Cote D’Ivorie succumb to Greece 1-2 in 2014 Fifa World Cup

There was just one more moment of a speculative and very wild shot before the final whistle. The tears of both players and fans confirmed how one can trust Africans to mess things up in the least likely of match situation. No single shot on target for Cote D’Ivoire in the entire first half despite a few forays to their account just to give you an idea. They probed from left, right and centre but the final ball strayed, eluded the Africans or just stuck in the defence. On few occasions, The Elephants squandered possession and lacked the cutting ruthless edge when entering the enemy territory due to poor decision-making.

Greece slowed things down as they nursed and eventually lost two men due to injury. Those moments were enough to disrupt the rhythm of Didier Drogba and company. Their porous defence began to gel and kept tight in key moments.

The key moment of the half, came when a simple looking situation brought pressure to Cote D’Ivoire. Deep in defence on the right, Aurier played the ball to Tiote in central midfield position. Tiote touched the ball for Koloe Toure, but the pass was too short. Samaras stole the ball creating a two versus one situation as he played the ball to Samaris. That swift move attracted Barry out of his goal line but Samaris kept calm and fired the ball over the body of the slanting goalkeeper who tried to make himself large and narrow the angle.

The Elephants of Africa started the second half stronger with opportunities to restore parity, but like in the earlier half, the midfield stayed too much behind to pick up the second ball when strikers ran into defenders. The Greeks utilised winning the loose ball to mount very threatening counter attacks.  The midfield remained stuck at the back when the team attacked and stuck upfront without tracking their opponents.

Greece defenders started to feel the heat as the Africans turned on the gas. They launched their attacks well due to the large numbers of Ivorians thrown forward in search of the elusive equaliser. They created the clearer of the opportunities of the match, hitting the crossbar with thunderous shots twice with the goalkeeper beaten.

Cometh the moment, cometh the man. Bony Wilfreid came in for Tiote and caused anxious moments for the Greek defence. Salmon Kalou picked up a ball in midfield and quickly fed Gervinho on the left side of the penalty box. The speedy winger played the ball square to Bony who stabbed a side-footed ball home. They were caught flat-footed, as they looked comfortable on the way forward. Their marking was extremely bad as three men could not intercept the ball or close down on Gervinho.

The failure in match management resulted in a freak penalty after Yaya Toure missed a clearer chance in a four versus two in the penalty box. From that situation, Greece attacked from the left wing and delivered a cross into the penalty spot. In an attempt to shoot at goal, Georgio Samaras’ foot hooked a defender’s leg and he tumbled to the ground. The referee had no hesitation but point to the white spot. The Greek picked up his frame and dusted himself before sending his spot kick to the right bottom corner of the net, despite the fair attempt by the diving Barry.

Naïve piece of football.

Greece and Japan draw 0-0

Greece and Japan drew 0-0 in the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup. to afford Cote D'Ivoire a better chance after the Elephants last the initiative in their match earlier on with that 2-1 to Columbia. There were real threats from both sides, missed chances and good saves.

The teams neutralised each other in many in midfield as they tried to pry open each other. They moved forward with pace and supported play going forward and retracted quickly to cover their tracks and deny spaces against attack.

The obvious fear to mess things up was there for all to see. The loser of the match could have been packing by the end of the match, but both teams were not will to risk anything.

Columbia maul Greece 3-0 in 2014 Fifa World Cup

It was an extremely easy win for Columbia as they strolled past a pedestrian Greece that was without fight or zeal. Armero was on the score sheet early on after the inter-passing on the right hand side of the midfield. A long ball was lobbed between the left back and the central defenders. The right winger skinned his man, played the ball to the D-zone, one attacker selling a dummy to leave Armero with a first time shot to finish. The shot took a touch off a defender and trickled into the net past a desperately diving keeper.

The Greek midfield’s failure to steal the ball off on the centre-line, their failure to pick that run by the winger, the huge distance of supporting between the centre and left back, not shutting the cross, not dealing with that cross and lack of pressure on the ball recipient resulted in the shot at goal. That ball could have been blocked by the nearest defender who only managed to take off the sting off the strike.

Columbia probed through the middle with quick one-twos and wall passes. They utilised the spaces the Greeks left in their midfield and defence. The Europeans’ wingers got into positions early but never received the passes as the Greeks were extremely slow in launching any attack. While the tenacity and the double-marking of the Columbians seemed to mesmerise the Greeks, they had their own chanced they fluffed. They spurned a few free-kicks in the final third without much threatening much.

Columbia were content with the single goal, staying behind in counter attacks as they feared the countering the counter-attack of the Greeks. They only let three players engage the Greek defence while they stayed put in anticipation of the counter that never came. The Greeks squandered possession easily due to their slow tempo. They exposed their defence when they tried a 1-4-1-4-1 as Columbia drove through the centre and threatened more in the second half.

After winning the corner-kick, the ball beat the first man and was touched to Gutierez who stabbed home with a first-time shot. Failure to give the assistor and scorer enough attention proved fatal. There were opportunities for the Greeks even at this point, but they seemed content with a loss though.

In the dying minutes of that dreadful 90 minutes by the Greeks, a free-kick was conceded on the right channel of the midfield. The direct run into the box was all the South Americans needed as they exchanged a pass or two, with an attempted back-heel leaving the ball roll to Rodriguez to fire a low shot to the far post.

As all previous matches, there were basic errors leading to the goals. Many of these were avoidable and fortunately, even more errors were not punished by the opposition. The trends have been similar so far and each match produced excitement and goals. The Mexico vs Cameroon affair was dealt a blow by the relentless downpour but still produced a few exciting moments.