After 30 matches of the World Cup are done so far, it is a pleasant surprise to see that only 5 red cards have been handed amidst the sprinkling of yellow cards that the various players have received. Here’s how they happened.
Maximiliano Pereria of Uruguay was the man to win the first red card of this World Cup. Frustrated with the losing stretch and with the Costa Ricans strict defence, he delivers a swift kick to Joel Campbell’s shin after his attempt at pushing the striker away from the ball failed. Uruguay scored only one goal that match whereas Costa Rica won with 3 goals.
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Wilson Palacios of Honduras took the second red card home in his match against France. He picks up a default red card as he is punished for his second offence on the field – attacking France’s Pogba right in the penalty box itself.
Pepe of Portugal should have known better. Fighting a relatively better team (Germany), the angry young man left his team high and dry a few minutes into the match. When his brush into Mueller’s face resulted in theatrics from the German striker, an infuriated Pepe rammed his head right into Mueller’s face. Looks like his temper issues have not been resolved down the years, after all.
Alexander Song of Cameroon goes a little crazy in his match against Croatia. The Barcelona player who was not in close proximity to the ball, lashes out at Mandzukic and then simply punches him! That looked very painful for the powerful Croatian’s face.
·Kostas Katsouranis of Greece received a default red card as he picked up two yellow cards in the same match against Japan. The midfielder ended p tackling Japans’ Hasebe a little too late on the field and did not even get the ball in return.
Red cards handed at the World Cup suspend the player for the next game. However, a player is also given a one match suspension if they receive a yellow card in two consecutive matches.
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