Semi-finals match day 2 - Germany vs. Spain, or when a final isn't a final.
Glaring Omissions- While I am reasonably competent about my stats, I still get things absolutely wrong. Yesterday I completely forgot that the yellow card rules changed for this tournament meaning that the slates wiped clean after the quarterfinals instead of the second round. Only people with accumulated yellow cards had anything to worry about. This rule change helps prevents players from accumulating two cards in the quarter-finals and the semis then subsequently going out for the finals. I've already biffed on a couple of other things, but I felt it important to mention this one tonight since I made such a big deal out of the Netherlands situation last night.
On with the tomfoolery!
Last night's game played out as I thought it might with the exception of the Dutch defense falling asleep on Diego Forlan for a second and then being a little too exuberant in stoppage time and then letting the game get much closer than it should have been when they allowed the second Uruguayan goal. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst's piledrive from 40 yards is my goal of the tournament. I still can't believe that one went in. Arjen Robben continued to show why he is one of the best players in the World with his beautifully executed header for goal. I would have liked to have seen Uruguay with Suarez in the lineup. I think that game is much closer if he is on the pitch. Diego Forlan is one of the best players in the tournament this year and is certainly in the conversation to win some hardware for it. Wesley Sneijder has played so well that when you put his regular season performance with Inter Milan together with a possible World Cup win, he may just get the player of the year award.
Germany against Spain is the final that everyone would have been happy with anyway, so getting this in the semi-final round is fantastic. Spain are looking to cement the reputation they started creating for themselves at Euro 2008. Germany are looking to stamp this game with their newfound artistry. Both teams come in with key injury and roster question marks that could really change the nature of the game. Thomas Muller is out for Germany with card accumulation. His passing and shot selection has made up a fair amount of the German offense in the tournament, so losing him hurts. Spain has Carlos Puyol and Cesc Fabregas under injury concern meaning a whole in the center of the defense and the better offensive option up top pairing Villa possibly out too. Both injuries are not absolute at the time I'm writing this so until the game starts we just won't know. If Fabregas is out, then Spain just falls back on Fernando Torres. Torres has been out of form most of the tournament but one goal changes everything. Puyol is the greater concern because the last thing they need is to leave an open door for Podolski or Klose to stroll through. Germany has the unfortunate task of trying to stop David Villa. He has accounted for 5 of 6 Spain goals this tournament.
Spain's keys to the game:
1. Give David Villa space. Villa is playing on the left side which is the actually the stronger side of the German defense with Captain Lahm using his quickness to negate Villa's own blistering pace. Spain should be looking to Xavi to slip passes closer to the middle of the box for Villa to poach.
2. Get somebody to offer pressure other than Villa. The German's probably have an amazing scouting report on Spain and you would have to be blind not to know David Villa was your number one challenge. It will fall on Cesc Fabregas or Torres to turn the pressure up and pull markers away from Villa.
3. Shut down Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger. You cut off the passing lanes and Podolski and Klose won't have any ammunition. If Puyol is indeed out, then this becomes a very difficult proposition.
Germany's keys to the game:
1. Villa, VIlla, Villa...
2. Compensate for the loss of Thomas Muller. With Ozil and Schweinsteiger, Germany still has a ton of options in moving the attack forward. Shutting down both of them will be very difficult. Right now, they actually play more of a Dutch style football than the Dutch do.
3. Shut down the Spanish midfield. So much easier said than done. Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Iniesta all provide challenges for any club team when they play by themselves. Now you throw them together and it it becomes an OCTOPUS OF DEATH! Well, not really but you get the idea.
It has the potential to be the game of the tournament. It could stink to high heaven, but a lot of the ingredients are there for spectacular play. The Dutch people desperately want to play the Germans to get a little payback for 1974, and possibly other things... 'cough' WWII 'cough'. I'd love to see either team make it through because of the quality of play from either side.
Best guess: I have no guess for this one. I can only sit back and enjoy.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
World Cup Fever! Catch it! (WARNING: may cause spousal irritation)
4 more games....
And my mad little project will be over. I can't believe we are at the semi-finals. It has been an extremely entertaining tournament to this point. The first week wasn't raising anyone's hopes, but the last two have completely raised the level of excitement to fever pitch. The ideal ending is probably to have the Netherlands vs. Spain so we get a new World Cup winner. We essentially crown a new king of Europe in a run up to Euro 2012.
First things first, we got a game to cover!
Uruguay v. Netherlands.
Uruguay still has a game to play despite my expectations for the Dutch. I don't expect them to roll over and die for the Netherlands. The problem is they are severely hampered with roster issues. The most pressing issue is how to handle the hole left by the suspension of Luis Suarez on his red card from the Ghana game. Diego Forlan has been one of the outstanding players of the tournament, but a lot of that has been in service to Suarez. Captain Diego Lugano is out with a knee injury leaving a big hole in the midfield. Player of the future Nicolas Lodeiro is also gone with a broken foot. They come in looking like the walking wounded. They will try and fill the hole at forward with Sebastian Abreu who plays like Frankenstein's Monster set loose upon a small village. Shambling, always shambling...
The game change for the Dutch defense is to try and negate headers now instead of worrying about Suarez' speed. They have their own concerns with over half the lineup with at least one yellow card and Nigel De Jong out on suspension due to his own accumulation of yellows. They have to be incredibly careful because even one suspension from the big three forwards up top could seriously throw off the offense for the next game whether it be the final or the third place game. Van Persie, Robben, and Kuyt are all in jeopardy. If things get dicey at all for the Uruguayans, they could go into spoiler mode and start taking to their own three ring circus at the expense of the Dutch.
Uruguay's keys to the game:
1. Neutralize Arjen Robben. Wesley Sneider may be the most dangerous man on the field, but Robben is the one up front who creates havoc with his coring runs and auditions for Broadway. The Uruguayan defense cannot allow themselves to get suckered in like Felipe Melo did in the Brazil game. Their main job will be to cut off the goal box parallel to the goal and shut down his shooting and passing.
2. Frustrate Wesley Sneijder. Cutting off his passing lanes and using physical play to knock him off the ball may give them the time to create counter attacks.
3. Pressure the right side of the Dutch Defense. This is probably the best spot for Uruguay to attack. Brazil penetrated this side early and often. It will be up to Forlan to make this his home for 90 minutes as he takes free kicks and bombs in crosses for Abreu.
Netherland's keys to the game:
1. Remain calm. I can't overemphasize the yellow card situation enough. If you get past Uruguay, you are facing off against Germany and Spain, both more than likely at full strength.
2. Ram the ball down the middle. Netherlands plays really well down the wings, but the middle of the Uruguayan defense seems to be it's weak point especially with Lugano out of the midfield. I think Dirk Kuyt is critical to the finishing this World Cup campaign as champions. His pace and relentless work ethic should be used to frustrate the Uruguayan defense and draw markers away from Van Persie and Robben.
3. Play the game that got you here. Their ball control has been impeccable in just about every game except the Brazil game, and Uruguay will not be anywhere near the level of Brazil in terms of control. Sneijder's passing and field awareness is the best on the field. He is the post on which all the offense swings.
Best Guess:
Netherlands 2-0 Uruguay. I think Netherlands scores in the first half and then closes it down with another in the second. Uruguay goes into the third place game dissappointed, but still riding with a chance to win something.
Tomorrow night we get the barn-burner between Germany and Spain. Woooo!
And my mad little project will be over. I can't believe we are at the semi-finals. It has been an extremely entertaining tournament to this point. The first week wasn't raising anyone's hopes, but the last two have completely raised the level of excitement to fever pitch. The ideal ending is probably to have the Netherlands vs. Spain so we get a new World Cup winner. We essentially crown a new king of Europe in a run up to Euro 2012.
First things first, we got a game to cover!
Uruguay v. Netherlands.
Uruguay still has a game to play despite my expectations for the Dutch. I don't expect them to roll over and die for the Netherlands. The problem is they are severely hampered with roster issues. The most pressing issue is how to handle the hole left by the suspension of Luis Suarez on his red card from the Ghana game. Diego Forlan has been one of the outstanding players of the tournament, but a lot of that has been in service to Suarez. Captain Diego Lugano is out with a knee injury leaving a big hole in the midfield. Player of the future Nicolas Lodeiro is also gone with a broken foot. They come in looking like the walking wounded. They will try and fill the hole at forward with Sebastian Abreu who plays like Frankenstein's Monster set loose upon a small village. Shambling, always shambling...
The game change for the Dutch defense is to try and negate headers now instead of worrying about Suarez' speed. They have their own concerns with over half the lineup with at least one yellow card and Nigel De Jong out on suspension due to his own accumulation of yellows. They have to be incredibly careful because even one suspension from the big three forwards up top could seriously throw off the offense for the next game whether it be the final or the third place game. Van Persie, Robben, and Kuyt are all in jeopardy. If things get dicey at all for the Uruguayans, they could go into spoiler mode and start taking to their own three ring circus at the expense of the Dutch.
Uruguay's keys to the game:
1. Neutralize Arjen Robben. Wesley Sneider may be the most dangerous man on the field, but Robben is the one up front who creates havoc with his coring runs and auditions for Broadway. The Uruguayan defense cannot allow themselves to get suckered in like Felipe Melo did in the Brazil game. Their main job will be to cut off the goal box parallel to the goal and shut down his shooting and passing.
2. Frustrate Wesley Sneijder. Cutting off his passing lanes and using physical play to knock him off the ball may give them the time to create counter attacks.
3. Pressure the right side of the Dutch Defense. This is probably the best spot for Uruguay to attack. Brazil penetrated this side early and often. It will be up to Forlan to make this his home for 90 minutes as he takes free kicks and bombs in crosses for Abreu.
Netherland's keys to the game:
1. Remain calm. I can't overemphasize the yellow card situation enough. If you get past Uruguay, you are facing off against Germany and Spain, both more than likely at full strength.
2. Ram the ball down the middle. Netherlands plays really well down the wings, but the middle of the Uruguayan defense seems to be it's weak point especially with Lugano out of the midfield. I think Dirk Kuyt is critical to the finishing this World Cup campaign as champions. His pace and relentless work ethic should be used to frustrate the Uruguayan defense and draw markers away from Van Persie and Robben.
3. Play the game that got you here. Their ball control has been impeccable in just about every game except the Brazil game, and Uruguay will not be anywhere near the level of Brazil in terms of control. Sneijder's passing and field awareness is the best on the field. He is the post on which all the offense swings.
Best Guess:
Netherlands 2-0 Uruguay. I think Netherlands scores in the first half and then closes it down with another in the second. Uruguay goes into the third place game dissappointed, but still riding with a chance to win something.
Tomorrow night we get the barn-burner between Germany and Spain. Woooo!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
World Cup Fever! Catch it! (WARNING: may cause spousal irritation)
You might think that Bastion Schweinsteiger or Thomas Muller get man of the match for their amazing performance against Argentina. Nope, my man of the match goes to Per Mertesacker for this...
OFF HIS FACE!
Then what did he do? He calmly turned towards his goalkeeper and slapped five for sackin' up. In a game where people like to hit the ground for getting sneezed on, Per really earned some respect. Unfortunately, it does not stop the odd font on the back of his jersey from making his name appear to be Meatesacker. Although, Meatesacker would be a perfect name for a defender. Just, you know, rather unfortunate...
No more posts today, but tomorrow I may get to my young players of the tournament which is essentially a preview for the 2014 World Cup.
OFF HIS FACE!
Then what did he do? He calmly turned towards his goalkeeper and slapped five for sackin' up. In a game where people like to hit the ground for getting sneezed on, Per really earned some respect. Unfortunately, it does not stop the odd font on the back of his jersey from making his name appear to be Meatesacker. Although, Meatesacker would be a perfect name for a defender. Just, you know, rather unfortunate...
No more posts today, but tomorrow I may get to my young players of the tournament which is essentially a preview for the 2014 World Cup.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
World Cup Fever! Catch it! (WARNING: may cause spousal irritation)
Rapid Fire Reaction-
It got ugly, but not in the way I expected...
This Germany squad is one of the most complete, stylish, entertaining teams I have ever seen in the World Cup. I never thought I would use the word stylish to describe German football. I'm still aghast that they hung four goals on a really good Argentina team. Although can I call Argentina really good after that performance? It seems like the second goal was the real nail in the coffin and they just lost control of any team aspect to their game.
Argentina started very well. They were getting through the right side of the German defense almost at will. Then at some point it seemed like Messi just got taken out of the game. Every time he stepped up to the box the German back line had a two man wall set up to stop any shots or passes. Diego Maradona had no answer tactically to Germany's midfield press. It was very sad in some respects to watch him stroll the sideline with a dour expression and arms crossed after all those games with him bouncing off everything like a psychopath.
Again, the scary thing to consider is Germany's youth. If they bring this same team to the next World Cup, you can pencil them in as early favorites to win the whole damn thing. Of course they haven't won this World Cup yet, but they have to be the favorites right now. I don't know if Spain or Paraguay can stop them from getting to the final. Unfortunately, Thomas Muller is out for the semi-final due to card accumulation. Speaking of, the second goal doesn't happen unless he makes that amazing desperation pass to Lucas Podolski who then makes a great cross to Klose.
Speaking of Miroslav... He is now one goal away from tying the all-time scoring record held by Brazil's Ronaldo. That is an amazing accomplishment when you consider that Germany didn't win either of the last two Cups. What a way to end your International career...
It got ugly, but not in the way I expected...
This Germany squad is one of the most complete, stylish, entertaining teams I have ever seen in the World Cup. I never thought I would use the word stylish to describe German football. I'm still aghast that they hung four goals on a really good Argentina team. Although can I call Argentina really good after that performance? It seems like the second goal was the real nail in the coffin and they just lost control of any team aspect to their game.
Argentina started very well. They were getting through the right side of the German defense almost at will. Then at some point it seemed like Messi just got taken out of the game. Every time he stepped up to the box the German back line had a two man wall set up to stop any shots or passes. Diego Maradona had no answer tactically to Germany's midfield press. It was very sad in some respects to watch him stroll the sideline with a dour expression and arms crossed after all those games with him bouncing off everything like a psychopath.
Again, the scary thing to consider is Germany's youth. If they bring this same team to the next World Cup, you can pencil them in as early favorites to win the whole damn thing. Of course they haven't won this World Cup yet, but they have to be the favorites right now. I don't know if Spain or Paraguay can stop them from getting to the final. Unfortunately, Thomas Muller is out for the semi-final due to card accumulation. Speaking of, the second goal doesn't happen unless he makes that amazing desperation pass to Lucas Podolski who then makes a great cross to Klose.
Speaking of Miroslav... He is now one goal away from tying the all-time scoring record held by Brazil's Ronaldo. That is an amazing accomplishment when you consider that Germany didn't win either of the last two Cups. What a way to end your International career...
World Cup Fever! Catch it! (WARNING: may cause spousal irritation)
Match Day 21- Come on, can't we all just get along?
Germany v. Argentina
This is not going to be polite. Tensions between these two teams have been escalating all week with both sides taking verbal jabs at each other. Argentina has dismissed Germany's wins and Germany has called them "aggressive and provocative". A lot of other things have been said, so expect things to get a little ugly tonight.
Germany will look to expose the Argentinian defense which gave up a lot of early chances to Mexico and could be weaker than we think. The German midfield is extremely precise if we can bother to shoehorn on the stereotype. Germany also feature three exceptionally dangerous scoring threats in Muller, Klose and Podolski. Argentina again counters with Lionel Messi engineering most plays from outside the the 18 yard box. He will look to score on his own or offload to Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain.
Did I mention things might get ugly? You might see more playacting in this game than in an entire season of Shakespeare in the park. Expect the entire supply of shinguards to take a hell of a beating. I don't see this one going to overtime tonight. There is a lot of offensive firepower out on that pitch, and penalties could come in to play. Set pieces should be especially brutal. I'm not even going to try and call this one. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it.
Spain v. Paraguay.
Paraguay is looking to suck all the oxygen off the field tonight to snuff out blazing fire that is David Villa. Villa has been on an amazing tear in this Cup. Paraguay's main task will be cutting off access to Villa. Taking your chances with Fernando Torres isn't a great choice but considering the form he has been in, it will be the Paraguayan's best option. I expect Paraguay to sit back a bit as they won't be able to dominate ball control as they have in their last few games. They haven't scored in their last two games, and Spain's defense and midfield won't make it any easier. I think Spain takes this one in the 90 minutes.
Just a few more words about yesterday's games. I feel terrible for Ghana, It's a horrible way to go out. Going out to penalties usually is, but in this case the manner they got there was depressing. Asamoah Gyan misses the penalty kick that ends the game stopping the decision from going to a full shootout. It is heartbreaking and he will carry that for the next four years. I hope he overcomes it mentally. He seems strong though. For Uruguay, Diego Forlan was in absolute top form last night driving cross after dangerous cross into the box. His free-kick goal was spectacular. Luis Suarez however, earned himself a lot of haters. He played well enough, but he dove all over the place and his handball shut out the sure goal that would have won Ghana the game. Obviously, he was crushed by getting sent off and at the same time giving Ghana what appeared to be an almost certain goal in the penalty kick awarded after his foul. Now, Uruguay's most dangerous striker is out for the semi-final game against the Netherlands.
Germany v. Argentina
This is not going to be polite. Tensions between these two teams have been escalating all week with both sides taking verbal jabs at each other. Argentina has dismissed Germany's wins and Germany has called them "aggressive and provocative". A lot of other things have been said, so expect things to get a little ugly tonight.
Germany will look to expose the Argentinian defense which gave up a lot of early chances to Mexico and could be weaker than we think. The German midfield is extremely precise if we can bother to shoehorn on the stereotype. Germany also feature three exceptionally dangerous scoring threats in Muller, Klose and Podolski. Argentina again counters with Lionel Messi engineering most plays from outside the the 18 yard box. He will look to score on his own or offload to Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain.
Did I mention things might get ugly? You might see more playacting in this game than in an entire season of Shakespeare in the park. Expect the entire supply of shinguards to take a hell of a beating. I don't see this one going to overtime tonight. There is a lot of offensive firepower out on that pitch, and penalties could come in to play. Set pieces should be especially brutal. I'm not even going to try and call this one. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it.
Spain v. Paraguay.
Paraguay is looking to suck all the oxygen off the field tonight to snuff out blazing fire that is David Villa. Villa has been on an amazing tear in this Cup. Paraguay's main task will be cutting off access to Villa. Taking your chances with Fernando Torres isn't a great choice but considering the form he has been in, it will be the Paraguayan's best option. I expect Paraguay to sit back a bit as they won't be able to dominate ball control as they have in their last few games. They haven't scored in their last two games, and Spain's defense and midfield won't make it any easier. I think Spain takes this one in the 90 minutes.
Just a few more words about yesterday's games. I feel terrible for Ghana, It's a horrible way to go out. Going out to penalties usually is, but in this case the manner they got there was depressing. Asamoah Gyan misses the penalty kick that ends the game stopping the decision from going to a full shootout. It is heartbreaking and he will carry that for the next four years. I hope he overcomes it mentally. He seems strong though. For Uruguay, Diego Forlan was in absolute top form last night driving cross after dangerous cross into the box. His free-kick goal was spectacular. Luis Suarez however, earned himself a lot of haters. He played well enough, but he dove all over the place and his handball shut out the sure goal that would have won Ghana the game. Obviously, he was crushed by getting sent off and at the same time giving Ghana what appeared to be an almost certain goal in the penalty kick awarded after his foul. Now, Uruguay's most dangerous striker is out for the semi-final game against the Netherlands.
Friday, July 2, 2010
World Cup Fever! Catch it! (WARNING: may cause spousal irritation)
ORANGE CRUSH!!!!!!!!! ORANGE CRUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!
I can't believe that just happened! What an amazing win. After the first Brazil goal, hell, the entire first half, the Dutch were under siege. The Brazilians had created so many a
NOTE:
I proceeded to write a great post that profiled the agony of Brazil and the utter jubilation of the Dutch. Blogger decided to have a meltdown and has destroyed everything but the beginning. I am very tired and have no interest in rewriting it. Rest assured...
IT WAS AWESOME...
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!
I can't believe that just happened! What an amazing win. After the first Brazil goal, hell, the entire first half, the Dutch were under siege. The Brazilians had created so many a
NOTE:
I proceeded to write a great post that profiled the agony of Brazil and the utter jubilation of the Dutch. Blogger decided to have a meltdown and has destroyed everything but the beginning. I am very tired and have no interest in rewriting it. Rest assured...
IT WAS AWESOME...
World Cup Fever! Catch it! (WARNING: may cause spousal irritation)
Match Day 20- When Ryan is a bitter, bitter man.
For those of you who know me from the way back, know I am a huge Harry Connick jr. fan. Tonight, one Mr. Connick Jr. is playing at the World Expo for United States National day. Am I going? No... Why? Well, nobody thought anyone who works for the United States government, or the family of said employees were worth inviting. Even the people who are WORKING THE EVENT had to scramble to get tickets. So my lovely wife will be attending after a full days work organizing the party at Expo for National day. I take comfort in knowing that my unborn son's first concert is Harry Connick Jr. It is nice symmetry...
On to the feckless hooliganism!
Tonight's action: Netherlands v. Brazil, Uruguay v. Ghana.
So just to set the table, the Dutch have a history of in-fighting at the World Cup. Most people anticipate it. They know it's coming. People wrote about it in preview blogs for the Cup, and joked about it on talk radio. This World Cup had been fairly quiet for the Netherlands. We all thought that the Dutch had excised the demons and were all happy campers talking about bicycles and weed. Then, the day after the last game of the second round, like clockwork, stories of the Dutch having a go at each other began to surface. Robin Van Persie was substituted in the 82nd minute of their last game, and boy was he unhappy. He was pleading his case to the coach quite visibly. Evidently, in that exchange he said that he should have stayed in and midfielder Wesley Sneijder should have come out. Sneijder promptly scored two minutes later putting the game out of reach for Slovakia. The dust-up evidently goes back to an argument the two had at the European championships. The coach has squashed all the talk, but sometimes it is good to know you can depend on certain things.
Tonight, we find out exactly how good this Netherlands team is and whether or not they can dominate possession against an incredibly stingy Brazil team.Hopefully all the talk about problems in the Dutch camp were indeed overblown or exaggerated, because they cannot handle a weak spine on that team. Brazil will probably capitalize on the weaker Dutch defense. Holland's job is to try and keep up and create enough chances so that if they do get a lead, they can fall back on that exceptional control to siphon away time from Brazil's dangerous midfield and forward attack. I really love the Dutch team, but I think that Brazil takes this one. I think they are just extraordinary. However, they have not been tested at this tournament yet and you can bet that Netherlands will make things hellish if given the opportunity.
Uruguay v. Ghana will be interesting to particularly because it will give us a sense of how tough this Uruguay team really is. They have cruised up to this point and run into a Ghana team that finally got the monkey off their back and scored from open play and took a fairly dramatic victory in their win over the USA. Uruguay looks like the real deal in this tournament. Kind of an Argentina light without the Messi. Ghana plays such a tough physical band of soccer that it will be tough for the Uruguayan back line to hang in there without getting chippy. Asamoah Gyan and Kevin-Prince Boateng will again be the point men for the attack with Ayew streaking in from the wing to create opportunites. Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan will again be the main culprits looking to end Ghana's feel good story. I think Uruguay wins this one, but not without a tough fight from Ghana who will make their standing as the last African country in the tourney count.
Now I'm going to go listen to the "When Harry met Sally" soundtrack at full blast and see if I can get a sense of what I'm missing.
For those of you who know me from the way back, know I am a huge Harry Connick jr. fan. Tonight, one Mr. Connick Jr. is playing at the World Expo for United States National day. Am I going? No... Why? Well, nobody thought anyone who works for the United States government, or the family of said employees were worth inviting. Even the people who are WORKING THE EVENT had to scramble to get tickets. So my lovely wife will be attending after a full days work organizing the party at Expo for National day. I take comfort in knowing that my unborn son's first concert is Harry Connick Jr. It is nice symmetry...
On to the feckless hooliganism!
Tonight's action: Netherlands v. Brazil, Uruguay v. Ghana.
So just to set the table, the Dutch have a history of in-fighting at the World Cup. Most people anticipate it. They know it's coming. People wrote about it in preview blogs for the Cup, and joked about it on talk radio. This World Cup had been fairly quiet for the Netherlands. We all thought that the Dutch had excised the demons and were all happy campers talking about bicycles and weed. Then, the day after the last game of the second round, like clockwork, stories of the Dutch having a go at each other began to surface. Robin Van Persie was substituted in the 82nd minute of their last game, and boy was he unhappy. He was pleading his case to the coach quite visibly. Evidently, in that exchange he said that he should have stayed in and midfielder Wesley Sneijder should have come out. Sneijder promptly scored two minutes later putting the game out of reach for Slovakia. The dust-up evidently goes back to an argument the two had at the European championships. The coach has squashed all the talk, but sometimes it is good to know you can depend on certain things.
Tonight, we find out exactly how good this Netherlands team is and whether or not they can dominate possession against an incredibly stingy Brazil team.Hopefully all the talk about problems in the Dutch camp were indeed overblown or exaggerated, because they cannot handle a weak spine on that team. Brazil will probably capitalize on the weaker Dutch defense. Holland's job is to try and keep up and create enough chances so that if they do get a lead, they can fall back on that exceptional control to siphon away time from Brazil's dangerous midfield and forward attack. I really love the Dutch team, but I think that Brazil takes this one. I think they are just extraordinary. However, they have not been tested at this tournament yet and you can bet that Netherlands will make things hellish if given the opportunity.
Uruguay v. Ghana will be interesting to particularly because it will give us a sense of how tough this Uruguay team really is. They have cruised up to this point and run into a Ghana team that finally got the monkey off their back and scored from open play and took a fairly dramatic victory in their win over the USA. Uruguay looks like the real deal in this tournament. Kind of an Argentina light without the Messi. Ghana plays such a tough physical band of soccer that it will be tough for the Uruguayan back line to hang in there without getting chippy. Asamoah Gyan and Kevin-Prince Boateng will again be the point men for the attack with Ayew streaking in from the wing to create opportunites. Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan will again be the main culprits looking to end Ghana's feel good story. I think Uruguay wins this one, but not without a tough fight from Ghana who will make their standing as the last African country in the tourney count.
Now I'm going to go listen to the "When Harry met Sally" soundtrack at full blast and see if I can get a sense of what I'm missing.
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