World Cup while you were sleeping: Japan survive, Germany thrive, Uefa boss’ gaffe

Late equalisers are becoming a bit of a thing at this World Cup, as are officials who say the quiet part out loud; we had both again early on Monday and timing-wise neither could have been planned better. Daichi Kamada’s 88th-minute header salvaged a draw for Japan against Netherlands in a game that for the first 50 minutes was tedium interrupted by flashes of mediocrity. The same could not be said for the first encounter of the day where Germany and Curacao ‘shared’ eight goals against the backdrop of Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin’s unfortunate remarks about the “huge number of completely uninteresting” matches at this year’s tournament. Speaking of which, Ivory Coast and Ecuador have just kicked off in the day’s third game, while Sweden take on Tunisia at 10am. Whether you’ll be crowded around the TV watching rather depends on where you’re from, which is the point several countries made overnight. Taken in context Let’s be honest, Ceferin was only saying what lots of people are thinking and have said repeatedly on social media, he just happens to have a greater public profile than most. There is an argument to be made that expanding the tournament to 48 teams has made a mockery of the group stages, given it will be entirely possible for a side not to win a game and still make the horribly named round of 32. Of course, his comments were taken to mean certain teams not from Europe or South America, which understandably rubbed people up the wrong way. The associations of Cabo Verde, Congo, Curacao, Haiti, Jordan and Uzbekistan issued a joint statement they said was in solidarity with the federations of Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. At the time, however, Curacao were being smacked around by Germany in Houston, which was unfortunate. “Football does not belong to a select group of nations. Its strength comes from its universality,” the statement said. “For many countries, participation in the Fifa World Cup is not only a sporting achievement. It is a moment that inspires a generation, accelerates football development and creates memories that last a lifetime. “To suggest that these matches are somehow less important is deeply disappointing and fails to recognise the efforts, sacrifices and aspirations of players, coaches, clubs, football leaders and supporters across the world.” Asia unbeaten There is always a wait for the better group matches to come around at any World Cup, which is why the Group F encounter between Netherlands and Japan drew such anticipation. Forty-four minutes in, and the only thing people were hoping for was the half-time whistle to go. Until that moment, the most interesting thing to happen was Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman picking a starting line-up without a single player from a club in the country’s top flight. Still, two teams expected to make the last eight at a bare minimum were always likely to get out of first gear and the Dutch did so first with a goal made in Liverpool. Ryan Gravenberch swung in the cross, his captain for club and country Virgil van Dijk applied the header to put his side 1-0 up in the 51st minute. The lead lasted six minutes, and then Keito Nakamura found some space on the edge of the box and lashed in an equaliser. There was something equally special about Crysencio Summerville’s strike to restore his side’s lead, but going behind only spurred Japan on and manager Hajime Moriyasu threw on all his substitutes in search of a reply, which he got in the nick of time. The draw means Asia’s teams remain unbeaten so far in the World Cup, although Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan have yet to play. For the Netherlands, meanwhile, it was the first time they have failed to win at the tournament having been ahead twice. Magnificent seven There was always the danger of this happening with an expanded 48-team World Cup, although it’s not like Germany haven’t beaten a side 7-1 before in this tournament. Obviously, there are differences between Curacao in 2026 and Brazil in 2014; for one, Brazil wore yellow shirts and blue shorts, while the former have blue shirts and yellow shorts. And the semi-final hammering 12 years ago was certainly far more embarrassing for the South Americans than the Group E thrashing the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup got. Still, you can only beat what’s in front of you, and Germany did that with a minimum of fuss – the joyously celebrated Livano Comenencia equaliser notwithstanding. Comenencia, the first player from Curacao to score at a World Cup, will undoubtedly become the answer to a pub quiz question at some point, as will Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who at 40 years and 79 days became his country’s oldest player to appear in an international. Of the German goalscorers, Kai Havertz bagged two, while Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav all got in on the fun. A second-half substitute, Undav made the most of his 30 minutes on the pitch, creating goals for Brown and Havertz either side of his own.

World Cup while you were sleeping: Japan survive, Germany thrive, Uefa boss’ gaffe

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Daichi Kamada rescues draw for Japan against Netherlands, Germany crush Curacao, and ‘completely uninteresting’ matches quote sparks backlash

Taken in context

Daichi Kamada rescues draw for Japan against Netherlands, Germany crush Curacao, and ‘completely uninteresting’ matches quote sparks backlash