(Wesley Sneijder giving Sergio Busquets a earful for going down as though
he's been shot)
(Picture courtesy of the Daily Telegraph)
It was five, should have been six, could have been seven to put the Dutch in heaven and rendered Spain bedridden.
Change sometimes, cannot be said to be a bad occurrence. It helps one to evolve and keep in line, and perhaps stay ahead of time. To put it simply, evolving is key in daily life, though it has to be done right. If, however, one has mastered an art so well to the brink of perfecting it, fostering for change might not be too easy, even to the extent of being reluctant to do it. "What is all this fancy stuff?", you may ask, hoping I will get to the point sooner rather than later.
Well, the higher you are, the harder you fall. Spain have rested on their laurels. Stagnated. And have been overtaken by the Dutch. Who have changed quite a bit. The Oranje were certainly good on the night, but I think it was more a case of Spain not being at their usual standard of days gone by.
No pace whatsoever in the squad, with numerous players in the same mould, (Silva, Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso) with Busquets playing the role of 'dropping like a fly'. What was more shocking though, is that the whole team of little maestros, lacked ideas, inventiveness and panache which would usually be associated with them (highlighted in an earlier piece here > http://trueotreat.blogspot.com/2014/06/fifa-world-cup-2014-who-are-favourites.html.
A team of "have been's" rather than one which "could be" great. It needs injecting life into it, does Spain. I will probably go into detail in a separate piece focused on the Spanish downfall, if it can be called that. But for now, the Dutch play has got to be celebrated.
Not at the level of Rinus Michels' 70's team, but they could go some way to achieving big things, if the switching of play between van Persie, Robben and Sneijder can continue. He was absolutely magnificent, was Robben. They could not get anywhere near him, and he could have bagged a hat trick if it were not for Casillas' reflex.
The South American La Roja meanwhile, did impress quite a bit in their first half last night. A very fluid team who prefers to play on the counter, and it could suit them against Spain who love to keep the ball. Still though, the jury is still out on whether the Chileans can cut the mustard against the big boys. Australia were good in periods, but were never in the contest to be honest. One had the feeling that Chile could step it up a couple of gears if the need had arised.
Mexico's encounter with Cameroon though, was quite disappointing. I got it wrong with the scoreline, and the Africans did not offer much throughout the 90 minutes, being shaky defensively and toothless in attack. They could finish bottom in Group A, though Mexico might lose out on 2nd place to Nico Kovac's troops.
On to today's matches.
England v Italy
Another momentous match in store, with the English being slight underdogs in this one. It depends quite a bit on whether Roy Hodgson decides to put into practice Brendan Rodgers' ethos at Liverpool, meaning Johnson, Gerrard, Henderson, Sterling and Sturridge starting the match. The way this match will pan out will also lie with England's capability of limiting Andrea Pirlo's influence on the match.
Easily the best passer of a football in the last 13 years, Pirlo can single-handedly dictate the tempo of a match, much like an orchestrator and his baton, similar to what so masterfully did. The similarities between the two are striking!
And with Mario Balotelli in their ranks, it could well be determined by the mercurial Italian.
With that being said though, pace, and lots of it, is what England possess. If Hodgson utilises it, and introduces Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the latter stages of tonight's game, they could hit Cesare Prandelli's team on the counter. Defensively though, is where the problem lies for the English.
My take = England 1-3 Italy
I would not take too much time discussing the three remaining games tonight, with them being Colombia v Greece, the Ivorians against the Japanese and a Luis Suarez-less Uruguay taking on the North Americans from Costa Rica.
Colombia v Greece
The Colombians qualified only second behind Argentina, and are quite stable at the back, with plenty of pace out wide. It depends on what sort of form Jackson Martinez is in, but they still could have too much for the economically-struggling Greeks.
Prediction = Colombia 2-0 Greece
Uruguay v Costa Rica
Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan will be leading the line for the Uruguayans, who were the surprise package last time around. Costa Rica are quite an average team, relying more on hard work and team ethic to get past opponents. They could be in for a long night.
Possible scoreline : Uruguay 3-0 Costa Rica
Ivory Coast v Japan
This one could be decided on the toss of a coin. The Ivorians have a lethal front line, with Drogba, Gervinho, Bony and Kalou with Yaya Toure commanding the centre of the park. Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora and Serge Aurier make up the noticeable 'entrees' from European football. Disappointingly though, they usually fail to turn up on the biggest stage. It usually is a case of them being too individualistic and not playing collectively as a cohesive unit.
The team from Tokyo though, are a total contrast. Togetherness and fighting for each other is what they do on the pitch, and to an extent, these players are akin to little VTEC engines running around with supreme stamina and pace. Kagawa and Honda determine their tempo, but do not be surprise if the Japanese come out on top in this encounter.
Outcome = Ivory Coast 2-3 Japan
Till next time.
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