Group G: Germany vs. Portugal
Result: An impressive 4-0 for the Germans
Goalscorers: 12'(penalty), 45+1', 78' Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), 32' Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Bookings: 11' Joao Pereira (Valencia), 37' red card Pepe (Real Madrid)
Lineups
Germany (4-5-1)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich); Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke); Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich, captain), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich); Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
Subs:
Andre Schurrle (Chelsea) 63' for Mesut Ozil
Shkordan Mustafi (Sampdoria) 73' for Mats Hummels
Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) 82' for Thomas Muller
Portugal (4-5-1)
Rui Patricio (Sporting CP); Joao Pereira (Valencia), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahce), Pepe (Real Madrid), Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid); Miguel Veloso (Dynamo Kyiv), Joao Moutinho (Monaco), Raul Meireles (Fenerbahce), Nani (Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, captain); Hugo Almeida (Besiktas)
Subs:
Eder (Braga) 28' for Hugo Almeida
Ricardo Costa (Valencia) 46' for Miguel Veloso
Andre Almeida (Benfica) 65' for Fabio Coentrao
Despite the worrying Marco Reus injury lingering for Germany, they displayed their depth with a very convincing performance with a 4-0 battering of Portugal. Germany's World Cup squad in 2010 was entirely composed of players playing in the Bundesliga; this time of the 7 players in the German squad who don't play in the Bundesliga, 3 started and 3 came on as substitutes. The only one who didn't play was Miroslav Klose, the 36 year old forward from Lazio, with 14 FIFA World Cup goals to his name. 1 more to tie and 2 more to break the Brazilian Ronaldo's record of 15 goals as he is currently tied with German legend Gerd Muller. And other talented players like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Julian Draxler not getting any playing time, reminding us just how stacked of a team we're dealing with. The Muller name continues to work its magic for Germany in the world cup as the scorer of 5 World Cup goals in South Africa (tied with David Villa, Wesley Sneijder, and Diego Forlan), Thomas Muller scores the first hat trick of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Along with an impressive striker from Mats Hummels, German domination is the only way to describe that performance. To make matters worse for Portugal, Pepe is suspended from the next game Portugal play against the USA due to earning a red card for a stupid confrontation with Thomas Muller, and Hugo Almeida (which prompted Eder's early introduction) and Fabio Coentrao left the game with injuries, to the dismay of Portuguese but delight of American fans, which should give the USA better chance to win or draw in that encounter. Add another disappointing game at the World Cup to Cristiano Ronaldo's surprisingly big collection. Portugal at times managed to show what they could do offensively when boasting talents such as Ronaldo, Meireles, and Nani, but Germany handled everything they threw at them, with a solid performance from Manuel Neuer and his backline. Howedes and Boateng played as full backs despite usually playing as center backs for their clubs. Germany, not to be upstaged by their Dutch rivals, confirmed their threat status at the World Cup. If there's any European side that can be the first to win a World Cup in South America, why not Germany? A very fair point, but now that they brushed Portugal aside, they must take care of business starting with Ghana in their next match. Portugal are well aware that anything less than a win against the USA could spell trouble for their chances of making it to the next round.
Group F: Iran vs. Nigeria
Result: 0-0
Bookings: 75' Andranik Teymourian (Esteghlal)
Lineups
Iran (4-3-3)
Alireza Haghighi (Sporting Covilha); Jalal Hosseini (Persepolis), Amir Sadeghi (Esteghlal), Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal), Mehrdad Pouladi (Persepolis); Khosro Heydari (Esteghlal), Andranik Teymourian (Esteghlal), Javad Nekounam (Al-Kuwait, captain); Ashkan Dejagah (Fulham), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Charlton Athletic), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan)
Subs:
Alireza Jahanbakhsh (NEC) 73' for Ashkan Dejagah
Masoud Shojaei (Las Palmas) 89' for Khosro Heydari
Nigeria (4-3-3)
Vincent Enyeama (Lille, captain); Efe Ambrose (Celtic), Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod), Godfrey Oboabona (Caykur Rizespor), Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough); Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio), Ramon Azeez (Almeria), John Obi Mikel (Chelsea); Victor Moses (Liverpool), Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce)
Subs:
Joseph Yobo (Norwich City) 29' for Godfrey Oboabona
Shola Ameobi (Newcastle United) 52' for Victor Moses
Peter Odemwingie (Stoke City) 69' for Ramon Azeez
Despite having a few talented players and both teams sporting underrated coaches in Carlos Quieroz and Stephen Keshi, this was always going to be the least interesting game of the day, and probably the most predictable too. All of Iran's players in European based clubs either play in lower divisions or in top division clubs that were relegated this season (though a few of Nigeria's players such as Joseph Yobo will understand that feeling). Most of us likely know more about certain Nigerian players, especially their BPL players but also the lukes of Musa and Ambrose, than the Iranians, though MLS and especially Earthquakes fans will be hoping Steven Beitashour makes an appearance before Iran make their exit at the World Cup, but it hasn't happened yet. Nigeria were favorites to win this match but are prone to wasting chances (remember Yakubu Aiyegbeni's shocking miss of an easy chance in Nigeria's final group game of the 2010 World Cup vs. South Korea?) so I definitely wasn't expecting a wide margin of victory. Despite both teams playing 4-3-3 type formations we ended up with our first goalless match of the 2014 World Cup and of course our first draw. Simply, neither team could get much going, but Iran did look sharp at times. Nigeria were wasteful and inaccurate, with a over 90% of their crosses not reaching an intended target. Both goalkeepers Haghighi and Enyeama did what they had to do when trouble came their way, but ultimately that was about it. Judging by the skill and intensity shown in the Argentina/Bosnia-Herzegovina game, it seems very likely Iran and Nigeria will be unable to make the grade and will be heading out of the World Cup after two more games if they can't shape up. Iran face the big boys Argentina in their next game with Nigeria against Bosnia-Herzegovina, a match both teams will be desperate to win.
Group G: Ghana vs. United States
Result: 2-1 victory for the Americans (finally)
Goalscorers: 1' Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), 82' Andre Ayew (Marseille), 86' John Brooks (Hertha BSC)
Bookings: 30' Mohammed Rabiu (Kuban Krasnodar), 90+2' Sulley Muntari (AC Milan)
Lineups
Ghana (4-3-3)
Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset); Daniel Opare (Standard Liege), Jonathan Mensah (Evian), John Boye (Rennes), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus); Mohammed Rabiu (Kuban Krasnodar), Sulley Muntari (AC Milan), Andre Ayew (Marseille); Jordan Ayew (Sochaux), Asamoah Gyan (Al-Ain, captain), Christian Atsu (Vitesse)
Subs:
Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke) 59' for Jordan Ayew
Michael Essien (AC Milan) 71' for Mohammed Rabiu
Albert Adomah (Middlesbrough) 78' for Christian Atsu
United States (4-3-1-2)
Tim Howard (Everton); Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla); Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas); Michael Bradley (Toronto FC); Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders, captain)
Subs:
Aron Johansson (AZ) 23' for Jozy Altidore
John Brooks (Hertha BSC) 46' for Matt Besler
Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) 77' for Alejandro Bedoya
It's not every day where a World Cup forces fans to face their fears right away. Ghana had cost the USA progression in the World Cup in consecutive 2-1 defeats in Germany and South Africa, and the American fans most certainly did not want a threepeat to be completed in Natal, Brazil. Both sets of players themselves though were more concerned with obtaining what could very well be an important trio of points. After all, many of these players had not taken part in those previous encounters. Ghana's head coach James Kwesi Appiah left both Boateng and Essien on the bench but brought them in later on. Ghana certainly played their best football/soccer of the match when Kevin-Prince Boateng was on the field. USA were scored on in the opining 20 minutes 3 times at the last World Cup (thanks to England, Slovenia, and who else but Ghana) but this time it would be the Yanks who got off to a fast start with Dempsey netting a goal 32 seconds after the first whistle. It was an incredible dream start for American players and fans alike, with the Arena das Dunas mostly consisting of the American Outlaws and other USA fans. DaMarcus Beasley, playing as left back as opposed to a left midfielder from his earlier days in his career, would be playing in his 4th World Cup, but a lot of inexperience within the USA squad with everyone except Howard, Beasley, Bradley, Dempsey, and Altidore making their World Cup debuts. It's a similar story for Ghana, especially in goalkeeper with Adam Kwarasey in between the sticks, with big shoes to fill coming after the great Richard Kingson. All 3 of USA's substitutions had to do with injuries. Altidore pulled a hamstring forcing Johansson to come on early in this match. Besler and Bedoya were not in good shape when Brooks and Zusi respectively replaced them. It was a nervy match as USA desperately hung on to their 1-0 lead. They weren't simply pulling a Chelsea and parking the bus, they made decent attempts to extend their lead but no luck, while Ghana were especially wasteful with the chances they were given, but the likes of Gyan and Atsu forcing Howard to be the great goalkeeper USA and Everton fans have come to know and love. The older, Andre, of the two Ayew brothers equalized for Ghana with 8 minutes to go, but of all people it was Brooks, a player most fans thought undeservingly robbed Clarence Goodson of a place in the squad for the World Cup to save the day and reverse the scoreline. This time the USA would win 2-1. Netherlands avenged their World Cup final defeat to Spain, Costa Rica got their revenge on Uruguay for denying them passage to the 2010 World Cup, and now the USA got their revenge as well, but most importantly of course they got their 3 points. Up next USA will face Portugal with Pepe suspended and a few others potentially missing as they hope to continue to make their mark in this group of death. Despite Ghana coming up on the losing side of things, they showed they contribute to Group G's group of death reputation as much as any of the other teams do, and with a rematch against Germany up next for them, they'll look to impress once again.
Up next Belgium vs. Algeria, Brazil vs. Mexico, Russia vs. South Korea
How good are the Belgians? We know they have a bunch of individually talented players, but how will this team come together in the World's biggest stage? Algeria aren't the fiercest opponents around and even if Belgium do beat Algeria it won't sway too many opinions about this inexperienced but talented team, but it'll still be interesting to watch. Brazil very nervously came away with 3 points against Croatia, while Mexico feel like they can take on just about anyone. A match between these two Latin American teams is rarely ever boring, but the Brazil surely have to dispatch the CONCACAF team if they seriously are a favorite to win the World Cup. But even a point from Brazil could do Mexico wonders when it comes time to figuring out who gets out of the group. And the last two teams to play their first match in Brazil are Russia and South Korea, in a crucial match that could eventually prove to either seal or deny their chances of getting to the last 16. Which of these two decent teams will come out on top, or will they reach a stalemate?
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