The night was full of lessons in the United States. Ivory Coast proved once again that it is more than a ‘wild’ team (as Bastian Schweinsteiger put it), and Ecuador finally woke up against Germany.
In terms of atmosphere, an Oranje wave swept everything in its path while France wants to honor Didier Deschamps against Norway.
Ambitious elephants, relieved Ecuador
In Group E, one of the toughest, Ivory Coast managed to claim the second qualifying spot against Ecuador and Germany. ‘We knew we could do it, we also knew it would be hard. We did it,’ explained coach Emerse Faé after the match. ‘Besides, we finish second. We are happy and proud, but we look even further.’
Ecuador, on the other hand, struggled after two difficult first matches, including a surprise draw against Curaçao. ‘It’s better this way,’ said Gonzalo Plata, the hero of the day. ‘It’s a valuable experience for us, and we will now approach the next round with an even greater thirst for victory. This team firmly believes in itself.’
Emerse Faé disappointed by Schweinsteiger
After this fine victory, Emerse Faé was also questioned about Bastian Schweinsteiger’s comments. Recall that the 2014 world champion said that ‘African football was sometimes unorthodox, a bit wild, not quite as tactical’ before the match between the Elephants and Germany (2-1).
‘I was disappointed by the man when I heard those comments. When you know football like he does, it’s strange to have such remarks, which we can frankly call racist,’ he began. ‘Everyone has the right to say what they think,’ Faé continued. ‘But I disagree with him. I have no other choice but to accept and deal with it. We can only show on the pitch that African football is also about technique and tactics. I don’t know what was in his head… Football is like that, there are many pundits trying to create buzz. Now that he is somewhat in anonymity, he tries to make himself talked about…’
Oranje madness takes over Kansas and its mayor
The Netherlands held their own in a tough group. After their win against weak Tunisia, they finished top and can look forward to the rest of the competition calmly.
This ignited the streets of Kansas before and after their fine victory. One man both endured and, above all, enjoyed this Oranje wave: Quinton Lucas.
The current mayor of Kansas went crazy when he took over the DJ decks for the Dutch supporters.
Although he did not mix, he moved left and right to fire up the crowd. A great moment for a politician more accustomed to speeches than to characteristic Flemish techno music.
Historic transfer during the World Cup
At 23 years old, Elliot Anderson has the biggest clubs at his feet. For several days, Manchester City were in the lead to recruit the Three Lions midfielder.
Manchester City have reached an agreement with Nottingham Forest for a staggering 150 million euros.
This would shatter the Premier League record set last year by Liverpool when they bought Alexander Isak. The English international, who started in the first two World Cup matches, now needs to agree terms with the Manchester club. That should be a formality.
South Americans dominate Europeans
Four matches, four wins. Since the start of this World Cup, South Americans have been thrashing teams from the Old Continent.
In detail, Paraguay beat Turkey (1-0) on matchday 2, as did Argentina who easily defeated Austria (2-0). And matchday 3 has not reversed the trend so far, as Brazil thrashed Scotland (3-0) while Ecuador secured a heroic victory synonymous with qualification against Germany (2-1).
Two teams can still save Europe’s honor: Spain and Portugal. The former faces Uruguay tonight, while the latter takes on Colombia on Saturday night into Sunday.
Making Deschamps ‘proud’
On the eve of the third match of Group I of the 2026 World Cup against Norway, France midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni expressed, on behalf of the Blues, full support for Didier Deschamps, who returned to France for his mother’s funeral.
‘First of all, on behalf of the entire France team, we want to once again offer our condolences to the coach and his family,’ said the Real Madrid player. ‘We know the situation is not normal. He gave us a mission. Our goal is to make him proud.’
‘We thought Belgium would already be qualified’
But before that, they need to beat New Zealand. Currently last with one point, they must win against the Red Devils to qualify. ‘It’s a match that already looks like a knockout game. We need to take points and we will make sure to get them,’ assured Darren Bazeley, the All Whites coach, on Thursday in a press conference.
Then he discussed the Red Devils’ performance. ‘We don’t know how they react to this situation. After the draw, we were happy to play Belgium in the last match. We thought they would already be qualified with 6 points and would rotate their squad. That didn’t happen, as often in football. They may not have performed as they wanted in this World Cup yet, but they know they risk going home if they don’t win. It will be interesting to see how they react to this situation.’ Belgium has been warned.
