Wild American Gooner

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Tag Archives: 2014 World Cup


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How I Like to Watch Games and Today’s Predictions

Good morning, everyone. Hope you’ve all had a great week. Last night’s Greece-Japan game didn’t do much for me, but at least we were treated to two other great games yesterday. But the Greek game got me thinking. Four years ago, I was in Greece for much of the World Cup. I remember expecting people to be really into it being a European country and all, but I was a little disappointed. I guess we weren’t in big cities for most of it, but there wasn’t much excitement where I was, even for Greece games. The one night we were in Athens during the World Cup, we were at a restaurant/bar during the France-Uruguay game. For some reason, there were a ton of Uruguayans at the restaurant that night, and they gave me a hard time about the Franck Ribery France jersey I was wearing. But it was fun being a part of a large crowd of passionate fans enjoying soccer.

Since then, I haven’t had that experience very often for soccer matches. For Arsenal games, I usually watch alone or with a friend a two, but never with more than three or four others. I’m usually too nervous to want to watch with people who don’t care as much. I’m going to have to really respect your fandom if I’m going to choose to watch a game with you. For USA games, it hasn’t been much different. There just aren’t that many people that care enough for my liking when I’m nervously watching a game.

But maybe the lasting effect of this World Cup will be more people in the US who genuinely care about soccer. I don’t just mean people who are happy to show how American they are every four years. I mean people who enjoy getting into the games. I’m hopeful that day is coming so that I can stop watching alone.

Now, here are my picks for today’s games.

Italy 2 Costa Rica 0

The English will be delighted with this result, as the Costa Ricans will find the Italians much tougher than Uruguay was last week. The success that Joel Campbell found dropping deep won’t be there this time going against Danielle De Rossi, whose impact in this game will be huge in front of the Italian defense. Mario Balotelli will score one on the break in the first half, and Ciro Immobile will add the second off the bench. The final score won’t be entirely indicative of how dominant Italy are.

Switzerland 1 France 0

I’ll stick with the pick I made in my original group stage predictions. This will be the surprise of the day. France will be the more dangerous side throughout, but chances will fall to the wrong men. Diego Benaglio will have a good day in goal as well, and the French won’t be able to crack the Swiss defense. Switzerland will have few chances, halted in midfield by Blaise Matuidi and Paul Pogba. However, against the run of play, Xherdan Shaqiri will score a candidate for goal of the tournament, giving his Switzerland the top spot in Group E. France certainly has more talent, but I’ll take the Swiss today.

Honduras 1 Ecuador 1

The other Group E game won’t carry the same amount of sparkle as Switzerland-France, but it will be a game to watch in its own right. I think this game could get testy, with the opposing mangers knowing each other’s sides so well and both teams frustrated by their losses last time out. Yellow cards will be flying. Jerry Bengtson will score first for Honduras on a set-piece. But Ecuador will earn a point late on through Antonio Valencia, whose quality should shine through today. Despite the lack of star power, this game will still carry some intrigue.

How do you like to watch games? Do you prefer watching alone or with other people? Share your thoughts below. And check back for more content later on today. Thanks for reading.

 


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It Had To Be Him

There was always going to be one hero in Uruguay-England game and it wasn’t going to be Wayne Rooney. That Rooney had gotten his goose egg out of the way with the equalizer won’t be remembered unless there’s an English miracle in the next game. The hero was always going to be Luis Suarez.

As soon as Suarez and Uruguay were drawn alongside England, you knew Suarez would be chomping at the bit to stick one to the British media by breaking English hearts. The only question was whether he’d be fit enough to take part. But as I predicted, Suarez showed up in a big way for this one.

His first goal was too easy. England should not have allowed Edinson Cavani the space to curl in the ball for Suarez, and like last time out, a mistake from a center-back gave Suarez the tiny bit of space he needed. From there, he was never going to miss the free header. His second goal though was both a beauty and terribly defended. Goals that come straight from the goalie should never happen, as Muslera’s punt was simply headed on by Cavani to release Suarez. Someone should have been marking Suarez, for he was the only player who was going to beat England. But once the ball reached Suarez, his class won out, as his first touch and subsequent screamer were near perfect.

This was another instance of England not properly paying attention to the opposing star in critical moments. In their European Championship exit two years ago, it was a lack of attention to Andrea Pirlo that cost them. This time around, it was Luis Suarez. They had to know he was the threat, and needed to properly mark him at the crucial moment. Suarez was limited most of the match by the English defense, but those two lapses gave him just enough space to leave his mark on the game.

To England’s credit, they looked the better side for much of the game. And this World Cup, they’ve looked a talented squad. But ultimately, it’s individuals stepping up to carry a team that count and England lacked that today. While Rooney got his goal eventually, England’s best player, and yes, I mean that, missed two gilt-edged chances that could have swung the game. I truly believe England could make a serious run for major trophies in the next few years, but they will need individuals to rise above their talent level for that to happen.

Love him or hate him, The World Cup will be better for having Luis Suarez fit and firing. His performance against Italy will be vital if the Uruguayans hope to earn a place in the knockout stage. If only 40,000,001 were enough to have brought him to Arsenal last summer.

On another note, I found the usually loveable Ian Darke and Steve McManaman pairing verging on unbearable at times today. I love these commentators. But today, they seemed to let their bias towards England affect the commentary in a negative way. ESPN has done a good job of assembling on-air talent from all the major soccer nations, but having two Englishmen in the booth for such an important match was too much. They kept beating the audience over the head with their criticism of Uruguay’s stalling tactics. Lots of teams do that, but Darke kept harping on it. It even got to the point when he called out Alvaro Pereira for faking an injury when he was nearly unconscious. While Darke apologized for that, he needed to look at a replay before saying what he did. This duo is great. But if I wanted an English bias this strong, I would have found a BBC feed. I’d take this duo any day of the week, but they were too much today.


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A Place for the Emotional

There’s an old adage in the US – There’s no crying in baseball. Every kid hears it somewhere. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it’s widely accepted around American sports culture. Now I’ve never heard it applied to soccer. Just last month, in an intramural futsal game I was playing in, the other team’s best player took himself out of his team’s 7-3 semifinal loss and started crying. His team had beaten mine 27-6 in the season opener (How about that improvement huh?) so naturally he was disappointed, but crying over a intramural futsal match seems rather stupid.

However some tears are beautiful. During Ivory Coast’s national anthem today before their match with Colombia, the camera showed Ivorian midfielder Serey Die overcome with emotion. Tears were streaming down his face while the anthem was playing. And you could here the crowd erupt. These tears were all that is right about the international game. It was a display of national pride that showed why the World Cup is so special. For it’s not about the money right now for the players. It’s about national pride. I’ve heard he was thinking about his late father, and how proud he’d be to see his son represent their country.

I don’t know much about Die as a player, but I immediately admired him. He was clearly playing for all the right reasons. Lining up for Ivory Coast had to be a life-long dream of his, representing his country halfway across the world. I doubt he wanted to cry on the field, but he couldn’t help it. He just cared too much.

But all went wrong for Serey Die in this game. He struggled to contain the pace of Colombia’s midfielders, and it was his poor giveaway that led to Colombia’s second goal, one that seemed to have all but killed off the game before Gervinho’s brilliance got Ivory Coast back into the game a few minutes later. He lay on the ground after Colombia’s goal, having sprinted back in vain to try to atone for his mistake. It was heartbreaking to watch him lie there, as he clearly felt like he let his country down. He was substituted shortly after, and his day was over. For a player whose passion represented everything right with the game, it was a cruel twist.

Cynics will say he let his emotions get to him today, negatively affecting his play. They’ll say his crying was a sign of weakness for his opponent to see. They might be right. But nobody should fault Serey Die for caring too much. In a world of sport where players are increasingly driven by money and fame, this display of national pride was simply beautiful. There might be not be crying in baseball, but international soccer has a place for the emotional.

On another note, I remain extremely happy to see Gervinho do well in Brazil. His goal was classic Gervinho, except with a stunning finish. If only he had been able to do that regularly at Arsenal. And Serge Aurier continues to look like a strong option as a potential Arsenal right-back. Here’s hoping Arsene Wenger is thinking the same thing.


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Cameroon’s Embarrassment, John Lackey and Today’s Picks

Good morning, all. Strange one last night between Cameroon and Croatia. After the Indomitable Lions’ bright start, it was surprising to see them implode as they did. Benoit Assou-Ekotto should be ashamed of what he did. Never, and I mean never, should you show up a teammate on the field, much less headbutt him. If he isn’t suspended by the Cameroon soccer federation, it will be a crime. There is simply no place for that anywhere. And on another note, I guess Alex Song doesn’t read my blog. His action was rather childish as well, and cost his team dearly. As I said before, he needs to be better.

The Red Sox had a big win yesterday. It seems like the kind of stuff that could turn the season around. Nine shutout innings from John Lackey and then some tenth inning heroics from David Ortiz and Mike Napoli. In my eyes, Lackey deserves to be an All-Star this year. When the Red Sox have needed a stopper, he has been the guy, even if he isn’t piling up the wins. He and Koji Uehara should be the only Boston representatives in Minnesota this summer.

Now, to my picks. They’ve been going better lately.

Colombia 2 Ivory Coast 2

I expect this game between the two top teams in Group C to be an exciting one. Coming off of a strong performance against Greece, James Rodriguez will impress once again, setting up Teo Gutierrez for Colombia’s first. The Ivorians will strike next via Yaya Toure. With a match under his belt to regain some fitness, Toure should be better today. Colombia will score their second shortly after half through Victor Ibarbo, whose excellent play will be rewarded with a fine goal. But the scoring won’t be done, as a late penalty will see Didier Drogba tie the game from the spot.

Uruguay 2 England 1

The outcome of this game will depend completely on Luis Suarez. Initially, it looked like he was going to play. But recent reports suggest he won’t. If he does play, I think he scores a brace against many of his Liverpool teammates. Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka won’t be able to contain both him and Edinson Cavani. If Suarez plays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Uruguay score three. But if he doesn’t, England will dominate. Whether or not that will manifest itself in a win is another matter, but Daniel Sturridge should have his way with the shaky Uruguay defense that will be without Pereira and Lugano. I’ll settle for in between my two predictions. Cavani will score first, and Suarez will add one off the bench for the winner. Sturridge will have set up one for Sterling earlier to get England on the board. This game should be fascinating.

Japan 2 Greece 0

I’m still disappointed in Japan’s performance against the Ivory Coast last weekend. But I expect them to be less intimated by Greece’s frontline. As a couple of my friends pointed out recently, there aren’t too many strikers like Greece’s Georgios Samaras – ones who specialize in not scoring. He certainly shouldn’t cause the same degree of fear that Drogba did. If Greece starts Konstantinos Mitroglou, this might be a match. But should he be on the bench, the Greeks won’t have much going. On the other side, Shinji Kagawa will have his way in midfield. He will set up Shinji Okazaki nicely for Japan’s opener, before scoring the second himself. He will put the Japanese back in the Group C race.

As always, thanks for reading. Check back later for more World Cup coverage. Please share any thoughts or suggestions for content, and have a great day.

 


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Spain’s Legacy Is One To Be Celebrated

In every story, there is an end. Some are happy. Some are sad. Some ends are sudden. And some are a long time coming. If last week’s loss to the Netherlands was the beginning of the end for Spanish football, today’s defeat to Chile was the final period. Spain will go on playing soccer. In fact, they even get to play another game in Brazil. But things will never quite be the same for Vicente del Bosque’s historic Spanish side of the last six years.

Maybe it was arrogance, or maybe it was simply having played too many games over the last few years, but Spain was not ready to take punches from the Netherlands and from Chile. Everything went wrong. Stars so long admired for their ability to win at all costs seemed to give up. Gone was the ability to create chances. Gone was the determination to overcome the adversity. And gone were the Spaniards. As ESPN analyst Steve McManaman said in the immediate aftermath of Spain’s exit, “They deserve to be going home.”

It’s hard to believe that tiki-taka is done. But it seems the world has figured out how to defend it. Barcelona struggled all year with it, and now this. Will this signal a return to more barbarian styles of play? Or will a young manager come up with a new world-beating tactic? On this day, Chile’s decision to press high up the field looked ingenious. They allowed Spain time on the ball, but held firm when they needed to. When they got on the ball, they immediately countered, and sent runners into the box. Alexis Sanchez looked twice the player he often is at Barcelona among the inspired Chileans today.

Many people, including me, called for changes to be made in the Spanish side before today’s game. Somebody had to provide a spark. But del Bosque only made two changes. The tactics largely stayed the same, and the result was much the same. It was as if he wanted to go down with his boat. The ship was sinking, and instead of jumping on a lifeboat and fighting for survival, he stuck with his men and watched it go down. A 0-0 draw could have kept the Spanish alive, but they never would have played for that. They are too proud to abandon what has marked them over the years, and in many ways, that is admirable.

It will be healthy for these players to get some rest now. Finally, they will be able to have a summer off. Barcelona could be back to their best next year with a rested Spanish contingent. But you can bet that Spain will look to the younger generation to fill many of the old guard’s spaces after this summer. The Spanish side that begins Euro 2016 qualifying might be entirely unrecognizable.

But like all stories, the overall message is about so much more than just the ending. Is How I Met Your Mother a bad show just because the ending was terribly disappointing? Absolutely not. Ultimately, it’s the highs that should be remembered. And this Spanish team had some unbelievable highs. They should go down as one of the best national team sides of all team. They changed the way soccer was played, ushering in an exciting era of tiki-taka unlike anything seen before.

As they depart Brazil, they leave behind that legacy of tiki-taka. It may have diminishing returns now, but for many years, the revolutionary style was almost unbeatable. Xavi, Iniesta, Villa and company should hold their heads high. Their story with Spain has come to an end. But the incredible story of how this side changed the way the game is played is one to be celebrated.