Brave Australia lose 3-2 to Holland in the 2014 Fifa World Cup

 

This was cracker of a match, more so that the unfancied Australians took the game to the 2010 South Africa World Cup finalists. The Dutch looked very ordinary as they wondered what had hit them. It was one Tim Cahill. However, the former Everton kingpin's troops were brave in the fight but very naïve to let it slip.

After being guilty of a mistake in midfield, Australia presented Arjen Robben with a chance to run at their defence. The striker had to shrug off a very physical challenge and stay on his feet, run with the ball from the centre line creating a three versus one situation against a back paddling defence. Robben still had work to do as he contended with the approach of a sprinting defender who dived in desperately in vain. The Bayern Munich striker tucked the ball into the right of the net with the goalkeeper on his knees.

It was the response of the Socceroos that lit the stadium. After winning the ball in midfield as well, the ball was played to the left past a failing attempt to retrieve it. A diagonal ball was ferociously volleyed past the keeper by Cahill. The Australian’s lining up of the volley complemented the run as he ticked all the boxes of the key factors of volleying on the run. He kept his eyes on the flight of the ball, kept excellent concentration, arms wide for balance and struck the ball at the mid-point below the centre of the ball. The ball flew over the bemused goalkeeper into the roof of the net.

Australia had obvious goal-scoring opportunities that they squandered before half time. Both teams began to press each other up field and opened the game for each other. The seesaw affair continued to entertain. The Dutch were caught napping once more, failing to clear their lines and committing a handball by Janmaat in the penalty box. Wesley Sneider fouled his man in midfield and the resultant free kick ended with the ball in the penalty box. Up stepped Jedinak to send the goalkeeper the wrong way for a rare lead.

The Netherlands’ response was just as swift. Australia fluffed a glorious chance, the chance of the tournament so far, when they failed to utilise one of the three-versus-ones they had; one being overplayed by Cahill to his left when he could have reduced the weight of the pass or opted to passed to his right and the other where they passed over the responsibility and passed square. The bizarre choice to chest the ball goal wards summed up the day for the Socceroos, as they paid for it directly from that counter attack.

The Netherlands swiftly moved forward in numbers and with pace. They found the Australia defence flat footed and square. The threaded ball found its way to Robin van Persie who stabbed the ball home with Jason Davidson covering the offside against three attacking Dutch players. The marking was extremely bad and there was no man charging towards the passer and the scorer.

After several easy chances by Australia, Depay took a ball in midfield and glided across the central defence to crack a speculative long-range effort that swerved to the right and bounced in front of the goalkeeper who made a meal of it and paid dearly. The ball nestled at the right bottom corner of the net. Again, there was no pressing from the Australian midfield and no one charged towards the ball. Depay savoured the space and a free and perfect hit.

For their effort, it was such a disappointing result for Australia who should have won the match by a wide margin, against their fancied opponents. For that kind of display, they did not really deserve to go home this early. They were very clever in dealing with Robben’s right to left inward runs as they screened him eternally, however they were naïve enough to boot themselves out of the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup.   

Chile 3 Australia 1; 2014 Fifa World Cup Analysis

This was one match expected to have many goals given the experience of the South Americans over the Asians better known for rugby and cricket. However, the similarity of styles at the beginning, each team employing a textbook 1-4-2-3-1 saw the match being an open affair with clear-cut lines between units and the intentions of each team clear.

Chile were technically superior, quick in take-off, accurate in passing, positive in ball reception, incisive in penetration and effective in wing play. They strived to be first on the ball and take on the Australians.

The Socceroos showed some tactical discipline in maintaining their shape under pressure, determined to give as much as they took by getting behind the ball early while keeping the defensive line at the edge of the penalty box.

The first moment the Chileans breached that line, they scored. The ball was sent into the right channel of the box, sent across goal, received by the winger who drew out the goalkeeper on the by-line, sold him a dummy and deftly crossed the ball which was headed to Alexis Sanchez who controlled it, and quickly side-footed it past a defender obscuring the view of the goalkeeper behind him. The keeper’s reflex was only enough to touch the goal-bound shot for the first goal.

The crosser was not pressurised enough, and the cross was not headed clear and wide by the taller Aussies while the tight-marking was not duly employed in the box. The midfield had failed to cut off that supply after they adjusted their shape to a 1-4-1-4-1, suddenly the four midfielders beaten by a single pass.

Utilising the emotional drain caused by the goal, Chile stabbed home again. That midfield job failure on the right side was exposed again as the ball was quickly fed to Sanchez who neatly threaded the ball to Valdivia. The defence was drawn out and sucked into the ball by over-shifting to its left , leaving the central defensive position gapping. The defenders failed to communicate to watch their blind side and the goalkeeper did not command the backline to stay put and see both the third man running and the ball as they just ball-watched.

Valdivia controlled the ball with the outside of his right foot as he set up himself for a shot. That excellent first touch enabled him to make a curly scoop that was powerful enough to rise over the keeper and lower under the cross bar.

There was no consistency in the tucking in of the Aussie defence as the spaces began to show at the back. They screened and shifted well but the pace of the nibble-footed Chileans was a shade too quick for them. Chile began to throw bodies forward in almost a 1-2-3-2-3 formation with the goalkeeper sweeping. To be honest with Australia, they were just too poor in the final third. They tried counter-attacks that made them even spongier. The lack of inroads into the Chilean defence and the goals psychologically visibly drained the Socceroos tremendously.    

The frantic Chilean attacks exposed their back as they were hit by a counter attack from the left. The ball was flighted into the box for Leckie to fluff the opportunity and the ball was pushed to the centre line on the right, where it was won by a committed sliding tackle, pushed into midfield and then wide again to a crossing position. The driven cross was met by Tim Cahill who leaped high in the midst of three defenders, to jerk-knife the powerful header past a desperate goalkeeper who had no chance to deal with ball the cross and the second ball.

Australia became content for a while, failing to close the passing lines and without employing triangulation to deal with the pace of Chile. They let too many passes pass through the units with ease. They were not combative enough in midfield and they were almost punished with each attack.

There was growth in confidence and willpower in the second half as they asked all the questions but they moved into offside positions a shade too early, and were denied goals by good keeper heroics. Each passing phase that they threatened the goal gave them the impetus to soldier on and search for an equaliser. They competed and engaged in duels and creating space for Cahill between central defenders.

At the conclusion of the match, an attack from the right attracted a central defender to dive into a tackle and the ball being played to an unmarked player in a central position, whose first shot was blocked by an on-rushing keeper. The ricochet was ferociously met by a man from midfield who shot from the edge of the 18-yard box with his left foot, a hard and low screamer to conclude a wonderful spectacle of the beautiful game. This was the best-officiated match of the 2014 Fifa World Cup so far. The referee was African.

Manchester United Drop Points As Champions, Chelsea Keep 100% Record

Manchester United were disjointed coming off a huge scare when Everton scored first after Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs drew the best from American goalkeeper Tim Howard. Van de Saar also had to make stunning saves.

South African magician, Steven Pienaar scored a simple tap in after a quick counter attack penetrated the Man U defence like a spear through thin summer air. Fletcher equalised for the Red Devils and Nemanja Vidic headed a solid ball past a sprawling Howard. The great Scholes set up Dimitri Berbetov with an incisive pass of high quality.

The old Manchester United may have been home and dry when the 4th official lifted the board to indicated the dying minutes of the injury time. Australian Tim Cahill scored with a minute into injury time ad Arteka rescued a point for the Toffees with almost the last kick of the match, giving United a taste of their medicine.

Man U had a chance to win it with a corner kick they blew and Everton were never presented with the same opportunity when the referee blew the whistle with David Moyes' boys in full flight for the kill. Manchester are a gifted side that can afford to drop points and make up for them. That excellent and perfect squad will need something special to take the title out of the jaws out of the defending champions, Chelsea who maintained a 100% record in the league.Chelsea conceded their first goal of the season when they beat West Ham United 3-1 away. Michael Essien scored twice and Salomon Kalou the other.

Arsenal beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal showed Theo Walcott's gnawing gap in the early exchanges, losing their rhythm and giving away possession cheaply. Lack of speed going forward was very obvious, with a few potential cross opportunities on the right being turned into a big fuss killing the attack momentum and being played back, instead of the fast paced cutting forward that Walcott provides.

Arshavin blew a few clearcut opportunities including one-on-one chances. A scrambled goal from wasteful Chamakh set the Gunners on their way. They had to deal with a spirited come back from Bolton. Arsenal eventually stamped  their authority in the match scoring the 2nd, 3rd form Chamakh and Carlo Vela and finally a classic from Alex Song in the dying minutes of the match.

The Manchester City millionaires had to fight to come back from a first half goal to score through veteran, Patrick Vierra at the City Of Manchester Stadium. Logically, Roberto Mancini is preparing his CV as we all know what we already know about working for big investors from Abu Dhabi. Benjani Mwaruwari was on the bench for Blackburn as they enjoyed this 1-1 draw away from home.

Asamoah Gyan of Ghana's Black Stars made his debut announcing his arrival with an important away draw for Sunderland. The most expensive player for his team scored in the 66th minute to endear himself to the club supporters and paymasters. Wigan equalised with 3 minutes of play remaining.

Other results Fulham 2 Wolves 1, Tottenham 1 West Brom 1 and Newcastle 0 Blackpool 2.

Do you think Man U will make up the lost ground?

(All pictures from uk.eurosport.co.uk)

Manchester United Drop Points As Champions, Chelsea Keep 100% Record

Manchester United were disjointed coming off a huge scare when Everton scored first after Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs drew the best from American goalkeeper Tim Howard. Van de Saar also had to make stunning saves.

South African magician, Steven Pienaar scored a simple tap in after a quick counter attack penetrated the Man U defence like a spear through thin summer air. Fletcher equalised for the Red Devils and Nemanja Vidic headed a solid ball past a sprawling Howard. The great Scholes set up Dimitri Berbetov with an incisive pass of high quality.

The old Manchester United may have been home and dry when the 4th official lifted the board to indicated the dying minutes of the injury time. Australian Tim Cahill scored with a minute into injury time ad Arteka rescued a point for the Toffees with almost the last kick of the match, giving United a taste of their medicine.

Man U had a chance to win it with a corner kick they blew and Everton were never presented with the same opportunity when the referee blew the whistle with David Moyes' boys in full flight for the kill. Manchester are a gifted side that can afford to drop points and make up for them. That excellent and perfect squad will need something special to take the title out of the jaws out of the defending champions, Chelsea who maintained a 100% record in the league.Chelsea conceded their first goal of the season when they beat West Ham United 3-1 away. Michael Essien scored twice and Salomon Kalou the other.

Arsenal beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal showed Theo Walcott's gnawing gap in the early exchanges, losing their rhythm and giving away possession cheaply. Lack of speed going forward was very obvious, with a few potential cross opportunities on the right being turned into a big fuss killing the attack momentum and being played back, instead of the fast paced cutting forward that Walcott provides.

Arshavin blew a few clearcut opportunities including one-on-one chances. A scrambled goal from wasteful Chamakh set the Gunners on their way. They had to deal with a spirited come back from Bolton. Arsenal eventually stamped  their authority in the match scoring the 2nd, 3rd form Chamakh and Carlo Vela and finally a classic from Alex Song in the dying minutes of the match.

The Manchester City millionaires had to fight to come back from a first half goal to score through veteran, Patrick Vierra at the City Of Manchester Stadium. Logically, Roberto Mancini is preparing his CV as we all know what we already know about working for big investors from Abu Dhabi. Benjani Mwaruwari was on the bench for Blackburn as they enjoyed this 1-1 draw away from home.

Asamoah Gyan of Ghana's Black Stars made his debut announcing his arrival with an important away draw for Sunderland. The most expensive player for his team scored in the 66th minute to endear himself to the club supporters and paymasters. Wigan equalised with 3 minutes of play remaining.

Other results Fulham 2 Wolves 1, Tottenham 1 West Brom 1 and Newcastle 0 Blackpool 2.

Do you think Man U will make up the lost ground?

(All pictures from uk.eurosport.co.uk)

Manchester United Drop Points As Champions, Chelsea Keep 100% Record

Manchester United were disjointed coming off a huge scare when Everton scored first after Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs drew the best from American goalkeeper Tim Howard. Van de Saar also had to make stunning saves.

South African magician, Steven Pienaar scored a simple tap in after a quick counter attack penetrated the Man U defence like a spear through thin summer air. Fletcher equalised for the Red Devils and Nemanja Vidic headed a solid ball past a sprawling Howard. The great Scholes set up Dimitri Berbetov with an incisive pass of high quality.

The old Manchester United may have been home and dry when the 4th official lifted the board to indicated the dying minutes of the injury time. Australian Tim Cahill scored with a minute into injury time ad Arteka rescued a point for the Toffees with almost the last kick of the match, giving United a taste of their medicine.

Man U had a chance to win it with a corner kick they blew and Everton were never presented with the same opportunity when the referee blew the whistle with David Moyes' boys in full flight for the kill. Manchester are a gifted side that can afford to drop points and make up for them. That excellent and perfect squad will need something special to take the title out of the jaws out of the defending champions, Chelsea who maintained a 100% record in the league.Chelsea conceded their first goal of the season when they beat West Ham United 3-1 away. Michael Essien scored twice and Salomon Kalou the other.

Arsenal beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal showed Theo Walcott's gnawing gap in the early exchanges, losing their rhythm and giving away possession cheaply. Lack of speed going forward was very obvious, with a few potential cross opportunities on the right being turned into a big fuss killing the attack momentum and being played back, instead of the fast paced cutting forward that Walcott provides.

Arshavin blew a few clearcut opportunities including one-on-one chances. A scrambled goal from wasteful Chamakh set the Gunners on their way. They had to deal with a spirited come back from Bolton. Arsenal eventually stamped  their authority in the match scoring the 2nd, 3rd form Chamakh and Carlo Vela and finally a classic from Alex Song in the dying minutes of the match.

The Manchester City millionaires had to fight to come back from a first half goal to score through veteran, Patrick Vierra at the City Of Manchester Stadium. Logically, Roberto Mancini is preparing his CV as we all know what we already know about working for big investors from Abu Dhabi. Benjani Mwaruwari was on the bench for Blackburn as they enjoyed this 1-1 draw away from home.

Asamoah Gyan of Ghana's Black Stars made his debut announcing his arrival with an important away draw for Sunderland. The most expensive player for his team scored in the 66th minute to endear himself to the club supporters and paymasters. Wigan equalised with 3 minutes of play remaining.

Other results Fulham 2 Wolves 1, Tottenham 1 West Brom 1 and Newcastle 0 Blackpool 2.

Do you think Man U will make up the lost ground?

(All pictures from uk.eurosport.co.uk)

Manchester United Drop Points As Champions, Chelsea Keep 100% Record

Manchester United were disjointed coming off a huge scare when Everton scored first after Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs drew the best from American goalkeeper Tim Howard. Van de Saar also had to make stunning saves.

South African magician, Steven Pienaar scored a simple tap in after a quick counter attack penetrated the Man U defence like a spear through thin summer air. Fletcher equalised for the Red Devils and Nemanja Vidic headed a solid ball past a sprawling Howard. The great Scholes set up Dimitri Berbetov with an incisive pass of high quality.

The old Manchester United may have been home and dry when the 4th official lifted the board to indicated the dying minutes of the injury time. Australian Tim Cahill scored with a minute into injury time ad Arteka rescued a point for the Toffees with almost the last kick of the match, giving United a taste of their medicine.

Man U had a chance to win it with a corner kick they blew and Everton were never presented with the same opportunity when the referee blew the whistle with David Moyes' boys in full flight for the kill. Manchester are a gifted side that can afford to drop points and make up for them. That excellent and perfect squad will need something special to take the title out of the jaws out of the defending champions, Chelsea who maintained a 100% record in the league.Chelsea conceded their first goal of the season when they beat West Ham United 3-1 away. Michael Essien scored twice and Salomon Kalou the other.

Arsenal beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal showed Theo Walcott's gnawing gap in the early exchanges, losing their rhythm and giving away possession cheaply. Lack of speed going forward was very obvious, with a few potential cross opportunities on the right being turned into a big fuss killing the attack momentum and being played back, instead of the fast paced cutting forward that Walcott provides.

Arshavin blew a few clearcut opportunities including one-on-one chances. A scrambled goal from wasteful Chamakh set the Gunners on their way. They had to deal with a spirited come back from Bolton. Arsenal eventually stamped  their authority in the match scoring the 2nd, 3rd form Chamakh and Carlo Vela and finally a classic from Alex Song in the dying minutes of the match.

The Manchester City millionaires had to fight to come back from a first half goal to score through veteran, Patrick Vierra at the City Of Manchester Stadium. Logically, Roberto Mancini is preparing his CV as we all know what we already know about working for big investors from Abu Dhabi. Benjani Mwaruwari was on the bench for Blackburn as they enjoyed this 1-1 draw away from home.

Asamoah Gyan of Ghana's Black Stars made his debut announcing his arrival with an important away draw for Sunderland. The most expensive player for his team scored in the 66th minute to endear himself to the club supporters and paymasters. Wigan equalised with 3 minutes of play remaining.

Other results Fulham 2 Wolves 1, Tottenham 1 West Brom 1 and Newcastle 0 Blackpool 2.

Do you think Man U will make up the lost ground?

(All pictures from uk.eurosport.co.uk)