All-in-All, a Pretty Average Day

Today began the roughest stretch of this World Cup experiment for me as well as the reason I decided to create this blog in the first place: the work week. As I have laid out before, I cannot watch any of these games (save maybe a half an hour of the first one before heading into work) live during my standard 9-to-5 type job so I am instead DVRing all three matches, avoiding all knowledge of the outcomes, and then going through a marathon watching session upon arriving home from work. That is the reason why I'm beginning this blog post at 12:30 at night and that is why I'm looking at a maximum of six hours of sleep for every night this week. While the sleep won't be going that well, at least the ignorance of events is holding up for now. I made it through the entire work day without a result or score truly revealed to me. I add in that "truly" because my boss did almost blow the Japan vs Cameroon game. We were talking about the United States' chances and how they just needed to beat the teams they were supposed to beat and they'd be into the knockout stages. He transitioned by saying "yeah, but upsets can happen all the time. Just look at what Japan did." When I gave him the "are you serious" look he quickly switched to "no no, not Japan, don't worry. I meant South Korea because I didn't think they would beat Greece." I wasn't 100% convinced that that was what he was really talking about, but he created enough doubt for me to watch the game in peace which is all I needed. Well done on that part. Anyway, on to the games.


Denmark vs Holland

I was looking forward to seeing how Holland played in this game, mostly because they are one of the favorites and usually quite entertaining to watch but also to see how the side played without Arjen Robben in the lineup. Robben was injured in one of the friendlies leading up the World Cup and although he plans on playing during the later games of the group stage, Holland's quality was at least somewhat in question against arguably the second best team in Group E, Denmark. I was curious to see Denmark play as well because although I did know some of their players, such as Daniel Agger of Liverpool and Nicklas Bendter of Arsenal, I was admittedly ignorant of their play as a national team besides what I'd read. Looking forward to a learning experience, I sat down to this game around 7:00pm and started the soccer block.

The game started with both sides playing cautious and looking for openings without exposing themselves in the back. I know I've said it before, but this is fairly standard for the first game a team plays in the group stage as they're trying not to lose points while getting used to playing with everyone on the team. Both sides had free kicks early on during their pushes forward, but nothing significant came of them. Dirk Kuyt had the first chance for Holland in the 10th when he put a ball on goal that Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen bobbled before recovering in plenty of time. A fairly routine harmless shot and save that was made only slightly more exciting by the brief bobble. As the half progressed, the Dutch began to press more, keeping possession around the Danish 18 but nothing that was terribly troubling, the kind of possession that would make you slightly nervous as a fan of the Danes but nothing that amounted to a serious chance.

Even with Holland maintaining the majority of possession, the first solid chance came in the 27th from the Danes after a long switch from just over midfield on the left hand side to down near the 18 on the right. A cross came in for Bendter and though it was slightly behind him, he was able to reach back for it and put a header just past the left post. It would have taken an impressive touch to send that pass on goal but it showcased a theme for the match: the Danes switch fields very well and create chances because of this. In the 34th, they were able to get a quick switch on a nearly identical pass setting up Dennis Rommedahl for a sharp shot, but one that was put directly into Dutch goalie Maarten Stekelenburg. Then in the 37th, Thomas Kahlenberg got free on a run and uncorked a wicked shot that Stekelenburg was forced to save high at the near post.

I'm focusing here on the Danish chances here but Holland actually controlled the majority of the play in the first half. The difference is that the Danes put good chances on net while Holland seemed content to pass the ball around casually and probe at their leisure. There was no real sense of urgency or purpose and while that of course makes sense because it's the first half of the first game, one would think that Holland would be eager to prove that they deserve to be considered one of the favorites in the tournament. In any case, Holland held the ball for most of the first half but couldn't cut up the Danish defense, which played very well. Defenders were consistently challenging the Dutch on the ball, denying passing lanes and clearing out anything that was building to a dangerous level. Robin Van Persie had the best chance for the Dutch in the 42nd but when his defender wasn't fooled on a cutback to the left, Van Persie had essentially dribbled himself out of a chance and put the ball wide of the near post. The half ended 0-0 and the outcome of the game was definitely still up for grabs.

That changed almost immediately because in the first minute of the second half, Simon Poulsen of the Danish side misheaded a clearance off of a Van Persie cross, putting it off of fellow defender Agger and into the net for an own goal. Just a terrible, inexcusable offense that is all the more unfortunate because Poulsen was playing excellent defense in the first half shutting down the attack on Holland's right side. I looked back at my notes after this own goal and realized I had written "15 for Denmark playing solid D" so perhaps I am somehow responsible for a jinx. Soccer tragedy for the Danes, but it came from a bad mistake and not some kind of cosmic happenstance. The own goal took a lot of sting out of the Danish counter, who looked stunned for a while and didn't seem willing to get into the attack and let the Dutch embarrass them by running up the score. However, the Dutch didn't push the attack as perhaps they should have. Same kind of passive passing, lethargic attack, and roundabout advancement. They still did have their chances despite their dispirited play, such as when Denmark turned the ball over in their defensive third and Van Persie was sprung with a quick pass. Similar to before though, Van Persie chose not to strike the ball on his first touch and dribbled himself out of a serious chance. Then in the 59th, Van Persie played a pinpoint pass into the top of the 18 that Rafael Van der Vaart deftly touches towards the inside of the right post. Sorensen was agains the hero for Denmark as he smartly repositioned himself as he saw the cross coming in and then made a beautiful save on a full extension to his left. Well done all around, just a beautiful sequence.

The true turning point in the game comes when Eljero Elia came on for the Dutch in the 67th in place of Van der Vaart. That's no knock on Van der Vaart as he played well, but Elia's blistering pace caused havoc down the left flank and led to dangerous times for the Danish defenders and eventually to solid chances on goal. In the 82nd, Elia began an attack with a switch to the left and Wesley Sneijder, who had been conspicuously quiet for much of the game despite his central playmaking role, took a shot from just outside the 18 that deflected off of Agger (again) and landed directly on top of the crossbar. The breakthrough came in the 85th when Sneijder played a perfect through ball to Elia who takes a curling inside of the foot shot towards the back post. Sorensen came up huge and got a hand to the ball to guide it off the back post, but no one marked Kuyt who hustled through and tucked it in to seal the win for the Dutch. Overall it seemed as if the Danes lost their steam after the own goal and let the Dutch knock the ball around for most of the second half. The Dutch will need to play more urgently down the road but this was a good win to get against Denmark, who will now have to get results in their next two matches to seriously challenge for a spot in the round of 16.

Holland 2 - 0 Denmark


Japan vs Cameroon

I was fairly uninterested in this game, at least relative to other World Cup games, but the hint of a Japanese upset made things more palatable and the chance of seeing talented Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o pull out some tricks gave some reason to watch. Yet again though, a potentially boring game played out as a boring game, partly due to the Japanese style of play and partly due to a lackluster effort from a talented but perhaps uncreative Cameroon side. The game proceeded in a very herky-jerky fashion for a while due to constant stoppages for fouls, errant long balls, and just bad play that led to plenty of throw-ins. Cameroon held more of the possession during this time, but Japan had every angle covered and this is where the lack of creativity really held Cameroon back. They seemed to have no way to break down Japan's defensive shell despite all of their athleticism and a general height advantage. This is how things were for the first half an hour, though Japan slowly began the possess the ball more as time went on. This just made for an even game played mostly in the defensive and middle thirds rather than for any chances on goal.

In the 39th minute, I found out that my boss had actually been talking about Japan rather than South Korea when Daisuke Matsui put a well measured inswinger from the right side over everyone to the back post where Keisuke Honda calmly took a touch to settle the ball at his feet and then elevated the ball over a sliding Souleymanou Hamidou to put Japan up 1-0. I don't want to mimic ESPN color commentator for the match Robbie Mustoe directly but he was absolutely right that Honda showed incredible poise when collecting that ball. Many players would try to line up a highlight reel volley that they would inevitably shank 30 yards up into the stands. Honda remained composed all the while and brought the ball down smartly before finishing an unspectacular but incredibly important opening goal.

Cameroon of course pressed after being down 1-0 but it was haphazard mostly to be generous and at times seemed outright desperate in a disorganized way. Their best chance came in the 49th when Eto'o split two defenders along the goalline and laid a perfect set-up ball back to Maxim Choupo-Moting who put a curling shot slightly wide of the left post. It was a near miss, but Choupo-Moting had the entire left half of the goal to shoot at and he needed to do better, especially when down a goal. Japan settled down well after that and played solid team defense, always covering for an out of place defender and letting Cameroon pass the ball around the outside but stopping any serious inroads. Cameroon of course helped the Japanese cause by basically standing still when on the attack. No creative runs, no check backs to open up space, nothing. Just a very uninspired performance and appropriately the next best chance came from Japan in the 82nd (30 grueling minutes later) when Makoto Hasebe put a well-directed shot at the back post forcing a save from Hamidou. Substitute Shinji Okazaki got to the rebound but couldn't do anything but put a hard shot off the outside of the left post. Despite their poor play, Stephane M'bia almost rescued Cameroon in the 86th when he put an absolute rocket on goal from over 25 yards out. Rocket may in fact do this shot a disservice as it was absolutely launched and would have been the shot of the tournament if it had gone in. Unfortunately, it was perhaps half a soccer ball too high and rung off the dead center of the crossbar, giving the game to the Japanese. This was easily the worst of the three matches today, but I have watched the replay of M'bia's shot over ten times tonight so I have to give it at least some credit for that. I was definitely happy for the final whistle though.

Japan 1 - 0 Cameroon


Paraguay vs Italy

This was, by all expectations, to be the match of the day. Paraguay qualified third in a tough and long COMMEBOL qualifying process and had the defensive shape to frustrate the aging Italian side. All jokes about Italy's age aside, it's very tough to count them out of any major tournament regardless of their age, their injuries (most notably to Mauro Camoranesi and Andrea Pirlo), or their form coming into the World Cup (lost to Mexico and drew with Switzerland in the two lead-up friendlies). They are a consistently dangerous team who are the defending champions and those who ignore them do so at their own risk. On to the game.

Italy started this game much like Holland did, holding much of the possession but not really doing anything with it. Paraguay's left back Claudio Morel Rodriguez did have to make a timely clearance or two but for the most part Paraguay held their shape well and contained the Italians to areas that weren't dangerous. This type of defense first style, however, leaves a team with limited chances to put in goals of their own. Typically the chances have to come off of quick counter attacks or set pieces if you can get them. So the question was whether Italy could break down Paraguay's tough defense or if Paraguay could get a goal and then defend for their lives. Things looked better for Italy early on when Riccardo Montolivo stole a pass from Enrique Vera and broke to goal. Monolivo never challenged Vera though and ended up settling for a weak strike that Justo Villar easily scooped up. Next up to ruin a good chance was Aureliano Torres for Paraguay who stepped into a ball much like Lukas Podolski did during Germany's opening game, but instead of finishing clinically Torres rolled a weak shot into Gianluigi Buffon. This was quickly becoming a game of who would actually put away the few chances they got.

Paraguay played solid defense throughout, especially stepping up their game when Italy started to look better. Every time Italy seemed to have figured things out, Paraguay would get a crucial intercept of a pass or a toe poke on a ball. Italy seemed frustrated more often then not and would end up passing around the outside after thinking they had seen the breakthrough point. Things would only get worse when Torres redeemed himself in the 39th by putting a brilliant ball into the box off of a free kick from the right side with Antolin Alcazar placing a header perfectly inside the right post. The Paraguayan fans went absolutely crazy in the stands, much like the players did on the field, while the Italians seemed shocked as if such events were not allowed to happen to them. Italy pressed the attack but Paraguay still made it into the half with a huge 1-0 lead.

The biggest surprise coming out after the half was that Buffon had been replaced by backup Federico Marchetti due to a hamstring injury that no one was able to pinpoint. After discussion of this turn of events calmed down, things returned to the general form of the first half with the Italians pressing and the Paraguayans hunkering down. Paraguay actually got the first chance when Enrique Vera took in a failed clear and sent a screamer just past the near post in the 55th. Italy did step things up a level though when Camoranesi came in the game in the 59th minute. Though he was deemed unfit to start and play a full match, he was available to come into the game as a sub in order to provide a creative spark. He did just that, immediately putting a dangerous ball to the back post that Villar did very well to corral before Simone Pepe could get a head to it. This intensified pressure paid off in the 63rd minute when Villar missed a punch off of an Italian corner and Daniele de Rossi slide in behind him to touch it in the goal. This miscue wasn't as bad as those present in the England or Algeria games as it was still a difficult ball to get to, but it was still a play that Villar had the ability to make and did not. A tough goal for Paraguay to give up.

The rest of the game consisted of Italy attacking in order to secure all three points with Paraguay playing tenacious defense in order to leave with a draw against the top team in their group. The Italians did control almost all of the play in the rest of the second half, but they only had one solid chance, which was a low Montolivo drive in the 83rd that Villar managed a diving save on. When the final whistle had blown the draw had held up and, despite Paraguay's letdown to cost them the full points, a draw in their opening game against the defending champions was something they could go home happy with. Both teams will face Slovakia and New Zealand so they have every chance in the world to go through to the elimination rounds.

Paraguay 1 - 1 Italy


And now it's 2:30. Jesus I need to somehow speed up my writing or cut down on the information given. Either way, I need to get my five hours of sleep before doing it all again tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow night should be even more interesting. Check back then to find out why. Thanks to all who read this and let's hope the Portugal vs Ivory Coast lives up to the hype.