Here's a recap of the second round
The first quarter final will be between Brazil & Colombia, after Brazil beat Chile 3-2 on penalties (1-1 at full time). Colombia beat Uruguay 2-0. With James Rodriguez (one of the stars of the to(urnament & current leading goal scorer, with 5 goals) scoring both goals. His first quite possibly a new challenger for the best goal of the tournament. Brazil still is looking for its best form, yet they are doing just enough to win games.
France & Germany play in the 2nd Quarter Final. Both were pushed all the way by Nigeria & Algeria respectively. The Nigerian Goalkeper made a string of brilliant saves. Germany needed extra-time to score against Algeria, the game finishing 2-1.
The third Quarter final is between Netherlands & Costa Rica. Costa Rica beating Greece (5-3 on penalties, 1-1 at full time). Greece had the chances to win, and with a five on two in the last period of extra-time should have settled the game then. Navas was brilliant with a string of saves keeping the scores level during the match & a stunning save in the penalty shot-out. Mexico pushed the Dutch all the way, with a late penalty settling the match.
The final Quarter-final is between Argentina & Belgium. Both were winners in extra-time. Argentina ending up 1-0 winners over Switzerland, and the Belgium 2-1 winners over the USA. From what I read looks like Howard had an amazing game.
The winners of Quarter Final 1 & 2 play off as do the winners of Quarterfinal 3 & 4. So, I'm tipping Brazil v France & Netherlands v Argentina to be the semis. However I would not be surprised if Colombia or Belgium got through over their more fancied opponents.
The other notable point from the Round of 16 matches, was the quality of goal-keeping. Enyeama (Nigeria) may have made an error leading to the first goal, but prior (and following) the error he had made some phenomenal saves. Navas (Costa-Rica) made a stunning (and decisive) save in the Penalty Shootout; and is currently the best performing keeper in the tournament. Ochoa (Mexico) was a wall in the game against Brazil. It sounds like Howard kept the USA alive in their match too.
Some reflections on the Path to Life. "You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence" (Psalm 16:11)
Showing posts with label Football World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Football World Cup. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
World Cup #2
Second round is filled with intriguing match ups...
Brazil v Chile
Colombia v Uruguay
France v Nigeria
Germany v Algeria
--
Netherlands v Mexico
Greece v Costa Rica
Argentina v Switzerland
USA v Belgium
As for favourites, the easy answer is Brazil, but they haven't completely convinced me yet. It could well be the year for a European team to finally win a World Cup title outside of Europe.
Will be watching Colombia & Mexico with interest. Mexico has been impressive given the team was within 90 seconds of not reaching the play-off against NZ. Colombia, one of the real dark-horses, & provided one of the moments of the tournament, when the 43 year old Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon came on as a substitute (the oldest player in the World Cup's History).
So excited for Algeria too. I suspect given the events of 1982 Germany will be nervous. Not only did Algeria beat (West) Germany, but Austria and Germany played out a result which meant both qualified, at the expense of Algeria. As a result, from 1986 the last group matches are played simultaneously.
The tournament, to date has the greatest number of goals scored in the first stage, 136 in 48 matches (average of 2.8 per match).
For me the disappointment of the tournaments are the Asian sides (0 wins, 3 draws, 9 losses; 9 goals in 12 games, 25 agst). Japan had enough chances to win their games but lacked a killer instinct in front of goal. Australia similarly were not able to land the chances they had. The Socceroos have been improving but they still have a little way to go you'd mark them as favourites for the Asian Cup.
Brazil v Chile
Colombia v Uruguay
France v Nigeria
Germany v Algeria
--
Netherlands v Mexico
Greece v Costa Rica
Argentina v Switzerland
USA v Belgium
As for favourites, the easy answer is Brazil, but they haven't completely convinced me yet. It could well be the year for a European team to finally win a World Cup title outside of Europe.
Will be watching Colombia & Mexico with interest. Mexico has been impressive given the team was within 90 seconds of not reaching the play-off against NZ. Colombia, one of the real dark-horses, & provided one of the moments of the tournament, when the 43 year old Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon came on as a substitute (the oldest player in the World Cup's History).
So excited for Algeria too. I suspect given the events of 1982 Germany will be nervous. Not only did Algeria beat (West) Germany, but Austria and Germany played out a result which meant both qualified, at the expense of Algeria. As a result, from 1986 the last group matches are played simultaneously.
The tournament, to date has the greatest number of goals scored in the first stage, 136 in 48 matches (average of 2.8 per match).
For me the disappointment of the tournaments are the Asian sides (0 wins, 3 draws, 9 losses; 9 goals in 12 games, 25 agst). Japan had enough chances to win their games but lacked a killer instinct in front of goal. Australia similarly were not able to land the chances they had. The Socceroos have been improving but they still have a little way to go you'd mark them as favourites for the Asian Cup.
Monday, June 23, 2014
The World Game - Part One
At the time of writing this post. The second round of group matches has finished, and we can say that Spain, Australia and England are going home. Spain, joining Italy (2010) and France (2002) as the most recent World Champions going home after the group stage.
Running through the groups:
Group A: The hosts are through & Cameroon out, and the loser of the match between Mexico & Croatia joins them. Brazil still most likely to top the group. Edit - Brazil are eliminated, if they lose and Croatia & Mexico draw.
Group B: Netherlands & Chile are through - with the loser of that match expected to face Brazil in the second round.
Group C: Given Greece & Japan's draw, Colombia are through to the last 16, and with a win over Greece in their last match, the Ivory Coast will join them.
Group D: Costa Rica has qualified for the last 16. The winner of Italy-Uruguay joins them, a draw puts Italy through. For the first time since 1958 England go home at the end of the group stage.
Group E: France has virtually qualified. Even if they were beaten by Ecuador, France's goal difference would put them through.
Group F: Argentina have qualified. Nigeria needs one point to qualify. Iran will qualify if it beats Bosnia and Argentina beats Nigeria.
Group G: All four teams in with a shot of qualifying. Germany & USA will qualify if they draw their final game, Portugal & Ghana both need big wins to make it through
Group H: Belgium qualified for the last 16 with a 1-0 win against Russia. With their 4-2 win over Korea, Algeria look most likely to join them.
Here's the New York Times running through how the teams still in the running can make it through.
At this stage - the Australia-Netherlands match is the game of the tournament. I lean towards Jones' (USA) goal against Portugal as the goal of the tournament too so far (see here for some other contenders, courtesy of The Age). Costa Rica and Chile are the surprise packets of the tournament. I suspect, very few would have picked either of them to get out of their groups.
After 32 games, there have only been 6 draws. The Brazil-Mexico game was a reminder that Football is a sports where two teams can be scoreless and you've seen a great spectacle. After 32 games, the average goals per game is 2.9. Apparently the highest since 1958.
On Australia, the most impressive thing about the Socceroos is that while they should be proud of their performances, the comments coming from the camp are tinged with disappointment. They didn't go to Brazil to make up the numbers or compete; they came to compete playing a certain style of Football and to achieve results. They had chances to get something out of the game with the Netherlands, and were disappointed they didn't. Looking forward to seeing how they go in next years' Asian Cup.
Running through the groups:
Group A: The hosts are through & Cameroon out, and the loser of the match between Mexico & Croatia joins them. Brazil still most likely to top the group. Edit - Brazil are eliminated, if they lose and Croatia & Mexico draw.
Group B: Netherlands & Chile are through - with the loser of that match expected to face Brazil in the second round.
Group C: Given Greece & Japan's draw, Colombia are through to the last 16, and with a win over Greece in their last match, the Ivory Coast will join them.
Group D: Costa Rica has qualified for the last 16. The winner of Italy-Uruguay joins them, a draw puts Italy through. For the first time since 1958 England go home at the end of the group stage.
Group E: France has virtually qualified. Even if they were beaten by Ecuador, France's goal difference would put them through.
Group F: Argentina have qualified. Nigeria needs one point to qualify. Iran will qualify if it beats Bosnia and Argentina beats Nigeria.
Group G: All four teams in with a shot of qualifying. Germany & USA will qualify if they draw their final game, Portugal & Ghana both need big wins to make it through
Group H: Belgium qualified for the last 16 with a 1-0 win against Russia. With their 4-2 win over Korea, Algeria look most likely to join them.
Here's the New York Times running through how the teams still in the running can make it through.
At this stage - the Australia-Netherlands match is the game of the tournament. I lean towards Jones' (USA) goal against Portugal as the goal of the tournament too so far (see here for some other contenders, courtesy of The Age). Costa Rica and Chile are the surprise packets of the tournament. I suspect, very few would have picked either of them to get out of their groups.
After 32 games, there have only been 6 draws. The Brazil-Mexico game was a reminder that Football is a sports where two teams can be scoreless and you've seen a great spectacle. After 32 games, the average goals per game is 2.9. Apparently the highest since 1958.
On Australia, the most impressive thing about the Socceroos is that while they should be proud of their performances, the comments coming from the camp are tinged with disappointment. They didn't go to Brazil to make up the numbers or compete; they came to compete playing a certain style of Football and to achieve results. They had chances to get something out of the game with the Netherlands, and were disappointed they didn't. Looking forward to seeing how they go in next years' Asian Cup.
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