Every football match produces its heroes and villains and the FIFA 2018 World Cup match between Spain and Portugal was no exception. In fact football turned up the day everyone wanted it and the whole tournament itself would be lit up for the first time.
An expected hero turned up all right; Cristiano Ronaldo producing a dazzling, relentless display that would eventually net him a spectacular hat trick. The third goal, a result of a free kick, was especially well-taken. His team was losing, with a few minute to spare and it was a moment that require steady nerves, precision and brilliance: that called for a hero and perfectly did he answer the call.
Another hero turned up in the shape of Diego Costa. Not everyone expected him to be one, not the least his Brazilian countrymen who have been very tardy in forgiving him for turning his allegiance to Spain. Traitors, real or perceived, are not a particularly welcomed breed anywhere on earth. As a matter of fact, certain folks rather expected some villainy from him, a player notorious for his tempers and tantrums on field. They all got disappointed, Costa putting up a display in which industry and instinct got complemented by brilliance. Check out the first goal, an endeavor in which he had everything to do and he did not shy from duty. The second goal was simply instinctive, a striker's delight.
The villain that rather turned up was a most unexpected one: David De Gea, a goalkeeper that has been excellent all season for Manchester United. His attempt at Ronaldo's penalty could hardly be excused for a world class goalkeeper and he would compound sloppiness with the howler that led to the second goal, a goalkeeping blunder straight out of Robert Green's school of errors. His poor positioning would eventually lead to the third goal. Not a few argue now he helped made Ronaldo's day, gifting him his hat trick on a platter of heinous incompetence. Well, De Gea's woes might be traced to a bite of nerves and he is expected to get far better grip on himself in subsequent games.
Spain was lovely to watch in their possessive tiki-taka but some lethargy could not help peeping up. It was clear that if they had channeled their possession into greater relentless pressure especially in the final third, Portugal would have been toast. The team clearly felt pressure from the turmoil that had bedevilled it in recent days. A mayhem that led to the sack of the coach Lopetegui two days to the tournament and his replacement with Fernando Hiero, ex-national player. But there was no taking from Nacho' s goal, a strike that was as
fortuitous as it was instinctive.
An expected hero turned up all right; Cristiano Ronaldo producing a dazzling, relentless display that would eventually net him a spectacular hat trick. The third goal, a result of a free kick, was especially well-taken. His team was losing, with a few minute to spare and it was a moment that require steady nerves, precision and brilliance: that called for a hero and perfectly did he answer the call.
Another hero turned up in the shape of Diego Costa. Not everyone expected him to be one, not the least his Brazilian countrymen who have been very tardy in forgiving him for turning his allegiance to Spain. Traitors, real or perceived, are not a particularly welcomed breed anywhere on earth. As a matter of fact, certain folks rather expected some villainy from him, a player notorious for his tempers and tantrums on field. They all got disappointed, Costa putting up a display in which industry and instinct got complemented by brilliance. Check out the first goal, an endeavor in which he had everything to do and he did not shy from duty. The second goal was simply instinctive, a striker's delight.
The villain that rather turned up was a most unexpected one: David De Gea, a goalkeeper that has been excellent all season for Manchester United. His attempt at Ronaldo's penalty could hardly be excused for a world class goalkeeper and he would compound sloppiness with the howler that led to the second goal, a goalkeeping blunder straight out of Robert Green's school of errors. His poor positioning would eventually lead to the third goal. Not a few argue now he helped made Ronaldo's day, gifting him his hat trick on a platter of heinous incompetence. Well, De Gea's woes might be traced to a bite of nerves and he is expected to get far better grip on himself in subsequent games.
Spain was lovely to watch in their possessive tiki-taka but some lethargy could not help peeping up. It was clear that if they had channeled their possession into greater relentless pressure especially in the final third, Portugal would have been toast. The team clearly felt pressure from the turmoil that had bedevilled it in recent days. A mayhem that led to the sack of the coach Lopetegui two days to the tournament and his replacement with Fernando Hiero, ex-national player. But there was no taking from Nacho' s goal, a strike that was as
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