Welcome to your daily 2018 FIFA World Cup update, or World Cupdate, where we recap the past day’s proceedings from Russia while previewing what is still to come. These features will run every morning throughout the duration of the tournament and feature highlights, major news, and much more from Russia.
Here’s What Happened: Sunday, June 24th
The final set of games for Match-day 2 of the group stage at the 2018 FIFA World Cup brought 14 goals across three games as two more teams booked spots in the Round of 16. Harry Kane helped lead England to a convincing win over Panama, Group H’s two surprise leaders played one of the best matches to date, and Colombia got back on track just in time.
Everything you could possibly need to know from Sunday’s action is all right here.
England 6-1 Panama
England fans can now breathe because The Three Lions are securely into the Round of 16 following a 6-1 thrashing of Panama on Sunday. Harry Kane scored a hat trick to claim the lead in for the Golden Boot and John Stones added a first-half brace to secure the win before halftime even arrived.
Panama never had a chance in this group but they will return home with a good feeling nonetheless. The World Cup debutants scored their first ever World Cup goal in the second half well after the game was out of reach.
This result means England and Belgium both qualify for the Round of 16 and will play a winner take all match for Group G supremacy on Thursday. While winning your group is fun, due to other circumstances and upsets, the second place team may be the real winner from this group. That remains to be seen.
Goals
- John Stones | ENG (8′, 40′)
- Harry Kane | ENG (22′ PEN, 45’+1′ PEN, 62′)
- Jesse Lingard | ENG (36′)
- Felipe Baloy | PAN (78′)
Highlights
England came out flying from the opening whistle in their lopsided defeat of Panama.
Watch the highlights in our 90′ in 90″ ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CB4ofNAoRi
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2018
Japan 2-2 Senegal
Perhaps the most entertaining game of the day came between the two sides sharing the top spot in Group H. Senegal had plenty of chances to take a stranglehold on the group but Japan kept battling and erased two separate deficits to salvage a draw and split the points in a wild match.
Liverpool star Sadio Mané opened the scoring with his first career World Cup goal but Japan stalwart Keisuke Honda leveled the game in the 78th minute to seal the 2-2 scoreline.
Both Senegal and Japan remain level atop Group H with one round of matches to play. Who advances and who goes home will all be decided on Thursday.
Goals
- Sadio Mané | SEN (11′)
- Takashi Inui | JPN (34′)
- Moussa Wagué | SEN (71′)
- Keisuke Honda | JPN (78′)
Highlights
Japan came from behind twice against Senegal in an evenly matched game between the top teams in group H.
Catch all the highlights in our 90′ in 90″ ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lqckWJdpHl
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2018
Poland 0-3 Colombia
Everything that could go wrong for Poland has gone wrong through two group stage matches. Coming into the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Poland were among the highest scoring teams qualified for Russia and carried a Top 10 World Ranking. The scoring has gone dry (one goal in two games) and they look how we thought Russia would look.
Needing at least a draw to stay alive, Poland laid another egg and fell 3-0 to an equally desperate Colombia side. James Rodríguez returned to the starting lineup for Colombia and made a major impact with a gorgeous assist on Colombia’s opening goal. It proved more than enough as Poland fell apart and conceded twice more in the second half.
Colombia will now enter the final group stage match knowing they can advance with a victory over Senegal. Poland, on the other hand, has been eliminated from World Cup contention.
Goals
- Yerry Mina | COL (40′)
- Radamel Falcao | COL (70′)
- Juan Cuadrado | COL (75′)
Highlights
Colombia showed up in a big way after a disappointing Matchday 1 result.
Watch all the highlights of their win over Poland in our 90′ in 90″ 👇 pic.twitter.com/w2gxjLaWoB
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2018
That’s a wrap for Match-day 2 of the group stage and six teams have already booked spots in the Round of 16 meaning there are still 10 spots to be claimed as Match-day 3 kicks off Monday.
Goals of the Day
Fourteen goals highlighted Sunday’s action but only a handful stood out as quality enough to make our daily list. Here is our best three from the finale of Match-day 2 of the group stage.
Jesse Lingard (England)
One of the prettiest goals you will see at this World Cup comes courtesy of Jesse Lingard with this beautiful bender from just outside the box against Panama. It was England’s third goal of five they scored in the first half.
Score a beautiful goal, do a little dance.
Just a day in the life of Jesse Lingard. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/1nv998tTr7
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2018
Moussa Wagué (Senegal)
More for the passing than anything, Senegal took the lead in the second half over Japan with this strong finish from Wagué to cap off a brilliant passing sequence beginning with Sadio Mané leading to a simple flick to set up a streaking Wagué.
Moussa Wague makes it 2-1 for Senegal! pic.twitter.com/iGj5tjQZap
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2018
Felipe Baloy (Panama)
On the surface, this goal may not rock your senses but for Panama and its fans, it makes their journey to Russia worth every minute. Felipe Baloy will forever be a hero in his home country after neatly finishing for Panama’s first ever World Cup goal.
Panama get their first FIFA World Cup goal! 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/crmX5UEuui
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2018
Check back tomorrow for more great goals from the 2018 World Cup.
Group Update
England and Belgium are successfully through Group G with a match still to play to decide who comes out on top and they could not be separated by any less. Colombia’s victory over Poland coupled with Japan and Senegal playing to a draw means Group H will go down to the final match-day to decide who advances.
Who is Moving on, Who is Going Home
As groups move through their second round of matches, the knockout bracket is starting to take shape. Here are the teams that have qualified for the Round of 16 and the teams that will be heading home.
Moving On
Group A: Russia and Egypt (seeding still TBD)
Group C: France
Group D: Croatia
Group G: England and Belgium (seeding still TBD)
Going Home
Group A: Egypt and Saudi Arabia
Group B: Morocco
Group C: Peru
Group E: Costa Rica
Group G: Panama and Tunisia
Group H: Poland
Here’s What’s Next: Monday, June 25th
Group stage play begins its final match-day on Monday with Group A and Group B in action. We already know Russia and Uruguay will be advancing out of Group A it just remains to be seen in what order. Russia simply needs a draw to win the group.
Over in Group B, three teams still have a shot at moving on. Portugal and Spain are tied atop the standings but Iran can wreck the party with an upset. There are many different scenarios that could play out on Monday.
Uruguay v. Russia (Group A)
- Time: 10:00 AM
- Location: Samara Arena (Samara)
- How to Watch: FOX
Scenarios for this game could not be much simpler. If Russia can win or draw, they will win Group A and play the Group B runner-up in the Round of 16. Should Uruguay emerge victorious, they will claim the top spot in Group A.
Saudi Arabia v. Egypt (Group A)
- Time: 10:00 AM
- Location: Volgograd Arena (Volgograd)
- How to Watch: FS1
Nothing but pride to play for between these two sides after they were both eliminated following their second matches last week. Leaving Russia with three points will be a major win for either side if they can find a way to win this match.
Spain v. Morocco (Group B)
- Time: 2:00 PM
- Location: Kaliningrad Stadium (Kaliningrad)
- How to Watch: FS1
Morocco has already been eliminated from any further competition at the 2018 World Cup but that doesn’t mean they can’t still spoil the party. An upset over Spain will open the door for Iran to advance. Spain know what needs to be done to move on and a second straight crash out in the group stages would send them home with many questions to answer.
Iran v. Portugal (Group B)
- Time: 2:00 PM
- Location: Mordovia Arena (Saransk)
- How to Watch: FOX
Cristiano Ronaldo has carried Portugal through the first two games and it may come down to him once again if his side hopes to advance to the Round of 16. Iran played a strong game against Spain and have the look of a team who can easily spring an upset and find themselves in the knockout rounds should things go their way.
You can watch all these games live on the channels listed or streaming online at FoxSports.com with a cable sign in.
If highlights are more your style, check out @FOXSoccer on Twitter where goals and game recaps are posted throughout the day.
All game times are listed in Eastern Standard Time
Golden Boot Standings
The Golden Boot Award goes to the top goal scorer at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
For the first time since the very first day of the tournament, a player not named Cristiano Ronaldo sits on top of the Golden Boot Standings. England’s Harry Kane takes over the lead from Ronaldo following his hat-trick performance against Panama.
Keep up to date on everything World Cup right here on “The Bat Flip” where we will be posting our daily World Cupdate to recap what went on and preview what’s still to come in Russia
The Bat Flip 