Rise of a Football God

Morocco vs Peru was a thriller even more exciting than the clash between France and South Korea.

With South Korea having lost their 3rd game against France, Morocco had it on a silver platter to claim the 2nd knockout stage qualifying spot out of the group.

And to claim it, they just had to beat Peru.

That was what Morocco set out to do but in turn, Peru set out to frustrate the hell out of them since by winning against Morocco, they'll get their first 3 points of the group stage, making them, Morocco, and South Korea at 3 points each.

That way, Peru would also have a chance of qualifying to the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

These reasons were why Peru played the game of their lives against Morocco.

During the first half, the footballing world was shocked as Peru proved their credentials as the dominant team, hoarding possession and being the more threatening of the 2 teams in attack.

The first half came to an end 0-0 after much fiery encounters between both teams. The second half almost followed the same script, but a specific player said no and singlehandedly tore the script, writing a new one.

That player was Achraf Hakimi.

In the 77th minute, Hakim carried the ball from back, ran deep, dribbling through multiple Peru players with his pace and dribbling ability, holding on to the ball long enough till the space opened.

He cut the ball back, and then… bam!

Amrabhat hit it once, scoring to finally break the deadlock.

And then, just 2 minutes later, in the 79th minute, Hakimi did it again, running deep with the ball before throwing a cross into the net for En Neysri to pounce on, heading past the goalkeeper to make it 2 nil to Morocco.

And just like that, with 2 goals in rapid fire fashion, Morocco were out.

They blew Peru away and secured their knockout stage qualification spot.

As soon as the France vs South Korea game in BC Place in Canada came to an end, the South Korean players received news of Morocco's game and knowing their fate, they broke down in tears, lamenting their fate.

…

The next day, on Group C, Brazil lined up against Australia in another thrilling FIFA World Cup game, this time at the SoFi Stadium in USA.

Like usual, Brazil ran riot, winning convincingly 3-1.

This time though, Endrick was the hero as Australia were the ones leading 0-1 by halftime, only for the young Brazilian to enter the pitch in the second half and turn the game around.

In the 63rd minute, Endrick unleashed a thunderbolt from way outside the 18-yard box, sending it straight into the top bin with power.

1-1!

"What a strike!" The commentator screamed, bamboozled.

9 minutes later, in the 72nd minute, Raphinha assisted Vinicius Jnr. who ran behind the defense before scoring past the goalkeeper to make it 2-1 to Brazil.

The final minutes were nervy as Australia threatened, but Endrick put a halt to all the tension as he scored another crazy goal in the 86th minute. This time, it was an acrobatic kick.

An overhead kick that left the SoFi Stadium in awe, singing praises of him.

The game ended, and Endrick won his first FIFA World Cup man of the match award.

At the same time that Brazil played against Australia, Egypt also played against Serbia in another epic FIFA World Cup game.

It was another of those tense decider games.

Both nations were in a fragile balance in their group table.

Having drawn and lost 1 game, Serbia had only 1 point. And though Egypt had 3 points compared to their 1, if they managed to win against the Pharoahs of Egypt in their last group stage game, they would rise all the way to 4 points, eclipsing Egypt in the group table.

And since Australia lost against Egypt, taking them out of the race, it was automatic knockout stage qualification for Serbia if they managed to win.

It was a make or break moment.

Serbia approached the game with a crazy mamba mentality, not caring about the names of their opponents on the pitch at all, and they played Egypt football.

It was tense, it was tight. It was action-packed, full of highlights.

Egypt eventually scored early in the second half, in the 47th minute from a Mohamed Salah assist to Omar Marmoush.

That goal sent the stadium into a frenzy as Egyptian fans turned it into a cauldron of noise, but it didn't last till the 90th minute.

In the 74th minute, Serbia did the impossible, scoring the equalizer, literally forcing it from an Egyptian own goal to make it 1-1.

For the final minutes of the game, both nations toiled, fought, searched tooth and nail and yet the 3rd goal of the game failed to materialize.

The game ended 1-1.

Serbia played the game of their lives, but they were left in tears at the end of the game. They couldn't achieve their goal.

By drawing the game, though they did increase their points tally to 2, it meant nothing since Egypt also increased their point tally to 4, granting them automatic qualification to the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

While the round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup loomed, another FIFA World Cup classic took the stage the next day, June 24th.

This time, it was between 2 countries that have already made their mark in this FIFA World Cup with scintillating displays.

This time, it was Argentina vs Norway.

The buildup to the game was one full of tension.

Norway started first, triggering the psychological battle early as they called Argentina a whining team relying on the past glory of their captain. They called Messi washed, finished.

And well, provoked, the introvert captain finally left his shell.

Lionel Messi retaliated in front of the press before the game, calling his opponents out as cowards, that they should bring it to the pitch if they dared.

Well, to neutral fans, fingers crossed.

The drama was the perfect ingredient to an all-time classic FIFA World Cup game between 2 nations in form.