Recaps
Sorry to miss yesterday’s post… life sometimes gets in the way :)
Netherlands vs Australia
Australia has lost both its games, but has put up a hell of a fight so far in this World Cup. Full credit and much respect to them. They played hard, showed some skill, never gave up, and their fans were with them all the way. Netherlands continues to look good and with this victory locked up a spot in the next round along with Chile. Will they duke it out for the #1 seed out of the group, or settle for the tie? Australia plays Spain next, and maybe, just maybe they can home with a victory in their pocket?
Video Highlights (espnfc.us)
Chile vs Spain
Chile locked up a spot in the next round along with the Netherlands with their 3-0 drubbing. Chile looked good again, but has to be careful when they get too cute around the goal. Spain was kinda in it until the 1st goal and then it all came crashing down again. Spain just had a comedy of errors going on. The normally crisp and precise passing was instead inaccurate and poorly weighted. Spain is mathematically eliminated from the next round.
Video Highlights (espnfc.us)
Croatia vs Cameroon
Croatia is still alive in their group, but they’ll need a result against a tough Mexican side in the next match. The bigger story though is the utter collapse of Cameroon. A ridiculous elbow (that mostly missed) got Song ejected along with any hope they may have had of equalizing the score. More on where Cameroon went wrong.
Video Highlights (espnfc.us)
Preview
Colombia vs. Ivory Coast
This is my personal match of the day, so… Just like last week… NO ONE BOTHER ME from noon until 2pm. I will stab a mofo in the face, possibly repeatedly sound very disgruntled depending on how well or poorly the match is going…
Colombia’s opening match was a 3-0 win over Greece. They didn’t play extraordinarily well, but got the victory and showed some flashes. They’ll need to show better against an Ivory Coast team that started slowly before coming back to take victory over Japan after Drogba was subbed in. If the Ivory Coast tries to take the initiative (their strength), that will work in Colombia’s favor as they would love to sit back and counter.
The winner of this game is going to be sitting pretty on top of the group. A tie would be an “OK” result for either team with an upcoming match against weaker opponents (Japan & Greece respectively), but I’m sure they’d rather the win and lock it up.
When: Noon. EST
Where: Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha, Brasilia, Brazil
TV: ESPN (English), Univision and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.)
Uruguay vs. England
Both teams are coming off a loss. Uruguay folded like a lawn chair and England fought till the end. Whoever scores first will be in a good position since the losing team will probably have doubt start creeping in like the Chile vs Spain game yesterday. It doesn’t take much for the “Here we go again” vibe to set in. I’m expecting England to come out on top here. A tie doesn’t really help either side.
When: 3PM. EST
Where: Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Brazil
TV: ESPN (English), Univision and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.)
Japan vs. Greece
My prediction? “Wake me when it’s over”. However, this being the World Cup it might turn into the best match of the round…
When: 6PM. EST
Where: Estadio das Dunas, Natal, Brazil
TV: ESPN (English), Univision and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.)