And five of them went into extra time, to be decided beyond the allotted ninety minutes.
All of that seems in keeping with a World Cup that has been filled with surprises and thrills, yet remains unpredictable.
Also, in a World Cup where upsets have been the order of the day, it is perhaps a mild surprise that there were no surprises at all in the round of sixteen. Every group winner won their first elimination match, not a single other team managed to break through.
I think that the one thing that can be garnered from all of this is that there is not one single team that is so dominant, that they are a clear cut favorite to win the whole tournament.
In fact, I'm not entirely sure that any team can truly be considered "the favorite" here. I would have thought Brazil before the tournament, despite their detractors, because their level of play is always so high in this sport, and they had the not inconsiderable advantage of playing at home, before their fans, and under conditions that surely suit them.
Also, Spain looked like they would surely be a strong contender for another title, because of the talent level, as well as the solid experience. Obviously, they know what it takes to win a tournament like this.
For that matter, I thought maybe Germany or the Netherlands, after the way that they demolished their quality opponents (second ranked Portugal in the case of Germany, and defending champion and dynasty Spain, for the Netherlands).
But the fact of the matter is that Brazil, Spain, Germany, and Netherlands have shown themselves to be more vulnerable than perhaps previously expected. Spain bombed and burned out of the tournament early, eliminated after losing both of their first games by a combined score of 7-1.
Brazil have hardly looked like they have in the past, and frankly, they are lucky to still be alive in the tournament, given how close Chile was to achieving a huge upset.
And Germany and Netherlands, despite remaining undefeated to this point, have hardly looked as awesome as they did after those first games, with both teams essentially barely hanging and being pushed to the limit on a couple of occasions each since against opponents that were generally considered weaker. Like Brazil, they made it to the quarterfinal stage, but can count themselves lucky not to have been eliminated in the second round.
Yesterday marked the last two games of the eight games in the round of sixteen. The first game featured one of the tourney's favorites, perennial powerhouse Argentina, against a tough Swiss side. And, in the second game, a resurgent Belgian team, making their first appearance since the nineties, and with quite possibly their best team in decades, went against Team USA, with a fan base that traditionally was relatively subdued and often indifferent, suddenly catching soccer mania. The hopes of a nation suddenly quite taken by the World Cup rested on the shoulders of a very physically fit and disciplined USA side.
So, this is what happened:
Argentina 1, Switzerland 0
After being exposed by France in their second game, Switzerland took the opposite approach, being very, very cautious against the favored Argentinian side yesterday. To that end, they were enjoying considerable success, too, holding the explosive Argentinian side without a goal throughout regulation time, and enjoying some opportunities on the offensive end on their own.
But the game was scoreless at the end of regulation, and it went into extra time.
Not surprisingly, scoring did not exactly come easy or quickly thereafter, either. The two teams remained in a scoreless deadlock through the first session of extra time, and through the vast majority of the second session, too.
Argentina had dominated the time of possession, and had produced some quality opportunities, but they were unable to convert on any of them, as time was expiring even on overtime, and the contest seemed headed to the penalty kick shootout.
That was when things changed, and Argentina remained everyone just how quickly and decisively a game can change, with just one goal.
Following the previous contests, which saw quite a few games not only go to the extra time, but wind up going all the way to penalty shoot outs, it might have seemed that this one, too, was headed in that direction. And once that point is reached, you kind of figure anything can happen.
Ángel Di María took a pass from Argentinian star Lionel Messi, and nailed the ball to the lower left corner of the goal in the 118th minute, beating Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, who had played a truly brilliant game save for that one goal.
And that was all that Argentina needed, with such little time left. Switzerland were not able to answer, and Argentina was able to hold one in a tough contest, surviving to the next round. They watched the next contest between the United States and Belgium with strong interest, to find out who their next opponent was going to be.
Belgium 2, USA 1
Like quite a few of these contests in the second round, this one was a scoreless tie throughout most of the contest, even to extra time.
Both teams had generated some decent opportunities for scoring, with Belgium producing the most quality chances. But both defenses, and especially the goalies, played exceptionally well, keeping the other side off the scoreboard.
Tim Howard played a tremendous game, and had sixteen saves, easily a new record for American goalkeepers.
But in the 92nd minute, early in the first extra time session, Belgium broke through with a brilliant goal.One thing that Belgium had done very early for the extra time session was bring in substitute Romelu Lukaku, who had an immediate and positive impact on the game right from the moment he came in. He revitalized Belgium's attack, and on a chance as Belgium was pressing offensively, he was able to move the ball close to goal, before passing to teammate Kevin De Bruyne, who handled the ball very well, and was able to maneuver around American defenders, and kick a shot just past the reach of American defenders and Tim Howard, for the game's first goal, and a 1-0 Belgium lead.
The American team, suddenly feeling pressure, began to press a little harder, and played with a greater sense of urgency. But Belgium's attack was suddenly very dangerous as well, and once again, Romelu Lukaku, who at one point was waving to the crowd to rally Belgian fans behind their team, was again very effective in handling the ball with a solid scoring opportunity, which he was able to convert in the 105th minute. He ran behind the goal afterwards, and to a television camera and kissed it, obviously in good spirits.
It seemed that Belgium had suddenly exploded and, for all intents and purposes, sent Team USA home with a decisive extra time session.
But Team USA made a substitution of their own at this point, hoping to make an impact. And the man that they brought in most definitely made an impact.
Julian Green came in off the bench in the 105th minute, just after the second Belgian goal. He had never really played in a World Cup game before, but in the 107th minute, he scored a goal for the US, closing the margin to 2-1. It was the first time in World Cup history that he had so much as touched the ball, but his shot went in, to breathe new life into the American team.
The American side pressed hard after that, and their offense created some very good chances. At one point, it seemed that they had Belgium on the ropes.
However, they were unable to actually convert any of those chances, close as they came. And when time expired, Belgium had, however narrowly, held on for the victory, and a date with Argentina for this Saturday.
A valiant effort for the American team, and indeed, coach Jürgen Klinsmann seems to have the team moving in the right direction. It would be good to see him in another four years, for the American side should make steady and consistent progress under his tutelage!
No comments:
Post a Comment