt off Belgium’s 6th penalty corner was on target but for Sreejesh’s exceptional save.

A goal for India could have given India a breather in this quarter but it was not to be as umpire disallowed Mandeep’s goal.

Belgium were too quick to take off from the free hit before India could even think of a video referral.

Ahead only by a goal, the final quarter was tense as Belgium began yet again with two back-to-back penalty corners but India defended well to steer clear.

With a little over six minutes to go, S.V. Sunil called for a video referral asking for a foot of the Belgian defender which resulted in India being awarded their 6th penalty corner of the match.

But the penalty corner hit the umpire before Belgium could launch a counter attack, as they created their 9th penalty corner of the match. Sreejesh once again rescued India from an equaliser but the action continued as Belgium attacked with all guns firing and sloppy defending on India’s part gave away Belgium their 10th penalty corner of the match.

And this time, Luypert kept it low to flick it towards Sreejesh’s right for a perfect equaliser in the 59th minute.

Belgium pushing for a winner ended up with yet another penalty corner with just 32 seconds to go for the final hooter.

But Sreejesh survived this one to end the match with a 1-1 draw and keep India’s hopes alive for a place in the final with a must-win match against the hosts on Saturday.

Colombia qualified for the pre-quarterfinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, riding on Yerry Mina’s second half winner to knock Senegal out in a crunch Group H encounter here on Thursday.

After a barren first half, Mina (74th minute) headed in a corner to send Colombian players and supporters into delirium as they needed nothing less than a victory to secure qualification.

Colombia finished on top of the group with six points, while Senegal finished level on four points with Japan, who lost 0-1 to already-eliminated Poland in the other group game played simultaneously.

Both Japan and Senegal had even goal differences and had scored four goals each, but Japan advanced as runners-up because they only picked up four yellow cards in the group stage, while Senegal had six.

This is the third time Colombia have reached the last 16. This time, it boiled down to their final group game in which chances were few and far between as both sides started cautiously keeping in mind the stakes of the game.

Colombia forward Radamel Falcao won a free kick in the 11th minute while Juan Quintero’s shot was saved by the Senegal goalkeeper.

Senegal were then denied a penalty in the 18th minute after a VAR review in the 17th minute.

Sadio Mane was brought down by Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez inside the box and Senegal was awarded a spot kick. Following the VAR check, the referee reversed his decision and cancelled the penalty for the Teranga Lions afterwards.

In the 31st minute, the South American side suffered a major jolt when James Rodriguez, 2014 edition’s top scorer, was taken out by coach Jose Peckerman in what looked like an injury.

In the second half, Colombia looked to up the ante but Senegal too put pressure and goalkeeper David Ospina was forced into some good saves to keep them at bay.

There were number of chances wasted at both ends too as time ticked on.

Then came Colombia’s moment of reckoning when Quintero’s corner was majestically met by Mina to bullet home a downward header and send their swathes of supporters into raptures.

Senegal tried hard to stage a comeback but their main man Mane looked off colour as they eventually failed to pull one back.

With Senegal’s exit, this will be the first time since the Round-of-16 came into being in 1986 that there will be no African teams represented.

Meanwhile in Volgograd, a Jan Bednarek strike in the 59th minute handed Poland a triumphant exit from the World Cup.

Poland have three points from three games and are in the fourth and final spot in the group.

Despite the importance of the game, Japan coach Akira Nishino made six changes to his starting 11 after repeating the same team for the first two matches, while Lukasz Fabianski and Kamil Grosicki were in the Polish side.

Grosicki’s pace almost created a chance for Robert Lewandowski in the 5th minute, but the striker’s touch let him down in the Japan penalty area, reported Xinhua news agency.

Japan took time to get into the game, but Shinji Okazaki headed wide in the 12th minute, Yoshinori Muto produced a smart save from Fabianski a minute later and Maya Yoshida also worked the keeper from the edge of the area.

Japan were leaving spaces in midfield and were almost punished in the 32nd minute when Grosicki’s header drew a good save from Eiji Kawashima in the Japan goal, although Japan responded quickly as Takashi Usami drew another stop from Fabianski.

There was a setback for the Japanese at the start of the second half when Okazaki had to be replaced by Yuya Osako after less than two minutes with what looked like a muscle problem.

However, Japan retained their attacking 4-4-2 formation with both wide midfielders pushing forward, almost allowing Grosicki and Lewandowski to combine in the 54th minute.

The game again settled into a pattern with Japan looking to attack, but never quite in control and were punished just before the hour when Jan Bednarek side-footed home a free kick from close range, getting the better of his Southampton teammate Yoshida in the process.

With Japan now needing a goal to qualify for the next round Takashi Inui replaced Usami, but they should have fallen two behind when Lewandowski fired another Grosicki ball over in the 74th minute and the Hull City winger almost forced Tomashi Makino to concede an own goal with another dangerous cross.

News of Colombia’s goal against Senegal clearly filtered through and with the result in the other Group H game meaning Japan would qualify through having fewer yellow cards than their rivals both sides appeared to draw a footballing truce for what was frankly an embarrassing last 10 minutes in which neither tried to score.