A lot at stake for Croatia, Cameroon, and the Group B teams as they each played their second match of their group stage schedule at the World Cup. Who rose and who fell? Read on and I'll walk you through what went down.
Group B: Australia vs. Netherlands
Result: A scrappy win for the Dutch 3-2
Goalscorers: 20' Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), 21' Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), 54' (p) Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), 58' Robin van Persie (Manchester United), 68' Memphis Depay (PSV)
Bookings: 43' Tim Cahill, 47' Robin van Persie
Significance of bookings: Tim Cahill suspended for Australia's next match vs. Spain
Robin van Persie suspended for Netherlands's next match vs. Chile
Lineups
Australia (4-2-3-1)
Mathew Ryan (Club Brugge); Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng Taishan), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo); Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace, captain), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar); Mathew Leckie (Frankfurt), Mark Bresciano (Al-Gharafa), Tommy Oar (Utrecht); Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls)
Changes in starting lineup
McGowan (appeared as a sub vs. Chile) starting instead of Ivan Franjic. McKay starting instead of Mark Milligan
Subs:
Oliver Bozanic (Luzern) 51' for Mark Bresciano
Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf) 69' for Tim Cahill
Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets) 77' for Tommy Oar
Netherlands (5-3-2)
Jasper Cillessen (Ajax); Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Daley Blind (Ajax); Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray); Robin van Persie (Manchester United, captain), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
Exact same starting lineup from the previous match (5-1 victory over Spain)
Subs:
Memphis Depay (PSV) 45+3' for Bruno Martins Indi
Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV) 78' for Jonathan de Guzman
Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kyiv) 87' for Robin van Persie
Another David vs. Goliath encounter but David got off to a good start. Sure Netherlands struck first with a classy goal from Arjen Robben but one minute later Tim Cahill responds with a goal of his own. Incredibly struck from Ryan McGowan's volley and it definitely surprised Jasper Cillessen as the crossbar helped it cross over the line. Australia played very well throughout the game, prompting Louis van Gaal to take struggling Bruno Martins Indi out and bringing Memphis Depay in, changing from a 5-3-2 to a 4-3-3, which helped Netherlands respond to Mile Jedinak's successful penalty (which came to be due to Daryl Janmaat's handball in the 18 yard box of the Oranje) with Robin van Persie's 3rd goal of the tournament, not to be outdone by his teammate Robben. But it would be the 20 year old Memphis Depay who scored the game winner and saved Netherlands from a shocking draw against the Socceroos. The 11th substitute to score at this World Cup and it resulted in the 7th come from behind victory (following Brazil, Netherlands's first match, Cote D'Ivoire, Costa Rica, Switzerland, and Belgium). Yellow cards will mean Cahill and van Persie made their last group stage appearance, but since Australia lost this match, Australia will be unable to advance to the knockout stage, meaning this could be the former Millwall and Everton striker's final World Cup appearance. A shame for Australia to fight very hard against a team that should've battered them to go down like that, but ultimately Netherlands were the better team. At least they didn't lose 5-1 like Spain.
Group B: Spain vs. Chile
Result: Chilean victory 2-0
Goalscorers: 20' Eduardo Vargas (Valencia), 43' Charles Aranguiz (Internacional)
Bookings: 26' Arturo Vidal (Juventus), 41' Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), 61' Eugenio Mena (Santos)
Lineups
Spain (4-2-3-1)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, captain); Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona); Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid); David Silva (Manchester City), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Pedro (Barcelona); Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)
Changes from last game
Martinez and Pedro start instead of Gerard Pique and Xavi respectively. The formation changed from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1
Subs:
Koke (Atletico Madrid) 46' for Xabi Alonso
Fernando Torres (Chelsea) 64' for Diego Costa
Santi Cazorla (Arsenal) 76' for Pedro
Chile (5-3-2)
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad, captain); Mauricio Isla (Juventus), Gary Medel (Cardiff City), Francisco Silva (Osasuna), Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest), Eugenio Mena (Santos); Charles Aranguiz (Internacional), Marcelo Diaz (Basel), Arturo Vidal (Juventus); Eduardo Vargas (Valencia), Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona)
Changes from last game
Jorge Valdivia, who scored the second of the three goals against Australia, was relegated to the bench to make way for Francisco Silva and adjust to the change in formation from 4-3-3 to 5-3-2.
Subs:
Felipe Gutierrez (Twente) 64' for Charles Aranguiz
Jorge Valdivia (Palmeiras) 85' for Eduardo Vargas
Carlos Carmona (Atalanta) 88' for Arturo Vidal
In a matchup that pitted Alexis Sanchez against 4 of his Barcelona teammates, Chile had the potential to knock out both Spain and Australia with a win while Spain were desperate for a win to keep hope of progressing alive and perhaps delay the end of their golden generation era. Despite being mauled 5-1 by Netherlands, Vicente Del Bosque only made two changes to his starting lineup, most notably keeping Casillas in the lineup. If a 5-1 defeat doesn't remove Casillas from the goalkeeper position, there's very little hope for David de Gea or Pepe Reina under Del Bosque's reign (don't get me started with Diego Lopez, the Real Madrid goalkeeper who kept Casillas on the bench most of the season but still didn't get selected in the squad). Spain were in for another 2010 World Cup rematch against Chile. More indirect than Ghana's astonishing victory over the USA in Rustenburg, Spain's victory over Chile cost Chile the 1st place spot in Group H, sending them to face Brazil in the Round of 16 and were knocked out 3-0. With a lot of flare and tricks up Jorge Sampaoli's sleeve, Chile would definitely be a tough test for Spain, and one that they ended up failing as Chile played their game and prevented Spain from doing theirs. They scored two goals in the first half to decide the game, another bad performance by Casillas who helped Aranguiz score his goal, and now Spain find themselves in the unimaginable and cruel realization that they have been knocked out of the group stage as defending champions, just like France in 2002 and Italy in 2010. One of this tournament's groups of death took out what once was the best team in the world, and all that's left for Spain is a match against Australia that won't mean much but may give Del Bosque a chance to try something new, something that could help get his side back on track in time for Euro 2016 qualification. Agony and frustration for Spain but on the flipside joy and jubilation for Chile the dark horses who have made it to the round of 16 with 1 game to spare, but now face the Netherlands to decide who wins Group B in what promises to be an exciting match. Netherlands's superior goal difference means Chile will need to win to finish top of Group B. This is Chile's 2nd match in a row at the World Cup that they won by a 2-goal margin.
Group A: Cameroon vs. Croatia
Result: Croatia wins 4-0
Goalscorers: 11' Ivica Olic (Wolfsburg), 48' Ivan Perisic (Wolfsburg), 61', 73' Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich)
Bookings: 40' red card Alex Song (Barcelona), 89' Eduardo (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Significance of bookings: Song misses next match vs. Brazil
Lineups
Cameroon (4-5-1)
Charles Itandje (Konyaspor); Stephane Mbia (Sevilla), Aurelien Chedjou (Galatasaray), Nicolas N'Koulou (Marseille, captain), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Queens Park Rangers); Joel Matip (Schalke), Alex Song (Barcelona), Eyong Enoh (Antalyaspor), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Mainz 05), Benjamin Moukandjo (Nancy); Vincent Aboubakar (Lorient)
Changes from previous game
A formation switch from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1 and an injury to Samuel Eto'o meant Cedric Djeugoue and Samuel Eto'o (Chelsea) wouldn't start but Matip and Aboubakar would. Mbia also shifts to right back.
Subs:
Dany Nounkeu (Besiktas) 46' for Aurelien Chedjou
Pierre Webo (Fenerbahce) 70' for Vincent Aboubakar
Edgar Salli (Lens) 75' for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Croatia (4-2-3-1)
Stipe Pletikosa (Rostov); Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk, captain), Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Dejan Lovren (Southampton), Danijel Pranjic (Panathinaikos); Luka Modric (Real Madric), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla); Ivan Perisic (Wolfsburg), Sammir (Getafe), Ivica Olic (Wolfsburg); Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich)
Changes from previous game
Mario Mandzukic's suspension ended last game so this time he starts at the expense of Nikica Jelavic. Sammir replaces Mateo Kovacic (who features as a sub this time) in the starting lineup, as does Danijel Pranjic to Sime Vrsaljko
Subs:
Eduardo (Shakhtar Donetsk) 69' for Ivica Olic
Mateo Kovacic (Inter) 72' for Sammir
Ante Rebic (Fiorentina) 78' for Ivan Perisic
A leg injury for Samuel Eto'o prevented him from being fit to play in this match, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for Cameroon's awful night that resulted in them being eliminated in the group stage after 2 matches for the 2nd World Cup in a row. Alex Song's madness gave him a red card near the end of the first half (ridiculous since as one of, if not the, best player for your team, you need to set a better example than that), Croatia's German based players all managed to score (3 of the goals occurred after Song was sent off), and Benoit Assou-Ekotto bickers with his own teammates and even headbutts one of them. Fighting with the other team is bad as it is, but fighting against your teammates? That's the perfect way to go down in the World Cup. Croatia's offensive powers proved too much for Cameroon in the end. Even if Cameroon played most of the match with 10 men, Croatia were still the better side and earned this victory, which means Croatia are still fighting with Brazil and Mexico for one of the two spots in the top 16. Croatia face a big match against Mexico which will decide whether they advance or not. All Mexico needs is a draw to advance to the next round, while only a win would confirm Croatia's spot in the knock out stages for sure. As for Cameroon, they're out of the World Cup along with Australia and Spain but they still have to face Brazil before leaving.
Up next
Group C: Colombia vs. Cote D'Ivoire
Group D: Uruguay vs. England
Group C: Japan vs. Greece
At risk of elimination
Japan or Greece: If either of them loses and Colombia/Cote D'Ivoire tie
Uruguay or England: If either of them loses and Italy/Costa Rica tie
The two best teams of the most evenly matched group of the tournament will square off as both Colombia and Cote D'Ivoire would love a win as they strive to finish atop of Group C. Colombia have been the more convincing team between the two but after being in two group of deaths at the World Cup, Cote D'Ivoire have had plenty of experience against great teams and will be looking to rain on the parade of Los Cafeteros. Both of them have dynamic midfielders in James Rodriguez (COL) and Yaya Toure (CIV), but will Fredy Guarin, after being suspended from the game against Greece, be able to tip the balance in Colombia's favor or will the talented strikers at Cote D'Ivoire's disposal such as Gervinho stop Colombia in their tracks?
Japan lead against Cote D'Ivoire but ended up losing, while Greece were dominated by Colombia in their 3-0 loss to the South Americans. The Samurai look like the stronger team on paper, with Greece's main stars not getting any older and their younger talents not yet ready to shine their brightest, but Greece are a tough team to breakdown. Will Alberto Zaccheroni find a plan to cause the Greeks to crumble? Both these teams must go for the win or it could be all but over for them.
Uruguay and England are another pair of teams desperate for a win. Suarez is injured, Forlan is aging, and Cavani is doing what he can, so the trio of strikers that lifted Uruguay to the semifinals in South Africa is in a bit of disarray, but it hasn't been pretty for England either who are looking for their best possible form post the John Terry and Ashley Cole era and in the end of the Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard era. England definitely have more talent at their disposal to Uruguay but it will likely be a battle where the superior tactics will win out. Uruguay's confidence must've been all but shattered after losing to minnows Costa Rica but it must be quickly be rebuilt against Roy Hodsgson's side or Uruguay could crash and burn Spain style. Will England give something for their fans to cheer for or will they be unable to meet even their recently more modest expectations?
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