Hello everyone.
Today I'll start with a piece of news that'll take a load off every Arsenal fan's shoulders around the globe: we're not in for Balotelli. Arsene Wenger, talking to beIN Sports, dismissed those rumours:
Balotelli wasn't the only one who caught the eye in that game for all the wrong reasons, but I'll get to that a bit later. Footballing stuff first.
Group A had the last round of games on Monday and both Brazil vs Cameroon and Croatia vs Mexico were aired. I opted to watch the latter and after half-time thought I'd made a mistake. Croatia tried to attack, Mexico sat back and defended well, restricting Nico Kovac team to a couple of distance shots, but the game was mind-boggingly dull. Meanwhile, Cameroon was aiming to perform a comeback against Brazil at Estadio National, after Neymar's brace put the hosts in front. Quite delightful goals he's scored too.
However, I stuck to Croatia vs Mexico and was not disappointed. Miguel Herrera's side took the matter into their hands and opened the scoring following a number of quite dangerous attacks, one of which resulted in a corner. A fine headed goal from Rafa Marquez, the captain.
Three minutes later, they added another. A quick counter-attack, Javier Hernandez (aka Chicharito) kept the central defenders busy and Guardado fired home an unstoppable effort.
Hernandez compounded Croatia's misery further, when he finished from yet another Mexican corner to make it 3-0 and game over.
To be fair to Croatians, the tried their best, got one back through a wonderful combination, which saw Perisic go one-on-one with Ochoa and they could have added another later on, but Perisic effort was brilliantly saved.
Then some bloke was sent off after a harsh challenge and all doubts over the outcome were put to bed. Credit to Croatia, though, they did their best, having suffered from awful refereeing in the first game and managed to follow it up with a convincing win. This time, however, they were just no match for rampaging Mexicans.
Herrera and Co qualify from the second spot and were it not for an inferior goal difference, could have finished above Brazilians. The way it played out, they'll face Holland, while the hosts will, erm, host Chile. We are in for two exciting games, let me tell you that.
In Group C nothing was certain before the kick-off. Yes, Colombians definitely qualified, but could have done so from the second spot, had they lost to Japan (who had everything to fight for) and Ivory Coast beaten Greece, with a certain goal difference, of course. However, I was astounded at how it all ended.
I watched Colombia vs Japan, as Ivory Coast vs Greece was nowhere to be found, and didn't regret the decision life forced me into making.
The first half was tedious until the very end. Much like Croatia vs Mexico, Columbia sat back and soaked up the pressure, as it was the other team that badly needed a win. There was one difference only: Columbia has scored, from the penalty spot.
Japan poured men forward, Honda and Kagawa putting the maximum effort into bringing their team back to level terms, but it wasn't enough. I already held a remote control in my hand, ready to go to bed (it was 1 a.m. for Christ's sake), when Sindzi Okadzaki scored that headed goal deep into injury time. So I stayed on and was rewarded for it.
Dzakkeroni's side looked capable of going in front, but all their hard work was undone by three (!) goals from Colombia. The way Colombians play on counter-attacks was just amazing, a blueprint for any team. Jackson Martinez scored twice before James Rodriguez chipped effort found the net.
Late in the game I was surprised at goalie change, when Ospina went off to be replaced by Mandragon, only to then find out Mandragon is a legend in Colombia. He's also set a new record, by becoming the oldest goalkeeper to feature in the World Cup (he's 43).
In the end, it was 4-1 for Colombia, but I did feel sorry for Japan. They played really well, especially in the second half and didn't deserve to go down in such a manner, but football is cruel sometimes. All the luck to Japan's national team in the future, they have all the ingredients to become successful.
Football was cruel to Ivory Coast either, as they lost 2-1 to Greece, thanks to a last-gasp penalty. A draw would have seen Drogba's team qualify, but, surprisingly, they didn't get it.
Finally, Group D. Costa-Rica drew England (the three lions didn't even score) to finish top of the group, but I opted to watch Italy vs Uruguay, as there was much more riding on this game for both teams.
However, the match was as boring as it gets. Italy, who needed only a draw to qualify, did nothing to show us why they were worthy to play in the last sixteen and were rightly knocked out by a more adventurous Ururguay side. Diego Godin scored the only goal following a corner, but it won't be the footballing part because of which this game will be remembered.
Rather, it will be for three things: insane Balotelli (in the direct meaning of this word), a red card for Marcisio for a very bad foul (studs in the knee) and Suarez stealing the headlines along with a bit of Chiellini's shoulder.
Yes, the Uruguyayan did that weird thing again, namely: he has bitten another player in a game of football.
Last summer I had my reservations about signing Suarez. He's a diver, cheater, has a nasty attitude, he's bitten three people (two at that time), for God's sake. However, Wenger was willing to go an extra mile to sign Suarez and the fact that Liverpool's forward had a marvellous season shows us Arsene had his reasons.
Up to yesterday I thought Suarez wasn't as psychotic as Pepe or Balotelli. I thought "Oh well, maybe Luis was just forcing a transfer both at Ajax and at Liverpool, that's why he did that". But I don't think this way anymore.
FIFA has opened proceedings towards Suarez, and I've heard he can be disqualified for up to two years. It looks like two years of national football and here I go with Shearer, who thinks Suarez should be banned for as long as possible. I'd also get Suarez an appointment with a psychiatrist. Liverpool is, understandably, also not happy and can try to sue Suarez if he's banned by FIFA.
Phew, enough of this for today. Back tomorrow with fresh goodies
Until then, enjoy Group E
Today I'll start with a piece of news that'll take a load off every Arsenal fan's shoulders around the globe: we're not in for Balotelli. Arsene Wenger, talking to beIN Sports, dismissed those rumours:
"It's pure invention. We cannot believe absolutely everything that is on the Internet or in the papers. Sometimes it's created by agents or by press who needs news. But in this case, it's not true."Good to hear. Firstly, Balotelli is not much of an upgrade on Giroud, as it turned out, secondly, he's a psycho. Whenever things aren't going Balotelli's way, he's capable of anything. Just look at this photo from yesterday's game, you'll know what I mean. If you have somehow missed the stories about him playing darts at the training ground or setting off fireworks in his own bathroom, that'll give you a rough idea.
Balotelli wasn't the only one who caught the eye in that game for all the wrong reasons, but I'll get to that a bit later. Footballing stuff first.
Group A had the last round of games on Monday and both Brazil vs Cameroon and Croatia vs Mexico were aired. I opted to watch the latter and after half-time thought I'd made a mistake. Croatia tried to attack, Mexico sat back and defended well, restricting Nico Kovac team to a couple of distance shots, but the game was mind-boggingly dull. Meanwhile, Cameroon was aiming to perform a comeback against Brazil at Estadio National, after Neymar's brace put the hosts in front. Quite delightful goals he's scored too.
However, I stuck to Croatia vs Mexico and was not disappointed. Miguel Herrera's side took the matter into their hands and opened the scoring following a number of quite dangerous attacks, one of which resulted in a corner. A fine headed goal from Rafa Marquez, the captain.
Three minutes later, they added another. A quick counter-attack, Javier Hernandez (aka Chicharito) kept the central defenders busy and Guardado fired home an unstoppable effort.
Hernandez compounded Croatia's misery further, when he finished from yet another Mexican corner to make it 3-0 and game over.
To be fair to Croatians, the tried their best, got one back through a wonderful combination, which saw Perisic go one-on-one with Ochoa and they could have added another later on, but Perisic effort was brilliantly saved.
Then some bloke was sent off after a harsh challenge and all doubts over the outcome were put to bed. Credit to Croatia, though, they did their best, having suffered from awful refereeing in the first game and managed to follow it up with a convincing win. This time, however, they were just no match for rampaging Mexicans.
Herrera and Co qualify from the second spot and were it not for an inferior goal difference, could have finished above Brazilians. The way it played out, they'll face Holland, while the hosts will, erm, host Chile. We are in for two exciting games, let me tell you that.
In Group C nothing was certain before the kick-off. Yes, Colombians definitely qualified, but could have done so from the second spot, had they lost to Japan (who had everything to fight for) and Ivory Coast beaten Greece, with a certain goal difference, of course. However, I was astounded at how it all ended.
I watched Colombia vs Japan, as Ivory Coast vs Greece was nowhere to be found, and didn't regret the decision life forced me into making.
The first half was tedious until the very end. Much like Croatia vs Mexico, Columbia sat back and soaked up the pressure, as it was the other team that badly needed a win. There was one difference only: Columbia has scored, from the penalty spot.
Japan poured men forward, Honda and Kagawa putting the maximum effort into bringing their team back to level terms, but it wasn't enough. I already held a remote control in my hand, ready to go to bed (it was 1 a.m. for Christ's sake), when Sindzi Okadzaki scored that headed goal deep into injury time. So I stayed on and was rewarded for it.
Dzakkeroni's side looked capable of going in front, but all their hard work was undone by three (!) goals from Colombia. The way Colombians play on counter-attacks was just amazing, a blueprint for any team. Jackson Martinez scored twice before James Rodriguez chipped effort found the net.
Late in the game I was surprised at goalie change, when Ospina went off to be replaced by Mandragon, only to then find out Mandragon is a legend in Colombia. He's also set a new record, by becoming the oldest goalkeeper to feature in the World Cup (he's 43).
In the end, it was 4-1 for Colombia, but I did feel sorry for Japan. They played really well, especially in the second half and didn't deserve to go down in such a manner, but football is cruel sometimes. All the luck to Japan's national team in the future, they have all the ingredients to become successful.
Football was cruel to Ivory Coast either, as they lost 2-1 to Greece, thanks to a last-gasp penalty. A draw would have seen Drogba's team qualify, but, surprisingly, they didn't get it.
Finally, Group D. Costa-Rica drew England (the three lions didn't even score) to finish top of the group, but I opted to watch Italy vs Uruguay, as there was much more riding on this game for both teams.
However, the match was as boring as it gets. Italy, who needed only a draw to qualify, did nothing to show us why they were worthy to play in the last sixteen and were rightly knocked out by a more adventurous Ururguay side. Diego Godin scored the only goal following a corner, but it won't be the footballing part because of which this game will be remembered.
Rather, it will be for three things: insane Balotelli (in the direct meaning of this word), a red card for Marcisio for a very bad foul (studs in the knee) and Suarez stealing the headlines along with a bit of Chiellini's shoulder.
Yes, the Uruguyayan did that weird thing again, namely: he has bitten another player in a game of football.
Last summer I had my reservations about signing Suarez. He's a diver, cheater, has a nasty attitude, he's bitten three people (two at that time), for God's sake. However, Wenger was willing to go an extra mile to sign Suarez and the fact that Liverpool's forward had a marvellous season shows us Arsene had his reasons.
Up to yesterday I thought Suarez wasn't as psychotic as Pepe or Balotelli. I thought "Oh well, maybe Luis was just forcing a transfer both at Ajax and at Liverpool, that's why he did that". But I don't think this way anymore.
FIFA has opened proceedings towards Suarez, and I've heard he can be disqualified for up to two years. It looks like two years of national football and here I go with Shearer, who thinks Suarez should be banned for as long as possible. I'd also get Suarez an appointment with a psychiatrist. Liverpool is, understandably, also not happy and can try to sue Suarez if he's banned by FIFA.
Phew, enough of this for today. Back tomorrow with fresh goodies
Until then, enjoy Group E