World Cup Days 10, 11 & 12
[Tuesday 24th June 2014]
Unfortunately, due to social commitments, it was impossible for me to watch ANY of the six matches on days ten and eleven. Believe me, I tried. I'm disgusted at myself for allowing this to happen, especially as I seemingly missed some cracking matches. But, right now, I vow to miss no more of the World Cup action.
So some of these matches will only be touched upon. Iran - the ugly wart of this tournament - almost pulled off a remarkable anti-football performance until Messi's injury time wondergoal gave Argentina a 1-0 win. There's a pretty funny GIF here...
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Peter Odemwingie's goal gave Nigeria a surprise 1-0 win over Bosnia, which actually puts the debutants out of the competition. Edin Dzeko's goal was wrongly ruled offside, whilst Shola came off the bench and still looked knackered after 5 minutes! Germany drew 2-2 with Ghana in a cracking game, where Miroslav Klose equalled 'original' Ronaldo's record of most World Cup goals. A defeat for footballing purists! He celebrated with a dodgy backflip. Ghana scared Jogi Low's men by deservedly going 2-1 up, before the Lazio striker equalised. Thomas Muller seemed to suffer a really bad injury at the end - with lots of blood - so it remains to be seen how serious that is.
The other Group G game was also a thrilling 2-2. Awful USA errors were punished by 2 Portugal goals, the second of which was in the 95th minute after a marvellous Ronaldo cross. Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey's groin turned around a 1-0 Nani-inflicted deficit, whilst Eder continued to frustrate Ronaldo by miserably impersonating a footballer. A draw for Germany and the Americans on Thursday will ensure qualification for both, so the conspiracy theorists are predicting a repeat of 1982's West Germany vs Austria fiasco. And, whilst I wouldn't dream of suggesting this could happen, Jurgen Klinsmann is in an interesting position!
A dull encounter between Belgium and Russia was decided by a late Origi winner, who once again looked better than Lukaku. The only other notable event was an awful miss by Kokorin. Surprisingly, Algeria vs South Korea was brilliant, with Les Fennecs winning 4-2. In my Fantasy team, I gave up on Islam Slimani this time, due to being benched against Belgium. Imagine my horror when discovering that he scored twice and set another goal up! South Korea actually tried in the second half and almost closed the gap but Algeria became the first African team to score four times in a World Cup match. Second place in this group will go down to the wire, but I've been most impressed by the Algerians.
After being humiliated twice and watching their era of dominance end in front of billions, Spain signed off with a routine 3-0 win over Australia. Record goal-scorer David Villa retired from international football with a cheeky backheel - his 58th international goal - before crying upon being substituted. Even Fernando Torres scored! Holland vs Chile wasn't the enticing match we anticipated but both sides chose to rest key players. Substitute Leroy Fer scored with his first touch towards the end, before the incredibly-named Memphis Depay converted Arjen Robben's fantastic assist.
Holland will face Mexico in the next round, whilst Chile face Brazil in a mouthwatering contest. Mexico, who barely qualified for this World Cup, eventually beat Croatia in a mild shock. 0-0 for a while, a quick-fire double put them 2-0 up, whilst Brazil were 3-1 up against Cameroon. It then became a goal difference shoot-out, with both teams desperately trying to score more. Eventually, Brazil's 4-1 edged out Mexico's 3-1 - with Neymar's double taking him to four for the tournament.
Day 13's most interesting games are Ivory Coast v Greece and Italy v Uruguay - both of which have winner-take-all scenarios. England face Costa Rica in a completely pointless match. Hodgson named his team a day in advance because nobody cares anymore. Rooney, Gerrard etc have been dropped and Frank Lampard starts. Football may not be coming home but England certainly are!
Unfortunately, due to social commitments, it was impossible for me to watch ANY of the six matches on days ten and eleven. Believe me, I tried. I'm disgusted at myself for allowing this to happen, especially as I seemingly missed some cracking matches. But, right now, I vow to miss no more of the World Cup action.
So some of these matches will only be touched upon. Iran - the ugly wart of this tournament - almost pulled off a remarkable anti-football performance until Messi's injury time wondergoal gave Argentina a 1-0 win. There's a pretty funny GIF here...
Peter Odemwingie's goal gave Nigeria a surprise 1-0 win over Bosnia, which actually puts the debutants out of the competition. Edin Dzeko's goal was wrongly ruled offside, whilst Shola came off the bench and still looked knackered after 5 minutes! Germany drew 2-2 with Ghana in a cracking game, where Miroslav Klose equalled 'original' Ronaldo's record of most World Cup goals. A defeat for footballing purists! He celebrated with a dodgy backflip. Ghana scared Jogi Low's men by deservedly going 2-1 up, before the Lazio striker equalised. Thomas Muller seemed to suffer a really bad injury at the end - with lots of blood - so it remains to be seen how serious that is.
The other Group G game was also a thrilling 2-2. Awful USA errors were punished by 2 Portugal goals, the second of which was in the 95th minute after a marvellous Ronaldo cross. Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey's groin turned around a 1-0 Nani-inflicted deficit, whilst Eder continued to frustrate Ronaldo by miserably impersonating a footballer. A draw for Germany and the Americans on Thursday will ensure qualification for both, so the conspiracy theorists are predicting a repeat of 1982's West Germany vs Austria fiasco. And, whilst I wouldn't dream of suggesting this could happen, Jurgen Klinsmann is in an interesting position!
A dull encounter between Belgium and Russia was decided by a late Origi winner, who once again looked better than Lukaku. The only other notable event was an awful miss by Kokorin. Surprisingly, Algeria vs South Korea was brilliant, with Les Fennecs winning 4-2. In my Fantasy team, I gave up on Islam Slimani this time, due to being benched against Belgium. Imagine my horror when discovering that he scored twice and set another goal up! South Korea actually tried in the second half and almost closed the gap but Algeria became the first African team to score four times in a World Cup match. Second place in this group will go down to the wire, but I've been most impressed by the Algerians.
After being humiliated twice and watching their era of dominance end in front of billions, Spain signed off with a routine 3-0 win over Australia. Record goal-scorer David Villa retired from international football with a cheeky backheel - his 58th international goal - before crying upon being substituted. Even Fernando Torres scored! Holland vs Chile wasn't the enticing match we anticipated but both sides chose to rest key players. Substitute Leroy Fer scored with his first touch towards the end, before the incredibly-named Memphis Depay converted Arjen Robben's fantastic assist.
Holland will face Mexico in the next round, whilst Chile face Brazil in a mouthwatering contest. Mexico, who barely qualified for this World Cup, eventually beat Croatia in a mild shock. 0-0 for a while, a quick-fire double put them 2-0 up, whilst Brazil were 3-1 up against Cameroon. It then became a goal difference shoot-out, with both teams desperately trying to score more. Eventually, Brazil's 4-1 edged out Mexico's 3-1 - with Neymar's double taking him to four for the tournament.
Day 13's most interesting games are Ivory Coast v Greece and Italy v Uruguay - both of which have winner-take-all scenarios. England face Costa Rica in a completely pointless match. Hodgson named his team a day in advance because nobody cares anymore. Rooney, Gerrard etc have been dropped and Frank Lampard starts. Football may not be coming home but England certainly are!
