There’s a pattern to this world cup and it simply won’t go away. It’s not just the abundance of goals which makes us feel like we’re back in the 1950s when teams played with three defenders and seven attacking players, but knowing that scoring first means absolutely nothing, as Switzerland became the next team to not let an early slip ruin their day.
Switzerland weren’t just the fifth team to concede first and go one to win the match, but they also gave us our first dramatic match winner. Ecuador scored first through Enner Valencia in the first half, but Mehmedi equalized quickly in the second half, and another Ricardo Rodriguez (one of the finest performances we’ve seen in the tournament so far) provided his second assist, finding Haris Seferovic to score the winning goal, two minutes into injury time.
And there are the goals that just won’t stop. After four days of World Cup action we still haven’t had a 0-0 draw or even a draw at all. Mexico beating Cameroon 1-0 has been the only match in which we’ve had less than three goals. After 11 matches, we’re at 37 goals, which means an astonishing average of 3.36 goals per match.
France, like Switzerland, showed some European dominance against a brutal and violent team from Honduras who once again, four years after an abysmal display in South Africa, seem like a side that has no idea on how to create some moments of creativity. It’s just about defending, fouling, and hoping for a set piece in a comfortable spot to fall their way. Karim Benzema should have been the first hat trick scorer in this World Cup, but had to settle for two goals after missing quite a lot from comfortable opportunities.
And while the final match of the day had no comeback or opponent that laid on its back waiting to be beaten, it was hard to see Argentina not coming away with the win. Lionel Messi struggled throughout the match as he continues to show inaccuracy unlike him before his injuries, but he scored a classic Messi goal after a quick one-two with Gonzalo Higuain, providing a clinical finish from outside the box.
And just when we thought it was all over, Bosnia scored a consolation goal to keep up the average. While we’ve had some bad defenses show up for this tournament, most of the goals have come either from set pieces or from some nice combinations, making this World Cup goal gluttony about attacking football instead of poor execution by defenses.