BREAKING NEWS!!!
Flo Balogun, the best striker the USA has ever had, the man who had on objectively wrong red card given to him in our last game, who was suspended and not eligible to play against Belgium tomorrow…..HE IS GOING TO PLAY!!! There is so much to say.
After the red card happened, FIFA reiterated that there is no way for a red card to be appealed. That is crazy. There is no reason to not have an appeal process other than not wanting to do the work necessary that would come with having a process.
What is FIFA saying now? Some absolute nonsense. They are not actually reversing the red card. In fact, the red card stands and remains on Balogun’s record. Instead they are using technical rule – Article 21 – to say that the process in how the red card was given was wrong so they are suspending the suspension. It is absolutely horse shit. It means nothing.
What actually happen? Trump called Giano Infantino and told him to fix this, and of course FIFA has to listen to the man they gave their first and only FIFA Peace Prize.
This is the most blatant and clear form of corruption that can exist. The main host of the World Cup calls FIFA after a bad call. FIFA has no appeal process, but because of the call from the president of that country, they dig deep to cobble together a reason to get to the answer they want. Anyone trying to say otherwise is either corrupt, dumb, ignorant, lying or all of the above (im looking at you Christina Unkel).
How I feel? Everyone is saying, if you are American you should be ecstatic, if not you are completely pissed off. I don’t want to say it is not good for USA, but to be honest it is not the way I want to play. If anything good happens tomorrow, it will always carry an asterisk. What is worse is that it will always carry the stink of the current administration. Soccer and the World Cup (sports generally) are meant to be something to take you away from the reality of the world around you. This not only breaks that mirage, it makes the mirage a mirror so you have to watch what is happening in the real. FIFA is so obviously the most corrupt organization in the world, but now we get to see just how comfortable our reality is to be with/live with/thrive in that corruption. I want to just feel happy, but I can’t.
Things to think about. There is only one other time in the history of the World Cup where someone with a red card ended up playing in the next game. 1962, Mene Garrincha, a Brazilian, got a red card in the semifinals. The Brazilian government pressured FIFA and they let him play in the finals because of “exemplary behavior.” Not that it is connected (also maybe it is), but two years later Brazil feel into a military dictatorship that came from a coup. That dictatorship disappeared and murdered hundreds (434 is the estimate), and tortured around 20,000. In a shock, the US supported the coup and the dictatorship (because it is better to have murders who do what you want than perceived leftist/communist/not-american-loving-anyone. Additionally, FIFA has just opened a door that cannot be closed. If you think that this won’t come up again this World Cup or future ones, you have not lived in the world FIFA has created. Next time it happens, there is nothing the USA can say. Also, if this happens in Qatar, Russia, or outside of America or Europe, the takes people would have would be wild. Talking about how corrupt everyone is and why that is terrible for the world. There would also be so much “Well that wouldnt happen here” bullshit.
What happens now? Balogun will play tomorrow. Everyone outside the USA will hate the USA. We will have a lot of noise about this for the rest of the tournament. The USA (at least portions of it) will rally together and be more proud/obnoxious than ever. And to think, just a few hours ago, the USA were the darlings and the world would have been rooting for it. But we are AMERICA! We don’t care about the world!
(Sorry again if I am pouring water on your excitement)
Today’s Games
Brazil 0 (rufous-bellied thrush) v Norway 2 (Moose)
What did I tell you? Brazil is more talented, they should win, but Haaland is great and more efficient. That is what we saw today. Lets start with this, Norway’s goalie just had the greatest game in his life. He started the game by blocking a pk in the 10th minute. The rest of the game he went on to keep everything out on many shots that in any other time would have been a goal. Without him, Norway losses 3-0. But, they had him. And, they had Erling Haaland. As the announcers said, he is the Terminator. Goal #1 (79th min), he used his size and strength to absolutely body the Brazilian defender (Gabriel)* and head the ball in. Goal #2 (89 min), Norway was gassed, they were holding on, Haaland could barely run the field, but he get the ball 19 yards out, took a touch, and absolutely smoked the ball into the bottom corner. World Class. Next level. He made it look common place.
What is crazier is that Norway played the entire game like that was the game plan, which it probably was. Norway was a classic European team. They played a structured game with a specific plan (got the ball to Haaland). At times, it seemed like they were passing the ball just because that is what they were told to do rather than for any reason on the field. They seemed to lack a spark for most of the game and were slow in their buildup. Their second best player Martin Odegaard played horrendously. But they knew that they would get at least one goal from Haaland. And the crazy part is that they were right.
Brazil on the other side was the much more exciting and interesting team. Vini was great, the team had amazing chances (like the pk in the first 10 mins) and their goalie had important stops when Norway had their few earlier chances. They were doing well, but couldn’t break the seal. Then, after Norway scored, Brazil began to fall apart. They brought in Neymar (who has been injured for forever and not played competitively in even longer) in the 67. Neymar ended up with a yellow card and a goal because Brazil got another pk in the 90+9. It was all a lot of nothing. This was never the greatest of Brazilian teams, but they could have won today and they could have won the next game and the next game.They annoying part is that they played such better soccer for 95% of the game. But they were not efficient. Norway was. More specifically, Haaland was.
*Haaland and Gabriel have history. They play on rival teams in the premier league that have fighting each other to win the league over the last few years. They know each other well and don’t like each other (to be fair no one likes Gabriel). In the last game they played against each other they did everything but fist fight each other. It must feel extra good for Haaland to win against Gabriel today
Mexico 2 (Golden Eagle) v. England 3 (the Lion)
Craziness. This game was craziness. England came into Mexico’s house and did what they needed to do to win. Mexico started off this game on the front foot and with all the pressure. But, against the run of play, England’s Jude Bellingham scored, then he scored again one minute later. Just like that England were up 2-0 and it seemed like they were going to stomp Mexico into the earth. They were truly taking on the role of villain brilliantly, but just 4 minutes later (41 min) Mexico got their first goal. From that moment on, England nearly crumbled like Humpty Dumpty and all the kings men would not have been able to put them back together again. However, Pickford (England goalie) saved them and Bellingham had the clearance of the tournament (3 yards away from the goal with a Mexican about to score). They got to half, they got out.
If the first half was the craziest party you have ever been too, the second half a party you have never been to and from what you heard about it you don’t know you even want to be at something like that. In the 52nd, England get a VAR red card. It probably should have been a red but I am nearly certain that the England foot got caught on top of the ball and that made his foot go super high. The problem is that his cleats were up and that it hit the Mexican. England go down to 10 men. But, just minutes later England get a clear pk and go up 3-1. England just needed to pack it in and hold on. 10 minutes later however, we get another fucking VAR pk. When you slow everything down, everything is a foul and pk. I absolutely hate it. VAR is the apple in the garden. We have been tricked into eating it. Mexico get a goal 3-2. And just as things are about to go absolutely ballistic, we get our hydration break presented by Powereade. Powerade, you ever heard of Gatorade? It is like that but not and worse. But it has electrolytes and that’s what the plants crave.
Back to the game. The rest of the game was just 10 men holding on for dear life, and they did. England win 3-2.
Mexico played better than anyone thought they would. They should (and from what I have seen are) proud of what they did. But, this is soccer, and playing well doesn’t win without the goals.
Tomorrow’s Games
3 pm – Portugal v. Spain – An Iberian Peninsula Classico. Spain will win unless FIFA wants Portugal (Ronaldo) to win.
8 pm – Belgium v. USA – Even before Balogun, this game was going to be awesome. The USA is on the rise, Belgium is on the wane. In 2014, we got knocked out by Belgium after the greatest goalie performance I have ever seen at the hands of Timmy Howard. I was also going to tell you how much the world was going to be on our side to see Belgium go away and never comeback. The game will be fun once it starts, up and until that point, it will be not that much fun. Usa. Usa. Usa.
I was going to include this video as a pump up video. Go watch it to get pumped.
**One good thing – Cabo Verde got the heroes welcome they deserved. That is when Soccer rocks. A country coming together to celebrate something no one expected.
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