Snore Fest

Antolin Alcaraz has been the best centre half or central defender (depending on your terminology) at this world Cup.

Again, he was immense.

After a great season with Benfica, Oscar Cardozo scored the winning penalty as Paraguay won 5-3 on spot kicks after a BORING 0-0 draw in regulation.

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I have nothing else to say about this game.  If you do, please comment.

This is the second 0-0 draw Paraguay have subjected us to at this tournament.  Hopefully Spain will put them and us out of their misery in the Quarters.

Japan have done very well to get this far.  Shame they could not breach the South American's defence.

Paraguay 0 - 0 Japan.  Paraguay win 5-3 on penalties.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/highlights/video/video=1263759/index.html

Holland ease past Slovaks

Don't look now but Holland have quietly gone about winning four games in a row.  Not even Brazil and Spain have managed that.  Only Argentina have a 100% record.

I don't think they have ever gotten out of third gear or even second gear.  Yet they have looked comfortable and sit in a mouthwatering Quarterfinal match against Brazil.

I think their best game so far was this win over Slovakia. Their passing seems more controlled and their movement more rhythmic.

After Sneijder's second goal, it looked like a rout was imminent but Slovakia steadied things.

Speaking of Slovakia, I think they have outdone themselves.  Remember how I said they would make it our of the group stages and may have perhaps done better against some of the other teams in the round of 16.  Potentially, a match against Japan may have been more encouraging.

Still they have acquitted themselves well.  There is no shame in losing out to Holland, one of my favourites for the final.

Robert Vittek scored their only goal from a penalty after he was felled in the box.  He now has four goals and will lead the race for the golden boot till the next round when David Villa or Luis Fabiano will take over from him.

Arjen Robben made a triumphant return to the starting lineup but his goal aside, did little, in my opinion.  I reckon Gilberto Silva will track his runs inside from the right flank and his options will be limited.

Holland 2 - 1 Slovakia

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/highlights/video/video=1262589/index.html

Points to Ponder

Funny how things come full circle sometimes:

Brazil are playing like Germany of old, while Germany are playing like Brazil replete with 3 forwards - jogo bonito, anyone ?

Is Maicon v Giovanni Van Bronckhorst the biggest test for the marauding right back ?  And perhaps the only time so far he's had someone to contend with on that side ?  Can't wait.

Argentina, for all their attacking brilliance, are carrying a massive hole in the region just in front of their defence.  Mexico almost colonised it in their match.

Antolin Alcaraz has been the best central defender at the world cup so far, will he keep Villa quiet ?  Have Wigan beaten Arsene at his own game by getting him from Club Brugge ?

Spain have no left back and are now without a second striker.  Costly ?  Does Del Bosque not like Fab ?

Gilberto walks into the Brazil team which by all accounts is quite good and he more than holds his own.  However he could not make it into Arsenal's team.  What does that say about Arsenal and the Premiership ?

Finally, if Uruguay and Brazil get through their QFs will the former exact revenge for their 07 Copa Semi elimination on penalties ?

Effective, so un-Brazilian

Every World Cup, Brazil are one of the favourites.

Same at this one.

However, Brazil have looked functional without impressing terribly, the demolition of Ivory Coast apart.  I figured that eventually someone will knock them out when Brazil are unable to invent something out of nothing.

After watching them systematically annihilate Chile, I am not so sure anymore.

Kaka was back and they looked really really good.  Passing, moving, working to shift Chile's shape constantly.  Like a methodical version of Brazil.

There, I said it.  2010 Brazil have been playing like a methodical version of 2010 Germany.  And 2010 Germany have been playing like a fluid version of 2010 Brazil.  Bizzaro world indeed.

Anyway, coming back to the game.  I expected Chile to give Brazil a game.  They are well organized, crafty and very good at moving teams around.  They made no impact what so ever.  Brazil did to them what Chile have done to other teams.  Still, a decent World Cup for them, Chile have been brave and refreshing.

With Kaka pulling the strings to such harmonic effect, it seemed inevitable that Brazil would score.  And score they did, at regular intervals, with Luis Fabiano, Juan and Robinho all tallying.

Game over.  Dunga's stamp is complete.  Brazil look the real deal.

Maicon versus Giovanni van Bronkhorst should be a cracker when Brazil take on Holland in the quarter finals.  Methodical versus flair.  Guess which one is Brazil ?

I can't wait.

Brazil 3 - 0 Chile

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/highlights/video/video=1262901/index.html

End to End Attack

I really wanted Mexico to do well at this World Cup.

Other than Brazil, England and Germany, they are the only team to make it out of the group stage at each of the last four World Cups.  When you consider that Holland, France (twice), Italy and Spain are absent from the group and that Mexico's players mostly play outside Europe, it's a very impressive statistic.

However, they got sucker punched by Argentina.

After roaring out of the gates, with Carlos Salcido rattling the crossbar early from long distance, they conceded a clearly offside goal.  Then, Ricardo Osorio had a brain freeze and gave the ball away and Mexico were two goals down.  Game pretty much over.

To their credit though Mexico kept fighting.  Argentina scored a proper goal eventually with Carlos Tevez rifling in a majestic shot form outside the box.  Still Mexico kept at it and eventually scored a great consolation through Javi Hernandez.

The offside goal was yet another dark spot on officiating at the World Cup, but in order to not sound like a stuck record, I'll just move on.  FIFA is stupid.  Deal with it.

To me, this was one of the best games so far.  Both teams kept going at it till the end, although Argentina took their foot off the gas a bit towards the end.  Relentless, irrepressive attack.

I thought Argentina looked good going forward but a bit dodgy in midfield.  Their destroyers had an off night but with Nicolas Otamendi impersonating a wall behind them, barely anything sneaked through.

Argentina's attack is firing on all six cylinders with Lionel Messi still to come to the party.  He did everything BUT score.  He should eventually pick it up against the bigger teams.  Tevez and Otamendi are their star performers though, consistent, spinal and completely composed.

I cannot wait to see Germany take Argentina on.

Argentina 3 - 1 Mexico

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/highlights/video/video=1261773/index.html

Ze Germans, Yoda and FIFA's poverty

You don't have to be penniless to be poor.  Stubborn ignorance often works just as well.

 

1 - That goal should have stood.  Shame on the officials and FIFA for not being able or capable to spot and rectify this.

2 - It would have made no difference.

Germany were rampant, a runaway freight train.

They passed with menace, moved with intent and finished with panache.  Right from the first game against Australia, whom everyone wrote off as garbage, but who then almost made it through to the second round themselves, Germany have shown a fluidity not seen since Holland at Euro 2008.

Young, vibrant and pacy, their movement both on and off the ball rips opponents to shreds.  They always seem to have an extra man and don't waste time with sideways passes.  

They get the ball and immediately look to move forward.  The man on the ball runs with the ball and looks to pass in forward triangles.  Two or more men off the ball are always running towards the opposing goal.  This movement either moves defenders out of position, giving the man on the ball, time and space, to continue his run with the ball.  Or they ignore the runners and try to close down the man on the ball.  If so, he passes off to the other players running around him and the move repeats, closer to goal.

It's simply really, but executed so fast and with such synchronicity that most teams cannot cope.

England definitely had no answer.  Except for a five minute spell leading up to, and after their first goal, through a header by Matthew Upson, England were outclassed.

Yoda could have told you.

Movement creates space.  Space creates passes.  Passes create chances. Chances create goals.

So either you create chances or you prevent the opposition from creating chances (Mourinho, et al).  If you do either one of the two, you stand a good chance of winning.  Do neither and you will lose.

England couldn't do the first and didn't do the second.  Germany opened them up at will and could have scored more.  England looked out of it right after Lukas Podolski's goal, the second of the match, to put Germany up 2-0.

People will claim, it was unfair, a one off, or wonder how far this team has fallen.  I ask you this.  Were England ever any good ?  These players are above average, with Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney capable of occasional glimpses of world class form.  But overall they are one dimensional, un-inventive workmen who flourish in a one dimensional league, players who cannot perform outside their comfort zones, who over achieve for club but care little for country.

More importantly they lack a system and the desire to invent the game.

Football is about simple things and doing them well.

Germany, revamped with youth, possess both the desire and ability.  And they do the simple things well.  Pass, move. pass, move, shoot. Repeat.

Their front six of Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller interchanged at will, running at the defence and finding each other almost telepathically.  The fact that the latter three are recent additions from the U21 team make it even more impressive.  Allayed to this are the usual German qualities of work rate, concentration and effort.  It's an almost unbeatable combination.

This game made a compelling case for video technology.

But Germany laid down another marker.  No one looks as fluid as them.  They may not win the World Cup, but have been one of the best teams so far.

England, predictably, are out way before the big games.

Germany 4 - 1 England

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/highlights/video/video=1261437/index.html

Ghana and USA put on a show

This game was mostly poor on quality but somehow intriguing.  Few games were more entertaining while being littered with bad play.

Ghana kept up the African continent's interest in the tournament with an entertaining win over USA.

I felt the game itself was not very high on quality with errant passing, too much scrappy play in the middle of the park and regulation giveaways.

That it took a goal of sheer invention and quality to decide it goes to show just how crazy and unpredictable football can be.

Kevin Prince-Boateng gave the Africans an early lead with a well taken goal.  USA seemed to be dozing and Ghana looked up for it.  But then it petered out.

Ghana had the most of the game with better possession and attacks that looked promising.  However, just as their group games showed, they were unable to step up from getting the ball in good positions in and around the box to potential chances.

So, the build up play was good, but chances were not created. And then the USA would take over.  The Americans would repeat the Ghanaian buildup at the other end with little end product.

You just knew the game was going to end a tepid uninspiring 1-0.  Despite the possession the Americans matched Ghana very well.

And so it continued.  The suddenly, USA had a penalty.  Jonathan Mensah, not John Mensah (who was also, confusingly on the pitch at the time), hauled over Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan converted the spot kick.

Game on.

The game lit up now with both teams deciding to go for the jugular instead of holding back. So much for new world football being tactically behind European football.

Extra time beckoned and as we were hoping for this contest to not go to penalties, Ghana struck again.

Andrew Ayew looped a long ball over the USA defence.  Asamoah Gyan cut in, controlled it beautifully and sent it into the roof of the net.  Not quite the hammer blow of a golden goal, but game, set and match.

USA defender Carlos Bocanegra was caught looking at the heavens to try and locate the ball as Gyan had it under control and had put some daylight between them.  The finish was superlative and no less than Ghana deserved.

Despite the majority of the game being slightly ugly to watch, the finish was of the best quality and Ghana would move on.

USA were out, but can hold their heads high after a great tournament for them in which they held their own against European teams, topped their group and looked a genuine threat.  They will return, stronger and more confident, in four years.  Donovan is definitely worthy of a place in the top echelons of forwards int eh game today.

Ghana 2 - 1 USA

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/highlights/video/video=1260909/index.html

Karma and quiet momentum

There is much to be said for building quiet momentum.

In their first game against France, Uruguay were absolute garbage.  I don't recall them stringing together more than 3 passes all game.  Their midfield was AWOL, their attack non existent, bar Diego Forlan.  But, they kept their discipline.  Thanks to some atrocious football by the French, they remained intact.

Against South Africa they were much better, cohesive and generally coming together.  They won convincingly.

In their final group game, they looked as good as they ever will.  They were fluid, capable and at times, when Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez and Forlan interlinked, potentially rampant.

Against South Korea, having a mean tournament themselves, the Uruguayan team looked even better with classy finishing and adventurous tactics allayed to their normally disciplined positional sense and shape.  Forlan was inspirational, Cavani brilliant and Suarez joined the race for the golden boot with two strikes.  The second, sheer class.

Having reached the Quarterfinals against Ghana, they now look good to go even further.  Who knows, perhaps retribution for the 2007 Copa America semi-final awaits against Brazil ?

South Korea have played skilfully, but have scored far too many goals, for my liking, off defensive meltdowns and unmarked far posts.  I have nothing against good goals scored with build up and skill, but eventually luck catches up with you.

So it proved.

In a repeat of their opening goal against Greece, They conceded the first Suarez goal when he sneaked in unmarked at the far post to slide home a cross that evaded everyone.

Just deserts.

Lee Chung Yong and Park Ji Sung have been the class of the team, showing both invention and alacrity to go with their usual industry and discipline.  After years of making up the numbers as one of Asia's guaranteed representatives, South Korea has shown that it is deserving of a place at Europe's top table, at least for the near future.

2002 may have been a fluke helped on by dodgy refereeing.  2010 has been the real deal.

Uruguay 3 - 1 South Korea:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/highlights/video/video=1260173/index.html