Spoils shared in entertaining Group F fixture

There were plenty of sparks but no explosion as Morocco and Croatia played to a goalless draw on Wednesday afternoon.

Both teams created numerous chances, with Croatia doing most of the inventive stuff, but Morocco answered that with energy and enthusiasm.

Match report here.

Japanese put a big dent in German aspirations

Japan left it late but they made it great as their 2-1 win over Germany provided the perfect after-shock following Argentina’s loss to Saudi Arabia a day earlier.

Speed and stamina were the perfect foil to the Germans’ precision and organisation, especially as the game wore on.

Match report here.

Peerless Spain in seventh heaven

Seven shots on target and seven goals were the outcome.

Spain sent a clear warning to all-comers with an impeccable display of complete football to overpower Costa Rica 7-0 in a Group F match on Wednesday evening.

Match report here.

Belgium win but fail to impress

Despite beating Canada 1-0, a game Belgium should have easily won on paper, they created relatively few clear chances and allowed the Maple Leaves an incredible 22 shots at goal.

The fact that only two of these were on target is all that saved Belgium from embarrassment. A better team would have demolished them.

Match report here.

#TacklingQatar2022: Manned by soccer fundi Dave Savides, the Corner Shop is the place to be for Soccer World Cup news. Savides, the long-time editor of the Zululand Observer, is tackling the coverage of the world’s greatest footie extravaganza for Caxton Local Media.