FIFA World Cup sees four draws in a day for 1st time in 68 Years
Los Angeles, June 16
There were four draws on a single day at the World Cup for the first time since June 15, 1958, exactly 68 years ago, when eight matches were played, as per the Athletic.
In the first fixture of the day, Debutants Cape Verde produced one of the biggest upsets of the ongoing FIFA World Cup, keeping a star-studded world number two-ranked Spain, who are also the current European Champions, restricted to a goalless draw in a sensational defensive masterclass at Atlanta on Monday.
In the second fixture of the day, Egypt were denied their first-ever FIFA World Cup win despite a quick strike from Emam Ashour as Romelu Lukaku forced an own goal equaliser within the first minute of coming on the pitch, with Belgium playing a 1-1 draw at Seattle on Tuesday.
In the third fixture of the day, an 80th-minute equaliser from Maximiliano Araujo helped Uruguay play a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia in their FIFA World Cup opening clash at Miami on Tuesday. With this draw, Spain, Cape Verde, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, all the teams in the group H are all level at one point each.
In the last fixture of the day, Iran secured a hard-fought 2-2 draw against New Zealand in their opening World Cup match on Tuesday, in a thrilling contest played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Iran will return to Los Angeles to face Belgium, while New Zealand take on Egypt in Vancouver in the next Group G matches on Sunday.
New Zealand, making their third appearance at the finals, remain without a win at a World Cup after seven matches. Iran is looking to reach the knockout round for the first time.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Iran's 2-2 draw against New Zealand is commendable. They showed real character coming back from behind. It's good to see Asian teams making their mark on the world stage. The group stage is going to be intense with so many teams level on points now.
Honestly, this FIFA World Cup format with so many matches is getting a bit chaotic. Four draws in a day? That's just tactics gone wrong. Would rather see attacking football and goals. Spain should have beaten Cape Verde easily. Overrated team, overrated coach.
As a dedicated football follower from India, I'm thrilled that the World Cup is finally in the Americas. More exposure for the sport in our subcontinent! But seriously, Egypt must be kicking themselves. They had that win in their grasp. Belgium's Lukaku is a beast off the bench though.
The underdog performances today were brilliant! Cape Verde made history and Saudi Arabia showed they can compete with South American flair. Makes you realise football is truly universal. Even our Indian Super League players would learn a thing or two from these defensive masterclasses. 🏆✨
First time in 68 years with four draws in a day! That's a crazy stat. But honestly, some of these matches were defensive snoozefests. FIFA needs to tweak the rules to encourage more attacking play. India's football future is bright, but we need to learn from the counter-attacking efficiency of teams like Iran.
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