DOHA, Qatar — This was the World Cup we had feared. Nobody quite knew whether the November-December scheduling of this tournament would mean players could just pick up from their league season, unhindered by the physical and emotional fatigue of the end of the season, or whether the lack of preparation time would mean teams came into the tournament undercooked, lacking the sort of cohesion and mutual understanding that brings fluency and comes only from weeks of training together. Early signs had been promising, but successive 0-0 draws on the tournament’s third day—there was one in the entirety of 2018—hinted that perhaps worst fears will be realized, at least for some teams.
At least Tunisia’s battling draw with Denmark earlier in the day had shimmered with intent. There had been half a dozen decent chances. But Mexico’s 0–0 draw with Poland was grim, at least in the final third. Other than Guillermo Ochoa saving Robert Lewandowski’s 55th-minute penalty, almost nothing happened.
