Prior to today’s round of games, we had seen a grand total of one draw at the World Cup.
Today we had two.
Here’s how the day’s action shook out:
Belgium 2-1 Algeria | Full Recap
Algeria looked good from the get-go, staying very organized and very compact to keep a dangerous Belgian side mostly at bay. The Algerians good work paid off in the 24th minute, when Sofiane Feghouli earned and converted a penalty kick to give the Desert Foxes a 1-0 lead.
Algeria sat back after going ahead, maintaining that strong shape and turning away Belgian attack after Belgian attack. They held strong until the final 20 minutes, when Belgium scored twice in 10 minutes to steal a 2-1 victory.
Marouane Fellaini had the first in the 70th minute, getting on the end of a Kevin De Bruyne cross and fantastically heading home to make it 1-1.
Algeria pressed ahead after the equalizer, opening themselves up for an 80th minute counterattack that saw Belgium’s Dries Mertens powerfully blast home to give the Red Devils a 2-1 win.
Both teams will return to action on Sunday, when Belgium will take on Russia and Algeria will face off against South Korea.
Brazil 0-0 Mexico | Full Recap
Occasionally, we get a scoreless draw that’s a true barnburner, a game that will live on in our minds for a long, long time.
This was one of those scoreless draws.
From the national anthems – Brazil’s was so powerful it brought star forward Neymar to tears – all the way to the final whistle, this was an edge-of-your-seat affair, highlighted by some magnificent play from Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
Mexico and Brazil are now tied atop Group A, both sitting with four points each. They’ll finish up group play on Monday, with El Tri taking on Croatia and the hosts facing off against Cameroon.
Russia 1-1 South Korea | Full Recap
The final match of the opening round of the World Cup wasn’t decided until the final minutes, with South Korea’s Lee Keun-Ho giving the Asian side the lead in the 68th minute before Russia’s Alexander Kerzhakov equalized in the 74th.
The draw was relatively disappointing for the Russians, which were favored to take down South Korea and keep even with Belgium atop Group H. Both sides will be back at it again on Sunday, when Russia will take on Belgium and South Korea will take on Belgium.
