World Cup Days 13, 14 & 15
[Friday 27th June 2014]
Let's just get this out there straight away: Luis Suarez is absolute scum, a disgrace of a human being and a waste of flesh and bones. Day 13 was dominated by the reprehensible actions of the Liverpool and Uruguay striker, who decided to bite a footballer for the third time in his career - this time Giorgio Chiellini. It's the first huge, memorable moment in this World Cup, making headline news and becoming a viral sensation. FIFA reacted swiftly by banning Suarez from all football-related activity for four months, which tends towards leniency, but I feared they'd chicken out of punishment. So that's a relief!
Even now, on the tournament's first rest day, the world only wants to talk about Suarez - will he still leave Liverpool? If he stays, how will it affect Liverpool's title challange? Will the Uruguayan FA's appeal make Suarez eligible for the round of 16 match against Colombia? Yes, you read that right. The Uruguayan FA are actually appealing the verdict, with quotes from their end (and Suarez himself) saying all sorts of laughable, insane claims of innocence. The fact that Suarez immediately hold his teeth in agony sort of diminishes anything they say.
But Suarez can be read about elsewhere - this blog tries to be brief. Which is tough when three days of round-ups includes such a huge story. I watched the Italy 0-1 Uruguay match and was bored by the first hour, briefly switched to the England v Costa Rica stalemate, and missed the winning goal and bite. Typical! Marchisio was sent off too, which shocked everyone at the time (including Buffon who ran 70 yards to remonstrate with the referee) but, after replays, made sense. His studs were just too high! That red card turned everything on its head, as Italy were in control before then. Now, they're out of the World Cup and Cesare Prandelli has quit as coach. England couldn't even win a game, finishing bottom on one point.
But there was another footballing tragedy that day - a Greek one - as Greece scraped through to round two with an injury time penalty in the winner-takes-all match against the Ivory Coast. The Ivorians have been poor and deserve to go home, but did it have to be Greece? Really? Not only are they universally hated, they went into the match having only scored once in their previous eight World Cup games - set to bore themselves into last place. Yet here they are with a potential quarter final place, with Costa Rica to come in the next round. It's not fair!
Faryd Mondragon made an appearance from the bench to become the oldest player in World Cup history at 43 years and 3 days. Colombia's reserves went on to easily beat Japan 4-1, with Ha-messssh's cameo delivering a goal and two assists. Apart from Spain, Japan and South Korea have been the biggest disappointments for me. They move, they keep possession but there's absolutely no end product at all.
Day 14 saw Messi score twice to become joint top scorer at this World Cup, as Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2. Six months of waiting and salivating over the prospect of Messi vs Ameobi - the meeting of two footballing behemoths - and it never even happened. Shola remained on the bench all match. Call me crushed. A double for Musa made the game competitive, but Messi's excellence has shown for the third consecutive game - maybe this is his World Cup. Bosnia beat Iran 3-1 to secure their first World Cup victory, but both sides are going home.
Group E was fairly uneventful, with France reserves drawing 0-0 with Ecuador and Xherdan Shaqiri's Swiss hat-trick overcoming Honduras. Switzerland will face Argentina in the round of 16, with France facing Nigeria. In Group G, Ghana sent home Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari for using abusive language against coaching staff. It almost worked, with Ghana equalising against Portugal - one more goal would've seen them progress. But Ronaldo spoiled the party, scoring a 2-1 winner and putting the USA through, despite their loss against Klinsmann's home country of Germany. The 'conspiracy draw' didn't happen but both sides were celebrating by full time. Almost, as much as Fatawu Dauda, the Ghanaian goalkeeper who enjoyed saving a Ronaldo header....
Algeria took second place in Group H and will have a shot at revenge against Germany for 1982. Islam Slimani cancelled out Kokorin's opener, even though keeper Akinfeev was clearly flashed by a laser pen second beforehand. Wild scenes occurred at full time, as Algeria deserve their place in the round of 16 - not that they had much competition. Russia finished 3rd with a measly two points, with South Korea only mustering one after failing to beat 10-man Belgium. Steven Defour's nasty challenge was shown a straight red.
So with the group phase over and a tear trickling down my cheek, the round of 16 doesn't look particularly attractive on paper, with the exception being Brazil vs Chile - that could be amazing. Spain, Italy, England and Portugal go home early, as Costa Rica vs Greece becomes a chilling reality. Potential shocks? I can only really see two possible shocks - Chile can beat Brazil, whilst USA can definitely beat Belgium. 'Soccer' is being heavily followed in America this month, with their progress capturing the public's imagination and drastically improving it's appeal. If Klinsmann's men dramatically get past Belgium, it could be a huge moment in football's acceptability.
Finally, for Arsenal fans, there's no need to worry about not signing Cesc Fabregas. True talent lies closer to home....
Let's just get this out there straight away: Luis Suarez is absolute scum, a disgrace of a human being and a waste of flesh and bones. Day 13 was dominated by the reprehensible actions of the Liverpool and Uruguay striker, who decided to bite a footballer for the third time in his career - this time Giorgio Chiellini. It's the first huge, memorable moment in this World Cup, making headline news and becoming a viral sensation. FIFA reacted swiftly by banning Suarez from all football-related activity for four months, which tends towards leniency, but I feared they'd chicken out of punishment. So that's a relief!
Even now, on the tournament's first rest day, the world only wants to talk about Suarez - will he still leave Liverpool? If he stays, how will it affect Liverpool's title challange? Will the Uruguayan FA's appeal make Suarez eligible for the round of 16 match against Colombia? Yes, you read that right. The Uruguayan FA are actually appealing the verdict, with quotes from their end (and Suarez himself) saying all sorts of laughable, insane claims of innocence. The fact that Suarez immediately hold his teeth in agony sort of diminishes anything they say.
But Suarez can be read about elsewhere - this blog tries to be brief. Which is tough when three days of round-ups includes such a huge story. I watched the Italy 0-1 Uruguay match and was bored by the first hour, briefly switched to the England v Costa Rica stalemate, and missed the winning goal and bite. Typical! Marchisio was sent off too, which shocked everyone at the time (including Buffon who ran 70 yards to remonstrate with the referee) but, after replays, made sense. His studs were just too high! That red card turned everything on its head, as Italy were in control before then. Now, they're out of the World Cup and Cesare Prandelli has quit as coach. England couldn't even win a game, finishing bottom on one point.
But there was another footballing tragedy that day - a Greek one - as Greece scraped through to round two with an injury time penalty in the winner-takes-all match against the Ivory Coast. The Ivorians have been poor and deserve to go home, but did it have to be Greece? Really? Not only are they universally hated, they went into the match having only scored once in their previous eight World Cup games - set to bore themselves into last place. Yet here they are with a potential quarter final place, with Costa Rica to come in the next round. It's not fair!
Faryd Mondragon made an appearance from the bench to become the oldest player in World Cup history at 43 years and 3 days. Colombia's reserves went on to easily beat Japan 4-1, with Ha-messssh's cameo delivering a goal and two assists. Apart from Spain, Japan and South Korea have been the biggest disappointments for me. They move, they keep possession but there's absolutely no end product at all.
Day 14 saw Messi score twice to become joint top scorer at this World Cup, as Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2. Six months of waiting and salivating over the prospect of Messi vs Ameobi - the meeting of two footballing behemoths - and it never even happened. Shola remained on the bench all match. Call me crushed. A double for Musa made the game competitive, but Messi's excellence has shown for the third consecutive game - maybe this is his World Cup. Bosnia beat Iran 3-1 to secure their first World Cup victory, but both sides are going home.
Group E was fairly uneventful, with France reserves drawing 0-0 with Ecuador and Xherdan Shaqiri's Swiss hat-trick overcoming Honduras. Switzerland will face Argentina in the round of 16, with France facing Nigeria. In Group G, Ghana sent home Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari for using abusive language against coaching staff. It almost worked, with Ghana equalising against Portugal - one more goal would've seen them progress. But Ronaldo spoiled the party, scoring a 2-1 winner and putting the USA through, despite their loss against Klinsmann's home country of Germany. The 'conspiracy draw' didn't happen but both sides were celebrating by full time. Almost, as much as Fatawu Dauda, the Ghanaian goalkeeper who enjoyed saving a Ronaldo header....
Algeria took second place in Group H and will have a shot at revenge against Germany for 1982. Islam Slimani cancelled out Kokorin's opener, even though keeper Akinfeev was clearly flashed by a laser pen second beforehand. Wild scenes occurred at full time, as Algeria deserve their place in the round of 16 - not that they had much competition. Russia finished 3rd with a measly two points, with South Korea only mustering one after failing to beat 10-man Belgium. Steven Defour's nasty challenge was shown a straight red.
So with the group phase over and a tear trickling down my cheek, the round of 16 doesn't look particularly attractive on paper, with the exception being Brazil vs Chile - that could be amazing. Spain, Italy, England and Portugal go home early, as Costa Rica vs Greece becomes a chilling reality. Potential shocks? I can only really see two possible shocks - Chile can beat Brazil, whilst USA can definitely beat Belgium. 'Soccer' is being heavily followed in America this month, with their progress capturing the public's imagination and drastically improving it's appeal. If Klinsmann's men dramatically get past Belgium, it could be a huge moment in football's acceptability.
Finally, for Arsenal fans, there's no need to worry about not signing Cesc Fabregas. True talent lies closer to home....
