The second round of World Cup group fixtures have now been completed and five members of the Wolves squad were in action over the past week.
Raul Jimenez was the first Old Gold man to book his place in the knockout stages, while Hee Chan Hwang and Ladislav Krejci will hope to join him, having featured for South Korea and Czech Republic recently.
David Moller Wolfe was also celebrating, after Norway progressed after just two matches, however Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s Haiti were eliminated from a tough looking Group C.
Raul Jimenez & Hee Chan Hwang | Mexico 1-0 South Korea
Wolves duo Jimenez and Hwang faced off in second round of Group A fixtures and it was the Mexicans who came out on top to book their place in the knockout rounds.
Jimenez, who scored in matchday one, once again led the line and watched on a Luis Romo converted into an open goal to claim the only goal at the Estadio Guadalajara.
Hwang’s first two seasons at Molineux were alongside Jimenez, and he was brought on after 57 minutes but his wait for a goal this tournament goes on. Mexico go through as group winners with one match to spare, while South Korea still look well placed for second.
Ladislav Krejci | Czech Republic 1-1 South Africa
Like South Korea, the Czech Republic and Krejci are still harbouring hopes of reaching the knockout stage but were forced to settle for one point against South Africa, rather than three.
The Wolves defender was named Player of the Match in Atalanta and his nation were on course for victory after Michal Sadílek opened the scoring after just five minutes.
However, a controversial penalty, converted by Teboho Mokoena, ensured the points were shared. Regardless, victory against Mexico on Thursday morning is likely to be enough for progression for the Czechs.
David Moller Wolfe | Norway 3-2 Senegal
Wolfe played the full 90 minutes as Norway beat Senegal in an entertaining Group I clash to book their place in the knockout stages.
Dominant Norway were wasteful in front of goal in the opening 45, but still lead through Marcus Pederson’s strike, and Erling Haaland bagged his side’s second straight after the break.
Ismaila Sarr responded for Senegal, before Haaland – now Norway’s top World Cup goal scorer – restored the two-goal lead. Sarr netted again late on, but the Norwegians saw out the win to go through with France, who they meet on the final day to decide the group winners.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde | Brazil 3-0 Haiti
Haiti became the first team to be eliminated from the competition, but Bellegarde had the opportunity to face five-time winners Brazil in Philadelphia.
Former Wolves man Mateus Cunha scored the first two of three Brazilian goals, both coming in the opening 36 minutes.
Vinicius Junior then bagged the third and final goal in first half stoppage time. Bellegarde thought he had a World Cup assist when Ricardo Ade met his corner, but a brilliant Alisson save kept it out. Haiti’s journey concludes against Morocco in Atalanta.
Elsewhere
Wolves' other World Cup representatives – Sasa Kalajdzic, Santiago Bueno and Jose Sa – were all unused substitutes for their nations in round two. Austria took on Argentina on Monday and Kalajdzic watched on from the bench as Lionel Messi recovered from a missed penalty to score twice and leave Austria with work still to do to be sure of progression. Uruguay have now drawn two from two, having been pegged back by Cape Verde to draw 2-2. Finally, Sa was an unused substitute as Portugal emphatically beat Uzbekistan 5-0.
Coming up
The final round of group fixtures are upon us and Wolves’ contingent have one final opportunity to contribute to their nations successes before the knockout stage. Bellegarde will be up first, and although Haiti are already out of the World Cup, they’ll look for a positive end against Morocco on Wednesday night. Three Wolves men are in action early on Thursday with Krejci and Jimenez facing each other. Mexico are assured of top spot, while the Czechs would progress with a win. Norway are also through already, but Wolfe will hope to face France, and whoever wins that tie will top the group. Uruguay will need a result against Spain to progress, while a win for Austria against Algeria would confirm their progress, likewise with Portugal when they take on Colombia.
