Portugal 1, Russia 0; Mexico 2, New Zealand 1

I was occupied with tutoring, and so I missed Portugal’s victory over Russia. It seems to have been a dull contest. The Portuguese scored early and then defended all the rest of the game.

I did get to watch Mexico vs. New Zealand, which was entertaining. In the first half, the Kiwis disrupted the Mexicans’ attacking rhythm. Also, Chris Wood, a truck of a forward, gave the Mexican defenders fits. He eventually scored a goal. The second half was very different. The Mexicans realigned themselves tactically; came out at full speed; and scored twice, due to the slipperiness of Javier Aquino, their tiny winger.

In stoppage time, the two teams got into quite a scuffle. The referee ordered a long break so he could consult the Video Assistant Replay system about whom to punish. I was licking my chops – I thought he’d give out several red cards – but he didn’t give out any.