FIFA World Cup 2014: Germany and Algeria

Germany

Joachim Loew’s team is determined to win every single match in this tournament. This was obvious during their last group match against USA, where even a draw would win the group for Germany. The coach was so nervous, as if the team was losing a semi-final. And, of course, there could be no talk about a stalemate with the former Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann. Germany had already destroyed

FIFA World Cup 2014: France and Nigeria

Netherlands – Mexico 2-1: Miguel Herrera’s change into ultra defensive tactics already after 60 minutes left Mexico out of the World Cup.

Defence: 1,5 – 1,5                                

Midfield: 1,5 – 1,5

Attack:1,5 – 1,5

Interplay: 1,5 – 1,5

TOTAL: 6 – 6

13. Ochoa (MEX) – 1,5
11. Robben (NED) – 1,5

6. Herrera (MEX) – 1,5

4. R. Marquez (MEX) – 1

7. Layun (MEX) – 1

20. Aquino (MEX) – 0,5

10. Dos Santos (MEX) – 0,5

21. Depay (NED) – 0,5

Costa Rica – Greece 1-1 (5-3 pen.): Greece’s passive football in the extra time prevented the team from earning a quarterfinal-place.

Defence: 1 – 1

Midfield: 0,5 – 1

Attack: 0,5 - 1

Interplay: 1 - 1

TOTAL: 3 – 4

20. Cholebas (GRE) – 1,5

4. Manolas (GRE) – 1

1. Navas (CRC) - 1
19. Sokratis (GRE) - 1
9. Campbell (CRC) - 1

10. Ruiz (CRC) – 0,5

7. Bolanos (CRC) – 0,5

7. Samaras (GRE) – 0,5

France

One of the most impressive teams of the group stage was Didier Deschamps’s France. Easily beating Honduras and smashing Switzerland, the team played the last match using the reserve. A very young and enthusiastic team of France uses an attacking 4-3-3 formation, where wingbacks turn into wingers, central midfielders are also forwards, and the winger Valbuena is the playmaker. But everything turns around

FIFA World Cup 2014: Costa Rica and Greece

Costa Rica

The biggest surprise of the World Cup 2014 is surely the team of Jorge Luis Pinto. Given no chance to earn a single point in a group full of former World champions, Costa Rica not only managed to qualify to the next round, but also win the group. They didn’t give up after they lost the first half to Uruguay in the first match, coming out of the dressing room and utilizing their chances. Their greatly organized tactics is based on

a disciplined defence. The technically strong dispatcher Bolanos, alongside with the captain Ruiz in the midfield, and the quick striker Campbell are always there to bite when a chance for a set piece or a counterattack is there. To be fair, the first two matches against Uruguay and Italy were won predominantly thanks to lousiness of the arrogant opponents, who surely had underestimated Costa Rica. The last match didn’t decide anything for England, so Costa Ricans, didn’t struggle much holding a goalless draw.

A huge self-confidence built after the group stage is going to be the biggest advantage in the match against Greece. The fans and a negative pattern for European teams make Costa Rica a favourite to win this match. Against such an opponent as Greece the team will have to take the initiative and create danger. This might be something new for the team used to be an underdog.         

 

Matches played: 3

Goals scored - conceded: 4 - 1

Topscorer (s): Campbell, Duarte, Urena, Ruiz (all - 1)  

Team marks: 4 + 4,5 + 4 = 14,5
Average mark: 4,13
Best players: Bolanos (2,0)

Final place among 32: 8-9

Chances to win the World Cup: 2,11%

Greece

Greece started the tournament with a hard 0-3 defeat from Colombia, and then played more than half of the

match with 10 men against Japan. Only one point and no scored goals was the starting point before the third group match. It became one of the most dramatic one in the tournament, as Fernando Santos had to make two substitutes already in the beginning of the match. However, the teams scored its first goal against an Ivorian team, which was determined to defend a draw, but not good at it at all. After conceding the equalizer on 74^th minute, Greeks were almost

FIFA World Cup 2014: Netherlands and Mexico

Brazil – Chile 1-1 (3-2 pen.): Chile – a proud way to leave the World Cup

Defence: 1 – 1

Midfield: 1,5 – 1,5

Attack: 1,5 – 1
Interplay: 1,5 – 1,5

TOTAL: 5,5 - 5

1. Bravo (CHI) – 1,5

7. Alexis Sanchez (CHI) – 1,5

10. Neymar (BRA) - 1

12. Julio Cesar (BRA) - 1

21. Diaz (CHI) – 1

8. Vidal (CHI) - 1

7. Hulk (BRA) - 1

4. David Luiz (BRA) – 0,5

Colombia – Uruguay 2-0: Colombia beat toothless Uruguay  

Defence: 1,5 - 1

Midfield: 1,5 - 1

Attack: 1,5 – 0,5

Interplay: 2 - 1

TOTAL: 6,5 – 3,5

10. James Rodriguez (COL) - 2

11. Cuadrado (COL) - 1

2. Zapata (COL) – 1

3. Yepes (COL) - 1

1. Ospian (COL) – 0,5

3. Godin (URU) – 0,5

Netherlands

The fabulous start of the World Cup with a 5-1 win over the champions of the World makes the Netherlands big favourites in the eyes of many experts. The interesting tactics by Louis van Gaal, where he fills the defence with many inexperienced players who fight for the ball and send it to the great

FIFA World Cup 2014: Colombia and Uruguay

Colombia

Without Radamel Falcao Jose Pekerman’s team was surely expected to qualify from a relatively easy group,

but not play so well. The way the team won all of its three matches makes many pundits put their money on Colombia’s advancement. Despite the fact that Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan showed their best against Colombia, the South Americans were always ahead of their opponents. Especially impressive was

FIFA World Cup 2014: Brazil and Chile

Brazil

The hosts won their group and are in the 1/8 finals, as projected. Not everything has been perfect so far. The

tournament started with an own goal by Marcelo in a match where only a controversial penalty gave them a lead. Then it was the time for a goalless draw, and finally a bright match against Cameroon. The overall impression is that

FIFA World Cup 2014: Analysis after the group stage

Time to say goodbye to half of the 2014 FIFA World Cup participants! 16 teams were not good enough to continue the fight for the most valuable trophy in the world of football. The pairs of 1/8 finals are known, the bracket is filled. Now we know that a Brazil-Argentina final is possible, but Germany cannot meet Brazil in the final. Maximum two South American teams can reach semi-finals. Only one of former World champions Brazil, Uruguay, France and Germany can

FIFA World Cup 2014: Climax day in Group G and Group H

USA – Germany 0-1: In a match, where both of the teams only needed an official confirmation of their advancement, there was not much happening on the pitch. The teams had their main players to start the match. The clash between two former allies, Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Loew, looked like a friendly match. Germany would be happy with a draw, which would win the group for them, and USA would be happy to leave Portugal and Ghana behind. Miroslav Klose was given a half to find his record-breaker, but it was

FIFA World Cup 2014: Will Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal be eliminated?

Group G

1. Germany 4

2. USA 4

3. Ghana 1

4. Portugal 1

Last matches: USA – Germany, Portugal – Ghana

Germany will qualify a) if the team doesn’t lose, b) if the team loses to USA, and the parallel match ends in a draw, c) if the team loses to USA, and still has got a better goal difference than the winner of the parallel match. The current goal differences: Germany +4, Ghana -1, Portugal -4. A scenario, where Germany can advance could be: USA – Germany 2-0,

FIFA World Cup 2014: Climax day in Group E and Group F

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Iran 3-1: Only Iran had chances to appear in the next round, however, the team had to beat the Bosnians and Argentina had to beat Nigeria in the parallel match for this to happen. Carlos Queiroz didn’t change the starting line-up, which got famous for its solid defensive work. The Asians turned to be much weaker, when in need to take the initiative and create chances. The defence was also harmed by a more attacking mentality. The result was a quickly conceded goal, then another one later in the second half, and then finally the third one right after Reza Ghoochannejhad, or simply Gucci,

FIFA World Cup 2014: Will Ecuador make it 6 out of 6 for South America?

Group E

1. France 6

2. Ecuador 3

3. Switzerland 3

4. Honduras 0

Last matches: Honduras – Switzerland, Ecuador – France

The French team will qualify to the next round if the team a) doesn’t lose the match against Ecuador, b) loses to Ecuador, but Switzerland doesn’t win in the parallel match. If France loses, and Switzerland wins, three teams will have 6 points. The team with the worst goal difference will leave the tournament. Currently France is the leader with a goal difference of +6, Ecuador has got 0, and Switzerland has got -2. So France will leave the tournament

FIFA World Cup 2014: Climax day in Group C and Group D; Suarez bites again

Italy – Uruguay 0-1: As expected, this becoame one of the most dramatic matches of the whole group stage, and maybe the whole tournament, where one of the previous World champions had to leave the World Cup as early as before the Round of 16. Cesare Prandelli had to change the formation into 3-5-2, with the Juventus defensive trio in front of Buffon. Immobile and Balotelli were situated in front, Di Scilio and Veratti were back in the starting line-up. De Rossi was out due to an injury. Uruguay’s Oscar Tabarez introduced the same line-up as in the match against England. The scenario had to be absolutely the same as the two matches the previous day, where Netherlands and Mexico not only masterfully implemented the defence of the favourable result, but also managed to take the victory in the end of the match. But then controversy on the 59^th minute turned the game upside down. The referee decided to expulse the Italian Marchisio in a situation, where the Italian fans would never agree with him. In the next episode the referee decided not to pay attention to Chiellini’s claims about Luiz Suarez’s old habit of

FIFA World Cup 2014: Uruguay or Italy?

2. Group C

1. Colombia 6
2. Ivory Coast 3
3. Japan 1
4. Greece 1

 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

Last matches: Japan – Colombia, Greece – Ivory Coast.

Colombia has already advanced to the next round.

Ivory Coast will join Colombia if

FIFA World Cup 2014: Climax day in Group A and Group B

Netherlands – Chile 2-0. As both of the teams were already among the Play-off participants, the match was not expected to turn into an exciting show. Both of the coaches were determined to fight for the group winner’s title, though. Van Persie had collected two yellow cards in the previous matches, so he had no right to appear on the pitch, and Vidal had only one, so the coach Sampaoli would rather not risk. Especially the Juventus midfielder was missed among the South Americans. As the Netherlands had chosen a

FIFA World Cup 2014: Analysis after round 2

7. Spain’s coach Vicente Del Bosque revealed who he is going to send to defend the honour of the Spanish football in their last match in this World Cup. Xavi will not play due to a small injury, Fabregas will not play because of criticising the coach, while the post number one is going to be occupied by Pepe Reina.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

6. Belgium – Russia 1-0: Last time they didn’t play for 70 minutes, and now they were passive for 80 minutes. The 19-year-old substitute Origi’s goal short before the full-time whistle won the match for Belgians. It worked for Belgians to enter the Play-offs without showing anything extraordinary. Belgians had three points, and there was no

FIFA World Cup 2014: The third European team eliminated

10. Ronaldo wrote “Welcome to the club #Klose”, after the German scored his 15^th goal in World Cups. Now the German has got up to five matches to leave Ronaldo out of “the club”.

 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

 9. Argentina – Iran 1-0: As the coach Sabella said after the match, everything is possible when you

FIFA World Cup 2014: Costa Rica beats Italy and throws England out

10. Roy Hodgson will remain in charge of the English national team after the World Cup, despite the huge fiasco.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book 

9. Italy – Costa Rica 0-1: If there is any group to call a “Group of Death”, the Europeans die. With a group against three previous world champions, Costa Rica is already in the Play-off leaving two of these champions out of the tournament as early as

FIFA World Cup 2014: England sunk by Luiz Suarez

  10. The news of the day is that Iran coach Carlos Queiroz will leave Iran after the World Cup. As the Portuguese coach explains, he does not have full support from the political forces in the country.

 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

 9. Colombia – Ivory Coast 2-1: The tactical first half was followed by a more open and aggressive second, where both of the teams weren’t necessarily ought to go forward and score. They had already earned three points in their previous matches. Both of the teams began creating chances and Colombians scored first. Especially

FIFA World Cup 2014: World Champions Spain eliminated

10. The news of the day is related to the conflict within different collectives. Not all of them get available for public discussions, but sometimes it is hard to hide. France was the champion of conflicts in the last World Cup. This time it is most probably going to be Cameroon. Greece will also become a candidate of such a trophy, as their defender Maniatis books tickets back to Athens after a conflict within the team. The coach Fernando Santos has apparently been able to stop the 27-year-old player.

  2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

 9. Australia – Netherlands 2-3: A match, which was supposed to be one to forget for Australia, became one of the best performances in the Australian football history.
The Socceroos came back only a minute after conceding, thanks to an excellent strike from Tim Cahill. The Ducth team presented the same line-up as in the already historical match against Spain. The result of that match was so impressive, that the football society had forgotten the way the Netherlands played in the first half of that match. And again, the opponent was able to create lots of chances in front of Cillessens goal. And the absence of creative midfield made it easier for Australia to control the ball in the centre. Fortunately for

FIFA World Cup 2014: The analysis of the first round

11. The news of the day is again related to injuries. Both of the Portuguese players, who had to leave the pitch due to injuries in their first match against Germany, will not be able to help their team for another 10 days. The players concerned are Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao and Besiktas’s Hugo Almeida.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

10. Belgium – Algeria 2-1: A very slow start from Belgium, showing very simple football before the substitutes Fellaini and Mertens decide the destiny of the match. The three points are obtained, anyway. Algeria will look to wipe out either South Korea’s or Russia’s chances of advancement.   

Defence: 1 - 1
Midfield: 1 - 1
Attack: 1 - 0
Interplay: 1 – 0,5
TOTAL: 4 – 2,5

8. Fellaini (BEL) – 0,5
14. Mertens (BEL) – 0,5
 4. Kompany (BEL) – 0,5
 7. De Bruyne (BEL) – 0,5
 2. Bougherra (ALG) – 0,5

 9. Russia – South Korea 1-1: One of the most

FIFA World Cup 2014: Welcoming Germany and Thomas Mueller

10. Brazil’s Hulk will most probably miss the second match of the host nation due to an injury.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

9. Germany – Portugal 4-0: The team without forwards scored 4 times. Portugal has been the most

FIFA World Cup 2014: Messi's debut

10. For the first time in many years, the national anthems of two participant teams weren’t played before the match. France and Honduras were ready to sing along, but there were some technical problems, which prevented the players of this beautiful emotional act before the matchstart.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book


9. Switzerland – Ecuador 2-1: Probably the most boring match so far, with yet another unfairly disallowed goal. The late goal and the 5^th comeback in 9 matches are the good news.

Defence: 1 – 1
Midfield: 1 – 1
Attack: 1 – 0,5
Interplay: 0,5 – 0,5
TOTAL: 3,5 – 3 

23. Shaqiri (SUI) - 0,5
7. Montero (ECU) – 0,5

8. France – Honduras 3-0: The dirtiest

FIFA World Cup 2014: Uruguay and England lose in "Group of Death"

10. Colombia – Greece 3-0: And the third South American team managed to win, scoring 3, exactly as Brazil and Chile. Greece were mostly unlucky, but deserved the defeat.

Defence: 0,5 – 0,5

Midfield: 1,5 – 0,5

Attack: 1,5 – 0,5

Interplay: 1,5 – 0,5

TOTAL: 5 – 2

10. Rodriguez (COL) – 1,5

9. Gutierez (COL) – 1

11. Cuadrado (COL) – 0,5

8. Kone (GRE) – 0,5

9. Uruguay – Costa Rica 1-3: A shock result in the “Group of Death”, where things get even more dangerous

FIFA World Cup 2014: The day when Spain was destroyed, Part II

Read Part I 
6. Uruguay, a seeded team during the World Cup draw, was meant to get an easy group, but here you get four-time world champions Italy and champions of 1966 England. However, you cannot frighten Oscar Tabarez easily. The coach, who has been in charge of the two-time World champions for 8 years now, has gathered together the best team since 1950, when Uruguay won the first Brazilian World Cup. The top ten most capped Uruguayan players include 7 players involved in the current World Cup squad. Two of them are the Uruguayan all-time topscorers. Of course, we talk about Diego Forlan, the best player of the previous World Cup, and

FIFA World Cup 2014: The day when Spain was destroyed, Part I

15. A couple of Mexican fans in the Brazilian city of Natal caught a thief in their hotel room. The criminal figured out, that it was the wrong room to choose. The hard way, of course. The young men beat him up before calling the police.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

14. The opening match was witnessed by several fans, which had tickets but no

FIFA World Cup 2014: The opener Brazil-Croatia

10. We are going to scrutinize the teams and the players, to evaluate them and figure out which team was best and who was worthy to become the best player in the end of day. Each team will get maximum 1 point per half for their defence, midfield, attack and interplay. The players can maximum get 1 point per half. Here we go:

Brazil-Croatia

FIFA World Cup 2014: Right before the official opening

The World Cup starts tomorrow!

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

5. The Costa-Rican side had to make a change in their squad, as the injured Heiner Mora of Saprissa was substituted by Dave Myrie of Herediano.

4. The strikes in Sao Paolo made the teams of Belgium and USA to cancel the

FIFA World Cup 2014: Marco Reus out of the World Cup

We can already smell the approaching World Cup, as only two days part us from the biggest football event since 2010. It takes a lot of time to sort the important news out of the stream. Let’s take a look at the top 5 news of the past couple of days.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

5. For the first time in World Cup history FIFA has agreed to

FIFA World Cup 2014: Ribery out of the tournament

Following up yesterday’s shock news from the Russian camp, Fabio Capello has dropped his captain 32-year-old Roman Shirokov, though the replacement hasn’t been announced yet.

As for today, we have chosen 5 of the most interesting global stories related to the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

 5. The older fans would probably remember

FIFA World Cup 2014: One week to go

It’s the 5^th of June and the World Cup 2014 in Brazil is only one week away.

The coaches have now announced their final troops and FIFA has officially confirmed them. Every football fan has already skimmed through the squads, the groups, the bookmaker odds and there is not much to do other than reading the news and waiting for the opener to come.   I decided to try something new this time. I am going to follow all the mass media in the countries participating in the world cup and bring the news to my readers. Sounds ambitious, but let’s see how it will work.  

But for now, as the teams are getting ready to take off to Brazil, let’s take a look at the top 5 world cup news of these days.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Official Book

5. The Eastern European news threads of the day are full of information about the captain and brain of the Russian team, Roman Shirokov, who will most probably join the Falcao club. The Russian news agency correspondent ITAR-TASS has confirmed the news, though there has not been any official announcement on this from the Russian delegation. No smoke without fire, as they say.

4. Bad news turn into good news on the 4^th position, as the Brazilian international Oscar asks permission to leave the national team camp to be next to his wife, preparing to give birth to his first child. Luiz Felipe Scolari required the Chelsea player to be back for the friendly match against Serbia on Friday, as the Associated Press informs.  

3. The third place is occupied by the whole Squadra Azzurra, one of the favourites of the tournament. The European vice-champions were unable to win their friendly match against Luxemburg - the team ranked as number 120 in FIFA/Coca Cola ranking. Italian newspapers are shocked. La Gazzetta Dello Sport quotes the national anthem wondering “Dov’ E’ la Vittoria?”, meaning “Where is the victory?”, though the most optimistic ones find parallels between the previous World Cup results and the friendlies prior to the tournaments.  

2. One of the heroes of the day is Atuallah Guerra King. This is the 26-year-old Trinidad and Tobago international, currently playing for the Central FC, representing his home country. Still no clue what this dude is doing in the World Cup news threads? Then watch him bow at Lionel Messi before the friendly match yesterday. The short video has had more than 100000 viewers in a period of less than 24 hours.

      

1. However, the news of the day is definitely the famous Ghanaian witch doctor Nana Kwaku Bonsam, who claims to be the main and only reason why Cristiano Ronaldo might not play in the opening match of the World Cup due to an injury. When reading the doctor talk about this in February, you just laugh. Then reading The Guardian quote Nana “I know what Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury is about, I’m working on him”, you think “OK, leave me alone”. But as soon as the doctor says “I am very serious about it. Last week, I went around looking for four dogs and I got them to be used in manufacturing a special spirit called Kahwiri Kapam”, you have to simply accept the power of the doctor. Let’s hope the witch will leave the four dogs and the rest of the football fans alone for the next month or so. The Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Fact File