World Cup Blog – Round of 16 Recap
I won’t bore you with long commentary on each match, just a couple quick thoughts…
Uruguay 2 – South Korea 1
Remember what I said about Suarez? The guy is on the fast track to a big club payday. I think his game is suited well for Spain, but the lure of big money offers from England might persuade him to take his chance in the more physical league. Ajax is in the business of nurturing young talent and cashing in, so I expect them to sell high this summer.
Ghana 2 – USA 1
Two days before my wedding in 2006, I was in my local Kalamazoo pub (Gallagher’s on Stadium) when I watched Ghana eliminate the US from the World Cup with a 2-1 win. In 2010, I was at a recruiting event in Kalamazoo and decided to head back to the same old spot to watch the rematch. Not a good decision.
On the tactical side, I am a Bob Bradley fan but I don’t know why Clark and Findley were in the game. Findley’s yellow cards took him out of the Algeria match and the win seemed to be the perfect way for Bob to move on without him. I stand by what I said before: Bocanegra’s move to the middle was needed (and the leadership helped DeMerit improve dramatically), but Altidore is not a world-class striker yet.
It will be interesting to see what changes are made in the aftermath. I expect Klinsmann to get a crack at the US coaching job by the end of summer… and I expect US Soccer/MLS to give him whatever he wants, unlike their failed move to hire him in ’06.
Germany 4 – England 1
In one of the few times that I have ever agreed with Alexi Lalas, his comment during England’s group stage struggles that “maybe they’re just not that good” was spot on. Joe Hart should have been the keeper all along, but that really had no impact on the overall fact that this team’s expectations didn’t match their cohesiveness and mental strength.
Hopefully Capello gets another 4 years to get some youth in the side, and as Adrian College philosophy professor Dr. Tony Coumoundouros puts it, maybe he’ll have the guts to pick between Gerrard and Lampard and not try to squeeze them both into the same lineup.
Argentina 3 – Mexico 1
Impressive win over a previously invigorated Mexican team. I’m intrigued by the impending match with Germany… could be a great battle worthy of a final, or maybe one team will be exposed as a fluke. Hopefully Messi finds the scoring touch soon… he was great in the group, just couldn’t put it in the net.
Netherlands 2 – Slovakia 1
No surprise with the win, but you might expect the Dutch to have had an easier time. Not the resounding result you hope for going into a match with…
Brazil 3 – Chile 0
That’s more like it. I worried a bit about possible momentum loss with the decision to play kickball with Portugal for 90 minutes to wrap up the group, but they look ready to roll. Beat the Dutch and it’s a clear path to the final.
Paraguay 0 – Japan 0 (Paraguay Wins Shootout)
Didn’t catch much of this game, but seemed to be about what most would expect… really exciting for the teams involved, but probably won’t have an impact in the overall tournament. As a side note, I think I heard of more CSKA Moscow players than any other club this tourney… expect them to cash in, with Keisuke Honda being linked with AC Milan, Arsenal, and others.
Spain 1 – Portugal 0
It broke my heart when Manchester United couldn’t get Villa to join them after Cristiano Ronaldo left, and it’s only getting worse. Barcelona will have arguably the two best players in the world in Messi and Villa starting this fall… I’ve never been a huge fan of Spanish soccer, but I may drift to La Liga a bit more this year to watch these two work together.
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