World Cup group stage review: Mixed emotions for Borussia Dortmund stars
By Tushar Bahl
The group stages of the FIFA World Cup 2018 are now over and we are set for the knockout stages.
The tournament in Russia has had it all so far. There has been no shortage of drama, thrills, emotions, great goals and even controversy. It’s fair to say that the first phase of the tournament brought mixed feelings for Borussia Dortmund stars. While some players experienced the ecstasy of moving to the knockout rounds, others had to endure the agony of getting knocked out. So let us take a look at how the Borussia Dortmund stars fared in the group stages of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
Raphael Guerreiro and Portugal missed out on first place in their group thanks to a controversial penalty which was given to Iran in their final group game. Guerreiro has played the entire 270 minutes of Portugal’s campaign so far. The EURO 2016 winners have been riding on the back of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored four goals in the tournament so far. Portugal will face Uruguay in the round of 16.
New Borussia Dortmund signing Thomas Delaney helped Denmark qualify for the knockout stages. A win against Peru and draws against Australia and France saw the Danes go through. They will now take on group D winners Croatia in the round of 16.
In Group E, Manuel Akanji played a crucial role in helping Switzerland qualify for the next round. Akanji’s man of the match performances against Brazil and Serbia put the Swiss in pole position before they sealed their qualification with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica. Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki was on the bench for all three games for Switzerland. The Rossocrociati face Sweden in the next round and will be confident about their chances of going through.
Marco Reus and Germany provided us with the shock of the tournament so far when they were knocked out of the group stages. Reus had a hand in both of Germany’s goals at the World Cup, scoring one and assisting another. But he was unable to prevent a lethargic and arrogant German team from going out.
Next: Germany's World Cup exit a good thing for Borussia Dortmund
Michy Batshuayi scored once as Belgium cruised to the knockout stages with a perfect record. Led by Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, the Belgians have been without doubt the best team at the World Cup so far. Whether they can continue their run remains to be seen. They will take on Shinji Kagawa and Japan in the round of 16.
Shinji Kagawa played in two of Japan’s group games and scored one goal as they sneaked through to the knockout stages. Both Japan and Senegal had identical records, so the Blue Samurais were given second place thanks to their better fair play record. Lukasz Piszczek and Poland weren’t so lucky as defeats in their first two games left them with only pride to play for when they took on Japan. Piszczek did not play in the final game but Poland managed to end their tournament with a narrow 1-0 win.