We’re a week into the World Cup, so now is a good time to reflect on some of the stories from the past week and some things to look out for over the next few days.
What Happened in the First Week?
Here are three of the coolest stories to have unfolded during the first week at the World Cup.
How to Improve Your Number of Social Media Followers
Up to a few days ago, not many football fans would have heard of Vozinha, a 40-year-old goalkeeper playing in Portugal’s second division, who had had a long international career with Cabo Verde and was making his World Cup debut on Monday.
But seven saves, a man-of-the-match performance and a heroic 0-0 draw for Cabo Verde later, that all changed. 0-0 was available at odds of around 85.0 in that game, and no man contributed to it more than Vozinha.
Everyone knows the name now, with his Instagram followers shooting up from 50,000 to almost 11 million within a matter of days.
Back on the pitch, there’s plenty of work for him still to do. It’s 4.1 that they can secure a draw against Uruguay, and 8.5 that this one ends 0-0 again.
Tidy Hat-Trick for the Messi One
Most 38-year-old international footballers are either retired already or preparing for life after football, such as coaching or TV work.
But not if you’re Lionel Messi. He wasn’t even certain to play in this World Cup but showed us all he’s not here as a glorified encore by scoring a hat-trick in the early hours of Wednesday against Algeria as Argentina won 3-0. A minor miracle when you consider his age, the hot conditions and the fact that Algeria are a team to be respected.
Interestingly, it was his first-ever World Cup hat-trick, also his 200th appearance for Argentina, and his 16th World Cup goal, tying him with Miroslav Klose at the top.
That hat-trick also puts him on top of the Golden Boot charts as the only player on three, and he’s now just 3.6 to win it, while Argentina are 10.0 to go all the way on the back of that strong start.
What’s in a Name?
When Norway’s number nine scored his second goal on Tuesday night, commentators all around the world were a bit confused as to whether they should attribute it to Erling Haaland or Erling Braut Haaland.
Despite having just ‘Haaland’ on the back of his shirt at both Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City, the giant striker decided to add ‘Braut’ to his name ahead of this World Cup.
Braut is his mother Gry Marita's maiden name, a former heptathlete. Using both your paternal and maternal surnames in your own name is quite common in Norway.
Either way, Norwegian fans will be looking to hear more examples of ‘goal from Braut Haaland!’ over the next couple of weeks. The City man is 9.0 to be the Golden Boot winner, while Norway are 3.0 to reach the quarter-finals.
What to Look Out for in the Coming Week
And now to a couple of storylines to keep your eye on over the next few days…
The impossible job
There’s making World Cup history, and then there's making World Cup history. When Sabri Lamouchi was sacked after Tunisia’s 5-1 defeat to Sweden, he became the first coach ever at a World Cup to leave after just one match, making the sort of history no one wants.
You’d think it would be almost impossible to parachute in a proven, experienced and willing manager to come in under those circumstances, but Tunisia somehow managed, getting Herve Renard to sign on the dotted line.
Frenchman Renard, famous for wearing white, tight shirts while barking orders from the bench, knows African football like few, having managed the Ivory Coast, Zambia and Angola in the past, as well as guiding Saudi Arabia to that famous 2-1 win over Argentina at the last World Cup.
His first task will be to keep the goals down against Japan. Japan are just 1.5 to win, 1.67 to score two or more goals, and 3.25 to score three or more. A repeat of that 5-1 defeat is available at odds of 71.0.
Scotland Not Feeling the Heat Just Yet
The soaring temperatures have been much talked about, and surprisingly, it’s Scotland that has dealt with them better than most.
In addition to the usual sun cream, tan lines, ice buckets, isotonic drinks and ice jackets to keep those Scottish players ice cool during the hydration breaks, some of Scotland’s players prepared for the roasting temperatures by going to the University of the West of Scotland to use its extreme environments chamber, which could mimic Florida conditions and prepare the players for conditions that you simply do not get in the UK.
It all helped Scotland win their opening game 1-0 against Haiti, though winger Ben Gannon-Doak felt the heat more than most and was so exhausted that he had to be replaced on 75 minutes because of his "calves leaving the stadium" before he did.
Scotland are next up against Morocco, with a Morocco win at 1.62, the draw at 3.6, and a Scotland win at 5.5.
The 1-1 score could be in business at 6.0, while Gannon-Doak is 8.5 to score a goal.
