We’re into the second round of group stage fixtures at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, so here are my thoughts on the opening round of games…
England
Roy Hodgson
does not get the credit he deserves, and it really annoys me. He took over a
boring, robotic, ageing team just before Euro 2012 and did the only thing he
could – build from the back and make us hard to beat. Since then he’s replaced most
of that team with energetic young players capable of playing a modern counter
attacking style of football which is much better to watch than what we’d become
accustomed to. The likes of Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Raheem Sterling, Ross
Barkley, Luke Shaw and Jordan Henderson have all been given chances and will be
huge players for us going forward. The performance against Italy was far from
poor and we managed more shots at their goal in the first 10 minutes than we
did in 120 minutes in defeat to them at the Euro’s.
We’re far
from solid at the back, and I do think Roy made a mistake not taking Ashley
Cole who is still our best fullback and a proven performer on the big stage,
but we can hurt teams going forward. When we break out from midfield with pace
we can cause real damage, if we can convert the chances we’ll no doubt create
we can score far more than we’ll concede against most teams at this tournament
(outside of Germany and Holland which teams have played well so far?). I would
drop Rooney and play Sturridge up top with Barkley behind him and Sterling and
Welbeck providing pace on the wings, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think Rooney
can play a major part in any success we have as he’s a valuable asset even from
the bench.
Who should we fear?
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| Rooney, although providing an assist, struggled to impact the game from the left. |
Based on
first round performances, I’d say only ze Germans. They’re rock solid as always
and can keep the ball very while having tremendous players when they move
forward in Gotze, Muller, Kroos, Ozil and Schurrle. They’ll be confident coming
out of their hammering of Portugal and should breeze past albeit stubborn
opposition in USA and Ghana, so will have a full head of steam heading into the
knockout stages. The score that really caught everyone off guard in the opening
round of games Holland thrashing current champions Spain, but I don’t think
they’re a team capable of winning this tournament. Had David Silva scored just
before RVP did then the game could have finished with a similar scoreline in
Spain’s favour.
Brazil and
Argentina were the pre-tournament favourites but neither have really lit up the
tournament as yet. Brazil look pretty poor compared to what we expected and
have failed to blow away average teams like Croatia and Mexico, who despite
performing quite well are still only average. They’re shakey at the back and
lack a top quality striker as Fred looks well out of his depth. The Argentines
struggled to a 2-1 win against another average team in Bosnia but in the 2nd
half at least showed glimpses of the quality they possess – Messi scored a
tremendous individual goal and some of their one-touch play was at times
brilliant to watch. For me the Argies will be there or thereabouts but if
Brazil win their group and meet Spain in the last 16 I can see the hosts
crashing out due to Spain’s superior class in possession.
Dark horses
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| Germany were impressive in their 2-0 demolition of Portugal, with Muller their star. |
Before the
tournament football hipsters around the world were perving over Belgium’s ‘golden
generation’ proclaiming them the out and out dark horses of the tournament.
First off, if everyone’s tipping you you’re not a dark horse. Secondly, they
didn’t half struggle to beat Algeria and looked nowhere near the sum of their
parts – Hazard barely got in the game while their midfield of De Bruyne,
Dembele and Witsel struggled to create chances. I don’t see them making a
serious dent once they get past the group stages, and they would have struggled
to make the last 16 if not handed the easiest group.
My dark
horses, or should I say the teams I really enjoyed watching, in the opening
round of games, are Colombia and USA. Colombia made easy work of Greece and
their pacey counter attacking style is great to watch. With James Rodriguez
always a danger in the number 10 role and wing backs Zuniga and Cuadrado
bombing forward knowing their 2 holding midfielders will cover for them, they
possess the speed and quality to hurt any team on their day. The Americans
might not be as quick or as technical, but Klinsmann has developed them into a
solid outfit who did well to maintain a decent Ghana team in their 2-1 win. They’ll
lose to ze Germans but if they can avoid defeat against Portugal they’ll face a
very beatable ‘dark horse’ in Belgium.
Stars
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| A very quick Colombia team entertained during their 3-0 win against Greece. |
The 2 ‘stars’
of the tournament are yet to really set it alight. Neymar scored 2 in Brazil’s
opening game but one was a scuffed shot and the other was a penalty which the
keeper should have saved. Other than that he’s struggled to really change
games, which is his job in the set-up they’re using. Messi on the other hand
has at least changed games, with his only real contribution against Bosnia
being a great run and finish to effectively seal the win for Argentina. There’s
still plenty of time for both to show what they’re really capable of on the
biggest stage, but if they don’t show it sooner rather than later they might
find themselves having to wait 4 years to do it.
Arjen Robben
was outstanding for the Dutch as they dismantled Spain, making Pique and Ramos
look like pub team defenders on a few different occasions – his form could well
be the difference between Holland remaining ‘nearly men’ and a team capable of
winning it. Thomas Muller has started his quest for a second consecutive golden
boot brilliantly, bagging a hat-trick against an awful Portugal side. Mathieu
Valbuena looked very good for France against a physical Honduras team,
35-year-old Andra Pirlo was again the architect behind Italy’s victory against
England, and Arsenal striker Joel Campbell inspired Costa Rica to a shock 3-1
win against Uruguay by scoring one and creating another.
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| Robben was untouchable as Holland ran through Spain, scoring twice. |
