Archive for the ‘World Cup’ Category

Schweinsteiger inspires as Germany march on

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Bastien Schweinsteiger

Germany put in a professional, resolute and quite simply spectacular performance as Joachim Löw’s tactical nous shined through in the 4-0 victory over Argentina. The 1954, 1974 and 1990 World Cup winners were devastating in as they defended narrowly and vigilantly against an Argentinian side who evidently lacked any real creativity as Messi was stifled throughout. The little Argentinian genius leaves the greatest International tournament without finding the back of the net, however the reliance on Messi in a 4-3-1-2 formation by Maradona was surely a burden that the Barcelona number ten didn’t need when things clearly weren’t working.

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History repeats itself for Argentina

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Muller goal

Once again, the result of Germany vs. Argentina has sided with modern history. I eluded briefly to the history behind this fixture in a preview to the quarter finals and like in 1990 and 2006 it’s the Germans who have emerged victorious. Germany continued their superb form through to the quarter final match and won 4-0 with goals from Muller, Klose (x2) and Friedrich. Germany seem to have the game one in every area of the pitch.

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Brazilian Elano out of Friday Quarter Final

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Elano

Five times World Cup winners Brazil will face Holland on Friday without their influential midfield Elano, who injured his shin in the 3-1 victory over the Ivory Coast in the group stages. Elano, who turned 29 earlier this month, scored three goals in twenty starts for Turkish side Galatasaray. The former Manchester City man has scored two goals so far in this World Cup tournament – in the opener against North Korea and just before his injury against the Ivory Coast. Brazil managed to draw 0-0 with Portugal to finish top of the group before beating Chile handsomely in the last sixteen.

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Spain become the last quarter finalists

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

vuvuzela

We now know from which eight countries the winner of the World Cup will come. There are four South American nations, three European nations and one African nation.There is the prospect that all four semi finalists could be South American with the draw shaping up like this:

Netherlands vs. Brazil
Uruguay vs. Ghana
Argentina vs. Germany
Paraguay vs. Spain

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The English Problem – discuss

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

England

This assessment comes in three parts: vs. Germany; the tournament as a whole; and the future. As with my last post, I am very keen to get a discussion going at the bottom of the article. As I have experienced this afternoon, everyone has an opinion on what has happened and where to go – there is no right answer, so have a read of what I think and then I want to see what the World Cup Statistic’s readers think. We’ve been accustomed to England Football Jokes over the years, now we want to know what you think!

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Uruguay: Can they win a 3rd World Cup?

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Luis Suarez Scores

Uruguay’s last World Cup win came sixty years ago, twenty years after their first World Cup win back in 1930. Eighty years have passed since that historic first World Cup, when Uruguay beat neighbours Argentina to win the first ever World Cup, which was then known as the Jules Rimet trophy, named after FIFA’s longest serving president. So can the South American’s beat Ghana in the quarter finals and advance to the semi finals for the first time since the 1930 World Cup (the 1950 World Cup had a unique group format, without a knockout phase)? Uruguay have been a breathe of fresh air at these finals, playing a high pressing game and alternating between a three and four man defense. Is it their time again?

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Why are the South Americans doing so well?

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

World Cup

Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina all qualified for the knockout stages. There wasn’t a South American team that didn’t advance past the groups. Why have they been so successful?I’m not really sure what the answer is to this, so I’m quite hoping that this will trigger some suggestions (type away in the comment box at the bottom of the page).

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England ease past Slovenia for Germany showdown

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Wayne Rooney

England eased past Slovenia 1-0 to finish runners up in Group C and now face a dramatic showdown against the ‘old enemy’ Germany on Sunday 27th, whilst group winners USA will play Ghana the previous evening. England’s performance was much better than against Algeria the previous Saturday. The United States secured a place in the last sixteen after a dramatic late winner from Landon Donovan against the Algerians. The goal put Slovenia out of the World Cup and booked the American’s match with the runner up of group D.

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What a weekend of football, drama and handbags!

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Domenech

That weekend felt draining. I don’t think I’ve experienced so much footballing information in such a short space of time. Saturday started with the England hangover. Everyone has their own opinion as to why England continued their poor form with another failure. England fans weren’t the only ones feeling angry. The USA’s fans awoke to their own frustrations. They felt, quite rightly, that their side had been denied a 3-2 victory against Slovenia which would have capped an excellent turnaround having been two goals behind. Maurice Edu’s late goal was harshly ruled out by the referee.

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Cameroon become the first nation to fall

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

Cameroon

Cameroon have become the first nation to be knocked out of the World Cup. Boasting a strong squad made up of a lot of European-based players more was expected of Paul Le Guen’s side. After a 1-0 loss to Japan they lost 2-1 to Denmark yesterday to sit rock bottom of Group E. They will play merely for pride in their final group match against the Netherlands later this week.

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