After a two day break, World Cup action is back. The first match today was Brazil v. The Netherlands. I really wanted The Netherlands to win, but the Brazilians are the better team. Still, anything can happen so you have to watch the matches.
Brazil thought they had scored a goal, but they were clearly offside. It didn’t matter much because a couple of minutes later, Robinho scored a goal to put Brazil up 1-0. The Dutch had a chance to score around the the 30th minute, but the Brazilians shut them down. Three Dutchmen vs. nine Brazilians just doesn’t accomplish much. The first half was filled with far too many fouls and a flow to the game just never developed.
In stoppage time, Robben tried to get past seven Brazilians, but he just got no help from anyone else and couldn’t put the ball into the net. If the Dutch had been up in the box, they could have scored. They needed to talk halftime to discuss the fact that Van Persie and Robben can’t do everything. They also need to figure out that one man can’t do it all. It’s a team game.
In the second half, the Dutch scored in the 53rd minute with a goal that came out of nowhere by Felipe Melo of Brazil. It was absolutely beautiful. The second half was much more exciting. In the 68th minute, a corner kick by Arjen Robben was headed by Dirk Kuyt who headed the ball to Wesley Sneijder who put the ball in the back of the net with his own header. It was absolutely insane and I loved every minute of it.
Felipe Melo got a red card for intentionally stomping Robben. It was not a good day for Melo at all. The ref was right on top of everything today. The Dutch pull a gigantic upset and knock Brazil out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory. Absolutely fantastic and I didn’t think it would happen. I had actually picked Brazil to win the cup.
Uruguay v. Ghana was next and I’m sticking with Ghana. They probably won’t win, but they’re my team today. Fucile had a terrible accident in the 42nd minute and fell to the ground. He lay on the ground, completely limp. Eyes closed, everyone thought he might be dead. It appeared as if he landed on his neck. I don’t know how Fucile isn’t dead, but he’s officially the badass of the match.
Uruguay subbed Lugano, their captain, in the 33rd minute. Just when everyone thought that it would be 0-0 at the end of the first half, Sulley Muntari scored two minutes into stoppage time with a beautiful kick that took a parabolic curve into the net, putting Ghana up 1-0 at the half. Everyone anxiously awaited the second half to see if Ghana could hold out and win.
Uruguay came back in the second half to even the score in the 55th minute with a masterful kick by Diego Forlán. As with the earlier game, there are far too much diving and fouling.
The match went to extra time and, just at the last moment, Luis Suarez got a red card and was sent off. This set up a penalty kick for Ghana and Asamoah Gyan could have won it, but he hit the crossbar. The match went to penalty kicks, where Argentina would prove victorious 4-2.
It was a dramatic game marred by the constant time wasting measures and missed opportunities from both teams. Unfortunately, Ghana are going home, but it was a great match to see.
