World Cup Day 4- 14/06/10

Another day, another 3 games. More surprises, more moments of brilliance and a lot more poor defending.
But before we get onto the games themselves, some good news emerged today when we were told that world cup authorities would NOT be banning vuvuzelas from games. Hooray for atmosphere and host nation tradition!
The first game of Day 4 featured my pick for the tournament, Holland, against Denmark. I think it's fair to say the Dutch really missed Arjan Robben. Rafael Van Der Vaart was drafted in as a replacement, but he is by no means a natural winger, and his similarity to Wesley Sneijder restricted the creative inflluence both of them were allowed on the game as they tried to do the same job. The Danes did well to stifle their opponents in the first period, making for an evenly matched game with a lot of possesion and tackling in midfield, but a lack of the free-flowing passing which we have become so accustomed to seeing from the Dutch during qualifying.
The second half, however, was a different story altogether. Denmark crumbled, starting with conceding a goal 50 seconds after the restart. Robbin Van Persie swung in a cross which Simon Poulson attempted to clear, only for his header to loop into the corner off Daniel Agger's back. From then on, the momentum was with Holland. The withdrawal of Nicklas Bendtner, who was replaced by Beckmann 17 minutes into the second half, didn't help, as the Danes were now very limited in their attacking options. The moment which, for me, really allowed the Dutch to play the free-flowing football we have become accustomed to, was the decision to bring on Elia in place of Van Der Vaart. Elia introduced some pace and trickery down the left which had been so lacking previously in the game, allowing Sneijder to fulfill his creative potential. Elia had a great game and deserved a goal, which he came very close to with 5 minutes remaining. He was put through on goal by a wonderful pass from Sneijder, and when his shot rebounded off the post, it allowed Dirk Kuyt to slot home a second for Holland and secure a victory which, on the basis of the second half at least, was very much deserved. Once Holland get Robben back, it should help them to play like that throughout the competition. And if they do that, believe you me, they will go very far.

The days 3 o'clock kick off was between Japan, who had never won a world cup match on foreign soil, and Cameroon, who had never lost an opening game at the world cup. This match, as much as anything else, demonstrated Cameroon boss Paul Le Guen's complete lack of tactical awareness. The Indomitable Lions went with a strike force of Webo alongside 21 year old Choupo-Moting, meaning Samuel Eto'o was deployed in a wide right position. This was all very well to try out, but it was clear to everyone that it wasn't working, so Le Guen should have changed it. Things got worse when Cameroon conceded a cheap goal. The right back, whose name escapes me, was dragged into the middle. He and Stephan Mbia jumped for the same ball, both missed, and allowed Honda to exploit the space where the right back should have been and fire home.
Cameroon found some urgency towards the end, rattling the bar with a fantastic 30 yard strike, but ultimately failed to find a goal. You have to feel that had Eto'o been used in his favoured position as a centre forward, the result could have been oh so different. While Le Guen's in charge, I don't hold out much hope for Cameroon. If Le Guen gets his tactics right, they may have a chance against Denmark. If not, they may well finish fourth. As for Japan, they played better than I expected. They move the ball around well, but again I don't see them as having much chance of progression. They will be slightly outclassed by Denmark and Holland.

I must confess, I wasn't able to watch the Italy v Paraguay match, so I'll just comment on the goals, which I saw. More extremely poor defending in evidence, Alcaraz being allowed to rise unchallenged between two defenders to open the scoring. No Paraguay defender even attempted to clear Pepe's corner before Villar completely missed it, allowin De Rossi an easy goal. Italy aren't what they were, but should still have the class to make it through to the next stage, and will be far better once Pirlo returns. From what I hear, Paraguay played a good match today, and were good on the ball, so they should be able to make the last 16 ahead of New Zealand and Slovakia.

My Predictions for World Cup Day 5- 15/06/10

New Zealand 1-0 Slovakia
Neither of these sides have any world cup pedigree, both appearing in their first finals. Neither will have the quality to progress to the next stage, but with the New Zealand strike force of Fallon and Killen, they should be able to just edge out the Slovakians.

Ivory Coast 1-3 Portugal
This should be a great match. Portugal have the obvious quality of Ronaldo, along with the likes of Deco and Simao, so should be just better than the Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba is a doubt for the elephants, and I would go so far as to say that they have no chance without him. They do however have good cover in Kalou and Doumbia, so will be no pushovers.

Brazil 3-0 North Korea
I only see this match going one way. Brazil are still one of the best sides in the world, and North Korea will almost definitely finish bottom of the Group of Death. Players like Kaka, Robinho and Fabiano in attack, along with Lucio, Maicon and Alves at the back mean this should be a fairly comfortable victory for the 5 times winners.