Last night was the chance for Scandinavia to strut its stuff.
First Norway took on Ivory Coast in Dallas, Texas, and later Sweden played France in New York/New Jersey.
[Wikipedia]
Ivory Coast v Norway
In the Ivory Coast v Norway clash it was even-Stevens for a while until Nusa scored a golazo from distance to give Norway the lead.
Their talisman, Erling Haaland, fluffed his lines a couple of times, but there were no further goals before the break.
[TNT Sports]
In the opening 15 minutes of the 2nd half both teams had great chances to score but each was saved,
After the hydration break in the 74th minute Ivory Coast scored a wonder goal through their no. 15 Amed Diallo, only for Haaland to score a tap-in in the 86th minute, restoring the Scandinavians' lead with 4 minutes left on the clock. In the 90th minute Haaland fluffed another chance.
In the 7 minutes of added time Ivory Coast tried hard but failed to score.
While I was waiting .....
After a long wait during which I watched Wimbledon, where a 20-year-old Australian, defeated 7-times champion Serena Williams in 3 sets, the France v Sweden match got underway.
[TennisWorldUSA.org]
France v Sweden
After 20 minutes to and fro Kylian Mbappe scored but "the goal" was disallowed for off-side.
Following the hydration break France continued to threaten the Swedish goal. In the 32nd minute Mbappe hit the left-hand upright, then 3 minutes later a similar thing happened when a spectacular scissor-kick by Olise struck the right-hand post.
Finally, in the 45th minute Mbappe scored, his 5th goal in this World Cup.
Two more goals for France followed including a second by Mbappe.
[Wikipedia]
During the night .....
Overnight Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 in Mexico City rounding off an exciting 2nd day of the Round of 16.
Tonight it's England v DR Congo.
© Sporty Sam MMXXVI
Pictures:
TennisWorldUSA.org, TNT Sports, Wikipedia
Thanks:
BBC, DAZN, Paul Whitelock, Wimbledon
Tags:
BBC, DAZN, Diallo, France, Haaland, Ivory Coast, Maya Joint, Mbappe, Norway, Nusa, Paul Whitelock, Serena Williams, Sporty Sam, Sweden, TennisWorldUSA.org, TNT Sports, Wikipedia, Wimbledon