Another one of those late nights, but what a night it was. Like Germany vs Algeria I didn't regret in the slightest staying up till 3 a.m. to watch a game. It was a simply brilliant encounter, among the very best games of this tournament.
First things first, though: I'd like to congratulate the Belgians. They had an outstanding performance, by far their best during this tournament. Their first two games were very dull and the third I didn't get the chance to see, but I suspect it wasn't fun to watch.
Yesterday (more like today) Marc Wilmots' team was guns blazing in attack. Divock Origi started up front and had a very good game with a chance to open the scoring in the 38th second, Mirallas came on as a sub and wreaked havoc on the flank and De Bruyne could easily have become MoM under other circumstances. Overall, Belgium put on a show in this game and the football couldn't have been more exciting.
USA, meanwhile, definitely were trying to hurt Belgium on the counter, but their default mode was to sit back, waiting for that chance. Jurgen Klinsmann's side didn't have a lot of opportunities to score, but could nonetheless have won the game in injury time, had Wondolowski not wasted a perfect opportunity to put his team in front. He'll have nightmares about it, I imagine, but if USA had won the game in such a manner it would have been a gross injustice towards a very good Belgium side.
The default mode of the USA worked just fine, I have to add. Football is not about going forward only and it was a pleasure to watch USA defend. Despite a load of chances Belgium created, it was still one of the best defensive displays I've ever seen, not the least because it was aided by Tim Howard.
Oh, Tim Howard. I'll start where most would have ended and say Howard became MoM, setting a new record in the process. 15 saves (!) in a single game at World Cup. Howard saved with his legs, he saved with his arms, he saved with his beard. He tipped a lot of things over the bar, twice came out on top from a one-on-one and the Americans have already proposed a petition to have Reagan's Airport renamed after Howard. To just comprehend how good the 35-year-old was yesterday, you have to see it for yourselves. Words just cannot do him justice.
It was a pity really when Belgium broke the deadlock and scored two goals in rapid succession deep into extra time, thanks to a rampaging Lukaku. Romelu substituted Origi to first set up De Bruyne and then scored himself, Kevin returning the favour. Amazing persistence from Belgium, helped by a brilliant De Bruyne.
USA went forward. And scored. Green, who made his debut minutes earlier, sent American fans into overdrive by slotting home a wonderfully weighed through ball from Bradley. There was nothing Courtois could do about the shot.
USA could have equalised seconds earlier, but this time Courtois saved from Jones, after a brilliant (I've lost count how many times I've used this word today) passage of play following a free-kick. And so it ended, 2-1. Put your hands together for both teams for this wonderful, open game, with lots of chances and minimum crap (like diving).
Belgium will now face Argentine in the quarter-final and, like it's the case with Brazil, I hope Marc Wilmots' side with send the the "favourites" packing. Argentine has only just scraped through, winning 1-0 against Switzerland (in extra time) and has done so only because Leo Messi provided his side with another masterstroke in the 118th minute. Switzerland could have got back to level terms but some bloke headed the ball onto the post from a killer position.
Some of the most tedious games this tournament provided involved Argentine. I turned off their game against Iran at half-time and thanked God I didn't see the game vs Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yesterday was another one of these mind-bogglingly dull games. Even the commentator couldn't stand it. So all the luck to Belgium in the last eight, cause I won't bear another lucky bounce.
Finally for today, some activity is stirring up regarding transfer news.
First on the agenda is Mikel Arteta. I mentioned how his situation wasn't clear, but it seems the Spaniard will stay on for at least another year. His agent denied talk of a possible transfer away, so we can be quite sure we won't be losing our de-facto skipper this summer. That doesn't mean we shouldn't strengthen this position, if the opportunity is there (Schnederlein, please?), but bottom line is that we won't be short on numbers in case we don't sign anybody. And let's not forget what an important role Arteta plays in our side.
In other news, Metro claims we have made a move for both Sanchez and Debuchy. While with Alexis it's just "Arsenal made a bid" (I have to stress this part was confirmed by Kike Marin, see the article), with Debuchy they've gone further, saying the deal is done and the signing will be announced after the World Cup. I hope that's the case, but I don't know what more there is to add, to what I've already said. On Sanchez you can read here.
Phew, that's it for today. There's a two-day break between now and the next World Cup round, so try to sleep in. I know I will.
Until later, I'll be back here as soon as something new pops up
First things first, though: I'd like to congratulate the Belgians. They had an outstanding performance, by far their best during this tournament. Their first two games were very dull and the third I didn't get the chance to see, but I suspect it wasn't fun to watch.
Yesterday (more like today) Marc Wilmots' team was guns blazing in attack. Divock Origi started up front and had a very good game with a chance to open the scoring in the 38th second, Mirallas came on as a sub and wreaked havoc on the flank and De Bruyne could easily have become MoM under other circumstances. Overall, Belgium put on a show in this game and the football couldn't have been more exciting.
USA, meanwhile, definitely were trying to hurt Belgium on the counter, but their default mode was to sit back, waiting for that chance. Jurgen Klinsmann's side didn't have a lot of opportunities to score, but could nonetheless have won the game in injury time, had Wondolowski not wasted a perfect opportunity to put his team in front. He'll have nightmares about it, I imagine, but if USA had won the game in such a manner it would have been a gross injustice towards a very good Belgium side.
The default mode of the USA worked just fine, I have to add. Football is not about going forward only and it was a pleasure to watch USA defend. Despite a load of chances Belgium created, it was still one of the best defensive displays I've ever seen, not the least because it was aided by Tim Howard.
Oh, Tim Howard. I'll start where most would have ended and say Howard became MoM, setting a new record in the process. 15 saves (!) in a single game at World Cup. Howard saved with his legs, he saved with his arms, he saved with his beard. He tipped a lot of things over the bar, twice came out on top from a one-on-one and the Americans have already proposed a petition to have Reagan's Airport renamed after Howard. To just comprehend how good the 35-year-old was yesterday, you have to see it for yourselves. Words just cannot do him justice.
It was a pity really when Belgium broke the deadlock and scored two goals in rapid succession deep into extra time, thanks to a rampaging Lukaku. Romelu substituted Origi to first set up De Bruyne and then scored himself, Kevin returning the favour. Amazing persistence from Belgium, helped by a brilliant De Bruyne.
USA went forward. And scored. Green, who made his debut minutes earlier, sent American fans into overdrive by slotting home a wonderfully weighed through ball from Bradley. There was nothing Courtois could do about the shot.
USA could have equalised seconds earlier, but this time Courtois saved from Jones, after a brilliant (I've lost count how many times I've used this word today) passage of play following a free-kick. And so it ended, 2-1. Put your hands together for both teams for this wonderful, open game, with lots of chances and minimum crap (like diving).
Belgium will now face Argentine in the quarter-final and, like it's the case with Brazil, I hope Marc Wilmots' side with send the the "favourites" packing. Argentine has only just scraped through, winning 1-0 against Switzerland (in extra time) and has done so only because Leo Messi provided his side with another masterstroke in the 118th minute. Switzerland could have got back to level terms but some bloke headed the ball onto the post from a killer position.
Some of the most tedious games this tournament provided involved Argentine. I turned off their game against Iran at half-time and thanked God I didn't see the game vs Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yesterday was another one of these mind-bogglingly dull games. Even the commentator couldn't stand it. So all the luck to Belgium in the last eight, cause I won't bear another lucky bounce.
Finally for today, some activity is stirring up regarding transfer news.
First on the agenda is Mikel Arteta. I mentioned how his situation wasn't clear, but it seems the Spaniard will stay on for at least another year. His agent denied talk of a possible transfer away, so we can be quite sure we won't be losing our de-facto skipper this summer. That doesn't mean we shouldn't strengthen this position, if the opportunity is there (Schnederlein, please?), but bottom line is that we won't be short on numbers in case we don't sign anybody. And let's not forget what an important role Arteta plays in our side.
In other news, Metro claims we have made a move for both Sanchez and Debuchy. While with Alexis it's just "Arsenal made a bid" (I have to stress this part was confirmed by Kike Marin, see the article), with Debuchy they've gone further, saying the deal is done and the signing will be announced after the World Cup. I hope that's the case, but I don't know what more there is to add, to what I've already said. On Sanchez you can read here.
Phew, that's it for today. There's a two-day break between now and the next World Cup round, so try to sleep in. I know I will.
Until later, I'll be back here as soon as something new pops up