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Russia was still celebrating and there was plenty of debate about penalties and why Matthias Jorgensen was only punished with a yellow card against Croatia

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Mon 2 Jul 2018 09.15 EDTFirst published on Mon 2 Jul 2018 00.00 EDT
Mexico fans have arrived in Samara for their team’s last-16 match against Brazil.
Mexico fans have arrived in Samara for their team’s last-16 match against Brazil. Photograph: Kirill Kukhmar/Tass
Mexico fans have arrived in Samara for their team’s last-16 match against Brazil. Photograph: Kirill Kukhmar/Tass

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I’m going to wrap this blog up now and direct you towards Barry Glendenning, who is helming the Brazil v Mexico minute-by-minute report. I’ll leave you with an interesting piece to read on why US company’s are swerving Rafael Marquez when it comes to endorsements.

And below you will find the live report of the first of today’s games. My prediction is 2-2, extra-time and then who knows? Thanks for all your emails, comments and tweets. Enjoy the football. Bye.

Vivo en español también:

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Brazil v Mexico team news

Rafael Marquez starts for Mexico! Rafael Marquez is the same age as me, 39. Wow!

Only two players have started at least one game in five World Cup tournaments:

🇲🇽 Antonio Carbajal
🇲🇽 Rafael Márquez

Mexican royalty. 👑 pic.twitter.com/Or0ytl6xEH

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 2, 2018

Brazil have opted to stick with Gabriel Jesus in attack and leave Roberto Firmino on the bench and Felipe Luis, who replaced the injured Marcelo against Serbia, stays at left-back.

Brazil XI: 1 Alisson 22 Fagner 2 Thiago Silva 3 Miranda 6 Filipe Luís 15 Paulinho 5 Casemiro 11 Coutinho 19 Willian 9 Gabriel Jesus 10 Neymar

Mexico XI: 13 Ochoa 21 Álvarez 2 Ayala 3 Salcedo 23 Gallardo 16 Herrera 4 Márquez 18 Guardado 11 Vela 14Javier Hernández 22Lozano

Mexico’s record against Brazil in recent games isn’t brilliant, they’ve lost three drawn one and won one of their last five matches. But that doesn’t include the Olympic final in 2012, featuring a fair few of the players in both squads for today’s match, took part in an thralling game at Wembley. Mexico won 2-1 and claimed the gold medal, leaving Neymar heartbroken. And going further back, to 2007, when the teams last met in a competitive match, Mexico beat Brazil 2-0 in the Copa America. So there is some hope to be found for Mexico fans this afternoon. If you want to follow full build up to the match and get the team news then Barry Glendenning will be leading you into the 3pm kick-off (British time) and providing minute-by-minute commentary in his own inimitable style. You can join him here:


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On the subject of talented Brazilian footballers, David Seare writes: “I can’t ever escape the feeling that Neymar is a bit of a sideshow. He seems like a footballer built for YouTube highlight reels. He had success at Barcelona alongside Messi and Suarez without really being the main man. His efforts in Paris are, well, in Paris. Brazil have thrived because of Coutinho while Neymar has changed hair-dos, complained a lot and cried a bit. Do you think he’ll stand up and be counted or continue to irritate as much as fascinate?”

I think his performance for Barcelona against PSG in that bonkers Champions League game in 2017 was evidence that he is more than capable of grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck and bending it to his will as only truly great players can. But his move to PSG has hindered his progress and until he leaves them I think he will struggle to develop to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s level. Not that he is far off. Paolo spoke on the podcast last night about how Tite may prefer to play Gabriel Jesus instead of Roberto Firmino because the Liverpool player often drifts into Neymar’s space. If this is true this kind of protective pampering of Neymar is a little worrying and might harm the team. There has always been individualism in football but it seems that the international manager’s authority over celebrity players has never been weaker than it is right now.

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If, like me, you’ve struggled to explain to your young children exactly why some footballers – often Brazilian ones – are better than others at this World Cup, then this video produced by sometime Guardian scribes, Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton, might be very helpful. It is designed to promote the book series Football School to help get kids reading and be curious about the world – and is a lot of fun.

And at this stage of the competition, when a player’s ability to stop their mind turning to mush when shooting from 12 yards becomes such a big deal, this brilliant piece by Ben on the science of penalty shootouts is probably worth revisiting too.

On the subject of practising penalties, the Russian national team’s official Twitter account has posted a video of goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev being put through his paces as he does multiple drills saving penalties down the middle with his feet. This might be common practice for many goalkeepers, or maybe not. But this particular skill dragged a whole nation into the quarter-finals of the World Cup and shows the value of the small details. You might want to watch it – unless you’re Iago Aspas.

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If Brazil-Mexico goes to penalties later on – and it probably will given that a trend has already been set – how El Tri must wish they still had The Emperor, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, among their ranks. His penalty against France in 2010 was a thing of beauty. He began his run up in Namibia and looked for all the world like he was going to leather the ball into space … but brilliantly and delicately found the corner.

Blanco is now getting involved in politics. And not everyone in Mexcio is happy about that.

It’s Gregg here again. I’m fed and watered. Thanks to Ben for jumping in for me. I’d agree that Alireza Beiranvand has been among the most impressive goalkeepers in Russia. He always seemed assured and given that he was in a difficult group he had an awful lot to do and did it well. And what about that throw? It’s just incredible. If you’ve never seen this video, watch him providing an assist with a 70-yard hurl for the ages back in 2014. OK, the opposition goalkeeper doesn’t look up to much but it’s still some throw.

England are en route to Moscow, via St Petersburg airport, with Gareth Southgate and Ashley Young both on press duties a little later. That would all but confirm that the Manchester United left-back is set to return in place of Danny Rose, with Young likely to be among eight changes as England revert to type from that defeat to Belgium. Dele Alli and Fabian Delph both trained this morning.

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Another key cog in the Brazil machine, Casemiro, has downplayed his team’s gradual emergence in Russia, after stuttering through their first couple of matches against Costa Rica and Switzerland. “It’s not just Brazil, every team is growing with every match,” he says. “It’s down to anxiety, that first match, that desire to give a good performance. We have to respect Mexico, because they deserve their place in the last 16. But Brazil are getting stronger, playing with style and we are looking strong.”

So much has, of course, been said about Brazil’s attacking flair but it is around this time in the tournament that we start to shove goalkeepers under the magnifying glass. And in Alisson, the Roma stopper linked with Chelsea and Real Madrid, they appear to possess a beauty. Jordan Pickford was lambasted, a little unfairly in my eyes, for his display against Belgium, while Manuel Neuer was, finally, criticised last time out.

Alisson
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Some depressing but not surprising news here. Despite Fifa filing a criminal complaint against Viagogo, the ticket website is advertising tickets for sale for England v Colombia at as much as £513. The cheapest tickets available to non-Russians (category three) are on sale for as much as £360. Sigh. Right, I’m going to head out for some lunch while Ben Fisher guides you onwards towards Brazil v Mexico for a wee while. Back soon.

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Some good news for Colombia fans: James Rodriguez’s injury is not as bad as first thought and might be fit enough to face England in the last 16. Here’s the statement from the Colombian FA:

James Rodriguez underwent a scan which showed that he is suffering from minor edema (swelling caused by an accumulation of fluid) in his right leg, but that there has been no muscle tear

I hope he is fit. When he is on his game he is so good to watch. His pass for Colombia’s third goal was a thing of beauty and worth watching again here.

“On the subject of Andrew Mullinder’s MLS-inspired rebooted penalty shootout, how would you explain it to Spain? Their players would actually have to, you know … shoot,” honks Geoffrey Saunders.

What if they replaced penalties with rondo? With opposition players being plunged into the circle. Surely being the man in the middle of a Spanish rondo would make you want to retire from football. Who would be the worst at rondo in this tournament? I’m going for Australia.

Moscow sounds like a mighty fun place to have been last night if Andrew Roth’s report on the post-win impromptu shindig is anything to go by.

Judging by the way Moscow celebrated, Russia have won the World Cup. Were you there? Did you see the men hanging off the scaffolding, swinging around the supporting poles 20 metres up? That Mercedes sedan that opened its trunk to reveal subwoofers blaring Russian club hip-hop? The two girls surfing on top of a black Geländewagen down Tverskaya street? Russia only made it through to the quarter-finals on Sunday night with their unlikely victory on penalties over Spain, but it unleashed a block party the likes of which Moscow has never seen, and likely will never see again.

Wow! Sounds like Stuart McCall would have had a belting time if he was there.

We’re probably all in agreement that Japan are going to be up against it when they face Belgium tonight. But their coach, Akira Nishino, hopes his gamble of resting players in their previous game against Poland will bear fruit. “We have been here twice in the past in round of 16 but this is different, we haven’t exhausted ourselves yet so we can create a new opportunity,” he said. But Akira, Roberto Martínez rested even more players against England.

So how do we improve the penalty shootout? Here’s Andrew Mullinder: “The value of penalty shootouts boils down to this:

1) It’s a way of deciding a drawn match

2) It’s brilliantly tense and exciting

3) It’s stupidly random and bears very little resemblance to what otherwise decides a game (skill, technique, tactics, fitness, et al). You want to keep points one and two, but improve on three. I think ice hockey style shootouts would do that, where players would still be one on one with the keeper, but have to dribble it forward (or shoot from distance if they wanted). Decide on the specific rules among yourselves -- but it would still be thrilling, while placing a greater premium on the type of player and keeper skill pertinent in a match.

Ah, that has been done before Andrew, in the old days of MLS. And you’re right, it’s no less dramatic and does test a player’s skill much more than penalties.

It makes great viewing too. Goalkeeper v goalkeeper especially so!

Laurence Nunny has also been busy jazzing up football’s rulebook: “How about this, to make the punishment fit the crime:

Jorgensen’s foul was committed once the keeper had been beaten, so award penalty with the keeper required to wait outside the box with the rest of the players. This would also have worked for handball’s on the line, à la Suárez.

Deliberate foul by last man outside the box (previously red card and free kick) = penalty.

In both cases, the chance of scoring a goal from the resulting penalty better reflects the chance that was denied by the foul.”

Oliver Whitton reckons Geoff Saunders might be on to something, and he’s using rugby to back him up: “In regards to his idea of penalty goals - while it would be another ‘referee’s interpretation’ challenge, Rugby Union referees have similar interpretation challenges to award penalty tries, and generally do so only in very blatant circumstances much like the incident last night. I think it’s worth thinking about - had Denmark won on penalties last night it would have been a gross injustice.”

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The Belgian equivalent of Currys might be in trouble if Belgium score a shed load of goals against Japan. According to Dries Mertens a Belgian retailer has promised to reimburse fans who bought TVs specifically to watch the World Cup if Belgium score 16 goals in Russia. They’re currently on nine. This brings the question of “intent” back into play. If I was a retailer looking to balance the books, I’d be asking: “Can you prove that you bought this telly specifically with the intention of only watching the World Cup?” Maybe there’s a Belgian Love Island.

Dries Mertens jokes Belgium are targeting 16 World Cup goals to get free TVs – video
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Back to the issue Jorgensen’s booking. Here’s an idea from Geoff Saunders: “The Danish player committed the foul because he knew the Croatian would score. That was his motivation. Ergo – a goal should be awarded. Denmark were rewarded by cheating. That is wrong. The lesson is there for every player to learn. Cheat and you might get away with it. The law is inadequate. If Fifa really wants to stop fouls like this then they must punish them. Awarding a goal, like a penalty try in rugby, would go a long way to stopping cheating like this. Before anyone says ‘The player could still have missed’ – a Roger Davis – the point is that the foul was committed because the Danish player was certain Croatia would score. That must be punished. And giving the keeper a chance to save when he had already been beaten is unfair.”

No one but Jorgensen knows if he really intended to foul Rebic so to say he was “cheating” is harsh but the point is that a goal was certain in that situation so therefore a penalty and yellow card does not seem like justice. How referees decide which chances that are denied would have certainly led to a goal would also create more problems. For all that football is a simple game it throws up a lot of rules-based problems.

Brazil’s renaissance man Paulinho has been talking to The Players Tribune about his move to Barcelona. This quote makes it sound like Lionel Messi is the de facto manager of Barcelona as well as Argentina.

All of a sudden, Messi walks straight up to me, looks me in the eye, and says: ‘So ... are we going to Barcelona or not?’ That was it, no explanation, nothing. He turned around and walked away. I didn’t even have time to think. I just said: ‘If you want to take me, I’ll go!’

Sticking with Brazil v Mexico, I said on the podcast last night that I think Tite is missing a trick by not playing Roberto Firmino while Philippe Coutinho, who knows him so well from Liverpool, is in such good form. they had such a good understanding at Anfield. Gabriel Jesus is a great player but Firmino is better at holding the line I believe and helps brings shape to the team. I also reckon he would create more space for Neymar. In Brazil, there has been a touching story of Firmino’s former primary school teacher only just realised that her pupil of many years ago, who faced such hardship at home, was in the Brazil team. Here is Adriana Liete talking to Globo:

He dreamed of becoming a great player when he grew up. The other day I saw him on the television [playing for Brazil] and I was like: ‘No way!’ This Firmino is actually my Roberto, it is the same one! In class he always talked nonstop about football. The class was very large, and he sat very close to the front, which made it possible for us to have many conversations. In one of these, on the return of a weekend, he told me: ‘Teacher, they cut off the energy of my house.’ I asked about the things in the refrigerator. He replied that he had nothing, he had only water, and this affected me a lot. It was this conversation that reminded me of Roberto, not Firmino. When I see the image of Firmino, I can not associate with that slim boy I met in this classroom.

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I can’t wait for Brazil v Mexico! Michael Gleeson reckons Mexico might just have a chance today: “Looking at Mexico’s win over Germany, they won because the other team’s backline was pushed higher and the fullbacks had left the defence. If Brazil play Marcelo, he will look to get forward. That could give space to Vela. Mexico may only need one chance.” I think Brazil will score more than one goal so will in all likelihood need two chances or more. Mexico always offer entertainment in the last 16. Here is their recent history of six painful last-16 exits:

2014: Controversially beaten 2-1 by Netherlands
2010: Beaten 3-1 by Argentina (including a controversial Argentina goal)
2006: Beaten 2-1 by Argentina in extra-time in an absolute belter of a game
2002: Rafael Marquez sent off in 2-0 defeat by USA
1998: Beaten 2-1 by Germany after being 1-0 up and then conceding two late goals
1994: Beaten by Bulgaria on penalties with crazy Jorge Campos in goal

I think Mexico might explode if the team gets to the quarter-finals.

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Croatia’s hero last night, Danijel Subasic, came mighty close to being Steve Morrowed. From David Hytner’s match report:

The Croatia players threw Subasic up in the air during the celebrations and – in keeping with the tone of the evening – they dropped him. Mercifully Zlatko Dalic, the manager, reported he was not injured.

Here’s a cracking Joy of Six on the subject of celebrations gone wrong. My favourite is Stuart McCall. It’s always worth re-familiarising yourself with his tin-fuelled car-dancing antics.

“What are your thoughts on the non-award of a red card for the foul leading to Croatia’s penalty last night? Despite supporting Denmark, from my perspective there was no chance Jorgensen could make a clean tackle so it shouldn’t have been classed as a genuine attempt to play the ball,” writes Tove. “He certainly made sure he brought down Rebic and prevented him getting a shot away. If this is how the new rule works it opens the door for defenders to make reckless tackles to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity where they are theoretically trying to play the ball, knowing that they only risk a yellow card as punishment.”

My first thought was that Jorgensen should have been immediately sent off. Then I looked at the replays and I could understand how the referee adjudged Jorgensen to have attempted to win the ball cleanly as he is very close to getting something on it. It’s the kind of decision that would look brilliant in the fourth minute of the match as fans would say the decision helped keep the match an even contest, thus making it a better spectacle, but coming at the end of extra-time it seemed a real injustice given that Rebic was a millisecond away from rolling the ball home. I think when intention comes into any decision a referee has to make it can lead to players getting crafty. Pique’s handball yesterday was a case in point. I’m sure he intended his arm to be up there to help stop the ball but by turning his back he made it look as though it was accidental. Many players may now deliberately foul others in similar situations and plead honesty in an attempt to get a yellow, as you say. The World Cup often sets trends. Let’s see if this is one.

“Not practising penalties is INSANE!” roars Duncan in Tokyo, referencing Japan coach Akira Nishino’s revelation that he is not asking his players to work on spot-kicks. “A striker taking a penalty to win the game in the 89th minute is under exactly the same pressure as any player in a shootout. Would you tell him not to bother practising penalties?” Nope. I’m in agreement with you Duncan, particularly so when you look back at the last World Cup, when six of the eight last 16 matches went to extra-time and three were settled in a shootout. You can’t replicate pressure when practising penalties but surely knowing that you have practised something over and over again helps settle your nerves a little bit when that buttock-clenching moment arrives.

“Re the Pod’s ridiculous assertion that no great goalkeepers wore short sleeves,” begins Yazan Badran. “Have we already forgotten he who is (still) the best goalkeeper in the world for me.”

How do you like short sleeves Gigi? Photograph: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images
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Thanks Niall, although I must say I’m still reeling from the news that you’re a fan of the Golden Goal rule. I quite like watching footballers limited by fatigue so that they look almost normal and 30 minutes of walking football is worth it if there’s a shootout at the end. “But what could be more dramatic than a sudden death winner?” says Niall, when I pull him up on this. Penalties Niall! Penalties!

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