Of stars and giant slayers

It is undoubtedly sad that the reigning Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema was ruled out of the World Cup, given this might have been his last chance to shine on the biggest stage. It does not, however, have to be so for Les Bleus.

For all their culture, the French team is notoriously prone to kerfuffle, especially when there are multiple superstars in the team. Perhaps it is down to all the democracy in France that encourages everyone to politick for their own space.

A bit of autocratic leadership might be in order, however, and based on Tuesday night's performance, it would seem that Kylian Mbappe might be the one to provide it.

France deserve ample praise for keeping things fun between the seismic events of Tuesday's first match, and the drama of yesterday's second offering. From here on, I hope that the African nations find their scoring boots, and some Europeans play with more decisiveness. Otherwise, too many games would end up as dull affairs.

What was not boring, however, was the gut punch to conventional expectation that we witnessed yesterday as Japan added a whole lot of wasabi to Qatar's football dish.

The Samurai Blue were always going to pose a bigger challenge for the favourites than other underdogs in the tournament, given that many of their players ply their trade in the Bundesliga and other European leagues, but the way Japan went to toe to toe with mighty Germany for most of the game was a soothing sight for cynical eyes. 

It is worth mentioning that this edition's German team appear to be not made of the same ruthless material as some of their predecessors. They break the stereotype of cold efficiency, with a combination of happy flair and sad vulnerability.

Times they are a-changin' in football, and based on what we witnessed in the last two days, that could very well be a beautiful thing.