Nigeria and Senegal fly Africa's flag high
In this edition of his World Cup analysis, Andrew Hallett has special praise for two African sides, is gripped by the Golden Boot race, and feels those who wrote off the Germans were a tad bit premature.
Well done, Nigeria and Senegal!
There has been very little to shout about for African football fans so far at the World Cup. Senegal won their first match, but everyone else flattered to deceive, sadly. However, the weekend's action changed that and put a smile back on Africa's face.
Nigeria got the ball rolling on Friday evening with a massively impressive performance against Iceland, winning the match 2-0. Senegal then got a huge point against Japan on Sunday to add to their win over Poland. This has put them on course for a spot in the knockout round.
While both nations face incredibly tough clashes in their final Group Stage matches, the way they are both playing will no doubt stand them in good stead. Don't write Africa off just yet, even if the unpredictable Argentina and Colombia stand in Nigeria and Senegal's way, respectively.
Golden Boot race just got interesting
Cristiano Ronaldo looked like a banker winner of the Golden Boot after his hat-trick on matchday one, but Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku have other ideas. Kane now has five goals after his hat-trick against Panama, while Lukaku is level with Ronaldo on four goals after another strong individual performance against Tunisia. England and Belgium have booked their spots in the knockout round of the World Cup, while Portugal are expected to do the same on Monday - so the trio are going to get more chances to find the back of the net. It is going to be an interesting race going forward. Who is your money on?
The goals have arrived!
After a run of 1-0 matches last week, there was a fear that the goals at the World Cup were simply not going to come. Well, this weekend put those fears to bed. In the nine matches played over the course of the weekend, 34 goals were scored. That is an average of nearly four goals per game! Here's hoping this trend continues, but looking at what is on show this midweek, a few cagey matches will likely bring that average right down.
Never write off the Germans!
Germany's World Cup defence looked over on Saturday night. Afer losing 1-0 to Mexico in their first match, the Germans were drawing 1-1 with Sweden heading into added time at the end of the match. A draw would have put the Germans on the brink of an embarrassing Group Stage exit.
Step forward, Toni Kroos. The Real Madrid star produced a goal of pure magic to win the match for Germany. Is was an incredible strike from a tight angle, and one which was worthy of winning any game. Germany even had 10 men on the pitch at the time following Jerome Boateng's earlier red card, so their late win is even more impressive. Never write the Germans off - that's the lesson we can take away from this World Cup so far.