After a World Cup that has sparkled in patches but been mediocre overall, Sunday's final turned out to be one of poorest games of the knockout stages. The warning came as soon as the teams were announced: 4-5-1 vs. 4-5-1. Those formations can result in free-flowing, attacking football, particularly when the wingers push up. However if the wing-men stay around the middle of the pitch and are forced to continually track back, the result is two ten-men defensive walls facing off against each other. That was the case Sunday.
Nonetheless, after a dull first period, chances did come in the second half. Unfortunately, both teams showed a shocking lack of finishing ability in front of goal when they got there. Arjen Robben was particularly wasteful for the Dutch, while Andres Iniesta and David Villa also failed to convert opportunities.
To make matters worse, starting in the second minute when Robin Van Persie clipped a Spanish defender, the game became very chippy, with countless fouls and the referee receiving an earful every time he raised his whistle to his lips. By the game's end, a record number of yellow cards for a World Cup final had been dished out, and in all honesty, there could have been more (Nigel De Jong in particular was lucky to stay on the field after planting his studs in Xabi Alonso's chest).
In the end, probably the best national team (both in the tournament and over the past two years) won, courtesy of an Iniesta goal four minutes before a penalty shoot-out was due.
It still wasn't enough to save a game that surely won't last long in the memory, apart from Spanish and Dutch fans, of course.
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Jul 11, 2010
Jul 7, 2010
World Cup: Quarter- and Semi-Finals
Six days, six games, six teams' World Cup dreams crushed.
Some teams went down defiantly (Ghana, Paraguay), others fell with barely a whimper (Argentina, Germany).
As the dust cleared Wednesday evening, only Holland and Spain, two of the most pedigreed soccer nations without a World Cup triumph to their name, were left standing to face each other in the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Neither team has blown its opponents out of the water in this tournament - in fact both have been guilty of some overly laborious wins- but they have done what all good soccer teams (no, all good sports teams) do: win games while not playing their best.
The Spanish boast the prized scalps of both Portugal and Germany, while the Dutch own perhaps the most impressive scalp of all, Brazil. Spain have the red-hot David Villa, but Holland have the red-hot Wesley Sneijder. Spain have a striker struggling to find his best form in Fernando Torres, but Holland matches them with Robin Van Persie. Spanish full-back Sergio Ramos loves to get forward and join the attack, but Dutch full-back Giovanni Van Bronckhorst may have just scored the goal of the tournament against Uruguay.
Something has got to give when they meet Sunday in Soccer City, Johannesburg. Can the Dutch back six (let's be honest, holding midfielders Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong aren't in this team to score goals) stifle Spain's offensive play the way it did with Brazil? Or can Spain pass their opponents into the ground and completely starve them of possession?
One thing that I am fairly certain of is that Holland will not sit back the way Germany did against Spain. Holland will commit more players forward in order to trouble Carlos Puyol et al., even if that means Spain has more space to create opportunities at the other end. I'd like to say this has all the makings of being an entertaining, open game but I've seen enough major soccer finals inevitably turn into defensive chess matches to know better.
Predicted World Cup Winner: Spain
And now a look back at the quarter- and semi-finals.
Game of the rounds: Holland: 2 – Brazil: 1
Going into this game, Brazil had arguably looked like the best team in the tournament. So when they took the lead by exploiting the already-suspect Dutch central defense with only ten minutes gone, it appeared it might be a long night for the Oranje. But Holland showed great determination to hold them until the half, and then in the second exploit Brazil's two glaring weaknesses: their ability to defend high balls into the box and to keep their cool. Arjen Robben was a thorn in Brazil's side all game- winning free-kick after free-kick and infuriating the Brazilian players- and Sneijder scored both goals to send the favorites home.
Runner-Up: Uruguay: 1* -Ghana: 1
Worst Game: Argentina: 0 – Germany: 4
This game promised so much: two of the most exciting teams in the competition, some bad blood left over from the last World Cup and plenty of trash-talking in the build-up; but ended up falling completely flat. The Germans took the early lead, and tore the Argentines apart in the second half with devastating attacking moves. They completely outplayed the South Americans, who had a dreadful showing.
Runner-Up: Spain: 1 -Germany: 1
Biggest Upset: Holland: 2 – Brazil: 1
It must be nice to root for a team for which a loss, no matter the stage or the opponent, is almost always considered an major upset...though that's probably won't bring much comfort to Brazilian fans right now.
Runner-Up: Argentina: 0 – Germany: 4
Best Performer (Team): Holland
The Dutch just sneaked this because of their impressive win over the Brazilians. Spain's dominance of previously ebullient Germans was impressive as well, but the victory wasn't achieved in such a dramatic fashion.
Runner-Up: Spain
Worst Performer (Team): Argentina
Argentina's veil of unity evaporated when the going got tough against a very team-oriented German side. For all their individual superstars, Argentina failed to play with any type of cohesion in the game and had their defensive weaknesses ruthlessly exploited.
Best Performer (Player): Wesley Sneijder, Holland
Three goals in two huge matches for the diminutive midfielder who has seen everything he touches turn to gold this calendar year (let's not forget his club side, Inter Milan, won the treble this season). While none of his goals were particularly pretty, his contributions for the Dutch go far beyond getting on the score-sheet. He is a masterful passer and offensive creator, and he possesses the kind of self-confidence you need to truly excel at the highest level of sports.
Runner-Up: Carlos Puyol, Spain
Worst Performer (Player): Oscar Cardozo, Paraguay
Things might have turned out oh-so-differently in this competition had Cardozo buried the penalty kick he won in the second half of Paraguay's quarterfinal against Spain. But he shot straight at Iker Casillas, perhaps costing the Paraguayans what would have been the upset of the tournament. He'll hear about that miss for the rest of his life. (Asamoah Gyan might also have been worthy of this spot for the exact same mistake, but after all his great performances in the tournament, it felt harsh to single him out for criticism.)
Runner-Up: Sergio Romero, Argentina
Best Goal: Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Holland
The 35 year-old left back received a pass on the left side channel about 40 yards from out from goal with no defenders in front of him. He pushed the ball forward into space with his first touch and then, without hesitation, blasted the ball goalwards. The shot screamed across Nestor Muslera, who managed to get his fingertips to it, but couldn't prevent it from flying into the top corner, via the post. An unstoppable strike.
Runner-Up: Arne Friedrich, Germany
Jul 1, 2010
World Cup: Second Round
Consider this two-day World Cup hiatus the calm before the storm as we prepare to truly enter the business end of the tournament.
Eight teams are still standing -Uruguay, Ghana, Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Paraguay, and Spain- and in all honesty few teams that have been eliminated thus far can have too many complaints about it (South Korea, Japan and the US -in that order- would head the list though).
Of the eight quarter finalists, at least 5 were roundly expected to be there: Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain. Sure, they were questions about Argentina, who scraped through qualification under Diego Maradona, and Germany, who brought an inexperienced squad to the tournament. However, the Argentines’ star power has shone through so far and the players (the ones who made the squad anyway) look as though they have truly made their peace with Maradona’s exuberant leadership style. As for the Germans, they proved that their stellar qualifying record shouldn’t have been overlooked when the teams were being handicapped pre-tournament.
The fact that Uruguay, Ghana and Paraguay are still standing in the competition constitutes somewhat more of a surprise. Sure, none of them were considered rank outsiders going in but I doubt many people envisioned all three making the quarters.
And now, because Uruguay and Ghana face each other, one of them will be in a World Cup semi-final (probably the biggest surprise semi-finalist since host nation South Korea made it in 2002 by beating Italy and Spain).
Uruguay has probably been the most impressive of the three, having won three of their four games. They’ve shown defensive grit and solidity (only one allowed goal so far) and possess a midfield and strike force that can carve out chances. At the other end of the spectrum, Paraguay has only won one game in normal time so far, against Slovakia, and I can’t see them making it past Spain.
Of the quarterfinal match-ups, two obviously stand out as the most mouthwatering: Argentina-Germany and Brazil-Netherlands. All four teams have performed well so far and there’s plenty of history to each matchup; for the first dating back only to this stage of the competition last time around (a tense, drama-filled German penalty victory).
My four predicted semi-finalists: Uruguay, Brazil, Germany and Spain.
And now, a look back at the second round matches.
-Game of the round: Uruguay: 2 - South Korea: 1
Not a lot of obvious superstars in this match-up, but it was one of the few second round games that truly swayed back and forth between the teams throughout. Uruguay started better and deservedly took the lead, but South Korea struck back. They dominated most of the second half and equalized. It took a moment of individual brilliance from Luis Suarez to determine a winner with ten minutes left on the clock.
Runner-Up: United States: 1 – Ghana: 2
-Worst Game: England: 1 – Germany: 4
Say what you will about the possible implantation of goal line technology, but in this game, it might at least have saved World Cup viewers a brutally dull final twenty minutes. By that point, Germany was 4-1 up, and, given England’s complete lack of offensive creativity, the last quarter of the game was awash. Apart from a fifteen minute period after Matthew Upson’s header had made it 2-1, England didn’t show up for this one and Germany took full advantage of the mismatch.
Runner-Up: Argentina: 3 – Mexico: 1 (Linesman’s mistake aside, Mexico never really challenged Argentina)
-Biggest Upset:
There really wasn’t one in this round. Ghana beating the US, maybe, but I think most people had them pretty much neck-and-neck. Had either of the Asian teams triumphed, and they both came mighty close, this spot would have been theirs.
-Best Performer (Team): Brazil
Brazil continues to breeze through this competition. They have not looked troubled in any of their games, and have not even shown any of the defensive lapses sometimes associated with Brazilian teams. They were far, far too good for Chile and should have plenty left in the tank for Holland.
Runner-Up: Germany
-Worst Performer (Team): England
Another year, another World Cup disappointment for the English. Some of England’s problems are so old, it seems dull to even discuss them (Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard not being able to play together, lack of a decent goalkeeper, no viable strike partner for Wayne Rooney) but some new ones cropped up this time around: a lack of pace in their defense (Klose’s goal was a perfect example of this), and a lack of offensive creativity and weapons (illustrated by the fact that Rooney kept his place on the team after three bad performances in a row).
Runner-Up: Chile
-Best Performer (Individual): Carlos Tevez, Argentina
Tevez was at his skillful yet dogged best against Mexico. He chased and harried defenders all over the field, scored two goals (including a second-half screamer) and linked up well with Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain. He might well have completed a deserved hat-trick had he not been substituted with twenty minutes left.
Runner-Up: David Villa, Spain
-Worst Performer (Individual): Ricardo Osorio, Mexico
A brutal day for one Mexico’s defensive cogs. The right-back gifted Argentina their second goal when he tried to lay the ball off to someone- only he could tell you who- but ended up presenting the ball to Higuain who ran onto it and finished clinically. Still reeling, Osorio almost gave away another a few minutes later after a second error.
Runner-Up: Fernando Torres, Spain
-Best Goal: David Suarez, Uruguay
Just pips Tevez’s effort because of its importance in deciding the tie. With the clock winding down and the score level at one apiece, a Uruguayan corner ricocheted into Suarez’s feet on the left side of the penalty area. With two defenders standing him up, he took a quick touch to his right to give himself some room before curling the ball beautifully around the Korean goalkeeper, off the post and into the back of the net to book Uruguay’s place in the last eight.
Runner-Up: Carlos Tevez, Argentina
Eight teams are still standing -Uruguay, Ghana, Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Paraguay, and Spain- and in all honesty few teams that have been eliminated thus far can have too many complaints about it (South Korea, Japan and the US -in that order- would head the list though).
Of the eight quarter finalists, at least 5 were roundly expected to be there: Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain. Sure, they were questions about Argentina, who scraped through qualification under Diego Maradona, and Germany, who brought an inexperienced squad to the tournament. However, the Argentines’ star power has shone through so far and the players (the ones who made the squad anyway) look as though they have truly made their peace with Maradona’s exuberant leadership style. As for the Germans, they proved that their stellar qualifying record shouldn’t have been overlooked when the teams were being handicapped pre-tournament.
The fact that Uruguay, Ghana and Paraguay are still standing in the competition constitutes somewhat more of a surprise. Sure, none of them were considered rank outsiders going in but I doubt many people envisioned all three making the quarters.
And now, because Uruguay and Ghana face each other, one of them will be in a World Cup semi-final (probably the biggest surprise semi-finalist since host nation South Korea made it in 2002 by beating Italy and Spain).
Uruguay has probably been the most impressive of the three, having won three of their four games. They’ve shown defensive grit and solidity (only one allowed goal so far) and possess a midfield and strike force that can carve out chances. At the other end of the spectrum, Paraguay has only won one game in normal time so far, against Slovakia, and I can’t see them making it past Spain.
Of the quarterfinal match-ups, two obviously stand out as the most mouthwatering: Argentina-Germany and Brazil-Netherlands. All four teams have performed well so far and there’s plenty of history to each matchup; for the first dating back only to this stage of the competition last time around (a tense, drama-filled German penalty victory).
My four predicted semi-finalists: Uruguay, Brazil, Germany and Spain.
And now, a look back at the second round matches.
-Game of the round: Uruguay: 2 - South Korea: 1
Not a lot of obvious superstars in this match-up, but it was one of the few second round games that truly swayed back and forth between the teams throughout. Uruguay started better and deservedly took the lead, but South Korea struck back. They dominated most of the second half and equalized. It took a moment of individual brilliance from Luis Suarez to determine a winner with ten minutes left on the clock.
Runner-Up: United States: 1 – Ghana: 2
-Worst Game: England: 1 – Germany: 4
Say what you will about the possible implantation of goal line technology, but in this game, it might at least have saved World Cup viewers a brutally dull final twenty minutes. By that point, Germany was 4-1 up, and, given England’s complete lack of offensive creativity, the last quarter of the game was awash. Apart from a fifteen minute period after Matthew Upson’s header had made it 2-1, England didn’t show up for this one and Germany took full advantage of the mismatch.
Runner-Up: Argentina: 3 – Mexico: 1 (Linesman’s mistake aside, Mexico never really challenged Argentina)
-Biggest Upset:
There really wasn’t one in this round. Ghana beating the US, maybe, but I think most people had them pretty much neck-and-neck. Had either of the Asian teams triumphed, and they both came mighty close, this spot would have been theirs.
-Best Performer (Team): Brazil
Brazil continues to breeze through this competition. They have not looked troubled in any of their games, and have not even shown any of the defensive lapses sometimes associated with Brazilian teams. They were far, far too good for Chile and should have plenty left in the tank for Holland.
Runner-Up: Germany
-Worst Performer (Team): England
Another year, another World Cup disappointment for the English. Some of England’s problems are so old, it seems dull to even discuss them (Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard not being able to play together, lack of a decent goalkeeper, no viable strike partner for Wayne Rooney) but some new ones cropped up this time around: a lack of pace in their defense (Klose’s goal was a perfect example of this), and a lack of offensive creativity and weapons (illustrated by the fact that Rooney kept his place on the team after three bad performances in a row).
Runner-Up: Chile
-Best Performer (Individual): Carlos Tevez, Argentina
Tevez was at his skillful yet dogged best against Mexico. He chased and harried defenders all over the field, scored two goals (including a second-half screamer) and linked up well with Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain. He might well have completed a deserved hat-trick had he not been substituted with twenty minutes left.
Runner-Up: David Villa, Spain
-Worst Performer (Individual): Ricardo Osorio, Mexico
A brutal day for one Mexico’s defensive cogs. The right-back gifted Argentina their second goal when he tried to lay the ball off to someone- only he could tell you who- but ended up presenting the ball to Higuain who ran onto it and finished clinically. Still reeling, Osorio almost gave away another a few minutes later after a second error.
Runner-Up: Fernando Torres, Spain
-Best Goal: David Suarez, Uruguay
Just pips Tevez’s effort because of its importance in deciding the tie. With the clock winding down and the score level at one apiece, a Uruguayan corner ricocheted into Suarez’s feet on the left side of the penalty area. With two defenders standing him up, he took a quick touch to his right to give himself some room before curling the ball beautifully around the Korean goalkeeper, off the post and into the back of the net to book Uruguay’s place in the last eight.
Runner-Up: Carlos Tevez, Argentina
Jun 26, 2010
World Cup Group Stage: Round 3
-Game of the round: USA: 1 – Algeria: 0
For the second round in a row, the United States were involved in the most entertaining game, this time a nail biter against Algeria. Needing a win to advance, the US knocked on Algeria's door for most of the game, scoring an dubiously disallowed goal in the first and carving a host of other chances. But the Algerian, through a combination of tough defending, good goalkeeping and just plain luck, hung on until the very death. In the 92nd minute, Landon Donovan pounced on a rebound and sidefooted home to send the US through and their supporters into delerium.
Runner-Up: Slovakia: 3 – Italy: 2
-Worst Game: Paraguay: 0 – New Zealand: 0
Paraguay were already through and needed only a point to top the group so they were happy to sit back and let New Zealand try and beat them. New Zealand may have played the role of spoiler in its first two games, but lacked the quality to break down Paraguay's solid defense. A recipe for an extremely drab encounter.
Runner Up: Switzerland: 0 – Honduras: 0 (a mystifying lack of drive from the Swiss when a victory might well have sent them through)
-Biggest Upset: Slovakia: 3 – Italy: 2
Slovakia knocked out the holders with a barnstorming performance, showing all of the desire that the Italians lacked throughout the competition. They opened the scoring in the 25th minute through Robert Vittek and didn't look back. They didn't just sit back after the first either, scoring two more goals, which in the end, proved crucial.
Runner-Up: Australia: 2 – Serbia: 1
-Best Performer (Team): Japan
Very few people fancied Japan to advance against Denmark with the Danes coming off a good win over Cameroon. But the Japanese completely nullified Denmark offensively and maintained possession well in the early stages. They then proceeded to score two beautiful free-kicks which knocked the stuffing out the Danes and hung to ensure their qualification for the knockout stages.
Runner-Up: Spain
-Worst Performer (Team): France
France took the worst performer category to a whole new level this year. After their torrid campaign, I wonder if even French fans might be secretly wishing the referee had spotted that Thierry Henry handball against Ireland that allowed them to qualify. Their players acted with a shocking lack of professionalism and national pride and deserve all the criticism they have been getting. However I do think that the French Soccer Federation deserves its fair share of blame for sticking with a coach who they should have fired after their disastrous performance in Euro 2008. Raymond Domenech had become a whipping boy of the media over the past two years with his every decision questioned as the poor results continued to stack up. The Federation then appointed Laurent Blanc as his successor before a ball had even been kicked at the WC, making even more of a “lame-duck” coach. With that kind of leadership, everything that has happened seems a lot less surprising.
Runner-Up: Italy (how often have both the finalists of the previous edition not even made the knockout stages?)
-Best Performer (Individual): Robert Vittek, Slovakia
Vittek forever etched his name into Slovakian footballing lore by scoring a brace against the Italians and sending his team through in their first ever World Cup as an independent nation. Vittek proved himself a very cool customer with two clinical finishes in the game, first slotting a low shot into the corner of the net from outside the area, then nipping ahead of an Italian defender to get on the end of a cross and flick it home.
Runner-Up: Lionel Messi, Argentina
-Worst Performer (Individual): Thomas Sorenson, Denmark
A game to forget for the Danish goalkeeper who conceded two free-kicks, the first of which (while still a great strike) he might have saved if he hadn't moved in the wrong direction. He almost had a catastrophic blunder in the second half when he practically fumbled a high ball into the net after mistiming his leap.
Runner-Up: Nikola Zigic, Serbia (a spearhead of Serbia's attack looked blunt throughout the tournament, and was particularly dull against the Socceroos)
-Best Goal: Mehsut Ozil, Germany:
Possibly the best goal of the tournament so far came from the boot of Germany's pint-sized playmaker, Ozil, against Ghana. A quarter of an hour into the second half, Germany's Thomas Mueller dribbled down the right-hand side before pulling the ball back to Ozil just outside of the penalty box. Ozil's first touch lifted the ball slightly off the turf as it sat up nicely for him to hit. He hammered it with his left boot out the goalkeeper's reach into the top left-hand corner.
Runner-Up: Keisuke Honda (a fantastic long range freekick that Honda hit absolutely perfectly.)
Jun 23, 2010
World Cup Group Stage: Round 2
-Game of the Round: USA: 2 – Slovenia: 2
Not even close on this one. This game had a bit of everything. A couple great goals, a feisty atmosphere, a dramatic comeback, and a hotly-disputed disallowed goal at the end. Slovenia was devastatingly clinical in the first half, scoring twice on what seemed to be their only two chances. The US came roaring back in the second to equalize and were probably robbed of the winning goal by the referee at the death.
Runner-Up: Cameroon: 1 -Denmark: 2
-Worst Game: England: 0 -Algeria: 0
I'm not one of those people who thinks you necessarily need goals for an encounter to be exciting, but how about some chances? Or some decent attacking play? This game got exactly what it deserved: a big fat zero (two of them in fact).
Runner-Up: Holland: 1 – Japan: 0
-Biggest Upset: New Zealand: 1 – Italy: 1
Who would have thought that New Zealand not Australia would be the Oceania team making the splash at this year's World Cup? Yes, you can argue that the Italians are notoriously slow starters, but they are still the defending champs while New Zealand's soccer pedigree is virtually non-existant (though the first first piece of it may well be created if they can somehow squeeze their way out of this group). New Zealand clawed and fought for everything they got in this game, defended valiantly and fully deserved their point.
Runner-Up: Germany: 0 -Serbia: 1 (not because Serbia's a bad side, simply because the Germans had looked so good in the opener)
-Best Performer (Team): Portugal
The Portuguese bounced back from a very bad game against the Ivory Coast to blow North Korea away 7-0 and put themselves (thanks in part to the Ivorians's loss to Brazil) back in the driving seat to qualify, or even potentially nip the top spot in the group. Portugal ran rampant in the second half, giving us a full display of their offensive firepower, particularly on the counter-attack. That being said,I don't think we should read too much into the severity of the scoreline. Scoring a bucket-load of goals on the counter against a weak opponent doesn't necessarily translate to scoring that single crucial goal in a tight game against one of the competition's better defenses.
Runner-Up: Argentina
-Worst Performer (Team): England
Really a toss up between France and England for this honor this week (I didn't have the heart to consider the North Koreans. Bad enough that their first televised game under the reign of Kim Jong-Il ended up a 7-0 thrashing). I went with England simply because, while they may not have lost as France did, the quality of the opposition wasn't comparable. Mexico are actually an above average side, whereas Algeria (no matter how hard England tried to make them look it) aren't. Both France and England have had dressing room rifts since their respective poor results and now stare elimination in the face going into their final group game.
Runner-Up: France
-Best Performer (Individual): Diego Forlan, Uruguay:
Forlan has so far shown himself to be the heart and soul of this Uruguay side. He scored two goals against South Africa but that was only of the tip of the iceberg with regards to his contribution to the team. He created chance after chance for himself and others and was very unlucky to not complete his hat-trick late in the game.
Runner-Up: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
-Worst Performer (Individual): Sani Kaita, Nigeria:
Soccer is a team sport of course, but in some cases one individual mistake can end being extremely costly for the team. In the case of Sani Kaita's red card against Greece, it ended up costing Nigeria their place in the competition. Nigeria perhaps weren't cruising, up 1-0 with 33 minutes gone, but they certainly looked the better team. Kaita's moment of madness, lashing out at Vassilis Torosidis, forced the Nigerians to play two thirds of the game with 10 men. The Greeks got a second wind from the sending off and came back to win the game 2-1 and knock the Super Eagles out.
Runner-Up: Wayne Rooney (was expected to be one of the tournament's stars but has looked woefully off the pace in the first two games)
-Best Goal: David Villa, Spain:
Villa was stellar against Honduras. He totally outclassed a defense that couldn't keep up with him, and was one missed penalty away from the World Cup's second hat-trick. On his first goal, he received the ball out wide on the left hand side about forty yards away from goal. He drove towards the corner of the penalty, split two defenders with quick feet and a burst of speed, and held off another just long enough to hammer the ball across the face of goal into the top corner. A great strike from quite possibly the world's best finisher.
Runner-Up: Luis Fabiano, Brazil (And no, not the one where he clearly handled the ball while juggling around and over three Ivorian defenders....though the handball spoiled an otherwise delightful strike.)
Not even close on this one. This game had a bit of everything. A couple great goals, a feisty atmosphere, a dramatic comeback, and a hotly-disputed disallowed goal at the end. Slovenia was devastatingly clinical in the first half, scoring twice on what seemed to be their only two chances. The US came roaring back in the second to equalize and were probably robbed of the winning goal by the referee at the death.
Runner-Up: Cameroon: 1 -Denmark: 2
-Worst Game: England: 0 -Algeria: 0
I'm not one of those people who thinks you necessarily need goals for an encounter to be exciting, but how about some chances? Or some decent attacking play? This game got exactly what it deserved: a big fat zero (two of them in fact).
Runner-Up: Holland: 1 – Japan: 0
-Biggest Upset: New Zealand: 1 – Italy: 1
Who would have thought that New Zealand not Australia would be the Oceania team making the splash at this year's World Cup? Yes, you can argue that the Italians are notoriously slow starters, but they are still the defending champs while New Zealand's soccer pedigree is virtually non-existant (though the first first piece of it may well be created if they can somehow squeeze their way out of this group). New Zealand clawed and fought for everything they got in this game, defended valiantly and fully deserved their point.
Runner-Up: Germany: 0 -Serbia: 1 (not because Serbia's a bad side, simply because the Germans had looked so good in the opener)
-Best Performer (Team): Portugal
The Portuguese bounced back from a very bad game against the Ivory Coast to blow North Korea away 7-0 and put themselves (thanks in part to the Ivorians's loss to Brazil) back in the driving seat to qualify, or even potentially nip the top spot in the group. Portugal ran rampant in the second half, giving us a full display of their offensive firepower, particularly on the counter-attack. That being said,I don't think we should read too much into the severity of the scoreline. Scoring a bucket-load of goals on the counter against a weak opponent doesn't necessarily translate to scoring that single crucial goal in a tight game against one of the competition's better defenses.
Runner-Up: Argentina
-Worst Performer (Team): England
Really a toss up between France and England for this honor this week (I didn't have the heart to consider the North Koreans. Bad enough that their first televised game under the reign of Kim Jong-Il ended up a 7-0 thrashing). I went with England simply because, while they may not have lost as France did, the quality of the opposition wasn't comparable. Mexico are actually an above average side, whereas Algeria (no matter how hard England tried to make them look it) aren't. Both France and England have had dressing room rifts since their respective poor results and now stare elimination in the face going into their final group game.
Runner-Up: France
-Best Performer (Individual): Diego Forlan, Uruguay:
Forlan has so far shown himself to be the heart and soul of this Uruguay side. He scored two goals against South Africa but that was only of the tip of the iceberg with regards to his contribution to the team. He created chance after chance for himself and others and was very unlucky to not complete his hat-trick late in the game.
Runner-Up: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
-Worst Performer (Individual): Sani Kaita, Nigeria:
Soccer is a team sport of course, but in some cases one individual mistake can end being extremely costly for the team. In the case of Sani Kaita's red card against Greece, it ended up costing Nigeria their place in the competition. Nigeria perhaps weren't cruising, up 1-0 with 33 minutes gone, but they certainly looked the better team. Kaita's moment of madness, lashing out at Vassilis Torosidis, forced the Nigerians to play two thirds of the game with 10 men. The Greeks got a second wind from the sending off and came back to win the game 2-1 and knock the Super Eagles out.
Runner-Up: Wayne Rooney (was expected to be one of the tournament's stars but has looked woefully off the pace in the first two games)
-Best Goal: David Villa, Spain:
Villa was stellar against Honduras. He totally outclassed a defense that couldn't keep up with him, and was one missed penalty away from the World Cup's second hat-trick. On his first goal, he received the ball out wide on the left hand side about forty yards away from goal. He drove towards the corner of the penalty, split two defenders with quick feet and a burst of speed, and held off another just long enough to hammer the ball across the face of goal into the top corner. A great strike from quite possibly the world's best finisher.
Runner-Up: Luis Fabiano, Brazil (And no, not the one where he clearly handled the ball while juggling around and over three Ivorian defenders....though the handball spoiled an otherwise delightful strike.)
Jun 16, 2010
World Cup: Group Stage Round 1
-Undoubtedly the main headline from the first round of group game was the lack of goals.
Here's a little taste for you:
Teams not scoring:13
Teams scoring once: 15
Teams scoring twice: 3
Teams scoring four times: 1
That's 28 out of 32 teams, either not troubling the scorers or hitting the back of net only once. Not exactly the free-flowing, attacking soccer we all live to see. It seems to me that many of the teams approached their opening games with a good degree of cageyness, far more fearful of what losing might entail than industriously trying to carve out a victory.
The perfect example of this was the Portugal-Ivory Coast game. Both teams knew that they would probably going to be competing against each other for the second spot in their group (behind Brazil) and therefore they seemed loathed to give the other a three-point lead and hardly took any risks. Many of the games so far have reminded me of the first leg of a Champions League knockout match-up: the teams are ready to take advantage of any mistake or opportunity but hesitant to really press the issue.
The good news for the fans is that all of that cageyness should evaporate in the next set of games as the teams that lost their first games start staring elimination in the face. And who knows, that dreaded Jabulani devil-ball might finally start playing tricks on goalkeepers.
-Game of the Round: Spain vs. Switzerland
This must be why my dad always rooted for the underdog to score first in a soccer game. The Swiss goal seven minutes after halftime completely opened the game up. Spain turned on their offensive firepower, made some lovely flowing moves and created a boatload of chances, which somehow didn't translate into any goals. Meanwhile the Swiss looked industrious and threatening on the break and had a couple opportunities to put the game away.
Runner-Up: England vs. USA
-Worst Game: Algeria vs. Slovenia
A football game almost entirely devoid of any real quality. A total absence of goal-scoring opportunities, and the game was ultimately won by Slovenia (much to the disappointment of the American and English disappointment) thanks a poor piece of goalkeeping from the Algerian keeper that sum the whole game up.
Runner-Up: Ivory vs. Portugal-Ivory
-Biggest Upset: Spain vs. Switzerland
Credit to the Swiss for holding onto their slender lead in the face of the Spanish onslaught. It was a huge step towards qualification for them while for Spain, a lot of work remains to be done, particularly if Chile can replicate the form they displayed against Honduras.
Runner-Up: Brazil vs. North Korea (not that it actually happened but this deserves a spot simply because of how big the Koreans (who haven't been to a World Cup since 1966) taking a point from the Brazilians would have been.)
-Best Performer (Team): Germany
Are we really that surprised? An unheralded Germany side doing better than predicted: hardly a real shocker. But not only did they play well, but they also produced by far the best soccer of the tournament in a 4-0 demolition of Australia. They created chance after chance, exploited every one of the Socceroos' weaknesses and were hardly threatened themselves. Maybe Australia will turn out to be a worse team than expected, but that was still a strong message sent out by the Germans.
Runner-Up: South Korea
-Worst Performer (Team): Portugal
Okay, so maybe Algeria or one of the other losing teams played worse, but this category is evaluated in terms of performance versus expectations. Portugal has often produced fast attacking soccer teams in recent times, but they were anything but against the Ivory Coast. They sat back and played ultra-cautiously. Their attacking game plan seemed to be: wait until Cristiano Ronaldo comes up with a moment of individual brilliance to give us a win (which he almost did, by the way, with a thunderous strike from 30 yards that came back off the post in the first half). They may still make it out of the “Group of Death” but on that form they shouldn't be a factor in the latter stages of the tournament.
Runner-Up: Greece
-Best Performer (Individual): Mesut Ozil, Germany
Maybe my vision was blurred because I haven't seen much of him before, but Germany's newest playmaker, Ozil, looked like a stud against the Aussies. He may have been booked for a dive in the first half, but he also showed a passing finesse and play-making ability that will have soccer fans salivating for years to come. No wonder the Germans didn't seem too worried about losing the aging Michael Ballack to injury before the tournament started.
Runner-Up: Tim Howard, USA (kept England out with a series of great saves)
-Worst Performer (Individual): Robert Green, England.
How much really needs to be said about this? If you haven't seen Green's goalkeeping howler yet, then you probably don't know there's an oil spill going in the Gulf of Mexico right now either. Here's the Cliff Notes on both events. Expect Green to be riding the pine against Algeria and boycott BP.
Runner-Up: Nicolas Lodeiro, Uruguay (two yellows in his first twenty six minutes of World Cup action)
-Best Goal: Siphiwe Tshabalala, South Africa (now there's a mouthful).
Last World Cup, Philip Lahm opened the scoring in spectacular fashion, and Tshabalala continued the tradition this year with a stunning opening strike against Mexico. A lovely counterattacking move ended with a blistering “across-the-keeper-top-corner finish” to send the home fans into delirium.
Runner-Up: Thomas Mueller, Germany.
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