OFFSIDE | FIFA World Cup 2026 recap: Draw-only day after 68 years

NEW DELHI: Hello and welcome to OFFSIDE, a new daily column on the FIFA World Cup, where we will track the highs and lows of the day or the past night and what you can expect in the next round of matches.At the BBC UnitedJimmy Murphy, Manchester United’s assistant manager during the Busby Babes era, played by the brilliant David Tennant, explained football better than anyone ever heard: “Football is a simple game. You win the ball. You pass the ball. You score a goal. Everything else is embellishment. Thank God we don’t beautify the natural beauty. The ball is round to (go) round.” That was said long before this World Cup, where war, logistics, hydration breaks and immigration controls added a layer of complexity to the beautiful game.Yesterday was Draw Day, during which all four games ended in penalty kicks, which we’re told last happened in 1958. But as any football fan knows, not all draws are created equal. Iran vs New Zealand was a lively affair, as was Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay and Belgium vs Egypt. On the other hand, Spain vs Cape Verde strongly marked the issue of playing tiki-taka with more average players and it was borderline soporific at times.First, Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia.The latter remain the only team to beat world champions Argentina in 2022 and hope to claim another South American scalp. Uruguay were anything but passive and had 29 shots, with Saudi goalkeeper Al-Owais making nine saves, six in the second half, although his goalkeeping error gave Uruguay a goal and a point. But more than the match, there was talk of a horde of empty seats in Miami, which FIFA tried to explain away as the result of a crash on the motorway, but blamed on iShowSpeed ​​harassing A-listers in VVIP areas.But the real punchline came after the match when Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa, the man who inspired Pep Guardiola and is known as El Loco, shouted at reporters who dared to ask him about his staring portrait: “I’m not a model. I don’t have to give any explanation, the picture was taken the way it was taken. Should I also see why they’re looking at me?”Challenging the inquisitiveness of modern journalism, he said: “There’s a limit to what we have to explain. If I’m wearing glasses, why am I wearing glasses? You’re looking someone in the eye, why are you doing that? There’s nothing wrong with wearing glasses, looking someone in the eye, or looking down.”Speaking of models, the Spain vs Cape Verde match, as well as Arsenal vs PSG, would have pleased Big Pharma very much as it was a model of boredom that could be used to make sleeping pills. However, the hero was Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who stood like a rock and made seven saves against the legendary Spanish side, who are the reigning European champions and one of the favorites for the tournament.Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands off the coast of West Africa, and they use a rather odd recruiting tactic that’s more corporate than coaching: LinkedIn. That was a way of addressing former banker Robert “Pic” Lopes, who was born in Ireland and played for Shamrock Rovers. When he got his first message from the Cape Verdean team, like most of us, he ignored it until he realized it was a real call to action to come to the country where his father was born. There won’t be many League of Ireland players at the World Cup, but Pico was there to make a crucial block in the 89th minute and will be thankful he didn’t block the sender on LinkedIn. Speaking of Spain, since their last World Cup goal against Japan in 2022, they have managed 49 shots and completed 2,500 passes without scoring.Meanwhile, Belgium vs Egypt was a match that could have been headlined: The Big Belgian spoiled the King’s birthday party. Salah was 34, set up Egypt’s opener and briefly looked like he was about to hand his home country a first World Cup win before former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku crashed the party. No European has more international goals than Lukaku than Cristiano Ronaldo and he looked set to add another to his tally after coming in 20 seconds before it was ruled an own goal.The liveliest football of the day came in the match between Iran and New Zealand when Sarpreet Singh became the first footballer of Indian origin to start a World Cup match for New Zealand. Iran, who have the misfortune of playing in a World Cup hosted by a nation they are at war with. “The Most Oppressed Team”, a term that evokes a debating room at a liberal arts institution debating who is the most oppressed, will have to leave Los Angeles for their base in Tijuana immediately, but not before playing a pulsating draw against New Zealand, whose all-black kit closely resembled their cricket gear.New Zealand went ahead twice thanks to Chris Wood, who provided both assists to Elijah Just, who just kept his cool and scored. Iran had to play their match without their media officers, their analysts or even the president of the federation. They also had to deal with many Iranian Americans who want the current regime down and want the current team to lose because they see the team as “propaganda of the current regime”.Overall, though, it was the best match of the day, and if the fates are cruel, there’s an outside chance they could meet on July 3rd in Texas. There’s also another chance that the US could face off against its former colonist England on the 4th of July, which would really add a nice twist to America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations.But let’s not look too far into the future, because big things await us tomorrow.First up is France vs Senegal, June 17 at 12:30 IST, which immediately brings back memories of 2002, when the gritty African nation handed Les Bleus one of their most shocking upsets in football history, four years after winning the cup. Senegal coach Pape Thiaw was on the bench that day and would love to repeat the feat, but given the amount of talent Les Bleus can tap into, it will be a tough ask. Didier Deschamps will have to choose from Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olis, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué, Marcus Thuram and Jean-Philippe Mateta in the starting line-up. Mbappe in particular will hardly flaunt his dictatorial tendencies after a lackluster season with Real Madrid, a joke that only soccer Twitter aficionados will get.In Iraq’s late night game against Norway, at 3:30 IST on June 17, Iraq will have to deal with football’s modern version of a weapon of mass destruction, namely a large Thor-like object named Erling Haaland, who has scored 16 times in eight games and is about the size of a defaced statue of Saddam Hussein.Of course, Iraq’s coach is Aussie Graham Arnold, who has seen his team survive war, penalties, play-offs and being chased by the FBI. Arnold made some notable adjustments that brought a remarkable twist to the left-right debate by packing his left side with English-speaking players and his right side with Arabic speakers.However, for many Bengalis, the World Cup properly begins with Argentina vs. Algeria, June 17 at 6:30 IST when Lionel Messi will attempt to make his 200th appearance for La Albiceleste. The defending champions will take on a team that will certainly be looking to upset the apple cart and pull off Saudi Arabia, something Coach Scaloni has been quite vocal about.Finally, the morning game, on June 17 at 9:30 am IST, will give Manchester United fans some vivid flashbacks as Ralf Rangnick’s Austria take on Jordan in the final game of the day.So that’s the post-Draw Day menu: France trying not to relive 2002, Iraq trying not to get eaten by Haaland, Argentina trying to start Messi’s next chapter without stepping on a Saudi Arabia-shaped banana peel, and Austria trying to prove the Rangnick experience works better away from Old Trafford. The ball is still round. Fortunately, the tournament refuses to stay that simple anymore.