Hello, World Cup fans and welcome to Day 2 of the tournament! So we got Russia’s 5-0 demolition of an absolutely abject Saudi Arabia team out of the way. I’m sure it was great for Russia fans, but it sure wasn’t a very good football match!
Thankfully, the REAL World Cup starts today, including matches that probably won’t include handshakes between problematic world leaders. There are three games on today, and all three of them should be pretty good. Portugal vs. Spain is probably the jewel in the crown, but Morocco vs. Iran just might be the best game today — it’s basically a Group B elimination match, but both of these teams are really pretty good. The early match is an intriguing Group A match between Egypt and Uruguay, and the big question is whether or not Mo Salah is fit.
The games and how to watch:
Egypt vs. Uruguay — 8:00 am ET, 1 pm BST
TV: Fox Sports 1 (USA) | BBC 1 (UK) | other listings on livesoccertv.com
Streaming: Fox Sports Go, Telemundo (USA - Spanish, available through NBC Sports Live) | BBC iPlayer (UK) | fubo.tv (free trial)
Morocco vs. Iran, 11:00 am ET, 4 pm BST
TV: FOX (USA) | ITV 1 (UK) | other listings on livesoccertv.com
Streaming: Fox Sports Go, Telemundo (USA - Spanish, available through NBC Sports Live) | ITV Hub (UK) | fubo.tv (free trial)
Portugal vs. Spain, 2 pm ET, 7 pm BST
TV: FOX (USA) | BBC 1 (UK) | other listings on livesoccertv.com
Streaming: Fox Sports Go, Telemundo (USA - Spanish, available through NBC Sports Live) | BBC iPlayer (UK) | fubo.tv (free trial)
Any Spurs players involved?
No, sigh.
How about former Spurs?
Nope. The closest we may come is a fleeting shot of Mido in the crowd.
Any transfer targets or rival players I’m probably interested in?
Bruno Fernandes! The (now former) Sporting player is on Portugal’s team, and while Spurs probably aren’t actually linked to him, we think they should be. Hakim Ziyech has also been linked to Spurs and Liverpool in the same way that all decent players are linked to both Spurs and Liverpool.
But there are going to be tons of players you recognize. Spain and Portugal are LOADED with talent and recognizable names, none bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo, playing in his final World Cup. Uruguay has this guy named Luis Suarez. Egypt, of course, has Mohamed Salah. Morocco’s best-known players are probably Juventus’ Mehdi Beniata, Real Madrid’s Achraf Hakimi, and Ajax’s Ziyech. As for Iran, Tottenham were linked to 23-year old forward Sardar Azmoun a few years ago, and he’s well known in Russia as he plays for Rubin Kazan.
What cool things has SB Nation posted recently?
I’m glad you asked!
- It’s probably too late now, but here’s Never Manage Alone’s look at Fantasy World Cup forwards that you probably should’ve considered before the tournament kicked off.
- South Africa had vuvuzelas (I miss them), but Russia has Spoons of Victory.
- Here are all five Russia goals in yesterday’s match, ranked.
- Brandi Chastain scored THAT penalty kick 19 years ago, and holy crap I’m old.