The home stretch towards Russia 2018 is officially here after Friday’s slate of international friendlies, which provided a clearer picture of what the wide world of soccer can expect from the 32 teams come this summer.
This weekend, the Top Five is all about Friday’s friendlies, from Brazil’s first match post-Neymar, Argentina’s impromptu Messi-less test and France doing very France things, among others.
Get your international play fix in the latest edition of 90 Minutes’ Top Five.
1. Finals preview?
When Friday’s Germany-Spain match was announced, everyone tagged it immediately as a possible World Cup final preview.
Judging by the way the match unfolded, these two cam most certainly rematch on July 15 in Moscow, but for all the marbles.
Two of the favorites to win it all in Russia played to a thrilling 1-1 draw in Dusseldorf on Friday, and was every bit of the back-and-forth affair it looked to be on paper.
The big question looming over the Spanish side was the age-old striker conundrum. With Diego Costa in the squad, Julen Lopetegui opted to use a number nine -that being Valencia’s Rodrigo Moreno- who ended up getting Spain’s only goal.
La Roja played to its full potential for the first 30 minutes, with Andres Iniesta pulling the strings like it was 2010, accompanied by playmakers galore deployed all over the midfield and the wings.
But in front of them were the reigning world champions, who responded within ten minutes courtesy of a rocket by Thomas Muller that flew past the diving David De Gea.
As these friendlies tend to do, the match devolved in the second half with the influx of bench players and experimental changes. But if the first half was any indication, Spain and Germany are more than ready to contend -and maybe face each other- come the summer.
2. No stars, no worries
The most pressing matter coming into this international break was how Brazil would handle the absence of Neymar.
Not only was that question mostly answered on Friday, but we also got a glimpse into another favorite without its superstar player.
Aside from the PSG star, Lionel Messi was also missing from Friday’s matchday as Argentina defeated Italy at Etihad Stadium.
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The Canarinha made quick work of host country Russia in Moscow, despite a subpar, scoreless first half. Tite opted for a Willian-Gabriel Jesus-Douglas Costa triumvirate up front, with Philippe Coutinho dropped back to center midfielder.
Brazil did look to miss that one player who could break down a defense like Russia’s that closed down spaces with numbers in the back, despite dominating possession. It took until the 53rd minute for Miranda to open Pandora’s box, and then they were off to the races.
Their rivals, Argentina, had a similar time with the rebuilding Italy in Manchester without their best player. Jorge Sampaoli gave the nod to young Giovani Lo Celso, along with West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain.
The Albiceleste showed flashes of improvement with this unprecedented attack, which was backed up by Leandro Paredes and Lucas Biglia, netting two second-half goals to upend the Azzurri. It was, arguably, the best performance under Sampaoli, and it could not come at a better time.
Messi is expected back for Tuesday’s showdown against Spain, a match that will tell the true tale of where Argentina stands three months before Russia.
3. Signs of concern
For all the talent France can rightfully brag about having, the knock against this generation is the lack of cohesion and team play, even after reaching the finals of their own Euro 2016.
Well, Friday’s friendly in Saint-Denis did nothing to quell that notion, as Les Bleus blew a 2-0 first half lead to Colombia, resulting in a 3-2 loss that created more doubt than certainty.
France did go up 2-0 before the half-hour mark, completely steamrolling a Colombian side that was simply overwhelmed by the speed and skills of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Lemar. Everything was pointing to a French thrashing early on.
However, Didier Deschamps’ men inexplicably lost control of the game, looking disjointed and being erratic all of the sudden. Colombia gained the ball and with it, confidence, which resulted in Radamel Falcao’s equalizer and Juan Fernando Quintero’s penalty-kick winner.
Whether it was overconfidence or loss of concentration, this French side will not contend in Russia with performances like Friday’s.
4. Best of the rest
Apparently Gareth Southgate took the experimental nature of these friendlies to heart.
The English manager whipped out a surprising starting XI, featuring Kyle Walker as the right center back on a back three as the big surprise.
The experiment paid off, as the Three Lions upended the also-rebuilding Netherlands in Ronald Koeman’s, with Jesse Lingard scoring the lone goal, and perhaps solidifying a starting place in Southgate’s lineup.
Cristiano Ronaldo pulled a three-minute brace out of nowhere to lead Portugal to a late win the battle of the hot (not that way) goal scorers, over Egypt, which led since the 56th minute thanks to Mohamed Salah’s goal.
Also, Marco Fabian made a triumphant return to international play as Mexico routed Iceland in California, 3-0, Poland put forth an underwhelming performance in their loss to Nigeria, and Costa Rica spoiled Alex McLeish’s re-debut as Scotland manager with a 1-0 win in Glasgow.
5. Goal of the weekend
We did not forget about Uruguay’s victory over the Czech Republic early Friday as part of the China Cup.
Because the best comes last on the Top Five, the spotlight on La Celeste was saved for later thanks to Edinson Cavani. PSG’s all-time leading scorer provided the absolute best goal of the FIFA friendlies, a beautiful bicycle kick to kick-start his team’s 2-0 victory.