Africa-Press – Rwanda. The men are gradually being separated from the boys as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar begins to take shape. The likes of France, Spain, England and Brazil have all shown their title winning credentials.
The Samba boys left it late on Thursday night, after they were held for 62 minutes by a well drilled Serbian side before two moments of brilliance from Richarlison gave the South Americans a 2-0 win.
Undeniably, it is Richarlison’s second goal against the Serbians which is the talk of town. The Tottenham forward controlled an exquisite ball from Vinicius on the 73rd minute before hitting a stunning acrobatic volley into the net. Yes! the goal matched the occasion considering how tight the encounter was.
The strike will be the envy of more established players in the Mundial. A contender for the goal of the tournament. Brazil who are chasing their sixth World Cup title saw off a stubborn Serbian side. The South Americans are definitely a team on a mission.
England’s 6-2 win over Iran was the highest scoring game as eight goals were produced.
France, the defending champions, came from behind to thrash Australia 4-1 in a Group D encounter. The French exhibited quality football especially in attack with Giroud and Mbappe running the show.
Spain hit seven past a hapless Costa Rica. The 2010 champions who are parading a young squad with few experienced players such as skipper Sergio Busquets and Cesar Azplicueta made mince meat of the Central Americans. This 7-0 win will send shivers down the spine of most teams.
There were also the major shocks in the first Group games. Minnows Saudi Arabia defeated two times World Champions Argentina 2-1 in an encounter in which Herve Renard showed his tactical prowess.
There was another surprised results as another Asian side in the shape of Japan beat 2014 champions Germany 2-1. The “Blue Samurai” got everything right on the day as the European giants could not stand their might.
For Africa, it was the same poor start. Senegal held the Netherlands for 85 minute but failed to apply game management as the Dutch scored two late goals to win 2-0.
Tunisia held Denmark to a goalless draw whereas fellow North Africans, Morocco also recorded the same scoreline against 2018 finalists Croatia.
The poor World Cup record of Cameroon in recent years continued as they were outplayed and lost 1-0 to Switzerland.
The only African team who were able to score goals was Ghana though the Black Stars lost 3-2 to Portugal. The game saw many contestable decisions from the referee including the penalty awarded to Ronaldo for his opener.
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