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?
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup Day 6 Review Day 7 Preview
The last four teams to play their first game at this World Cup (Group H) finally get to do so, and what promised to be another exciting encounter between CONCACAF (fallen?) giant Mexico and World Cup favorite (still?) and hosts Brazil started off the second batch of group stage matchups
Group H: Belgium vs. Algeria
Result: 2-1 win for Belgium
Goalscorers: 25' penalty Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), 70' Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), 80' Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Bookings: 24' Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), 34' Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham)
Lineups
Belgium (4-2-3-1)
Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid); Toby Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid), Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern Munich), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City, captain), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham); Axel Witsel (Zenit), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham); Nacer Chadli (Tottenham), Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg), Eden Hazard (Chelsea); Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
Subs:
Dries Mertens (Napoli) 46' for Nacer Chadli
Divock Origi (Lille) 58' for Romelu Lukaku
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) 65' for Mousa Dembele
Algeria (4-3-2-1)
Rais M'Bolhi (CSKA Sofia); Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio), Madjid Bougherra (Lekhwiya, captain), Rafik Halliche (Academica), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli); Saphir Taider (Inter), Carl Medjani (Valenciennes), Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham); Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City); El Arbi Hillel Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb)
Subs:
Islam Slimani (Sporting CP) 66' for El Arbi Hillel Soudani
Medhi Lacen (Getafe) 71' for Riyad Mahrez
Nabil Ghilas (Porto) 84' for Carl Medjani
Fun fact: 50% of the Tottenham players that played today got yellow cards. Was Belgium's win expected? Yes. Was Algeria putting up a hell of a fight expected? Not quite. It's fair to say Algeria don't get enough credit. I mean Algeria did make life hell for England and USA at the last World Cup, who collectively only scored one goal against a sturdy and resilient Algerian defense (that one goal being Landon Donovan's awesome last minute winner that allowed USA to win their group and advance from the group stage), and even though they're lead by a man who plays for a Qatari (Qatar inexplicably being 2022 hosts for the World Cup) club, their defense is still solid as a rock. Even for a Belgian side with a lot of dangerous offensive players from the ones every knows like Eden Hazard to the lesser know talents like Axel Witsel and Kevin De Bruyne. What I found most interesting from the starting lineup Marc Wilmots was his decision to start Daniel Van Buyten, who hadn't appeared too frequently for Bayern Munich this season, over Thomas Vermaelen (a fair point: Vermaelen didn't get much more playing time for Arsenal). Also interesting is the fact that Van Buyten is the only player with World Cup experience for Belgium, who played alongside Marc Wilmots in 2002 South Korea/Japan. A poor challenge from Jan Vertonghen gave Algeria a penalty that Sofiane Feghouli converted to give Algeria a 1-0 lead that they defended until the subs came on and Fellaini and Mertens were the spark Belgium needed to take all 3 points in this match. Definitely not too convincing for Belgium but this is their first world cup game in 12 years. They're still a talented team, and time will tell if this match will ignite a fire in them to make a deep run in the tournament. But judging from this match, anyone who predicted Belgium to win the World Cup should feel pretty stupid. A personal victory for Algeria though: They scored their first World Cup goal since Djamel, not Zinedane, Zidane scored the equalizer against Northern Ireland in the group stage of the 1986 World Cup.
Group A: Brazil vs. Mexico
Result: 0-0
Bookings: 45' Ramires (Chelsea), 59' Paul Aguilar (America), 62' Jose Vazquez (Leon), 79' Thiago Silva (PSG)
Lineups
Brazil (4-2-3-1)
Julio Cesar (Toronto FC); Dani Alves (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (PSG, captain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Marcelo (Real Madrid); Paulinho (Tottenham), Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg); Oscar (Chelsea), Ramires (Chelsea), Neymar (Barcelona); Fred (Fluminense)
Subs:
Bernard (Shaktar Donetsk) 46' for Ramires
Jo (Atletico Mineiro) 68' for Fred
Willian (Chelsea) 84' for Oscar
Mexico (5-3-2)
Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio); Franciscio Rodriguez (America), Rafael Marquez (Leon, captain), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Paul Aguilar (America), Miguel Layun (America); Hector Herrera (Porto), Jose Vazquez (Leon), Andres Guardado (Bayer Leverkusen); Giovani Dos Santos (Villarreal), Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna)
Subs:
Javier Hernandez (Manchester United) 74' for Oribe Peralta
Marco Fabian (Cruz Azul) 76' for Hector Herrera
Raul Jimenez (America) 84' for Giovani Dos Santos
Hulk got injured in training so Ramires replaced him in the starting lineup, meaning Chelsea's Brazil quarter went 3 for 4 in starting, but the other member of the quarter Willian would come on as a substitute. A rematch from the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal game (Mexico won 2-1) and a match from the 2013 Confederations Cup (Brazil won 2-0), these two teams are familiar with one another, Mexico being the team Brazil has played against more than any other non-South American team in international soccer. Both teams were hoping for a win to practically seal the deal on their qualification for the 2nd round, and despite both teams playing with real attacking intent, this game ended up with the same scoreline as Nigeria and Iran (I know, weird right?) The main talking point though would be Guillermo Ochoa making some impressive saves to give Mexico a well earned point, who showed their talents across the pitch in both offense and defense against a quality opponent like Brazil. Mexico would certainly be more satisfied with the draw than Brazil did, whose fans seem displeased by Brazil's inability to beat a team who needed help from the USA to qualify. However, Mexico are playing like they deserve to be here, and if Mexico played this well throughout qualifying they certainly wouldn't have needed help from anyone to qualify. With 4 points from 6 games, Brazil and Mexico will like their chances of emerging victorious from the group unless either Cameroon or Croatia have a stellar two games.
Group H: Russia vs. South Korea
Result: 1-1
Goalscorers: 68' Lee Keun-Ho (Sangju Sangmu), 74' Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit)
Bookings: 13' Son Heung-Min (Bayer Leverkusen), 30' Ki Sung-Yueng (Sunderland), 49' Oleg Shatov (Zenit), 90' Koo Ja-Cheol (Mainz 05)
Lineups
Russia (4-5-1)
Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow); Andrey Yeshchenko (Anzhi), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Vasili Berezutski (CSKA Moscow, captain), Dmitri Kombarov (Spartak Moscow); Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Viktor Fayzulin (Zenit), Yuri Zhirkov (Dynamo Moscow), Aleksandr Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Oleg Shatov (Zenit); Aleksandr Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow)
Subs:
Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow) 59' for Oleg Shatov
Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit) 71' for Yuri Zhirkov
Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow) 72' for Denis Glushakov
South Korea (4-4-2)
Jung Sung-Ryong (Suwon Bluewings); Lee Yong (Ulsan Hyundai), Kim Young-Gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande), Hong Jeong-Ho (FC Augsburg), Yun Suk-Young (Queens Park Rangers); Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton Wanderers), Han Kook-Young (Kashiwa Reysol), Ki Sung-Yueng (Sunderland), Son Heung-Min (Bayer Leverkusen); Park Chu-Young (Watford), Koo Cha-Cheol (Mainz 05)
Subs:
Lee Keun-Ho (Sangju Sangmu) 56' for Park Chu-Young
Hwang Seok-Ho (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) 73' for Hong Jeong-Ho
Kim Bo-Kyung (Cardiff City) 84' for Son Heung-Min
The most well payed manager in the world Fabio Capello went head to head with Hong Myung-Bo, a central figure to South Korea's best ever run at a World Cup back when they cohosted the tournament with Japan in 2002. Hong believes this is the strongest South Korean team since then, while Capello will hope that this campaign goes better than his adventure in South Africa as manager of The Three Lions. Interestingly 10 of the 14 players that featured in this match for Russia (and 14 of 23 in the squad) all play for a club based in Russia, and Russia is the only team completely composed of players from their domestic league. Ultimately these two teams cancelled each other out for most of the match, playing smart but safe for the most part. Then in the 68' minute Igor Akinfeev did something that certainly wasn't smart. He mishandled an "average" shot from Lee Keun-Ho, the ball slipped from his hands and went across the line to give South Korea the lead for 6 minutes before another substitute, Aleksandr Kerzhakov, struck back for the Russians. Funny how this sort of thing only happens to teams Fabio Capello coaches. First Robert Green screws up to cost England two points in a 1-1 draw to the USA in South Africa, and now here in Brazil Igor Akinfeev screws up to cost Russia two points in a 1-1 draw to South Korea. Both teams will like their chances of progressing to the group stage if they can take their chances in future games, but if I had to pick one of these two teams to go through assuming Belgium will no matter what (probably a dangerous assumption since Belgium looked vulnerable against Algeria), I'm liking Russia's odds, only by a little bit.
The next games
Cameroon vs. Croatia
Australia vs. Netherlands
Chile vs. Spain
At risk of elimination
Cameroon: If Croatia beat them
Croatia: If Cameroon beat them
Australia: If Netherlands beats them and Chile at least draws against Spain
Spain: If Chile beats them and Netherlands at least draws against Australia
We've know gone through 17 of 48 group matches at the World Cup, with 30 teams having played once and Mexico and Brazil having played twice. A lot more is at stake here and even though no team will be going home until at the earliest after their third match, these matches could paint a clearer picture of what is to come. Both Cameroon and Croatia are in need of a win, and such a result would wreck the loser's chances of progressing from the group stage. Croatia are the favorites to win due to having stronger players on paper, but Cameroon will believe they have just as good of a chance as Croatia. A draw won't eliminate either team but it doesn't help either team too much either, and gives more power to Mexico and Brazil in the final set of Group A games.
Spain will have had 5 days to get over their shocking and brutal 5-1 loss to the Netherlands against a familiar opponent at the World Cup: Chile. Spain beat this South American team 2-1 when they met in South America, but with Chile looking stronger and Spain looking a bit all over the place, this is the perfect chance for Chile to get revenge and to significantly boost their round of 16 prospects with a result from this match.
You certainly wouldn't want to be Australia right now. Upsets can and do happen, but it would be a huge miracle if Australia even tie against the Dutch. The Aussies will hope to channel their 2006 World Cup campaign which ended in a narrow defeat to eventual champions Italy to have any chance at a pleasant scoreline from this match. The Netherlands are expected to demolish the Aussies but not every giant has lived up to their expectations so far at this World Cup. In Netherlands's case, so far they have exceeded theirs.
Finally, a shout-out to all the substitutes who have scored in this World Cup so far: Jean Beausejour (Chile, vs. Australia). Marco Urena (Costa Rica, vs. Uruguay), Admir Mehmedi (Switzerland, vs. Ecuador), Haris Seferovic (Switzerland, vs. Ecuador), Vedad Ibisevic (Bosnia and Herzegovina, vs. Argentina), John Brooks (United States, vs. Ghana), Marouane Fellani, Dries Mertens, Lee Keun-Ho, and Aleksandr Kerzhakov. A lot of difference makers coming off the bench, making this World Cup even more interesting.
Group H: Belgium vs. Algeria
Result: 2-1 win for Belgium
Goalscorers: 25' penalty Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), 70' Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), 80' Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Bookings: 24' Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), 34' Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham)
Lineups
Belgium (4-2-3-1)
Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid); Toby Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid), Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern Munich), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City, captain), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham); Axel Witsel (Zenit), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham); Nacer Chadli (Tottenham), Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg), Eden Hazard (Chelsea); Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
Subs:
Dries Mertens (Napoli) 46' for Nacer Chadli
Divock Origi (Lille) 58' for Romelu Lukaku
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) 65' for Mousa Dembele
Algeria (4-3-2-1)
Rais M'Bolhi (CSKA Sofia); Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio), Madjid Bougherra (Lekhwiya, captain), Rafik Halliche (Academica), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli); Saphir Taider (Inter), Carl Medjani (Valenciennes), Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham); Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City); El Arbi Hillel Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb)
Subs:
Islam Slimani (Sporting CP) 66' for El Arbi Hillel Soudani
Medhi Lacen (Getafe) 71' for Riyad Mahrez
Nabil Ghilas (Porto) 84' for Carl Medjani
Fun fact: 50% of the Tottenham players that played today got yellow cards. Was Belgium's win expected? Yes. Was Algeria putting up a hell of a fight expected? Not quite. It's fair to say Algeria don't get enough credit. I mean Algeria did make life hell for England and USA at the last World Cup, who collectively only scored one goal against a sturdy and resilient Algerian defense (that one goal being Landon Donovan's awesome last minute winner that allowed USA to win their group and advance from the group stage), and even though they're lead by a man who plays for a Qatari (Qatar inexplicably being 2022 hosts for the World Cup) club, their defense is still solid as a rock. Even for a Belgian side with a lot of dangerous offensive players from the ones every knows like Eden Hazard to the lesser know talents like Axel Witsel and Kevin De Bruyne. What I found most interesting from the starting lineup Marc Wilmots was his decision to start Daniel Van Buyten, who hadn't appeared too frequently for Bayern Munich this season, over Thomas Vermaelen (a fair point: Vermaelen didn't get much more playing time for Arsenal). Also interesting is the fact that Van Buyten is the only player with World Cup experience for Belgium, who played alongside Marc Wilmots in 2002 South Korea/Japan. A poor challenge from Jan Vertonghen gave Algeria a penalty that Sofiane Feghouli converted to give Algeria a 1-0 lead that they defended until the subs came on and Fellaini and Mertens were the spark Belgium needed to take all 3 points in this match. Definitely not too convincing for Belgium but this is their first world cup game in 12 years. They're still a talented team, and time will tell if this match will ignite a fire in them to make a deep run in the tournament. But judging from this match, anyone who predicted Belgium to win the World Cup should feel pretty stupid. A personal victory for Algeria though: They scored their first World Cup goal since Djamel, not Zinedane, Zidane scored the equalizer against Northern Ireland in the group stage of the 1986 World Cup.
Group A: Brazil vs. Mexico
Result: 0-0
Bookings: 45' Ramires (Chelsea), 59' Paul Aguilar (America), 62' Jose Vazquez (Leon), 79' Thiago Silva (PSG)
Lineups
Brazil (4-2-3-1)
Julio Cesar (Toronto FC); Dani Alves (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (PSG, captain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Marcelo (Real Madrid); Paulinho (Tottenham), Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg); Oscar (Chelsea), Ramires (Chelsea), Neymar (Barcelona); Fred (Fluminense)
Subs:
Bernard (Shaktar Donetsk) 46' for Ramires
Jo (Atletico Mineiro) 68' for Fred
Willian (Chelsea) 84' for Oscar
Mexico (5-3-2)
Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio); Franciscio Rodriguez (America), Rafael Marquez (Leon, captain), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Paul Aguilar (America), Miguel Layun (America); Hector Herrera (Porto), Jose Vazquez (Leon), Andres Guardado (Bayer Leverkusen); Giovani Dos Santos (Villarreal), Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna)
Subs:
Javier Hernandez (Manchester United) 74' for Oribe Peralta
Marco Fabian (Cruz Azul) 76' for Hector Herrera
Raul Jimenez (America) 84' for Giovani Dos Santos
Hulk got injured in training so Ramires replaced him in the starting lineup, meaning Chelsea's Brazil quarter went 3 for 4 in starting, but the other member of the quarter Willian would come on as a substitute. A rematch from the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal game (Mexico won 2-1) and a match from the 2013 Confederations Cup (Brazil won 2-0), these two teams are familiar with one another, Mexico being the team Brazil has played against more than any other non-South American team in international soccer. Both teams were hoping for a win to practically seal the deal on their qualification for the 2nd round, and despite both teams playing with real attacking intent, this game ended up with the same scoreline as Nigeria and Iran (I know, weird right?) The main talking point though would be Guillermo Ochoa making some impressive saves to give Mexico a well earned point, who showed their talents across the pitch in both offense and defense against a quality opponent like Brazil. Mexico would certainly be more satisfied with the draw than Brazil did, whose fans seem displeased by Brazil's inability to beat a team who needed help from the USA to qualify. However, Mexico are playing like they deserve to be here, and if Mexico played this well throughout qualifying they certainly wouldn't have needed help from anyone to qualify. With 4 points from 6 games, Brazil and Mexico will like their chances of emerging victorious from the group unless either Cameroon or Croatia have a stellar two games.
Group H: Russia vs. South Korea
Result: 1-1
Goalscorers: 68' Lee Keun-Ho (Sangju Sangmu), 74' Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit)
Bookings: 13' Son Heung-Min (Bayer Leverkusen), 30' Ki Sung-Yueng (Sunderland), 49' Oleg Shatov (Zenit), 90' Koo Ja-Cheol (Mainz 05)
Lineups
Russia (4-5-1)
Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow); Andrey Yeshchenko (Anzhi), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Vasili Berezutski (CSKA Moscow, captain), Dmitri Kombarov (Spartak Moscow); Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Viktor Fayzulin (Zenit), Yuri Zhirkov (Dynamo Moscow), Aleksandr Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Oleg Shatov (Zenit); Aleksandr Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow)
Subs:
Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow) 59' for Oleg Shatov
Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit) 71' for Yuri Zhirkov
Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow) 72' for Denis Glushakov
South Korea (4-4-2)
Jung Sung-Ryong (Suwon Bluewings); Lee Yong (Ulsan Hyundai), Kim Young-Gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande), Hong Jeong-Ho (FC Augsburg), Yun Suk-Young (Queens Park Rangers); Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton Wanderers), Han Kook-Young (Kashiwa Reysol), Ki Sung-Yueng (Sunderland), Son Heung-Min (Bayer Leverkusen); Park Chu-Young (Watford), Koo Cha-Cheol (Mainz 05)
Subs:
Lee Keun-Ho (Sangju Sangmu) 56' for Park Chu-Young
Hwang Seok-Ho (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) 73' for Hong Jeong-Ho
Kim Bo-Kyung (Cardiff City) 84' for Son Heung-Min
The most well payed manager in the world Fabio Capello went head to head with Hong Myung-Bo, a central figure to South Korea's best ever run at a World Cup back when they cohosted the tournament with Japan in 2002. Hong believes this is the strongest South Korean team since then, while Capello will hope that this campaign goes better than his adventure in South Africa as manager of The Three Lions. Interestingly 10 of the 14 players that featured in this match for Russia (and 14 of 23 in the squad) all play for a club based in Russia, and Russia is the only team completely composed of players from their domestic league. Ultimately these two teams cancelled each other out for most of the match, playing smart but safe for the most part. Then in the 68' minute Igor Akinfeev did something that certainly wasn't smart. He mishandled an "average" shot from Lee Keun-Ho, the ball slipped from his hands and went across the line to give South Korea the lead for 6 minutes before another substitute, Aleksandr Kerzhakov, struck back for the Russians. Funny how this sort of thing only happens to teams Fabio Capello coaches. First Robert Green screws up to cost England two points in a 1-1 draw to the USA in South Africa, and now here in Brazil Igor Akinfeev screws up to cost Russia two points in a 1-1 draw to South Korea. Both teams will like their chances of progressing to the group stage if they can take their chances in future games, but if I had to pick one of these two teams to go through assuming Belgium will no matter what (probably a dangerous assumption since Belgium looked vulnerable against Algeria), I'm liking Russia's odds, only by a little bit.
The next games
Cameroon vs. Croatia
Australia vs. Netherlands
Chile vs. Spain
At risk of elimination
Cameroon: If Croatia beat them
Croatia: If Cameroon beat them
Australia: If Netherlands beats them and Chile at least draws against Spain
Spain: If Chile beats them and Netherlands at least draws against Australia
We've know gone through 17 of 48 group matches at the World Cup, with 30 teams having played once and Mexico and Brazil having played twice. A lot more is at stake here and even though no team will be going home until at the earliest after their third match, these matches could paint a clearer picture of what is to come. Both Cameroon and Croatia are in need of a win, and such a result would wreck the loser's chances of progressing from the group stage. Croatia are the favorites to win due to having stronger players on paper, but Cameroon will believe they have just as good of a chance as Croatia. A draw won't eliminate either team but it doesn't help either team too much either, and gives more power to Mexico and Brazil in the final set of Group A games.
Spain will have had 5 days to get over their shocking and brutal 5-1 loss to the Netherlands against a familiar opponent at the World Cup: Chile. Spain beat this South American team 2-1 when they met in South America, but with Chile looking stronger and Spain looking a bit all over the place, this is the perfect chance for Chile to get revenge and to significantly boost their round of 16 prospects with a result from this match.
You certainly wouldn't want to be Australia right now. Upsets can and do happen, but it would be a huge miracle if Australia even tie against the Dutch. The Aussies will hope to channel their 2006 World Cup campaign which ended in a narrow defeat to eventual champions Italy to have any chance at a pleasant scoreline from this match. The Netherlands are expected to demolish the Aussies but not every giant has lived up to their expectations so far at this World Cup. In Netherlands's case, so far they have exceeded theirs.
Finally, a shout-out to all the substitutes who have scored in this World Cup so far: Jean Beausejour (Chile, vs. Australia). Marco Urena (Costa Rica, vs. Uruguay), Admir Mehmedi (Switzerland, vs. Ecuador), Haris Seferovic (Switzerland, vs. Ecuador), Vedad Ibisevic (Bosnia and Herzegovina, vs. Argentina), John Brooks (United States, vs. Ghana), Marouane Fellani, Dries Mertens, Lee Keun-Ho, and Aleksandr Kerzhakov. A lot of difference makers coming off the bench, making this World Cup even more interesting.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup Day 5 Review Day 6 Preview
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?
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?
Monday, June 16, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup Day 4 Review and Day 5 Preview
2 South American, 3 European, and 1 North American team played their first matches of the World Cup today. And the winners and losers were....you'll see.
Group E: Switzerland vs. Ecuador
Final Score: Switzerland win 2-1
Goalscorers: 22' E.Valencia (Pachuca), 48' Admir Mehmedi (SC Freiburg), 90+3' Haris Seferovic (Real Sociedad)
Bookings: 53' Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona, Ecuador), 84' Johan Djourou (Hamburg)
Lineups
Switzerland (4-2-3-1)
Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg); Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Johan Djourou (Hamburg), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg); Valon Behrami (Napoli), Gokham Inler (Napoli, captain); Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Granit Xhaka (Bor.M'gladbach), Valentin Stocker (Basel); Josip Drmic (Nurnberg)
Subs:
Admir Mehmedi (SC Freiburg) 46' for Valentin Stocker
Haris Seferovic (Real Sociedad) 75' for Josip Drmic
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), Carlos Gruezo (Stuttgart), Christian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow), Jefferson Montero (Morelia); Felipe Caicedo (Al-Jazira), Enner Valencia (Pachuca)
Subs:
Michael Arroyo (Atlante) 70' for Felipe Caicedo
Joao Rojas (Cruz Azul) 77' for Jefferson Montero
This group has been called the "group of life" because of how easy this group apparently is for France to dominate and how predictable the rest of the dominoes shall fall. The cookie cutter prediction being France 1st, Switzerland 2nd, Ecuador 3rd, and Honduras 4th. When you look at Ecuador, who only have 4 European based players in their squad (3 of them play for Barcelona, the club in Ecuador, not Spain), and then compare them to Switzerland when you see a higher frequency of strong or above average European clubs like Juventus and Napoli within the players' resumes, you think Switzerland have to win this. They may be the most undeserving seeded team (no offense), but they're still a good team. Well Ecuador won the battle of the first half with a goal from the lesser known of their Valencias, but Switzerland's subs saved the day, with Seferovic scoring 20 seconds before the final whistle to nab the 3 points for the Swiss and make us wait even longer for the first draw of the tournament. Ecuador join Croatia, Spain, Japan, and Uruguay on the list of teams who lost their opening game despite scoring first. They will surely be kicking themselves for that last minute goal that could be the death of their chances of making it out of the group, especially if Group E continues to follow the script with Switzerland beating Honduras and France beating both Switzerland and Ecuador.
Group E: France vs. Honduras
Final score: 3-0 win for France
Goalscorers: 45' Karim Benzema penalty (Real Madrid), 48' Noel Valladares own goal (Olimpia), 72' Karim Benzema
Bookings: 7' Patrice Evra (Manchester United), 28' Wilson Palacios (Stoke City), 28' Paul Pogba (Juventus), 43' Wilson Palacios (2nd yellow, sent off), 45+2' Yohan Cabaye (PSG), 53' Oscar Boniek Garcia (Houston Dynamo), 83' Luis Garrido (Olimpia)
Lineups
France (4-3-3)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham, captain); Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Patrice Evra (Manchester United); Yohan Cabaye (PSG), Blaise Matuidi (PSG), Paul Pogba (Juventus); Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad)
Subs:
Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United) 57' for Paul Pogba
Rio Mavuba (Lille) 65' for Yohan Cabaye
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) 78' for Mathieu Valbuena
Honduras (4-4-2)
Noel Valladares (Olimpia, captain); Maynor Figueroa (Hull City), Bryan Beckeles (Olimpia), Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes), Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic); Andy Najar (Anderlecht), Luis Garrido (Olimpia), Wilson Palacios (Stoke City), Roger Espinoza (Wigan Athletic); Carlo Costly (Real Espana), Jerry Bengtson (New England Revolution)
Subs:
Oscar Boniek Garcia (Houston Dynamo) 46' for Jerry Bengtson
Osman Chavez (Qingdao Jonoon) 46' for Victor Bernardez
Jorge Claros (Montagua) 58' for Andy Najar
The biggest question going into this match was "could Honduras pull a Costa Rica?". It's very tempting to assume another similar upset to happen just because one did happen. They're called upsets for a reason. They aren't expected or common. And unfortunately it just wasn't on the cards for Honduras today. They started off alright playing great defensively, because they had to with France dominating possession, who were unlucky to hit the crossbar twice early on. Honduran players were making some dangerous, untimely tackles that their CONCACAF rivals know all about which were concerning as Honduras conceded free kicks and got players booked. But then Wilson Palacios tackled Karim Benzema in the box, not only earning France a penalty but earning Palacios a 2nd yellow, which as we all know is a red and Honduras were reduced to 10 men in a game where they could've had 15 and still been declared the underdogs. Benzema successfully converting the penalty, giving France the lead at long last. France were starting to get worried until that goal came, which took the pressure off them and allowed them to play even better the 2nd half.
Palacios's sending off forced a tactical substitution to fill in the gap in midfield by sacrificing a striker (Bengtson) for a midfielder (Garcia). France got off to a fast start in the 2nd half with Benzema nearly scoring but it wasn't a goal until it hit Valladares just enough for the ball to completely cross the line. It was the first real test of goal-line technology at this World Cup and it passed with flying colors. That unfortunate moment for Valladares resulted in another goal for France. A 2nd goal for Benzema in the closing 20 minutes sealed what was an impressive, but more expected than convincing victory from France. Nonetheless, they already obtained 2 more points than they did in 2010, and France look completely different from that tragic and catastrophic team from 4 years ago. Honduras did what they could but it simply wasn't enough, but do they have what it takes to earn their first ever World Cup victory against either Ecuador or Switzerland?
Group F: Argentina vs. Bosnia Herzegovina
Final score: A 2-1 victory for Argentina
Goalscorers: 3' Sead Kolasinac own goal (Schalke), 65' Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 85' Vedad Ibisevic (Stuttgart)
Bookings: 25' Marcos Rojo (Sporting CP), 63' Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen)
Lineups
Argentina (5-3-2)
Sergio Romero (Monaco); Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Hugo Campagnaro (Inter), Federico Fernandez (Napoli), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Marco Rojo (Sporting CP); Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid); Lionel Messi (Barcelona, captain); Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Subs:
Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli) 46' for Maxi Rodriguez
Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors) 46' for Hugo Campagnaro
Lucas Biglia (Lazio) 87' for Sergio Aguero
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4-2-3-1)
Asmir Begovic (Stoke City); Mensur Mujdza (SC Freiburg), Ermin Bicakcic (Braunschweig), Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen, captain), Sead Kolasinac (Schalke); Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros), Izet Hajrovic (Galatasaray); Miralem Pjanic (Roma), Zvjezdan Misimovic (Guizhou Renhe), Senad Lulic (Lazio); Edin Dzeko (Manchester City)
Subs:
Vedad Ibisevic (Stuttgart) 69' for Mensur Mujdza
Edin Visca (Istanbul Basaksehir) 71' for Izet Hajrovic
Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor) 74' for Zvjezdan Misimovic
Between Manchester City strike partners Aguero and Dzeko duking it out and the debut of superstar Lionel Messi, both of these teams rich in offensive talent were locked and loaded but a defender broke the scoring in the 3rd minute. Unfortunately it was in the wrong goal as Kolasinac scored an own goal to give Bosnia and Herzegovina a nightmare start to their first World Cup match ever (B+H are the only debutants at this World Cup) but they held their own and played rather well throughout this match. Despite Lionel Messi not having too many fond personal memories from his previous World Cup adventures, he got off to a good start scoring what turned out to be the decisive goal of this match, much to the delight of Argentina and Messi fans around the globe. Substitute Ibisevic scored to make the scoreline a bit more nicer, which was well deserved for the Bosnians. However it happened in part by a mistake courtesy of Sergio Romero, which reminded everyone why he is the backup keeper at Ligue 1 giants Monaco. Despite the victory, Argentina will need to improve by some distance if they want to claim their 3rd World Cup this summer. And newcomers Bosnia-Herzegovina leave the match with a chip on their shoulder as they are eager to get a win in each of their remaining group games.
Up next
Germany and Portugal have a tough group this time around but are expected to progress from it. But a rematch of the 2012 UEFA Euro group stage will certainly be an exciting encounter. Every game matters and if everything goes according to script, this match will decide who wins Group G. Germany are heavy favorites but no one individual player is admired as much as Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be fit to play against Germany after recovering from injury. Unfortunately Marco Reus had so such luck and had been ruled out of this tournament, much to the Germans' dismay, but they still have a wealth of talent to choose from.
Nigeria and Iran won't be the game most people are looking forward to but it will be both teams' best chance at picking up points, with Argentina and Bosnia Herzegovina looking very threatening. Nigeria, with such talents such as Victor Moses and Vicent Enyeama at their disposal, are very much favorites in this match but Iran will have nothing to lose and everything to prove.
USA's worst nightmare is coming back to haunt them: Ghana. Ghana are still a very powerful team, especially in midfield with players such as Sulley Muntari, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Michael Essien, and Kwadwo Asamoah, but even without Landon Donovan USA's midfield which has Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi, and Jermaine Jones among others look up for the challenge. Both teams have less than stellar backlines which will both have their hands full at times, as will goalkeeper Tim Howard. USA would love nothing more than to blow away their demons and earn 3 points against the Black Stars. If either team will have a chance to progress, they'll need to win this match. Netherlands and Costa Rica managed to get their payback against Spain and Uruguay already, is it USA's turn? Or will Ghana inflict more pain on a nation where passion for football, or as we call it soccer, is ever growing?
Group E: Switzerland vs. Ecuador
Final Score: Switzerland win 2-1
Goalscorers: 22' E.Valencia (Pachuca), 48' Admir Mehmedi (SC Freiburg), 90+3' Haris Seferovic (Real Sociedad)
Bookings: 53' Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona, Ecuador), 84' Johan Djourou (Hamburg)
Lineups
Switzerland (4-2-3-1)
Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg); Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Johan Djourou (Hamburg), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg); Valon Behrami (Napoli), Gokham Inler (Napoli, captain); Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Granit Xhaka (Bor.M'gladbach), Valentin Stocker (Basel); Josip Drmic (Nurnberg)
Subs:
Admir Mehmedi (SC Freiburg) 46' for Valentin Stocker
Haris Seferovic (Real Sociedad) 75' for Josip Drmic
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), Carlos Gruezo (Stuttgart), Christian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow), Jefferson Montero (Morelia); Felipe Caicedo (Al-Jazira), Enner Valencia (Pachuca)
Subs:
Michael Arroyo (Atlante) 70' for Felipe Caicedo
Joao Rojas (Cruz Azul) 77' for Jefferson Montero
This group has been called the "group of life" because of how easy this group apparently is for France to dominate and how predictable the rest of the dominoes shall fall. The cookie cutter prediction being France 1st, Switzerland 2nd, Ecuador 3rd, and Honduras 4th. When you look at Ecuador, who only have 4 European based players in their squad (3 of them play for Barcelona, the club in Ecuador, not Spain), and then compare them to Switzerland when you see a higher frequency of strong or above average European clubs like Juventus and Napoli within the players' resumes, you think Switzerland have to win this. They may be the most undeserving seeded team (no offense), but they're still a good team. Well Ecuador won the battle of the first half with a goal from the lesser known of their Valencias, but Switzerland's subs saved the day, with Seferovic scoring 20 seconds before the final whistle to nab the 3 points for the Swiss and make us wait even longer for the first draw of the tournament. Ecuador join Croatia, Spain, Japan, and Uruguay on the list of teams who lost their opening game despite scoring first. They will surely be kicking themselves for that last minute goal that could be the death of their chances of making it out of the group, especially if Group E continues to follow the script with Switzerland beating Honduras and France beating both Switzerland and Ecuador.
Group E: France vs. Honduras
Final score: 3-0 win for France
Goalscorers: 45' Karim Benzema penalty (Real Madrid), 48' Noel Valladares own goal (Olimpia), 72' Karim Benzema
Bookings: 7' Patrice Evra (Manchester United), 28' Wilson Palacios (Stoke City), 28' Paul Pogba (Juventus), 43' Wilson Palacios (2nd yellow, sent off), 45+2' Yohan Cabaye (PSG), 53' Oscar Boniek Garcia (Houston Dynamo), 83' Luis Garrido (Olimpia)
Lineups
France (4-3-3)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham, captain); Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Patrice Evra (Manchester United); Yohan Cabaye (PSG), Blaise Matuidi (PSG), Paul Pogba (Juventus); Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad)
Subs:
Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United) 57' for Paul Pogba
Rio Mavuba (Lille) 65' for Yohan Cabaye
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) 78' for Mathieu Valbuena
Honduras (4-4-2)
Noel Valladares (Olimpia, captain); Maynor Figueroa (Hull City), Bryan Beckeles (Olimpia), Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes), Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic); Andy Najar (Anderlecht), Luis Garrido (Olimpia), Wilson Palacios (Stoke City), Roger Espinoza (Wigan Athletic); Carlo Costly (Real Espana), Jerry Bengtson (New England Revolution)
Subs:
Oscar Boniek Garcia (Houston Dynamo) 46' for Jerry Bengtson
Osman Chavez (Qingdao Jonoon) 46' for Victor Bernardez
Jorge Claros (Montagua) 58' for Andy Najar
The biggest question going into this match was "could Honduras pull a Costa Rica?". It's very tempting to assume another similar upset to happen just because one did happen. They're called upsets for a reason. They aren't expected or common. And unfortunately it just wasn't on the cards for Honduras today. They started off alright playing great defensively, because they had to with France dominating possession, who were unlucky to hit the crossbar twice early on. Honduran players were making some dangerous, untimely tackles that their CONCACAF rivals know all about which were concerning as Honduras conceded free kicks and got players booked. But then Wilson Palacios tackled Karim Benzema in the box, not only earning France a penalty but earning Palacios a 2nd yellow, which as we all know is a red and Honduras were reduced to 10 men in a game where they could've had 15 and still been declared the underdogs. Benzema successfully converting the penalty, giving France the lead at long last. France were starting to get worried until that goal came, which took the pressure off them and allowed them to play even better the 2nd half.
Palacios's sending off forced a tactical substitution to fill in the gap in midfield by sacrificing a striker (Bengtson) for a midfielder (Garcia). France got off to a fast start in the 2nd half with Benzema nearly scoring but it wasn't a goal until it hit Valladares just enough for the ball to completely cross the line. It was the first real test of goal-line technology at this World Cup and it passed with flying colors. That unfortunate moment for Valladares resulted in another goal for France. A 2nd goal for Benzema in the closing 20 minutes sealed what was an impressive, but more expected than convincing victory from France. Nonetheless, they already obtained 2 more points than they did in 2010, and France look completely different from that tragic and catastrophic team from 4 years ago. Honduras did what they could but it simply wasn't enough, but do they have what it takes to earn their first ever World Cup victory against either Ecuador or Switzerland?
Group F: Argentina vs. Bosnia Herzegovina
Final score: A 2-1 victory for Argentina
Goalscorers: 3' Sead Kolasinac own goal (Schalke), 65' Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 85' Vedad Ibisevic (Stuttgart)
Bookings: 25' Marcos Rojo (Sporting CP), 63' Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen)
Lineups
Argentina (5-3-2)
Sergio Romero (Monaco); Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Hugo Campagnaro (Inter), Federico Fernandez (Napoli), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Marco Rojo (Sporting CP); Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid); Lionel Messi (Barcelona, captain); Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Subs:
Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli) 46' for Maxi Rodriguez
Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors) 46' for Hugo Campagnaro
Lucas Biglia (Lazio) 87' for Sergio Aguero
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4-2-3-1)
Asmir Begovic (Stoke City); Mensur Mujdza (SC Freiburg), Ermin Bicakcic (Braunschweig), Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen, captain), Sead Kolasinac (Schalke); Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros), Izet Hajrovic (Galatasaray); Miralem Pjanic (Roma), Zvjezdan Misimovic (Guizhou Renhe), Senad Lulic (Lazio); Edin Dzeko (Manchester City)
Subs:
Vedad Ibisevic (Stuttgart) 69' for Mensur Mujdza
Edin Visca (Istanbul Basaksehir) 71' for Izet Hajrovic
Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor) 74' for Zvjezdan Misimovic
Between Manchester City strike partners Aguero and Dzeko duking it out and the debut of superstar Lionel Messi, both of these teams rich in offensive talent were locked and loaded but a defender broke the scoring in the 3rd minute. Unfortunately it was in the wrong goal as Kolasinac scored an own goal to give Bosnia and Herzegovina a nightmare start to their first World Cup match ever (B+H are the only debutants at this World Cup) but they held their own and played rather well throughout this match. Despite Lionel Messi not having too many fond personal memories from his previous World Cup adventures, he got off to a good start scoring what turned out to be the decisive goal of this match, much to the delight of Argentina and Messi fans around the globe. Substitute Ibisevic scored to make the scoreline a bit more nicer, which was well deserved for the Bosnians. However it happened in part by a mistake courtesy of Sergio Romero, which reminded everyone why he is the backup keeper at Ligue 1 giants Monaco. Despite the victory, Argentina will need to improve by some distance if they want to claim their 3rd World Cup this summer. And newcomers Bosnia-Herzegovina leave the match with a chip on their shoulder as they are eager to get a win in each of their remaining group games.
Up next
Germany and Portugal have a tough group this time around but are expected to progress from it. But a rematch of the 2012 UEFA Euro group stage will certainly be an exciting encounter. Every game matters and if everything goes according to script, this match will decide who wins Group G. Germany are heavy favorites but no one individual player is admired as much as Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be fit to play against Germany after recovering from injury. Unfortunately Marco Reus had so such luck and had been ruled out of this tournament, much to the Germans' dismay, but they still have a wealth of talent to choose from.
Nigeria and Iran won't be the game most people are looking forward to but it will be both teams' best chance at picking up points, with Argentina and Bosnia Herzegovina looking very threatening. Nigeria, with such talents such as Victor Moses and Vicent Enyeama at their disposal, are very much favorites in this match but Iran will have nothing to lose and everything to prove.
USA's worst nightmare is coming back to haunt them: Ghana. Ghana are still a very powerful team, especially in midfield with players such as Sulley Muntari, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Michael Essien, and Kwadwo Asamoah, but even without Landon Donovan USA's midfield which has Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi, and Jermaine Jones among others look up for the challenge. Both teams have less than stellar backlines which will both have their hands full at times, as will goalkeeper Tim Howard. USA would love nothing more than to blow away their demons and earn 3 points against the Black Stars. If either team will have a chance to progress, they'll need to win this match. Netherlands and Costa Rica managed to get their payback against Spain and Uruguay already, is it USA's turn? Or will Ghana inflict more pain on a nation where passion for football, or as we call it soccer, is ever growing?
Saturday, June 14, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup Day 3 Review Day 4 Preview
Another four matches in the books. The four matches in question being the debuts of the Group C and Group D teams.
Group C: Colombia vs. Greece
Final Score: 3-0 win for Colombia
Goalscorers: 5' Pablo Armero (Napoli), 58' Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate), James Rodriguez (Monaco)
Bookings: 26' Carlos Sanchez (Elche), 52' Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund), 55' Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK)
Lineups
Colombia (4-4-2)
David Ospina (Nice); Juan Zuniga (Napoli), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Mario Yepes (Atalanta, captain), Pablo Armero (Napoli); Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina), Abel Aguilar (Toulouse), Carlos Sanchez (Alche), James Rodriguez (Monaco); Victor Ibarbo (Cagliari), Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate)
Subs:
Alexander Mejia (Atletico Nacional) 69' for Abel Aguilar
Santiago Arias (PSV) 74' for Pablo Armero
Jackson Martinez (Porto) 76' for Teofilo
Greece (4-5-1)
Orestis Karnezis (Granada); Vasilis Torosidis (Roma), Kostas Manolas (Olympiacos), Jose Holebas (Olympiacos); Kostas Katsouranis (PAOK), Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK), Panagiotis Kone (Bologna), Giannis Maniatis (Olympiacos), Giorgos Samaris (Celtic); Theofanis Gekas (Konyaspor)
Subs:
Giannis Fetfatzidis (Genoa) 57' for Dimitris Salpingidis
Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham) 64' for Theofanis Gekas
Giorgios Karagounis (Fulham) 78' for Panagiotis Kone
A team that boasted a lot of offensive fire power vs. a team that has become famous for being organized and disciplined off the ball, the biggest question was who from Colombia would step up in Ramadel Falcao's place? The answer turned out to be just about everyone. From top to bottom their team looked in sync and they grabbed a lot of goals, spreading the wealth between a defender, striker, and a midfielder to show the world that they have plenty of attacking options. Sure, Greece isn't the strongest team in the World Cup, and considering they started a 34 year old as their lone striker up top that wasn't a promising sign for people who were hoping Greece could grab many goals. Every game in this group will be a test. So far Colombia pass and Greece flunked this one. If Colombia consistently play well in this fashion and the South American weather continues to take its toll on the foreign teams, they definitely look like the likely winner of this group and their slim chance of winning the World Cup after a 16 year absence would seem a bit more likely. Greece have to rethink their strategy fast unless they want to keep their record of never making it out of the group in a World Cup. Also, shoutout to Mark Geiger, the American MLS referee who was the ref of this game who did a good job unlike some of the other referees so far.
Group D: Uruguay vs. Costa Rica
Final Score: 3-1 win for Costa Rica
Goalscorers: 24' Edinson Cavani penalty (Paris Saint-Germain), 54' Joel Campbell (Olympiacos), 57' Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Marcos Urena (Kuban Krasnodar)
Bookings: 50' Diego Lugano (West Brom), 56' Walter Gargano (Parma), 81' Martin Caceres (Juventus), 90+4' Red Card Maxi Pereira (Benfica)
Lineups
Uruguay (4-4-2)
Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray); Maxi Pereira (Benfica), Diego Lugano (West Brom, captain), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Martin Caceres (Juventus); Christian Stuani (Espanyol), Egidio Arevalo Rios (Morelia), Walter Gargano (Parma), Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid); Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka), Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain)
Subs:
Nicolas Lodeiro (Corinthians) 60' for Walter Gargano
Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio) 60' for Diego Forlan
Abel Hernandez (Palermo) 76' for Cristian Rodriguez
Costa Rica (5-2-2-1)
Keylor Navas (Levante); Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew), Michael Umana (Saprissa), Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Junior Diaz (Mainz 05); Celso Borges (AIK), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa); Bryan Ruiz (PSV, captain), Christian Bolanos (Copenhagen); Joel Campbell (Olympiacos)
Subs:
Jose Miguel Cabrero (Herediano) 75' for Yeltsin Tejeda
Marco Urena (Kuban Krasnodar) 83' for Bryan Ruiz
Michael Barrantes (Aalesund) 89' for Christian Bolanos
At least I didn't write Costa Rica off entirely like most people did. I knew Costa Rica were capable of causing problems and maybe sneaking away with some points before making an "inevitable" early exit. But now Costa Rica have transformed from 23 dead man walking to the biggest X factors of this World Cup? They played against Uruguay like they belonged, and that's a crucial part of any team's mentality. Whether you're Brazil, Germany, Costa Rica, or Honduras, if you make it to the World Cup you deserve to be there, and playing in the biggest stage tends to bring out the best in players, and it did just that for Costa Rica. Each of their goals in this match were a thing of beauty. Uruguay took the early lead thanks to a Junior Diaz foul, but Costa Rica were also denied a penalty after Lugano touched the ball with his hand in the box a few minutes after Uruguay were up 1-0. Fernando Muslera took a lot of heat in their defeat, not even moving during the first two goals from Los Ticos. The notable omission was Luis Suarez, the Liverpool star who couldn't recover completely from injury in time and could only sit by and watch as the unthinkable happened. It's a win that does wonders for CONCACAF's reputation that was already slowly on the incline, and it's a win that have at least 5 million people in Central America believing that their team can succeed in this World Cup. Players like Joel Campbell and Keylor Navas at their very best was incredible to watch. Well, I think success has already been achieved by obtaining 3 more points than most people expected them to at this World Cup (3 more than they earned against Ecuador, Poland, and Germany in Costa Rica's most recent prior World Cup, back in 2006), but they will want more. I think we've seen enough to be able to sanely consider Costa Rica a contender to make it out of Group D but the road ahead of them still remains a difficult one. Although La Celeste's morale will be very low after that loss, Oscar Tabarez's men will certainly not give up. They're down but not out, but it doesn't look good either.
Group D: England vs. Italy
Final Score: A 2-1 victory for the Azurri
Goalscorers: 35' Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), 37' Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Mario Balotelli 50' (AC Milan)
Bookings: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) 90+2'
Lineups
England (4-2-3-1)
Joe Hart (Manchester City); Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Leighton Baines (Everton); Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, captain), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool); Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United); Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
Subs:
Ross Barkley (Everton) 61' for Danny Welbeck
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) 73' for Jordan Henderson
Adam Lallana (Southampton) 80' for Daniel Sturridge
Italy (4-3-1-2)
Salvatore Sigiru (Paris Saint-Germain); Matteo Damian (Torino), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Gabriel Paletta (Parma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus); Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain); Andrea Pirlo (Juventus, captain); Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Mario Balotelli (AC Milan)
Subs:
Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain) 57' for Marco Verratti
Ciro Immobile (Torino) 73' for Mario Balotelli
Marco Parolo (Parma) 79's for Antonio Candreva
The heat and humidity of the Amazon took its toll on both Roy Hodgson and Cesare Prandelli's teams but Italy were the ones who adapted more effectively. Both evenly matched but strong teams (even if England haven't been convincing as of late and Italy did self-destruct pretty badly in 2010), it was surely a tactical battle, but it was a chess match that Prandelli and the Azurri came out on top thanks to brilliant goals from Claudio Marchisio and "Super Mario" Balotelli, cancelling out the other half of the Liverpool strike duo Daniel Sturridge's impressive goal as well. Due to Gianluigi Buffon (who also got injured at the last World Cup, but thankfully was a part of the 2006 World Cup squad that won Italy's 4th World Cup) getting injured in training, it was a rare opportunity for PSG's star shot-stopper Salvatore Sigiru to take the stage, carrying the flag for other great Italian goalkeepers from Christian Abbiatti to Federico Marchetti who have been unable to make a name for themselves in international football due to Gigi Buffon's awesomeness. And he did not disappoint. Both teams definitely with a fresh look as collectively only players in these squads played in 2010 South Africa (Johnson, Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, Milner, and Hart for England, Buffon, Chiellini, De Rossi, Marchisio, Pirlo, and Bonucci for Italy), and 4 Italian players remaining from the 2006 Champions of Germany (Buffon, De Rossi, Barzagli, and Pirlo). England didn't play bad but they didn't play smart. Italy did and that was enough to give Italy the 3 points. However if England can get results against Costa Rica and Uruguay in their remaining matches, all is not lost. However, much to the agony of English fans, that is still quite a big if. One thing's for sure: if England can score more goals, let it be scored by Sturridge, because he could use more practice dancing.
Group C: Cote D'Ivoire vs. Japan
Final Score: Les Elephantes coming out on top with a 2-1 victory
Goalscorers: 15' Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), 64' Wilfried Bony (Swansea City), 66' Gervinho (Roma)
Bookings: 23' Maya Yoshida (Southampton), 54' Sol Bamba (Trabzonspor), 58' Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), 64' Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo)
Lineups
Cote D'Ivoire (4-2-1-3)
Boubacar Barry (Lokeren); Serge Aurier (Toulouse), Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), Sol Bamba (Trabzonspor), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart); Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United), Serey Die (Basel); Yaya Toure (Manchester City, captain); Salomon Kalou (Lille), Wilfried Bony (Swansea City), Gervinho (Roma)
Subs:
Didier Drogba (Galatasaray) 62' for Serey Die
Constant Djakpa (Eintracht Frankfurt) 75' for Arthur Boka
Didier Ya Konan (Hannover 96) 78' for Wilfried Bony
Japan (4-2-3-1)
Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege); Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter); Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (FC Nurnberg, captain); Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz 05), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United); Yuya Osako (1860 Munchen)
Subs:
Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka) 54' for Makoto Hasebe
Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale) 67' for Yuya Osako
Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka) 86' for Shinji Kagawa
Both are better teams than most people give credit for, but unlike the best teams like Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, and Brazil who have a wealth of talent, teams like Japan and Cote D'Ivoire rely heavily on a few star players to carry most of the load. But Cote D'Ivoire coach Sabri Lamouchi didn't follow that script and left both Didier Drogba and Kolo Toure on the bench, preferring to keep the Trabzonspor center back duo of Zokora and Bamba together and going with in-form Swansea striker Bony. However, the nation that created Pokemon and made Pikachu their mascot this tournament went in front early on with some classic brilliance from Honda, the player that was instrumental in taking Japan as far as they did in South Africa. However Cote D'Ivoire had the bulk of possession and chances, which didn't mean much when Japan were focused, handling everything that came their way and with Kawashima making decent saves when needed. Then Didier Drogba came on. He didn't get on the score sheet but just Drogba's presence seemed to make a positive difference as minutes after him coming on his teammates Bony and Gervinho scored the goals Cote D'Ivoire needed to come from behind and claim victory. 100 seconds between the two goals made them the fastest scoring of two goals in World Cup history. After this impressive win, Cote D'Ivoire's hope of finally making it out of the group stage seems a bit justified but I doubt that they will be able to afford another slow start like that again. Unfortunately despite a great effort, Japan is unable to come away with anything from that game and their chances of getting out of the group stage for the third time in their World Cup history seem slim. But in Group C, every team looks like a threat (yes, even Greece, did we not learn anything from the Costa Rica-Uruguay game?) and things are certainly far from settled. It'll take more than Poke Balls and Badges for Japan to prove their worth in their next game.
Day 4 Matches
Group E: Switzerland vs. Ecuador
Group E: France vs. Honduras
Group F: Argentina vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Considered one of the weaker teams from their respective regions that qualified for the World Cup, this is a chance for Switzerland and Ecuador's players to make a name for themselves and also to get a good start to their World Cup campaigns, as the winner of this match should on paper be the runner up of Group E. However, Honduras will be looking to emulate the upset their Central American rivals pulled off, and the French will certainly have to be on their toes, as they, like Italy, are hoping to put the 2010 memories away for good. And the only debutantes in this World Cup couldn't have received a more fit welcome to the world's biggest stage than one from one of the world's best players. Lionel Messi for Argentina, Edin Dzeko for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and several other talented players along side them promise to make this match the best one of the day. But so far I don't think any of the matches have disappointed. Goals, drama, and tension galore, along with the passion of representing your nation, that is what the World Cup is all about.
Group C: Colombia vs. Greece
Final Score: 3-0 win for Colombia
Goalscorers: 5' Pablo Armero (Napoli), 58' Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate), James Rodriguez (Monaco)
Bookings: 26' Carlos Sanchez (Elche), 52' Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund), 55' Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK)
Lineups
Colombia (4-4-2)
David Ospina (Nice); Juan Zuniga (Napoli), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Mario Yepes (Atalanta, captain), Pablo Armero (Napoli); Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina), Abel Aguilar (Toulouse), Carlos Sanchez (Alche), James Rodriguez (Monaco); Victor Ibarbo (Cagliari), Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate)
Subs:
Alexander Mejia (Atletico Nacional) 69' for Abel Aguilar
Santiago Arias (PSV) 74' for Pablo Armero
Jackson Martinez (Porto) 76' for Teofilo
Greece (4-5-1)
Orestis Karnezis (Granada); Vasilis Torosidis (Roma), Kostas Manolas (Olympiacos), Jose Holebas (Olympiacos); Kostas Katsouranis (PAOK), Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK), Panagiotis Kone (Bologna), Giannis Maniatis (Olympiacos), Giorgos Samaris (Celtic); Theofanis Gekas (Konyaspor)
Subs:
Giannis Fetfatzidis (Genoa) 57' for Dimitris Salpingidis
Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham) 64' for Theofanis Gekas
Giorgios Karagounis (Fulham) 78' for Panagiotis Kone
A team that boasted a lot of offensive fire power vs. a team that has become famous for being organized and disciplined off the ball, the biggest question was who from Colombia would step up in Ramadel Falcao's place? The answer turned out to be just about everyone. From top to bottom their team looked in sync and they grabbed a lot of goals, spreading the wealth between a defender, striker, and a midfielder to show the world that they have plenty of attacking options. Sure, Greece isn't the strongest team in the World Cup, and considering they started a 34 year old as their lone striker up top that wasn't a promising sign for people who were hoping Greece could grab many goals. Every game in this group will be a test. So far Colombia pass and Greece flunked this one. If Colombia consistently play well in this fashion and the South American weather continues to take its toll on the foreign teams, they definitely look like the likely winner of this group and their slim chance of winning the World Cup after a 16 year absence would seem a bit more likely. Greece have to rethink their strategy fast unless they want to keep their record of never making it out of the group in a World Cup. Also, shoutout to Mark Geiger, the American MLS referee who was the ref of this game who did a good job unlike some of the other referees so far.
Group D: Uruguay vs. Costa Rica
Final Score: 3-1 win for Costa Rica
Goalscorers: 24' Edinson Cavani penalty (Paris Saint-Germain), 54' Joel Campbell (Olympiacos), 57' Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Marcos Urena (Kuban Krasnodar)
Bookings: 50' Diego Lugano (West Brom), 56' Walter Gargano (Parma), 81' Martin Caceres (Juventus), 90+4' Red Card Maxi Pereira (Benfica)
Lineups
Uruguay (4-4-2)
Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray); Maxi Pereira (Benfica), Diego Lugano (West Brom, captain), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Martin Caceres (Juventus); Christian Stuani (Espanyol), Egidio Arevalo Rios (Morelia), Walter Gargano (Parma), Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid); Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka), Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain)
Subs:
Nicolas Lodeiro (Corinthians) 60' for Walter Gargano
Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio) 60' for Diego Forlan
Abel Hernandez (Palermo) 76' for Cristian Rodriguez
Costa Rica (5-2-2-1)
Keylor Navas (Levante); Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew), Michael Umana (Saprissa), Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Junior Diaz (Mainz 05); Celso Borges (AIK), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa); Bryan Ruiz (PSV, captain), Christian Bolanos (Copenhagen); Joel Campbell (Olympiacos)
Subs:
Jose Miguel Cabrero (Herediano) 75' for Yeltsin Tejeda
Marco Urena (Kuban Krasnodar) 83' for Bryan Ruiz
Michael Barrantes (Aalesund) 89' for Christian Bolanos
At least I didn't write Costa Rica off entirely like most people did. I knew Costa Rica were capable of causing problems and maybe sneaking away with some points before making an "inevitable" early exit. But now Costa Rica have transformed from 23 dead man walking to the biggest X factors of this World Cup? They played against Uruguay like they belonged, and that's a crucial part of any team's mentality. Whether you're Brazil, Germany, Costa Rica, or Honduras, if you make it to the World Cup you deserve to be there, and playing in the biggest stage tends to bring out the best in players, and it did just that for Costa Rica. Each of their goals in this match were a thing of beauty. Uruguay took the early lead thanks to a Junior Diaz foul, but Costa Rica were also denied a penalty after Lugano touched the ball with his hand in the box a few minutes after Uruguay were up 1-0. Fernando Muslera took a lot of heat in their defeat, not even moving during the first two goals from Los Ticos. The notable omission was Luis Suarez, the Liverpool star who couldn't recover completely from injury in time and could only sit by and watch as the unthinkable happened. It's a win that does wonders for CONCACAF's reputation that was already slowly on the incline, and it's a win that have at least 5 million people in Central America believing that their team can succeed in this World Cup. Players like Joel Campbell and Keylor Navas at their very best was incredible to watch. Well, I think success has already been achieved by obtaining 3 more points than most people expected them to at this World Cup (3 more than they earned against Ecuador, Poland, and Germany in Costa Rica's most recent prior World Cup, back in 2006), but they will want more. I think we've seen enough to be able to sanely consider Costa Rica a contender to make it out of Group D but the road ahead of them still remains a difficult one. Although La Celeste's morale will be very low after that loss, Oscar Tabarez's men will certainly not give up. They're down but not out, but it doesn't look good either.
Group D: England vs. Italy
Final Score: A 2-1 victory for the Azurri
Goalscorers: 35' Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), 37' Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Mario Balotelli 50' (AC Milan)
Bookings: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) 90+2'
Lineups
England (4-2-3-1)
Joe Hart (Manchester City); Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Leighton Baines (Everton); Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, captain), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool); Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United); Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
Subs:
Ross Barkley (Everton) 61' for Danny Welbeck
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) 73' for Jordan Henderson
Adam Lallana (Southampton) 80' for Daniel Sturridge
Italy (4-3-1-2)
Salvatore Sigiru (Paris Saint-Germain); Matteo Damian (Torino), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Gabriel Paletta (Parma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus); Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain); Andrea Pirlo (Juventus, captain); Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Mario Balotelli (AC Milan)
Subs:
Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain) 57' for Marco Verratti
Ciro Immobile (Torino) 73' for Mario Balotelli
Marco Parolo (Parma) 79's for Antonio Candreva
The heat and humidity of the Amazon took its toll on both Roy Hodgson and Cesare Prandelli's teams but Italy were the ones who adapted more effectively. Both evenly matched but strong teams (even if England haven't been convincing as of late and Italy did self-destruct pretty badly in 2010), it was surely a tactical battle, but it was a chess match that Prandelli and the Azurri came out on top thanks to brilliant goals from Claudio Marchisio and "Super Mario" Balotelli, cancelling out the other half of the Liverpool strike duo Daniel Sturridge's impressive goal as well. Due to Gianluigi Buffon (who also got injured at the last World Cup, but thankfully was a part of the 2006 World Cup squad that won Italy's 4th World Cup) getting injured in training, it was a rare opportunity for PSG's star shot-stopper Salvatore Sigiru to take the stage, carrying the flag for other great Italian goalkeepers from Christian Abbiatti to Federico Marchetti who have been unable to make a name for themselves in international football due to Gigi Buffon's awesomeness. And he did not disappoint. Both teams definitely with a fresh look as collectively only players in these squads played in 2010 South Africa (Johnson, Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, Milner, and Hart for England, Buffon, Chiellini, De Rossi, Marchisio, Pirlo, and Bonucci for Italy), and 4 Italian players remaining from the 2006 Champions of Germany (Buffon, De Rossi, Barzagli, and Pirlo). England didn't play bad but they didn't play smart. Italy did and that was enough to give Italy the 3 points. However if England can get results against Costa Rica and Uruguay in their remaining matches, all is not lost. However, much to the agony of English fans, that is still quite a big if. One thing's for sure: if England can score more goals, let it be scored by Sturridge, because he could use more practice dancing.
Group C: Cote D'Ivoire vs. Japan
Final Score: Les Elephantes coming out on top with a 2-1 victory
Goalscorers: 15' Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), 64' Wilfried Bony (Swansea City), 66' Gervinho (Roma)
Bookings: 23' Maya Yoshida (Southampton), 54' Sol Bamba (Trabzonspor), 58' Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), 64' Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo)
Lineups
Cote D'Ivoire (4-2-1-3)
Boubacar Barry (Lokeren); Serge Aurier (Toulouse), Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), Sol Bamba (Trabzonspor), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart); Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United), Serey Die (Basel); Yaya Toure (Manchester City, captain); Salomon Kalou (Lille), Wilfried Bony (Swansea City), Gervinho (Roma)
Subs:
Didier Drogba (Galatasaray) 62' for Serey Die
Constant Djakpa (Eintracht Frankfurt) 75' for Arthur Boka
Didier Ya Konan (Hannover 96) 78' for Wilfried Bony
Japan (4-2-3-1)
Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege); Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter); Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (FC Nurnberg, captain); Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz 05), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United); Yuya Osako (1860 Munchen)
Subs:
Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka) 54' for Makoto Hasebe
Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale) 67' for Yuya Osako
Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka) 86' for Shinji Kagawa
Both are better teams than most people give credit for, but unlike the best teams like Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, and Brazil who have a wealth of talent, teams like Japan and Cote D'Ivoire rely heavily on a few star players to carry most of the load. But Cote D'Ivoire coach Sabri Lamouchi didn't follow that script and left both Didier Drogba and Kolo Toure on the bench, preferring to keep the Trabzonspor center back duo of Zokora and Bamba together and going with in-form Swansea striker Bony. However, the nation that created Pokemon and made Pikachu their mascot this tournament went in front early on with some classic brilliance from Honda, the player that was instrumental in taking Japan as far as they did in South Africa. However Cote D'Ivoire had the bulk of possession and chances, which didn't mean much when Japan were focused, handling everything that came their way and with Kawashima making decent saves when needed. Then Didier Drogba came on. He didn't get on the score sheet but just Drogba's presence seemed to make a positive difference as minutes after him coming on his teammates Bony and Gervinho scored the goals Cote D'Ivoire needed to come from behind and claim victory. 100 seconds between the two goals made them the fastest scoring of two goals in World Cup history. After this impressive win, Cote D'Ivoire's hope of finally making it out of the group stage seems a bit justified but I doubt that they will be able to afford another slow start like that again. Unfortunately despite a great effort, Japan is unable to come away with anything from that game and their chances of getting out of the group stage for the third time in their World Cup history seem slim. But in Group C, every team looks like a threat (yes, even Greece, did we not learn anything from the Costa Rica-Uruguay game?) and things are certainly far from settled. It'll take more than Poke Balls and Badges for Japan to prove their worth in their next game.
Day 4 Matches
Group E: Switzerland vs. Ecuador
Group E: France vs. Honduras
Group F: Argentina vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Considered one of the weaker teams from their respective regions that qualified for the World Cup, this is a chance for Switzerland and Ecuador's players to make a name for themselves and also to get a good start to their World Cup campaigns, as the winner of this match should on paper be the runner up of Group E. However, Honduras will be looking to emulate the upset their Central American rivals pulled off, and the French will certainly have to be on their toes, as they, like Italy, are hoping to put the 2010 memories away for good. And the only debutantes in this World Cup couldn't have received a more fit welcome to the world's biggest stage than one from one of the world's best players. Lionel Messi for Argentina, Edin Dzeko for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and several other talented players along side them promise to make this match the best one of the day. But so far I don't think any of the matches have disappointed. Goals, drama, and tension galore, along with the passion of representing your nation, that is what the World Cup is all about.
2014 FIFA World Cup Day 2 review and Day 3 preview
Day 2 matches
Group A: Mexico vs. Cameroon
Final Score: 1-0 win for Mexico
Goalscorers: 61' by Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna)
Bookings: 57' Hector Moreno (Espanyol), 77' Danny Nounkeu (Besiktas)
Lineups
Mexico (5-3-2)
Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio); Francisco Rodriguez (Club America), Rafael Marquez (Club Leon, captain), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Paul Aguilar(Club America), Miguel Layun (Club America); Jose Juan Velazquez (Club Leon), Hector Herrera (Porto), Andres Guardado (Bayer Leverkusen); Giovani Dos Santos (Villarreal), Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna)
Subs:
Marco Fabian (Cruz Azul) 69' for Guardado
Javier Hernandez (Manchester United) 74' for Peralta
Carlos Salcido (UANL) 90+1' for Herrera
Cameroon (4-3-3)
Charles Itandje (Konyaspor); Cedric Djeugoue(Coton Sport), Aurelien Chedjou (Galatasaray), Nicolas N'Koulou (Marseille), Benoit Assou-Ekotto(Queens Park Rangers); Alex Song (Barcelona), Stephane Mbia (Sevilla), Eyong Enoh (Antalyaspor); Benjamin Moukandjo (Nancy), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Mainz 05), Samuel Eto'o (Chelsea, captain)
Subs:
Danny Nounkeu (Besiktas) 46' for Djeugoue
Pierre Webo (Fenerbahce) 79' for Song
While Mexico's lineup mostly consists of players from their domestic league, Djeugoue was the only one of the 2 Cameroonian league players that were called up to see playing time in this match (the other one being one of the backup goalies). Aguilar, Rodriguez, Marquez, and Dos Santos also started in Mexico's first World Cup match in South Africa (Guardado and Hernandez appeared as subs in that game, while Salcido started in that game). MBia(as a defender), N'Koulou, Assou-Ekotto, Enoh, Eto'o, and Choupo-Moting started Cameroon's opening match in South Africa plus Webo, who made a sub appearance in this match. The Turkish league had the most representation from the Cameroon players in this match. Props to Ochoa for being starting keeper for Mexico in this match despite Jose Corona seeing more action in qualifying matches. Ochoa and Peralta starting instead of Corona and Hernandez respectively might've been shocking to some but those decisions paid off with Ochoa playing well to seal the victory and Peralta scoring the decisive goal. Dos Santos probably should've had a goal of his own but it was called offside for some reason. Thankfully the offsides didn't prevent Mexico from deservedly winning this match but could it come back to bite them in the ass if goal difference decides who goes through? Maybe. Well with this match out of the way Mexico and Cameroon will have trickier tasks ahead of them with Mexico the next opponent for hosts Brazil and Cameroon going against Croatia. It's a must win scenario for Cameroon and Croatia if they want a chance to qualify for the next round and for Mexico, if they can managed to hold Brazil to at least a draw it could mean all the difference in how the group plays out. Even if Brazil looked unconvincing against Croatia, Mexico were the definition of unconvincing in the last year or so so that remains a big if.
Group B: Spain vs. Netherlands
Final Score: Netherlands owning Spain 5-1
Goalscorers: Spain: Xabi Alonso 27' pen (Real Madrid)
Netherlands: Robin Van Persie 44', 72' (Manchester United), Arjen Robben 53', 80' (Bayern Munich), Stefan De Vrij 65' (Feyenoord)
Bookings: Jonathan de Guzman 25' (Swansea City), Stefan De Vrij 41', Iker Casillas 65' (Real Madrid), Robin Van Persie 66'
Lineups
Spain (4-3-3)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, captain); Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona); Xavi (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid); David Silva (Manchester City), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)
Subs:
Fernando Torres (Chelsea) 62' for Diego Costa
Pedro (Barcelona) 62' for Xabi Alonso
Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona) 78' for David Silva
Netherlands (5-3-2)
Jasper Cillessen (Ajax); Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Daley Blind (Ajax), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord); Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray); Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Robin van Persie (Manchester United, captain)
Subs:
Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV) 62' for de Guzman
Joel Veltman (Ajax) 77' for de Vrij
Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kyiv) 79' for van Persie
One of the most anticipated group games going into the World Cup, few anticipated Netherlands to win, even fewer, probably only steadfast and/or drunk Dutch fans expected Netherlands to crush Spain 5-1. But that's exactly what happened. Despite being without Kevin Strootman and Rafael Van Der Vaart, despite a lot of these players playing for less prestigious clubs than the Spanish players play for, they played a fantastic game and got a fantastic result because of it. From Robin van Persie "The Flying Dutchman"'s goal to open the scoring to youngster Stefan de Vrij impressing, all around a good performance. With a high scoring game like this it's easy to forget about Jasper Cillessen. In one of the closest races for 1st keeper heading into the World Cup, you'd think a Premier League keeper like Swansea's Vorm or Newcastle's Krul would be higher on the pecking order than Ajax's Cillessen, but Cillessen was chosen to start and he justified his start with a great performance as well. It's very tough to look at the positives in Spain's performance in this match other than Xabi Alonso ending his scoring drought, albeit through a controversial penalty. The only Spanish players that could be happy are the players that didn't get playing time, especially David De Gea and Pepe Reina who could start in goal in the next match after a less than decent performance by Casillas. Only 3 of the 14 Spanish players that played in this match didn't play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona, neglecting all but 1 of the Atletico Madrid players. With the wealth of talent at Vicente Del Bosque's disposal, it's worth considering changing things up. This result gives Netherlands control over Group B's destiny and they look to be in a good position to win the group. Next up Netherlands face Australia and Spain take on Chile. Diego Costa, David Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Jordi Alba were the only players Spain used in this match that didn't participate in the 2010 World Cup Final (3 of them weren't even in the squad during that tournament), while Nigel de Jong, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, and Robin van Persie were the only Dutch players to compete in this match and the 2010 Final. Hint hint Spain. Hint hint.
Group B: Chile vs. Australia
Final Score: A 3-1 victory for Chile
Goalscorers: Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona) 12', Jorge Valdivia 14' (Palmeiras), Tim Cahill 35' (New York Red Bulls), Jean Beausejour 90+2' (Wigan Athletic)
Bookings: Tim Cahill 44', Mile Jedinak 58' (Crystal Palace), Mark Milligan 67' (Melbourne Victory), Charles Aranguiz (Internacional, Brazil)
Lineups
Chile (4-3-3)
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad); Mauricio Isla (Juventus), Gary Medel (Cardiff City), Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest), Eugenio Mena (Santos); Charles Aranguiz (Internacional), Marcelo Diaz (Basel), Arturo Videl (Juventus); Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona), Jorge Valdivia (Palmeiras), Eduardo Vargas(Valencia)
Subs:
Felipe Gutierrez (Twente) 60' for Arturo Vidal
Jean Beausejour (Wigan Athletic) 68' for Jorge Valdivia
Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari) 88' for Eduardo Vargas
Australia (4-2-3-1)
Mathew Ryan (Club Brugge); Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo); Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace, captain), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory); Matthew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt), Mark Bresciano (Al-Gharafa), Tommy Oar (Utrecht); Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls)
Subs:
Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng Taishan) 49' for Ivan Franjic
Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf) 68' for Tommy Oar
James Troisi (Melbourne Victory) for Mark Bresciano
The Group B underdogs had a tough act to follow after an entertaining and nervy signal sending Spain-Netherlands match. Netherlands will look to repeat their performance against their other Group B rivals so Chile and Australia should be worried. Nonetheless this was still a good match with a reasonable outcome of Chile coming out on top 3-1. Thankfully Vidal was fit to start which is a good sign for Chile who won't have to go without one of, if not their best player. This young and unexperienced Australian team looked very inexperienced against a more composed Chilean team that wasted no time getting on the score sheet, scoring 2 of their 3 goals in the 1st 15 minutes but being made to wait for their last one until the end. Tim Cahill represented his nation, club, and league (Go MLS!) proud with a great goal but it wasn't enough to rescue a point for the Socceroos despite a great effort. Chile took care of business and got 3 points, and now they hope to get a similar result against the Spanish. Australia's next opponent is the Netherlands. Australia had an ok performance but against a team like Netherlands, it surely can't end well for them.
Coming up next
Group C and Group D will have their opening matches. Colombia vs. Greece, Japan vs. Cote D'Ivoire, Uruguay vs. Costa Rica, and England vs. Italy. In the most evenly matched group of the tournament, we'll see a bit more about the Group C teams after their first match. Colombia and Cote D'Ivoire are favorites, but not by much as Greece and Japan are decent teams as well. In a very tight group, Uruguay will hope to obtain 3 points against Costa Rica, while 1 point for this CONCACAF nation would make them happy. A lot is on the line for England and Italy who will compete in a rematch of the 2012 UEFA Euro Quarterfinal which ended 0-0 after 90 minutes and was eventually decided by penalties (which England shockingly lost). Which teams will rise to the occasion? I look forward to finding out and then telling you about it!
Group A: Mexico vs. Cameroon
Final Score: 1-0 win for Mexico
Goalscorers: 61' by Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna)
Bookings: 57' Hector Moreno (Espanyol), 77' Danny Nounkeu (Besiktas)
Lineups
Mexico (5-3-2)
Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio); Francisco Rodriguez (Club America), Rafael Marquez (Club Leon, captain), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Paul Aguilar(Club America), Miguel Layun (Club America); Jose Juan Velazquez (Club Leon), Hector Herrera (Porto), Andres Guardado (Bayer Leverkusen); Giovani Dos Santos (Villarreal), Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna)
Subs:
Marco Fabian (Cruz Azul) 69' for Guardado
Javier Hernandez (Manchester United) 74' for Peralta
Carlos Salcido (UANL) 90+1' for Herrera
Cameroon (4-3-3)
Charles Itandje (Konyaspor); Cedric Djeugoue(Coton Sport), Aurelien Chedjou (Galatasaray), Nicolas N'Koulou (Marseille), Benoit Assou-Ekotto(Queens Park Rangers); Alex Song (Barcelona), Stephane Mbia (Sevilla), Eyong Enoh (Antalyaspor); Benjamin Moukandjo (Nancy), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Mainz 05), Samuel Eto'o (Chelsea, captain)
Subs:
Danny Nounkeu (Besiktas) 46' for Djeugoue
Pierre Webo (Fenerbahce) 79' for Song
While Mexico's lineup mostly consists of players from their domestic league, Djeugoue was the only one of the 2 Cameroonian league players that were called up to see playing time in this match (the other one being one of the backup goalies). Aguilar, Rodriguez, Marquez, and Dos Santos also started in Mexico's first World Cup match in South Africa (Guardado and Hernandez appeared as subs in that game, while Salcido started in that game). MBia(as a defender), N'Koulou, Assou-Ekotto, Enoh, Eto'o, and Choupo-Moting started Cameroon's opening match in South Africa plus Webo, who made a sub appearance in this match. The Turkish league had the most representation from the Cameroon players in this match. Props to Ochoa for being starting keeper for Mexico in this match despite Jose Corona seeing more action in qualifying matches. Ochoa and Peralta starting instead of Corona and Hernandez respectively might've been shocking to some but those decisions paid off with Ochoa playing well to seal the victory and Peralta scoring the decisive goal. Dos Santos probably should've had a goal of his own but it was called offside for some reason. Thankfully the offsides didn't prevent Mexico from deservedly winning this match but could it come back to bite them in the ass if goal difference decides who goes through? Maybe. Well with this match out of the way Mexico and Cameroon will have trickier tasks ahead of them with Mexico the next opponent for hosts Brazil and Cameroon going against Croatia. It's a must win scenario for Cameroon and Croatia if they want a chance to qualify for the next round and for Mexico, if they can managed to hold Brazil to at least a draw it could mean all the difference in how the group plays out. Even if Brazil looked unconvincing against Croatia, Mexico were the definition of unconvincing in the last year or so so that remains a big if.
Group B: Spain vs. Netherlands
Final Score: Netherlands owning Spain 5-1
Goalscorers: Spain: Xabi Alonso 27' pen (Real Madrid)
Netherlands: Robin Van Persie 44', 72' (Manchester United), Arjen Robben 53', 80' (Bayern Munich), Stefan De Vrij 65' (Feyenoord)
Bookings: Jonathan de Guzman 25' (Swansea City), Stefan De Vrij 41', Iker Casillas 65' (Real Madrid), Robin Van Persie 66'
Lineups
Spain (4-3-3)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, captain); Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona); Xavi (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid); David Silva (Manchester City), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)
Subs:
Fernando Torres (Chelsea) 62' for Diego Costa
Pedro (Barcelona) 62' for Xabi Alonso
Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona) 78' for David Silva
Netherlands (5-3-2)
Jasper Cillessen (Ajax); Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Daley Blind (Ajax), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord); Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray); Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Robin van Persie (Manchester United, captain)
Subs:
Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV) 62' for de Guzman
Joel Veltman (Ajax) 77' for de Vrij
Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kyiv) 79' for van Persie
One of the most anticipated group games going into the World Cup, few anticipated Netherlands to win, even fewer, probably only steadfast and/or drunk Dutch fans expected Netherlands to crush Spain 5-1. But that's exactly what happened. Despite being without Kevin Strootman and Rafael Van Der Vaart, despite a lot of these players playing for less prestigious clubs than the Spanish players play for, they played a fantastic game and got a fantastic result because of it. From Robin van Persie "The Flying Dutchman"'s goal to open the scoring to youngster Stefan de Vrij impressing, all around a good performance. With a high scoring game like this it's easy to forget about Jasper Cillessen. In one of the closest races for 1st keeper heading into the World Cup, you'd think a Premier League keeper like Swansea's Vorm or Newcastle's Krul would be higher on the pecking order than Ajax's Cillessen, but Cillessen was chosen to start and he justified his start with a great performance as well. It's very tough to look at the positives in Spain's performance in this match other than Xabi Alonso ending his scoring drought, albeit through a controversial penalty. The only Spanish players that could be happy are the players that didn't get playing time, especially David De Gea and Pepe Reina who could start in goal in the next match after a less than decent performance by Casillas. Only 3 of the 14 Spanish players that played in this match didn't play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona, neglecting all but 1 of the Atletico Madrid players. With the wealth of talent at Vicente Del Bosque's disposal, it's worth considering changing things up. This result gives Netherlands control over Group B's destiny and they look to be in a good position to win the group. Next up Netherlands face Australia and Spain take on Chile. Diego Costa, David Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Jordi Alba were the only players Spain used in this match that didn't participate in the 2010 World Cup Final (3 of them weren't even in the squad during that tournament), while Nigel de Jong, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, and Robin van Persie were the only Dutch players to compete in this match and the 2010 Final. Hint hint Spain. Hint hint.
Group B: Chile vs. Australia
Final Score: A 3-1 victory for Chile
Goalscorers: Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona) 12', Jorge Valdivia 14' (Palmeiras), Tim Cahill 35' (New York Red Bulls), Jean Beausejour 90+2' (Wigan Athletic)
Bookings: Tim Cahill 44', Mile Jedinak 58' (Crystal Palace), Mark Milligan 67' (Melbourne Victory), Charles Aranguiz (Internacional, Brazil)
Lineups
Chile (4-3-3)
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad); Mauricio Isla (Juventus), Gary Medel (Cardiff City), Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest), Eugenio Mena (Santos); Charles Aranguiz (Internacional), Marcelo Diaz (Basel), Arturo Videl (Juventus); Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona), Jorge Valdivia (Palmeiras), Eduardo Vargas(Valencia)
Subs:
Felipe Gutierrez (Twente) 60' for Arturo Vidal
Jean Beausejour (Wigan Athletic) 68' for Jorge Valdivia
Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari) 88' for Eduardo Vargas
Australia (4-2-3-1)
Mathew Ryan (Club Brugge); Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo); Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace, captain), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory); Matthew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt), Mark Bresciano (Al-Gharafa), Tommy Oar (Utrecht); Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls)
Subs:
Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng Taishan) 49' for Ivan Franjic
Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf) 68' for Tommy Oar
James Troisi (Melbourne Victory) for Mark Bresciano
The Group B underdogs had a tough act to follow after an entertaining and nervy signal sending Spain-Netherlands match. Netherlands will look to repeat their performance against their other Group B rivals so Chile and Australia should be worried. Nonetheless this was still a good match with a reasonable outcome of Chile coming out on top 3-1. Thankfully Vidal was fit to start which is a good sign for Chile who won't have to go without one of, if not their best player. This young and unexperienced Australian team looked very inexperienced against a more composed Chilean team that wasted no time getting on the score sheet, scoring 2 of their 3 goals in the 1st 15 minutes but being made to wait for their last one until the end. Tim Cahill represented his nation, club, and league (Go MLS!) proud with a great goal but it wasn't enough to rescue a point for the Socceroos despite a great effort. Chile took care of business and got 3 points, and now they hope to get a similar result against the Spanish. Australia's next opponent is the Netherlands. Australia had an ok performance but against a team like Netherlands, it surely can't end well for them.
Coming up next
Group C and Group D will have their opening matches. Colombia vs. Greece, Japan vs. Cote D'Ivoire, Uruguay vs. Costa Rica, and England vs. Italy. In the most evenly matched group of the tournament, we'll see a bit more about the Group C teams after their first match. Colombia and Cote D'Ivoire are favorites, but not by much as Greece and Japan are decent teams as well. In a very tight group, Uruguay will hope to obtain 3 points against Costa Rica, while 1 point for this CONCACAF nation would make them happy. A lot is on the line for England and Italy who will compete in a rematch of the 2012 UEFA Euro Quarterfinal which ended 0-0 after 90 minutes and was eventually decided by penalties (which England shockingly lost). Which teams will rise to the occasion? I look forward to finding out and then telling you about it!
Thursday, June 12, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup: Brazil vs. Croatia review, 6/13 matches preview
The opening match for this year's World Cup between Brazil and Croatia didn't disappoint. Full of goals, drama, and controversy, stuff we've grown accustomed to in the past few World Cups. If you asked anyone who follows soccer who they thought was going to win, most likely they answered Brazil without hesitation. However Croatia put on quite a show that, for a short period of time, made us question how much we underrated this European side.
Brazil and Croatia were in the same group in the 2006 World Cup as well. In that tournament they were placed alongside Japan and Australia (remember at the time Australia was still a part of the OFC which is why a group containing both Japan and Australia was possible) and Brazil beat them 1-0 as Brazil would eventually win that group but Croatia would be knocked out in the group stage after only earning draws against the Socceroos and the Blue Samurai. Interestingly, every team from that group made it to Brazil this summer.
We all knew that Croatia were not without their offensive threats, with players like Luka Modric, Nikica Jelavic, and Ivan Rakitic, and had a decent back line as well that featured the likes of Darijo Srna, Dejan Lovren, and Vedran Corluka. Croatia had just as much of a chance, if not a bit better of a chance, as fellow group rivals Mexico and Cameroon did of reaching the knockout stage in 2nd place. Meaning this should've been a piece of cake for Brazil. Only it wasn't.
Right away Croatia were playing hard and it paid off when they managed to get a goal thanks to Marcelo's own goal. It was the first time ever the first goal scored at a World Cup was an own goal and it was Brazil's first ever own goal. Marcelo definitely was the weakest link in Brazil's lineup today. Aside from that big error, it seemed like the only other notable contributions he made to the game was his remarkable ability to be within 2 feet of the referee at all times, perfect for complaining about calls.
Both goalkeepers were well tested today with Julio Cesar and Stipe Pletikosa making some impressive saves, but Pletikosa would draw some criticism for being unable to save any of the goals Brazil scored on him, such as the penalty where Pletikosa managed to get both hands on it but STILL couldn't keep it out of the back of the net.
Despite Croatia looking impressive at times, Brazil dominated the possession stat and looked the more likely team to score more often than not. It's no surprise that Neymar saves the day for Brazil with his 2 goals, not to overlook Oscar's decent contribution to the scoreline as well.
Many would argue that the penalty call against Dejan Lovren was utter BS and that Fred dived. I saw some contact but it definitely looked fishy to me, but regardless of whether or not that call was justified I knew that penalty would've gutted Croatia, who had tried so hard to at least cost Brazil 2 points in this match. They still had a few good chances after Neymar scored the penalty, including a goal that was disallowed not because Julio Cesar was fouled but because the ball went out of play (I understand it was tough to see for some people).
Croatia's spirited effort was not enough to prevent Brazil from winning 3-1 in the opening match of the tournament, but I hope any other team considered an underdog in this tournament (such as the USA) take note of this game, because Croatia played great football/soccer despite being up against a more talented team, so that should be a source of inspiration.
Although Croatia did not earn any points, similar performances against Cameroon (their next opponent) and Mexico may well be enough to get 6 points at the end of the group stage. I hate to say Brazil got lucky because they played very well but they definitely got more than what they bargained for in this match and didn't look solid all the time. There's definitely room for improvement if they wish to win their 6th World Cup. Their next match against Mexico will show if Brazil learned from their mistakes from this match and if they deserve to be up there with Spain, Germany, Italy, and Argentina as true contenders to win the title. Another performance like this would only exponentially increase the question marks surrounding "A Seleção".
Up next, we have 6 teams competing in must win games. Croatia made it pretty clear that they don't plan on making it easy for either Mexico or Cameroon to qualify for the knockout stages, so 3 points from this match would definitely help either El Tri or Les Lions Indomptables out a lot. Mexico are slight favorites but Cameroon definitely have what it takes to be a worthy adversary for the CONCACAF side.
Netherlands would love to get some sweet revenge on Spain, and a win against Spain would definitely boost their chances of winning Group B, which would likely mean avoiding Brazil in the Round of 16. However, how much of an impact will injuries such as Rafael Van der Vaart and Kevin Strootman affect the Oranje? And which combination of Spanish players would be the right one to continue their international success?
If either Chile or Australia have a prayer of reaching the knockout stage, they'll need to deny the other team of 3 points in their first match. Chile are definitely the favorites but against a fearless Australian side with nothing to lose, they better bring their A game or possibly suffer an upset.
Should be great to watch! I'm hoping the World Cup will continue to produce entertaining matches such as the opening match, and it doesn't look like we'll be disappointed.
Brazil and Croatia were in the same group in the 2006 World Cup as well. In that tournament they were placed alongside Japan and Australia (remember at the time Australia was still a part of the OFC which is why a group containing both Japan and Australia was possible) and Brazil beat them 1-0 as Brazil would eventually win that group but Croatia would be knocked out in the group stage after only earning draws against the Socceroos and the Blue Samurai. Interestingly, every team from that group made it to Brazil this summer.
We all knew that Croatia were not without their offensive threats, with players like Luka Modric, Nikica Jelavic, and Ivan Rakitic, and had a decent back line as well that featured the likes of Darijo Srna, Dejan Lovren, and Vedran Corluka. Croatia had just as much of a chance, if not a bit better of a chance, as fellow group rivals Mexico and Cameroon did of reaching the knockout stage in 2nd place. Meaning this should've been a piece of cake for Brazil. Only it wasn't.
Right away Croatia were playing hard and it paid off when they managed to get a goal thanks to Marcelo's own goal. It was the first time ever the first goal scored at a World Cup was an own goal and it was Brazil's first ever own goal. Marcelo definitely was the weakest link in Brazil's lineup today. Aside from that big error, it seemed like the only other notable contributions he made to the game was his remarkable ability to be within 2 feet of the referee at all times, perfect for complaining about calls.
Both goalkeepers were well tested today with Julio Cesar and Stipe Pletikosa making some impressive saves, but Pletikosa would draw some criticism for being unable to save any of the goals Brazil scored on him, such as the penalty where Pletikosa managed to get both hands on it but STILL couldn't keep it out of the back of the net.
Despite Croatia looking impressive at times, Brazil dominated the possession stat and looked the more likely team to score more often than not. It's no surprise that Neymar saves the day for Brazil with his 2 goals, not to overlook Oscar's decent contribution to the scoreline as well.
Many would argue that the penalty call against Dejan Lovren was utter BS and that Fred dived. I saw some contact but it definitely looked fishy to me, but regardless of whether or not that call was justified I knew that penalty would've gutted Croatia, who had tried so hard to at least cost Brazil 2 points in this match. They still had a few good chances after Neymar scored the penalty, including a goal that was disallowed not because Julio Cesar was fouled but because the ball went out of play (I understand it was tough to see for some people).
Croatia's spirited effort was not enough to prevent Brazil from winning 3-1 in the opening match of the tournament, but I hope any other team considered an underdog in this tournament (such as the USA) take note of this game, because Croatia played great football/soccer despite being up against a more talented team, so that should be a source of inspiration.
Although Croatia did not earn any points, similar performances against Cameroon (their next opponent) and Mexico may well be enough to get 6 points at the end of the group stage. I hate to say Brazil got lucky because they played very well but they definitely got more than what they bargained for in this match and didn't look solid all the time. There's definitely room for improvement if they wish to win their 6th World Cup. Their next match against Mexico will show if Brazil learned from their mistakes from this match and if they deserve to be up there with Spain, Germany, Italy, and Argentina as true contenders to win the title. Another performance like this would only exponentially increase the question marks surrounding "A Seleção".
Up next, we have 6 teams competing in must win games. Croatia made it pretty clear that they don't plan on making it easy for either Mexico or Cameroon to qualify for the knockout stages, so 3 points from this match would definitely help either El Tri or Les Lions Indomptables out a lot. Mexico are slight favorites but Cameroon definitely have what it takes to be a worthy adversary for the CONCACAF side.
Netherlands would love to get some sweet revenge on Spain, and a win against Spain would definitely boost their chances of winning Group B, which would likely mean avoiding Brazil in the Round of 16. However, how much of an impact will injuries such as Rafael Van der Vaart and Kevin Strootman affect the Oranje? And which combination of Spanish players would be the right one to continue their international success?
If either Chile or Australia have a prayer of reaching the knockout stage, they'll need to deny the other team of 3 points in their first match. Chile are definitely the favorites but against a fearless Australian side with nothing to lose, they better bring their A game or possibly suffer an upset.
Should be great to watch! I'm hoping the World Cup will continue to produce entertaining matches such as the opening match, and it doesn't look like we'll be disappointed.
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