AL-RAYYAN, Qatar — There were crosses fizzed low toward Josh Sargent, trimming the turf as they went, and crosses arcing high in the air. Some came from deep, drifting and hanging, and some appeared in an instant, pummeling through a thicket of dangling legs and stretching bodies.
Almost all of the many and varied types of crosses delivered in Sargent’s vicinity had just one commonality: They left just as soon as they arrived. Some traveled the length of the penalty area, bouncing out of play on the other side of the field, unsullied by human touch. Others were plucked from the air by Wayne Hennessey, the Welsh goalkeeper, and clutched greedily to his chest.