As the Round of 16 got underway, the Netherlands dispatched the USA and Lionel Messi’s Argentina ended the Socceroos’ World Cup run.
Here’s all the latest behind-the-scenes news from Qatar.
Ryan sledged by clubmate
Mat Ryan’s spat with his Copenhagen teammate Kamil Grabara has hit a new low with the Polish goalkeeper sledging the Australian after his moment of misfortune on Sunday.
Ryan was at fault for Argentina’s second goal in the 2-1 loss in Qatar as he dithered on the ball and was robbed by Julian Alvarez who rolled it into the net.
Ryan has responded after Grabara revelled in his teammate’s misfortune.
Grabara and Ryan have been embroiled in a bitter battle for the No.12 jersey at Copenagen and the Pole has been savage in his comments on the Australia captain.
He seemed to take a measure of glee in Ryan’s high profile blunder on Sunday, tweeting ‘must have been politics, for sure,’ in seeming reference to suggestions of why he won the club jersey back from Ryan. There have been reports that Copenhagen want to sell Grabara and are playing him ahead of Ryan to increase his transfer market value.
Ryan told reporters he wasn’t surprised by Grabara’s tweet.
“Not surprised, really. His opinion doesn’t really concern me.”
Ryan’s teammates gathered around their skipper afterwards/
“They were consoling me on the pitch, reminding me of what I’ve done through the campaign,” the Socceroos captain said. “[We have] got a support network in there, got each other’s backs.
“Anytime something like that happens it’s always about the response straight away.
“Arnie made that clear to me in my first ever game, it’s how you respond after that.”
“I won’t let it get the better of me or define me, and will come back stronger for it.”
Grabara, who spent five years on Liverpool’s books without making an English Premier League appearance, was Copenhagen’s No.1 last season as they won the Danish Superliga title. He blamed the club’s poor start to the season on Ryan.
“I don’t comment on my teammates’ performances – this applies especially when I haven’t been in the games,” Grabara told Danish outlet Tipsbladet.
“I can only repeat what I have already said – I just have to state that there is a reason why we are in ninth place in the Superliga and that the goals have poured in. It speaks for itself.
The Polish keeper’s Tweet drew a savage response from Austrlaian fans.
Messi praise into overdrive after slaying Socceroos
Lionel Messi’s bid to win a first World Cup at his last attempt remains on course and he was the clear standout as the South Americans edged a courageous Socceroos team in Qatar.
Messi, playing his 1000th career game, scored the opening goal in the first half, gliding into a dangerous area, killing a ball dead and shooting through the legs of Harry Souttar and into the corner of the net past Mat Ryan.
Aside from the goal he was supreme, drifting away from defenders and finding pockets of space all over the field.
It was a performance that had many observers in raptures.
“The way Messi works that space. The way he carries the ball when there is much going on around him,” purred former England striker Alan Shearer on the BBC.
“He’s got everything. Whenever he gets the ball the whole stadium gets on its feet. It doesn’t matter where he is on the pitch, the whole stadium rises.
“We’re so lucky to be in this stadium to watch him. What a performance from him, we’ve talked about his ability, the hunger and desire. The ability to run with the ball which attracts so many players and frees up his team-mates.”
Rio Ferdinand – the former England and Manchester United centreback – went further.
“How is he doing this? He is embarrassing players with his head up. He’s taking people on and is able to see the whole pitch, where people are,” Ferdinand said during the BBC commentary.
“The best individual performance from a player at this World Cup. It was almost God-like. I’ve not seen anything like this. He is phenomenal.”
Pele moved to end-of-life care
Brazil – and football – legend Pele’s health has taken a turn for the worse, according to news coming out of his homeland.
Reports state the three-time World Cup winner, who is widely regarded as the greatest to ever play the beautiful game, is in palliative care receiving pain-relieving measures.
The former striker last year had surgery to remove a tumour from his colon, and had been in and out of hospital since then.
Pele was admitted to hospital earlier this week but said in an Instagram post that it was simply a “monthly visit”.
“Today we start writing a new story,” the 82-year-old shared to Instagram in support of the Brazilian squad searching for their first World Cup crown in 20 years.
“No matter the size and tradition of the opponents: we must respect and play each match with the focus of a final.
“I am sending all positive energies to you. I’m sure we’ll have a happy ending. God bless you. Bring this trophy home!”
Neymar to have late fitness test before Round of 16 tie
Brazil star Neymar is yet to kick a ball in anger after going off injured during Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Serbia.
Brazil coach Tite, in consultation with the squad’s medical staff, will make a call on the 30-year-old’s fitness in the hours leading up to kick-off on Monday (6am AEDT).
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
“Regarding Neymar and Alex Sandro, we think we have time on our hands and there is a possibility,” said team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar.
“Let’s wait what their transition will be – they have still not started to practise with the ball and it’s something they will do tomorrow.
“It will be important to see how they respond to this new style, so depending on that, we will make a call.”
Tite has a few other headaches, with doubts over the condition of Alex Sandro and Danilo, while Alex Telles and Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus have both been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup.
It is expected Sandro and Danilo will return at some point should Brazil continue to advance through the tournament, but if Neymar isn’t passed fit it is a huge blow to their title hopes.
Xhaka denies ‘Jashari’ shirt had political connotations
Granit Xhaka, who’s never far from the headlines whether he is representing his country or running around for Arsenal, is back in the news after donning a shirt emblazoned with ‘Jashari’ following his man-of-the-match showing in a 3-2 win that sent Serbia crashing out of the World Cup.
The Switzerland captain told reporters post-game that the shirt was for teammate Ardon Jashari.
“There’s no political background to it whatsoever,” Xhaka said.
“Ardon is part of our squad and we spend a lot of time together. I told him if we won I would wear his shirt.”
The problem with that explanation is Ardon Jashari is yet to play a minute in Qatar, and as strong as the bond between he and his captain may be, it’s unlikely Xhaka would’ve had the shirt pre-made to recognise his teammate.
Based on past behaviour, it seems Adem Jashari, a founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army, could have been the subject of the message instead.
Xhaka is of ethnic Albanian heritage linked to Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 but has not been recognised by Serbia.
When asked about the topic, Switzerland coach Murat Yakin claimed any link to Kosovan-Serbian relations was “just speculation”.
sheek
Roar Guru
Thanks nics, That was informative.
Paul2
Guest
That Grabara character sounds like a real prick.
nics
Roar Rookie
Football tactics have undergone an evolution over the years. In the 80s you had Sacchi who insisted that all players had to be within a short 20-30m distance on the pitch, which compressed the playing area. Modern fitness regimes mean that teams can sustain a press for longer during games, albeit a finely-tuned press is more a characteristic of club football rather than national teams which only meet irregularly. If teams press up the pitch, that leaves space for the long balls over the top, hence why modern keepers have to be comfortable playing well off their line, acting as a sweeper. In addition, to counter the press when in possession, the keeper has to be confident playing as a ball-player to act as the point of the triangle. That's why Spain left De Gea (probably the best shot-stopper but not a very good outfielder) out of their squad. Obviously there's risk and reward with everything, as you say. The other dynamic of course is that a good press requires all outfield players to put a shift in, hence luxury players like Ronaldo and Messi are now being relatively sidelined (albeit from recollection there was an interesting statistic doing the rounds that earlier in his career, Messi was actually one of the highest foulers in the team to stall opposing attacks). Anyways, apologies for the digression, but I hope that helps the discussion.
Loosey
Roar Rookie
Keepers must be able to play with both feet, end of story.
Loosey
Roar Rookie
Yep. Di Maria is no slouch and if he is fit, expect him to have an impact in the coming matches.
nics
Roar Rookie
I think he forgets that Martinez, Di Maria etc can all play abit, albeit none obviously hold a candle to the hackers at Adelaide United. I note that the Saudis didn’t man mark Messi but just played a very high press and came away with the win.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Man marking Messi with PSG would be a bad idea , this Argentine team though its worth a try. The Italians are the masters of defensive tactics not all the teams you mentioned , Chelsea ok they are a team that plays defensive tactics. Adelaide United plan is to hack the key oppositon player to get them off the field not bother about marking them, they also would never man mark as they have as many different players as possible foul the same player even if it requires switching wings to do it. The problem with Adelaide United plan as shown against Macarthur Davilla was off the field after 7 minutes fouled 6 times. Arzani then went on to win the game. If Veart was Australian coach then Mbappe and Messi would be in hospital.
Loosey
Roar Rookie
Why don't you write an article about it and we can comment on that topic? Meanwhile this is about the Argentina - Australia match. You obviously have a chip on your shoulder about Adelaide, you should get that looked at.
Loosey
Roar Rookie
Anyway, about this bridge....
chris
Guest
I think the ones who performed the best are already in Europe. And if they aren't, they're about to - eg: Kuol.
chris
Guest
You do have to wonder if the msm care about customers and increasing their revenue stream. More likely though, they know that the people that read their papers and watch Ch 7 and 9 are old white men who only follow league, AFL and the cricket.
nics
Roar Rookie
A few other people and Arnold have said this – man-marking Messi plays right into their trap. It gives space to other players in the team. Messi is quite adept at playing the decoy role, and the Argentina team have quite a few gears. Comparing what Adelaide United do to what is done on the international stage would be like comparing the intelligence of an ant to an average human. The fact you think Adelaide United and what they do in the A League is even comparable to the likes of PSG, Chelsea, Man United etc and how they have tried to counter Messi is laughable. If they were any good they would have been competitive in eg the Club World Championship. I’ll leave aside the personal insult. I could even ask how thick you are to think Adelaide United are a relevant frame of reference but I won’t as the fact you even think it is comparable speaks for itself.
King of Kings
Roar Rookie
Curious as to who Arnie should have selected in place of Ryan? Not the 1st and won't be the last keeper to make the same mistake.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
There is a big difference between a person with a brain and you. I said Arnold should have had players mark Messi more closely than others and its got nothing to do with the A-league. How thick can you can be not to understand what I said.
Mike
Guest
It was a bad pass back. It was at an angle where he had to hit with his wrong (left) foot to go upfield. His first touch wasn't great but really it only bounced a few feet off his foot. However, the Argies were swarming. All in all, Australia overplayed their hand and should've been less predictable by mixing in some long ball clearances earlier. The Argie forwards read them and knew what they were doing. Ryan stuffed up, but he's also the fall guy for a defence that should've worked the ball much bet I never the first place!
nics
Roar Rookie
Still don't see what you think Arnold should have done. I'll give you a clue- there's a small difference between the A League and the World Cup.
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
Wasnt that also the case when we conceded the 2nd goal to France? As for trying again to play out while under intense pressure, this time from de Paul and with Alverez off his shoulder, well criticism where criticism is due fair enough. Dont mess with Argentina at all let alone a second time.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
There is a difference between marking players more closely like European teams will do to stop the oppositions best versus hacking them till they are injured like Adelaide United. What I am saying is Arnold wont even do the first option. If you dont watch the A-league then you dont have any idea about how much Adelaide United can get away with.
nics
Roar Rookie
I don't really follow. So you are saying we should "rough up Messi" so he is removed from the game, and then play against Argentina with 10 men, when we are already struggling to hold the ball with 11. Right.
Steven
Guest
It will be interesting to see if any Socceroo generates any interest from a top European club