It isn’t very often that I look forward to anything as much as I have been looking forward to this year’s World Cup in Brazil. It is even rarer that something that I really look forward to lives up to the hype. And I must say this tournament has really done that so far.
Through all the excitement and controversy. Five major thoughts have been running through my head.
1) The stars have some to shine.
From the opening day when the boy prince scored a brilliant brace to kick the home crowd into gear, to the wonderful header by Robin Van Persie, we have seen several superstar players come on and show they mean business. On the flip side is disappointing that Arturo Vidal had be subbed of early showing that he isn’t quick back to full match fitness and it would have been nice to see Suarez make an appearance.
2) You win by scoring more than the opposition.
At one point on the third day, the tournament almost averaged four goals per game. Teams have been looking to take the game the scruff of the neck and create their formations to get as many goals as possible. Only Greece and Honduras played with a genuinely defensive game plan, and Argentines started with a more balanced approach by not starting Higuain and playing five at the back, but when they flipped back to the formation they used in qualifying, the were much better. This could be an omen for the tournament.
3) Comebacks are always on.
The tournament so far has had five teams comeback from behind to win games. To add to this, England have managed to level things after going a goal down (before conceding a great header from Super Mario), both Australia and Bosnia Herzegovina were close to completing comebacks. I am certain as the tournament progresses we will see more.
4) Age is nothing but but a number.
So far this tournament we have had Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba, Mario Yepes, just to name a few veteran age players, who have already made a big impact. On flip side of things we have also seen young players like Raheem Sterling, Neymar, Xherdan Shaqiri bring things to life with their youthful exuberance. Time will show whether exuberance or experience plays a bigger role.
5) Australia played better than I thought.
Given how much crap I gave our trans-Tasman neighbours and laughed off their chances, I must admit that the Socceroos didn’t play that badly. Tim Cahill clearly still has what it takes to perform at the highest level. With all that being said. I still think they won’t get a single point this tournament.
NineSixFourTwo 