2018 FIFA World Cup | Round two top flops

Argentina's defender Nicolas Otamendi (top) was a flying flop and had a shocking game against Croatia (Photo: AFP)


The second round of games came to an end on Sunday, with Colombia trouncing Poland 3-0, sending them crashing out of the World Cup.

Every team has played two games each, and the likes of Russia, Uruguay, France, Croatia, England and Belgium have already booked a place in the last-16.

In a round where plenty of goals were scored, many players shone bright, while some looked absolutely ordinary and a liability on the pitch.

Here are the top flops from round two:

Willy Caballero, Argentina

Argentina’s goalkeeper Willy Caballero made a massive mistake to gift Croatia the opener (Photo: AFP)

 

The Argentina goalkeeper committed an absolute howler to hand Croatia the first goal in their 3-0 hammering of Argentina.

Chelsea No 2 Caballero committed the error of the tournament so far as his attempted chipped pass presented Ante Rebic with the chance to fire into the back of the net.

Caballero was left with his head in his hands following the unbelievable slip-up. His brain fade moment helped Croatia get the grip on the game, and resulted in La Albiceleste surrendering to the Croatian pressure.

Nicolás Otamendi, Argentina

Argentina’s performance against Croatia was absolutely shambolic, and they had Manchester City centre-back to thank for that.

Argentina’s defender Nicolas Otamendi (R) was ill disciplined and absolute shambles (Photo: AFP)

 

He was all over the place, looked out of pace, and for long period was horrendous. He is not new to criticism as he has a habit of not showing up in games.

When Luka Modric scored the second goal from distance, Otamendi didn’t press him, rather he allowed him room to score. It was a performance to forget for the City centre-half.

Yussuf Poulsen, Denmark

Yussuf Poulsen was Denmark’s hero in round one, with his goal against Peru proving to be the difference between the two sides.

Denmark’s forward Yussuf Poulsen (R) gave away a penalty and was far from convincing (Photo: AFP)

 

He came into the game against Australia with high confidence, but he handled the ball in his own box to give away a penalty, which Mile Jedinak converted to take Australia level at 1-1. The game ended with the same scoreline, meaning Denmark can’t afford a defeat against France.

Gylfi Sigurdsson, Iceland

You don’t usually find man of his calibre having an off game, but he had one to forget against Nigeria.

In an all important game, he wasn’t as influential as he normally is. He lacked the cutting edge and didn’t influence the game. He would know being the prominent and most important  player for his country, he has to be consistent.

Iceland’s playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson (L) lies on the ground in a game where he was ordinary and out of ideas (Photo: AFP)

 

He also missed a late penalty late on, with Nigeria leading 2-0. It was a game where Sigurdsson looked off color and coudn’t contribute much.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Serbia

A man tipped for big things, and quoted by the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United, needs to do a lot more to justify why he is one of the most sought after players in Europe.

Serbia’s midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic cut a frustrated figure throughtout the game against Switzerland (Photo: AFP)

 

In Serbia’s 1-2 loss to Switzerland, Milinkovic-Savic failed to do anything of note. He was playing in the number 10 role, but didn’t look at ease and didn’t do much apart from giving away four fouls. He was also dispossessed six times, and had only one shot.

He needs to do better in the must win game against Brazil.