World Cup Days 19 & 20
[Wednesday 2nd July 2014]
Day 19 began with the daft news that Chile's Mauricio Pinilla had immortalised his 118th minute strike against Brazil, which dramatically cannoned off the crossbar, by getting it tattooed on his back! To accompany it, this madman added the caption: "One centimeter from glory". Indeed, if his shot stayed down a bit, he'd have created an almighty mess on the pitch, in the stands and in the streets of Brazil. His goal would've severely clouded the World Cup, meaning Brazil shamefully left their own competition early.
The art of the goalless draw has been showcased in the past four days – it’s been a World Cup where even the 0-0s are thrilling! In this tournament of many goals, the round of 16 somewhat lowered that impressive goal average but the drama certainly hasn’t dropped. In fact, out of all eight second round matches, only three first half goals were scored and there were six consecutive half time 0-0s. One of those games saw France frustrated by Nigeria for a while, with Vincent Enyeama pulling off a superb save from Paul Pogba’s effort.
Yohan Cabaye cracked the bar, as France struggled to find a breakthrough. Yet Pogba finally beat the Nigerian stopper, heading home Mathieu Valbuena’s second half corner. Joseph Yobo’s late own goal made sure of Nigeria’s exit, with Stephen Keshi resigning as coach at full time. Rumours persist that his deep regret over not giving Shola Ameobi more game time led to his decision.
Day 19 began with the daft news that Chile's Mauricio Pinilla had immortalised his 118th minute strike against Brazil, which dramatically cannoned off the crossbar, by getting it tattooed on his back! To accompany it, this madman added the caption: "One centimeter from glory". Indeed, if his shot stayed down a bit, he'd have created an almighty mess on the pitch, in the stands and in the streets of Brazil. His goal would've severely clouded the World Cup, meaning Brazil shamefully left their own competition early.
The art of the goalless draw has been showcased in the past four days – it’s been a World Cup where even the 0-0s are thrilling! In this tournament of many goals, the round of 16 somewhat lowered that impressive goal average but the drama certainly hasn’t dropped. In fact, out of all eight second round matches, only three first half goals were scored and there were six consecutive half time 0-0s. One of those games saw France frustrated by Nigeria for a while, with Vincent Enyeama pulling off a superb save from Paul Pogba’s effort.
Yohan Cabaye cracked the bar, as France struggled to find a breakthrough. Yet Pogba finally beat the Nigerian stopper, heading home Mathieu Valbuena’s second half corner. Joseph Yobo’s late own goal made sure of Nigeria’s exit, with Stephen Keshi resigning as coach at full time. Rumours persist that his deep regret over not giving Shola Ameobi more game time led to his decision.
The French will face Germany in the first quarterfinal,
after the Germans overcame Algeria in extra time. In truth, the Algerians not
only stood up to their superstar opponents – they dominated large periods of
the game, with their attacking zest exposing problems in the German defence.
Luckily for Jogi Low, Manuel Neuer chose to evoke the spirit of the school
playground by playing ‘rush keeper’. On roughly 12 occasions, Neuer was seen
charging up to 30 yards out of his goal to sweep up any potential problems,
giving a masterclass in FIFA-style goalkeeping.
Thomas Muller decided it was a good day to completely mess
up my bet – which only required a German win in 90 minutes. Typically, two
minutes into extra time saw Andre Schurrle break the deadlock as I weeped into
a handkerchief. Muller’s comedic slip ruined a free kick routine, so maybe I
got the last laugh. But he’s rich, so maybe not! M’Bolhi kept up the trend of
incredible goalkeeping displays at this World Cup, denying the Germans time and
time again. Ozil and Djabou scored at the end to round off an excellent game of
football – those initial 90 minutes produced the most entertaining 0-0 seen in
years. Having quashed Algeria’s quest for 1982 revenge, Germany will hope to do
the same to Patrick Battiston’s France on Friday.
For me, the dream final would see the two best sub-plots
meet in the Maracana. On one side you have Brazil, under the most pressure of
any team in history, hoping to finally avenge the Maracanazo tragedy of 1950.
It’d be their first World Cup game in the stadium since that fateful day.
Opposite them is Argentina, where Lionel Messi has constantly been told that,
to be deemed the greatest of all time (which he already is), he must lead his
team to World Cup glory like Maradona did. It gets said over and over again.
Sure enough, with all that pressure, Messi is single-handedly dragging the
Argies towards the Final.
His genius got them through another obstacle, as Switzerland
were two minutes away from forcing a penalty shoot-out – something they’d
probably have won. I’m desperate for Messi to win the World Cup, so support
Argentina fiercely this summer. But it was an incredibly nervous, dull game of
football. Switzerland parked their bus and Argentina looked in no danger of
moving it. Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain were abysmal, constantly giving
the ball away and offering nothing. Goalkeeper Romero looked very shaky, the
hesitation in coming off his line was very much anti-Neuer. Josip Drmic
suddenly found himself in an amazing position, only to completely mess it up.
Messi was by far the best player out there with his neat creativity,
yet he was constantly hounded out by the Swiss – Inler and Behrami were
magnificent at this. Then, when all hope looked lost, he found some space.
Dancing his way through the Swiss, he laid it on a plate for Di Maria, who
couldn’t find a way to botch such an assist. 118th minute and
Argentina finally score. That wasn’t the end of the drama. With seconds to go,
Dzemaili found himself with a free header roughly four yards from goal, yet
somehow hit the base of the post. A pure heart-in-mouth moment. But Argentina
got the win.
Another brilliant 0-0 happened on that evening, with Belgium
facing USA. Still a fascinating topic, it’s great to see ‘soccer’ develop in
America. Casuals tend to watch the USMNT and forget about them for four years.
But slowly, football sticks a little bit more to society every time. I believe
2014 will have a huge impact on the sport’s growth. Scanning social media, supporting
soccer seems to be ‘cool’ right now. Barack Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Pitbull, Hulk Hogan, Will Ferrell and hundreds of celebrities have passionately
tweeted their support and the public are taking notice.
The USA took more fans than any other nation to Brazil, with
sports fields back home putting big screens up to supply the heavy demand of
spectators. Football is becoming more than a quadrennial curiosity in America.
After this thriller against Belgium, if the Yanks still don’t ‘get’ our sport,
they never will. Let them decide. Belgium were the better side but the American
spirit is insanely compelling to watch. Tim Howard was spectacular but finally
beaten twice in extra time. At this point, most people went to bed or switched
over the channel – oblivious to what they were about to miss.
A huge energy rush overwhelmed the Belgians and sub Julian
Green halved the deficit. Suddenly, everyone believed! The whole world seemed
to be urging the Americans to equalise and blow the roof off the stadium. The
final ten minutes were exhilarating and extraordinary, as Belgium desperately tried
to hang on. However, it was not to be for Klinsmann’s men. Belgium got the 2-1
victory and America won the hearts of neutrals. It was simply amazing to watch.
That win ensured that all eight group winners progressed to
the quarterfinals, which take place on Friday and Saturday. Two days without
football?!?!?! I don’t think I can last that long, especially with the
thrilling football produced in this World Cup.
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| Erm.....right. Great headline! |
