Opening half-hour holds key for Socceroos
By Vince Rugari
Despite how it might have felt immediately after their 4-1 defeat to the reigning world champions, all is not lost. The final margin should have been a lot uglier, but it wasn’t, and so Australia can still make the round of 16 if they’re good enough.
The Socceroos will mine their thrilling first 30 minutes against France for any shred of inspiration they can find in the hope that repeating it for longer can help them resuscitate their ailing World Cup campaign in Qatar.
The Socceroos during their first game against France.Credit:AP
Read the full story here.
Chance goes begging for Belgium
67 min: Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne finds himself with plenty of space down the right flank with three teammates inside him including Batshuayi, who is unable to get the shot away in time.
Belgium 1 Canada 0.
‘When things go like this, football becomes a wonderful sport’
By Anita Kobylinska
Spain coach Luis Enrique heaped praise on his players after they demolished Costa Rica 7-0 and said they will approach the game against Germany with the same level of ambition.
Former champions Spain won by their biggest goal margin at a World Cup, with a Ferran Torres brace and strikes from five other players taking them past the 100-goal mark in soccer’s showpiece event.
Spain coach Luis Enrique.Credit:AP
“When things go like this, football becomes a wonderful sport,” Luis Enrique told a news conference.
“We were exceptional in our ball handling and finishing, with the same philosophy that the national team has had for years. We were exceptional in pressing and the 17 players who took part were very good.
“It is the national team that scores the most goals in all the championships we have been in. We may not have a benchmark player who scores 30 goals but we have Ferran, Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, Gavi… I’ve never been worried about finding goals.”
Enrique foreshadowed changes for the match between two of the last three World Cup winners.
“I don’t know who will play, but I will probably not repeat the lineup. We won’t play seven games with (the same) 11 players. I’m sure I’m going to change.”
Spain face Germany in Group E on Sunday as the Germans look to put their surprise 2-1 loss to Japan behind them.
Reuters
Belgium 1 Canada 0 (53 min)
The action is still ongoing in Qatar with the second half in Group F’s other match kicking off recently.
Michy Batshuayi.Credit:AP
Belgium lead Canada 1-0 thanks to a goal to former Chelsea man Michy Batshuayi in the shadows of half-time.
The Canadians, at their first World Cup since 1986, were genuinely impressive throughout qualifying and this one is absolutely not over yet.
Germany stunned by Japan
The big news overnight is a first-up loss for another of the tournament’s big guns. A day after Saudi Arabia scored the biggest win in their history against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, four-time champions Germany fell to Japan thanks to late goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano.
Spain, champions in 2010, made history of their own with a 7-0 rout of Costa Rica while in the early kick-off Morocco and Croatia got Group F under way with a scoreless draw.
Japanese players celebrate after their shock win over Germany.Credit:AP
Catch up with all the overnight action here.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to day three of our morning World Cup briefing, bringing you all the overnight news and results as well as the latest news on the ground from our team in Qatar and beyond.
