Haaland Stuns Brazil as England Haunt Mexico

Simon Carver

So, Billy, I- I- I'm still trying to catch my breath after this round of sixteen. I mean, we- we- we talk about drama in football, but what we just saw... it's like the football gods decided to, to, to write a Shakespearean tragedy and a Hollywood thriller all in the same weekend. And- and the place we have to start, the absolute seismic shock, has to be New Jersey. Brazil are out, Billy. Norway—Norway, who have never in their entire history reached a World Cup quarterfinal—beat them two-one. And it wasn't even like Norway dominated. Brazil completely run the show for eighty minutes. They missed a penalty with Bruno Guimarães, Endrick misses a one-on-one... they did everything but put the ball in the net. And then... Erling Haaland happened. Just clinical, ruthless, twice in the final ten minutes. Bang, bang.

Billy Galligan - Author

Ah, Simon, it was absolute larceny, wasn't it? Beautiful, brutal larceny. Brazil must be looking at each other wondering what kind of a spell was cast on that net. Eighty minutes of samba, and then the big fella from Leeds... well, Leeds-born, anyway... he just, he just decides to turn the lights out on them. Haaland is like a- a- a force of nature, Simon. No fuss, no lovely step-overs, just... goal. And then you see Neymar at the end, taking that penalty in injury time—completely pointless in the grand scheme, just a consolation—and the camera is stuck on him. Forty-one? No, he's not quite that old, but it felt like we were watching the end of an era. The weight on that man's shoulders over the years, and it ends with him staring into the middle distance in New Jersey. It's a hard game, so it is.

Simon Carver

It really is. And speaking of weight on shoulders and historic ghosts, I- I- I don't think I've seen a better game of football this decade than England versus Mexico at the Azteca. I mean, forty years, Billy. Forty years since Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" sent England packing in eighty-six. And England go back to that very same turf, they go two-nil up with Jude Bellingham scoring two goals in two minutes—literally the thirty-sixth and thirty-eighth minute—and you think, okay, they've got this. Then Quiñones scores a volley before the break. Then Jarell Quansah gets a straight red card in the fifty-fourth. It's ten men, backs to the wall, and they still pull off a three-two win. Harry Kane gets his penalty, Raul Jiménez gets one back... sixty-seven percent possession for Mexico, twenty shots to England's six, and somehow, England survive.

Billy Galligan - Author

Sure, why not? If you're going to exorcise a ghost, you might as well do it with ten men and your lungs burning in the high altitude of Mexico City! I- I- I was watching that, Simon, and when the red card came out, I thought, "Ah, here we go, the classic English tragedy." But Kane... he’s a different breed, isn't he? Thirteen World Cup goals now, six in this tournament alone. He's just... he keeps his head when everyone else is losing theirs. My old military days in the peacekeepers, you'd look for the fellas who didn't panic when the map went out the window, and Kane is that man. To win three-two at the Azteca under that kind of pressure... that's the stuff of legends. It really is.

Simon Carver

It's immense. And while England was high drama, the Iberian derby between Spain and Portugal was... well, it was attritional, wasn't it? A real chess match. Spain wins it one-nil with a Mikel Merino goal in injury time. But the image that is going to define that match... it's not Merino's goal. It's Cristiano Ronaldo. Forty-one years of age. Sitting on the bench, watch—watch—watching the final minutes tick away, knowing his last World Cup, his last international tournament, is ending not with a heroic moment, but with him as a spectator. It was almost painful to watch.

Billy Galligan - Author

Oh, it’s a killer, Simon. It’s a proper killer. To see a giant like that... a fella who has ruled the world, just... sitting there on the pine. The camera keeps panning to him, and you can see he’s trying to hold it together, but he knows. The road has run out. You can’t drive the bus forever, you know? Eventually, you have to hand over the keys. But to go out without even a final swing of the boot... ah, it leaves a bit of a hollow feeling in the stomach, so it does. But Spain... they’re a machine, aren’t they? Just organized, tidy, waiting for you to make one mistake, and then... Merino pops up. They’ll be a hard nut to crack in the next round, that’s for sure.

Simon Carver

Well, if we're talking about machines, Argentina almost broke down completely. Oh my word, Billy, Argentina versus Egypt. Two-nil down to Egypt with eleven minutes to go! Messi had already missed a penalty in the first half. The Egypt keeper, Mostafa Shobeir—who, by the way, has this incredible legacy, his father played in goal for Egypt against Ireland in Italia ninety, thirty-six years ago...

Billy Galligan - Author

Wait, Shobeir's young lad? No way! I remember his father in ninety! Oh, the Ireland game... don't start me on that, we nearly died of boredom, but the keeper was grand! That’s a lovely touch, so it is.

Simon Carver

It's a beautiful footnote! But Shobeir the younger was absolute-ly spectacular. He looked like he was going to single-handedly knock Argentina out. And then... in the seventy-ninth minute, Cristian Romero heads in from a Messi cross. Two-one. Eighty-third minute, Messi scores himself. Two-two. And then, in the ninety-second minute, Enzo Fernández heads it home. Three-two. It was... I mean, you talk about champions finding a way. Messi now has eight goals in this tournament. He's leading the Golden Boot.

Billy Galligan - Author

He’s a magician, Simon. He really is. You think he's dead and buried, you think Argentina are packed and ready for the airport, and then he just... he finds a yard of space that doesn't exist. But- but- but let's be honest, they've been playing with fire this whole tournament. They nearly went out to Cape Verde, now they nearly go out to Egypt. They're like an old car that won't start in the morning, and then suddenly you give it a kick and it runs like a Ferrari. But eventually... eventually, you run out of road if you keep starting that slowly.

Simon Carver

They are playing with fire, absolutely. Now, on the other side of things, Belgium just... absolutely dismantled the United States. Four-one in Seattle. Charles De Ketelaere was just unplayable. Two goals, an assist. But there was so much noise before this game, Billy, with FIFA canceling Folarin Balogun's suspension without an appeal process. It felt... I don't know, it felt cheap. It felt like a decision made for TV ratings rather than sporting integrity.

Billy Galligan - Author

Ah, it was a right mess, Simon. A grubby little bit of business, so it was. To cancel a suspension with no proper process... it just looks bad. It puts a shadow over what’s been a brilliant tournament. And the irony of it is, Balogun played and he barely got a kick of the ball! Belgium were just miles ahead. Romelu Lukaku got his goal in stoppage time, De Ketelaere was pulling all the strings... the US lads were just chasing shadows in Seattle. You can have all the FIFA favors you want, but if you can't stop De Ketelaere, you're going home anyway.

Simon Carver

Exactly. And now, the quarterfinals are set, and they are mouthwatering. Norway against England in Miami—Haaland versus Kane, two of the absolute best in the business. France against Morocco in Boston, which is a repeat of the 2022 semi-final, Morocco looking for serious revenge. Argentina against Switzerland in Kansas City... and Spain versus Belgium in Los Angeles. I- I- I don't even know where to start predicting these.

Billy Galligan - Author

Well, if you're asking me, Simon, France and Morocco... that’s the one. Morocco have been so tight, only five shots against Canada and they win three-nil! They’re defensive geniuses. But Mbappé is on seven goals, Messi’s on eight, Haaland’s on seven, Kane’s on six... the Golden Boot race alone is worth the price of admission. It’s going to be a wild ride, so it is. Sure, why not?

Simon Carver

It is going to be spectacular. We'll be keeping a very close eye on that Golden Boot race in the next episode. But for now, that's the state of play. What a tournament. Alright, Billy, good chatting, we'll talk soon.

Billy Galligan - Author

Good man, Simon. Talk to you then. Safe home, lads.