Where have all the goals gone?

To be fair, this always happens at tournaments. The deeper in you get, the more that the risk overvalues the reward. Teams are more worried about making sure they don’t concede than trying to get that elusive winning goal. Because at least that way you can hold on for penalties…

Ah, penalties. The fascination of the neutral and the torture of the emotionally invested. What a way to decide a game, it’s mano a mano, shooter vs keeper, the entire game boiled down into something so simple.

Some takers step up and you can see in their eyes, in their faces and in their body language that they aren’t confident. Confidence is everything in this situation. The nervous player is the one who makes a poor decision, who sells himself to out to the goalkeeper inadvertently. So the cliché goes: Pick your spot and stick with it. There’s no excuse for missing the target. Sometimes a goalie may dive the right way and make the save, that’s something that can’t be helped. But you have to make him make the save. Most of the time he won’t.

Six penalties have been missed at NZ2015 (not including shootouts). That’s a new U20WC record. And three of those kicks missed the goal completely.

**Brazil* 0-0 Portugal (3-1 on Pens)**

240 minutes of knockout footy and the brilliant Brazilians haven’t scored a single goal. Not one. Yet here they are in the semi-finals, the last traditional powerhouse standing. They had to beat Portugal to get there, a match between to superb teams that could have made a fitting final on another day. And despite the end result, it really was the Portuguese who made most of the play to begin with. Also to end with. Really, you could split the game into a few different parts. Portugal had the first and last 20 minutes, Brazil the bit in between and extra time was evenly dour. Gelson Martins spoiled one great chance, while Brazilian keeper Jean was on his toes from the second minute when Joao Nunes gave him a scare. But Danilo, Brazil’s captain, seemed to have headed them in front after surviving that stretch. The only problem was that the ref called it back for a foul off the ball, something they’ve really cracked down on at NZ2015. Brazil did their usual thing of cutting inside at every opportunity, not wanting to cross but not giving themselves the width to be able to stretch their opponents defence down the middle. Long shots and lost possession were the story of most of their attacks. By the end of the 90, Brazil were holding on by their fingernails. Rony Lopes hit the post. He also headed over in extra time from a great position, though it was Gelson Martins – hero of the round of 16 – who had the best chance, somehow placing his one-on-one wide after Lopes had put him through. Penalties ensued, and just like the 120 minutes that preceded it, Portuguese finishing let them down. Lopes scored, but after Lucao’s miss for Brazil had given them the advantage, Raphael Guzzo fluffed on one of the more embarrassing panenkas you’ll see. Jean didn’t even dive, he stood still and caught it. Andre Silva and Nuno Santos missed after that to seal their fate. Brazil with back-to-back shoot-out wins after 0-0 draws.

**Mali* 1-1 Germany (4-3 on Pens)**

The Germans have faltered! The Germans have faltered! But they can't blame anyone but themselves. Julian Brandt gave them the lead after 38 minutes with a finely technical volley which emerged from a pretty sloppy period of play. Up until then, the sides had cancelled each other out quite well. Germany’s defence was enough that even as Mali pressed hard (as they did all over the park) they were able to hold them off without giving up too many opportunities. But they were also limited themselves, struggling a bit with less time and room on the ball. That only got worse after Marc Stendera – probably their most influential attacker (and their top scorer and penalty taker, crucially) – had to be subbed off very early following getting hit on the head with a thunderous clearance. Still, Brandt’s goal already had them in control, at least on the scoreboard, when Jeremy Dudziak was chopped down in the box and Hany Mukhtar stepped up to the spot. Except Djigui Diarra saved it. It proved a massive turning point in the game, as from the prospect of a two goal deficit Mali drew level only minutes later. Barely even minutes. Souleymane Coulibaly with a glancing header from a free kick, past the keeper and inside the far post. Germany had a couple more efforts to win it but couldn’t hold their composure. The game went to extra time, and slowly edged towards penalties. Adama Traore’s saved attempts at 3-3 seemed to give the Germans the initiative but Brandt and Niklas Stark then each missed to put Mali into the semi-final.

**USA 0-0 Serbia* (5-6 on Pens)**

It’s funny that a Cup so often decided up until this point by amazing goals has suddenly become decided by horrific misses. Those mostly had to wait ‘til penalties in this one, mercifully, though Ivan Saponjic somehow found a way not to score in ET as he slid onto a cross/shot at the far post. But for the rest of the game it was powerful defence and magnificent goalkeeping that kept this game scoreless. Zack Steffen of the States especially, not that Pedrag Rajkovic didn’t have his moments either. Carter-Vickers and Miazga were great at the heart of the American defence, but Veljkovic and Babic were even better for Serbia. And what you get in a situation like that is a whole lot of half-chances that lead to nothing but some frustrated attackers, though Serbia were clearly the more enterprising team. Twice in penalties Serbia had to score or they’d be eliminated. Three times they had potentially game-winning attempts. On the third one they succeeded. Nemanja Maksimovic emphatically burying his penalty to put his country into a semi-final against Mali.

Uzbekistan 0-1 Senegal

The only game not to go to spot kicks. In keeping with the trend of the day, though, this game was just as cagey as the rest of them. The sides were afraid to lose and so they set up defensively with a mind on the counter attack. Uzbekistan, especially, were conditioned for that – not a huge surprise with the pace that Senegal boasts up top. But for a long time nothing really happened. Then Uzbekistan had a shot straight at Ibou Sy. Then some more nothing. Then a shot from Alassane Sow that was tipped over the bar by Dilshod Khamraev. Then it was half time. Uzbekistan brought out the long-ball-over- the-top approach after the break, the same strategy that got them past Austria, but the wonderful madness of Ibou Sy had that covered.

For all of their structure and the commitment to playing to their strengths and their strengths only, it was a mistake that cost Uzbekistan in the end. 13 minutes from time, Ibrokhim Abdullaev couldn’t win possession around the centre-circle, Malick Niang spreading the ball wide as Senegal flooded forward. Remi Nassalan skipped past his man with a step-over and his low cross was turned in by Mamadou Thiam. An even game on the face of it, but Senegal were always more dangerous. They saw it out to the finish line.

The Main Men

Rony Lopes (Portugal) – So often their most effective player, especially as Andre Silva had disappeared in the knockouts, the Man City playmaker was at the heart of most of his nation’s best moves. He wasn’t without blame for their terrible finishing but he was the only Portuguese lad to score in the shoot-out.

Lucao (Brazil) – Brazil’s campaign so far hasn’t been focussed on their dominant defence, but Lucao was superb against Portugal. Superb. It’s been 412 minutes since they last conceded a goal at this tournament, they’re less like Brazil and more like Italy!

Srdan Babic (Serbia) – Gotta be one of the tallest players at this World Cup. He’s listed at a shade under 6 foot 5, and he uses every bit of that height in protecting his goal and his goalkeeper. A supreme defender, he plays for Vojvodina in Serbia but word is the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United are keeping an eye out.