After what feels like forever, we have reached the end of the Fairer World Cup Group Stage! But just imagine – it’s going to be even longer in the real thing!
Anyway, in the last chapter, England win Group I in typical England fashion, while Group J was a real rollercoaster ride – particularly for the Republic of Ireland.
So now we’ve come to the final two groups. Spain will want to exact revenge on Türkiye in Group K, while sleeping giants Germany and surprise qualifiers Thailand will likely dominate the headlines in Group L.
GROUP K
SPAIN
Spain had a bumpy road to the World Cup, but now they’re here, they’ll be among the leading contenders. An already world-class squad has been given some additional Latin American flair, making them an exceptional attacking force.
Real Madrid hotshot Vinícius Júnior and his former club-mate Rodrygo will be among the Golden Boot contenders, while Brazilian compatriots Éder Militão and Bruno Guimarães add further steel to a formidable spine. Left-back Lucas Hernández has also made the squad (though his twin Theo hasn’t)… and then there’s some old fella named Lionel Messi as an impact sub.
Perhaps the one weakness in this Spanish team is their right-back Pedro Porro (after all, he plays for Tottenham). La Furia Roja also tend to show too much complacency against second-tier opponents like Türkiye, whom they’ll meet again in the Group Stage. If they can stay focussed, though, they’ll take some stopping.
NIGERIA
Make no mistake; Nigeria are strong contenders. After winning every match in the World Cup qualifiers, the Super Eagles soared to another seven straight victories to lift the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Nigeria’s squad is full of fast and strong players – many of whom were raised in western Europe, such as their left-back Destiny Udogie, who forms part of a powerful back four. There is also plenty of skill and creavity further afield, not least from the magical Jamal Musiala, the explosive Karim Adeyemi, and Arsenal’s fearless starboy Bukayo Saka.
Mind you, this is the youngest squad at the World Cup, with an average age of just 25. Captain Alex Iwobi may be their most-capped player, but he’s not a natural leader. If and when Nigeria run into adversity, their nerves and title credentials will be sorely tested.
TÜRKIYE
Turkey, Türkiye…. whatever you want to call them, they’re among the World Cup’s dark horses – not least because they took four points off Spain in the qualifiers. They also have the coaching expertise of Joachim ‘Jogi’ Löw, who famously led Germany to global glory in 2014.
The (Crescent) star of this team is captain and dead-ball specialist Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who is joined in a skilful midfield by German veterans İlkay Gündoğan and Emre Can. The frontline is rather younger and more agile, with Kenan Yıldız and Arda Güler each harbouring high hopes at this Turkish generation’s first World Cup.
Löw inherited the Türkiye reins after a disastrous Euro 2024, in which their defence folded like a house of cards. The likes of ex-Leicester stopper Çağlar ‘Lord Farquaad’ Söyüncü will be under scrutiny in the knockout stages and will need to be more resilient.
JORDAN
Jordan will be on a hiding to nothing at their very first World Cup. Possessing the tournament’s weakest squad in terms of attributes – and also one of its shortest – the West Asians will do very well to take anything from a nightmare group.
Nearly all of Jordan’s players are based in Arab countries, with only the hard-working Montpellier winger Musa Al-Tamari playing in Europe. Indeed, their three goalkeepers all play for the same club back home, though first-choice Yazid Abu Laila is admittedly pretty solid.
The Chivalrous Ones defended bravely in the qualifiers, though Saudi-born centre-half Bara’a Marei and his colleagues will struggle against stronger forwards in aerial battles. Likewise, striker Mohammed Aburiziq is in form but – with terrible strength and balance – could probably be blown over by a strong breeze.
TÜRKIYE vs JORDAN
(14 June – Houston)
In this battle of the dark horses vs the underdogs, it was Türkiye who broke through after 25 minutes. Jordan’s stubborn and valiant resistance was shattered by some fancy footwork from wonderkid Arda Güler.
The Turks continued to lay siege to the Jordan defence, but goalkeeper Yazid Abu Laila was determined not to be beaten again. Mind you, he did have a moment of madness on the 75-minute mark, which striker Semih Kılıçsoy – another exciting young Crescent-Star – somehow didn’t punish.
One Jordanian error that was punished came right at the end of stoppage time. Bara’a Marei shoved Kerem Aktürkoğlu in the box, allowing Turkish skipper and penalty king Hakan Çalhanoğlu to put the game to bed. In truth, Türkiye should have won by more than 2-0, and they really couldn’t afford to be so wasteful in their next two matches.
NIGERIA vs SPAIN
(14 June – Toronto)
Two of the pre-tournament favourites faced off in Toronto, and it was Spain who looked the most convincing early on. Pedri unluckily hit the post in the 9th minute, before a scrappy 16th-minute corner ended with the young Barcelona midfielder half-volleying in the opener. Then he banged in an even more impressive second goal 10 minutes later to hammer home Spain’s advantage.
Nigeria tried to freshen up their attack for the second half, bringing Joshua Zirkzee on for the lacklustre Victor Osimhen. Though Zirkzee was denied by Unai Simón early on, it was winger Karim Adeyemi who headed in the Super Eagles’ first goal in the 54th minute.
Ultimately, though, Nigeria were not able to handle Spain’s relentless tiki-takaing. Neither could they outsmart the Spanish defence, as La Furia Roja battled to a 2-1 win. Had we just seen the eventual champions?
JORDAN vs NIGERIA
(18 June – Houston)
Nigeria’s Dream Team expected to bounce back emphatically in their next match, but Jordan had other ideas. The Super Eagles were caught napping when Ibrahim Sa’deh smashed the outsiders into the lead within 65 seconds of kick-off!
Sadly, Bukayo Saka wiped that lead out barely a minute later. The quality gap between these two teams would soon become painfully evident.
Once Jamal Musiala tapped in Alex Iwobi’s drilled cross to make it 2-1 Nigeria after just 11 minutes, the eventual outcome of this match was never in doubt. Joshua Zirkzee added two more goals before the break – the first of which summed up just how inadequate Jordan’s defence was against a truly world-class frontline.
Zirkzee had the chance to complete his hat-trick in the 48th minute after Destiny Udogie won a penalty, only to be thwarted by Abu Laila. As it transpired, the Newcastle hotshot would only need to wait another minute for his golden moment – set up wonderfully by right-back Michael Kayode.
A bullet header from Felix Nmecha rounded off a ruthless 6-1 win from the Super Eagles, though questions would still have to be asked of their defence. Yazan Al-Naimat had the ball in their net but was ruled offside by VAR, denying Jordan a second ray of light from a sobering afternoon.
SPAIN vs TÜRKIYE
(18 June – Toronto)
And now we come to Spain’s vengeance mission, which seemed to be firmly on track after the first half. Pedro Porro’s long-range was brilliantly saved by Türkiye keeper Uğurcan Çakır in the 33rd minute, but Pedri would not be denied four minutes later. Some very clever play from Barcelona team-mate Gavi set up his third goal of the tournament.
There was more Spanish joy in the 69th minute, which saw a nice moment for Aymeric Laporte when he headed Porro’s free-kick past Çakır. While La Furia Roja were red-hot, Türkiye looked tepid and could only force Simón into a single save all match long.
Ultimately, it was a nice and simple 2-0 win for Spain, who were now almost certain to win Group K. Türkiye would soon battle it out with Nigeria to determine who joined them in the knockouts.
JORDAN vs SPAIN
(22 June – Toronto)
Before that, though, it’s time for “Mismatch of the Day”… or at least it should have been. Jordan’s underdogs caught Spain napping early on as Al-Naimat found the net, only for pesky VAR to cruelly deny him a dream opener. Spain’s complacency extended to their frontline, who wasted several scoring chances before Rodrygo finally broke through on the stroke of half-time.
Another Samba Spaniard doubled the lead eight minutes after the break; ’twas a nice ‘eader from Éder Militão. Rodrygo soon added a second goal to his name, before Vinícius Júnior inevitably got in on the act with a brace of his own! Now it was Jordan 0, Brazil… ahem, I mean SPAIN 5!
Mind you, there was still just enough time for a Spanish-born player to complete the rout. Fermín’s injury-time drive was perhaps the pick of the bunch in a ruthless 6-0 demolition.
Jordan had done brilliantly just to get to the World Cup, but they simply never stood a chance in such a brutal group. Spain breezed through with maximum points, justifying their tag as pre-tournament favourites.
TÜRKIYE vs NIGERIA
(22 June – Houston)
And now for the main event! 2nd place was up for grabs in Houston… though, to be fair, the losers were likely to qualify as one of the best 3rd-placed teams anyway. Thank you, FIFA, for removing any meaningful jeopardy from your supersized Group Stage!
[Ahem] Anyway, the first half finished 0-0, though Nigeria perhaps looked a little more threatening than Türkiye. The Super Eagles continued the second half in similar fashion, with Adeyemi heading home the opening goal from a delightful cross by right-back assist machine Kayode.
Alex Iwobi then scored a peach of a daisy-cutter to double the Nigerian lead and secure 2nd place. A delicate Deniz Gül finish late on pegged them back to 2-1, but despite losing back-to-back matches, Türkiye were also into the next round as well.
So there you have it. No real surprises in Group K.
GROUP L
GERMANY
Germany made up for an early Euro 2024 exit by easily qualifying for the World Cup – winning all eight matches and conceding only five goals. Despite losing some exciting attackers to Africa, Thomas Tuchel has successfully rebuilt ‘Die Mannschaft’ into a team with typical German efficiency.
Ex-Croatia right-back Josip Stanišić has been a valuable addition to the German ranks, which has freed up captain Joshua Kimmich to play in his favoured defensive midfield position. Looking further ahead, Kai Havertz has excelled as a goalscoring attacking midfielder, while Florian Wirtz has hit the ground running in the Premier League… with Chelsea.
The Germans are great at keeping possession and converting chances, and they will certainly be among the favourites to go all the way. The only stumbling block might be their mental block when it comes to major tournaments; their last four have all been cut short before the Quarter Finals.
DENMARK
Denmark caused one of the biggest shocks of qualifying when they dumped out France with a 4-1 thrashing in Copenhagen. In fairness, the Danes’ own qualification was no surprise; theirs is a solid team with few glaring weaknesses.
Kasper Hjulmand’s favoured 5-2-3 formation is more adventurous than it looks. Andreas Christensen is a fine ball-playing defender in his prime years, while the energetic Pierre-Emile Højbjerg can quickly transition defence into attack. The end result is usually the same; get the ball to Rasmus Højlund and let the enigmatic pressing forward cook.
This is the Danes’ first major tournament since 2004 without the now-retired Christian Eriksen, and his wonderful playmaking skills will be missed. The Danish Dynamite may not be quite so explosive when they get to the business end of the tournament.
CHILE
Chile qualified 3rd in the CONMEBOL table, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Glaring defensive issues and an awkward transition between generations leave fans of La Roja uncertain about what this World Cup campaign will bring.
The archetypal Championship goalscorer, Ben Brereton Díaz will be hungry to make an impact on a much bigger stage. There is similar intrigue around the short but versatile Belgian-born right-back Nayel Mehssatou, and midfield marvel Marcelino Núñez has a breathtaking goal in him.
Incredibly, the Chile boss decided to leave Charles Aránguiz, Gary Medel and Alexis Sánchez at home! That’s 453 caps of experience, binned off in one fell swoop! The Red Ones are left with a severe leadership void, and they are perhaps even more vulnerable to collapse.
THAILAND
I’m not sure anyone could have foreseen Thailand qualifying. Despite having few major recruits, the War Elephants’ fierce determination and ruthless finishing ability got them one of the first Asian tickets to the World Cup.
One of Thailand’s most valuable additions is the experienced Aussie-born midfielder Kenny Dougall, once of Blackpool. Tireless full-back Nicholas Mickelson is originally Norwegian, while Tottenham’s emerging centre-forward Jude Soonsup-Bell comes from that well-known Bangkok suburb – Cheltenham.
The Thai players are among some of the shortest and lightest in the competition, not to mention the youngest. Case in point: they have THREE newgens in their squad, including a promising centre-back who’s wanted by Manchester United. Suffice to say, this World Cup will be all about gaining experience rather than progressing through the group.
DENMARK vs CHILE
(14 June – Seattle)
By half-time, Denmark had 59% possession, completed 94% of their passes, and generated twice as much xG as their opponents. Yet they were unable to break through, with the much-maligned Rasmus Højlund unable to convert his chances…
…until the 50th minute. Denmark’s big man up front finally came good when he headed in a corner from Mikkel Damsgaard, who then doubled the lead himself three minutes later. Only the woodwork denied the dynamic Danes a third goal, with Joachim Andersen hitting the crossbar TWICE.
Chile were no doubt regretting the two opportunities Ben Brereton Díaz had to break through in the opening stages – both of which were brilliantly stopped by Danish keeper Mads Hermansen. La Roja soon ran out of steam, and a 2-0 defeat dealt an early blow to their hopes of progression.
GERMANY vs THAILAND
(14 June – Mexico City)
Germany started as they meant to go on, with Kai Havertz converting Julian Brandt’s byline cross at the back stick after just five minutes. When Havertz returned the favour to Brandt for the second goal, it looked like being a very long night for Thailand’s inexperienced debutants.
Yet the anticipated bloodbath didn’t materialise, as the War Elephants pulled everyone back to keep the scoreline respectable. Mannschaft left-back David Raum did find a way through in the 82nd minute, but he was in an offside position, so it didn’t count.
In the end, Germany seemed content to retain possession and conserve energy rather than pile on the punishment. While a 2-0 scoreline didn’t look all that emphatic, Thomas Tuchel always seemed to prefer substance over style anyway.
THAILAND vs DENMARK
(17 June – Seattle)
Thailand put in another brave performance here… and after just 13 minutes here, they were already on track for one of the World Cup’s biggest shock results. Left-back Eric Kahl’s drilled cross evaded frontman Supachai Jaided, but not the diminutive attacking midfielder Supachok Sarachat, who bagged a historic opening goal for the War Elephants!
That dream lead would last a little over 20 minutes, until another devastating Damsgaard corner was finished by the curly-haired shadow striker Maurits Kjærgaard. [Boooo!] The same Danish pair combined for another goal five minutes into the second half, when Kjærgaard emphatically finished Damsgaard’s cross. [BOOOOO!]
Hans Christian Andersen’s compatriots were clearly in no mood for fairytales, as goalie Hermansen showed when he denied Jaided a late Thai equaliser. Nervy as they might have been, a 2-1 win was all Denmark needed to safely qualify for the next round.
CHILE vs GERMANY
(18 June – Mexico City)
Germany stormed into the lead after only four minutes. Raum charged headlong into the Chile area and unleashed a 30-yard rocket that deflected in off Daniel González. Another Mannschaft defender then doubled the lead when veteran centre-half Matthias Ginter made the most of Brandt’s byline cross.
With Chile bereft of confidence, and Brandt making a blinding start to the tournament, a third German goal was inevitable. Brandt wrapped up the points in the 68th minute, when a powerful swerving shot struck González in the chest and rebounded into the net. The luckless González was perhaps wondering if he’d got out the wrong side of the bed.
And that was it. After some more clever Tuchel game management, Germany completed a 3-0 win and sealed their place in the knockouts. Chile remained goalless and pointless, and were now in real danger of being frozen out.
GERMANY vs DENMARK
(22 June – Mexico City)
Group L’s so-called ‘title decider’ began with Denmark racing into a 2-0 lead after just 11 minutes. Kjærgaard carried on straight from where he left off in the last game – nodding in a corner from Andreas Skov Olsen, who then got his name on the scoresheet just moments later! Germany’s impeccable defensive record had been shattered!
Tuchel was probably having kittens when Dolberg became the latest Dane to find Germany’s net midway through the first half. Fortunately, Dolberg was denied by VAR, who then angered Danish fans again right at the start of the second period. Malik Tillman was ruled to have been fouled in the are by Joakim Maehle, which in turn allowed German captain Joshua Kimmich to halve the deficit from the penalty spot.
However, there would be no Deutscher comeback (I’m sure there’s a fancy German word for it but I can’t find it). Denmark shut them down superbly for the rest of the match, and Hermansen’s last-gasp save from Chris Führich ensured that they took the spoils 2-1.
THAILAND vs CHILE
(22 June – Seattle)
Heading into the final group game, both these teams knew exactly what they had to do to sneak into the knockout rounds as one of the 3rd-placed teams. Chile needed to win AND score at least twice. Thailand just needed to win.
After 14 minutes, Thailand were in dreamland. First, right-back Nicholas Mickelson swung in a delivery that would’ve made his golfing namesake Phil proud, and Jaided headed it past a flailing Brayan Cortés in the Chilean goal! Mickelson then set up another goal shortly afterwards, with inverted winger Channarong Promsrikaew making it 2-0!
Chile – who hadn’t even scored once yet in this tournament – now needed THREE goals to save themselves. They got the chance to get their first early in the second half. Marcelino Núñez won a penalty after being felled by Kenny Dougall, and Chile’s midfield general Erick Pulgar…
…poured it straight down Thai keeper Patiwat Khammai’s throat. Good lord.
Centre-back Nicolás Díaz was rather more clinical when he half-volleyed home from Sebastián Vegas’ flicked header, giving Chile 19 minutes to score two more. Thailand now had their backs to the wall and were clinging on for dear life…
Full-time whistle! Thailand 2, Chile 1! Against all the odds, THAILAND WERE THROUGH!
Just for confirmation, the eight 3rd-placed team who qualified for the next round were (in order) the Republic of Ireland, Uruguay, Türkiye, Tunisia, Paraguay, Thailand, Algeria and Costa Rica.
Slovakia were on the bubble right up until Thailand squeezed them out. Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and New Zealand had also been eliminated.
So now we had our last 32 teams, but who would they play in the first knockout round?
Ooof, there are some cracking ties in there! We’ll talk more about those next time…
The Fairer World Cup resumes next week, with the start of the knockout rounds. Don’t miss it!
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