What an Up and Down Day

I'll be honest, I don't even want to type up this blog after what I just watched, but here goes anyway. We had our first two quarterfinal matches today with Holland vs Brazil and Ghana vs Uruguay, two matches of fairly even sides that still had declared favorites. Holland won all eight of their games in qualification and all four of their World Cup matches, but Brazil was favored because, well, they're Brazil. Of course, that wasn't the only reason. The Brazilians decimated Chile 3-0 in the round of sixteen and still didn't look like they were even trying. They were favored in this match because they play so strong defensively yet also have the power to score goals in bunches, which is the reason they were favored overall going into the tournament. Holland has been impressive but the Dutch also have a history of falling apart at the big stages, which is why few people will consider them favorites, regardless of their track record, until they prove it when it matters. Uruguay vs Ghana was a close call of a game as well with Uruguay looking better in their previous World Cup matches, winning more convincing than Ghana had. I've said it too many times before, but Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez have been so dynamic with their goal scoring ability that their proven finishing talents won most people over when compared to the near misses that Ghana seems to always generate. These were the favorites going in, but not everything would go the way it was supposed to.


Holland vs Brazil

This match started as you might think it would. Both teams knocked the ball around to get a feel for the other team, there was some possession but not much, and there were no true threats on goal. All of a sudden, in the 10th minute Felipe Melo played a long through ball along the ground and Robinho ran onto it to perfectly strike a one touch shot past Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg. This was just so surprising. Don't get me wrong, it was a great run by Robinho and fantastic vision by Melo to see the play develop, but the entire Dutch defense seemed to fall asleep all at once. No one was watching Robinho, no one pitched in on the pass, no one closed out Melo, and the keeper barely moved off his line. Just remarkable. With Brazil spotted a goal on that play, they continued to be the better team in the first half. Dani Alves, though I loathe him, did well to get free on the end line in the 26th and put a cross into the middle that Juan put over the bar instead of at least challenging the goalie by heading it on frame. Then in the 29th, we were witness to some of that Brazilian magic when Robinho made a weaving run down the left sideline and played a pass to Luis Fabiano as he was falling down. Fabiano cleverly backheeled the ball to Kaka who worked it out from in between his legs and curled a shot with his right foot towards the back post, forcing Stekelenburg to make a fantastic one-handed save to keep Holland in the match. Maicon showed up in stoppage time and put a swerving shot along the ground at the near post, but its spin took it just wide. Holland did have some chances and possession in this half, but Brazil dominated things and looked to be in complete control.

Brazil remained the better side coming out of the break, but then something inexplicable happened: they made a mistake. First, Arjen Robben drew a foul along the right sideline, which is a topic by itself. Robben dove, embellished and general rolled around on the ground all game long and it was infuriating. Did he actually get hit some of those times? Of course. Did he need to stay on the ground for minutes per foul trying to draw a card on any defender that got near him? Absolutely not. It was comical at times, though I'm sure none of the Brazilian fans were laughing when he drew this particular foul at a dangerous spot on the right side. Holland played the free kick quick and after a brief run down the right side, Wesley Sneijder received the ball back at roughly the spot of the foul and put a good cross into the box. Keeper Julio Cesar tried to get to the ball but was blocked by his own defender, Felipe Melo, who had the ball skim off his head and skip into the left corner of the net. Amazing. Cesar needed to absolutely make sure he had it when he came out, but if he called for it then Melo needed to get out of his way. It's tough to know exactly who was at fault there, but it went down as an own goal to Melo, which seems a little unfair considering that if no one touched Sneijder's shot, it was going into that back corner by itself. Whatever the correct scoring, Holland had tied the match 1-1 and now it seemed like anything could happen.

Anything did happen in the 68th minute when the five time World Cup Champions went down 2-1 to the historically self-destructive Dutch. Off of a corner kick, Dirk Kuyt made a quick near post run and then helped the ball along with a quick head flick. Sneijder was the man on the spot again and he quickly turned his head in the air to send the ball into the left corner and improbably put Holland on top. Excellent set play by the Dutch and while it was executed to perfection, it seemed as if the Brazilians were caught off guard again. No one challenged Kuyt's run to the near post and Sneijder had plenty of time and space to put his header exactly where he wanted. This was far from a fluke like the first Dutch goal, but I'm still shocked that Brazil was so obviously sluggish on defense. The real capper to the match was in the 73rd when Robben took his 8537th dive of the match (perhaps a slight exaggeration there) and inexplicably drew a straight red on Melo. Well, it was inexplicable at first. The replay showed clearly that Melo, most likely fed up with Robben's theatrics, deliberately stepped on Robben's thigh after the initial dive, which is plenty of justification for a straight red. Brazil lost their lead and then lost their composure and then the game was over. Brazil had some half chances pushing forward with ten men, but they couldn't get the lead back and the Dutch surprised everyone to make it into the semifinals.

Holland 2 - 1 Brazil


Ghana vs Uruguay

This was to be the game pitting the overachieving African side against the crafty South American team that was almost an afterthought out of the CONMEBOL qualifiers before the tournament started. It turned out to be one of the most memorable games that we will see from this tournament. After a relatively even ten minutes or so, Uruguay dominated the early portion of this half. They were the better side, creating chance after chance, controlling the pace of the game, and generally outclassing the Ghanaian side. In the 18th, Forlan took a corner that Edinson Cavani flicked on into Ghana defender John Mensa's chest. The deflection came quickly in on keeper Richard Kingson but struck him directly in his face as he hurriedly brought his arms up to stop the ball. While the ball went directly into him, Kingson's positioning saved him and his quick reaction with his arms may have actually saved a shot slightly to either side as well. Leading up to the first half an hour, Uruguay held the corner kick advantage six to zero and had several other free kicks off of penalties that Forlan was more than happy to dangerously play into the box. Forlan was a wizard on these kicks, almost always putting them in a difficult spot to defend and often finding the head of a teammate. Uruguay was executing a perfect gameplan to keep Ghana bottled up and backing off, and Forlan was the architect.

Then, off of a simple corner in the 30th minute, Ghana turned everything around. The header itself wasn't a goal, but a near chance that defender Isaac Vorsah hit just barely over the near side upper ninety. Then in the 31st minute, Kevin-Prince Boateng made a great run down the right side and centered to Asamoah Gyan, who put the ball just wide of the right post. Suddenly, Ghana was controlling the game. Ghana was pushing the pace and Uruguay couldn't seem to turn things around and get back all of the momentum that they had been building. The Black Stars seized that momentum and turned in chance after chance. Sulley Muntari received a good cross into the left side of the box in the 39th, but his header across the goal mouth stayed wide and went out harmlessly over the goal line. But then in stoppage time, Muntari was much more than harmless when he put the ball on his left foot and curled a shot inside the right post that keeper Fernando Muslera was late in reacting to. At first, I thought the keeper had completely botched this and let in any easy goal, but it turns out he got caught leaning right to see around the men who were screening him and by the time he realized that he needed to get left to stop the shot, it was too late. Terrific effort by Muntari who helped Ghana completely turn this match around and put them up 1-0.

In the second half, Uruguay needed an answer to Ghana's late first half goal and who else would provide it besides Diego Forlan? In the 55th, Forlan lined up a kick on the left side of goal and took a shot that looked like it was bending over the wall and toward the near post, but then started drifting right in mid-flight and ended up in the back of the net. Kingson seemed to think the same thing as he stepped in towards the near post to stop that shot, and then couldn't get back across goal to stop the ball from going in. This was a wonderful bit of skill from Forlan and it gave Uruguay the goal they needed to get back in the match as well as the confidence they needed to take the game to Ghana.

In the 63rd, it was Forlan creating again, this time as he made a great touch to get behind the Ghana defense on the left hand side. His touch brought him to the end line and he put a fantastic ball back across goal to Suarez at the back post, but Suarez mistimed his redirection on goal and the shot went into the side netting. Then in the 70th, Suarez got another chance when he was played through on the left hand side and tried to roof Kingson as we have seen happen several other times in this tournament. Kingson was having none of it though and touched it over the net. Despite these great chances for Uruguay, the match was fairly even at this point and both sides were getting possession that would lead to chances. Uruguay had a few more quality chances than Ghana, but neither team could score in regulation and we would head into overtime.

Overtime was largely boring with some chances here and there. Gyan flashed a header over the bar off of a cross in the 110th, Forlan missed wide on the near post in the 114th, Boateng missed the near upper ninety off of a long throw in the 118th, and so on and so forth. But extra time in the second overtime period is where all the drama happened. Well, most of the drama. Ghana was threatening the goal furiously and had already had one chance cleared off the line when an attacker put a perfect header into the empty space for a goal. Rather, it was the empty space until Luis Suarez blatantly batted the ball off of the line with his hand to save a goal. Suarez was duly given a straight red card and Ghana was given a penalty kick. The problem was, Gyan stepped up to take the PK and put it off the crossbar, sending the match into penalty kicks.

I need a paragraph to talk about this play. It absolutely infuriates me from a fan standpoint, not as an official of the game. What Suarez did was illegal by the rules of soccer and he was punished accordingly. He was given a red card and a PK was awarded. But this still does not sit right with me in the least. He blatantly cheated, knowing that the worst his action would do is give his keeper a chance to save a PK (or give the shooter a chance to miss the PK) when the ball was definitely going in. Look at the replay. There is no doubt whatsoever that that ball does not go in the back of the net if Suarez doesn't bat it away. Not a 90%, not a 95% chance, a 100% chance that Ghana scores a goal and wins the game. So instead of a goal and Ghana moving on, we get a situation that is roughly 80% (I think it's fair to say that 4 out of 5 PKs going in is a fair rate, but if you want to give 90%, whatever - the point is that it's less than 100%) for Ghana to move on. I hate this. If a baserunner is rounding third base in baseball to come home for the winning run as the centerfielder meekly throws it in from the warning track, but the thirdbaseman trips him to prevent the run, the runner is still awarded the plate and the run scores. There is no situation where the runner tags up while the centerfielder starts with the ball in his hand or any shit like that. The blatantly illegal play isn't a bailout, but a non-factor. And this is what bothers me about this play. I'm not going to say that soccer needs to change its rules or anything hyperbolic like that. And I'm not going to say that Ghana automatically should have won that game right there and everyone should have left it be. But what I will not do is claim that he made a smart play when he blatantly cheated. This is worse than Robben taking dive after dive in the earlier match trying to draw cards against Brazilian defenders and win dangerous free kicks. This is even worse than a player diving in the box to attempt to earn a penalty kick for his team. This is the calculated removal of a sure goal and turning it into a chance for a pretty sure goal. I will never praise this play, do not expect me to.

After all of this drama, we found ourselves at penalty kicks and, after everything I said before, Ghana still had a chance to end this match with them as the victors. After Forlan steps up and delivers on his PK, we get the fantastic sight of watching Asamoah Gyan, fresh off of his miss at the very end of extra time, step up the spot first for his country and absolutely bury his PK into the right upper ninety. This was a fantastic moment for Ghana, but it was not to last. Down 3-2, defender John Mensa stepped up and took a one step lead-up into a terrible, terrible PK that the keeper had no trouble saving going to his left. All was not lost when Maxi Pereira drove his kick way over the crossbar as Ghana had a chance to level still. However, Muslera made an excellent diving save on substitute Dominic Adiyiah and then Uruguay's own substitute, Sebastian Abreu, calmly put in the winning penalty as Uruguay advanced to the semifinals.

Uruguay 1(4) - 1(2) Ghana


I am still annoyed just thinking about the end of this match, so I'm just going to call it a night and come back fresh to this in the morning. I am happy that Brazil lost, not because I have anything against Brazil, it's just that I would like to see a new nation hoist the trophy this year and Holland deserves it more than anyone other than perhaps Spain for their many years of success. But that small bit of interest doesn't make up for the dismal exit that Ghana faced, a Ghana side that I enjoyed watching throughout this tournament. Feel free to say that I'm biased in my judgment of how things turned out because I was rooting for Ghana. It is a fair accusation, but it does not deny the argument that I have made previously in this post. I will say this: if that was Landon Donovan who punched the ball off of the line, I would be ashamed to see a US victory come out of that match and I feel perhaps doubly so about Uruguay right now. Hopefully tomorrow's matches can wash this taste out of my mouth. Goodnight everyone.

Quarterfinal Predictions? Sure, Why Not?

Well, I went six for eight in the round of sixteen, but I got all the easy ones right and got the toss-ups wrong so I can do a lot better. Let's move on to the quarterfinals and see what we have.


Holland vs Brazil

This is one of those early round match-ups that could easily be the final game if the bracket had gone a different way. Both teams are soccer powerhouses, but Brazil can claim to have won five titles while the Dutch are seen as destined to lose in each tournament. Every World Cup is a new chance, but nothing comes easy when you have to go through Brazil. Holland's strength is their passing ability as they can easily keep possession, work the ball around, try different spots of the defense, and bring it back out if they don't seem to have an entry. At times, they can actually be too patient and then their attacks peter out into possession for the sake of possession and Dutch players lose their sense of urgency. Possession is all well and good, and it does keep the ball out of the hands of the talented Brazilians, but it needs to have purpose and the Dutch need to be willing to take some risks because Brazil is very disciplined defensively and will not give up easy passing lanes or shots. This is why Arjen Robben is so important to Holland. He will always look to attack and he will always look to create, much like David Villa with Spain. He needs to be willing to push the pace when the Dutch sit back too much, and he'll have very talented players to work with in Wesley Sneijder and Robin Van Persie, along with an absolute workhorse in Dirk Kuyt. But they still need to crack the Brazilian defense, which will be difficult.

Brazil's defense starts with center backs Lucio and Juan, who provide the backbone and the strength for the entire effort. Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo play in front of them as the hold midfielders and it is their discipline that allows Maicon and Michael Bastos to press up into the attack, which puts extra stress on the wings of their opponents. This defensive shape keeps attackers from getting too far into the offensive third and gives Brazil flexibility in how they go forward. Once up top, you have the trio of Robinho, Kaka, and most likely Dani Alves with Elano out, who can create on their own or feed Luis Fabiano. What this does, which is what Chile learned last Monday, is allow Brazil switch from offense to defense as if it was nothing. Any of the six attack minded players can lead a breakout and any of the stout defenders has enough touch on the ball to get the attack rolling. This is where Holland has to be extremely careful. Brazil will happily let them knock the ball around and control possession, but will keep them out of the truly dangerous areas. If Holland overlaps runs or has players take on defenders off the dribble, there needs to be cover for those who are forward and they can't let Brazil get too much time and space on the counter.

In the end, I think that Brazil is just too much for Holland. I mean, how do you beat a team that could defend for ninety minutes if they really wanted but would also be just as willing to attack, attack, attack? This is why Brazil is such a dangerous and this is why so many have them penciled in as champions already. Holland has shown an ability to possess and get off dangerous chances, but they haven't played a team as solid defensively as Brazil yet, and they most certainly haven't played a team who can counter as well. Holland's back line has also not been tested for extended periods of time due to their opposition and has still looked sloppy at times. I think that the quality of the Brazilian counters, or just the extended possessions on offense that Brazil is sure to have, will test the Dutch defense and find them lacking. Brazil moves on to the semifinals.


Ghana vs Uruguay

I've said it here before, I love how Ghana plays. I love how talented their wingers are, I love Asamoah Gyan's presence and patience up top, and I love their willingness to take on defenders and attack. They provide a lot of excitement and seem dangerous whenever they're on the ball. However, despite all of this threat, they have scored just four goals in four games, two of them on penalty kicks. We can talk all we like about how they have had their chances and it's only a matter of time, but if it keeps happening, it really is an issue. What doesn't help is that Kevin Prince-Boateng might not be one hundred percent after the injury he suffered in the match against the United States, which is especially problematic because he is the Ghanaian who is most willing to run at defenders in space and create space. Despite the chances that they've had, Ghana has had goal scoring difficulty so can they score against such a well disciplined defense as Uruguay?

Or perhaps the question should be, can Ghana score enough to keep up with one of the most talented pairings in the tournament, Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez? Forlan and Suarez have been absolutely on fire since their 0-0 draw against France and they have taken over every game they've played. Add in the support from Edinson Cavani and Alvaro Pereira and you have a team that put up three goals on South Africa and two goals on a disciplined and experienced South Korea squad. Forlan has not been taken out of a game yet and I don't see how Ghana will do it. Anthony Annan has proven to be a quality holding midfielder, but he is no Michael Essien. He is not the type of defender that can take a creative player on the other team out of the match with his marking and physicality. If Forlan gets time to create, then he will find Suarez, who will finish, and Ghana will be in big trouble.

I think the key to this game is how well Ghana can take advantage of their chances. Uruguay's defense is good, but it's far from unbeatable and Ghana's attack has shown that they can get looks at every defense, from Serbia to Germany to the United States. The problem is that they simply haven't finished enough of those chances. And when it comes to picking a game when one team is not obviously dominant, I'll go with the team that has proved it so far. Forlan and Suarez have been magic and I think they can do it again.


Argentina vs Germany

Here is the other battle of the quarterfinals that seems like it should be happening later on in the tournament. Regardless, we have a contest here of the two sides that, save Brazil, have been the most impressive of any at the World Cup and have produced chance after chance on offense. Argentina brings to the table the consensus best player in the world in Lionel Messi, but also several other talented attackers in Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain. Tevez has worked like a dog this entire tournament and has created chances out of nothing as well as won back balls that he had no right to in the first place. Higuain has not been magical, but to his credit he always seems to find an opening to get to so that Messi can get him the ball. The main worry for Argentina has to be that they have not seen a team as talented as Germany so far, both offensively and defensively. Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero has looked very dodgy at times and the inconsistent play of center back Martin Demichelis can't make fans feel any better. Can they stand up to a potent German attack?

Germany has looked nigh-unstoppable at times, which everyone making negative comments about them seems to forget. They bring up their 1-0 loss against Serbia but gloss over the fact that they played for more than sixty minutes with only ten men against a superb defensive team. They remind us all of how they only managed a 1-0 win over Ghana, but seem to forget that Germany got their lead and then could afford to sit back and do nothing because of Australia's lead over Serbia guaranteeing their qualification. This team has been dynamite on offense and has all the creativity and passing skill to break down good defenses, let alone average ones. Mesut Ozil has been a revelation in this tournament with his creative runs and excellent distribution, and Thomas Muller has been no slouch on the wing with his willingness to take on defenders and his service into the box. That's not even mentioning the proven goal scoring ability of Miroslav Klose or Lukas Podolski. I don't know that either Sebastian Schweinsteiger or Sami Khedira can mark and contain Messi, but then again I don't know if anyone can. The fact that they don't have one man who can contain the best player in the world should not be an indictment on their ability.

In the end, I think Germany takes this highly entertaining match. The offense for both teams is incredibly strong, though I have more faith in the midfield play of Germany than Argentina because of the play of Angel di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez. Neither have blown me away and I put more stock in Muller and Podolski due to their performance so far. It might very well come down to the defense and goalies, and here Germany has the advantage. Argentina gave Mexico far too many chances and Romero has looked shaky. On the other hand, Manuel Neuer has been fantastic and looks like a top keeper in this tournament. This should be a great match, but I see Germany moving on.


Paraguay vs Spain

If you thought Spain's last match was 85 minutes of attacking and minimal defense on counters, this match could push that even further. Paraguay is primarily a defensive team, one that can score of course, but a defensive team at heart that puts men behind the ball and wears down their opponents. The problem is, Spain has seen this already in a Portuguese team that has more on the ball skill, higher quality attacking players, and superior pace and decision making on the counter. They created numerous chances against Portugal's defense and were able to break it with almost a half an hour left in the game, then still proceeded to dominate the flow of play while Portugal needed a goal to stay in the tournament. Anything could happen, always and of course, but what reason do we truly have to think that Spain should lose this match?

Paraguay has been solid defensively, only allowing one goal in the entire tournament to the Italians. Justo Villar has been quality in goal and the defense can defend well on the ground or in the air. They also do an excellent job of pressing up high and disrupting their opponents far from goal. This can lead to turnovers and quick counters which helps Paraguay feed an offense that isn't going to posses 70/30 and keep their opponents on their heels the whole time. The problem is that their attack has been weak, only scoring three goals in four games, and never looking truly dangerous. Roque Santa Cruz is their big talent, but he has been very quiet thus far and he looks to be playing at less than he is capable. Lucas Barrios and Nelson Haedo Valdez have looked good at times, but do we expect them to embarrass Gerard Pique or Carlos Puyol? Paraguay can defend well, but can they shut down Spain as Portugal was unable to do? And can they score as well, because they can't realistically expect to win this game 0-0 in shootouts, can they?

Spain, much like Holland, is a passing first team that moves the ball around endlessly looking for a way to attack the defense. Holland has Robben to attack defenders and aggressively push the pace, Spain has David Villa for a similar purpose. The advantage I feel Spain holds in such a comparison, however, is that they also have other players who will look to attack. Andres Iniesta always looks to create around the box and despite his form not being what it normally is, Fernando Torres is a knowledgeable, creative striker that knows where to be and where to get to. And if Spain looks to be too content to knock the ball around and needs an injection of pace or creativity, they can bring Cesc Fabregas, Jesus Navas, or Fernando Llorente off of the bench. I can't possibly see Spain going scoreless through 120 minutes and unless Paraguay comes out pushing, which will open them up to counters, I don't see them conceding a goal to a team that is essentially a worse version of the team they beat in the round of sixteen.

My conclusion should be obvious, but I don't see Spain losing this match. If Paraguay plays more offensively, Spain should be able to pick them apart on the counter or catch their defenders out of position more on regular possession. If Paraguay pressures the ball up high, it's more likely that Spain will beat that pressure with quick passes and create space in the offensive third, leading to scores. If Paraguay puts nine to ten men behind the ball and dares Spain to score, Spain will have 120 minutes to pick apart a defense that is good, but not as good as the defense they beat last time after just over 60 minutes. Spain has too many answers and are too good of a side to go down in this match-up.


Well, there you have it, my brilliant picks for the quarterfinals. As always, you're more than welcome to come back after the games are over and mock my pregame analysis. Regardless of my skill at picking these matches, let's just hope that we are treated to entertaining soccer in each and every contest in order to keep pace with the rest of the tournament thus far (save perhaps for some of the first set of games). Enjoy, everyone.

Awwww, Poor Ronaldo

Yes, I just gave away the result of the Portugal vs Spain game. I can't help but celebrate whenever Christiano Ronaldo is faced with hardship, sorry. Today brought us the end of the round of sixteen games and it was a fantastic finish to an excellent round of soccer. I may have spoiled the result of Portugal vs Spain, but there is still the defensive struggle between Paraguay and Japan to discuss, plus I'll still give my thoughts on Spain's victory. The last day of this round may have given us fewer goals than any other, but that does not mean that it was any less exciting.


Japan vs Paraguay

The fact that this was a defensive battle should not lessen our view on the quality of the game as the tactics by each side were impressive to watch. Paraguay played good, aggressive defense that mostly kept Japan out of the offensive third and limited their chances in front of net. Japan played a softer style of defense, but they did very well to shut down chances once they came and the number of blocked shots, while implying a more risky style, was still something to behold. The match started very even with each team unable to get into any sort of rhythm due to the pressure and discipline from their opponents. Most of the play was in the neutral third of the field and, despite brief forays into the offensive zones, neither side created any serious chances. The 20th minute brought about the first chance for Paraguay and set the tone for how the game would be played: discipline and organization leading the way, only stepping aside to superior individual effort. In this case, an excellent turn by Lucas Barrios put him in on goal but his shot was stopped by Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima, who had an excellent match. Japan responded in the very next minute when Daisuke Matsui stepped into a loose ball and ripped a dipping shot that looked like it would clear the keeper but rang off the crossbar instead of ending in the back of the net. Paraguay had their next chance in the 29th when the ball fell to Roque Santa Cruz off of a corner kick, but his shot went wide thanks in part to excellent pressure from Japanese forward Keisuke Honda. Matsui was again dangerous for Japan in the 40th minute when some nifty dribbling got him free of his marker on the right side and a quick 1-2 played him into space. He put a pass into Honda that Honda controlled and then struck with the outside of his foot, but the ball curved just past the left post rather than occupying the back pocket of the net. Each team did well with their few high quality chances, but neither could gain the advantage on the scoreboard.

It's hard to describe the rest of this match in terms of chances, but unfortunately solid defense and excellent tactics don't make for excellent writing or reading. I would just like to make clear that the lack of chances for either side did not come from ineptness on offense, but rather from the high quality of defense that both kept the opposing side out of the danger areas as well as closed down chances that were beginning to form. I can't begin to list the number of times an attack was building well, but then a smart tackle or decisive header saved things for the side under siege. This seemed especially true for Japan as they often started their attacks well but couldn't put the final shot on goal to finish it off and make an opportunity worth writing about. Paraguay was the stronger team in general in this match though, putting on more pressure and possessing the ball more. They had a solid chance in the 59th when Claudio Morel Rodriguez played an excellent ball in from the left but Christian Riveros' well hit header was unfortunately directly at the keeper. Regulation finished still at 0-0 so extra time was needed to determine a winner. Paraguay had the better chances again, such as in the 95th minute when a cross came in from the left and Barrios put an excellent glancing header on goal. However, the angle was too poor to do much more than send the ball directly into Kawashima yet again. Substitute Nelson Haedo Valdez had Paraguay's last good chance in the 97th when he turned perfectly into the box but couldn't elevate the ball over Kawashima, who made an excellent decision to come charging off his line. Extra time ended at 0-0 as well, so we would have our first match determined by penalty kicks.

Not sure how exactly to break down a shoot out because describing each goal would be boring as hell, but I'll do what I can. Kawashima was the better keeper in my opinion as he guessed correctly on each of the first two shots and would have saved the second one were it not for an unlucky bounce over his well-placed outstretched arm. I also have to say that I loved Yasuhito Endo's PK. Once the referee blew the whistle, Endo stayed in place for a few extra seconds staring at the ball, then looked directly into the keeper's eyes for a second or two, and then calmly buried his shot high to the right. Cold as ice and I love it. Paraguay got the break though when Yuichi Komano struck his PK off the crossbar and suddenly Japan was behind a goal. They never caught up and Oscar Cardozo finished the match off with a well struck kick. Paraguay would move on to the quarterfinals while Japan went home. It's hard to not feel for Komano on this as no one wants to miss the decisive penalty kick. Still, I enjoyed watching Japan in every game they played and Keisuke Honda was an absolute revelation for me. I had probably seen him play a game or two with CSK Moscow and not known it but good god is he talented. Here's hoping he's one of the World Cup success stories that hits it big after a strong performance. Regardless of my love of Japan's national team, Paraguay were the better team in this match and they deserve to move on. Now, let's see how well they match up against Spain.

Paraguay 0 (5) - 0 (3) Japan


Portugal vs Spain

Much was made of this battle for the Iberian Peninsula, but I was personally just looking forward to an interesting, well played match. The big question was whether or not the pinpoint Spanish passing could break down a well organized and athletic Portugal team that would focus their efforts on defense. In the early going, Spain looked like they would emphatically answer that question, perhaps several times over. They tested the right side of the Portuguese defense severely and almost came away with early goals for both their strikers. In the very first minute, Fernando Torres cut in from the left and tried to place a ball at the back post. Portuguese keeper Eduardo was up to the task however, and not enough can be said about how well he played during this match. Eduardo made several conventional saves and several fantastic saves and generally kept his defensive-minded teammates in the match. David Villa tried his luck in a manner similar to Torres in the 3rd and 7th minutes, both shots requiring saves by Eduardo. It looked like Ricardo Costa would collapse at any minute and let in the all important first goal, but Portugal regrouped and began to stunt the Spanish attack.

The possession wasn't 100% Spain however, and Portugal did get some chances in this match. In the 21st, Tiago tested Iker Casillas with a shot from outside the 18 and Casillas did stop it, but popped the ball up in the air and then had to punch the ball away from Hugo Almeida, who was smartly crashing the net. Almeida got his own chance in the 39th off of a cross into the box from Raul Meireles, but couldn't get on the end of a well struck ball. Portugal then almost got a lucky goal off of Spain in the 52nd when Almeida put a cross into the box that Carles Puyol was forced to get a thigh to because Ronaldo was lurking behind him. The deflection proved dangerous though as it floated over Casillas and just wide of the back post. Despite these chances for Portugal, and they definitely did get others on counters and smartly held possession, this game was all about Spain endeavoring to break down the tight Portuguese defense. Spain was reluctant to throw everything forward because of how worried they were about a Portuguese counter attack (and rightfully so), so they played possession soccer and attacked carefully, testing each angle of the defense before making their final move. I think they could have benefited from someone like Jesus Navas or Cesc Fabregas coming into the match because they are players willing to take someone off the dribble and create more chaos among the defenders, but it is hard to argue with the results of who was on the field.

Spain's most dangerous time of the match outside of the first few minutes started in the 60th and ended in the result that they needed the most. The first chance was a pinpoint cross in from Sergio Ramos that substitute Fernando Llorente put a great diving header on, but could do nothing more than direct it right at Eduardo since the biggest challenge was getting to the cross in the first place. A minute later, Villa was at it again, cutting into the middle just as before and unleashing a curling, dipping shot that missed the back post by a foot or so at most. Then in the 63rd, the Spanish team got what they had been trying for all along. A clever backheel from Xavi freed Villa for a run in at goal from the lefthand side. Eduardo did well to charge out and block the initial shot, but the rebound fell back to Villa and he smartly elevated the ball and put it off of the underside of the crossbar and in. This is what David Villa does. He scores goals. 42 goals in 62 international appearances now? That's just ridiculous. This was the goal that broke the back of the Portuguese and while they valiantly searched for the equalizer, it was not to be and the patience of the Spanish attack won the day.

Spain 1 - 0 Portugal


Wow, what a fantastic round of games. We thankfully only had one match decided by a shoot out and even if every game wasn't a nailbiter, they were still all entertaining as hell to watch. I would obviously have rather seen the United States pull off a win against Ghana (still pretty bitter over that), but other than that, it's very tough to complain. And now, we have Germany vs Argentina and Brazil vs Holland to look forward to, with Spain still lurking in the wings. Plus the underdog stories of Ghana, Uruguay and Paraguay. This is shaping up to be an excellent, excellent final eight so do what you need to in order to enjoy these matches. I know I will. As always, thanks for reading.

The Favorites Hold Serve Again

Since the title of today's post obviously doesn't refer to Andy Roddick (goddamn it), you can assume I'm talking about the favorites in the round of sixteen. The only result that could be possibly be considered an upset was Ghana's win over the United States and I have a tough time believing that was much more than a toss-up in most people's books. Yesterday we had perennial powerhouses Germany and Argentina taking care of business and today we would find out if Holland and Brazil could do likewise. Unsurprisingly, they managed.


Slovakia vs Holland

Slovakia did have a great chance early on in the 2nd minute when Erik Jendrisek got open at the top of the 18 and put his shot just over. Unfortunately for Slovakia, it would be their only opportunity of the first half as Holland dominated the rest of possession and got the majority of the chances. The first of these chances came in the 7th when Dirk Kuyt picked Robin Van Persie out with a perfect cross, but Van Persie wasted Kuyt's good play by mistiming the header. He made up for it in the 11th minute when he made a good run through defenders and then laid the ball off to Wesley Sneijder, who wasted his chance by shooting right at keeper Jan Mucha. He made up for it in the 18th minute when he played a perfect one time ball up from the back that Arjen Robben ran onto in space. Robben crossed his defender over and took the ball towards the center of the field, ripping a left footed shot past Mucha and inside the right post. Fantastic pass by Sneijder to start Robben on the break and a superb bit of skill from Robben to beat his defender and get off a shot, with an assist to Van Persie for making a smart run behind Robben to draw a potential defender on Robben away. Great play by the Dutch and they looked to be in a strong position to take the game over.

The Dutch held possession for the rest of the first half, but really just knocked the ball around rather than going hard at the Slovaks. They were very patient in their passing and only looked to seriously threaten once or twice. In the second half however, they ramped up their pressure and started actively seeking the second goal that would, in all likelihood, put them through to the next round. In the 50th minute, Robben made a run almost identical to his goal scoring endeavor by cutting to the inside only this time his lefty shot was aimed at the back post and Mucha was forced to make a fantastic save. Robben was at it again in the very next minute, only this time he was working on the left wing before putting a ball into Van Persie who promptly hit a sprawling Mucha in the face with his shot. It was amusing to hear the announcers talk about the great save the keeper made when in reality he got struck in the face, but it was his good positioning that saved him (sort of) and kept Slovakia in the game.

Mucha's teammates made the most of his heroics by finally getting some shots on goal to test Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg. In the 67th, Miroslav Stoch made a Robbenesque run across the top of the 18 and put a high shot on goal that Stekelenburg was forced to touch over. Later in the 67th, Robert Vittek received the ball at the top of the 18 in an onside position, turned quickly to face goal and clear his defender, then calmly took his shot on net. His poise in this situation was excellent, but Vittek put the shot too close to Stekelenburg as the keeper made a fantastic save with his top hand as he went to ground, anticipating a low shot. Great reaction save by the Dutch keeper, but as well as he did to take his time, Vittek has to give the keeper no shot and just bury that in a corner. Holland made them pay for wasting their chances in the 84th minute when Kuyt beat Mucha to a ball out wide on the left (perhaps Mucha's only mistake of the match), then settled the ball and waited for the filling runs, feeding Sneijder perfectly so that all he had to do was pass the ball into the back of the net. Kuyt showed great hustle and composure on this shot and Holland was into the quarterfinals. Slovakia did bring the game back to a one goal margin in the 94th when Vittek converted on a well taken penalty kick, but it was too little too late as that was to be the match's last play. Some comfort for Vittek though, as that goal made him the all time goal scoring leader in Slovakia. Unfortunately, it was as his team was knocked out of the World Cup.

Holland 2 - 1 Slovakia


Chile vs Brazil

This match had the chance to be an exciting up-and-down match with plenty of chances for both sides as Brazil has all the skill in the world while Chile loves to play a fast paced, attacking brand of soccer. Rather than the tense contest some of us were expecting, we were instead shown exactly why Brazil is considered the best team in the world. Brazil dominated this match in terms of possession and chances and still didn't look like they were finding their highest gear yet, as they were content to play the ball around for much of the first half and only looked to attack when they had an obvious path to goal. Early on they settled for shots from distance, like in the 8th from Gilberto Silva that Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo was forced to make a diving save on, and in the 12th from Ramires that Bravo did well to smother and not let a rebound free on. Brazil's patience paid off in the 34th when Juan made his run behind three other Brazilian runs to get free and got his head on the end of a Maicon corner kick to bury the ball just underneath the crossbar. Great out-swinging ball from Maicon and a fantastic run and even better header from Juan. Brazil put the game seemingly out of reach just a few minutes later in the 38th when Robinho made a run down the left and passed into the middle for Kaka who quickly played the ball through to Luis Fabiano. Fabiano smartly touched the ball around the keeper and then calmly finished to put Brazil up by two and cap a fantastic sequence of passes.

Brazil kept applying the pressure and never let Chile see the ball for long enough for CONMEBOL's second place qualifiers to get into a rhythm. Alexis Sanchez and substitute Jorge Valdivia were able to make some interesting moments with their surges forward, but Brazil was defending way to well and was in command of the match. Brazil put the game firmly out of reach (as if it wasn't out of reach already) on a counter run by Ramires who set up Robinho at the top of the 18, dead center. Robinho wasted no time and hit a disgusting one touch shot that curled around Bravo and swung back inside the post for Brazil's third goal. Great surge forward by Ramires to do the dirty work but this is all about Robinho's brilliant shot which almost no keeper would have had a shot at. It's hard to say this about any keeper who gives up three goals in a match, but it's hard to envision Bravo playing any better. Yet Brazil is that good and still won 3-0. Humberto Suazo provided some entertaining moments for Chile after the Robinho goal, but nothing could be done about being down 3-0 to Brazil as the five-time World Cup champions steamrolled their way to a quarterfinal match-up with Holland.

Brazil 3 - 0 Chile


It's hard to look ahead with tomorrow's excellent Portugal vs Spain and Paraguay vs Japan matches, but I'm already drooling in anticipation over Argentina vs Germany and Holland vs Brazil. It may be an elimination round marked by the advancement of the favorites so far, but that's fine as it makes for some incredible matches along the way. Couldn't be happier with the quality of play so far and I'm already looking forward to what comes next.

Making Their Case for Best in the World

Today was lined up as a great day of soccer with two high quality matches: England vs Germany and Mexico vs Argentina. The English side had played quite poorly in the group stages, but still had the talent to pose a real threat to the Germans, who had only dropped one game, the game in which they played with ten men for two-thirds of the time. With these two soccer powers meeting in the round of sixteen, it was somewhat surprising to think about one of them going home already. Still, only one could move on and it was time to find out who.


England vs Germany

The first fifteen or so minutes of the game were somewhat dull as each team was testing the other out, trying to find the best places to attack. As a result, possession was held pretty evenly, though Germany seemed to do slightly more with the ball rather than just hold onto it and knock it around. The only real chance of this early patient period was when Mesut Ozil was played through on a nice chip over the English back line. He was able to put a shot on goal from a poor angle, but keeper David James denied his attempt. This weakness to balls played over the top would come back to burn England in the 20th minute when Miroslav Klose somehow was able to split two defenders on a long ball forward by the keeper Manuel Neuer and then touch it past James for the first goal of the game. This was terrible, terrible marking by the English defenders but also a bad job by James staying rooted to the line and only coming out when it was too late. Even with the bad play by England, credit must be given to Klose for fighting through the defenders and finishing well.

England seemed to be lacking creativity throughout this match as they couldn't find a way through the German defense on most of their attacks. They almost looking confused and befuddled when they had the ball and tried to push everything through the middle rather than get the wings involved. Germany pushed their wingers into the play well and this was perhaps the reason England didn't get wide as much. In the 30th, Sami Khedira set up Thomas Muller with a nifty backheel and Muller played through to Ozil who tried to elevate the ball over James but couldn't clear the keeper. Germany was pushing to take further control of the game with their second goal and it came in the 32nd minute when Klose played a clever chip to work Muller in behind the defense. Rather than take the shot himself, Muller crossed to Lukas Podolski who got the ball onto his favored left foot and blasted the ball across the face of goal and off the back post and in. Fantastic finish from Podolski and excellent quick passing by Germany which has been their trademark in this tournament.

After this second goal, England seemed to come alive and actually play up to their potential. In the 35th, James Milner put in a nice cross to Frank Lampard at the near post, but Neuer was just barely able to get his arm up to deflect the shot away. Neuer was fantastic all game long, but even he couldn't stop England in the 37th minute when Steven Gerrard found Matthew Upson in the middle with a cross and Upson buried the header for England's first goal. By all accounts, they should have had their second in the very next minute when Lampard dipped a volley over the head of Neuer and off the underside of the crossbar and in. However, neither the referee nor his assistant saw the ball cross the line and when the ball bounced back up, it hit the crossbar and then came down again, but this time in front of the goal line. Since they didn't see the ball over the line initially, they were fooled by the path of the ball after that and no goal was awarded. This was a terrible miss by the officiating crew and it changed the entire complexion of the game. Rather than England being able to essentially reset the game by tying it up, they were instead still pushing from behind to catch the Germans and Germany was able to take advantage of that.

England was starting to finally get into an offensive rhythm at the end of the first half and they were able to carry that over into the second half as well as they tried to get level (again). In the 52nd, Lampard ambitiously lined up a free kick from far out on the right side and, to everyone's surprise but his own, put a rocket of a shot on goal that clanged off the crossbar. England kept pressing after that and were pressing again when they were finally undone by it. Off of a failed corner, Gareth Barry took a terrible touch on the ball to give it away to the Germans and all of the sudden, Germany was on the break as most of the English defenders were left in their offensive zone after coming up for the corner. Bastian Schweinsteiger took control of the breakout and brought it back to the middle before playing a pretty through ball that Muller buried in the back of the net. Excellent counter by the Germans but there were still mistakes by the English that allowed the goal to happen. Glen Johnson had a chance to tackle Schweinsteiger off the ball but pulled back in case he fouled him, which is actually what he should have done even if it earned him a card.. Then before Muller's shot, James guessed far post and started to fall that way, taking him completely out of position when Muller aimed a good, but savable shot at the near post. Germany made these arguments over who was to blame academic just three minutes later when Ozil beat Barry to a long ball down the left flank, carried the ball calmly into the box, and found a streaking Muller towards the back post and Muller made no mistake. Two daggers in the span of four minutes, and this game was over for England. Fantastic performance by Germany with sloppy defense by England, but it would still be nice to know how things would have gone if Lampard's goal had counted and England had tied things at 2-2 in the first half.

Germany 4 - 1 England


Mexico vs Argentina

Here was a chance for revenge for Mexico as Argentina knocked them out last tournament in the round of sixteen on Maxi Rodriguez's absurdly difficult side volley into the back corner of the goal. Coming into this match, it was hard to envision anyone beating Argentina however, as they had ran through their first three games with little difficulty and were an early favorite to take home the title of world champions. It was hard to see that early on though as Mexico had the best chances on goal and almost took the early lead. Carlos Salcido started things off in the 8th minute with a nice shot from distance that keeper Sergio Romero didn't seem to see until it was already past him. Luckily for Romero and Argentina, the shot struck the crossbar and the game stayed scoreless. The very next minute though, Andres Guardado took an outside of the foot shot that barely scooted past the left post. If this ball had been curling in rather than out, it would have ended up in the back of the net rather than bouncing off the placards beside the goal. Mexico was being denied goals at the very last stage whereas Argentina's attacks were missing that last touch or last dribble or last past that would put them through. Several times they had attempts blocked, or had their dribbling attackers closed off by Mexican defenders at the last minute. Tense times for both fans that made for an exciting early part of the match.

Things had just started to slow down due to the intense Mexican pressure keeping the Argentina attack from building, when Argentina broke through and got on the board first, albeit controversially. It's no surprise that it was Lionel Messi with the creativity to get things going as he slotted the ball through to Carlos Tevez who had his original chance stopped by keeper Oscar Perez. The ball dropped to Messi though and the superstar flipped the ball forward to Tevez who headed it in for the goal. The problem was that Tevez was obviously in an offside position and for some reason, the referee's assistant missed it. Really, this was an easy call as the official was in a perfect position to see Tevez but inexplicably kept the flag down. The referee conferred with his assistant as they were mobbed by Mexican players appealing for an offsides call, but the goal stood and Argentina was unfairly put up 1-0. It would soon be 2-0 in the 33rd minute when Mexican defender Ricardo Osorio badly misplayed the ball and left it for Gonzalo Higuain, who jumped at the chance. Higuain held off Osario on his back while cleverly touching the ball around Perez before finishing into the open goal. An unforgivable mistake by Osario, but a lovely bit of skill from Higuain to make the most of the opportunity. Argentina put down the pedal after this and Mexico was lucky to make it to the break only down by two goals.

That didn't last long, however, as a wonderful individual effort from Tevez put Argentina up 3-0. Tevez had his initial pass blocked, but the ball squirted out to his right and Tevez stepped into a rocket of a shot from around twenty-five yards out that Perez never had a chance at. The ball sailed into the right corner of the goal and Mexico looked to be heading home again to Argentina and again in the round of sixteen. They never gave up though and created opportunities going forward. Substitute Pablo Barrera made a nice run along the goal line in the 60th minute but put his shot into the side netting. Then in the 63rd, Javier Hernandez got open in the box for a header on goal but put it over the top instead of in the back of the net. This was a fantastic opportunity for Hernandez and one he absolutely had to do better with. He did better in the 71st minute when his quick turn beat his defender and his shot roofed the keeper at the near post to put Mexico on the board. Unfortunately for them, it was too little too late as Argentina won their fourth straight game and moved on to the quarterfinals.

Argentina 3 - 1 Mexico


Despite the lopsided final scores, both of these games were quite competitive for most of the time. Both Argentina and Germany were too much for their opponents however, and have perhaps been the most impressive teams in this tournament so far. Perennial powerhouse Brazil may have something to say about that tomorrow when they take on Chile in what could be a highly entertaining affair. Holland are no slouches either and they try to make quick work of defensive minded Slovakia and their talented striker Robert Vittek. Great elimination games today and I can only hope that tomorrow's will be up to snuff. Thank you all for reading and keep enjoying these matches.

It Wasn't Enough, But Thanks for the Memories

Today was the beginning of the elimination rounds and I couldn't be happier. While there was definitely some high drama in some of the group stage matches, most notably being the United States vs Algeria game, nothing can quite compare to the elimination matches where you know that if you lose, you're out. I started off the day incredibly on edge about the USA vs Ghana game later in the day, but first there was the Uruguay vs South Korea game to take in. Luckily, we started things off fantastically.


South Korea vs Uruguay

This game started with a bang, or perhaps a thwump, when Park Chu-Yung took a free kick from the left side off the box and curled it off the near post. It was a very, very well taken kick and a bit unlucky for South Korea because the keeper was beaten on the shot. Uruguay made them pay immediately when Diego Forlan was able to turn away from two defenders and put a deceptively quick cross along the face of goal in the 8th minute. South Korean keeper Jung Sung-Ryong was unable to get to the ball and Luis Suarez took the gift at the back post and put it in the open net. Forlan created the chance (as he often does), Suarez finished calmly (which is unsurprising), but the key to this play was the keeper not getting to the ball. If you are going to come out and leave your net completely exposed, you absolutely have to get a touch to the ball at least to divert it. Regardless of blame or competence, South Korea was now in a hole that they desperately needed to get out of.

Uruguay played more defensively after scoring the opening goal, but it was a high pressure defense rather than a soft version that would allow the Koreans to make it into the offensive third before clogging the middle and denying chances. The best way I can describe how Uruguay played would be by comparing it to an aggressive forecheck in hockey. Defenders put pressure on nearly any Korean player with the ball and easy simple balls along the ground up from the fullbacks were challenged. I didn't count how many times a South Korean player was stripped of the ball fifty plus feet from goal, but it happened over and over in the first half. South Korea retained much of their game plan despite being down a goal and played disciplined defense while looking for the counter. Because of these two styles clashing, there were a lot of turnovers in the midfield and it was generally a game played in the neutral third with not much continuous possession by either side. South Korea has a couple of half chances, including a shot wide by Park Chu-Young and a dipping shot over the top by Cha Du-Ri, but the half ended with Uruguay still up a goal and South Korea looking for answers to their persistent defense.

Whatever the South Korean coach said at halftime, it worked because South Korea came out as the obviously better team in the second half. I don't know if it was because South Korea strung together more passes together in midfield and forced them out of it, or if Uruguay made a tactical defensive change, but there was no more high pressure as Uruguay shifted to more of a defensive shell strategy, a strategy that I was not a huge fan of as it ran counter to the good that Uruguay had done with their other system. As a result, South Korea started piling up offensive chances that presented a serious menace to Uruguay. Park Chu-Young dummied a ball in the 50th that left Kim Jae-Sung with an excellent chance, but he couldn't beat his defender to the ball. Then a minute later, Kim Jae-Sung had an open shot in the box but put it just over the bar when he should have done much better and at least challenged the keeper. Cha Du-Ri put an excellent cross into the box in the 59th minute and Park Ji-Sung flashed an superb header on goal but couldn't get enough power on it and Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera was able to save it fully outstretched on a dive. All of this led to the 68th minute when a defensive header by Uruguay only popped up in the air toward the back post and Lee Chung-Yong connected on his header to bring South Korea back to level. This was a long time coming for the Koreans and was much deserved as they had dominated up to this point in the second half.

To their credit, Uruguay flipped the proverbial switch after this goal and really controlled the game until the final whistle. Suarez was the man of the second half as he was everywhere, challenging defenders and making creative runs. In the 73rd and 74th minutes, he beat the offsides trap twice to get in on goal. The first time he launched a shot at the near post upper ninety from a bad angle that the keeper was forced to save and the second time he badly misjudged a header and put it harmlessly over the endline. He was looking very dangerous though and Uruguay did in general as well. It made you wonder why Uruguay seemed content to sit back and defend when they obviously had this ability to seek out a second goal and at the very least counter the South Korean attack. Whatever the tactics were, right or wrong, Uruguay had their form back and unsurprisingly it was Suarez that made their good play count in the 80th minute. On the left hand side of goal, he was able to shake his defender and cut in slightly to the right before curling a perfectly, perfectly placed ball that rang off the inside of the far post and into the back of the net. Magic. Absolute magic. One of the contenders for goal of the tournament, though I think I still prefer David Villa's run and upper ninety shot to put Spain on the board against Honduras. Regardless of overall accolades, Suarez's individual effort was fantastic and gave Uruguay the lead they needed to make it through to the quarterfinals. This was an amazing game to watch and an amazing start to the knockout rounds. I give all credit to South Korea, but Uruguay was simply the better team today.

Uruguay 2 - 1 South Korea


Ghana vs United States

I was incredibly nervous about this game going in because I know that Ghana's strengths lay in solid wing play and Asamoah Gyan creating from his striker position. The first blow came when the starting lineups came out and to be honest, I was livid. First complaint: Jonathan Bornstein starting. I know that Oguchi Onyewu would most likely be scratched due to health, but I thought that coach Bob Bradley needed to do everything he could to keep Bornstein off the field because he can't contain wingers with pace. Second complaint: Ricardo Clark starting over Maurice Edu. How do you bench the holding midfielder that played through an intense victory over Algeria? Why would you mess with a successful starting lineup? There was no reason to keep Edu on the bench to start the game and putting in Clark, the worst of all the US options at central middie, was unforgivable. Third complaint: Robbie Findley starting over Edson Buddle or Hercules Gomez. I understand Bradley has gone with Findley whenever he could but his pace is not enough to make up for his lack of touch on the ball and general unimpressive play up top. Both Buddle and Gomez have that "maybe they'll score right now" quality. Findley doesn't and I can't believe he started. In my opinion, Bradley was zero for three on important decisions before even hitting the field.

It's worth noting here that we watched this game at our local bar, Irish Village, which is an excellent place to watch a match like this. Enough people to get good reactions but not enough people to make it too crowded to move. Fantastic bar. Because of how we chose to watch the game, I did not take notes so you'll be getting emotional outbursts and an analysis based on memory. Since the latter is not my strong suit, be ready for a reactionary response to the match.

Fuck. Five minutes into the game, Clark proved why he should never had started this game. He tried to take on a defender in the defensive third when he had no reason to and was rightfully stripped of the ball. Kevin Prince-Boateng did an excellent job of progressing play, crossing over defender Jay DeMerit, and slotting a shot inside the left post leaving Tim Howard with little chance at a save. This was a bad, bad turnover from Clark and unfortunately the US were punished for his transgression. Credit to Prince-Boateng for remaining calm and having the intelligence to set up his left foot for the near side shot. Howard could perhaps have played tighter to the near post but it's easy to nitpick when you get 583 different views from 25 different angles. The moral of the story is the Clark gave the ball away terribly when he didn't need to and Prince-Boateng finished well.

After the goal, the US didn't seem to get their sense of urgency going. They seemed content to play mostly as they had coming into the game, trying to get a counter off of their defensive efforts. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Clark forced a change when he went recklessly into a Ghanaian player and drew a yellow card for the poor challenge. Great. So not only did our worst player on the field turn over the ball when he had no cause to, but he also took a stupid yellow by trying to rashly make-up for his mistake. I still can't believe Bradley started him. Thankfully, Edu was substituted for Clark in the 31st minute and order was restored. I can appreciate Bob Bradley essentially admitting he was wrong by taking out a player in the first half when an injury wasn't involved, but that still doesn't explain why he was started in the first place. Clark proved exactly why he should have been on the bench at the start of the match and hopefully Edu could do something to rescue the US from this hole.

It can't be said enough how devastating this was for the US fans in the bar. In three out of the four games, the US had given up a goal in the opening fifteen minutes of the match and it was simply deflating. Now your team needs to come back from a goal down and then score the go-ahead goal to get a win. I don't understand why the US needs to be losing in order to play their best, but they do and maybe this was actually what they needed. It took some time for the US to get moving again, but once they did, they started hitting the forwards with through and long balls and got them involved in the match. Altidore specifically had a great game by being able to hold the ball on forward attacks and distribute appropriately. The US created chances but Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingson played a fantastic game and was able to shut down most of what the US pushed forward. The match went into halftime still at 1-0 and we started to wonder what Bradley would do coming out of the half. Though I dogged Bradley for his decisions at the start of the match, he has a track record of making fantastic substitutions based on the need of the match, so I had faith in him putting a good team out on the field. His response to being down a goal at half was to sub in Benny Feilhaber for Findley and I fully agreed with this. Feilhaber has been fantastic as a substitute and he had the potential to give the US a much needed spark moving forward.

In response to the changes and the obstacles in front of them, the US came out and played a great second half. For the first twenty or so minutes. the US was the obviously better team and created chance after chance. I'd love to tell you exactly what they were, but I didn't note when they pushed forward well due to the general lack of note-taking. The crowd in the bar was anxious, not because they didn't believe, but because everyone knew that the US needed a goal and no one was sure when it might actually come. As it turns out, it came in the 62nd minute when Dempsey was cleared out on a great run through the right hand side of the box. After touching the ball around a defender, Dempsey has a great chance at a pass/shot option but was tackled hard by Jonathan Mensah. The penalty resulted in a free kick and Landon Donovan stepped up to the spot with the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. Donovan got Kingson guessing the wrong way, but he struck the ball off of the inside of the post before it nestled in the back of the net. Jesus God this PK gave me a heart attack. I saw Donovan beat the keeper but it wasn't until I saw the ball firmly in the goal before I could truly celebrate. I mean, it was the perfect PK since it gave the keeper absolutely no chance, but it's not exactly something you aim for. Regardless, excellent take by Donovan and the US was back to level.

The rest of the second half played out fairly normally. The US had chances, Ghana had chances, and some of them were very close. But no one could find the back of the net and we finished out the first ninety minutes even at 1-1. The entire bar was nervous. Everyone knew what was needed but anything could happen in the overtime period so you can't take anything for granted. As it turns out, Ghana had the superior play in the extra frames as Asamoah Gyan split the US defense in the 93rd minute by chesting the ball down to his left foot and putting a spectacular shot over Howard. This was absolutely devastating, but there is no denying the skill involved. Gyan settled the ball incredibly well while still streaking to goal and then lifted a shot just past a sliding DeMerit and a committed Howard. It pains me to give credit to this goal, but it is just. This was a fantastic play by Gyan and this is why he is regarded as the next possible African superstar. The US tried to comeback from this and did put some very close chances on and around goal, but it just wasn't enough. Ghana held on for the last twenty-seven minutes and made it through to the next round.

Ghana 2 - 1 United States


This was painful. It is always terrible to see your team lose but I would say that it's even worse to see it happen in the World Cup, the only truly high caliber international competition (sorry Olympics, your sports don't matter nearly as much), and one that only comes around every four years. The crowd at the bar was deflated and there's really no way to describe it. You hate seeing your team lose and it's even worse when it's your country as well. It will be tough to get over this, but credit has to go to Ghana for their win. They played a fantastic match and deserved to go through as they did. Gyan is already making a name for himself in this tournament and this will only add to his hype. I liked Ghana a lot going into this match and while I'm sorry to see the US lose (of course), I will be pulling for Ghana from here on out. The last African side making a deep run into this tournament would be a great storyline and something that is well deserved for such a quality side. The US can only sit back now and wonder at would have been, but we can at least take heart in making it this far and coming so close. I will never be an American apologist when it comes to soccer and I still think the US should have done better. That being said, I can't bitch and moan about losing a game where the opposing side did more with the chances that were given to them. It was a fantastic run and for all of the heartbreak that I feel right now, I will still always have Donovan's goal against Algeria to push me forward. I still think that the future for US soccer is bright and I have no doubt that we'll be back here in four years to try again. Thank you for what you did and thanks for the memories.

Thanks For Mailing It In

Today's games had the potential to be absolutely fantastic. Looking at the schedule at the start of the tournament, there's no way that you wouldn't have circled Brazil vs Portugal as one of the best match-ups of the group stage. Then once Spain lost their first match to Switzerland and everyone saw Chile dazzle in their victory over Honduras, you had to think that Spain vs Chile would be high drama as Spain would almost definitely need a win to move on. Unfortunately, the Brazil vs Portugal game was sandbagged last week when Brazil beat Ivory Coast and Portugal put up seven(!) goals on North Korea. With the Ivory Coast needing to make up nine goals in differential, there was almost no way that Portugal was going to take any risks against the Brazilians. I chose to watch that game anyway as there was no excitement in Ivory Coast vs North Korea, but even knowing how low the stakes were going in I still managed to be disappointed.


Portugal vs Brazil

The first fifteen minutes or so played out exactly as you would expect. Brazil held the ball more, as is their nature, but almost no serious chances were created for either side and cautiousness was the general mode of play. In the 18th, Raul Meireles put an excellent chip in from the left side looking for Tiago at the top of the penalty area, but he swung and missed on his volley. It was a half chance at best and it would have been quite impressive if he had connected, but it showed good creativity from Meireles and hell, it was the first interesting thing that happened in the match. Then in the 24th minute, Dani Alves put his third corner into the head of the first defender at the side of the six, further fueling my hatred of him. Really, I have this slightly irrational hatred of Dani Alves. He bitches and moans after any call that goes against him, and yes, of course he does because every player does, but for some reason it bothers me more when he does it. He's like that kid that hassles the ref all game long where you're playing rec league soccer. It's tiresome.

The 30th had the first real chance of the match as Nilmar got open for Brazil on the back post and put a nice touch on goal that goalkeeper Eduardo did well to get a hand to, deflecting it off the post. Then one of my favorite things in soccer happened the next minute when Tiago received a yellow card for diving in the box. A defender put a hand on Tiago to steady himself and Tiago pitched forward like a car hit him. Not only did the referee not buy that it was a foul, he clearly saw the dive and gave Tiago a deserved yellow. Love. It. The 39th brought the next chance which was Luis Fabiano getting free in the box for a header that he really needed to put on goal but instead sent it just wide on the left side. The half ended just as it started and to be honest, I might as well just tell you that that's how the match ended as well. There were some chances in the second half, like a dipping Simao shot, a long run by Ronaldo to set up Meireles, and a deflected shot by Ramires that brought out the best in Eduardo, but it was a very boring game in general since neither team needed to push for anything. In fact, the most exciting part of the game was probably in the 20th or so when the announcers tried to play up Ivory Coast's early 2-0 as a real tension builder. In reality, Ivory Coast's 3-0 was nowhere near enough and Brazil moved on in first place with Portugal in second.

Brazil 0 - 0 Portugal


Chile vs Spain

To me, this had a chance to be an all-timer. Spain couldn't rely on Switzerland drawing or losing to Honduras so they really needed to push for the win against a speedy, skilled team that didn't require much possession to be dangerous. Chile needed to fight as well since even a 1-0 defeat would leave them out of the next round if Switzerland could put together a convincing win against Honduras. This match had all of the necessity of a classic, but unfortunately events transpired to rob us of such quality.

The game started off cautious as both teams probed at each other, looking for weaknesses and testing strengths. As time pressed on, it was surprisingly Chile that was the better side. In the 10th, a cross into the box off of a run by Jean Beausejour was just slightly behind the hero of Chile's win over Switzerland, Mark Gonzalez. Chile kept earning half chances, such as the shot by Marco Estrada in the 12th that took a deflection but didn't do enough to bother Iker Casillas as he saved it comfortably falling to his left, and really did look dangerous when they were on the ball. The Spanish were playing surprisingly tentative even when Chile started pressing forward which seems mind-boggling since that's how they wasted a half against Switzerland before losing 1-0 on a second half goal. Then in the 24th, completely against the run of play, a very smart long ball was played up the left wing to Fernando Torres who looked like he would beat his defender and run in on the keeper alone. Chilean goalie Claudio Bravo did very well to come sprinting off the line and clear the ball away from Torres, but he made a crucial mistake in not clearing the ball out of bounds. Instead the ball rolled up the sideline and straight to David Villa who hit the ball on his first touch and found the back of the net on one bounce from around fifty yards out. People are not going to realize how difficult a play like this is but when you are playing at game speed and need to hit the goal from fifty yards away on the sideline, it is anything but a gimmie. Villa did incredibly well though and made Bravo pay for his mistake. And just to clarify, I do think that Bravo did the right thing in coming off of his line to clear the ball away from Torres. I just think that if you choose to do what he did, you must make sure the ball in cleared fifteen rows into the stands, and this is the part that was lacking.

Spain worked their way back into shape after this, spurred on by Villa just as in their victory over Honduras. In the 34th, he added to his legend by possessing the ball on the left side of the box and drawing two defenders before laying the ball to the top of the box for Andres Iniesta who side footed the ball inside the back post to put Spain up by two. Another simple looking finish by Spain that was really artfully done. Amazingly, on the same play, Chile went down to ten men when Estrada was given his second yellow for what looked like incidental contact on Torres. While I guess I can see where the referee is coming from since Estrada had been involved in several dangerous tackles including his first yellow, this was a very soft call and really shouldn't have been given. With Chile down to ten men and Spain holding a 2-0 lead, the rest of this game became very boring. Chile did well coming out of the break to make it 2-1 on substitute Rodrigo Millar's deflected shot that gave Casillas no chance, but quickly the game degenerated into Spain holding the ball for minutes on end while Chile tried to counterattack without leaving themselves completely exposed. The second half dragged mightily and finally ended 2-1, which was enough for Chile to make it through as Switzerland never got on the board against Honduras and was sent home with a scoreless draw. While the game didn't live up to my expectations, I was very happy to see both of these teams go through since I love their style of play and think they will make very interesting elimination match contestants.

Spain 2 - 1 Chile


As a bonus (if you actually consider me writing more a bonus), I'm going to briefly break down the eight elimination games that we'll see over the next four days. There are some very interesting contests in here and I think there could be some very high quality matches.

Uruguay vs South Korea

Uruguay has looked very dangerous during this tournament so far with Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez acting as a particularly formidable 1-2 combination. South Korea has played very disciplined, defensive soccer however and can contain less offensively powerful teams, but in the end, I think Forlan's talent and creativity will win the day here though I definitely expect South Korea to make Uruguay earn every chance they get.

Argentina vs Mexico

I think that Mexico has a lot of talent. Despite the fact that he's Mexican (note: this is a "anti-US soccer rivals" comment, not an embarrassingly racist comment), I love the creativity and pace of Giovani dos Santos and think that he will provide a challenge for the Argentinian defense. But really, how can you not pick Argentina to win? Lionel Messi is playing exactly how we all thought he was, Gonzalo Higuain is scoring prolifically, and Carlos Tevez is working doggedly for everything he gets. I would be surprised to not see Argentina coming through here.

United States vs Ghana

I think I would make the same pick if I wasn't biased but I really can't be sure. This is perhaps the biggest toss-up of this round as the US is creating loads of chances on offense but has been very sloppy on defense at times. These defensive errors are particularly scary because Ghana's attackers are fast, aggressive, and incredibly skilled. Their wingers play with pace and confidence and they switch up their runs enough to confuse defenses that are playing far more organized than the US right now. I think the US's fitness, organization and offensive ability will out do Ghana here, but I am definitely nervous about this match.

Germany vs England

Germany did not have an easy road through to the finals, yet here they sit at the top of Group D with six points, their only loss coming when Miroslav Klose was unjustly sent off early in their second game. England survived Group C, but only barely on a 1-0 win over Slovenia. While Germany has shown an attacking quality and general skill, England has stumbled through their matches and, to be honest, seem lucky to be in the elimination rounds. England has plenty of talent and can of course turn things around, but I don't see Germany rolling over for them. I like Germany in a well fought, but ultimately inevitable result.

Holland vs Slovakia

Holland should not take this match lightly as Robert Vittek has been a scoring machine that can trouble any defense he faces. Plus, Slovakia has been playing tight defense and knocked the defending champions out in their last group match. However, I think the real key here is the return of Arjen Robben to the Dutch lineup. His ability to run at defenders is something they were sorely missing in the first two games. In the end, Holland is just too skilled and too dangerous for the Slovaks.

Paraguay vs Japan

This is my first and only upset, but I'm actually starting to believe in the Japanese. They showed in their game against the Dutch that they can't contain a high powered attack all match, but they're playing a Paraguayan team that has more of a focus on defense than constant pressure up high. Keisuke Honda has been fantastic in Japan's matches so far and can score with almost no preamble or possession, something that makes an organized, disciplined defensive team like Japan incredibly dangerous. This will probably be a 1-0 result, but I think Japan has the quality to make it through.

Brazil vs Chile

What a fantastic pairing. I feel bad for Chile though because Brazil is such a skilled team and after seeing their side of the bracket, I would be very surprised if they don't end up in yet another final. Chile should make things interesting with their ability to constantly pressure defenses and get up and down the wings with ease, but this is Brazil's match to lose and I don't see how they do it.

Spain vs Portugal

The obvious pick for best match of the round of sixteen, this has every chance to live up to its incredible hype. Spain has looked sluggish at times, needing David Villa to jump start them in their last two games, but it's hard to deny that they are more talented and deeper than Portugal. Any team that can afford to use Cesc Fabergas as a second half substitute is absolutely loaded and I think this is what ultimately wins them the match. Portugal is no slouch though and don't think for a second that they will let Spain get an easy win. I would love to see a high scoring, free flowing game and here's hoping these teams can live up to the hype.


I think that's about it for me, finally. I hope everyone is enjoying things so far, both in the World Cup and in this blog, and let me assure you that it will only get better now that we're into the do-or-die games. I leave you with this one last chant:

USA! USA! USA!