We are now seven days through the world’s largest sporting event and to say there have been surprising moments is an absolute understatement! This has been an exciting tournament to watch so far. We have seen upsets, comebacks, fantastic goals. Let’s look at some of the biggest surprises and goals of the tournament so far!

*My bracket is already trashed

Russia Opens Fire

The host nation stunned a lot of people with the fire they played with in their opening match(and their second). Beating Saudi Arabia 5-0 on June 14 and then recording their second win against Egypt in group play June 19 Russia shows no signs of slowing down. As of now Russia is the highest scoring team in the competition. Check some of them out below:

 

6-Goal Game sees SPAIN and PORTUGAL Level

This was another highly anticipated game. One that the world awaited with vigor. Ties or draws are common in the world of soccer sure but a 3-3 thriller with two of the world’s powerhouses is even more rare. Even though this was a draw this was an exciting game through to the end. With Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo you can be sure it’ll be fun(I was rooting for Spain). Check the highlights!

 

ARGENTINA stopped Ice-cold by ICELAND

While Ronaldo was an absolute star in his opening match, the same could not be said of Lionel Messi. All of Argentina struggled to break past the wall of Iceland players protecting their goal. Messi had several opportunities including a penalty-kick(PK) that was blocked-which doesn’t happen very often. But hey I’ll be more than happy to give credit to the descended Vikings. Iceland was on the backfoot for the majority of the match but they held their own. Thwarting everything the Argentines threw their way.  First, let’s remember they wouldn’t be in this World Cup if they didn’t qualify outright. Second, their result with Argentina only solidifies notion. A draw yes, but watching the underdogs rise to the occasion made this worth watching. It’ll be interesting to see if they can thrive off that energy and go further.

 

BRAZIL draws SWITZERLAND

Number 2 ranked Brazil also had a slow start in their group opener against the Swiss. Of course, Switzerland has a decent squad as well but more is expected of Brazil. Naturally, with Brazil’s star player, Neymar was the feature of the match and Switzerland knew it. Honestly, I liked the result of the match but Neymar was fouled an incredibly high amount of times throughout the match. Too many for any one player. Almost half the fouls on the Brazilian team were on Neymar. Neymar aside, all of Brazil is expecting nothing less than the trophy at the end of this after their embarrassing loss to Germany 4 years ago. This opening draw is not a way to make believers out of people.

 

MEXICO defeats No.1 GERMANY

To me, this was the biggest surprise of the tournament thus far and probably to many others as well. Germany, the number 1 ranked team in the world and current world cup champions looked disappointing on all accounts. They had no sense of urgency when they had the ball nor when they didn’t have the ball. Meanwhile, Mexico is having the performance most teams can only dream of. Creating chances and hustling with the play of the game. Winning the ball in the air and controlling all aspects of the flow of the game. Germany will have to actually show up and play and not expect teams to just roll over for them. Hopefully they have a plan to fix the situation they’re in now before it’s too late.

 

JAPAN over 10-man COLOMBIA

In any soccer match it will be hard to compete when you’re a man down the rest of the match. Well, that’s exactly what Colombia had to deal with after Sanchez received a first-half red card. Japan seized the opportunity of a weakened Colombia and took care of business. After Japan scored a PK Colombia clawed their way to stay in the game and tied it up. But it was only a matter of time before playing a man down tires you out.

 

Controversial Calls Propel SENEGAL Past POLAND

Another huge upset in this tournament came when Senegal stunned Poland. Managing to put two past the keeper and secure the win. Of course, there were a few controversial situations but the referee does get the final say. Poland had too many chances squandered that they shouldn’t have lost. But again, sometimes that’s the nature of the game. Unfortunately, Poland’s late goal was not enough for them to overcome the deficit. Now both underdogs in Group H(the other being Japan) are atop the group and surprising everyone.

 

Excitement is definitely in the air. What has your favorite moment been so far?! There are many more games to be played. Tune into Fox and FS1 so you don’t miss a minute of the action!