Day 8 of the World Cup is finished and gone are first impressions.
We started the second match day for every time, and while some squads looked better than their first outing, some others look like they are ready for a quick trip home from the World Cup.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from another day of World Cup action.
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Winner: North America
It was a great day for North America, as both Mexico and Canada won on Thursday. Mexico booked their tickets to the Round of 32 as Group A’s first place team, with Canada now only needing a win over Switzerland next week to lock up the top spot in Group B after a 6-0 win against Qatar.
While Canada crushed Qatar, it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, as Ismael Kone is out for the rest of the tournament with a leg injury sustained from a tackle by Assim Madibo.
Loser: Qatar
Last game, Qatar were winners. Although they didn’t beat Switzerland, they grabbed a point against them, which was huge for the country. And all that positivity is gone after their second game against Canada, which they lost by six goals and could have lost by 10. They had two red cards, were toothless in attack even before the first booking, and played the worst game of any team so far at this World Cup.
I will give Assim Madibo credit, though, as the Qatar player did go into the Canadian locker room following the game and apologized to Kone for the injury that took him out of the tournament.
Winner: The Winner of Group D
Tomorrow’s United States of America vs. Australia game might have even bigger stakes following Thursday. The winner of that game will be all but confirmed for the top placement in Group D, which would put them into the Round of 32 against a third place team. Bosnia & Herzegovina and Qatar play the final match against each other in Group B, and if either of those teams win, that is almost assuredly the opponent that will face Group D’s winner.
Neither Bosnia or Qatar look like they deserve to be in the knockout rounds, but one of them will most likely go if they win their final contest. No game is a walkover at the World Cup, but the winner of Group D might have the easiest matchup of any team heading into the knockout rounds.
Loser: South Korea
After their first game, I had South Korea as one of the most impressive teams in the tournament. They were creative, attacking, and looked poised to win Group A.
That all went away in their second game against Mexico, where South Korea looked scared to play aggressively until it was far too late and the game was already over.
Goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu will be kicking himself for the next few days, as his blunder with the ball was the only goal of the game, which gave Mexico advancement into the next round.
Now, South Korea is a must-win position in their next game against South Africa, and that could have all been avoided with a bit more pose and confidence.
