Did someone say ...Siberia?
17/6/14
Group H - Belgium 2 Algeria 1
The highly rated Belgians faced Algeria as the final group got under way. They’re highly rated in this country because a majority of them play in the Premier League but then, so do all of the England players and we’re world beaters after all. As if to prove my point, Belgium went 1-0 down as Vertonghen got caught ball watching and did what Vertonghen does and grabber to forwards arm and pulled him down. Penalty and to my mind it should have been a red card but no matter as up stepped Feghouli and set Courtois the wrong way with one of those shit penalties that was the easiest save imaginable if he went the other way. Belgium huffed and puffed until the 70th minute and it was a premier League player who finally equalized for them and the shock was that it was a player who has been shite this season as Fellani got his wig on a cross and powered home a header in exactly the sort of way he used to do for Everton before he fucked himself up by joining Man United. With 20 minutes left there was only going to be one outcome and sure enough Belgium scored again when Hazard played a ball to Mertens who had acres and he smashed it past the excellent Algerian keeper MBohli and into the roof of the net.
Group A - Brazil 0 Mexico 0
Mexico were not here to roll over and die but they knew that if you have a shot and Julio Cesar turns it over the bar, then it’s a goal kick. Ochoa, the keeper at the other end saved well from a Neymar header and a close range blast from the same player as Brazil made chances without ever really looking like a top class team. Marcelo got in after a fantastic crossfile ball from Luiz but decided to have a dive like a complete wanker and to my amazement, the referee didn’t give it so that will probably be his last game officiating at this World Cup. Ochoa made another fantastic reflex save from Thiago Silva’s point bank header and Mexico kept Brazil thinking at the other end. Brazil are not going to win it with this team. They’d have a chance if they had a striker but Fred is an absolute liability. In two games he’s hardly touched the ball because he doesn’t move.
Group H - Russia 1 South Korea 1
It’s a bit odd that Brazil and Mexico have played their 2nd game before these two have started but here we are in the presence of Fabio Capello and his Russians. This game was obviously played with a big round bar of soap instead of a ball – either that or both goalkeepers were shit, especially Akinfeev for Russia who spilled everything but got away with it until Lee Keun-ho shot from 25 yards and the keeper got his hands to it and virtually threw it over his shoulder and into the net. Capello made a sub and put on Kerzhakov and within two minutes he’s equalized as a clearance smacked into a Russian player and dropped for him to turn it past the keeper.
"To be fair Fernando, you are shite"
18/6/14
Group B - Netherlands 3 Australia 2
It would be great if Australia got annihilated and it looks like it might happen as Arjen Robben started running from the halfway line and didn’t stop until he’d beaten the entire Aussie defence and smashed it across the keeper and into the net. Happy days but fair play to the Aussies as Tim Cahill smashed in one of the best goals you’ll ever see, fastening on to a ball chipped across from the right and crashing it into the net with a left footed volley which I cannot possibly do justice to. The the ref go involved and gave the Aussies a penalty for handball which was ridiculous as the defender as not even looking and Jedinak put the Aussies 2-1 up but the hope didn’t last long as van Persie levelled which he will do if you give him a free shot from 10 yards. The winner was amusing as substitute Depay tried a pot shot from miles out and the keeper went down in instalments and away it swerved and into the net. Bye Australia.
Group B - Spain 0 Chile 2
With the Dutch having won earlier in the day, Spain went into this game knowing that if they lost then they would be out. Del Bosque realised that he had to do something and so he dropped Xavi which though he was poor against the Dutch, looked like a ludicrous decision when the equally anonymous David Silva and Diego Costa were retained with David Villa and Fabregas on the bench, not to mention Cazorla and Mata. Even after a goalless half an hour you could see that Spain were stuggling. They got hustled out of their stride by the high pressing game of the Chileans and kept giving the ball away. Xabi Alonso was having mare and it was he who coughed up the ball to Alexis Sanchez who drew the defender and slipped the ball inside to Aranguiz to moved it on to Vargas who scored expertly. Another player who had survived the Dutch game was Iker Casillas and he again showed why he should have by flapping a long range free kick back into the middle and Aranguiz brilliantly put away the rebound. Half time 2-0 and Spain have had it. To be fair they tried in the second half but theor best chances fell to two players who were never going to score as long as they had a hole in their arses as Busquets put an open goal wide and Diego Costa gave us hope that Chelsea have signed another duff Spanish striker. Talking of which, del Bosque replaced Costa with Torres with 20 to go whilst Davis Villa sat and watched on. Carzorla made things better when he came on and forced a couple of saves out of the excellent Brava but Chile easily held on and totally deserved to win. As for Spain – well they got old and the manager failed to use younger fitter squad players and stuck with the tried and tested and old in conditions that didn’t suit them. Mata, Fabregas and Cazorla should all have played more and Casillas is shot to bits having not played any football this season. It will be a new broom for Spain as the manager will doubtless go and we’ve probably seen the last of Xavi, David Villa, Xabi Alonso, Torres and Casillas. They’ve been brilliant in their time but it looks like their time has gone. It wasn’t even a surprise that they lost today – the only surprise is that Sergio Ramos didn’t wipe someone out and get sent off after a 21 man brawl. I wonder if they can flog Costa back to Brazil?
Group A - Croatia 4 Cameroon 0
Croatia, probably fuelled by the shite referiing they got against Brazil, tore into Cameroon at the start and took ten minutes to go 1-0 up as Mandzukic squared and Olic tapped in at the far post. Cameroon then showed their amazing discipline as Alex Song produced a kind of martial arts flying elbow down a players back as he was running away from him. Quite bizarre and a great spot from the officials to send the twat off. It was still 1-0 at half time but there was no way this was going to end in any other way than a hammering. Perisic got away down the left and cut in with no challenge to slip it past the keeper who dived the wrong way. Mandzukic then scored with a header from a corner as no one challenged him and the same player rounded off the scoring as Eduardo’s tame effort was present to him by a chocolate wristed goalkeeper. The game ended with Assou-Ekotto pushing his head into the face of another one of his players. They’re a shambles and Croatia have a do or die match against Mexico.
Tomorrow it's time for England... oh joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment