FIFA World Cup 2018: Friendly Matches Highlights – 2nd June 2018

A total of 8 matches were played today of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2018 friendly matches. The Match wise highlights of all 8 matches are appended below.

Match Wise Highlights

Match 1 of 8: France Vs Italy

Result: 3 – 1

Goal Scorers:

• France: Umtiti 8′, Griezmann 29′ (P), Dembélé 63′
• Italy: Boucci 36’

Highlights:

• It was a match between two strong teams namely France and Italy. Both teams are the contenders of winning the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2018.
• And, each one hoped to win this friendly in order to step up their preparations for the mega event.
• The team who was going to score first would always have the upper hand in the match.
• And, that’s exactly what happened as Umtiti netted the ball at the 8^th minute and the scores was now 1 – 0.
• Italy’s strikers now had to show their prowess by levelling the scoreboard. But, the opposite happened as France’s prized attacker Griezmann scored off a penalty at the 29^th minute to make it 2 – 0.

• At this point, Italy had had enough as it was Boucci who opened the scoring for the Italians by scoring at the 36^th
• The score was now 2 – 1 and neither team scored any further goals as the 1^st half came to an end.
• It was now time for the 2^nd half and Italy needed to re-think their tactics and come back with a better game plan.
• But, Italy failed in this objective as the French defense was constantly blocking their shots and Italy were regularly being denied off levelling the scoreboard.
• On the other hand, France were attacking the goal post of their opponents on a regular basis.
• And, after a series of attacks it was Dembele who netted the ball at the 63^rd minute to make it 3 – 1.
• This was the end of the game for Italy as no goals were scored by either side and the Italians lost to France by a margin of 2 goals.

Match 2 of 8: Egypt Vs Colombia

Result: 0 – 0

Highlights:

• Egypt looked to win against Colombia without Mohammad Salah who had been injured in the Champion league final.
• On the other hand, this was Colombia’s last game before the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia and they aimed to win it.
• The 1^st half went underway and unsurprisingly it was Colombia who looked to dominate in every department of this match.
• Egypt were far from impressive but they also didn’t allow Colombia to score as the 1^st half came to end with the score being 0 – 0.
• The Egyptians had to show that they were a complete team without Salah and for that they had to re-think their playing strategy for the 2^nd
• On the other hand, Colombia were also hoping of ending their campaign on a high before the FIFA World Cup 2018.
• So, after the break the 2^nd half went underway as both teams looked to score the opening goal of the match.
• But, even after substitutions and several free kicks from both sides not a single goal could be scored as the match came to an end. The final score was 0 – 0.

Match 3 of 8: Thailand Vs China

Result: 0 – 2

Goal Scorers:

• China: Wu Lei 34’, Fan Xiaodong 74’

Highlights:

• Having lost their last 2 matches in a row, Thailand looked to win their match against China.
• Meanwhile, China had managed to win their last two matches as they are hoping to forget their failure of not qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2018.
• Nevertheless, in this match China were the clear favorites and they won it easily by a margin of two goals.
• The Chinese took the lead in the 1^st half when Wu Lei scored at the 34^th minute and made the score 1 – 0.
• Thailand looked to score in the 1^st half but couldn’t do so as it ended as China were comfortably in the lead.
• China had shown composure in the 1^st half and they were hoping to replicate their performance in the 2^nd
• After the break, the second half went underway and all of a sudden Thailand’s defense was looking improved.
• But, this didn’t help them as it was Fan Xiaodong of China who netted the ball at the 74^th minute and China were now leading by 2 – 0.
• Thailand hoped for a consoling goal but they couldn’t score it as the match came to an end as China won it by 2 – 0.

Match 4 of 8: England Vs Nigeria

Result: 2 – 1

Goal Scorers:

• England: Cahill 7’, Henry Kane 39’
• Nigeria: Iwobi 47’

Highlights:

• It was Gary Cahill’s return to the England and he had a point to prove. On the other hand, Henry Kane who was made England’s captain for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2018 also had to show his worth.
• Also, Nigeria were also not going to be beaten easily as several World-class players were a part of this team.
• So, the match started as the 1^st half went underway. Unsurprisingly, it was dominated by England as excellent show of passing was displayed.
• An early goal by Gary Cahill set the tone for England as Nigeria came under pressure from the 7^th
• This lead was doubled by the English captain Harry Kane when he netted at the ball at the 39^th minute to make it 2 – 0.
• This was the story of the 1^st half as it came to end with England leading from the front by 2 goals.
• Nigerian fans needed hope and it was given to them by Iwobi who scored at the 47^th minute to score the opening goal for his team.
• But, to the dismay of Nigeria this was the only goal that could be scored by them as the match ended with final score being 2 – 1.

Match 5 of 8: Austria Vs Germany

Result: 2 – 1

Goal Scorers:

• Austria: Hinteregger 53′, Schöpf 69′
• Germany: Ozil 11’

Highlights:

• No one including Austria was expecting to beat Germany in this match as Austria had not won against Germany in 32 years.
• However, today a new Austrian team was seen in action as the Germans were beaten by a margin of one goal.
• The 1^st half was dominated by Germany as Ozil had scored at the 11^th minute to make it 1 – 0.
• Germany kept Austria at bay in the 1^st half as their defensive maneuvers were more than enough for Austrian forwards.
• But, the 2^nd half was a whole different story. As, it was the Hinteregger who managed to score at the 53^rd minute and the scoreboards were now level.
• Germany now launched an attack on all fronts in hope of getting the lead by scoring a goal.
• But, it looked like Austria had managed to find Germany’s weak spot as this time it was Schopf who netted the ball at the 69^th
• Austria were now ahead in the score line and Germany despite being ahead in possession were lagging in scoring shots at Austria’s goal post.
• At this point, the Germans were clearly looking below-par and this led to their defeat against the Austrians as the 2^nd half ended with the final score being 2 – 1.

Match 6 of 8: Sweden Vs Denmark

Result: 0 – 0

Highlights:

• A tight match between Sweden and Denmark as both teams did not allow each other to score even a single goal.
• Comparatively, more shots were taken by Denmark but their strikers couldn’t get past Sweden’s defense.
• Same was the case for Denmark as they added a draw to their campaign towards the FIFA World Cup 2018.
• Overall, it was Sweden who looked to be on the defending side as not one of their 9 shots were on target.
• This stat could damage Sweden in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Match 7 of 8: Slovenia Vs Montenegro

Result: 2 – 0

Goal Scorers:

• Slovenia: Roman Bezjak (P), Miha Zajc 79’

Highlights:

• Both Slovenia and Montenegro had failed to qualify for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.
• However, both started the match looking to win. And, it was Slovenia who managed to attain this objective as they won over Montenegro by 2 goals.
• The first goal was a gift to Slovenia as a foul allowed Slovenia to get a penalty. And, it was Roman Bezjak who scored it as Slovenia went 1 – 0 up in the table.
• On the other hand, Montenegro failed to score in the 1^st half as it ended with the Slovenians firmly in the lead.
• Montenegro tried to level the score in the 2^nd half but their attacks were excellently blocked by Slovenia’s defense.
• On the other hand, Slovenia increased their lead by one goal and this time it was Miha Zajc who netted the ball at the 79^th minute to make it 2 – 0.
• This was also the final score of this match as it ended with a total score of 2 – 0.

Match 8 of 8: Portugal Vs Belgium

Result: 0 – 0

Highlights:

• The last match of the day was a draw however, it was also the most thrilling one to watch.
• In the end it was the defenders who got the better of their opponents as many attacks were fended off by them.
• No team particularly dominated in the possession or in the total shots department.
• As, both Portugal and Belgium seemed pretty willing to win this match.
• The 1^st half went without a goal as no team could breach each other’s defenses.
• The 2^nd half although more interesting than the 1^st one also had the same story to tell.
• Fouls were given and one yellow card came in the possession of Portugal. However, despite all this drama the match ended in a draw.

That is it for today. Do visit us tomorrow for more FIFA World Cup 2018, International Friendly Matches Highlights.

For updates regularly visit: Allsportspk