Norway’s First Knockout Win, Mbappé’s Brace, and Big Games Ahead

Geoffrey Ashworth

Sixty-nine thousand, six hundred and sixty-five souls... packed into that- that massive, modern steel-and-glass cathedral out in Arlington, Texas. Oh, what a night. It... it-it felt like something... well, something biblical. Norway, a nation that has spent decades wandering the international wilderness, has finally won... its first-ever World Cup knockout match. Two-one over the Ivory Coast. And before we get into the pure, unadulterated drama of that eighty-sixth-minute winner, this daily digest is brought to you by our friends at Jellypod—making it easy to turn your daily reading into your very own custom podcast. Brilliant bit of kit, that. Now... back to Texas. The match... it was a beautiful, bruising affair. Antonio Nusa... the nineteen-year-old lad, absolutely... uh, well, he electrified the place in the thirty-ninth minute. A curling, dipping beauty that... ...well, it reminded me of a young Chris Waddle cutting in from the left. But these African teams... they don't lie down, do they? Amad Diallo... the Manchester United boy, found an equalizer in the seventy-fourth, set up by Nicolas Pépé. And for a moment... you thought, oh, here we go, extra time, tired legs. But then... Erling Haaland. He... he-he just has this inevitability about him, doesn't he? Patrick Berg... brilliant work, drew three defenders to him like moths to a flame, laid it off, and there was Haaland... bang. Eighty-sixth minute. The place went absolutely mental. Diallo said after the match... well, they simply gave Haaland too much space. You can't do that. You... you-you just can't. And Franck Kessié... poor Kessié, hinted at international retirement after the whistle. A sad end for a giant of the African game. But Norway... oh, the romance of it. They advance to face Brazil on Sunday in East Rutherford. The Meadowlands. It... it-it echoes 1998, doesn't it? Marseille. Tore André Flo. Rekdal's penalty. My word, the ghosts of ninety-eight are whispering.

Geoffrey Ashworth

Now, if Dallas was a gritty, classic cup tie... New York, or... well, East Rutherford, to be precise... that great concrete cathedral in the meadowlands... was a masterclass in sheer, unyielding French elegance. France three, Sweden nil. But... um, well, the scoreline doesn't quite tell the whole story. Sweden's goalkeeper... Jacob Widell Zetterström... he was immense. Nine saves! He was... he was like a brick wall in a hurricane. But you can only hold back the tide for so long when Kylian Mbappé is in this kind of mood. A brilliant brace. He... he-he had an early goal chalked off by VAR... some microscopic nonsense. His left arm and knee... apparently offside. I mean, what are we doing to the game? But he didn't let it bother him. Just before the whistle... forty-fifth minute... a solo dance through the Swedish defense that... well, it was pure artistry. Then, in the fifty-third... Bradley Barcola struck, set up by Michael Olise. Olise was... oh, he was sublime all night. He set up Mbappé's second in the seventy-fourth as well. Sweden fought, they really did, but this French side... they're like a Rolls-Royce when they get into top gear. They head to Philadelphia on Saturday... July the fourth... to play Paraguay. What a match that'll be on American Independence Day.

Geoffrey Ashworth

But... uh, the real drama tonight... the stuff of proper, old-school football folklore... is happening down in Mexico City. Mexico versus Ecuador. Kickoff is late tonight, but... my word, the psychological warfare has already begun. Ecuador... they've had a proper travel nightmare. A nine-hour delay starting in Columbus... flight hold-ups... landing at the far-off Felipe Ángeles airport... and then crawling through rainy, paralyzed traffic to their hotel in Santa Fe. They must have been exhausted. But... ...the Mexican fans... they didn't want them getting any sleep, did they? Dozens of them... outside the Ecuadorian hotel... blasting horns, loudspeakers, motorcycles... all the way until dawn. Proper, midnight psychological warfare. The Ecuadorian Football Federation... the FEF... they've filed a formal complaint with FIFA over "fair play" violations. But Sebastián Beccacece... the Ecuador coach... he's having none of it. "No excuses," he said. That's the spirit. That's the grit you need in these South American clashes. It's going to be a absolute pressure cooker at the Azteca tonight.

Geoffrey Ashworth

And then... tomorrow. Wednesday, July the first. What a slate we have. First up... the Three Lions. England versus DR Congo... noon Eastern... in Atlanta's modern dome. Now... ...I- I- I'm always a bit nervous with England in the knockouts. We have the talent, but... well, we've seen this script before, haven't we? Then at four... Belgium against Senegal in Seattle. Lumen Field. That... that-that noisy, rain-slicked cathedral in the Pacific Northwest. That's going to be a tactical chess match. And finally... the big one for the home fans. The United States against Bosnia-Herzegovina... eight p.m. Eastern... out in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium. The ticket prices... my word... they're soaring over thirteen hundred dollars on the secondary market! The pressure on these young American lads... playing on home soil... it's immense. They... they-they have to deliver. Well... what a day of football we have ahead of us. I'll be right here... tartan scarf around my neck... soaking in every single second of it. Until tomorrow, folks... enjoy the beautiful game.