Real Madrid News
Official: Hazard, Courtois crash out of World Cup, Modric’s Croatia through to the knockouts
After a tightly-contested affair that ended in a goalless draw against Croatia, Eden Hazard’s Belgium are out of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Luka Modric’s side, however, have made it through to the Round of 16, finishing second in Group F.
The Belgian Red Devils had looked sub-par throughout the tournament even though they had managed to pick up a narrow win over Canada in their opening fixture. But the 2-0 loss to Morocco last time out put them under intense pressure.
Needing a win to stand a chance to qualify, especially with Morocco getting the better of Canada in the other Group F match, Belgium could not get the job done.
In a brave call, Roberto Martinez opted to drop Hazard from the starting XI. His Real Madrid teammate, Thibaut Courtois, did brilliantly to keep Belgium alive in the match, pulling off several clutch saves.
However, at the other end, Romelu Lukaku missed three sitters after coming on at half-time, as the match ended in a goalless draw. Hazard, who came on as a substitute in the latter stages of the game, could do little to change things.
While the Real Madrid duo’s journey in Qatar comes to an end, another Los Blancos star goes through to the knockouts as Modric and Croatia advance again. Having drawn against Morocco in their opener, the Vatreni had beaten Canada resoundingly to put themselves in a good position.
But a loss would have sent them out. However, the team managed to pull through and hold things together. Special mention for Josko Gvardiol who had a top game against Belgium to help Croatia go through.
This Belgium side, considered the ‘Golden Generation’, had advanced to the semi-finals of the last World Cup. But things have been rocky for them for a while now, with recent reports of infighting within the squad only adding fuel to that.
Eventually, Hazard, Courtois & co. are out, while Modric will lead Croatia into the Round of 16, where they could likely face Spain.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho talks Carlos Espi, Diomande, Guler, Tchouameni, Atletico Madrid after Elche 2-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.
Carlos Espi’s injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.
For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.
“When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it’s dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it’s not pleasant.
“The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They’re fun,” he began saying.
Mourinho knows what is going wrong
The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.
Real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don’t. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.
“If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.
“If we have periods where we’re at our best and others where we’re not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it’s a concern. But we won.”
The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho’s concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.
Carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.
“He’s a guy who works hard and is very motivated,” Mourinho said.
He then added, “He’s up against a player who’s in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we’re well aware of that.”
Madrid derby comes at a delicate moment
Next up is Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho’s attention is already turning towards the derby.
Rather than focusing on the opposition, he remains concerned about his own side’s ability to manage matches.
“The only explanation I can find is that we can’t keep going like this. We misjudged the opportunities we had, and once they score a goal, everything changes,” explained the Real Madrid coach.
Meanwhile, there were positives to take from individual performances, as Mourinho praised Yan Diomande’s development after another energetic outing.
“He’s improving. Physically, you can tell he has more minutes under his belt. He has a great work ethic and intelligence—he’s done a great job.”
Mourinho refuses to call Guler indispensable
Arda Guler’s importance was also questioned after another fantastic performance, but Mourinho rejected the idea that any player is beyond replacement.
“No, no one is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the substitutions; Vini did a great job on defence, but he was very tired.
“And Arda, who was playing in the number 10 position, was also losing intensity.
“I brought in a fresh Jude and Brahim when we were down 0-2, but I could sense we were losing control. That’s how it goes for us. And then, we brought in the heavy artillery and turned it around.”
Mourinho was also pleased with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde during Madrid’s strongest spells.
“When the team was playing well, he and Valverde were playing well. They broke through the pressure easily, with skill.
“But the game had two phases—or rather three: one until it was 0–2, another until it was 2–2, and another until the end. They did a good job,” he concluded.
Source: AS
