The first week of the cup is done and it has been full of many moments of brilliance and skill, as well as a few moments of madness. I will give a few of my top moments of the tournament so far, or at least of the games I have seem.
That goal
I shall start my highlights with what I still think is the goal of the tournament, RVP’s headered lob of Iker Casillas in the Netherlands 5-1 demolition of defending champions Spain. Everything about that goal was pure class, and it inspired the Dutch to show a masterclass in fast attacking football.
Iker Casillas’ Horror Game
In the same game was one of the lowlights, where the once unbeatable Casillas was beaten 5 times and quite obviously lost a lot of confidence as the wonder goals went in. Not all he 5 goals were Casillas’ fault, most were just amazing strikes, but both Robben’s goals were from goalkeeper errors.Before the tournament started, my erstwhile colleague made a good case that De Gea should start in goal for Spain, and it appears that reality has shown that his call as probably the one Del Bosco should have made.
Unexpected Performances
This tournament so far has had a good number of results that have defied expectations, even if the end result has been as predicted. Australia has done well, playing better than either myself or Numbernine predict. Chile has also played better than most people thought, though both Numbernine and myself thought they would be a danger in Pool B, but would be unlucky to miss out. However They have now gone though with 6 points. Also Costa Rica have shown themselves to be a real threat in Pool D, beating Uruguay in their first match, albeit a Uruguay without Suarez. Bosnia also showed in their loss to Argentina that they will be a real threat, especially as Argentina took the points by wonder strike by Messi.
Portugal self-destruct
Both Numbernine and I were talking up Portugal’s chances, and how important the first game was going to be in the final standings of the group. We were both expecting the game between Germany and Portugal to be a classic. However what we got was a master class by Germany and a display of sulkitude by Portugal, as well as a moment of madness by Pepe, who decided that the best way to demonstrate how much of a dive Muller had been taken was by headbutting the German striker. Based on their performance against Germany I don’t think Portugal will do much this tournament, and it may be another poor international tournament for Portugal or Ronaldo.
Rooney finally scores
Much had been made of Rooney’s lack of goals in the world cup finals. He is England’s leading goal scored in qualifications but had never scored a goal in 10 appearances at the cup itself. However in this morning in England’s 2-1 loss to Uruguay Rooney broke his duck and scored a good, although simple, goal to level the scores at 1-1.
Much like Numbernine, I invite all of you to give some of your highlights on our facebook page. Please note that we like any feedback, good and bad, and you can find all the ways t contact us on the feedback page.
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