11 things we loved on day 15: Batshuayi, Valderrama, VAR & more

Quick Reads
  • Planet Football
  • 29th June 2018

England played out an excellent tactical defeat against Belgium, while Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham players caught our eye on day 15 in Russia.

Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions made eight changes for their final group match, surely a sign that this was all part of his master plan to lift the World Cup next month. Have you ever been more convinced it’s coming home?

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi celebrated in an unorthodox fashion, while we got a brilliant picture of two Colombian icons.

Michy Batshuayi

From ecstasy to agony. Literally. We’ve tried, but it’s actually impossible to get tired of watching this.

Axel Witsel

At least his team-mate kept us up to date.

Michy Batshuayi

To be fair, Batshuayi took it well.

Roberto Martinez

It wasn’t as good as Batshuayi’s celebration, obviously, but we enjoyed this.

And when you’ve stopped enjoying Martinez’s reaction, look at Thierry Henry in the background. It’s layered.

Senegal

There has to be a first time for everything, but this is pretty harsh on the Senegal lads. We’ll miss their fans.

Sadio Mane

Oh, Sadio.

Gareth Southgate

A couple of very old tweets from Southgate’s now inactive Twitter account are beginning to surface, and we’re enjoying it.

Wahbi Khazri

Taking time out from ridiculous ‘f*ck it’ moments, Khazri managed to grab a goal and an assist against Panama, becoming the only player to register two of each during the group stage.

Goals

There had been a lot of complaints when the World Cup announced it would expand to 32 teams, but this year’s tournament has been incredibly competitive.

Davinson Sanchez (and VAR)

What a tackle this was. And fair play to VAR for getting it right.

Nostalgia

It’s always brilliant seeing legends in the current day, and we really hope these two heroes are the best of friends. They are in our minds, anyway.

More World Cup

Picked last: The surprising influence of the World Cup number 23s

How Germany is reacting after World Cup exit: Surely there’s a word for this?

FIFA simulates how Sam Allardyce’s England would fare at the World Cup

Can you decipher these 50 WC players from the ridiculously tough clues?

World Cup