Colombia and Costa Rica already qualified and England were already up a creek without a paddle, while 5 teams fought for the remaining 2 places in the Round of 16 between Groups C and D today, the Pirate Ship, the Blue Samurai, les Elephantes, the Azzurri, and La Celeste.
Group D: Italy vs. Uruguay
Result: A narrow but decisive victory 1-0 that went Uruguay's way
Goalscorers: 81' Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Bookings: 22' Mario Balotelli (AC Milan), 46' Egidio Arevalo Rios (Morelia), 59' red card Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), 77' Mattia de Sciglio (AC Milan), 90+1' Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray)
Significance of bookings: Balotelli and Marchisio would've been unavailable for Italy's next match if they had progressed to the knockout stages.
Lineups
Italy (3-2-3-2)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, captain); Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus); Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Marco Verratti (PSG); Mattie de Sciglio (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino); Ciro Immobile (Torino), Mario Balotelli (AC Milan)
Changes from last match
Change from 4-5-1 to 3-2-3-2 formation. Ignazio Abate, Daniele de Rossi, Thiago Motta, and Antonio Candreva replaced by Bonucci, Verratti, De Sciglio, and Immobile.
Subs:
Marco Palolo (Parma) 46' for Mario Balotelli
Antonio Cassano (Parma) 71' for Ciro Immobile
Thiago Motta (PSG) 75' for Marco Verratti
Uruguay (4-3-1-2)
Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray); Martin Caceres (Juventus), Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid, captain), Alvaro Pereira (Sao Paulo); Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio), Egidio Arevalo Rios (Morelia), Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid); Nicolas Lodeiro (Corinthians); Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Edinson Cavani (PSG)
Changes from last match
Same formation and starters from their encounter with England
Subs:
Maxi Pereira (Benfica) 46' for Nicolas Lodeiro
Christian Stuani (Espanyol) 63' for Alvaro Pereira
Gaston Ramirez (Southampton) 78' for Cristian Rodriguez
Literally a do or die match. Italy needed a draw, Uruguay needed a win. PSG and Juventus teammates may have reunited but it certainly wasn't a friendly affair because for both nations their spot in the next round was on the line, which is interesting because a fair amount of people expected both teams to finish on top of Group D, but in fairness no one expected Costa Rica to be shockingly good. Things were getting nasty quick, and even though it's not abnormal for Mario Balotelli to pick up a yellow card here and there, it only made things more nerve wracking for Italy given his unpredictability and the fact that he'd miss out on the Round of 16 match if Italy made it there. So Cesare Prandelli decided now was not the time to roll the dice and put Marco Palolo in for Balotelli, but this is where things turned south for the Italians. Claudio Marchisio's foot, meet Egidio Arevalo Rios's shin, and meet his friend, a red card. Italian fans were not happy, felt it was undeserved, and it wasn't the most straight forward of red card instances, but even if people hate me for thinking this, cleet meets shin, not safe at all, reckless challenge, a red card was fair game but maybe a yellow would've been enough. Definitely a tense moment that caused both teams to go to the next gear and things got more and more interesting until the man who scored his side's only goal in Atletico Madrid's 4-1 loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final this season came to Uruguay's rescue. Smartly taken from the Southampton man Gaston Ramirez's corner kick, Godin broke the dead lock and gave Uruguay the win they needed to become the 5th South American team (and probably the last unless Ecuador comes up big in their closing match) to qualify for the next round. This meant Italy were out in the group stage for the 2nd tournament in a row following their 4th World Cup title in 2006. But what will bother Italy more than losing will be the fact that they lost to a piranha. Or a vampire. Or Pacman. He's something of that sort, Luis Suarez. In the 79th minute, Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini, the 3rd time he's bitten a player. 1st in the Eredivisie, then the Barclays Premier League, and now at the World Cup. Dude what is wrong with you? At least your hand ball against Ghana, which was a huge dick move, had something to do with helping your team, but what was he thinking? Luis Suarez in a 2 second span turned millions of neutrals into Colombian fans for Uruguay's next match, and many hope that Suarez gets a ban immediately for that kind of behavior. And fair is fair, if Marchisio's incident was punished, so should Suarez's. Aside from that, Uruguay will be quite happy they're moving on.
Elimination Analysis: Italy
Over the span of the history of the sport, Italy are one of the all time greatest soccer/football nations. Over the span of the last 8 years though, they've cracked in some tournaments since then. Out in the group stage in 2009 Confederations Cup, 2010 World Cup, and now the 2014 World Cup, but also quarterfinalists in Euro 2008, runners up in Euro 2012, and 3rd place in 2013 Confederations (all 3 instances losing to Spain), it's been the best of times and the worst of times for the Azzurri. Italy join the ever growing group of European nations heading home from Brazil after 3 matches and this means both finalists of the Euro 2012 are out already. It's a bittersweet way to say goodbye to legends Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo, who guided Italy to their most recent World Cup trophy but who retired from international soccer on this day. The days are numbered for the other two remaining members of the 2006 World Cup winning squad, Andrea Barzagli and Daniele de Rossi. Italy had made so much progress in the past 4 years that even when drawn into a difficult group they were expected to have a strong showing at the World Cup in Brazil, potential semifinalists, maybe just maybe finalists or even champions once again. And even in defeat to Costa Rica and Uruguay, Italy played like a team that you'd think, without looking at the score board, they'd be going places. It's back to the drawing board for the once European powerhouses. Or maybe they are still. Time will tell, the possibilities are plentiful for this team.
Group D: Costa Rica vs. England
Result: 0-0 draw
Bookings: 53' Ross Barkley (Everton), 57' Adam Lallana (Southampton), 60' Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew)
Lineups
Costa Rica (5-3-2)
Keylor Navas (Levante); Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew), Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Roy Miller (New York Red Bulls), Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Junior Diaz (Mainz 05); Celso Borges (AIK), Bryan Ruiz (PSV, captain), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa); Randall Brenes (Cartagines), Joel Campbell (Olympiacos)
Changes from last match
Changed from 5-2-2-1 to 5-3-2 formation. Michael Umana and Christian Bolanos left on the bench allowing Miller and Brenes to start.
Subs:
Christian Bolanos (Copenhagen) 59' for Randall Brenes
Marco Urena (Kuban Krasnodar) 65' for Joel Campbell
Michael Barrantes (Aalesund) 78' for Celso Borges
England (4-2-3-1)
Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion); Phil Jones (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton); Frank Lampard (captain), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal); James Milner (Manchester City), Ross Barkley (Everton), Adam Lallana (Southampton); Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
Changes from last match
Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck, Raheem Sterling, and Wayne Rooney on the bench to let 9 other players start in nothing more than a potential consolation game in England's perspective. Lampard acts as captain in Gerrard's absense.
Subs:
Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) 62' for Adam Lallana
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 73' for Jack Wilshere
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 76' for James Milner
Roy Hodgson decided to completely change the starting lineup, giving some younger players like Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling a chance as well as some lesser used veterans like Frank Lampard and James Milner a chance. For Jorge Luis Pinto, he was well aware that a point would secure 1st place for Costa Rica, so he relied on mostly the same players who beat Uruguay and Italy. And turns out it was a goalless affair with not much going on. For Costa Rica it was "Mission Accomplished". They got the point they needed to win a group they were expected to be trampled by and finishing in last. For England, they don't have to worry about leaving Brazil without a point: they finish their run in the tournament with one. First time since 1958 they didn't get out of the group stage and also the least amount of points earned by England in a World Cup ever. Even considering the lack of high expectations surrounding the Three Lions this time around, this is surely a bitter pill to swallow. For Costa Rica though, they move on to the Round of 16 and hope to continue this historic run going as long as they can.
Elimination Analysis: England
England: creator of this very sport, home to arguably the best football/soccer league and league system in the World, with clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea practically their own brands across the globe, and the homeland of many of the commentators we listen to. But suddenly the national team has fallen into a rut that will take some work to get out of. At the turn of the century England's future looked bright with players like David Beckham, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes, Joe Cole, Sol Campbell, and Rio Ferdinand, supposedly England's golden generation. They failed to live up to their expectations and now all that remains of them are the trio of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, and Frank Lampard. We see these players playing in some of the most iconic stadiums and for some of the most well known teams in Europe, and the world, and we're left wondering why this team isn't doing better? Expectations were thought to be a factor, but they can only go so low for a team with so many individually talented players. And then that's when the light bulb goes off. This isn't about individuals, it's about one team. They simply haven't found a way to reach their potential as a team yet. With virtually all their players (the exception being Celtic's Fraser Forster) playing in the same league but in different clubs, it takes some getting used to and strong mental power. One day Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart go head to head in a Manchester derby, the other they must be on each other's side. You'd think and you'd hope that sooner or later this group of players, or whatever group of players is deemed necessary, will find away to make their nation proud again.
Group C: Japan vs. Colombia
Result: 4-1 victory for Colombia
Goalscorers: 17' penalty Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina), 45+1' Shinji Okazaki (Mainz 05), 55', 82' Jackson Martinez (Porto), 90' James Rodriguez (Monaco)
Bookings: 16' Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), 63' Fredy Guarin (Inter)
Lineups
Japan (4-2-3-1)
Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege); Atsuto Uchida (Schalke), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter); Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Makoto Hasebe (Nurnberg, captain); Shinji Okazaki (Mainz 05), Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United); Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale)
Changes from last match
Hotaru Yagamuchi and Yuya Osako are replaced by Aoyama and Kagawa in the starting lineup
Subs:
Hotaru Yagamuchi (Cerezo Osaka) 62' for Toshihiro Aoyama
Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka) 69' for Shinji Okazaki
Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nurnberg) 85' for Shinji Kagawa
Colombia (4-2-2-2)
David Ospina (Nice, captain); Santiago Arias (PSV), Carlos Valdes (San Lorenzo), Eder Balanta (River Plate), Pablo Armero (West Ham United); Alexander Mejia (Atletico Nacional), Fredy Guarin (Inter); Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina), Juan Quintero (Porto); Adrian Ramos (Hertha BSC), Jackson Martinez (Porto)
Changes from last match
Juan Zuniga, Cristian Zapata, Mario Yepes, Abel Aguilar, Carlos Sanchez, James Rodriguez, Victor Ibarbo, and Teofilo Gutierrez left on the bench making way for 8 other players to start. Change from 4-2-3-1 to 4-2-2-2 formation
Subs:
Carlos Carbonero (River Plate) 46' for Juan Quintero
James Rodriguez (Monaco) 46' for Juan Cuadrado
Faryd Mondragon (Deportivo Cali) 85' for David Ospina
Colombia knew that if they kept things up from their performances against Greece and Cote D'Ivoire, they should definitely at least draw but preferably a win against Japan. Japan needed a win against Colombia to have a shot at getting out of the group stage and they couldn't rely on Pikachu's Thunder Wave attack to paralyze the Colombians. Aside from Yasuyuki Konno giving away a penalty which Juan Cuadrado put away, Japan got off to a good start, especially with Shinji Okazaki scoring right at the end of the 1st half. But then James Rodriguez came in and completely change the game, allowing every to see how much of a difference Falcao's right hand man at Monaco makes for this Colombian team. 3 second half goals gave Colombia a thrilling win that makes them 3 for 3 in the Group Stage. A lot of critics will ding Colombia style points for being in a "weak group", but they're playing well so far and they'll have to continue that against Uruguay in the Round of 16. For Japan though, it was always going to be difficult for them but many people expected them to do better, especially with the strong midfielders they have. Another historic moment: Colombian legend Faryd Mondragon, who had a terrific tournament in the 1998 World Cup, became the oldest player to play at a World Cup at 43 years and 3 days old.
Elimination Analysis: Japan
Video game fans were excited when Japan made Pikachu their mascot going into this World Cup but Japan were exciting for more reasons than just the most popular Pokemon out there. More and more of their players playing in Europe, the emergence of Shinji Kagawa in Borussia Dortmund and then moving to Manchester United, and Japan were an exciting team to watch. Even though they lost all their matches in the 2013 Confederations Cup there were positives to take from that experience, which included an exciting 4-3 loss to Italy. But I guess they just couldn't break the trend. This is Japan's 5th straight World Cup appearance. 1998: Group stage, 2002: KO Stage (16), 2006: Group Stage, 2010: Top 16, and here we are and Japan fail to make it out of the group again (if they qualify for 2018, looks like then they would make it out of the group). Japan still have much work to do before becoming a higher profile team in the soccer world. They'll be disappointed with the points they gave up against Cote D'Ivoire and Greece.
Group C: Greece vs. Cote D'Ivoire
Result: 2-1 win for Greece
Goalscorers: 42' Andreas Samaris (Olympiacos), 74' Wilfried Bony (Swansea City), 90+3' Georgios Samaras penalty (Celtic)
Bookings: 37' Didier Drogba (Galatasaray), 62' Salomon Kalou (Lille), 70' Serey Die (Basel)
Lineups
Greece (4-5-1)
Orestis Karnezis (Granada); Vasilis Torosidis (Roma), Kostas Manolas (Olympiacos), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund), Jose Holebas (Olympiacos); Giorgos Karagounis (Fulham, captain), Giannis Maniatis (Olympiacos), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Bologna), Panagiotis Kone (Bologna), Georgios Samaras (Celtic); Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK)
Changes from last match
Giannis Fetfatzidis, Kostas Mitroglou, and Kostas Katsouranis (suspended due to red card against Japan) left off starting lineup allowing Christodoulopoulos, Karagounis, and Salpingidis to start this time.
Subs:
Andreas Samaris (Olympiacos) 12' for Panagiotis Kone
Panagiotis Glykos (PAOK) 24' for Orestis Karnezis
Theofanis Gekas (Konyaspor) 78' for Giorgos Karagounis
Cote D'Ivoire (4-2-3-1)
Boubacar Barry (Lokoren); Serge Aurier (Toulouse), Kolo Toure (Liverpool), Sol Bamba (Trabzonspor), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart); Cheick Tiote (Newcastled United), Serey Die (Basel); Salomon Kalou (Lille), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Gervinho (Roma); Didier Drogba (Galatasaray, captain)
Changes from last match
Didier Zokora suspended due to yellow card accumulation and Max Gradel and Wilfried Bony move to the bench allowing Kolo Toure, Kalou, and Drogba to start
Subs:
Wilfried Bony (Swansea City) 61' for Cheick Tiote
Ismael Diomande (Saint-Etienne) 78' for Didier Drogba
Giovanni Sio (Basel) 83' for Gervinho
Neither Greece nor Cote D'Ivoire had gotten out of the group stage at a World Cup before, but one of these two teams were almost certain to with one game left to play for. And to make things even more interesting but a lot more tragic, the Toure brothers had gotten news that their younger brother Ibrahim Toure lost his battle with cancer and died a few days prior. Cote D'Ivoire looked the more likely side to progress since they only needed a draw, and Greece hadn't scored a goal yet in the tournament. An interesting decision made by the manager Sabri Lamouchi was to start Didier Drogba instead of Wilfried Bony, which didn't quite make sense. Bony has had a good tournament so far, having scored a goal against Japan, and Didier Drogba had been doing just fine as a super sub and not being as young as he once was, it was a huge question if he was fit to start. Cote D'Ivoire had this in the bag but two bad moves resulted in two Greek goals that cancelled out Wilfried Bony's goal and eliminated Cote D'Ivoire from the World Cup. Greece had their backs against the wall once again when a Jose Holebas effort hit the crossbar and fatigued and injured Greek duo Karzenis and Kone had to be subbed off early. But Greece carried on and Samaris got a goal that was gifted to him from a bad giveaway by Cheick Tiote. And then in the dying minutes (probably minute) of the game, with a draw being enough for Cote D'Ivoire to advance, Giovanni Sio's poor challenges gives Greece a penalty that Samaras gets right to give Greece one of their most important victories ever.
Elimination Analysis: Cote D'Ivoire
We've been saying good by to a few golden generations lately. Australia, Spain, England all must move on from their players that held so much promise years ago, and Cote D'Ivoire are in the same boat. Looks like the end of the line for Didier Drogba and company, but they still have players like Serge Aurier, Gervinho, and Wilfried Bony that look to have bright futures ahead of them. Disbelief for the Ivorians. Their 3rd World Cup in a row and for the first time they were given a reasonable group. But they couldn't make this work. They will probably hate the referee for giving Greece that penalty, but even if that wasn't rightfully a penalty kick you can't excuse Cheick Tiote's giveaway. Cote D'Ivoire remains one of the strongest teams in Africa, for now at least. Their window of opportunity looks all but shut but can be opened once again if the next wave of Elephantes step up. Didier Drogba is a tough act to follow, a good man and a talented footballer, known for his actions on and off the pitch, most notably when he asked the people of Cote D'Ivoire for a ceasefire in their civil war which was successful. This will be a bitter pill to swallow given their expectations but this team will be motivated to reach higher and work harder.
Eliminated: Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Croatia, England, Italy, Japan, Spain
Round of 16 Matchups and other Qualified: Netherlands vs. Mexico, Costa Rica vs. Greece, Brazil vs. Chile, Colombia vs. Uruguay, Argentina, Belgium
Still looking: Algeria, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Germany, Honduras, Iran, Nigeria, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, United States
Up next
Group F Finale: Nigeria vs. Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Iran
Group E Finale: Honduras vs. Switzerland, Ecuador vs. France
Nigeria and Argentina aren't unfamiliar opponents and the roles are certainly familiar with Argentina being favorites and Nigeria being underdogs. Argentina had to work hard and use the skill of Lionel Messi to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran. Can Nigeria go one further and upset the Argentines with a win or draw, or will this be the 2nd 9 point group stage performance for Argentina in a row?
Bosnia and Herzegovina may be out but they will certainly look to give Iran a good fight in this match. Iran have been impressive so far but only 1 point to show for it, and they'll need a win and for Argentina to beat Nigeria by 2 goals to advance. Can Carlos Quieroz lead Iran to another strong showing or do they have nothing left in the tank for a formidable Bosnia and Herzegovina looking to exit the World Cup on a high note?
Honduras need a win plus a few other stars to align to advance but THEY ARE NOT OUT. That alone will give Honduras belief, and it'll be another 2010 rematch. Last time Honduras drew 0-0 against Switzerland and cost Switzerland their spot in the Round of 16. Switzerland do not want history to repeat itself and will hope to finish what they started and this time beat the Central Americans.
France have been steam rolling their opposition in Group E and Ecuador look like just part 3 of France's journey to 9 points. France certainly look like one of the strongest teams in the tournament and also one of the few European teams to advance unless they should lose to Ecuador, Switzerland beats Honduras, and they have the worst goal difference. But after 2 wins by 3 goal margins, that looks very unlikely. Are Ecuador screwed or do they have an ace up their sleeves to surprisingly get them through the group stage and make South America 6 for 6 in this World Cup?
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