(GFWC Matches 33/34) Mexico Fails to Progress as Faroe Islands Join Russia in Round of 16

A Chapter by Steve Clark

The following articles highlight the process of Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and their demise from the governance of international football and the rise of Global Futbol.

June 25th, 2018 (GFWC Matches 33/34)

Mexico Fails to Progress as Faroe Islands Join Russia in Round of 16

Faroe Islands 1-2 Russia

Mexico 1-1 Solomon Islands

Mexico has failed to defeat Solomon Islands in their final game, opening the door for Faroe Islands to progress to the Round of 16 despite a tight loss to hosts Russia.

Russia and Faroe Islands had faced each other before during the European qualification phase. Even though Russia qualified automatically as host, they still took part in qualification games. In the end, they topped Europe’s Group C, whereas Faroe Islands edged out Georgia and Serbia to come second, and thus find the path open to Russia. In these games, Faroe Islands and Russia drew 0-0, while the return leg a year and a half later saw Russia win 3-2. Faroe Islands knew they had a tough task in this World Cup group match to overcome that previous encounter.

Russia had the possession and pressure for much of the first half, but struggled to penetrate the Faroe Island defensive structure. In fact, Russia needed to take shots from out further than normal, or when losing patience. Golovin’s first shot seered overhead from far out, and then he had a blocked shot. Another long-range volley from Golovin drove straight to the goalkeeper, Nielsen. Nielsen also easily found Gazinskiy’s weak shot.

Finally, Russia scored as the break approached. Gazinskiy penetrated into the 18-yard box, before passing to Dzyuba. Nielsen blocked his shot, before the ball spilled away from all players. Defender Davidsen bundled over Dzyuba, which in fact opened up a channel for goal for Gazinskiy. He shot into a diving Nielsen, only for the ball to bobble its way into the goal.

Just before halftime, Kuzyaev had a real chance to be one-on-one with Nielsen, but the assistant referee ruled him offside.

In the second half, Russia held off and played more defensively. This brought the Faroe Islands into the game. In the 55^thminute, Vatnhamar scored a brilliant goal after Færø glided a through ball in front of him instead of before the run of Edmundson, as the Russian defence thought.

Russia then stepped back into attacking mode to ensure victory and top spot in the group. Russia’s efforts were saved three times on the line inside a minute. The desperate Nielsen and Faroe Islands defence, assisted by Man of the Match Benjaminsen, were unable to thwart all advances. Two of Russia’s substitutes in Zobnin and Aleksey Miranchuk combined to give Russia the lead.

Russia chased for a third goal, but were ruled offside twice in the last ten minutes. The game finished, and immediately the Faroe Islands sought the result of the other game in Group A.

Mexico started attacking early, but struggled to penetrate the defence of the Solomon Islands. Reyes had an early opportunity, although Solomon Islands goalkeeper Kabini had the better of the ball as he dived on it. The renewed Solomon Islands defence blocked Moreno’s first shot, and Hernández’s shot flew over the bar.

In the 22nd minute, Mexico scored. Guardado played the ball from deep in the box back to Salcido, who needed to backtrack and turn towards goal before shooting.

With the burst in momentum from a goal, Mexico sought their second. First Layún’s shot was saved, followed by a Herrera header knocked over the bar from the resulting corner. Jiménez had a weak attempt on goal before a lovely strike from Herrera smacked against the bar and Solomon Islands managed to clear the ball despite Hernández’s attempted header and cry for a penalty that Kini had impeded him. Mexico’s last chance in the first was a soft shot by Moreno.

Mexico’s hopes of a place in the final 16 were diminishing despite many attempts to delve behind the Solomon Islands defence. Man of the Match Sira in central defence and captain Fa’arodo, both with six tackles, were pivotal, especially on Salcido when he looked like scoring multiple goals. A double Mexican effort from Jiménez and dos Santos resulted in no goal, but instead two saves for Kabini (nine in total).

With ten minutes to go, Mexico should have had their second. Dos Santos was clear on goal with only Kabini in his way. Instead, his shot flew to the right of goal.

Solomon Islands saw this opportunity to attack and made some adjustments, bringing on Tigi to attack from the right. This proved fruitful, as Tigi placed a ball in front of Totori, another substitute, only for the shot to be cut left.

Three minutes later, the Solomon Islands caught Mexico on a counterattack. Substitute Naka found Donga, who went on an attacking run. At the box, he opened fire. Ochoa had it half-covered, but allowed the ball to slip through his hands and into the goal.

Seeing a chance to steal a win, Solomon Islands attacked for a second goal. The captain, Fa’arado, had the last shot of the game, only for Moreno to pile on enough pressure for the shot to finish in the crowd. That mattered little, for the final whistle soon blew, and the Oceanian side proved their doubters wrong, whilst keeping Mexico not only winless, but also definitively out of the Round of 16.

Mexico will look back on their campaign and see the first game against Russia as their main downfall. To come back from a 5-nil drubbing is difficult, and the wounds from that game affected their performance in the following two games. With only two draws, Mexico will now look to rebuild their side and prepare for the first CONCACAF Nations League and qualify for the World Cup again in four years’ time.

On the other hand, Faroe Islands progress to the Round of 16. Their goalkeeper, Nielsen, has 22 saves from three games. He will be crucial as they take on the top team in Group B, most likely Spain.

Faroe Islands	1-2		Russia
1 1 49 15 0 0 100 73	Shots Shots on Target Possession % Tackles Fouls Corners Shot Accuracy % Pass Accuracy %		9 6 51 19 0 1 66 84
55’ #21 G. Vatnhamar (#17 Færø assist) 63’ #22 Jógvansson-Hansen off, #20 K. Olsen on 87’ #17 Færø off, #6 Hansson on 87’ #11 Edmundsson off, #7 Sorensen on		43’ #6 Gazinskiy (#7 Cheryshev assist) 45’ #23 Dzyuba off, #10 Smolov on 63’ #20 Kuzyaev off, #17 Zobnin on 65’ #6 Gazinskiy off, #9 Aleksey Miranchuk on 74’ #9 Aleksey Miranchuk (#17 Zobnin assist)

Mexico	1-1		Solomon islands
14 9 48 17 1 2 64 79	Shots Shots on Target Possession % Tackles Fouls Corners Shot Accuracy % Pass Accuracy %		3 1 52 22 0 1 33 76
22’ #3 Salcido (#18 Guardado assist) 45’ #7 Layún off, #6 Dos Santos on 66’ #3 Salcido off, #8 Lozano on 75’ #16 Herrera off, #11 Aquino on		66’ #8 Nawooff, #22 Tigi on 75’ #12 Feni off, #13 Naka on 75’ #16 Waroi off, #9 Totori on 88’ #15 Donga (#13 Naka assist)