Mbappé and Cavani stand out on the world stage!

Day 16 of the world’s most beautiful game: France sends Argentina packing and Cavani made Portugal pack their bags to join them. 

I did not get to watch any of the matches because it was the Sabbath and I attended church. But the sun has set now and I looked at the highlights and was satisfied with what I saw. I hope to catch the MOTD in a few hours.

France v Argentina 4-3

I said that I’ll be satisfied with whichever team won and I am happy with France’s progression. Griezmann gave Les Bleus an early lead through a penalty in the 13′ which was canceled out by  Angel Di Maria’s stunning goal in the 41′. Mercado put Argentina ahead in the 48′ coming from a Messi assist, but France was not about to let Argentina have all the fun and struck back through Benjamin Pavard in the 57′ to level things up. 

Mbappé decided to join the party and scored in the 64′ causing Argentina to panic. Olivier Giroud’s scrumptious pass found the young man again 4 minutes later and Mbappé tucked it away to pile on the pressure on the Argentines who responded through Sergio Aguero in the 90′ from a Messi assist but it was already too late. 

Shucks! I didn’t plan this commentary! 

No champagne, no problem. Water will do. 😆

Thanks for gracing us with your presence at the World Cup, Argentina. 

Uruguay v Portugal 2-1

CAVANI! BAE! Cavani came into this tournament to prove that he was good enough to represent his country and he certainly made his point today after scoring two beautiful goals which dumped Portugal out of the WC. He was emotional after both goals, but after limping off with an injury, he was inconsolable when the final whistle blew. I hope the injury is nothing serious because I want to see him feature in the game against the French on Friday. 

This is Bae’s world; we’re only living in it. 😉

 

Ronaldo helped Cavani off the pitch after he was injured.

Man of the Match! 👍

***All photos via Zimbio & Google Search

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Thou art my rock 💙

Giroud, the heart stealer; Lloris, the quiet leader

Two Frenchmen; one post. Why not? 😄

 

Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris are the best of friends and they’re my boys! 

I’ve followed their careers since they played in France and before the English league cashed in on them. Although I still can’t stand to see Ollie in that Chelsea uniform…

I can just hear the Chelsea fans now: Roses are red. Violets are blue. We have a beautiful Frenchman called Olivier Giroud. I kid you not.

This one is the heartthrob of the World Cup, but I like watching him in action on the pitch. He’s fantastic in the air, great at passing, and he makes France looks good.

Ollie has scored all manner of spectacular goals from the bicycle to the overhead volley, but the scorpion kick against Crystal Palace while in an Arsenal jersey is my favorite goal of his to date.

Despite his work rate, Ollie is still underrated in England (such a shame that the English can appreciate his beauty, but not his football), but he’s on the move with Les Bleus. He’s tied at number 4 with Zidane for most goals with Les Bleus (31), which I hope he surpasses soon. 

And I love that Arsenal fans still support him. 😄

The other Frenchman up is our quiet leading captain and my all-time favorite goalie, Hugo Lloris. 

Football is lucky to have Hugo because his first love was actually tennis and just imagine if tennis had actually gotten him! He has great hand and eye coordination and fantastic catlike reflexes. He needs to up his penalty game, but you can’t get past him on a good day when he’s disguised as a wall.

Hugo commands his box well and he was given the name ‘sweeper keeper’ by the media because of his lightning speed when coming off the line to clear the ball or to deal with opponents in his area. 

France is a young team – they’re the second youngest team at the World Cup – and I see so much room for improvement in all areas, but Didier Deschamps won’t listen to me so I won’t tell him where to improve. I’m not the coach, so joking aside, through victories and disappointments, Les Bleus will always be a part of my heart. 💙

ALLEZ LES BLEUS! 

Fans of the World Cup Pt. II: French fans

Some French fans enjoying the world’s most beautiful game as their country took on Denmark in a stale 0-0 draw on Tuesday. I’m not doing French Friday today, but this can work, too, right? 😁

***All pics via Zimbio

They call him Edinson; I call him Bae.

He may not be Uruguay’s finest, but he has his moments.

My plan was to feature a few of my favorite players during the current World Cup tournament, but things have gotten off to a slow start since I started with Lionel Messi. Speaking of Leo, I recently read that he’s paying Argentina’s security out of his own pockets. If that’s true, kudos to him. I’ll try to squeeze in two more tomorrow God’s willing, but right now, it’s Cavani time. 

My all-time favorite photo of Bae 😄

Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez. They call him Edinson, but I call him Bae to the point when I was super active on Twitter during football season, whenever I was absent during a Napoli game, football fans will tweet me saying things such as, “Where are you? Your Bae is playing!” That was before Twitter got boring and that’s how El Matador automatically – and officially – became Bae. 😄

Cavani is the man who got me into Italian football and the reason why I support Uruguay. I never considered Italian football a treat because it was boring how Juventus was mostly always winning the league, but when I saw Cavani play for Napoli, I thought the team was something special and adopted them as my favorite Italian team. 

I guess here is where I saw nice things about Bae now. 😆

Cavani is what we call a “modern striker”. He’s good with his feet and in the air (he’s terrific with headers!). He plays as a center-forward, but he’s capable of playing in several positions… maybe except goalkeeping. He’s the ultimate finisher with 323 goals in 12 years with Danubio, Palermo, Napoli and current team Paris Saint-Germain.

Cavani’s mind is not on legendary status. After passing 100 Ligue goals for Paris Saint-Germain last year, he said, “I don’t play to be a legend. I play for pleasure, for the passion that I have as a football player.” And that’s good enough for me at the end of the day for lately, footballers play for money rather than passion. 

He has a quick temper (thus do most Latinos), but he’s easy to forgive. Case in point: he and David Luiz (then at Chelsea) once got into a heated argument during a Champions League match, but when Luiz came to PSG, they put aside their differences, became fast friends to the point where they roomed together out on the road and they only had nice things to say about each other. 

And they weren’t afraid to embarrass themselves together in front of the footballing world:

It’s too bad Luiz went back to Chelsea. Oh, and he’s got the greatest hair in football. Shampoo models ain’t ready yet. His hair is glorious!

It took a long time for Uruguay fans to realize what a gem they have in Cavani. Their support for him wasn’t excitable as it was back then when they were busy making him the scapegoat whenever Uruguay lost a match as if he was carrying the entire team on his back. This isn’t Messi’s Argentina.

His friendship with Luis Suárez both on and off the pitch is a joy to watch. They found their flow in this WC and they even managed to score in one match (against Russia), something that never happened before. 

And this doesn’t really matter, but he and teammate Martín Cáceres could be twins:

Despite all the things I like in Cavani as a footballer, he’s still massively underrated, but that won’t stop him from representing his country to his full potential. 

Arriba Uruguay!

***Photos and GIFs via Google Search

200 Question Challenge: 7-24

7. What job would you be terrible at?

Jobs that require public speaking. I’m more of a background person. I’ll toss salesperson in there for I don’t think I can approach random people and ask them to buy stuff.

8. When was the last time you climbed a tree?

I was about 14…

9. What is the most annoying habit that other people have?

To be honest, I dislike it when people complain about every single thing in their life when there are others suffering worse than them.

10. What job do you think you’d be really good at?

Paralegal. I love doing research and preparing documents. The best thing? I’ll be around the law. 

11. What skill would you like to master?

Fluent French and archery. 

12. What songs have you completely memorized?

Too many to count, but I’ll say a few of Michael W. Smith’s songs, Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror’, Depeche Mode’s ‘Peace’ and Brian Littrell’s ‘The Answer Is You’. 

13. Are you usually early or late?

I am the most punctual person you’ll ever meet. 

14. What takes up too much of your time?

At the moment, it’s nothing, really. I have some downtime at work and I use it wisely… or at least try to. 

15. What do you wish you knew more about?

I don’t believe in wishes, but I wish I knew more about world history and how to speak tons of foreign languages so I can tell more people about God and how much He loves and cares for them. 

16. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said to you?

Someone recently told me that they like how I’m following in Christ’s footsteps. 💙

17. Where did your name come from?

*Shrugs* My parents liked the name Diana and hence they named me Diana. Thank God I was not named for the likes of Diana Ross or Princess Diana. 

18. How do you want to be remembered in life?

As a representative of God.

19. What’s the one thing you cannot live without?

God’s Word. I thirst and hunger after it every day.

20. What do you want your last words to be?

I lived, I loved, I laughed, now, I sleep.

21. What is something that offends you?

When people can’t keep what you told them in confidential to themselves. They just have to go and spread the love to others.

22. What is something you are certain you’ll never experience?

Hmm… I tend to never say never and I tend not to dwell on things… but, maybe attending a concert or parties for I dislike crowds.

23. Do you ask enough questions or do you settle for what you know?

If I don’t understand something, I ask enough questions even if I asked it twice already.

24. Write a letter to your 5-year-old self.

Life is going to have its ups and downs; bumps, twists, and turns. You’re going to go through some tough trials and a period of self-doubt, but once you lean on and trust God, everything is going to be all right. 

*** GIFs and images via Google Search

 

Cake Extravaganza!

The days are flying so fast that sometimes I remember what today is and then sometimes I don’t remember. Anyways, earlier this month (June 06th), the Baking and Pastry Arts students of the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality Institute (TTHTI) was given a Disney theme for their final exam and they brought their A game, but a few cakes stood out for me. 

I’m too lazy to put my signature stamp on the photos, but enjoy:

101 Dalmatians

Tammy took this photo. So credit to my girl. 

Brave

Another Tammy photo.

Monsters Inc.

Up

This was one of my utmost faves!

Tammy took this photo as well

Mulan

Let’s zoom up on some details:

Big Hero 6

Tangled

Inside Out

Pocahontas

Aladdin

My overall fave! 

Photo by Tammy. 

Aren’t they talented? Which one is your favorite?

World Cup Thriller starring Argentina!

It was delirium in St. Petersburg when Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead in the 14th minute! 

This was the same Leo who looked emotionally and physically drained during the first two group games. This was the same Leo who reportedly locked himself away after missing that penalty against Iceland shouldering the blame for the draw and then the heavy 3-0 defeat against the Croatians.

But Leo knows that this might just be the last time to represent and bring home the ultimate prize for his country and when he took to the field in this must-win match against Nigeria, he brought his A game. 

Nigeria leveled in the 51st minute when Mascherano gave away a penalty and Victor Moses stepped up and tucked it away. But it was Argentina who’ll have the last say when Marcos Rojo scored their vital goal in the 90th minute. 

Overall, it was a great match and if this Argentina shows up on Saturday against France, well, I wouldn’t complain as they’re both teams I love and support. I’ve been stressing about France’s room for improvement and if they want to continue, then Argentina should be a real test for them.

Congrats Argentina. You live again for another day.

200 Question Challenge: 1-6

This beautiful & vibrant graphic belongs to Cheila!

Cheila over on Pink For Days is doing the 200 Questions Challenge and I decided to join her in this fun challenge although I’ll be way late with my responses even though we’re supposed to answer 6 questions a day. 😄 Do check out her blog if you haven’t done so as yet and don’t hesitate to join in the fun!

1. If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

Read all the books on my TBR. I’ll definitely be needing lots of sleep after all that reading, though! 😆

2. What’s your favorite piece of clothing you own/owned?

At the moment, it’s a long-sleeved black sweater.

3. What hobby would you get into if money weren’t an issue?

Does book collecting count? I’ll like to get into that. Gardening, photography, art, calligraphy, and traveling.  

4. What would your perfect room look like?

5. How often do you play sports?

I haven’t participated in sports for ages, but I do watch football. 

6. What fictional place would you most like to go?

I can’t seem to think of anything else at the moment, but Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Neat question, though! If you’re reading this, where would you like to go?

***GIFs and photo via Google Search

Share Your World – June 25, 2018

Here again to participate in Cee’s Share Your World Challenge!

If aliens landed on earth tomorrow and offered to take you home with them, would you go? (remember this is SYW, they are friendly aliens)

No… but they can take TC!

Haha! Their friendliness can be deceitfulness, so no, I won’t go anywhere with aliens and for the record, I dislike aliens. I’ll probably go War of the Worlds on them!

How tall are you? Are you satisfied with your height?

Model tall and yes, I love my height. 💙

Do you think you could live without your smartphone (or other technology item) for 24 hours?

I definitely can (and I do on most Sabbaths) for technology is not the boss of me. 

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. 

Les Bleus winning their opening games at the World Cup. Although they’re through to the round of 16 with one more group game in hand, I still see lots of room for improvement. 

***GIFs/pictures via Google Search