World Cup

Match-day 8 provided us with some of the most intense, end to end action that we have seen so far in this year’s tournament.  With Luis Suarez back in the fold, Uruguay rebounded from their opening round defeat against Costa Rica to down England 2-1 while Columbia secured their place in the knockout rounds with a 2-1 defeat of the Ivory Coast and .  In the finale of the day, 10 man Greece held on for a point in a 0-0 draw against Japan.

Sometimes the soccer Gods are cruel.  Waking up this morning, that has to be the feeling shared by the England national team and their fans. After sitting out La Celestes’ opening fixture against Costa Rica as an unused substitute Luis Suarez, the English Premier League golden boot winner and the centerpiece of Liverpool’s return to prominence this past season that brought joy to so many soccer fans throughout England, scored two goals to take down England and vault Uruguay to the top of Group D, pending the result of today’s Italy v. Costa Rica match-up.

In a back and forth affair, both teams had excellent opportunities to go ahead, most notably Wayne Rooney who’s curling effort from a set piece went just wide and then his header off another set piece rang the crossbar, but it was not until Suarez got on the end of an Edinson Cavani chip and headed back across English goal-keeper Joe Hart that the deadlock was broken.  Cavani missed a chance to double La Celestes’ lead in the 52nd minute when he curled just wide one on one with Hart, and only two minutes later Rooney again failed to find the back of the net when he gathered in the box but fired right at Uruguay goalie Fernando Muslera.

The break through finally came for Rooney and the Three Lions in the 75th minute, when Glen Johnson’s run down the right saw him cut back inside and send a cross through the six yard box that Rooney tapped in to level the score.  There was a belief that England might be able to complete the comeback and snatch all three points, but that hope faded quickly after Steven Gerrard made a mess of a Muslera goal kick, slightly misjudging a header, that sent Suarez away one on one with Hart where he fired a rocket over the goal-keepers shoulder.

Despite two losses and sitting at the bottom of the group, all hope is not lost for the Three Lions.  They still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds, although the chances are the equivalent of a team coming back from a 3-0 hole in a seven game playoff series or catching runner runner in a game of Texas Hold-Em.  To advance they will need Italy to beat Costa Rica today and then beat Costa Rica in their final group stage match-up.  They will need Italy to beat Uruguay on the final day and also make up any goal differential which will serve as the tiebreaker for the three way tie that would exist between The Three Lions, Los Ticos, and La Celeste.  A long shot yes, but we have seen crazier things happen in sports and it may just be the karma that England hands are hoping for from the soccer Gods.

A ten minute span in the second half changed the game and the makeup of Group C.  James Rodríguez put Columbia ahead in the 64th minute when he headed home from a corner kick, and six minutes later Juan Quintero doubled the lead after a giveaway by the Ivory Coast defense.  Gervinho got one back for The Elephants only three minutes later but, unlike their first round game against Japan, the introduction of striker Didier Drogba was unable to bring them all the way back. Columbia now sit atop of Group C with six points and have secured their first advancement to the round of sixteen since 1990.  The Ivory Coast now much beat Greece to guarantee their advancement, while a loss or a tie will have them relying on other results to secure safe passage.

Speaking of Greece, their World Cup stay looked to be in peril when captain Konstantinos Katsouranis picked up his second yellow card on the day and subsequent red card for a professional foul that halted a counter attack in the 38th minute.  Most teams down to ten men would struggle, however the Greeks seem to thrive when up against it and they somehow managed to not only hold on for the point, but to also threaten the Japan defense with several close efforts.  The Blue Samurai will feel as if they let a golden opportunity go by the way side and failing to get all three points when up a man may come back to haunt them.  They will face Columbia in the final group stage needing to get a win to have any hope of advancing to the round of sixteen, while Greece will need either a win or a draw against the Ivory Coast to have a chance.

Do you believe in miracles?  In our World Cup team previews, we likened the chances of Costa Rica advancing to the knockout rounds similar to that of the USA hockey team beating the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics.  Drawn against three teams near the top of the FIFA rankings and with seven World Cup titles between them, just picking up a point seemed unlikely.  But after defeating Uruguay 3-1 in their opening group game, Los Ticos reminded us that miracles do happen as they upset Italy 1-0 to secure their place in the final sixteen for the first time since 1990, and officially eliminated England from the tournament with one game still to play.

A Bryan Ruiz header in the 44th minute gave the Costa Ricans the lead, providing a moment of justice for a sure penalty that the referee had missed just minutes before when Joel Campbell was taken down in the box.  Despite his second half substitutions, Cesare Prandelli’s men were unable to muster a significant attack to get them back in the game, thanks mainly to Jorge Luis Pinto decision to employ a high defensive line and an offside trap that caught the Azzuri eleven times.  After entering Fridays encounter with a stranglehold on Group D, Italy will now be forced to battle it out with Uruguay on Tuesday for the last qualification spot.

Friday’s results from Group E means that the final day of group play will leave it all to play for.  France steamrolled Switzerland in a 5-2 rout that saw Les Blues jump out to a quick 2-0 lead, with Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi  scoring within sixty seconds of each other. Mathieu Valbuena added another first half goal and second half strikes by Karim Benzema and  Moussa Sissoko put the French atop the group, while Ecuador used two goals from Enner Valencia to down Honduras.

Although currently holding the top spot in the group, the win by Ecuador means France still has work to do in their final group game against the Yellows.  A win or a draw will see them through to the knockout rounds, while Ecuador will need all three points to have any hopes of advancing.  Switzerland find themselves in a similar spot, knowing that they will need all three points to have any chance of going through while a draw will leave them needing help.

World Cup 2014 in Brazil has already produced its fair share of intrigue, and Match-Day 10 was no different.  Iran took Argentina to the brink with an injury time strike by Lionel Messi the difference, Ghana kept their hopes for advancement alive by earning a 2-2 draw with Germany, and Nigeria’s 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina effectively ended the tournament for the debutantes.

After choosing to start their first game of the tournament with five at the back, Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella deployed his star studded lineup in their traditional 4-3-3.  The Portugal born Carlos Queiroz countered by having his team park the bus with eleven behind the ball, content to allow Argentina the majority of possession while trying to hit their pressing lineup on the counter attack.

It almost worked.  The Iranians took La Albiceleste to the brink, denying anything they could muster on offense while threatening to go ahead on several occasions, with Reza Ghoochannejhad’s header needing a top class save from goal-keeper Sergio Romero to keep the score even and a possible penalty earned by Ashkan Dejagah waved off.  The Argentinians finally broke through in the 91st minute, when Lionel Messi rescued all three points with a curling effort from just outside the eighteen that settled in to the corner to guarantee their safe passage to the round of sixteen.

Ghana kept their hopes of advancement alive by drawing 2-2 with Germany.  In an evenly matched game, both teams had chances to go ahead in the first half, but the breakthrough did not come until the 51st minute when Mario Gotze headed home from a Thomas Muller chip.  Playing for their World Cup lives, the Black Stars answered just three minutes later with a header of their own from Andre Ayew and then in the 63rd minute with Asamoah Gyan getting behind the German defense and beating Manuel Neuer one on one.

A team that many have tipped to be the eventual champions in Brazil, this was the first test of adversity for the Germans, and they responded with Miroslav Klose, the veteran attacker and the only true forward name in the squad who came on as a substitute in the 68th minute and found the equalizer at the back post just three minutes later, tying the game and former Brazilian legend Ronaldo for the most World Cup goals of all time with fifteen.

In the final game of the day, Nigeria made sure that Bosnia-Herzegovina’s first ever World Cup appearance woud be a short one, with a Peter Odemwingie goal enough to take away any hope of getting past the group stage in their first World Cup appearance.  The Golden Lillies will feel as if they deserved better, as a Edin Dzeko goal was wrongly overturned by the linesman who had ruled Dzeko incorrectly offside, and many feeling that Odemwingie had fouled Bosnian defender Emir Spahic before finishing past goal-keeper Asmir Begovic for the deciding goal.

With the win, the Super Eagles have kept their hopes alive to finish behind Argentina in the group and who they face in their final group stage game.  Germany currently sits atop Group G, pending the result of today’s USA v. Portugal encounter.  With every team seemingly alive in the group, they will need to take something from their final group game against the USA to ensure that they go through without issue.