World Cup winners & losers: Day 6
We’re into the second round of group stage fixtures at the World Cup and there was plenty of excitement to be found on day six.
England were held by the USA while Wales slumped to Iran, while Qatar were eliminated from their own tournament in record speed.
Here are the winners and losers from day six.
The fact that the USA probably don’t feel like winners speaks volumes of just how impressive they were against England.
Nobody could have had any complaints had Gregg Berhalter’s side taken all three points against the Euro 2020 finalists, with their top performance proving they can hang with the best this winter.
Just as Gareth Southgate was winning over his critics, he lost them in one uninspiring swoop.
His England side had looked good against Iran but lost all form of attacking desire as they were bested by the USA – a result which, with all due respect to the Americans, is simply not good enough. The pressure is back on.
Cody Gakpo continues to add to his price tag with two goals in as many outings at the World Cup.
Ecuador were his latest victims, with scouts from across Europe all watching him very closely.
With England so woefully second best in all areas, the sight of Phil Foden glued to the bench for the entirery of the USA defeat was a damning one.
England needed creativity and Southgate didn’t believe that a key component of Manchester City’s record-setting attack wasn’t the man to provide it.
Iran love a late goal. They scored in the 103rd minute against England and in both the 98th and 101st against Wales to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Whoever their fitness coach is deserves a massive raise.
With their abject defeat to Senegal, Qatar became the first nation eliminated from the tournament. No host nation has ever been knocked out as fast as them.
While there will be massive financial benefits of hosting this tournament, all the 2022 World Cup has brought Qatar is criticism off the field and embarrassment on it.
Iliman Ndiaye was playing English non-league football just three years ago and now has a World Cup assist to his name.
The Senegal starlet has taken one of the most inspiring career paths and may well have a few more star-studded destinations to add before he calls it a day.
Wales were adamant they could come to Qatar and compete, and yet with just one group stage game left, fans are still waiting to see Rob Page’s side live up to that promise.
They needed to beat Iran but were nowhere near doing so, with Page now facing questions about his ability to lead this group forward. His comments about avoiding protest to focus on football have aged horribly, too.