1 July 2014
BELGIUM 2 (De Bruyne 93, Lukaku 105)
USA 1 (Green 107)
Origi had a chance inside the first minute. Alderweireld tackled Bedoing and the Swiss countered down the right, Origi brushed aside Gonzalez as he ran onto De Bruyne's through pass but Howard was quick off his line and kicked the ball out for a corner. Dempsey had a great chance to give the US the lead after Bradley ran into traffic inside the box but his tame first time shot failed to trouble Courtois. Zusi lost the ball on the half way line with a shocking first touch, Vertonghen drove into the US defence and passed wide to De Bruyne, he stepped inside Gonzalez but dragged his shot wide of the left post. The Belgians continued to look most threatening on the counter. Origi ran over Jones when battling for control after Courtois punched out a cross, ran 60 yards and passed to De Bruyne but he failed to trouble Howard.
Origi clipped the crossbar with a flick header then put in Mirallas after turning Besler with ease but Mirallas, who replaced Mertens on the hour mark, shot against Howard's outstretched leg. Origi played a one-two with Hazard before stinging Howard's palms from 20 yards. Hazard and De Bruyne combined down the left, once again easily getting past the US defence but Hazard wastefully shot into the side netting. Kompany stopped an attack and made a tremendous run deep from his own half but fumbled when trying to shoot De Bruyne's centre and Howard saved. The US could have won it in injury time. Jones flicked on Cameron's cross but Wondolowski (another American with a stupid name) with the goal at his mercy, blazed over. Good for everyone concerned the linesman incorrectly raised his flag for offside because it was a shocking miss.
Lukaku replaced Origi at the start of extra time and helped finally break Howard's resistance. Besler, who was beaten like a drum by Origi, tried to tackle Lukaku as he turned onto a Mirallas pass and bounced off him, Gonzalez intercepted his centre but De Bruyne picked up the ball, worked an angle for a shot then fired inside the left corner. Van Buyten blocked a Bradley shot, Hazard turned onto his pass, played a one-two with Lukaku and released De Bruyne down the left, Lukaku got in between two defenders and slammed his pass first time over Howard. Fantastic goal. That should have been all she wrote but the Americans had other ideas. Green replaced Bedoing and scored within two minutes (technically as the whistle blew to end the first period shortly after he came on). Bradley dropped a ball over the Belgian defence, Green pulled off the shoulder of Alderweireld and volleyed into the right corner. Great goal and as he's two months younger than Origi I believe he's the youngest scorer at the World Cup. Wondolowski headed down a Yedlin cross and Jones flashed a volley wide of the right post as the Americans found a second wind against the tried looking Belgian midfield. Lukaku held off Besler before turning Gonzalez inside out but his poor effort was easily saved. A fantastic free kick routine almost drew the American's level. Jones stepped over a free kick, Bradley passed to Wondolowski he centred but Courtois saved from Dempsey's feet.
This was basically a battle between Belgium and Howard, the Everton goalkeeper making a World Cup record 18 saves in a single match. Some routine, some not. Despite the lack of goals in normal time this was an absorbing and entertaining contest. The Belgians could go all the way. The Argentineans are going to have a hard time physically but will no doubt flop around like the diving, cheating scumbags they are. I hope Messi gets the shit kicked out of him.
Attendance : 51,227
Assists : n/a, De Bruyne, Bradley
ARGENTINA 1 (Di Maria 118)
SWITZERLAND 0
Xhaka should have given the Swiss the lead after Shaqiri skinned a defender and pulled back a centre but he shot straight at Romero. Drmic wasted a one v one against Romero on a counter attack with a terrible finish. Higuain headed a Rojo cross at Benaglio. Messi dribbled around the Swiss defence but from the edge of the box but his weak shot was saved. Di Maria hit another shot straight at Benaglio but snatched a late winner. Lichtsteiner lost the ball on the half way line (maintaining the Juventus tradition of sucking at the tournament) and Argentina countered, Messi skipped a sliding tackle before slipping a ball out wide to Di Maria and his first time shot rolled into the bottom left corner. Dzemaili should have equalised, he headed Shaqiri's cross against the left post then miss controlled the rebound.
Old habits die hard. Shaqiri scored a hat-trick playing at trequartista so Hitzfeld puts him back in wide midfield. COWARD. Argentina were there for the taking.
Attendance : 63,255
Assist : Messi
30 June 2014
GERMANY 2 (Schurrle 92, Ozil 119)
ALGERIA 1 (Djabou 121)
Algeria basically played as they did against the Koreans, whacking longballs and they found the German defence even more charitable as the gaps between Neuer and the traditional high German offside trap (the Germans are to tactics as the English are to dentistry) left their players with huge holes to run into only Neuer is very, very awesome and continually thwarted them. Their best attack should have resulted in them taking a half time line. Mostefa found Sudan in space on the left with a great crossfield pass, he played in Ghoulam on the overlap but he lashed wide of the right post, at the very least he should have worked Neuer. M'Bolhi parried for Kroos then quickly got to his feet to deny Gotze on the follow up, fantastic save. He took a kick to the head in making it but, unlike every other goalkeeper in the World, didn't fall down clutching his head feigning injury.
M'Bolhi made a stunning one handed save to parry Lahm's blistering first time shot. Minutes later Khedira replaced Mustafi and mental midget Lowe finally moved Lahm back into his rightful position of full back. I don't care how well he did at DM in the Bundesliga, in that position here and in the UCL he's shit. Khedira played a one-two with Lahm before sending an inswinging cross straight to the centre circle on top of Muller's header, M'Bolhi made another brilliant save and Schurrle's follow-up effort was blocked. Khedira played his best ever game for Germany and picked out Muller again with another glorious pass but this time Muller shot wide having turned Belkalem inside out. Schweinsteiger wasted another chance as the Algerian's got to extra time by the skin of their teeth.
Two minutes into extra time the Germans took the lead. Muller ran in from the left and centred for Schurrle to back heel past M'Bolhi. It was a superb finish. Mostefa should have equalised after Khedira sliced a corner but he fired wide with the goal at his mercy. Schurrle found space between two Algerian defenders and passed to the unmarked Ozil, he bottled out of a shot, gave the ball back to Schurrle, Belkalem hacked his effort off the line and Ozil smashed in the rebound. Djabou arrived at the back post to slam home a Feghouli volley and give the Algerians something to cheer.
As everyone (should) know Lowe is a mental midget. Lahm is not a DM and he lines his team up against the French as he did in the first half here he'll find the French forwards won't be so charitable and Neuer will risk a red coming out against their midfielders and attackers.
Attendance : 43,063
Assists : Muller, n/a, Feghouli
FRANCE 2 (Pogba 79, Yobo 91)
NIGERIA 0
The game was ruined by American referee Mark Geiger. Matuidi should have been sent off for trying to break Onazi's ankle, he only gave a yellow and the dreadful Giroud elbowed another player in the ref only the ref saw it and decided to give him a talking to. Unbelievable. He also failed to award Nigeria a clear penalty when Evra was sexually assaulting Odemwingie on a corner. It would have been a different game if the ref called any of those incidents though Nigeria are a poor side and I imagine with a man advantage they would have run around like headless chickens shooting from distance and wild angles instead of doing the smart thing and passing their way through and tiring out the French. Pogba had the best chance of the first half following a one-two with Valbuena but he volleyed straight at Enyeama.
Benzema wriggled away from a couple of tackles, played a one-two with Griezmann and as he burst in on goal Enyeama got his right hand to block the shot and Moses hacked the ball off the line. Benzema had another shot cleared off the line, Cabaye trapped the ball on his chest and hammered a shot against the underside of the crossbar. Enyeama denied Benzema again but from the resulting corner ran into traffic and Pogba headed into an empty net. Benzema was trying to run down the clock but his team-mates went hunting for a second. Enyeama made a Hollywood save to deny Griezmann. Odemwingie conceded a corner with a terrible touch. Benzema played it short to Valbuena and, under pressure from Griezmann, Yobo turned in his centre.
For the second successive game the French have done very well to end the game with eleven men. Deschamps should read these morons the riot act and leave Giroud on the bench. Benzema, Valbuena and Griezmann will give the German defence fits and good luck to Kroos, Schweinsteiger and whoever else has to face Pogba, Matuidi and Cabaye. France look bloody awesome.
Attendance : 67,882
Assists : n/a, n/a
29 June 2014
COSTA RICA 1 (Ruiz 52)
GREECE 1 (Papastathopoulos 91)
The first notable effort arrived late in the first half when Holebas swung a deep laser precision cross to the back post, Salpingidis lost his marker but Navas denied him by kicking the ball away with his trailing leg. Ruiz started and finished the move that lead to the opening goal. He turned onto a ball on the half way line and the disappointing Campbell laid his pass off to Bolanos, Bolanos saw Ruiz free on the edge of the D, centred and Ruiz's misshit shot (he struck the ball with his left heel) crept into the right corner. The Costa Rican's should have been awarded a penalty when Torosidis motioned with his head to attack a cross only to slap it away with his left hand. Duarte was shown a second yellow for chopping down Holebas, allowing the Greeks to wrestle the initiative. Samaras chipped a longball into the box towards Papastathopoulos, he couldn't control it, Gekas turned and fired in a shot, Navas parried and Papastathopoulos smashed in the equaliser. In second half extra time Greece blew a five on two break, probably never having trained for such a predicament. Navas denied Mitroglou with a brilliant save at his feet minutes before the shoot-out.
PENALTY SHOOT OUT
Borges - High and down the middle
Mitroglou - Left. Navas did the spider-arms routine & came off his line but went the wrong way
Ruiz - Almost the top right corner
Christodoulopoulos - Bottom right
Gonzalez - Karnezis dives to his right early, Gonzalez went down the middle
Holebas - Thumped inside the right post
Campbell - Low into the bottom left corner, Karnezis again fooled
Gekas - A tremendous save by Navas from a penalty left of centre
Umana - High left of centre, Karnezis nowhere near
Greece were actually the better side and looked more dangerous. Campbell had a poor game. He's a bit of a head down run merchant. Outside of playing a demoralised England side the Costa Rican's haven't faced a team with extreme pace.
Costa Rica win 5-3 on penalties.
Attendance : 41,242
Red Card : Duarte 66 (Costa Rica)
Assists : Bolanos, n/a
NETHERLANDS 2 (Sneijder 88, Huntelaar 94 Pen)
MEXICO 1 (Dos Santos 48)
The Dutch lost De Jong to a groin injury. He was replaced by Indi. Concrete Ron booted Herrera in the face as he was trying to head down the ball after miss controlling, it should have been an indirect free kick at the very least. Marquez slipped when trying to collect Rodriguez's sloppy pass, RVP underhit a through ball to Robben, Marquez recovered and Moreno chopped him down just to make sure. No penalty.
Concrete Ron headed a cross absolutely nowhere, Giovanni 'always flatters to deceive' Dos Santos bounced the ball off his chest and held off Blind before hitting a rasping left foot shot into the right post. Great goal. The Dutch had played with the handbrake on up until that point, probably due to the conditions and the fact they were playing Mexico. Robben swung a corner into the middle of the six yard box, Ochoa parried de Vrij's point blank volley against the left post, sensational save. Robben went down over Layun's outstretched leg and again no penalty. Presumably this is the one he admitted to taking a dive for. Ochoa saved with his feet after Robben vaulted over Marquez's stupid challenge. The Hunter replaced RVP on 76 minutes and the Dutch went route one. Kuyt forced a corner, his side's 11th, The Hunter headed the ball back toward the edge of the box and Sneijder ran in out of shot before blasting past Ochoa. Brilliant play from The Hunter. Robben dribbled past Layun and Reyes as he cut in from the right, Marquez made another stupid challenge, stamping down with his right foot, he didn't make contact but Robben dived as if someone had taken a baseball bat to his legs and the ref pointed to the spot. The Hunter sent Ochoa the wrong way and the Mexicans out of the tournament.
Last 16 and out for the Mexicans for the sixth tournament in a row. I wrote something about them being a soccer mad nation with a huge population and underachieving years ago. Their lack of height is and will continue to be an issue. The Dutch have the look of World Cup winners in that they're not exactly dazzling but manage to grind out wins and turn up the pressure when needed. If they had the Sneijder of 2010 they would win this tournament in a cakewalk. Still the goal will do his and Huntelaar's confidence the World of good. They should thrash Costa Rica.
Attendance : 58,817
Assists : n/a, Huntelaar, Robben (won pen)
28 June 2014
COLOMBIA 2 (Rodriguez 28, Rodriguez 50)
URUGUAY 0
Alvaro Pereira threw himself at an Aguilar cross but headed the ball straight back to him, this time he helped the ball to Rodriguez, who was standing with his back to play, he bounced the ball off his chest, turned and hammered a left foot volley in off the underside of the crossbar. One of the goals of the tournament and with four goals and four assists the player of the tournament. Gutierrez and Martinez switched play from the right flank to the left, Armero swung a cross to the back post and Cuadrado headed the ball back across goal for Rodriguez to sweep past Muslera. Rodriguez and Cavani forced saves with shots from distance. Pereira had Uruguay's best chance, from a deflection but Ospina was quick off his line and charged down the shot.
Without Suarez Uruguay were further exposed as the mediocre side they really are. They are the South American Greece. At least with both Suarez and Cavani they can give opposition defences something to worry about. Small population or not for a football mad country to produce so many limited players doesn't say a lot about their coaching. They leave the World Cup in disgrace and I doubt we'll see them in the knockout stages anytime soon, if indeed these wretched pack of thugs qualify at all.
Attendance : 73,804
Assists : Aguilar, Cuadrado
BRAZIL 1 (Luiz 18)
CHILE 1 (Sanchez 32)
Thiago Silva flicked on a corner, Luiz stuck out a foot as did Jara who got the final touch but the goal was credited to the Brazilian. Brazil conceded from their own throw in. Hulk underhit Marcelo's pass, Vargas centred and Sanchez steered past Julio Cesar. Brazil almost scored via another own goal when Neymar jumped to attack an Oscar cross but the ball dropped wide of the post off the back of Silva. Apparently this was a great first half because both teams ran around a lot. It wasn't
Hulk had a second half goal disallowed for handball which seemed harsh and could have gone either way. Isla played a one-two with the disappointing Vidal on the right flank, he returned the ball with an exquisite disguised pass, Aranguiz caught his centre with a fierce left foot shot but Julio Cesar tipped the ball out for a corner with a stunning reflex save down to his left. Pinilla, who replaced Vidal, should have won the game for Chile in the final moments of second half extra time but hammered Sanchez' pass against the crossbar. Not surprisingly he went on to miss his spot kick, having missed at least two in Serie A this season.
PENALTY SHOOT OUT
Luiz - To Bravo's right, Bravo went left
Pinilla - Julio Cesar stepped off his line to save a penalty straight down the pipe
Willian - A shocking penalty wide of the left post
Sanchez - Julio Cesar again off his line, a brilliant save to his right
Marcelo - Top right though Bravo got a touch
Aranguiz - Top right, Julio Cesar didn't move
Hulk - Bravo stepped off his line and saved with his feet as Hulk fired down the middle
Diaz - Sent Julio Cesar the wrong way to tie the shoot-out at 2-2
Neymar - Bottom left corner with a staggered run up, Bravo dived early
Jara - Smashed a shot against and out off the right post
Brazil win 3-2 on penalties
If Colombia hold their nerve they should beat Brazil fairly comfortably. The defence is decent but the midfield is devoid of flair, Oscar has been getting progressively worse. Hulk, Fred and Jo are terrible. It's not as if there are options off the bench.
Attendance : 57,714
Assists : Thiago Silva, Vargas