2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

UPDATE 2: France wins the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, defeating Croatia 4-2 on an own goal by Croatia's Mario Mandzukic (18') , a penalty kick by Antonine Griezmann (38'), and two beautiful goals by Paul Pogba (59') and Kylian Mbappé (65'). Croatia's goals were by Ivan Perisic (28') and Mandzukic (69'), who leapt on a major snafu by France's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Croatia dominated the game from start to finish, but France pounced on several chances it got, ensuring itself a championship and giving fans a glimpse of the immense talent the team possessed this year, and will have for a few more World Cups to come.

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UPDATE: England won their match against Sweden 2-0, so the quarterfinals are nearly set: France against Belgium, and England vs. Croatia, which went down to the wire, i.e., penalty kicks, against the wily Russian team!

France's Kylian Mbappé (right) controls the ball
against pressure from Uruguay's Lucas Torreira
(AFP)

As we near the end of the first week of July, the major tournament, the 2018 version of the FIFA World Cup, for the world's reputedly most popular sport, soccer--or (association) football outside the US--also approaches its end. Taking place across the vast nation of Russia, it has been a smoothly run and mostly scandal-free set of matches thus far, beginning with the opening group games that pitted 4 teams each against each other to decide who would advance to the knockout round. Although there were questions about Russia's efforts to secure the World Cup, much akin to previous financial controversies that have plagued FIFA, this World Cup has run perhaps more smoothly than the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which seemed to be in danger of featuring unfinished venues and the target of potential attacks right up to the moment when they went off without a hitch, or the 2014 edition in Brazil, which unfolded as the country was entering a several economic crisis.

Antoine Griezmann & Kylian Mbappé of France
(TASS via Getty Images)

For the first time in several World Cup meetings, the United States did not qualify, but neither did a few of the world's perennial soccer powers, including 4-time (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) prior winner Italy, nor Chile or the Netherlands. FIFA's ranking tables included most of the entrants numerically, in descending order (skipping the teams that did not make it): Germany (1), Brazil (2), Belgium (3), Portugal (4), Argentina (5), Switzerland (6), France (7), Poland (8), Spain (10), Peru (11), Denmark (12), England (12), Uruguay (14), Mexico (15), Colombia (16), Croatia (20), Tunisia (21), Iceland (22), Costa Rica (23), Sweden (24), Senegal (27), Venezuela (33), Serbia (34), Australia (36), Iran (37), Morocco (41), Egypt (45), Nigeria (48), Panama (55), South Korea (57), Japan (61), Saudi Arabia (67), and host Russia (70). Fortunately for fans--well, soccer fans in general--the rankings often correlate to teams' presence in the World Cup, which they achieve by winning regional association matches, but they do not guarantee success at the World Cup.

A distraught Neymar Jr.,
after Brazil's loss to Belgium
(AFP/Getty Images)

In the first round matches, this World Cup provided a few shockers. First, in Group F, South Korea's and Mexico's victories over Germany knocked the top ranked team and the 2014 World Cup victor out of the tournament; other top ranked teams that failed to advance included Costa Rica, Peru, and Poland. First time participant Panama also was sent off the pitch, as were the scrappy footballers from Iceland, who became fan favorites in part because of the tiny size of their country compared to many of the other competitors, and the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who carried the hopes of their country and much of sub-Saharan Africa on their shoulders, but only finished with three points, or one win and two losses. (What was not known was that Nigeria's captain, Jon Mikel Obi, was playing the Argentina match while keeping silent about the fact that his father had been kidnapped in Nigeria and ransomed for $28,000; his father, thankfully, was released several days later.) On the other hand, standout teams were Uruguay, Croatia, and Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, and France all advanced to the knockout round, as did host Russia, which was in the weakest group, A, yet played quite well, amassing 8 goals, the second-most of the round, tying it with England, and playing with forceful enthusiasm. Both Spain and Portugal showed signs of vulnerability, yet both also went onwards to the round of 16. Argentina, with its superstar Lionel Messi, barely did so after tying Iceland, losing 3-0 to Croatia, and slipping past Nigeria 2-1.

Belgium's Kompany (in air at right),
heads the ball which ricochets off
Brazil's Fernandinho (17), for an own goal
(Frank Augstein/Associated Press)

The second round proved to offer more shockers; France dispatched Argentina 4-3 on two decisive goals by its 19-year-old shining light Kylian Mbappé, thus sending the Albiceste back to Buenos Aires,  perhaps concluding Messi's World Cup career. Uruguay beat Portugal, perhaps closing out the career of the Portuguese Selecção's world famous Cristiano Ronaldo. Belgium played a lethargic match against Japan, which shone for nearly the entire time, yet the Diables Rouges came back to send the better team packing with a stoppage time winner and 3-2 score. Mexico, another fan favorite, lost to Brazil 2-0, and up through this game, the Brazilians displayed their trademark jogo bonito, showing brilliance at times in their passing and footwork, though they did not seem to be as eager to score as some of their opponents. Another huge surprise with the large number--three--games decided by penalty kicks, which aided the lower-ranked Russia to knock off Spain 4-3 in PKs, which sent shockwaves through the stadium. England triumphed over Colombia 4-3 in PKs after its goalie's heroics, and Croatia, the tournament's sleeper team, defeated Denmark 3-2 in PKs after 1-1 score.

Colombia's Yerry Mina (13) celebrating with
teammate Dávinson Sánchez (23) after scoring
against Poland (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

We are now in the quarterfinals, and so far, France and Belgium are giving every sign of providing the side of the draw that will produce in the eventual victor. In France's case, in addition to Mbappé, its veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been stellar, and shut down an evenly matched Uruguayan team to preserve the 2-0 victory achieved by defender Raphaël Varane heading the ball in (on a beautiful pass by forward Antoine Griezmann) and by Griezmann on a pass by forward Corelin Tolisso. So evenly matched were the teams that both France and Uruguay took 11 shots, with 2 of les Blues on target vs. 4 from the Uruguayan side; each team had nearly the same number of fouls (17 for Uruguay, 15 for France); and each received 2 yellow cards. The difference was France's control of the ball, at 62% of the match, and the skill of its defense (Lucas Hernández, Samuel Umtiti, Varane, and Benjamin Pavard) in shutting down Uruguay's threats, while maximizing its few opportunities. Mbappé, Griezmann, Varane, Tolisso, and the rest of the French team constitute one of the best squads the country has fielded since its World Cup victory in 1998, and if they get past Belgium, they could and should win it all.

South Korean players (in red) in shock after defeating
Germany (in green) (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

While Belgium played without brio against Japan, it came out in full force against Brazil, whose star, Neymar Jr., had begun to spur memes because of all of his histrionic diving and flopping around, though he was legitimately being pushed around during Brazil's opening match against Switzerland. The referees seemed to be averse to calling any penalties against Belgium whenever Neymar and his teammates ended up crumpled on the field, so Brazil would have to recalibrate and deploy its dazzling skill work to manufacture goals. Unfortunately, despite putting on a clinic in the first half, the Brazilian team could not seem to convert chances, and found itself down 2-0 on an own goal by defense Fernandinho, one of the goats of the 2014 tournament, offer a header by Belgian star Vincent Kompany, and a stunner by Kevin De Bruyne that Romelu Lukaku had set up. Brazil led in shots, 27-9, shots on target 9-3, in possession 59%-41%, and in corners 8-4, yet repeatedly failed to follow up on loose balls or potential scoring opportunities. Renato Augusto finally did score in the 76th minute on a pass from Philippe Coutinho, but it was too little, too late, and now the objectively best remaining team heads home. For its part, Belgium stretched Brazil's defense wide open enough on quick runs up field to create the opportunities that gave it the 2-0 lead, and looks to be a danger in the France game and if it heads to the finals. Brazil's exit was not as shameful as 2014, but once again, despite its impressive talent, the Seleção seemed less interested in winning than in putting on a show. The two, I hope someone reminds Brazil, are more than compatible and what many a soccer most wants to see.

Nigeria celebrate after scoring a penalty
kick against Argentina (Reuters)

The remaining match-ups, on the weaker side of the draw, are intriguing: both England and Sweden have played above their rankings,  but the Three Lions' squad has the edge in talent and defense, with the x-factor striker Harry Kane, who has been the team's standout player and converted a number of opportunities so far. It also has some of the better younger players in the tournament, chief among them midfielder Dele Alli, defender Harry Maguire and goalie Jordan Pickford. If England can stay on the attack and open up Sweden's defense, the game is theirs. Russia's host nation fairy-tale effect has taken it quite far (cf. the US, South Korea, France, etc. in past tournaments), but Croatia has shown itself to be of the best teams in the tournament and will put the home field Sbornaya to the test. The Blazers have played unflappably so far. Russia's play has been a bit heavy-handed, so one question will be whether the referees decide to call fouls and dole out yellow cards--or in some cases, red cards that should have come but remain in pocket--which they've seemed reluctant to, which could work in Russia's favor in knocking Croatia's scorers off their game. I should add that given the tensions now besetting the Russian-US relationship, and all of the mounting evidence in the alleged Trump-Russia criminal conspiracy, Croatia has my support in this match-up.

Brazil's players stretch Danilo during a training
session on July 3, 2018 (Andre Penner/AP)

A few final points I want to make are that at a time of increasing ethnonationalism across Europe and the US, as well as across the globe, it has been encouraging to witness once against the more racially and ethnically diverse "national" squads perform with aplomb, belying the discourse, promulgated by far-right and anti-immigration parties like the British National Party, Alliance for Germany, National Front, League of the North, etc., that cross-racial and ethnic diversity are a bad thing, that unity and cooperation, even temporary, is not possible and that their their teams are somehow weakened by "impurity." Former colonial and imperial powers France, Belgium and England (UK) would not be where there are in this tournament without their Black, Arab, and mixed-race players. There have been articles about the anger anti-immigration and white nationalist soccer fans have felt about the mixed-race cast of their teams, so it has been especially satisfying to see those teams--save Germany, which crashed out early--kick and shoot their way to the trophy. These teams' successes may be mostly symbolic, and does little to dismantle the underlying structures and systems that enable racism and white supremacy, nor do they provide any answers to the economic and political crises fueling the international migration flows, yet they do represent a publicly visible and global counterweight to the illiberal discourse that is increasingly sweeping across the West and other parts of the globe.

A victorious Belgium celebrate their
defeat of Brazil (AFP)

A second point is that the US, when it reappears in the World Cup, will have to overcome a considerable gulf in terms of coaching, development and skill levels to be competitive. This year's top teams, most European other than Brazil, have played with a sharpness I don't see the US yet able to achieve, but given the depth of US soccer talent, with the right coaching staff and the best players, the US could conceivably go as far as it dreams. The same is true for the African squads, and, as Japan displayed, Asia's best teams too, but between national developmental programs and the European leagues, European teams still have the advantage for the time being.

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

A demonstrator holds a banner during an anti-World Cup
 demonstration in São Paulo, Brazil, on January 25, 2014.
(PressTV.com)

The 2014 staging of the FIFA World Cup of soccer--football to the rest of the world--is now underway in Brazil, having begun last Thursday. Yet despite the fact that this international tournament of the world's top national soccer teams is taking place in the country most widely considered the sport's powerhouse, having won the most World Cup championships (five), produced the the greatest soccer player of all time, Pelé and originated a unique and highly regarded style of playing, known as o jogo bonito (the beautiful game), Brazil's version of the event has experienced extensive problems and sustained controversy even before its official start date.

This year's World Cup unfolds within the context of a sputtering national economy after years of an economic surge and the glimmers of success in lifting many of Brazil's lower middle classes and poor up a few notches under previous president Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva. As a result, for over a year there have been public protests across Brazil against the country's federal and state governments' exorbitant expenditures--well over $11 billion and counting, making this the most expensive World Cup in history--on construction and renovation of stadiums and of public infrastructure, both in conjunction with the soccer tournament and with the Olympics, which are set to open in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In some places, as in São Paulo, workers have died during the construction and renovation process; there and in others, the stadiums were barely finished by the time the matches were set to begin; and in many, such as Brasília's Estadio Nacional, costs have run far over budget (3 times the estimate in the capital's case), for structures that, as is in the case in the Brasília stadium or the one in the interior Amazonian city of Manaus, very well could become future white elephants very soon.

Other infrastructure projects that were supposed to have been completed, like Salvador da Bahia's subway system, have ground to a halt, with little explanation or accounting. Many middle and working class Brazilians want to know why the country has been so profligate at a time when pressing needs like new hospitals, schools, housing, transportation upgrades, and so forth, go unmet. Some affordable tickets are available, but it would take a very person to be able to afford flying all over the country to follow the matches of any given national team, and the already inflated prices of Brazilian goods and services are witnessing increased inflation as a result of the World Cup and Olympics. Alongside all of this, the ongoing crisis of corruption, which plagued the tenure of the prior popular Workers' Party government of Lula, which still hangs over that of his successor, Dilma Rousseff, colors perceptions of the government's and corporations' actions.

World Cup participants

On top of the financial issues, the Brazilian government undertook a "pacification" scheme to address the violence affecting some of its poorest communities, particularly the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and other cities, without addressing the continued, evident problems of racial discrimination, poverty and wealth inequality, joblessness and underemployment, precarious housing and health care, under-education, and so on.

As numerous reports have made clear, the government approach has tended to be brutal and counterproductive, leading to the deaths of numerous favela residents, as well as of the police themselves. In the immediate lead up to the World Cup government forces have occupied favelas and evicted people from their homes in several of these communities, such as Mare and Telerj; violently expelled the newly homeless who in response occupied the city's Prefecture; and killed innocent people, including a well-known, 25-year-old TV dancer, Douglas Rafael da Silva Pereira in Pavão-Pavãozinho favela, near Copacabana Beach.

Any thought that the start of the World Cup and the arrival of the international media would quell dissent has foundered on the shoals of reality; in São Paulo right before the start of the opening game between Brazil and Croatia, people gathered at the gates of the barely completed renovation of Corinthians Stadium to denounce the cost of and corruption linked the public spending, and protests continue there, in Rio, and in other cities. In addition just yesterday at least two policemen are alleged to have fired live bullets at protesters in Rio. Opposition to the World Cup appears likely to continue through the championship game, which the host country is not only favored, but expected to win. Should Brazil win its sixth championship, a respite might temporarily ensue. Should it lose or not even make it to the finals, things could grow even more restive as the nation's coffers continue to shell out funds for the Olympics in two years' time.

This is the background against which the first match, pitting Group A teams, took place. Brazil won with strong but not especially sharp play, posting a 3-1 tally. Racist ugliness, however, marred the victory, as Brazilian defender Marcelo (pictured at right) accidentally scored an own goal, the game's first, momentarily putting Croatia in the lead, which provoked racist and homophobic invective against him and black Brazilians ("Tinha que ser preto," which translates as "It had to be a black person," as well as comments about his "cabelo ruim," or "bad hair"--ugh!) on social media sites like Twitter. Though self-identified black and brown Brazilians are the now numerical and demographic majority at over 50% of the population, they still face a landscape of overt and veiled personal and structural racism and white supremacy, often couched in discourse suggesting that Brazil's acknowledged mixed racial makeup means there is no racism there. Some Afro-Brazilians smartly countered the slur with their own repurposing of the negative term, but it was nevertheless an ignominious way for things to commence.

Subsequent matches among the 32 national participants in eight groups have included unsurprising outcomes as well as shockers. On Friday, Group B's Chile beat Australia 3-1, and Group A's Mexico squeaked past Cameroon 1-0, but the first major upset occurred in another Group B match when a sharp Netherlands squad walloped the defending champion Spanish team 5-1. Even accounting for the Dutch team's evident talent, this was a stunning turn of events. On Saturday, which included four contests, Group C's Colombia beat Greece thoroughly 3-0, Group D's England, always heralded as a potential champion or finalist, lost to a better Italian team 2-1, Group's C's Côte d'Ivoire beat Japan 2-1, and in another surprising turn, Group D's Costa Rica, expected to have a middling tournament, shut down Uruguay, hyped as a possible contender, 3-1. Yesterday, Group E's Switzerland beat Ecuador 2-1, Group E's France, last seen in South African in 2010 in the midst of a public meltdown, apparently got its act together with a younger crew of players and put on a clinic with Honduras, winning 3-0, and Group F's Argentina, another highly regarded squad, defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1.

I have yet to mention the US team, which is in one of the most difficult groups, G, truly a group of death, and which played its first game today in the far northern Brazilian capital of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte. The clearly dominant team among the four is three-time World Cup champion Germany, which played with control and precision today against the other team thought to be a strong entrant for the Cup, Portugal. Instead, Portugal looked scattered and sloppy, meriting a red card and losing badly to Germany 4-0. Should the Portuguese squad's play not improve, the US could advance on more than a prayer to the second round, since the Americans beat the Black Lions of Ghana 2-1, defeating a team that has sent them home in each of the previous World Cups. American forward Clint Dempsey struck early, in the first minute, catching Ghana off guard with a shot to the net that put the US ahead 1-0. Ghana, however, took charge of the ball for the majority (59% to 41%) of the match, with 21 shots vs. 8 from the US side, and evened things in the 82nd minute when midfielder Andre Ayew caught the US's usually porous defense off guard. (Weak defenses have often proved the US's Achilles heel.) US midfielder Graham Zusi's corner kick led to a successful set-piece header by substitute defender John Brooks, putting the US up 2-1, which they held onto until the final whistle blew.

John Brooks, after his goal

To advance the US will have to control the ball more and take more shots and chances; today they were lucky and caught several breaks, while also making the best of rare scoring opportunities. They are going to have to have every bit of luck in the world to get past Germany, but they need only defeat Portugal now to advance, and that does not seem as impossible as it did before the tournament began. Today's final match pitted Iran and Nigeria, who played to a 0-0 draw, which was a positive for Iran and less so for Nigeria. Tomorrow Belgium will play Algeria at noon EST, Brazil and Mexico will each try to win their second games at 3 pm, and Russia will play South Korea at 6 pm. I'm most curious about that Brazil-Mexico match up. The host country should win easily, but if they don't, it's could be a sign that this tournament is Germany's, or someone else's (the Netherlands? France?) to walk away with. Meanwhile, outside the stadiums, the public rallies and marches critiquing what these games truly signify will continue.

NFL Roundup + Victor Cruz, Interviewed

Classes start on Wednesday, tomorrow are the Iowa caucuses, so I'll keep this post light.  The NFL season finished today, and the team I root for, the Saint Louis Rams, lost to the San Francisco 49ers 34-27 and finished last in their division and worst in the National Football Conference, tying the Indianapolis Colts with a 2-14 record for most abysmal in the NFL.  Known a decade ago as "The Greatest Show on Turf" for their high-octane offense, the Rams have turned into a hapless crew since 2006 and managed only 197 points in 2011 while upholding their longstanding reputation as lacking any defense whatsoever, allowing opponents to score 407 points against them. While this wasn't the most points allowed this season, it was the worst points for-points against differential in either league, and a sign of how awful the Rams play, how awful their coaching is, and how awful the management has been in drafting and signing talented players. 

Sam Bradford, Rams QB

This morning the Rams' owner Stan Kroenke, to the relief of Rams fans everywhere and the surprise of no one, fired the coach, Steve Spagnuolo, a supposed defensive specialist, and General Manager Billy Devaney, who had been in place respectively since 2009 and 2008. Spagnuolo's record in successive seasons was 1-15 (2009); 7-9 (2010); and this year's 2-14 (2011), despite having a talented young quarter, Sam Bradford, and an outstanding runningback in Steven Jackson. Over the three-year span, Spagnuolo and Devaney went 10-38, while under Devaney's watch the team went 12-52.  Leading candidates for the job include former Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, but without a complete and thorough assessment of why the Rams continually lag in certain areas, such as a strong offensive line, a credible defense, and special teams play, not even the best coach available is going to be able to do anything with this gang except take the field and collect a paycheck. Clean house, and pronto.

Making the playoffs this year were several perennials, and some newcomers. In the NFC, the top team was the Green Bay Packers, who finished 15-1, and led the Central Division. Other playoff NFC playoff teams include the East Division champion New York Giants (9-7); the North Division's runner-up team, the Detroit Lions (10-6); the South Division's champions, the New Orleans Saints (13-3) and runner-ups Atlanta Falcons (10-6), and the always-shaky West Division's champions 49ers, who went 13-3 this season.  In the AFC, the top team overall was, yet again, the East Division powerhouse New England Patriots (13-3). Yawn. Other playoff teams include the North Division's Baltimore Ravens (12-4), who finished with a record identical to--but on differentials slipped past--division rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4). Also making the playoffs in the North Division were the Cincinnati Bengals (9-7).  A surprising playoff team was this year's South Division winner, the Houston Texans, who finished 10-6, ahead of the Titans, Jaguars and Colts, any one of which is usually a playoff candidate. The final AFC playoff team is the 8-8 Denver Broncos, who are probably best known these days not for their play but for a single player, the ultradevout quarterback Tim Tebow, who managed to complete only 8 passes over the last two games, but will face Pittsburgh next because the Oakland Raiders lost to the San Diego Chargers.

The playoff picture thus looks like this:

AFC:
(1) Patriots
(2) Ravens
(6) Bengals at (3) Texans
(5) Steelers at (4) Broncos

NFC:
(1) Packers
(2) 49ers
(6) Lions at (3) Saints
(5) Falcons at (4) Giants

Saturday: Bengals at Texans (4:30 ET); Lions at Saints (8 ET)
Sunday: Falcons at Giants (1 ET); Steelers at Broncos (4:30)

Jan. 22: AFC championship (3 ET)
NFC championship (6:30 ET)

Feb. 5: Super Bowl XLVI at Indianapolis (6:30 ET)

My predictions: either the Packers or the Saints vs. New England, which means I hope the Packers or Saints win. Should it not be New England the Pittsburgh Steelers make it to the Super Bowl, I'll go with them.

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Here is one of this season's standout players, Victor Cruz, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, speaking with Marly Rivera of ESPNNewYork, in Spanish--and Spanglish, about his team, the New York Giants, and his career.  He was not a Giants fan growing up, nor was he a supporter of the Jets either.  His team: Dallas! His favorite player growing up? Michael Irving! Say it ain't so, Victor.  Rivera asks Cruz some very personal questions, including whether he'll name his soon-to-be-born child "Vincent," after the coach and the Super Bowl's Vince Lombardi trophy. Hello? He has another name in mind--you won't guess it, but a hint: it's one of the main streets running through Hudson County, and an iconic American president. Embedding has been disabled, so click on this link to see the video, and the incredible Mr. Cruz.