FIFA World Cup 2014

[consortium11]

Arguably the tie of the first round of matches coming up shortly.

That said, despite good form in qualifying, this isn't the Dutch team of four years ago and without Strootman it's arguably not even the team of qualifying. There's a lot of attacking talent there... RVP, Robben, Sneijder and de Guzman although there are questions over RVP's form and Sneijder hasn't really been the same since 2010... but a one man defensive shield and a somewhat callow defence may hold them back.

Spain have questions over them as well... a number of their key players are the wrong side of 30 and Costa may or may not actually be fit... but considering the sheer depth of talent they have it's hard to see them losing. Look for them to have 65-70% possession and the Dutch to look to attack on the counter.

[Deamonbane]

WHAT. A. GOAL! Van Persie, you have my respect!

[Remiel]

That header was incredible.

[Dashenka]

Might need to change my vote :D

Funny how nobody voted for the Netherlands and they are now beating the top favourite.

[Remiel]

And Robben's goal just now.  Single-handedly beating both Pique and Ramos to hammer in the goal.   Simply masterful.

[pleaseteaseme]

Oh my word!  :o

[Phobetor]

I am...speechless!

[ThePrince]

Good thing I didn't bet the farm. Stupid Spain!

[Phobetor]

Can someone please...get the Spain goalie out...? Please?

Cause he's given up. Like...completely.

[Nico]

Iker is painful to watch. :-(

[gaggedLouise]

The entire Spanish team seemed to give up after half time - at least they were just marking time and playing at random. Quite owned by the Dutch!  ???

[Remiel]

Group B: Spain vs. The Netherlands

The Better Team Was...  The Netherlands.  Duh. They got off to a slow and ugly start, but if they keep playing like they did today, they could. Go. All.  The. Way.  Spain, by contrast, seemed to fall apart at halftime, and Fernando Torres missed a golden opportunity to score a consolation goal late in the second half.  And Casillas made way too many mistakes, which you simply cannot do in this tournament.

Man of the Match: Since both Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie were both instrumental in the Dutch win, I'll give this one to both of them.  If I had to pick at gunpoint, however, I'd choose Robben.  Single-handedly taking on two defenders and the goalie to hammer in goal #2 was simply brilliant.  If he's not ranked among the top five players in the world, I'd be quite surprised.

[Deamonbane]

Although... Iker did make a couple incredible saves...

[pleaseteaseme]

Although... Iker did make a couple incredible saves...

Very much a game of two halves! First half he was really good, as were Spain for the most part!

Second half they barely got a look in as the Dutch were excellent, and Casillas seemed to lose his cool and composure after the 3rd goal where he and van Persie collided.

[Cheka Man]

Spain was terrible tonight, I mean 5-1!

[consortium11]

Shows what I know.

I think we have to be careful of reading too much into one result... Spain lost to Switzerland in the first match of the last tournament, even if less emphatically and look what happened there. But even so, this was a beating. A real beating which throws the group open. Chile (currently 2-0 up against Australia after 17 minutes) are no-ones fools, currently are in great form and are certainly capable of beating (or at least drawing) with either of Spain or the Netherlands. There's the real prospect of the group being decided by goal difference (which gives the Dutch the edge right now) and possibly, whisper it, Spain going out.

I will note of course that I listed the Dutch as dark horses in my original preview...  :-)

[Volotaire]

Anyone quietly hoping that the Socceroos pull an amazing upset, just for the sake of the club?  It really saddens me to hear that no one claims them for even a single point.

[Aleph]

Thanks Volotaire :) The truth is we aren't the team we were in '06. The fact that Ange Postecoglu brought a fairly young team to Brazil is a sign that he's laying ground work for '18. Or even possibly when we host the World Cup in '22 after the whole Qatar thing collapses ;)

Meanwhile, bloody linesman! :P (although Cahill was offside)

[consortium11]

This is a pretty good match to watch. Chile are the more skillful team and they've cut right through Australia a few times but after going 2-0 down Australia have ground their way back into it. They're a pretty crude team (not exacting surprisingly considering their lack of quality) but they play with heart, know what they're good at and do it well; taking it with pace up the wings and delivering crosses for Cahill to pounce upon. The fact the Chilean central defenders are all on the short side certainly helps.

[Volotaire]

Meanwhile, bloody linesman! :P (although Cahill was offside)

TOTALLY AGREE!  You guys are making an amazing showing, especially considering all the talk at the 20th minute was about how Chile was going to run away with this game.  The Socceroos have been really pressing in the 2nd half!

[Aleph]

taking it with pace up the wings and delivering crosses for Cahill to pounce upon. The fact the Chilean central defenders are all on the short side certainly helps.

Yeah I read somewhere that we're about 2-3" taller on average.

That said, I hate the single striker formation. It makes it clear what the plan is, 'get it onto Cahill's head'. When plan B is shooting from outside the penalty area...ugh...

[consortium11]

Sucker punch.

It was somewhat coming with a tired Australian side pushing up in search of an equalizer, but it's hard not to feel sorry for the Australian team. 3-1 makes the game look wider than it was.

[Aleph]

It's OK, we'll get Spain. They're wracked with doubt now  ;D

[consortium11]

Yeah I read somewhere that we're about 2-3" taller on average.

That said, I hate the single striker formation. It makes it clear what the plan is, 'get it onto Cahill's head'. When plan B is shooting from outside the penalty area...ugh...

To be fair...

1) What other tactics were Australia ever likely to use? Cahill may be past his best and somewhat limited but his aerial ability is an X-factor that many modern defenders struggle with. Even with two strikers chances are the tactics were essentially going to be the same; get it wide, then get it to Cahill, let the other striker feed off the knock downs.

2) If you bring in a second striker then you have to lose someone from somewhere else on the field, normally central mid. In today's football having three central midfielders is pretty much standard (albeit sometimes with one more offensive or defensive) in an attempt to control the ball and stop the opposition doing the same. The only teams that tend to be successful with only two central midfielders are those with exceptional talents there... and with all due respect, the Australian midfielders aren't that.

[Aleph]

To be fair...

1) What other tactics were Australia ever likely to use? Cahill may be past his best and somewhat limited but his aerial ability is an X-factor that many modern defenders struggle with. Even with two strikers chances are the tactics were essentially going to be the same; get it wide, then get it to Cahill, let the other striker feed off the knock downs.

2) If you bring in a second striker then you have to lose someone from somewhere else on the field, normally central mid. In today's football having three central midfielders is pretty much standard (albeit sometimes with one more offensive or defensive) in an attempt to control the ball and stop the opposition doing the same. The only teams that tend to be successful with only two central midfielders are those with exceptional talents there... and with all due respect, the Australian midfielders aren't that.

Yeah I hear ya, things might have been different had we not lost Kruse, Rogic and Kennedy in the lead up. Three strikers f'cryingoutloud..., agree with the midfielder comment, Jedinak had a really good season but Iniesta he's not.