World Cup Recap: Round of 16 Day 2
Penalties needed as Croatia outlasts Denmark and Russia shocks Spain
Jul 1, 2018, 10:53 pm
Russia knocked off Spain to advance. Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
The round of 16 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup continued on Sunday with Spain taking on host nation Russia and Croatia facing Denmark. Ninety minutes was not enough as both encounters went to extra time and, eventually, penalties.
Spain 1-1 Russia (3-4 on penalties)
Luzhniki Stadium Moscow
Attendance: 78,011
When the knockout round matchups were complete, it looked as though Spain had a clear path to the final. Instead, the 2010 champs were one-and-done at the hands of the host nation. Things started off promising for La Furia Roja as Sergio Ramos forced an own-goal from Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich in the 12th minute of the match. The reality is Spain spent too much time with the ball at their feet but not enough time doing anything with it. The Spanish were outshot 5-3 but the most impactful moment came on a defensive lapse. Defender Gerard Pique was called for a handball inside the bos and Artyom Dzyuba would convert the penalty to tie things at 1-1.
Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was the Man of the Match for his performance with two saves in the first half, three in the second half and four in extra time. Spain’s goalkeeper David De Gea was untested and didn’t record a single save throughout the 120 minutes. Spain finished with 25 shots (nine on target) while Russia only created six shots with one direct to goal. After a deadlock through extra time, the penalty shootout would decide who advanced.
Smolov, Ignashevich, Golovin and Cheryshev all converted their penalties for Russia while Koke and Iago Aspas would fail to convert for Spain. As a result, Russia advances to the quarterfinals to face Croatia.
Analysis: Spain was clearly not as strong as we all thought they were but they were still strong enough to get past Russia. What happened on Sunday will go down as a huge setback for a Spanish national team that was enjoying the best era in their football history. The golden age that brought Spain the 2010 World Cup title as well as back-to-back European Championships is now an afterthought. The Spanish national team could not reclaim the glory of their best days and, as 2010 World Cup final hero Andres Iniesta bids farewell to the national team, the team will surely get a new influx of youth. Spain is filled with talent, however, and will surely field a team that can contest for Euro 2020. First, they’ll need a new Manager after their former one was fired just days before Russia 2018.
The host nation knew what they had to do to give themselves a chance to win - and they accomplished it. Some will say it was boring football and a shameful display of “the beautiful game” but the end result is the only thing that matters, frankly. Team Russia, backed by its home fans, has reached the farthest stage in their World Cup history and are one win away from assuring to match their best performance of the Soviet Union national team - who finished fourth at England 1966. Will they be able to outlast Croatia with a compact defense? We’ll have to tune in on July 7 to find out.
Notable stat: Russia won their first penalty shootout at a FIFA World Cup.
Croatia 1-1 Denmark (3-2 on penalties)
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Attendance: 40,851
This one got off to a hot start. Denmark’s Mathias Jorgensen scored off a throw in to surprise goalkeeper Danijel Subasic in the first minute. Unfortunately for the Danes, Croatia would answer back just three minutes later after Mario Mandzukic won a ball inside the box to tie the game. Croatia would be the team to generate more quality opportunities but the match would remain a draw through 90 minutes. Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel had two saves in the first half, two in the second and three in extra time while Subasic for Croatia only had two all match. Besides the scores, the other influential play was a denial of a goal scoring opportunity by Denmark’s Jorgensen. Croatia had now the best opportunity to get the win in the 115th minute - five removed from full time - but an exhausted Luka Modric failed the spot kick. The match would go to penalties.
With both teams exhausted, there were multiple misses on both sides. FC Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic scored the winning penalty as the shootout went to the fifth attempt to advance Croatia to the quarterfinals.
Analysis: Croatia is enjoying their best World Cup performance since France 1998. They suffered on Sunday against Denmark but at times showed their class, not being able to take the lead. They are lucky to not have lost in penalties but can see this as new life and confidence as they go forward to face Russia. The host nation will most likely be compact like they were against Spain so Croatia’s midfielders will be challenged to break them open. The good news is they count on some of the best midfielders in the world today. Getting to the semis would be huge for Croatia.
Denmark, on the other hand, will feel heartbroken. They knew their limitations but could not have executed their game plan better. They made life hard for Croatia’s attack. Schmeichel could not have had a better day in goal and it’s a shame his team could not finished the rest of the job. Perhaps their best opportunity to win it was just before the end of the second half but no one showed the quality to get them the win. The biggest criticism, and deservedly so, will fall on Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen. After being invisible for most of the match, Eriksen had the opportunity to be the hero and instill confidence by making the first penalty in the shootout. Had he made it, this recap would’ve been written differently. Onwards towards Euro 2020 for Denmark.
Notable stat: Croatia and Denmark set a new FIFA World Cup record for the fastest 1-1 scoreline.
Remaining Round of 16 Matches (All Times CT):
Monday, July 2
9 a.m. - Mexico vs. Brazil (FOX, Telemundo)
1 p.m. - Belgium vs. Japan (FOX, Telemundo)
Tuesday, July 3
9 a.m. - Sweden vs. Switzerland (FS1, Telemundo)
1 p.m. - Colombia vs. England (FOX, Telemundo)
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A lockout appears unavoidable! Photo via: Wiki Commons.
Looming over baseball is a likely lockout in December 2026, a possible management push for a salary cap and perhaps lost regular-season games for the first time since 1995.
“No one’s talking about it, but we all know that they’re going to lock us out for it, and then we’re going to miss time,” New York Mets All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso said Monday at the All-Star Game. “We’re definitely going to fight to not have a salary cap and the league’s obviously not going to like that.”
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and some owners have cited payroll disparity as a problem, while at the same time MLB is working to address a revenue decline from regional sports networks. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball has never had a salary cap because its players staunchly oppose one.
Despite higher levels of luxury tax that started in 2022, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have pushed payrolls to record levels. The last small-market MLB club to win a World Series was the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
After signing outfielder Juan Soto to a record $765 million contract, New York opened this season with an industry-high $326 million payroll, nearly five times Miami’s $69 million, according to Major League Baseball’s figures. Using luxury tax payrolls, based on average annual values that account for future commitments and include benefits, the Dodgers were first at $400 million and on track to owe a record luxury tax of about $151 million — shattering the previous tax record of $103 million set by Los Angeles last year.
“When I talk to the players, I don’t try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.”
Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, and management lockouts have become the norm, which shifts the start of a stoppage to the offseason. During the last negotiations, the sides reached a five-year deal on March 10 after a 99-day lockout, salvaging a 162-game 2022 season.
“A cap is not about a partnership. A cap isn’t about growing the game,” union head Tony Clark said Tuesday. “A cap is about franchise values and profits. ... A salary cap historically has limited contract guarantees associated with it, literally pits one player against another and is often what we share with players as the definitive non-competitive system. It doesn’t reward excellence. It undermines it from an organizational standpoint. That’s why this is not about competitive balance. It’s not about a fair versus not. This is institutionalized collusion.”
The union’s opposition to a cap has paved the way for record-breaking salaries for star players. Soto’s deal is believed to be the richest in pro sports history, eclipsing Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal with the Dodgers signed a year earlier. By comparison, the biggest guaranteed contract in the NFL is $250 million for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Manfred cites that 10% of players earn 72% of salaries.
“I never use the word `salary’ within one of `cap,’” he said. “What I do say to them is in addressing this competitive issue that’s real we should think about whether this system is the perfect system from a players’ perspective.”
A management salary cap proposal could contain a salary floor and a guaranteed percentage of revenue to players. Baseball players have endured nine work stoppages, including a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 that fought off a cap proposal.
Agent Scott Boras likens a cap plan to attracting kids to a “gingerbread house.”
“We’ve heard it for 20 years. It’s almost like the childhood fable,” he said. “This very traditional, same approach is not something that would lead the younger players to the gingerbread house.”