World Cup Preview QuarterFinals

Thursday, 01 July 2010 10:19

The unprepared or the effete have been left by the way side & we are left with eight of the best teams in this World Cup. A look at the FIFA rankings of the teams in the quarterfinals reveals that the progression has been pretty much in order with few dark-horses thrown in - possibly one too many this. However, depending upon what your opinion is about FIFA, you may say that this is the beauty of the World Cup – allowing lesser-regarded teams the opportunities to break free & gatecrash the party of the big boys, Or you may that FIFA ranking do not mean too much.

Opinion on FIFA

This has probably changed as much as the fortunes of the England team during this World Cup. FIFA’s work in spreading the game is certainly the biggest success of FIFA as an organisation but its stubborn refusal to open the doors to technology has faced heavy criticism, triggered & nourished by one bad referee decision after another after another after another. Children of the age of internet will be flabbergasted to know the base principles of Association Football that FIFA works.

We have talked about this a lot on our podcasts www.theindicast.com/sports-bench.

The fury that picked up through the first round games & hit the highest notes on that Super Sunday that saw England & Mexico being thrashed, eve forced the FIFA boss Sepp Blatter to loosen the rigid opposition just a bit. He said something to the effect of the ‘file on technology has to be reopened’. (We need to find out if he was a policeman or a lawyer before this job). Experts who know the working style of FIFA (& the age of people who run it) are refusing to buy the line, saying that it is mere lip service to douse the raging fire so that the tournament goes on without excessive troubles.

Let us hope that ‘small mistakes’ (as apparently said by some referee) do not happen in the coming matches. Such a lot is at stake.

Teams

The roll call of the teams sets off a wave of excitement: Brazil, Germany, Holland, Argentina & Spain. The dash of uncertainty & audacity that may prompt an overconfident Big Bro out of the first four to just drop their guard is being brought by Uruguay, Paraguay & Ghana. These teams are ranked 16, 31 & 32, respectively. The good part is that most of these teams are in good form. It is a shame that at least two out of the first four above will not make it to the semis.

Let’s take a quick look at the teams & see how they have been playing:

Brazil

Brazilians have been screaming hoarse disclaiming the style of play that Dunga’s team plays. It has been an unusual Brazil team with (barring Kaka) no high-profile superstar in the ranks. Ex-greats of the team have also lambasted Dunga for giving up on tradition & playing unsightly football (unsightly in the Brazilian sense). What is a Brazil team playing counter attacking football? What is a Brazil without a midfield genius specialising in dribbles & step-overs? Even the goal celebrations have become European & lost the charm. The smiles revealing unadulterated joy are gone.

However, Dunga has accepted all that has been thrown at him & stood his ground. His team is made of strong, effective & tactically aware players. They have shown that the ability to split defenses is still there & on occasions hints of the underlying Brazilian style have emerge. So what if they come on counter attacks? Dunga has been firm on playing practical football insisting that it is winning that matters, not ‘how’ to win that does. Indeed, Brazil would not be happy with any coach who does not bring back the trophy, whichever style he plays!

In the games till now, Brazil has shown a reluctance to go for too many goals. They have been assured on the ball & mostly on the passes but have given the impression that they are not being stretched & would rather save the energy for the later matches. They hardly bothered about scoring & against Portugal even after failing to thrash North Korea as they were expected to have.

They will defend with seven behind the ball but the three lurking upfront will hurt teams who leave behind any hole. Teams showing the bravado to attack Brazil will be punished severely, as Chile found out. But, does Brazil have enough finesse to break open teams that will be happy lying back? Well, even North Korea escaped with a respectable 1-2 loss & Portugal did not allow Brazil to score.

Still, the returns in terms of goals has not been bad & the confident body language of this team is ominous. They have the capacity to step up the goal scoring with nearly all first-eleven players willing & capable of surging forward. Their counter attacks have been lightening fast. They look menacing, strong, well-organised & determined.

Holland

If Brazil has shown reluctance in thumping in goals, Holland has almost disrespected the scoring part & with all the artistry at their disposal have been happy seeing off teams with performances that were par for the course – or were they? ask Dutch old timers.

Dutch analysts were horrified with the performance against Slovakia in the round of 16. They stood with their hearts in their mouths when Slovakia managed to punch in rasping drives through the defense in the later stages. While all looked good in the first round, rumours about infighting took only three matches to emerge. It has also been surprising that despite the subdued manner of play, 7 Holland first eleven players are on yellow cards!

Jan Roskott has called the Dutch play as cycnical in our podcasts. The play has been marked by poor finishing (read van Persie) while the midfield more or less has stuck to its task but the potential is higher. Arjen Robben is back & is looking good but he cannot last 90 minutes. Forget about extra time. The war-horse Dirk Kuyt has put in the kilometers relentlessly while Wesley Schneider has provided goals & moves when required. Van der Vaart has not been visible too much but van Bommel & de Jong have done the job in front of defense.

If the defense holds good & Holland score till Robben is on the field, they stand a chance. If Holland simply turn on the magic, they could leave the others gaping.

Germany

Who says that pedigreed teams can only give negative surprises? (read Italy & France). Germany has been the surprise package of the World Cup. Germany took to the World Cup by storm & caught the imagination of fan with the 4-0 thrashing of Australia. However, this was followed up by a defeat to Serbia – it may be pertinent to note that there was a bad red card decision that Germany had to swallow & a day off for Lukas Podolski (missed penalty). The confidence of the team on the ball & in themselves was to be seen in the next game when even 20-year olds showed little signs of nerves or panic.

A 4-1 thrashing of England further pulled down odds for the three-time winners. This team is the favourite to win at this point in time along with Brazil.

The tactical awareness, technique & speed has been fantastic. The counter attacks have been killer moves, lightening fast. The bad form of Miroslav Klose has not mattered so much because the midfield has created so many chances that he has converted at least one while missing several. Podolski has been a mixed player but he is not one to be written off ever. Another man barely out of his teens has been astounding on the right, playing next to Klose – Thomas Mueller. On the bench Cacau (injured) & Gomez offer a pretty good plan B for the forward line.

The outstanding x-factor has been Mesut Oezil. The 21-year old is in line for the player of the tournament award. The comfort on the ball & the positioning awareness when off it belies his age. Add in goal-scoring ability, & the problem of an out-of-form centre-forward gets reduced further.

Sami Khedira has been menacing in the midfield while Schweinsteiger has been doing a defensive job, holding the ball to be supplied forward to build up moves. Nearly the entire midfield gang has played substantially in the matches yet.

The only change has been on the left full back position where Jerome Boateng has come in. On the right, there has been no problem at all: captain Philip Lahm has provided the attacking option on the right as well as scampered back to defend.

The way Germany has been playing, really it is easiest to imagine a Germany-Brazil final than anything else at the moment. And they said that this was a work-in-progress team for Brazil 2014! Lets hope the stylish man in the dugout, Joachim Loew, continues to lead this team into playing attractive football.

Argentina

When Brazil has been playing like Germany & Germany has been playing like Holland, Argentina has been playing like Argentina does. Or should. Football enthusiasts who take pleasure in running down the Dunga style of play have commended Diego Maradona’s albicelestes.

The jury is still out on deciding whether the 100% win record till now was a result of the shameless riches of talent on the pitch or was there any tactical acumen of the coach involved? The truth is, with the array of attacking talent at his disposal, Maradona couldn’t have done anything else. Also, he has to cover the apparent short-comings of his defense. Therefore the focus has to be on the front men. They have been helped by refereeing on the way. The danger here is that the law of averages could catch up with them.

The weak link has been the right full-back position being filled in by Jonas Gutierrez. Gutierrez (who also plays as a winger), has shown the eagerness to play forward but has left behind a big hole to be exploited on counter attacks. South Korea could not do it but tactically savvy teams like Germany & Brazil might tear into this defense. Angel di Maria has shown patches of talent but the left side has not been used too much. Javier Pastore has not been used. Juan Sebastian Veron at 35 manages only to slow down the moves with sideways passes. Javier Mascherano is an absolutely key man for this team, looking as the only sensible person on the pitch at times. He has fared fine till now. He will have to be at his best & a bit more.

Or yes, Messi, Tevez & Higuain sometimes substituted by Aguerro & Milito (also Palermo) may just go on firing in goals! Match over.

Spain

This was a team that was everybody’s favourite for the title before the World Cup. The European Champion’s have failed to impress but they have been catching on. While they have lost a game, it must be said that this again is a team that has not been tested fully. Spain showed maturity while winning the last game in the first round while being unsure of the progressing. There is a feeling that this team is peaking – especially after seeing off Portugal.

Iniesta has shown the spark while Xavi Hernandez & Xabi Alonso have been solid in front of the defense. Gerard Pique & Carlos Puyol have been customary in the centre of defense while Sergio Ramos has been a work horse on the right flank, creating crosses while also falling back to defend.

Of course, the stand-out man has been David Villa. What if he was not in goal-scoring touch? Spain could have been back home. It is funny about the this team: Fernando Torres has been ill at ease in the front while Iker Casillas has been like that in goal. In the middle, it has been all fine. Close to great in fact. On occasions the captain Casillas has been ordinary. The fairly early substitution of Torres against Portugal is possibly an indication that the patience has run out & he may not start in the next match. However, Spain have got an enviable bench & if that centre forward part gets resolved, this is a complete package.

Uruguay

Uruguay has turned back the clock a bit – well by a few decades, making it to the quarter-finals after four. The team is led from the front by the duo in great form – Luis Suarez & the talismanic figure, Diego Forlan. The team has shown true Latin American colours, building up play while looking for the gaps.

Balls have been fed by a competent midfield that has Maxi Perreira. At the back captain Diego Lugano & Martic Caneres have been strong, giving the team a look of being a unit playing to its full potential. It is a team that can hurt any team that feels it is up against a lowly side.

Their tactics have worked perfectly till now: Uruguay started off with a boring game, a goal-less draw against France but it won the next two. It was clear that the plan was to keep the (so-called) stronger team in group – France – at bay & pick up points against the other two, Mexico & South Africa. In the pre-quarters came two goals from Luis Suarez, one of which was of top-notch quality. It underlined the quality of the youngster from Ajax. It also announced that Uruguay had scoring quality & it was not relying only on Forlan.

The other tactic has been the preference to defend after being a goal up. Such a tactic can hurt in the knockouts if it is done on an uncomfortably thin cushion of just one goal. Exciting play is expected from the Uruguayans.

Paraguay

Another Latin American team making it here. The team has scrambled ahead with dogged wins, including the penalty shoot out against Japan. Actually, the team has sneaked in in such unfashionable fashion that model Larissa Riquelme from back in Paraguay has grabbed the cover pages of newspapers across the globe. It has been an extraordinary World Cup for Larissa. Followed by her promise to run unclothed on the streets of Asunción only painted in Paraguay colours has shifted many a fan into supporting Paraguay to win the title. It will certainly be a prettier sight than seeing Diego Maradona running around Buenos Aires naked (he will be without paint).

More unbelievable about Paraguay’s run has been the fact that the highly-rated Roque Santa Cruz has played rogue & refused to get started. However, Nelson Valdes & Oscar Cardozo have tried to fill up and the midfield has been hard working. The big problem for this team will remain the scoring. Who will find the net?

Ghana

The sole representatives of the host continent are with injury worries & card suspensions for important players. Ghana has a very strong and hard working defense including goalkeeper Richard Kingson who is having a cracker of a World Cup. Ghana aims to score on counter attacks but lacks the quality in numbers. Two goals scored in the first round were on penalties & two goals (in the last game) have come from open play – both fantastic efforts but those which fall into the category of counter attacks.

One of the goal scorers in that match has got injury worries – A Gyan. So that is extra headache. Interestingly, Gyan has scored three out of the four goals yet. The suspensions have made a sad dent to the team but it should be taken for granted that the Black Stars will be up for a fight.