It seemed like it would be impossible for Brazil's finish to the World Cup to get worse, after a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Germany (their first competitive loss at home in 62 matches). And they certainly came out fired up to show that that was a fluke.
The Netherlands got the ball to start, and the hosts were chasing the ball, on defense, all the way back to the goalie. But the Dutch dealt with that pressure, and after the ball getting all the way back to the goalie, they pushed it way upfield with a couple of passes. One of those went to van Persie in the air, and he headed it straight up in the air. It came down at his feet, with him facing his own goal. He saw Robben breaking, to his left, and turned and put it into space behind the defense.
Robben ran to the ball, and Silva, who'd been on van Persie, had to pull Robben down by his jersey at the top of the box. It was a weird call by the ref, who awarded the penalty kick and gave Silva a yellow card. Normally, a foul at that spot would be a foot or so outside the box, but it was a foul by the last defender and clearly should have been a red card.
By the time they finished arguing that out, and van Persie put the penalty kick into the top-right corner, it was still only the third minute of the game. The Brazilians were clearly off-kilter, though, at being behind so early, and it took them a while to settle down. Before they did, however, the Orangemen scored again with a run down the right side that went all the way to the touch line. From there, it was centered back to Blind, in the middle, who might have had enough time to drink a coffee while he took three touches, in place, to get a controlled shot into the net.
That was in the seventeenth minute, and was pretty much the end of the match, competitively speaking. The Brazilians did get several chances over the balance of the game, but were unable to convert any of them, putting it off to the side a couple of times.
Ramires, who'd had a decent game against Germany (one of the few; he came on as a sub for Hulk around halftime), and who looked decent against the Dutch, went out in favor of Hulk around halftime.
Hulk tried to repeat his runs down the left that showed some threat against Germany, but it was nothing doing.
The final score of the game didn't come until stoppage time, when Wijnaldum was left alone in the middle (this seems familiar, somehow) to knit a sweater for a relative. Or put the ball past Cesar, he had a difficult decision.
I've been very impressed by the Dutch coach, van Gaal, and he showed his class by subbing in his third-string goalie, Vorm, a minute or two after that. With that move, he'd managed to get his entire line-up onto the pitch at some point in the tournament. My understanding is that van Gaal is going to Man U for next season, and I think that'll work well for both him and the team.
In any event, while the Dutch went home fairly happy (but not going into space; nice PR move to make that offer), for the second time, hosting the World Cup ended in misery for the Brazilians (maybe they'll look for a co-lo host next time). It was the first time that they had lost consecutive home games of any sort in seventy-odd years; I can't imagine what the locker room was like afterwards.
In any event, it left only the title game to be played, with Germany taking on Argentina.
Showing posts with label netherlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label netherlands. Show all posts
20140714
20140709
Quiescence
As busy as the action was in the Germany-Brazil semifinal, the Netherlands-Argentina semifinal was a real snoozer.
I didn't realize it before the game started but di Maria was out with a minor injury; I didn't hear whether he'd be back for the last game (final or third place).
The only thing I really found interesting about the play was that the Dutch were playing a possession game, rather than a counterattacking one. I wonder if that was a sign of respect for the Argentine attack; certainly, it shows that the Dutch are well-coached.
It was a game marked by defense; very closely marked, in fact. So much so that there was very little room for anyone in the attacking third. When Robben or van Persie got the ball, they only had space for a single touch. When Messi got it, he had someone with him at almost all times.
But the Argentinians had far more chances for a long while. It turned out that there was only one shot on net in the entire first half, and that was a Messi free kick (skirted the left side of the wall, and struck hard, but still not a hard save for the keeper).
As far as chances, I didn't count, but those from the land of silver definitely had more of them (though really, there were very few really good ones, and those were mostly shot off-net).
The second half played pretty evenly, maybe slightly still in favor of the Argentines. But again, there wasn't much going on; neither team did much in the attacking third of the pitch.
So regulation expired without anything much having happened.
Extra time came, and saw the play definitely favor the Dutch, who had a few good chances, but they still couldn't convert any of them. The Argentines did manage a couple of chances, at least one of which was very good, but spoiled again.
Neither goalie was really pushed much. By the end of extra time, they'd made six saves between them, and I don't think any of those were especially good saves.
So the ho-hum game went to penalty kicks, which was at least going to force the goalies to work a bit. The Dutch were out of subs by that point (they'd used their third sub to put Huntelaar in for van Persie a short bit into extra time), which I think they regretted. Not only were they missing van Persie's shots, but they couldn't put Krul in at goalie again, either.
But it likely didn't matter; Vlaar came up for the first kick, and put it waist-high on the left. The Argentine goalie dove out to his right and knocked it in the air and back to him.
I was surprised to see Messi come out first for Argentina, and you knew he wouldn't miss (top-center, if you're wondering about placement).
Robben came out next for the Netherlands, and you knew he was good for it too, putting it hard into the right side of the net.
Garay was next for the South Americans, putting it low and left, just below the diving keeper to keep Argentina ahead.
Sneijder came up next, and you were sure he wouldn't mess it up. But he put it in the goalie's reach, and it was knockout well away from the goal to largely guarantee loss for the Europeans.
Aguero, who was a late sub, came up next and clinically kept the pressure on the Orangemen.
Kuyt came up next, with a very long run-up, and put it bottom-right to stay alive.
But then Maxi Rodriguez came up; it took me a few minutes to place his name. He'd had the unbelievable goal in the 2006 World Cup (quite possibly the prettiest of that World Cup) against Mexico to win that game. Well, he calmly finished this one (with some luck; the goalie deflected it up, but into the back of the crossbar) for the win, also.
So Argentina will go up against Germany in the final, with the Dutch falling into a rematch of their knockout game with Brazil in the last World Cup. I don't see the Brazilians being heavily favored, this time. Nor do I see the hosts winning, unless the Dutch fail to take the game seriously (which I highly doubt).
In Sunday night's final between Argentina and Germany... It's funny, thinking about it; all the upsets and surprise eliminations in pool play, and even a casual fan would be likely to get at least three of the final four right. And a Germany Argentina final was probably considered one of the more likely possibilities, even back then.
I'm going to have to go with my ancestry, and pick Germany. Messi will definitely be the best player on the pitch (by a pretty good margin), but the Germans will hound him relentlessly. And the Europeans will attack in waves as well. A 3-1 result would not surprise me in the least (though it would be a bit out of character for this World Cup, which has seen far too many knock-out games go scoreless in regulation); if the one was a pretty Messi score, that would be perfect, in my book.
I didn't realize it before the game started but di Maria was out with a minor injury; I didn't hear whether he'd be back for the last game (final or third place).
The only thing I really found interesting about the play was that the Dutch were playing a possession game, rather than a counterattacking one. I wonder if that was a sign of respect for the Argentine attack; certainly, it shows that the Dutch are well-coached.
It was a game marked by defense; very closely marked, in fact. So much so that there was very little room for anyone in the attacking third. When Robben or van Persie got the ball, they only had space for a single touch. When Messi got it, he had someone with him at almost all times.
But the Argentinians had far more chances for a long while. It turned out that there was only one shot on net in the entire first half, and that was a Messi free kick (skirted the left side of the wall, and struck hard, but still not a hard save for the keeper).
As far as chances, I didn't count, but those from the land of silver definitely had more of them (though really, there were very few really good ones, and those were mostly shot off-net).
The second half played pretty evenly, maybe slightly still in favor of the Argentines. But again, there wasn't much going on; neither team did much in the attacking third of the pitch.
So regulation expired without anything much having happened.
Extra time came, and saw the play definitely favor the Dutch, who had a few good chances, but they still couldn't convert any of them. The Argentines did manage a couple of chances, at least one of which was very good, but spoiled again.
Neither goalie was really pushed much. By the end of extra time, they'd made six saves between them, and I don't think any of those were especially good saves.
So the ho-hum game went to penalty kicks, which was at least going to force the goalies to work a bit. The Dutch were out of subs by that point (they'd used their third sub to put Huntelaar in for van Persie a short bit into extra time), which I think they regretted. Not only were they missing van Persie's shots, but they couldn't put Krul in at goalie again, either.
But it likely didn't matter; Vlaar came up for the first kick, and put it waist-high on the left. The Argentine goalie dove out to his right and knocked it in the air and back to him.
I was surprised to see Messi come out first for Argentina, and you knew he wouldn't miss (top-center, if you're wondering about placement).
Robben came out next for the Netherlands, and you knew he was good for it too, putting it hard into the right side of the net.
Garay was next for the South Americans, putting it low and left, just below the diving keeper to keep Argentina ahead.
Sneijder came up next, and you were sure he wouldn't mess it up. But he put it in the goalie's reach, and it was knockout well away from the goal to largely guarantee loss for the Europeans.
Aguero, who was a late sub, came up next and clinically kept the pressure on the Orangemen.
Kuyt came up next, with a very long run-up, and put it bottom-right to stay alive.
But then Maxi Rodriguez came up; it took me a few minutes to place his name. He'd had the unbelievable goal in the 2006 World Cup (quite possibly the prettiest of that World Cup) against Mexico to win that game. Well, he calmly finished this one (with some luck; the goalie deflected it up, but into the back of the crossbar) for the win, also.
So Argentina will go up against Germany in the final, with the Dutch falling into a rematch of their knockout game with Brazil in the last World Cup. I don't see the Brazilians being heavily favored, this time. Nor do I see the hosts winning, unless the Dutch fail to take the game seriously (which I highly doubt).
In Sunday night's final between Argentina and Germany... It's funny, thinking about it; all the upsets and surprise eliminations in pool play, and even a casual fan would be likely to get at least three of the final four right. And a Germany Argentina final was probably considered one of the more likely possibilities, even back then.
I'm going to have to go with my ancestry, and pick Germany. Messi will definitely be the best player on the pitch (by a pretty good margin), but the Germans will hound him relentlessly. And the Europeans will attack in waves as well. A 3-1 result would not surprise me in the least (though it would be a bit out of character for this World Cup, which has seen far too many knock-out games go scoreless in regulation); if the one was a pretty Messi score, that would be perfect, in my book.
20140703
Round of Sixteen
There were no surprises in the round of sixteen of the World Cup. How they got to the results was a surprise in a couple cases; how close the result was, in some cases, shocking.
Brazil beating Chile was certainly expected; when Neymar scored in the eighteenth minute, it seemed like a harbinger of more to come.
But when Chile stole the ball from the defense, fifteen minutes later, and promptly equalized, that was not at all expected.
The reffing seemed generally favorable to Brazil (as you'd expect); when Jo went flying into the goalie with his spikes extended, he got away with only a yellow. But when Hulk used his mighty thews to knock down a ball in the offensive zone, preparatory to a scoring kick, I didn't expect the goal to be called back, let alone for him to get a yellow.
But basically all of the game, after Chile's equalizer, minus a couple brief forays upfield, was all Brazil hemming in their Spanish-speaking rivals. But the Chileans held on, all the way to the end of regulation and stoppage time. And then all through thirty minutes of extra time.
So it came down to penalty kicks. Things really looked bad when Ceasar blocked the first two from Chile. But the Chilean goalie stopped the second, and Hulk's shot in the fourth slot went over the net. When Neymar nailed the fifth for Brazil, Chile needed to score to stay alive into sudden-death.
And the ensuing kick was beautiful, curling in to the inside of the right side post. But it bounced out, curling around the far-size post and landing behind the goal line. I suspect it was only millimeters from going in. Such a disappointing finish for a really good game.
Uruguay's game against Colombia (the only one of the round I probably would have gotten wrong, if I'd done a bracket as planned) was a game of attractive, attacking soccer, with both teams attempting to break through via build-up. But almost all of the shots were very long ones, from outside the box.
One that was a little shorter came from James Rodriguez of Colombia in the 28th minute. He fired it off his right foot, on the half volley and right into the top of the net. And it was shot so hard that the goalie got his hand on, but it was barely even deflected, let alone stopped.
The only other goal of the game also came from Rodriguez, and it was also pretty, but because of the passing that led to it, not the shot itself. It was first crossed too high across the box, then crossed back to the far post, where it was headed into the middle, where Rodriguez was waiting.
Uruguay had a few chances, but they were largely outplayed. And Rodriguez was electric.
The Netherlands v Mexico was one of the games I was most looking forward to, in the round. And it was a build-up vs counterattack game, with the Dutch mostly sitting back. And getting pretty seriously outplayed; their counterattacks were basically nonexistent in the first half. I think RvP only touched the ball on one possession (for two touches) in the entire half.
Meanwhile, the Mexicans had a number of attacks that went all the way down to the endline but only managed a few shots off of them.
Offensively, the Dutch were mostly just playing back and forth, then trying to go over the top to connect with the offense. Their few forays downfield were down the sides, with no results.
Holland's only real chance in the first half was when Robben was taken down in stoppage time in the box, but no call resulted.
In the second half, Mexico finally broke through when Dos Santos pulled the ball down at the top of the box, in the middle, drifted to the side a little, and placed an innocent-looking shot into the bottom corner of the net.
In the seventy-fifth minute, there was an official water break, and the Dutch coach showed why he was selected. They abandoned their few attempts to build up, and went purely to the long ball.
That paid off in the 88th, when a cross in was headed out by a defender on the goal line, and the rebound went right to Sneijder, who put it into the left side of the net. And then it paid off again in stoppage time, when Robben got the ball in the box, and took a complete dive to get the penalty call.
Huntelaar took the shot from the spot (van Persie had already subbed out), and ended the game in a bit of an anticlimax.
It really looked like Mexico was going to pull off the upset, and that was a really terrible way for it to end. Very disappointing.
When Costa Rica and Greece faced off, I was feeling a little bit guilty. The Greeks had played some impressive (for almost completely lacking offense) soccer to get to that point, and I'd been cheering against the all the way. But Costa Rica had gotten there with some very impressive wins.
Ruiz scored first, for the Costa Ricans, with a shot from the top of the box that went into the side of the net. It was uncharacteristically terrible defense from the Greeks, who neglected to cover him.
But things looked really bad for the Western Hemisphere when Duarte was sent off with his second yellow card in the sixty-sixth minute.
From there, it was just waves of Greek attacks, crashing against the buttresses of the Puerto Rican defense. Every so often, one of the clearances would get to Campbell, and he'd attempt to make something out of it.
But it was a lot of defense for the Pura Vidans, and just as the commentator was saying how great they'd been, in stoppage time, the Greeks pulled down a ball bouncing around the attacking box, and Papastathopoulos put it past the goaltender.
That sent the game into extra time, with Puerto Rico still defending, down a man. They even managed a couple of close chances while defending, but the game went into penalty kicks. And my recording cut out a couple of minutes before that, so I didn't see Puerto Rico's 5-3 win there.
Not a good day for the Mediterranean.
The next day, things went a little better for Europe. I don't have any notes on the game, as I watched most of it in a restaurant. France beat Nigeria 2-0, but the game was much closer than that score indicates. It took France close to 80 minutes to score, and they allowed many, many chances the other way during that time. In fact, it looked like Nigeria scored, early on, but the offside flag was up (though on replay it looked like it should have counted).
All in all, France was the better team, and did deserve to win, but with a little bit of luck, Nigeria could have won. And the game itself was one of the better-played ones of the tournament, with less diving, and both teams attacking constantly. I would not have been even a little disappointed for it to go to extra time.
The late game, that day, had Germany versus Algeria, and the Algerian's definitely learned from the Americans game, and improved on the strategy. Germany's attack was very much side-to-side, while Algeria was straight-forward, going over the top to turn it into a footrace with the German defenders.
Algeria never scored that way, but they forced Neuer to come a long way out of his net to prevent some of those passes from connecting. Algeria definitely had, by far, the better of the play through the first half.
I'm not sure what the Germans changed at the half, but they did much better in the second half. In the first ten minutes of the second half, they forced several good saves out of the goaltender; I don't think they managed to do that once in the first half.
But Algeria kept coming at them, and kept getting good chances. Neuer was up to the challenge, mostly because he was so adept at reading the play, not because he was making such great saves.
Mueller probably would have scored in the 81st, if he'd been comfortable taking a shot with his left foot. But his great job bringing a long pass under control only left him space on his left side, and he still tried to shoot with his right; it was not close.
But neither team was able to capitalize in the first ninety, so it went into extra time again. Scoreless, instead of tied at one.
But it didn't stay scoreless long; the Algerians had already been looking tired, and allowed a goal less than two minutes in. Mueller made a nice run down the left side, and crossed in to Schuerrle just past the near post. Schuerrle slightly overran the ball, but managed to deflect it just enough with his trailing foot to send it in.
Algeria got a few more chances in extra time, but were unable to capitalize. And Germany got an insurance goal in the final minute, as Oezil and Schuerrle combined to pass back and forth several times, shedding defenders, before Oezil put the ball in. And my recording stopped just after the replay of that goal, so I missed Algeria scoring one to make it closer.
The final day had Argentina attacking Switzerland. Unfortunately, I missed the first eight minutes, but what I saw was Argentina attacking hard, both with and without the ball. Their aggressive defense resulted in Switzerland not holding on to the ball, and put them in good position on counterattacks.
Because of that, it took twenty-seven minutes for the Swiss to get their first chance (and only good one of the first half). Meanwhile, the Argentines had a number of chances, twice forcing the Swiss keeper to come out to stop crosses into the box.
In the second half, chances were a bit more even (and Argentine defense was a bit more passive). Di Maria did have one interesting run down the right hand side, but got to the end line and was unable to cross with his right. So he tried crossing his legs to center with his left; it didn't work, but was an interesting attempt.
Shaqiri was certainly doing everything in his power to push the Swiss to the next round, but despite his best efforts, I think Benaglio felt like he was in a shooting gallery. Thankfully for him, the Argentines put a lot of shots over or wide of the net.
So regulation ended scoreless again, and both teams looked really tired going into extra time. In particular, there were a lot of wild clearances from the defenses, with fewer passes to the midfield.
And all of that resulted in getting to the 118th minute without a goal. Then Messi made a run down the center, avoiding defenders, and passing outside from just above the box. The entire defense had collapsed on him, leaving di Maria with an open shot to the far side of the net, and he didn't miss.
The Swiss got very close three times in the remaining couple of minutes (Benaglio was even in the attacking box a couple of times, and looked useful there. And not just on their corner kick), but were unable to get closer than hitting the post from an in-close header (which bounced right back to the shooter, off his leg, and out of bounds). I really felt bad for the Swiss, coming so close.
The final game did not go so well for the Americans, as they faced off against Belgium. And basically, Belgium just ran over, around, and through them. In the first half, the Flemish were one of eighteen on crossing attempts. Good center defense to stop so many attempts; terrible outside defense to allow so many.
Howard certainly felt like he was facing a firing squad; he turned in the best goaltending performance of the tournament with sixteen saves. He got them all the way to extra time (and almost to winning, but Wondolowski was unable to put a ball headed to him in the last minute or two of regulation into the net with the goalie out of position. He kicked it over on the half volley from the inner box), but the Belgians kept attacking.
Origi was a beast during regulation, getting his first shot just forty seconds in and being a large part of the constant attack. He shot several of those crosses, and headed a couple more towards net. And had a couple other shots as well.
Fellaini was largely contained, due to Beckerman being benched and Cameron covering him. That helped a lot with breaking up those crosses, but it definitely hurt the American attack, as his passes were much less reliable.
But despite his yeomanlike work in the center, the US was just getting used on the outside. And that stayed the case all game.
But, as mentioned, the US managed to survive the barrage into extra time, but it took only two minutes for the Belgians to finally score. Lukaku, who came in for Origi at the beginning of extra time, charged down the right and crossed in to de Bruyne. He put several moves on the US defender, and finally got a clear shot from inside the box. Howard had his first moment of weakness, and was off-balance when the shot finally came.
It took another twelve minutes, and a couple more saves for Howard, before the Dutch struck again. And again, it was Lukaku leading the charge, this time down the left. And this time he just took it himself to very close, and was able to beat Howard to the near post.
I actually turned the game off at that point (I'd promised to take my daughter bike riding), so I missed Green's gorgeous goal a couple minutes later (at a sprint, on a full volley, he kicked a ball coming over his shoulder from behind, into the net. Give him ten more chances at that shot, and I'd be impressed if he could do it twice). A friend texted me, though, so I watched the last few minutes (we'd gotten delayed from the bike ride). But nothing more came of the last few minutes.
It was a disappointing end, but by no means was the loss undeserved (or unpredictable). Belgium will be a handful for Argentina. Perhaps it's just that the US isn't as good as their survival of the Group of Death would seem to indicate, but Belgium looked much better than they had in any of their earlier games (and they were one of two undefeated teams in the group stage. Part of that might have been starting Origi instead of having him on the bench).
Anyway, France plays Germany tomorrow in the first quarterfinal. Brazil will play Colombia later. Saturday will start with Argentina facing Belgium, followed by the Dutch facing Costa Rica. And as much as I've enjoyed watching Costa Rica, their magic runs out there.
I would pick Germany over France, but France has looked very good in this tournament. I haven't really noticed how much speed France has up top, but if they have that, they can certainly win.
Brazil and Colombia will be an interesting match. Rodriguez has been a match for Neymar so far, but the hosts have a much better supporting cast. Like Costa Rica, I can see this one being a blowout.
I think Argentina and Belgium will be the most fun game to watch. Neither team is particularly prone to diving, and both will be attacking with speed. I'm looking forward to it. I think the South Americans will win, but I wouldn't be surprised if it went 3-2 or 4-3.
Brazil beating Chile was certainly expected; when Neymar scored in the eighteenth minute, it seemed like a harbinger of more to come.
But when Chile stole the ball from the defense, fifteen minutes later, and promptly equalized, that was not at all expected.
The reffing seemed generally favorable to Brazil (as you'd expect); when Jo went flying into the goalie with his spikes extended, he got away with only a yellow. But when Hulk used his mighty thews to knock down a ball in the offensive zone, preparatory to a scoring kick, I didn't expect the goal to be called back, let alone for him to get a yellow.
But basically all of the game, after Chile's equalizer, minus a couple brief forays upfield, was all Brazil hemming in their Spanish-speaking rivals. But the Chileans held on, all the way to the end of regulation and stoppage time. And then all through thirty minutes of extra time.
So it came down to penalty kicks. Things really looked bad when Ceasar blocked the first two from Chile. But the Chilean goalie stopped the second, and Hulk's shot in the fourth slot went over the net. When Neymar nailed the fifth for Brazil, Chile needed to score to stay alive into sudden-death.
And the ensuing kick was beautiful, curling in to the inside of the right side post. But it bounced out, curling around the far-size post and landing behind the goal line. I suspect it was only millimeters from going in. Such a disappointing finish for a really good game.
Uruguay's game against Colombia (the only one of the round I probably would have gotten wrong, if I'd done a bracket as planned) was a game of attractive, attacking soccer, with both teams attempting to break through via build-up. But almost all of the shots were very long ones, from outside the box.
One that was a little shorter came from James Rodriguez of Colombia in the 28th minute. He fired it off his right foot, on the half volley and right into the top of the net. And it was shot so hard that the goalie got his hand on, but it was barely even deflected, let alone stopped.
The only other goal of the game also came from Rodriguez, and it was also pretty, but because of the passing that led to it, not the shot itself. It was first crossed too high across the box, then crossed back to the far post, where it was headed into the middle, where Rodriguez was waiting.
Uruguay had a few chances, but they were largely outplayed. And Rodriguez was electric.
The Netherlands v Mexico was one of the games I was most looking forward to, in the round. And it was a build-up vs counterattack game, with the Dutch mostly sitting back. And getting pretty seriously outplayed; their counterattacks were basically nonexistent in the first half. I think RvP only touched the ball on one possession (for two touches) in the entire half.
Meanwhile, the Mexicans had a number of attacks that went all the way down to the endline but only managed a few shots off of them.
Offensively, the Dutch were mostly just playing back and forth, then trying to go over the top to connect with the offense. Their few forays downfield were down the sides, with no results.
Holland's only real chance in the first half was when Robben was taken down in stoppage time in the box, but no call resulted.
In the second half, Mexico finally broke through when Dos Santos pulled the ball down at the top of the box, in the middle, drifted to the side a little, and placed an innocent-looking shot into the bottom corner of the net.
In the seventy-fifth minute, there was an official water break, and the Dutch coach showed why he was selected. They abandoned their few attempts to build up, and went purely to the long ball.
That paid off in the 88th, when a cross in was headed out by a defender on the goal line, and the rebound went right to Sneijder, who put it into the left side of the net. And then it paid off again in stoppage time, when Robben got the ball in the box, and took a complete dive to get the penalty call.
Huntelaar took the shot from the spot (van Persie had already subbed out), and ended the game in a bit of an anticlimax.
It really looked like Mexico was going to pull off the upset, and that was a really terrible way for it to end. Very disappointing.
When Costa Rica and Greece faced off, I was feeling a little bit guilty. The Greeks had played some impressive (for almost completely lacking offense) soccer to get to that point, and I'd been cheering against the all the way. But Costa Rica had gotten there with some very impressive wins.
Ruiz scored first, for the Costa Ricans, with a shot from the top of the box that went into the side of the net. It was uncharacteristically terrible defense from the Greeks, who neglected to cover him.
But things looked really bad for the Western Hemisphere when Duarte was sent off with his second yellow card in the sixty-sixth minute.
From there, it was just waves of Greek attacks, crashing against the buttresses of the Puerto Rican defense. Every so often, one of the clearances would get to Campbell, and he'd attempt to make something out of it.
But it was a lot of defense for the Pura Vidans, and just as the commentator was saying how great they'd been, in stoppage time, the Greeks pulled down a ball bouncing around the attacking box, and Papastathopoulos put it past the goaltender.
That sent the game into extra time, with Puerto Rico still defending, down a man. They even managed a couple of close chances while defending, but the game went into penalty kicks. And my recording cut out a couple of minutes before that, so I didn't see Puerto Rico's 5-3 win there.
Not a good day for the Mediterranean.
The next day, things went a little better for Europe. I don't have any notes on the game, as I watched most of it in a restaurant. France beat Nigeria 2-0, but the game was much closer than that score indicates. It took France close to 80 minutes to score, and they allowed many, many chances the other way during that time. In fact, it looked like Nigeria scored, early on, but the offside flag was up (though on replay it looked like it should have counted).
All in all, France was the better team, and did deserve to win, but with a little bit of luck, Nigeria could have won. And the game itself was one of the better-played ones of the tournament, with less diving, and both teams attacking constantly. I would not have been even a little disappointed for it to go to extra time.
The late game, that day, had Germany versus Algeria, and the Algerian's definitely learned from the Americans game, and improved on the strategy. Germany's attack was very much side-to-side, while Algeria was straight-forward, going over the top to turn it into a footrace with the German defenders.
Algeria never scored that way, but they forced Neuer to come a long way out of his net to prevent some of those passes from connecting. Algeria definitely had, by far, the better of the play through the first half.
I'm not sure what the Germans changed at the half, but they did much better in the second half. In the first ten minutes of the second half, they forced several good saves out of the goaltender; I don't think they managed to do that once in the first half.
But Algeria kept coming at them, and kept getting good chances. Neuer was up to the challenge, mostly because he was so adept at reading the play, not because he was making such great saves.
Mueller probably would have scored in the 81st, if he'd been comfortable taking a shot with his left foot. But his great job bringing a long pass under control only left him space on his left side, and he still tried to shoot with his right; it was not close.
But neither team was able to capitalize in the first ninety, so it went into extra time again. Scoreless, instead of tied at one.
But it didn't stay scoreless long; the Algerians had already been looking tired, and allowed a goal less than two minutes in. Mueller made a nice run down the left side, and crossed in to Schuerrle just past the near post. Schuerrle slightly overran the ball, but managed to deflect it just enough with his trailing foot to send it in.
Algeria got a few more chances in extra time, but were unable to capitalize. And Germany got an insurance goal in the final minute, as Oezil and Schuerrle combined to pass back and forth several times, shedding defenders, before Oezil put the ball in. And my recording stopped just after the replay of that goal, so I missed Algeria scoring one to make it closer.
The final day had Argentina attacking Switzerland. Unfortunately, I missed the first eight minutes, but what I saw was Argentina attacking hard, both with and without the ball. Their aggressive defense resulted in Switzerland not holding on to the ball, and put them in good position on counterattacks.
Because of that, it took twenty-seven minutes for the Swiss to get their first chance (and only good one of the first half). Meanwhile, the Argentines had a number of chances, twice forcing the Swiss keeper to come out to stop crosses into the box.
In the second half, chances were a bit more even (and Argentine defense was a bit more passive). Di Maria did have one interesting run down the right hand side, but got to the end line and was unable to cross with his right. So he tried crossing his legs to center with his left; it didn't work, but was an interesting attempt.
Shaqiri was certainly doing everything in his power to push the Swiss to the next round, but despite his best efforts, I think Benaglio felt like he was in a shooting gallery. Thankfully for him, the Argentines put a lot of shots over or wide of the net.
So regulation ended scoreless again, and both teams looked really tired going into extra time. In particular, there were a lot of wild clearances from the defenses, with fewer passes to the midfield.
And all of that resulted in getting to the 118th minute without a goal. Then Messi made a run down the center, avoiding defenders, and passing outside from just above the box. The entire defense had collapsed on him, leaving di Maria with an open shot to the far side of the net, and he didn't miss.
The Swiss got very close three times in the remaining couple of minutes (Benaglio was even in the attacking box a couple of times, and looked useful there. And not just on their corner kick), but were unable to get closer than hitting the post from an in-close header (which bounced right back to the shooter, off his leg, and out of bounds). I really felt bad for the Swiss, coming so close.
The final game did not go so well for the Americans, as they faced off against Belgium. And basically, Belgium just ran over, around, and through them. In the first half, the Flemish were one of eighteen on crossing attempts. Good center defense to stop so many attempts; terrible outside defense to allow so many.
Howard certainly felt like he was facing a firing squad; he turned in the best goaltending performance of the tournament with sixteen saves. He got them all the way to extra time (and almost to winning, but Wondolowski was unable to put a ball headed to him in the last minute or two of regulation into the net with the goalie out of position. He kicked it over on the half volley from the inner box), but the Belgians kept attacking.
Origi was a beast during regulation, getting his first shot just forty seconds in and being a large part of the constant attack. He shot several of those crosses, and headed a couple more towards net. And had a couple other shots as well.
Fellaini was largely contained, due to Beckerman being benched and Cameron covering him. That helped a lot with breaking up those crosses, but it definitely hurt the American attack, as his passes were much less reliable.
But despite his yeomanlike work in the center, the US was just getting used on the outside. And that stayed the case all game.
But, as mentioned, the US managed to survive the barrage into extra time, but it took only two minutes for the Belgians to finally score. Lukaku, who came in for Origi at the beginning of extra time, charged down the right and crossed in to de Bruyne. He put several moves on the US defender, and finally got a clear shot from inside the box. Howard had his first moment of weakness, and was off-balance when the shot finally came.
It took another twelve minutes, and a couple more saves for Howard, before the Dutch struck again. And again, it was Lukaku leading the charge, this time down the left. And this time he just took it himself to very close, and was able to beat Howard to the near post.
I actually turned the game off at that point (I'd promised to take my daughter bike riding), so I missed Green's gorgeous goal a couple minutes later (at a sprint, on a full volley, he kicked a ball coming over his shoulder from behind, into the net. Give him ten more chances at that shot, and I'd be impressed if he could do it twice). A friend texted me, though, so I watched the last few minutes (we'd gotten delayed from the bike ride). But nothing more came of the last few minutes.
It was a disappointing end, but by no means was the loss undeserved (or unpredictable). Belgium will be a handful for Argentina. Perhaps it's just that the US isn't as good as their survival of the Group of Death would seem to indicate, but Belgium looked much better than they had in any of their earlier games (and they were one of two undefeated teams in the group stage. Part of that might have been starting Origi instead of having him on the bench).
Anyway, France plays Germany tomorrow in the first quarterfinal. Brazil will play Colombia later. Saturday will start with Argentina facing Belgium, followed by the Dutch facing Costa Rica. And as much as I've enjoyed watching Costa Rica, their magic runs out there.
I would pick Germany over France, but France has looked very good in this tournament. I haven't really noticed how much speed France has up top, but if they have that, they can certainly win.
Brazil and Colombia will be an interesting match. Rodriguez has been a match for Neymar so far, but the hosts have a much better supporting cast. Like Costa Rica, I can see this one being a blowout.
I think Argentina and Belgium will be the most fun game to watch. Neither team is particularly prone to diving, and both will be attacking with speed. I'm looking forward to it. I think the South Americans will win, but I wouldn't be surprised if it went 3-2 or 4-3.
20140625
Group B resolution
On Monday, the World Cup went into the final round of games in the round robin. Due to collusive results in earlier world cups, the two final games in each pool are now played as close to simultaneous as possible.
So it's impossible to watch all games live from this round (pity), but the plus side is that there are only two kickoff times per day, rather than the three to four seen previously.
The first, oddly, was Group B, where Spain and Australia had already been eliminated, and the Dutch and Chileans were fighting to win the group. Since it was the only game that mattered, I opted for the Netherlands/Chile match-up.
Early on, the Dutch seemed content to let the South Americans keep the ball, and weren't even pressuring them until they crossed midfield. I guess that was an attempt to draw them in and open up counterattacks (or maybe a sign that the Dutch didn't care much about the result and didn't want to tire themselves out; also a possibility).
Whatever the reason, it made for a fairly boring game, with the first scoring chance I wrote down coming in the 39th minute. That was off a nice run by Robben, coming down just left of center by himself, but finally pushing the shot wide.
I think I must have not been paying really close attention, because that's the only scoring attempt I noted in the first half. And I don't have any for the first half-hour of the second half, although I did note that the midfield was contested much more tightly, by both sides, in the second half. To the point that there was an immense amount of contact between players.
The Dutch finally opened the scoring in the 77th minute, with an interesting corner kick strategy. They played it straight back from the corner, then centered it from further back, and won the ball in the air just at the far side of the net. The goalie, of course, had no chance at it.
That pushed the Chileans to desperation, and they opened up a bit, allowing some Dutch chances, but I had to turn the game off (around the 88th minute) before the Dutch scored a second time.
Though it didn't really matter, the Spanish crushed the Aussies 3-0 in the other game, salvaging a little bit of their pride.
So it's impossible to watch all games live from this round (pity), but the plus side is that there are only two kickoff times per day, rather than the three to four seen previously.
The first, oddly, was Group B, where Spain and Australia had already been eliminated, and the Dutch and Chileans were fighting to win the group. Since it was the only game that mattered, I opted for the Netherlands/Chile match-up.
Early on, the Dutch seemed content to let the South Americans keep the ball, and weren't even pressuring them until they crossed midfield. I guess that was an attempt to draw them in and open up counterattacks (or maybe a sign that the Dutch didn't care much about the result and didn't want to tire themselves out; also a possibility).
Whatever the reason, it made for a fairly boring game, with the first scoring chance I wrote down coming in the 39th minute. That was off a nice run by Robben, coming down just left of center by himself, but finally pushing the shot wide.
I think I must have not been paying really close attention, because that's the only scoring attempt I noted in the first half. And I don't have any for the first half-hour of the second half, although I did note that the midfield was contested much more tightly, by both sides, in the second half. To the point that there was an immense amount of contact between players.
The Dutch finally opened the scoring in the 77th minute, with an interesting corner kick strategy. They played it straight back from the corner, then centered it from further back, and won the ball in the air just at the far side of the net. The goalie, of course, had no chance at it.
That pushed the Chileans to desperation, and they opened up a bit, allowing some Dutch chances, but I had to turn the game off (around the 88th minute) before the Dutch scored a second time.
Though it didn't really matter, the Spanish crushed the Aussies 3-0 in the other game, salvaging a little bit of their pride.
20140619
Aussie can?
Yesterday's game between Australia and the Netherlands was very interesting. It didn't appear likely to be; it looked like the Dutch would hold the ball, and hold the ball, and hold the ball, and the Aussies (pronounced "ozzies", I just found out) would get crushed.
But for the first seventeen minutes, not only were the Aussies not crushed, but they were actually dominating. In that time, the Orange only got within striking distance of the goal once, where Robben had a rare bad touch to kill the chance. But mostly the Aussies had the ball, and they were working it down and occasionally threatening. And when the Dutch had it, the Aussies forced them off the ball quickly.
Nothing dramatic happened in the 17th, but possession started evening out quite a bit, then.
And it only took until the twentieth minute for the Dutch to score, on a play that was almost all Robben. He took the ball around midfield, and ran it all the way down, shaded a bit towards the left side, and didn't let a defender get in his way. When he got within about eight yards, he shot it across to the far side, and the goalie couldn't react in time.
But it took less than ten seconds from the ensuing kickoff for Australia to equalize. The kickoff was put across to the right side, only a little downfield, and a serve was put into the box on the far side, about ten yards from the touch line. Cahill took the serve and, on the full volley, hammered it into the crossbar where it deflected down into the goal. A solid contender for goal of the tournament; the only competitor, so far, is van Persie's header in the opener.
From there, the Dutch continued to mostly control possession (it was up to 51% netherlands by the 25th minute), but it wasn't like the Aussies were helpless. One thing I did wonder about was the non-calls against McGowan on Australian throw-ins on the right side. Every single one (save the one that only went ~5 yds) had serious spin on it, but no call.
But that was how play went for quite a long while. The deadlock, though, was actually broken by Australia; an Aussie shot was blocked by a Dutch hand in the box. I was surprised the call was made, however, as the hand was behind the player's back, and he seemed to be trying to raise it out of the way when contact was made. But the call was made, and Jedinak was the seventh in a row to convert a PK at this World Cup.
But Australia's advantage didn't last long, either, as van Persie snuck behind the defense (not sure if it was a failed offside trap, but two forwards were allowed behind), and had time to corral the ball and kick it past the keeper.
From there, the Dutch had a very solid advantage in play, but nine minutes later, the Aussies had a great chance. Bad Dutch turnover in the box, two forwards vs one defender, they made the correct play, but the goaltender stopped the shot (the placement of the pass across wasn't good; the shot was a deflection off the chest).
The Dutch then counterattacked, and Memphis put a wild shot past the goalkeeper down under. It was just a long, hard, curving shot that bounced (with a lot of top-spin) through the 'tender's hands and in.
And with that, went Australia's chances of winning and having a chance to move on. They played out the string, but they didn't even seriously threaten after that.
It was a bit of a downer for what had been a rousing game up to that point.
So the Dutch move on, the Aussies don't, and van Persie and Cahill will both miss the third game from accumulated yellow cards. I think the Dutch don't mind that, as it guarantees his availability for the knock-out, but the Wallabees will miss Cahill's presence as they play Spain for pride.
But for the first seventeen minutes, not only were the Aussies not crushed, but they were actually dominating. In that time, the Orange only got within striking distance of the goal once, where Robben had a rare bad touch to kill the chance. But mostly the Aussies had the ball, and they were working it down and occasionally threatening. And when the Dutch had it, the Aussies forced them off the ball quickly.
Nothing dramatic happened in the 17th, but possession started evening out quite a bit, then.
And it only took until the twentieth minute for the Dutch to score, on a play that was almost all Robben. He took the ball around midfield, and ran it all the way down, shaded a bit towards the left side, and didn't let a defender get in his way. When he got within about eight yards, he shot it across to the far side, and the goalie couldn't react in time.
But it took less than ten seconds from the ensuing kickoff for Australia to equalize. The kickoff was put across to the right side, only a little downfield, and a serve was put into the box on the far side, about ten yards from the touch line. Cahill took the serve and, on the full volley, hammered it into the crossbar where it deflected down into the goal. A solid contender for goal of the tournament; the only competitor, so far, is van Persie's header in the opener.
From there, the Dutch continued to mostly control possession (it was up to 51% netherlands by the 25th minute), but it wasn't like the Aussies were helpless. One thing I did wonder about was the non-calls against McGowan on Australian throw-ins on the right side. Every single one (save the one that only went ~5 yds) had serious spin on it, but no call.
But that was how play went for quite a long while. The deadlock, though, was actually broken by Australia; an Aussie shot was blocked by a Dutch hand in the box. I was surprised the call was made, however, as the hand was behind the player's back, and he seemed to be trying to raise it out of the way when contact was made. But the call was made, and Jedinak was the seventh in a row to convert a PK at this World Cup.
But Australia's advantage didn't last long, either, as van Persie snuck behind the defense (not sure if it was a failed offside trap, but two forwards were allowed behind), and had time to corral the ball and kick it past the keeper.
From there, the Dutch had a very solid advantage in play, but nine minutes later, the Aussies had a great chance. Bad Dutch turnover in the box, two forwards vs one defender, they made the correct play, but the goaltender stopped the shot (the placement of the pass across wasn't good; the shot was a deflection off the chest).
The Dutch then counterattacked, and Memphis put a wild shot past the goalkeeper down under. It was just a long, hard, curving shot that bounced (with a lot of top-spin) through the 'tender's hands and in.
And with that, went Australia's chances of winning and having a chance to move on. They played out the string, but they didn't even seriously threaten after that.
It was a bit of a downer for what had been a rousing game up to that point.
So the Dutch move on, the Aussies don't, and van Persie and Cahill will both miss the third game from accumulated yellow cards. I think the Dutch don't mind that, as it guarantees his availability for the knock-out, but the Wallabees will miss Cahill's presence as they play Spain for pride.
20140614
Demolition men
I watched all of the second game, although I saw the first hour of it quite a few hours before seeing the last half hour.
It started out like a deadly-serious chess match between two teams that were both out to win the game one-nil. And for that time, Spain looked like the better team; they were possessing the ball more and doing more with it when they had it. But what was interesting was just how clogged the middle of the field was; both teams were heavily pressuring the ball to force turnovers.
They managed to get the ball behind all but one defender twice; the first of those resulted in a ball out of bounds as that one defender blocked the pass across. I think the other resulted in a goal kick when Spain missed the net. Between those two, they did manage to take the lead on a penalty kick following a pretty-bad call in the box. Knowing what both teams were playing for, I thought about tweeting, "Game over?" after that, but was glad I didn't.
And that's because, after that, the Dutch started to come back, slowly. They only really got close to the goal once, but started to hold the ball a lot more and work it down a bit.
That one time close, however, came when one of the midfields, near the sideline and just inside the attacking half, saw van Persie make a run toward the net and lofted it towards the box. van Persie had to wait for it to get there, but he had lots of time (I'm not sure what the goalie was doing, but I suspect he couldn't make up his mind whether to come out to challenge the pass or to wait for the shot) and calmly lofted it (from a hair inside the 17-yard line) over the goalie and into the net. That was in the forty-fifth minute, and that considered tweet was already looking ill-considered.
Things seemed to stay about the same with the start of the second half, with a lot of pressure, Spain mostly looking better, and not much really happening. But about ten minutes in, Robben was found making a run across the middle. The ball came down in front of him, as he was running, but he corralled it with one foot, and pulled it back toward the middle, giving himself a little space from the two defenders on him. He got half a step, and pounded it into the net, with a slight deflection from one of the defenders.
And from there, it was almost all the Netherlands. They had a couple more chances (including van Persie putting a hard shot across off the crossbar right at the sixty-minute mark) before they started finding the net again.
Four minutes later, van Persie got the goalie's attention on a cross into the box. The ball sailed over both, into de Vrij's head and then one of his feet, finally going into the net at de Vrij hit the post.
A minute or two after it became three-nil, Spain's last real chance came, and it ended with David Villa putting it into the net. Unfortunately, he was called off-sides, and that was the end of the game seeming competitive.
Seven minutes after de Vrij's goal, van Persie scored again, and Robben finished the scoring eight minutes later on a very long and impressive run, that ended with him running the goalie to ground and calmly slotting it into the net.
That might have been the end of the scoring, but the Dutch had several more chances before the end (including at least one where the goalie went down, but they couldn't put the shot on net).
It ended in utter annihilation of Spain, and made you wonder if it is the end of Spain's dominance on the international level. My suspicion is that it is, although I still see Spain as competitive for a while longer (perhaps until the next World Cup). I certainly don't see Iker Casillas getting much more (if any) chance in goal. We'll see, I guess.
And the Dutch, of course, are flying as high as they can. We'll see how that carries over into their play in the next game.
It started out like a deadly-serious chess match between two teams that were both out to win the game one-nil. And for that time, Spain looked like the better team; they were possessing the ball more and doing more with it when they had it. But what was interesting was just how clogged the middle of the field was; both teams were heavily pressuring the ball to force turnovers.
They managed to get the ball behind all but one defender twice; the first of those resulted in a ball out of bounds as that one defender blocked the pass across. I think the other resulted in a goal kick when Spain missed the net. Between those two, they did manage to take the lead on a penalty kick following a pretty-bad call in the box. Knowing what both teams were playing for, I thought about tweeting, "Game over?" after that, but was glad I didn't.
And that's because, after that, the Dutch started to come back, slowly. They only really got close to the goal once, but started to hold the ball a lot more and work it down a bit.
That one time close, however, came when one of the midfields, near the sideline and just inside the attacking half, saw van Persie make a run toward the net and lofted it towards the box. van Persie had to wait for it to get there, but he had lots of time (I'm not sure what the goalie was doing, but I suspect he couldn't make up his mind whether to come out to challenge the pass or to wait for the shot) and calmly lofted it (from a hair inside the 17-yard line) over the goalie and into the net. That was in the forty-fifth minute, and that considered tweet was already looking ill-considered.
Things seemed to stay about the same with the start of the second half, with a lot of pressure, Spain mostly looking better, and not much really happening. But about ten minutes in, Robben was found making a run across the middle. The ball came down in front of him, as he was running, but he corralled it with one foot, and pulled it back toward the middle, giving himself a little space from the two defenders on him. He got half a step, and pounded it into the net, with a slight deflection from one of the defenders.
And from there, it was almost all the Netherlands. They had a couple more chances (including van Persie putting a hard shot across off the crossbar right at the sixty-minute mark) before they started finding the net again.
Four minutes later, van Persie got the goalie's attention on a cross into the box. The ball sailed over both, into de Vrij's head and then one of his feet, finally going into the net at de Vrij hit the post.
A minute or two after it became three-nil, Spain's last real chance came, and it ended with David Villa putting it into the net. Unfortunately, he was called off-sides, and that was the end of the game seeming competitive.
Seven minutes after de Vrij's goal, van Persie scored again, and Robben finished the scoring eight minutes later on a very long and impressive run, that ended with him running the goalie to ground and calmly slotting it into the net.
That might have been the end of the scoring, but the Dutch had several more chances before the end (including at least one where the goalie went down, but they couldn't put the shot on net).
It ended in utter annihilation of Spain, and made you wonder if it is the end of Spain's dominance on the international level. My suspicion is that it is, although I still see Spain as competitive for a while longer (perhaps until the next World Cup). I certainly don't see Iker Casillas getting much more (if any) chance in goal. We'll see, I guess.
And the Dutch, of course, are flying as high as they can. We'll see how that carries over into their play in the next game.
20100703
Finishing the Quarters
Another crazy day. The Germany-Argentina match, which I expected to be pretty wild, was actually quite tame. The Germans just put on a clinic, absolutely dismantling the Argentines. Klose got two goals, though he was far from being the most important player. Mueller and Oezil were again beasts. And Schweinsteiger, who I've been generally unimpressed with, even had a beautiful play to set up Friedrich for the third goal (he also assisted on Mueller's goal, though I can't say as he did anything special for that one).
Give credit to the Germans for playing fabulous defense, but Argentina just did not look like the same team that was romping through the tournament up to this point. They didn't appear to be enjoying playing (of course, giving up a goal three minutes in wouldn't help that), and had very few good passing sequences. Messi was his usual brilliant self, except that he didn't have his shot today (kind of like Podolsky in the Serbia game); I don't think he managed a shot on goal among the many he tried. He also didn't really have any help; nobody else had even a decent game for the Albiceleste.
Paraguay and Spain, on the other hand, was of a piece with yesterday's games. Two penalty kicks (one for each side) within a couple of minutes of each other. After one got called back for offsides, both were saved.
And Spain finally scored in the 80th or so minute when Paraguay was just too tired to maintain the pressure they'd applied up to that point. And even then it took a ball caroming off a post right to David Villa and him just barely putting it in (hitting one post and bouncing off to hit the inside of the other post.
While I expected Spain to win, I was still quite disappointed. Paraguay gave it their all, and really took Spain off its stride. They almost managed the upset, not being helped by a goal being disallowed on a very questionable offsides call.
Spain only got into their game after the goal was finally scored. They couldn't manage another goal, but their passes started connecting consistently. At that point, they looked very, very good. Their game against Germany will be very interesting, and Germany will definitely miss Mueller.
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that the Dutch are really screwed going forward. Right now, they're going to be missing two starters against Uruguay, and have eight players carrying yellow cards forward. Especially given how physical a team they are, if they do get by Uruguay (and I think they will, especially with Uruguay missing Suarez and Fucile), they're likely to be missing multiple players in the final.
Germany will also need to be careful, they're carrying six now. Uruguay and Spain, on the other hand, are generally ok, carrying only seven between the two.
It used to be (and I'm not sure when it changed) that yellow cards reset after the group stage. I wish they'd go back to that; the carryover makes it really hard to maintain tough defense over so many games.
Anyway, I had Netherlands and Argentina winning the next round, originally. Argentina being out, I'm going to go with Germany winning their game. Spain's definitely got the talent (heck, they've got the talent to win by a bunch), but they haven't been playing up to their talent so far. I imagine that Germany will look at the pressure that Paraguay applied, and see how well it worked, and try to do the same.
Give credit to the Germans for playing fabulous defense, but Argentina just did not look like the same team that was romping through the tournament up to this point. They didn't appear to be enjoying playing (of course, giving up a goal three minutes in wouldn't help that), and had very few good passing sequences. Messi was his usual brilliant self, except that he didn't have his shot today (kind of like Podolsky in the Serbia game); I don't think he managed a shot on goal among the many he tried. He also didn't really have any help; nobody else had even a decent game for the Albiceleste.
Paraguay and Spain, on the other hand, was of a piece with yesterday's games. Two penalty kicks (one for each side) within a couple of minutes of each other. After one got called back for offsides, both were saved.
And Spain finally scored in the 80th or so minute when Paraguay was just too tired to maintain the pressure they'd applied up to that point. And even then it took a ball caroming off a post right to David Villa and him just barely putting it in (hitting one post and bouncing off to hit the inside of the other post.
While I expected Spain to win, I was still quite disappointed. Paraguay gave it their all, and really took Spain off its stride. They almost managed the upset, not being helped by a goal being disallowed on a very questionable offsides call.
Spain only got into their game after the goal was finally scored. They couldn't manage another goal, but their passes started connecting consistently. At that point, they looked very, very good. Their game against Germany will be very interesting, and Germany will definitely miss Mueller.
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that the Dutch are really screwed going forward. Right now, they're going to be missing two starters against Uruguay, and have eight players carrying yellow cards forward. Especially given how physical a team they are, if they do get by Uruguay (and I think they will, especially with Uruguay missing Suarez and Fucile), they're likely to be missing multiple players in the final.
Germany will also need to be careful, they're carrying six now. Uruguay and Spain, on the other hand, are generally ok, carrying only seven between the two.
It used to be (and I'm not sure when it changed) that yellow cards reset after the group stage. I wish they'd go back to that; the carryover makes it really hard to maintain tough defense over so many games.
Anyway, I had Netherlands and Argentina winning the next round, originally. Argentina being out, I'm going to go with Germany winning their game. Spain's definitely got the talent (heck, they've got the talent to win by a bunch), but they haven't been playing up to their talent so far. I imagine that Germany will look at the pressure that Paraguay applied, and see how well it worked, and try to do the same.
20090710
What's the big deal?
Picture 8 in this montage shows a picture of a cow mowed into a field, noting that cows this year spent more time outside than in.
I have to wonder why that's significant. Keeping cows mostly indoors seems a bit... weird.
Maybe it's typical for factory farms?
I have to wonder why that's significant. Keeping cows mostly indoors seems a bit... weird.
Maybe it's typical for factory farms?
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