Hello and welcome to another edition of Offside. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now say that the tiny nation of Cabo Verde have never lost a match in 90 minutes. Sure, they haven’t won either, but imagine no one beating you in 90 minutes. And that’s a remarkable achievement for a tiny nation of 10 volcanic islands, with a team cobbled together on LinkedIn, holding the world champions — who have among their ranks the greatest living footballer of all time — to a draw in normal time, only to be denied by the cruellest of fates. As Sir Alex Ferguson would say: football, bloody hell.In other matches, the Pharaohs saw off the Socceroos in a penalty shootout, and Ghana lost to Colombia in what was dubbed the Powder Derby.The day started as everyone would have predicted, as Lionel Messi continued his late-career resurgence in his home stadium of Inter Miami with a sublime finish, while David Beckham — far happier here in Miami than in the stuffy confines of Wimbledon — looked on happily.But while Argentina dominated possession, they were stunned by Deroy Dutarte, who beat Emi Martinez at the near post. Man Utd defender Lisandro Martinez made it two before Sidny Lopes Cabral scored a stunner and went into the stadium to celebrate with fans, leading to chaotic celebrations at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Sadly, a goal in the 111th minute — known in cricket as the Nelson curse — finally ended the Blue Sharks’ dream. As an aside for the literary curious, 111 refers to the tendency to lose a wicket on that particular score and has different interpretations. One is that the number refers to the number of times Nelson beat Napoleon — won, won, won: the Battle of the Nile in 1798, the threatened invasion of Britain from 1803 to 1805, and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The other is that he had one eye, one arm and one leg, though that’s more anecdote than reality. Late English cricket umpire David Shepherd more than anyone propagated the myth by raising one foot or hopping whenever the batting team’s score reached 111 or its multiples. Either way, it was the Nelson curse or the Nelson moment that finally ended the dream. But what a dream it was.
In the earlier match of the day, we had another knockout tie decided by penalties. Egypt opened the scoring with an Emam Ashour header before another own goal by Mohamed Hany. Australian keeper Patrick Beach pulled off a stunner but was replaced for the penalty shootout with Matthew Ryan.The gamble failed, and Ryan failed to save a single penalty, including Salah’s cheeky Panenka. The Pharaohs now have a date with destiny in the Round of 16.Finally, the scoreline between Colombia and Ghana says 1-0, and they might not be the most celebrated South American side, but the land whose most popular exports are coffee and Pablo Escobar might just have sent a wake-up call to the other World Cup giants.Ghana competed throughout the match but were no match for a rampant Colombia, with full-backs Munoz and Mojica pushing up high, James Rodriguez drifting in midfield, and Luis Diaz running down the flanks. Next up are Switzerland, and the Europeans will be wary of the damage Colombia can cause across the pitch.If Day 22 was a tribute to Franz Kafka, then Day 23’s biggest match was certainly a footballing hat-tip to Voltaire, the creator of Pangloss the eternal optimist, because if Cabo Verde can scare Argentina, everything in life is feasible.And now begins the Round of 16.
Canada vs Morocco
July 4, 10. 30pm ISTThis is the first World Cup where all three hosts have reached the Round of 16. Canada vs Morocco is perhaps a match-up no one predicted. Morocco are one of the two African countries left in the mix, and last World Cup’s semi-finalists will hope to go deep into the tournament. So will Offside, because we want to continue using our Casablanca memes.
Canada’s Alphonso Davies works out during a training session in Houston, Friday, July 3, 2026, ahead of their round of 16 FIFA World Cup soccer game against Morocco. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Warrior WatchFor Canada, the obvious choice are Bayern Munich man Alphonso Davies, who face off against PSG’s Achraf Hakimi in the obvious mouth-watering mano-a-mano battle in this tie.Battle PlanCanada will have to be selective while pressing, or else they will be overrun by the Moroccan players. The entire match will hinge on the Davies-Hakimi flank. If Hakimi pins Davies, Canada will lose their counter-attacking mojo. The second battle will be in midfield, where Canada’s old-school 4-4-2 could be exposed.It could all come down to who score first. If Canada score first, Houston becomes a hockey rink with grass. If Morocco score first, Canada will have to chase a team that enjoy making desperate opponents look naive.
Paraguay vs France
July 5, 2. 30am ISTCan anyone stop “Dictator” Mbappe? That has become a rallying question across the World Cup. Who will be this World Cup’s Nelson, who can halt the resplendent team that look like the footballing version of Napoleon’s forces? In the various anime takes on the subject, the answer is an amalgamation of Ronaldo and Messi, or Menaldo. In real life, there are still no answers over who can stop Mbappe, Dembele, Barcola and Olise from doing whatever they want on the field.
France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates scoring their third goal with Michael Olise (11) during their match against Sweden.
Paraguay, of course, emerge after halting one of the greatest footballing empires in Germany, though one must say Germany’s modern iteration resemble England in knockouts after losing in penalty shootouts. In 1998, France actually needed Laurent Blanc’s golden goal while current coach Didier Deschamps was marshalling the troops.Warrior WatchYou can pick any one of France’s attackers, but the Offside pick is Mbappe, who is just two behind Messi’s all-time World Cup record of 20 goals. For Paraguay, the main man is Miguel Almiron, who can run like no one’s business.Battle PlanFrance will continue doing what they have done so far, though that might change if Deschamps suddenly takes a pragmatic take and decides to drop one of his attackers for a more defensive-minded midfielder.Paraguay will hope to defend narrowly, slow the rhythm, and hope the Philly heat makes it harder for the French players to sprint. Of course, that could be, to borrow a line from Albus Dumbledore, optimism to the point of foolishness. But when you are facing the marauding footballers of Voltaire’s land, optimism might just be the only option.Along with prayer.
In the last column, Offside had imagined Paraguay as Sardar Khan from Gangs of Wasseypur against Germany, but France might leave them like Sardar Khan at the end of Part 1.
