Farewell, Morocco and Egypt. Maybe next time?
In this edition of his World Cup analysis, Andrew Hallett is left frustrated by Africa, feels the big names did their job, and has special praise for Saudi Arabia.
This time is clearly not for Africa
Morocco and Egypt have bowed out of the World Cup with a whimper. The worst part is that they both have one more game to play, yet they already know their flight home is booked and ready for departure.
This is not a good thing for African football, as once again the teams from our magnificent continent have failed to make any real impact on a World Cup. Sad.
What's even worse is that in the four games between them, they have only scored one goal - and that was from the penalty spot. Egypt's Mo Salah and Trézéguet were expected to set the world alight, while Morocco's exciting, attacking line-up were also built up to a point where anything short of the knockouts would be seen as a massive failure. Well, guess what, they have been a massive failure and it is truly frustrating.
Senegal, Tunisia, and Nigeria still have the chance to make Africa proud, but from what we saw in the first round of matches, only Senegal have a realistic chance of flying the African flag high enough for the world to take notice. Here's hoping for a bit more African fighting spirit from that trio, but if we are honest, the state of African football does not make for much encouragement.
Big names step up for their countries
Wednesday's matches were all about grinding out wins for the favourites. Uruguay, Portugal, and Spain all won their respective matches 1-0, showing that simply winning matches in the group stage is far more important than playing attractive, free-flowing football. Yes, their opposing sides made it difficult for them to play their natural game, but when things are not going your way, a win is all that matters.
The goalscorers on the day were Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, Uruguay's Luis Suarez, and Spain's Diego Costa. This just proves that class always rises to the top and the trio showed why they are so highly regarded in the game of football.
Special mention for Saudi Arabia
After being destroyed 5-0 by hosts Russia on opening night, many predicted that Uruguay's classy forwards - Suarez and Edinson Cavani, would have a lot of fun with the defenders of the Asian outfit. However, that was not to be the case, as the Saudi players put in a much more spirited performance, fighting for every ball and grinding their way to a much more respectable result.
Yes, they are going home, but Saudi Arabia can hold their heads up high for a much better showing, and a far from embarrassing result.
One last thing...
How great is referee Andres Cunha from the Spain v Iran match? Not just his ability as a referee, but his animated responses to players are fantastic! Sign him up for every game - he makes the boring ones seem palatable.
Also read: Africa finally delivers at 2018 World Cup!