A new story is born every day at the World Cup. Somewhere a flood of goals, somewhere an upset, somewhere a dramatic comeback. But the fifth day of this edition has earned a place in history for a different reason.
None of the four matches scheduled for the day produced a winner or a loser. All four ended in draws. In the 96-year history of the World Cup, this has happened only for the second time.
In the day’s first match on Monday, Spain met Cape Verde. Despite a wide gap in strength and experience, the two sides left the field level at 0-0. Belgium and Egypt then drew 1-1.
Saudi Arabia and Uruguay drew with the same scoreline in the early-morning match. In the day’s final match, Iran and New Zealand also finished in a thrilling 2-2 draw, sharing the points.
Four matches in one day, all four drawn, such a rare sight was last seen at the 1958 Sweden World Cup. On that occasion, Sweden and Wales drew goalless on the same day. The Yugoslavia-Paraguay match ended in a thrilling 3-3, while England-Austria finished 2-2 and Northern Ireland-Germany also ended 2-2.
In other words, no such event had been seen in more than seven decades since the World Cup began in 1930. Finally, 68 years later, the football world witnessed four draws in a single day once more.
Interestingly, each of the four matches told a different story. Somewhere it was defensive resolve, somewhere a last-minute fight, somewhere end-to-end attacking from both sides. But the result at the end of the day was the same, a draw.
On a stage as big as the World Cup, every point carries great value. So these four draws are not just a new chapter in the statistics, they have also made the group-stage equations more complicated. The day, which has earned its place in history, will long be remembered by football fans.
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