Did the teams follow the scripts given to them or did a plot twist or two occur? I'll analyze what went down.
Group D: Italy vs. Costa Rica
Result: 1-0 win for Costa Rica
Goalscorers: 44' Bryan Ruiz (PSV)
Bookings: 69' Mario Balotelli (AC Milan), 71' Jose Cubero (Herediano)
Lineups
Italy (4-5-1)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, captain); Ignazio Abate (AC Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino); Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Thiago Motta (PSG), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus); Mario Balotelli (AC Milan)
Changes from last game:
Change from 4-3-1-2 to 4-5-1 formation. Buffon recovered from injury so he replaces Salvatore Sigiru in the goalkeeper. Abate replaces Gabriel Paletta, Motta replaces Marco Verratti.
Subs:
Antonio Cassano (Parma) 46' for Thiago Motta
Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) 57' for Antonio Candreva
Alessio Cerci (Torino) 69' for Claudio Marchisio
Costa Rica (5-2-2-1)
Keylor Navas (Levante); Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew), Michael Umana (Saprissa), Junior Diaz (Mainz 05); Celso Borges (AIK), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa); Bryan Ruiz (PSV, captain), Christian Bolanos (Copenhagen); Joel Campbell (Olympiacos)
Changes from last game:
None. Same formation and starters from the 3-1 win over Uruguay
Subs:
Jose Cubero (Herediano) 68' for Yeltsin Tejeda
Marco Urena (Kuban Krasnodar) 74' for Joel Campbell
Randall Brenes (Cartagines) 81' for Bryan Ruiz
Despite Costa Rica being labeled minnows or underdogs of Group D (one of the Groups of Death), they, along with Italy, won their opening match, and in fact lead the group on goal difference. Nonetheless, Italy, who many believed to be the strongest team in this group, were still favorites, especially with Gianluigi Buffon back from his injury (though Salvatore Sigiru's performance in goal in his absence certainly won't go unappreciated by Cesare Prandelli) and a more formidable looking defense with Giorgio Chiellini is his preferred position and Ignazio Abate in the fray. Nonetheless, Costa Rica didn't care they were playing against Italy, they played another solid game, with good moments both offensively and defensively, as well as Keylor Navas once again reminding the world he's an underrated goalkeeper with a few good saves. Mario Balotelli tweeted he wanted a kiss from UK's queen if he scored against Costa Rica, but he didn't live up to his end of the bargain as he had one of his worse days. It's no coincidence that when Balotelli and Pirlo struggle that the entire Italian team struggles. Gianluigi Buffon had a good game and there wasn't much even a great goalkeeper like he could've done to deny Bryan Ruiz's genius a good goal. Bryan Ruiz, on paper the best and most well known Costa Rican player, was the hero to give Costa Rica a memorable and historic win. This is Italy's first loss to a CONCACAF team at the World Cup and their third loss to a CONCACAF team ever, after their 1-0 loss to the USA in a friendly match in Genoa and a loss to Mexico (of course Italy still has a great record against teams from this region). This win and Uruguay's defeat over England means Costa Rica are through to the next round and if Costa Rica ties against England or Italy and Uruguay tie in their closing match, they will win the group no matter what. Los Ticos are probably fans of Drake cuz they started from the bottom now they here! Very impressive. It would take a huge 180 for Italy to come back and win this group, but the good news is a draw against Uruguay would be enough to finish in 2nd, and Italy are still Italy, so you'd think they wouldn't be worried going against a Group C team except possibly Colombia.
And of course, Italy's failure to defeat Costa Rica officially eliminates England from the World Cup. Disappointing for a team who, when they have qualified, have made it out of their group each tournament since 1958. Only the 3rd time they've gone out this early, also suffering this fate in their World Cup debut in 1950 (coincidentally also hosted by Brazil), which featured USA's famous 1-0 victory over England.
Group E: Switzerland vs. France
Result: An epic 5-2 win for France
Goalscorers: 17' Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), 18' Blaise Matuidi (PSG), 40' Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille), 67' Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), 73' Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), 81' Blerim Dzemaili (Napoli), 87' Granit Xhaka (Monchengladbach)
Bookings: 88' Yohan Cabaye
Significance of bookings: Yohan Cabaye will miss the next match vs. Ecuador
Lineups
Switzerland (4-2-3-1)
Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg); Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Johan Djourou (Hamburger), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg); Valon Behrami (Napoli), Gokhan Inler (Napoli, captain); Granit Xhaka (Monchengladbach), Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Admir Mehmedi (Freiburg); Haris Seferovic (Real Sociedad)
Changes from last match
Mehmedi and Seferovic replace Valentin Stocker and Josip Drmic in the starting lineup, likely to reward them for scoring the goals that gave Switzerland victory over Ecuador.
Subs:
Philippe Senderos (Valencia) 9' for Steve von Bergen
Blerim Dzemaili (Napoli) 46' for Valon Behrami
Josip Drmic (Nurnberg) 69' for Haris Seferovic
France (4-5-1)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham, captain); Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Patrice Evra (Manchester United); Yohan Cabaye (PSG), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), Blaise Matuidi (PSG), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid); Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
Changes from last match
Change from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1 formation; Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann left on the bench for Sissoko and Giroud
Subs:
Paul Pogba (Juventus) 63' for Olivier Giroud
Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) 67' for Mamadou Sakho
Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad) 82' for Mathieu Valbuena
The battle for Group E's top spot were between two familiar foes close in proximity from each other in the world map. It seemed like it would be a close game but for Switzerland things went south right away with Steve von Bergen's injury, forcing Philippe Senderos into the game 9 minutes after kick off. Whenever you make a substitution that early it's usually not a good sign, and so it is proven once again as France were able to dominate this match. I'm not pinning this all on the substitution, sure Senderos isn't Switzerland's first choice centerback for a reason, but the other players screwed up too, like Valon Behrami's awful giveaway that lead to the second goal scored by Blaise Matuidi. 3 goals in the first half and 2 goals in the second half was unfortunately all France could gather if you take into account other blown opportunities, like Karim Benzema's penalty which was saved by Diego Benaglio. This game won't do much to aid his underrated reputation but Benaglio did his best to keep things under control....unfortunately, clearly his best simply wasn't good enough, but his defense let him down a lot as well. However, Switzerland did manage to deny Hugo Lloris a clean sheet with late goals from Blerim Dzemaili and Granit Xhaka. Hey, I'd take a 5-2 loss over a 5-0 loss any day. If there's a lesson to be learned from this match, is that taking FIFA Rankings seriously is for losers, but if you didn't know this already, you must be new to the sport. They get some rankings right sure but Switzerland #6? A seeded team? Ridiculousness. So far France's road in Brazil may have been easier than other giants like Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, but you can only play the teams you're matched up against and they're succeeding as they should, something they failed to do in 2010 against the likes of Uruguay, Mexico, and South Africa. But the past is surely behind them now, and with a thrilling victory all the while having talented players like Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, and Laurent Koscielny ON THE BENCH, and with goals coming from 5 different players, it's good to be France right now. They're still not going to be too many people's picks to win the World Cup aside from the French supporters, but they look like a team that will make it far.
Group E: Honduras vs. Ecuador
Result: Ecuador won 2-1
Goalscorers: 31' Carlo Costly (Real Espana), 34', 65' Enner Valencia (Pachuca)
Bookings: 7' Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes), 45+3' Jerry Bengtson (New England Revolution), 57' Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Enner Valencia (Pachuca), Jefferson Montero (Morelia)
Lineups
Honduras (4-4-2)
Noel Valladares (Olimpia, captain); Brayan Beckeles (Olimpia), Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes), Maynor Figueroa (Hull City), Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic); Oscar Boniek Garcia (Houston Dynamo), Luis Garrido (Olimpia), Jorge Claros (Motagua), Roger Espinoza (Wigan Athletic); Carlo Costly (Real Espana), Jerry Bengtson (New England Revolution)
Changes from last match
Andy Najar and Wilson Palacios are replaced by Garcia and Claros (Palacios suspended for 1 game after receiving two yellow cards against France)
Subs:
Juan Carlos Garcia (Wigan Athletic) 46' for Emilio Izaguirre
Mario Martinez (Real Espana) 71' for Luis Garrido
Marvin Chavez (Chivas USA) 83' for Oscar Boniek Garcia
Ecuador (4-4-2)
Alexander Dominguez (LDU Quito); Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona, ECU), Frickson Erazo (Flamengo), Jorge Guagua (Emelec), Walter Ayovi (Pachuca); Antonio Valencia (Manchester United, captain), Oswaldo Minda (Chivas USA), Christian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow), Jefferson Montero (Morelia); Felipe Caicedo (Al-Jazira), Enner Valencia (Pachuca)
Changes from last match
Minda replaces Carlos Gruezo in the starting lineup
Subs:
Edison Mendez (Santa Fe) 82' for Felipe Caicedo
Carlos Gruezo (Stuttgart) 83' for Osvaldo Minda
Gabriel Achilier (Emelec) 90+2' for Jefferson Montero
Compared to their CONCACAF and CONMEBOL rivals, these two new world teams have been the slowest to win a game in Brazil, but Ecuador finally got their win when Enner Valencia became the first Ecuadorian to score two goals in a World Cup match. His brace overshadowed Carlo Costly's goal which meant so much to Honduras's short and unimpressive World Cup history: he scored Honduras's first ever World Cup. Unfortunately it just wasn't enough. While the more well known of the Valencias isn't on the score sheet (he's definitely helping create chances for Ecuador though, as best as he can coming off a disappointing Man U season), the Valencia who plays for Pachuca has scored all 3 of Ecuador's World Cup goals this tournament. Honduras still unable to get much going and their Costa Rican buddies apparently held out on their secrets to success in this tournament (no they haven't, Costa Rica have been deadly in front of goal, Honduras haven't, plain as day). However Honduran fans will not think highly of the referee who denied them a penalty. This was an improvement for Honduras, but it's a results business and a defeat leaves Honduras hanging on the edge. Nothing short of a great victory over Switzerland and France downing Ecuador will allow them to progress now. With Ecuador having to play France in their final game, Switzerland seem the more likely to progress to the knockout stage, and Ecuador will be ruing the point they let slip away in Brasilia. Interestingly Honduras's current coach Luis Fernando Suarez and Ecuador's current coach Reinaldo Rueda coached the opposite teams at previous World Cups, a first in World Cup history for them to go head to head like this (Suarez coached Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup, Rueda Honduras at 2010).
Up next
Group F: Argentina vs. Iran
Group G: Germany vs. Ghana
Group F: Nigeria vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Facing elimination
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Eliminated if Nigeria win and the Argentina/Iran match does not end in a draw
Ghana: Eliminated if they lose or draw to Germany and USA beat Portugal
Everyone is probably predicting Argentina beat Iran comfortably, but if your predictions have been perfect so far at this World Cup, you must be some sort of psychic or genie. Argentina won against Bosnia and Herzegovina because of an own goal. Iran have a sturdy defense and actually looked sort of impressive when they did get the ball outside of their own half. Can Iran produce a bit of magic to get a result against Argentina, or will Argentina's sheer star power and class only confirm what the world is expecting?
A rematch from the 2010 group stage encounter that ended in a slim 1-0 victory for the Germans, who at the time were still led by current coach Joachim Low. It was Germany's lowest-scoring victory in that tournament, a testament to the underrated Ghanians and their hard work. But now Ghana are well known as a threat and a major component of the group of death, so Germany won't take anything for granted in what could be a fascinating game. It's a big ask, but Ghana need at least a point from this match or the Black Stars will all but certainly be one of the two deaths in this group of death. And let's not forget the possibility of the renewal of the sibling rivalry of Germany's Jerome Boateng and Ghana's Kevin-Prince Boateng, who of course played each other in 2010. Thankfully this time Kevin-Prince didn't injure one of Jerome's teammates, like he did to Michael Ballack back in his Premier League days.
Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina both have some quality players. Nigeria has more World Cup experience than the Bosnians but it's been an experience full of group stage and round of 16 exits, nothing that will intimidate the Eastern Europeans too much. This game could very much decide who gets out of this group and who doesn't. Both sets of players, coaches, and fans have been talking up their respective teams and expectations are higher than they should be to be fair, but nonetheless it's up to either the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Dragons of Bosnia and Herzegovina to seize this moment and either make or break their World Cup.
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