17-year-old Gilberto Mora arrives for Mexico

What were you guys doing when you were 17? Starting at the World Cup and setting up a goal in front of 100,000 of your home fans? I was smoking absolute schwag and having fireworks fights in a cornfield.

France are in demon mode

This match went exactly as everyone expected, with France dominating Sweden without ever having to work too hard. Les Bleus played a slow possession game for the first 30 minutes, then had no problem putting their opponents away when they really stepped on the gas. 3-0 wins don’t get much more comfortable than this.

We usually put Bluesky embeds of goals in here because they’re not georestricted, but I can’t pick out just one of the France goals to show you. Either VPN to the United States or find out which YouTube channel in your country shows all the goals and watch this. Easily my favorite goals of the entire tournament. “This is why we watch” stuff.

Kylian Mbappe is on an absolute heater and is on track to win the tournament’s Golden Ball as he challenges Lionel Messi for the all-time World Cup goals record. But as I have also argued w/r/t the other Ballon d’Or and club accomplishments, perhaps the best player is Michael Olise. 15 completed passes in the box. Outrageous.

The bracket is shaping up well for France, who will be heavy favorites in the next round vs. Paraguay, then again against the Canada-Morocco winner. Spain is the only team on their half of the bracket that I foresee causing them any problems, but La Roja are also pretty banged up. It really feels like France’s World Cup to lose. —KM

Norway advance in heartbreaker for Cote d’Ivoire

There was a certain sadness seeing Côte d'Ivoire and Norway match up in the round of 32. These are two sides who’ve become favorites for many watchers (Côte d'Ivoire’s game to game malleability, Norway’s top heavy side trying to win in space), and having one of them exit before the calendar flips to July felt a bit harsh given some of the other matchups in the knockout stages.

The first half was a largely even affair decided by a moment of brilliance from Antonio Nusa in the 39th minute. Before that, it was a cagey affair with not a ton of opportunities for either team. Côte d'Ivoire were able to get some traction from wide interplay, including marauding runs from Ghislain Konan on the left side. Norway’s attack looked stunted due to Sander Berge being an isolated figure during buildup, so the front line was often devoid of service. Fortunately for them, they have the gamebreakers to overcome structural issues, which was the case with Nusa whose curling effort broke the deadlock.

Substitutions shaped the second half, particularly the introductions of Amad and Oscar Bobb. Adad turned Côte d'Ivoire’s 4-3-3 into a 4-2-3-1, with him floating between the interior and right flank. It was his combination with Nicolas Pépé which equalled it at 1-1, as Amad delivered arguably the goal of the tournament which looked Messi-esque. A few minutes before the goal, Alexander Sørloth made way for Oscar Bobb to give Norway a creative threat out wide, and his incisive pass towards Patrick Berg (who had made a run through the right channel into the box) broke Côte d'Ivoire’s defensive block. Despite having three opponents near him, he was able to square it to Erling Haaland, who slowly tapped it into an open net for the late winner.

You can argue that Côte d'Ivoire sitting back deeply after Amad’s wondergoal was a failure on their part, and if they had to do it all over again, they would’ve tried to be more proactive. Despite losing in the round of 32, they can take solace that they more or less played even against another dark horse in Norway. They have some high-end talents on the younger side of the aging curve who’ll have more seasoning by 2030 (Yan Diomande, Amad, Ange-Yoan Bonny, Christ Inao Oulaï). Norway’s prize is a date with Brazil in the round of 16, which will feature another battle between Gabriel and Haaland. Neither team were entirely convincing in their respective R32 victory, which could make their encounter a lively affair. —MM

Mexico strike down Ecuador at the Azteca

Lightning and thunder caused the last kick-off of the day to be delayed by an hour, and also served to heighten a dramatic build-up to the big game. Indeed, it was an electric atmosphere that greeted the two teams when they took to the field, and one looked far more up for it than the other.

Ecuador spent the opening exchanges defending in a deeper block, inviting Mexico to build early pressure. Realising the futility of this approach, they soon looked to step up in a fully player-oriented press against goal kicks, but ended up getting played through fairly easily. Such transitions out of the build-up presented the hosts with their best opportunities, and they took one before long. Roberto Alvarado cut across the pitch and lifted a lovely pass for Julián Quiñones, who started his run inside his own half and finished it with a thunderous near-post strike to make it 1-0.

El Tri also found joy in baiting Ecuador’s press and going direct to Raúl Jiménez, who was supported by his fellow forwards when it came to knockdowns and second balls. The former Fulham striker got his name on the scoresheet after causing a bit of chaos with his physical presence in the final third, capping off the move with a one-two with Quiñones followed by a precise strike from the edge of the box.

That was pretty much that for the match. Javier Aguirre’s side focused on shutting up shop thereafter and were comfortably able to see out the win, hardly facing much of a challenge from Ecuador’s toothless attack.

Mexico will certainly go into the Round of 16 with a lot of confidence, having continued their clean sheet and winning streaks to record their first World Cup knockout win since 1986. Their only two previous triumphs in such fixtures have also come on home soil, so England or DR Congo will certainly be in for a tough time at the Azteca next week. —NS

17-year-old Gilberto Mora lives up to the hype

You're going to be hearing a lot of transfer rumours around Mexico midfielder Gilberto Mora after this World Cup is done. If you’re part of our European audience, you may already know Mora after he was connected with mooted interest from Real Madrid, or Manchester City, or Barcelona, or Chelsea, or…you get the point.

Across the Atlantic, the Mora hype train has been roaring for around two years now. An assist in his Club Tijuana debut back in August 2024 was quickly followed by his first goal, and from there the talk quickly shifted from "this kid's got something" to "this is the best prospect Mexico has had in at least 20 years" territory.

Tijuana completed some very smart business before the World Cup actually began. Mora signed a new three-year contract in early June, with ESPN reporting that the deal contains a "highly tailored and clearly structured release mechanism." Essentially, everyone knows the big bid for Mora is coming. Xolos ensured that their young star is happy — and that the rich clubs out there know they can still make their approach — while ensuring that they can keep him around longer in case that big bid doesn’t happen.

The youngest player at this World Cup is already one of the best ball-progressors in Liga MX, even while playing for a mid-table Xolos side that missed the league's playoffs this spring. And with the game’s increased emphasis on set pieces, Mora’s excellent dead ball deliveries will be a huge plus for whoever ends up buying him.

Obviously there's work to be done out of possession, but Mora's on-ball quality would be impressive if he were 10 years older. That quality has seen Mora shift slightly from an attacking midfielder/winger/second striker profile into a slightly deeper role over the past year. Under Javier Aguirre, who has largely played 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, Mora's press resistance and ability to carry have been weaponized as an 8/10 tweener.

Aguirre was willing to start Mora against the U.S. in last year's Gold Cup final, but he slow rolled integrating his young star into the starting lineup at this World Cup. Despite that, it was clear from his sub appearances during the group stage that Mora deserved to be in the starting XI, and he got the nod in the Round of 32 against Ecuador.

He was effective as the right 8 that frequently drifted and carried wide, pulling apart the opposition midfield and creating space for right winger Roberto Alvarado and striker Raul Jimenez. While he didn’t record the assist, he was actively involved in the 2nd goal, had 2 chances created on the night, and was a nuisance who earned fouls with his dribbling. It was an outstanding performance from a 17-year-old in a World Cup knockout match. —JA

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