WC 2018: Day 9: When push comes to shove ●

When teams go back to their foundation and play as they are known for, nice things happen. But it only happens during desperate times.

Brazil 2 - Costa Rica 0

For the whole time during the scheduled 90 minutes Brazil played the same boring game that they had suddenly discovered in the first game. And like the first game, there was nothing happening. And then suddenly they remembered their lost style. It was those few instances of unpredictable pass & exquisite leg work which brought back good memories. Well, all those serendipities finally produced the intended outcome. Hope they don’t return to their new found stupidity again.

Nigeria 2 - Iceland 0

It was the similar kind of foundational African power play that made Nigeria overpower Icelandic defence with ease. This win might impact Argentina’s qualification chances. But it was a pretty amazing game of football by the mighty Africans.