Brian Brobbey bulldozes baby backline

There were 12 World Cup games this weekend. A question for those of you watching all of them: Have you gone outside recently? It’s good for you. I think you should try getting outside.

Alex Freeman is the USA’s rising star

Many things went the U.S.'s way in a 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle. Tony Popovic's strange decision to drop Nestory Irankunda deprived the Socceroos of their best threat on the counter, and some very close calls in crucial situations (including a goal) happened to break for the USMNT. Still, the win was earned with a bright start and standing up to a physical foe, and kept the game from settling into Australia's terms until the final 20 minutes or so, which with a lead was handy enough to get the win over the finish line.

In the early stages, the U.S. dealt with the Australian 5-4-1 low block by going around it rather than through it. Mauricio Pochettino's surprise decision to replace Christian Pulisic with Ricardo Pepi, shifting his side from a 3-2-4-1 in possession to a 3-5-2 (with a distinct 3-4-1-2 showing up in pressing scenarios), paid off handsomely on an early own goal.

From there, the dominance of Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest on the right pulled Australia to one side, opening up the prospect of a breakthrough via overloads there, or quickly switching play to the left. The same low block that befuddled Türkiye was rounded, stretched, and broken through as the U.S. offered a higher tempo, more athleticism, and more incisive movement.

But don't overlook Alex Freeman, who scored the game's second goal. While obviously critical, the goal wasn't the product of much more than following up a rebound, being brave, and being onside by a few inches. It was a great moment for the young defender, but it wasn't the foundation of a second straight top performance.

Freeman's role in Pochettino's system, in this changed version as well as Plan A, is that of a flex back. In possession, he slots in on the right side of a back three, while out of possession he functions as a right back. It's a perfect deployment for a player who can do just about everything: he's the best U.S. defender at stepping out to challenge between the lines, a savvy operator on the ball in that same pocket in possession, fast enough to blaze past opponents on the overlap, and good enough in the air to — just for example — beat a goalkeeper to a punch attempt.

Freeman's ability to consistently find avenues to progress play up the right was the fuel for the fire McKennie and Dest created higher up the flank, as Australia (like Paraguay) couldn't figure out how to disconnect that trio. That leads to a pass chart that looks like this:

If your right-center back is hitting so many of his passes in the opponent's half, you're probably creating the kind of field tilt that the U.S. strives for.

After the match, Pochettino told reporters that Freeman "has the has potential to be one of the best players in his position in the world." That might sound premature, but the 21-year-old's trajectory is basically the Stonks meme.

Six years ago, he was being rejected by Inter Miami's academy, ending up with Orlando City instead. He didn't break into a starting role with Orlando until last March, and his first U.S. start only came in the 2025 Gold Cup, an event that Pochettino used to evaluate fringe players (only 13 of 26 players in that squad are on this World Cup roster). Displacing Santiago Mouriño at Villarreal will take some doing, but it's hard to bet against someone on such a rapid rise. —JA

Dark horses Turkiye crash out again

Despite being burned pretty badly by them at Euro 2020, many of us were emboldened to call Türkiye dark horses once again going into this World Cup. It seemed to be a sensible shout — they were quarter-finalists at the last Euros, now had a couple of supremely talented young attackers in their squad, and could access a simpler knockout pathway in the initial rounds by winning an open group.

It’s definitely shame on us now, because we’ve been fooled twice.

After going down in just 64 seconds to a really nice Matías Galarza finish, Vincenzo Montella’s side once again found themselves up against a sturdy low block. They initially looked to probe in the final third, but gave up a few dangerous counters due to their weak rest defensive setup. After Miguel Almirón became the first victim of the new mouth-covering rule and Paraguay went down to ten, though, it was time to let it rip.

Türkiye ended up putting up 32 shots this time, half of which were from outside the box. 12 were blocked, and just five were on target. They remained incredibly static in the final third and couldn’t do much from set-pieces either. They only came close to equalising a couple of times, most notably through substitute striker Deniz Gül in the 89th minute, but can hardly complain about the result given their performance.

With that, Türkiye confirmed their group stage exit with a game to spare. They leave us with this gem of a shotmap, which features more shots from outside the box than inside, and just one attempt worth more than 0.3 xG. —NS

Morocco win, but still trying to find top gear

Scotland vs Morocco was one of the most intriguing matches of the 2nd round of World Cup group stage matches. Morocco more than held their own versus Brazil in a 1-1 draw, while Scotland barely held on for a 1-0 victory versus a resilient Haiti side.

Almost before you could blink, Morocco took the lead with a ball over the top from Brahim Diaz towards Ismael Saibari, who hammered home the opportunity. Morocco were able to find some success on the right side during settled possession. With Kiertan Tierney regularly man-marking Achraf Hakimi, the latter’s varied movement helped open up the right side for other Moroccan players to take advantage of. Scotland weren’t adjusting for that, conceding the space a bit too easily.

Both the tailend of the first and second halves saw Scotland show resiliency by creating more waves of attack going forward. There were even two penalty shouts for them that on another day could’ve gone for them and changed the dynamics of the match. Morocco’s ability to threaten Scotland veered more towards attacking off of quick regains in the 2nd half.

There are questions that’ll Morocco still have to answer, mainly about how consistent they are in creating chances vs medium and low blocks in settled possession. At times, it feels like the lack of runs in behind put a hard ceiling on what they could accomplish. For now though, Morocco have shown enough to be considered one of the better sides at the World Cup so far, and might be able to go deep in the knockout stages for the second time in a row. —MM

Brazil are better than Haiti

We will respect your time during this 12-game newsletter and not ask you to read detailed analysis of Brazil comfortably dispatching of Haiti. Please enjoy this absolutely gorgeous goal by Vini Jr. and the Telemundo commentary. —KM

Netherlands boot Sweden all the way to Euro 2028

This game had very funny stats. Sweden had 16 shots to the Netherlands’ 10, 26 box touches to 20, and 5 corners to 2. This happened because the game felt effectively over in the 17th minute, and was genuinely over by the 54th. Don’t you love game state effects?

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman introduced Brian Brobbey for Crysencio Summerville in this match, moving Donyell Malen out to the wing. This turned out to be a masterstroke, with Brobbey getting and scoring two absolutely huge chances from inside 10 yards before Sweden realized the match had started. He had no problem physically bullying Sweden’s central defenders, with the back three of Gustaf Lagerbielke, Isak Hien and Victor Lindelöf having absolute nightmare days.

Summerville added a goal and an assist after coming on for Malen at halftime, which might spell the end of the AS Roma attacker’s spell in the starting XI. On the evidence of this game, the front three of Summerville, Brobbey, and Cody Gakpo might be the most menacing in the tournament.

Sweden’s Premier League strike partnership that looked outstanding against Tunisia actually looked almost as dangerous in this match, but never had the platform to do much of anything. Viktor Gyökeres led his team in both shots and chances created, while Alexander Isak assisted Anthony Elanga’s consolation goal. If the Swedes can sort their defense out, they can still cause problems for Japan —KM

Tunisia probably wishes they didn’t come here

Even a sexy new manager couldn’t help Tunisia. Thanks to a 4-0 win in this one, Japan are now all but through to the knockouts, barring absolute disaster against Sweden and weird stuff happening among 3rd place teams in other groups. Please enjoy this very nice goal. —KM

Germany vs. Ivory Coast was too good for the group stage

There was ample excitement heading into the encounter between Germany and Côte d'Ivoire. Germany had thoroughly defeated Curaçao by a 7-1 scoreline, reinforcing the belief of them as contenders for the World Cup. Meanwhile, Côte d'Ivoire got a 90th minute winner from Amad Diallo versus Ecuador after being powered through the match by an impressive performance from Yan Diomande.

The best thing that can be said about this match is it felt overqualified for the group stages, and would’ve been better placed in the round of 16 or quarterfinals. Germany’s 3-1-6 setup is among the most aggressive you’ll find in this tournament, trying to find quick short passing combinations through overloads. While Côte d'Ivoire did counter with a three man midfield to provide more resistance (which helped make it tougher for Germany to progress on their right side), there were issues concerning the distances when trying to transition into a high press. This allowed Germany to consistently progress towards the final third through the left center.

For Côte d'Ivoire, their success in-possession came from utilizing Inao Oulaï’s ability to break Germany’s block through individual dribbling and switches towards the flank. On the left side, Ghislain Konan at left-back was making underlapping runs to help create space for Diomande to receive for 1v1s on the left against Joshua Kimmich. Diomande helped create the opening goal of the match for Côte d'Ivoire via a heavy push dribble and driven pass towards the six yard box, which eventually got to Kessié at the back post for a tap-in.

Côte d'Ivoire’s ability to win duels in the midfield helped create some dangerous transition opportunities, which they didn’t take advantage of. Almost on cue, Deniz Undav’s substitution appearance in the 2nd half became crucial for Germany to alter the momentum of the match. His straight-line movement and ability to control driven passes through the middle helped pierce Côte d'Ivoire’s defensive block for the equalizer and late winner. Before the 90+4 winner, Côte d'Ivoire had a golden opportunity to retake the lead from a counter attack led by Nicolas Pépé in the 87th minute, but Simon Adingra footwork before the pass came to him in the box was too sloppy and eliminated the opportunity for a first time shot.

Questions concerning Germany’s ability to contain counters will continue, but for now, they’ve won their group and could be set for a long tournament run. Côte d'Ivoire will take solace in that they went toe to toe with one of the best teams at the World Cup, and have the goods to beat anyone on their day. —MM

Blue Wave win their first-ever point against Ecuador

If any team was going to take a participation prize from this tournament, it was likely to be Curaçao, the smallest-ever nation to qualify for a World Cup.

The lone goal in a 7-1 debut defeat to Germany wouldn’t have been a bad high point for their inaugural World Cup campaign, but Dick Advocaat’s boys had other ideas.

Taking on an Ecuador side that lost their opener against Côte d'Ivoire late on, Curaçao put together an unforgettable display in which they posed an even threat for long stretches. Admittedly, Sebastián Beccacece’s side were poor — they fielded what looked to be an attempt at an attacking line-up but turned out disjointed defensively — but the Blue Wave did well to consistently get numbers forward on the break and could easily have fashioned some big chances had they kept their heads in the final third.

The minnows ran out of legs as the second half wore on, allowing Ecuador to pile on the pressure. The South Americans ended up registering 27 shots including 15 on target, but Curaçao held on to earn a hard-fought first-ever World Cup point.

For Ecuador, this may well go down as the point their campaign came crashing down. They will need to beat Germany if they are to advance to the knockouts, but otherwise, the pre-tournament dark horses will be condemned to a group stage exit due to their attacking failings. —NS

Spain wake up vs. Saudi Arabia

I can’t imagine anyone was terribly concerned about Spain after their match against Cape Verde, where they played fine, but looked a little rusty and faced an all-time great goalkeeping performance. But just in case you were worried, I hope you’ve chilled out a bit after a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.

Spain put up the exact same xG as they did vs. Cape Verde, but they got the ball to go in the goal. This was some Classic Spain, with 668 passes completed at 92% accuracy.

This result should at least secure advancement for Spain, but a top 2 place in the group isn’t assured yet. Thanks to what happened in the other game from this group, no one is through to the next round or eliminated just yet. —KM

The Cape Verde underdog story continues

Uruguay and Cape Verde might’ve delivered the most memorable match of the tournament so far? If not, it’s definitely on the shortlist. The tempo was hectic for long stretches, which ran contrary to what happened versus Spain for Cape Verde when they were pinned in their own third the whole time. This should’ve favored Uruguay in theory due to the talent advantage, but that didn’t end up being the case by the final whistle.

The fireworks began early, with Uruguay nearly taking the lead from a swift transition opportunity but Federico Valverde ended up dragging the shot wide. After that, one of the key themes from this match was how often the players for Cape Verde were able to escape pressure and carry into space. It’s what led to the opening goal, as Telmo Arcanjo won a free kick from an electric solo run which originated deep in his own half.

And then the free kick happened. It’s a good hit from Kevin Pina, especially considering the distance, but that was a pathetic two man wall from Uruguay. The gap should’ve never opened to begin with, and the shot snuck past Fernando Muslera, who himself could’ve done better but at least had the excuse of not expecting the wall to open in a comical manner.

I’m gonna include this vid of the live reaction to the opener back home in Cape Verde, because this rocks.

Cape Verde held firm for a little while after the lead, and even had a couple of opportunities to create something dangerous on the break. Unfortunately for them, Uruguay scored twice towards the end of the first half to take the lead. Both came from not being able to deal with the initial cross or lob towards the box, and a Uruguayan player sneaking into prime real estate for the 2nd ball and scoring on a big chance.

It was fair to wonder whether Cape Verde had the goods to come back from a 2-1 deficit, but fortunately for them, Uruguay were more than happy to help out through another play. Mathías Olivera executed a terrible sideways pass, and Muslera made a rash decision to come all the way out for a 50-50 ball, which he lost to Hélio Varela. Varela did well with his first touch and calmly finishing into the open net.

From there, the match continued to be very CONCACAF-esque in terms of the chaos and lack of settled play. Both Cape Verde and Uruguay nearly won it in added time, but heroic last ditch defending kept it at 2-2 as the final whistle eventually was blown. I’m not sure if another match in the 2026 World Cup will be played at the pace this was at, and it’ll certainly be fondly remembered for years to come. Cape Verde has a golden opportunity to reach the round of 32, further adding to the impressive performances from African teams in the tournament so far. For Uruguay, their hopes of making it to the knockout stages relies on them getting a result against Spain on Friday. —MM

Iran start 6 defenders vs. Belgium, get a goalless draw

This was just the third goalless draw of the tournament so far, but a look at the line-ups would have told you what to expect. Belgium were without key attacking spark Jérémy Doku, while Iran fielded two full-backs on the wings ahead of a back four.

Team Melli ceded all possession and territory in the first half, content with threatening through the odd set-piece after giving up 80% of the ball. They almost scored from an Oscar-worthy free-kick routine, but a marginal offside call denied them.

Belgium created no big chances in the first half, but started to get into more promising positions as the game opened up around the hour mark. Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand rose to the occasion when needed, most notably with a fantastic reaction save to deny Maxim De Cuyper from close range.

Both teams seemed well content with a draw after Nathan Ngoy’s loose pass resulted in a DOGSO red card, so they remained level on two points. —NS

New Zealand get their hearts broken by Egypt

This looked like it was going to be an extremely competitive game for the first hour, with New Zealand taking the lead in the 15th minute and playing their opponents surprisingly even throughout the first half. Callum McCowatt nearly scored with a 53rd minute header that forced a save out of Mostafa Ahmed Shobeir, but that was the Kiwis’ last big moment of the match.

Zico equalized in the 58th minute, and 9 minutes after that, Mo Salah showed everyone that he’s still got it. Maybe not for 90 minutes, maybe not at Premier League speed, but this kind of quality never leaves your body.

New Zealand go into the final day knowing they need a win, while Egypt might just need a draw against Iran to lock up first place. But every team in Group G could still advance or get eliminated, so it should be a dramatic final day. —KM

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