World Cup - Matchday 8

Welcome to another WhoReps look at the 2018 World Cup. Today we'll be recapping Thursday's slate of games and looking ahead to tomorrow's matches! Enjoy.
                                            
Embarassing. Pathetic. Shameful. It's not often you hear things like that used to describe the Argentine national football team. But after a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Croatia, it's certainly well deserved. Argentina's worst group stage loss at the World Cup in sixty years suddenly has them on the brink of elimination, and leaves to wonder whether we've nearly seen the last of Lionel Messi in an Argentina kit.

To be clear, this was a collective meltdown from an Argentina side that needed a miracle from Messi to even qualify for this tournament. After an uninspired first half, backup keeper Willy Caballero had a catastrophic mis-hit that handed Ante Rebic a free shot on goal, which he graciously put in. From there, things completely unraveled. The Argentinian midfield seemed to lose all interest, standing around and letting Croatia attack with impunity. They did manage to commit several hard fouls and rack up yellows as the game got increasingly chippy. Embattled manager Jorge Sampaoli basically sprinted off the pitch after time was called, a task he undertook with more pace than any of his players in the second half. The great Lionel Messi was nowhere to be found. 
 
But this is about Croatia as much as Argentina. They absolutely dominated this match, and have put the world on notice that they are a legitimate threat to go deep in the tournament. The wonderful Luka Modric showed once again why he's one of the best midfielders in the world and arguably the greatest footballer in Croatian history, blasting in an incredible smash from outside the box in the 80th minute to double the lead. An extra time beauty from Ivan Rakitic, featuring a stunning lack of interest from the Argentine defense, provided the final margin. Croatia is through to the knockout stages, and have looked as consistently dominant as anyone in the entire field. 

Elsewhere, France gutted out a 1-0 win over a fiesty Peru thanks to a tap-in from forward Kyllian Mbappe, and have now qualified for the knockout rounds. Just 19, Mbappe becomes the youngest Frenchman to ever score at the World Cup. In the early match, Denmark and Australia drew 1-1 after an early beauty from Dane Christian Eriksen was matched by a later penalty from Aussie Mile Jedinak, his third consecutive World Cup game with a goal. Amazingly, there have yet to be any 0-0 draws thus far, the first time since 1954 the tournament has gone this long without one. FIFA is certainly hoping that run continues. 
 
Tomorrow's matches include seeing favorites Brazil and a suddenly hobbled Neymar face off with a Costa Rican side that needs a win to stave off elimination. Meanwhile, darlings Iceland, the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup, will be squaring up against Nigeria in a group that's now wide open thanks to Argentina's struggles. Stay tuned to WhoReps' as we recap it all!