I wanted to Iceland to qualify, which would have required them to win and Nigeria to lose. But I wanted Argentina to not qualify too. So was quite ambivalent.
The commentator started off with recitation from 1001 Facts of FIFA WC 2018: Uzoho was the second youngest goalkeeper in the FIFA WC 2018. Right off the bat (lol), Argentina was "under so much pressure" and the game might open a "new chapter in Argentine football history". The tall Nigerians in green looked like a forest of defenders: trees in a line. This caused him to elicit a McGonagall line, "pressure is one thing, scoring goals another". Boyle would agree. Then he began reciting Etebo's kundali. Which club, what age, FIFA history etc. For Nigeria's goal, he called back to Morocco's saying that established teams would get into "losing positions so cheaply." I believe this does injustice to the underdog teams. But he balanced this by saying that they also "struggled to make impact against so-called underdog teams".
Then of course, "Messi's first goal in the World Cup". Argentina
had "reached up to the Gods" and "Messi just answered their
prayer". I think the commentator was the same one as in the Iran v. Spain
match as he also mimicked the conversation between a Nigerian player and
referee "I'm sorry sir. I didn't know what I did wrong". Very droll.
I thought the match was well-officiated. And so chose to support the referee.
My host, Debopriyo
would disagree. He thought the Turkish referee went full Erdogan in the second
half.
The match continued to be "fascinating" and the commentator thought
the Nigerians "expect (Moses) to perform miracles. Perhaps Musa
could". A very quizzy commentator, considering Moses and Musa are the same
person in religion. +10 to him. The Nigerians continued to show "good
technique" and "defended pretty well" to no luck.
The unhelpful praise continued in the second half as the Nigerians had shown
"sterling defence". Well you have to give it to him. His adjectives
and adverbs seemed genuine and flowed naturally. It did not seem he was using a
thesaurus. He noted "Messi giving the leading talk" and delivering
the "early scare". Then of course how the use of VAR and the number
of penalties were going "up and up". There was "another
twist" showing how "rapidly circumstances change" as Nigeria
scored the penalty. "The pressure intensifies now on Argentina" and
"patience is the name of the game" for Nigeria. The latter phrase
earns him brownie points. There was "Nothing new there" when he
noticed four defenders on Messi. Moses remained a "thorn in the side, with
his close footwork." Perhaps a burning bush? Then there was a rapid
onslaught during the race towards the Nigerian goal. "Who's got the legs?
Who's got the pace?". This reminded me of Messi and why he so skilled. He
is so short. His legs must be tiny, to extricate the ball from. Anyway, I got
distracted as the cameraman panned to another visual of this beautiful
blue-eyed Argentine fan. The contest and she, both remained
"absorbing".
Messi became "a cause of worry for the Argentine team" as he began
playing "deeper and deeper". Moses tried again. He "lashed it in
there, zooms a fraction too high". Then the Turkish referee did not give a
hand. There was extensive charcha with Chhetri bhaiyya (who did not wear Indian
dress, that anti-national) in the Extraaa Innings where he said, it was little
different from the Iran-Spain one and it was up to the referee to whether to
give it or not.
It would have seemed that "Nigeria weathered this storm" but with blood flowing down his forehead, Mascherano wanted khoon ka badla khoon se, even running behind the referee like Singham. Then Rojo "atoned for Mascherano's sins". Full biblical. There was "jubilation in St. Petersburg.". It was a "special, special moment", "fabulous", a "rescue", "tears everywhere". Especially from a little boy. Indoctrination begins early.
For the rest of the "dramatic night" left, he merely repeated the scoreline again and again. The Argentinians had "survived a major scare" though the "frustrated figures" of the Nigerians had "fought gamely". There were "so many storylines, so much buildup". Then a shot of the Jorge Sampaoli celebrating alone.
The extra innings started off with "Are you not entertained?" from Gladiator. Good start. But I disliked the fact that he mentioned both Nigeria and Iceland being "dumped".
I liked this commentary.
3 beards/5.
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