World Cup teams fall as big stars limp out

Ugly side of the beautiful game

SARANSK, Russia – With nagging injuries, heavy marking from opponents and some simply uninspired play, the top stars of the 2018 World Cup have struggled to deliver on the impossible expectations they carried into the tournament, with one prominent Portuguese exception.

Aside from Cristiano Ronaldo, who has all four of Portugal’s goals in its two games, many of the biggest names are off to a shaky start.

No one has had rougher treatment from the opposition than the world’s priciest player, Neymar. During Brazil’s opening 1-1 draw with Switzerland, the 26-year-old was fouled 10 times, the highest number on a single player in a single match since the 1998 World Cup, when England’s Alan Shearer took 11 challenges against Tunisia.

Overall, Switzerland fouled Brazil 19 times, with little intervention from the referee, and it worked – especially on Neymar. Brazilians suggested their opponents were too violent; Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes thinks Neymar has another problem.

“He just falls too much,” Fernandes said after the game in Rostov-on-Don. “Out of these 10, only seven or eight were fouls. We have to stop their star, and he is the star.”

Neymar felt the effects of the Swiss strategy long after Sunday’s match ended, limping out of training Tuesday as he continues to recover from a foot injury he picked up before the tournament. He trained Wednesday and was confirmed as a starter for the match against Costa Rica on Friday.

Superstar Lionel Messi did face heavy marking too, but he also had two uninspired performances for Argentina, which is now on the verge of early elimination after a 3-0 defeat against Croatia.

Throughout the matches against Iceland and Croatia, disciplined defenders and midfielders stopped Messi from making his famous runs and getting one-on-one chances.

Against Iceland, Messi saw his penalty spot kick saved by goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson, and the game ended 1-1.

Against Croatia, he crumbled with the rest of the team, which now desperately needs to beat Nigeria in the last round of group stage to have a chance of advancing to the next phase.

“Messi is human,” Aguero said after the Iceland match. “Sometimes things happen for a reason. We need to be with him. This was a bad day, but he can decide a match at any given moment. Hope he is better against Croatia.”

Egypt striker Mohamed Salah set a Premier League scoring record for Liverpool and held all the hopes for a deep run by the Pharaohs in their return to the World Cup, until he injured his shoulder playing for Liverpool in the Champions League final in a clash with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, of Spain.