Match 35: AUSTRALIA v.
SPAIN
Date: Monday June 23, 2014
Venue: Arena da Baixada,
CURITIBA
PANDO! or GORDO? Gordo?
Farewell Match for the Spanish Golden Generation started with AUS on
the front-foot and full of industry as they came forward early on, especially
from the L/Flank .. .. In their first two matches, 16 of their 25 crosses came
from that side and all four 1H balls came from the left .. ..
Notoriously narrow in their first two matches, ESP surprised everyone
by playing on the wings, pumping in 8 crosses in the 1H alone - They have only
10 total crosses in their first two matches combined .. .. Still a little loose
on the ball, ANDRES INIESTA delivered a beautiful deep release ball to JUANFRAN
whose cross saw MLS-bound DAVID VILLA back-heel neatly into the net in
the 36th minute to take a 1-0 lead @ HT .. ..
AUS kept trying hard in the second half, but the quality and creativeness
aren't just there yet but they are probably the premier side in the Pacific now
.. .. ESPs class finally wore down the Sockeroos in the
69th minute when ANDRES
INIESTA on the T/Box send a sweet through-ball to FERNANDO TORRES in the
L/Box who dispatched it home R/Footed in the 69th minute .. .. ESP spread the
lead to 3-0 when JUAN MATA took a nicely-weighted ball in the R/Box from
CESC FABREGAS and R/Footed through the GKs '5' hole in the 82nd minute .. ..
Sloppy affair to start off the day with ESP continuing to make unforced
errors and allowed AUS to run all around .. .. After the reported training
pitch bust-up in the ESP Camp, I think the whole Federation is looking forward
to getting home .. ..
AUS
MoM:
none
ESP
MoM: ANDRES INIESTA (Club: Barcelona)
30YO didn't have
the easiest of seasons @ Barca but his vision and class unlocked Australia at
will today, now the question is how much longer he will play on for Spain .. ..
=================================================================
Match 36: NETHERLANDS v. CHILE
Date: Monday June 23, 2014
Venue: Arena Corinthians, SAO
PAULO
PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!
NETHERLANDS ARE SO GOOD THEY CAN WIN DESPITE NOT FIELDING
ANYONE WITH THE NAME 'Van ...' FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS!!
CHI started off the better side as they bombed forward, pumping in 9
crosses in the 1H alone - They only needed one cross for the entire match to
dispatch ESP in their last match .. .. After CHI could not connect early on,
NED began to come forward, winning 5 set-pieces in the 1H .. .. NEC has only
needed 5 set-pieces total in the first two matches to come into this final
Group match undefeated .. ..
CHI tried to come forward in the 2H (8 2H crosses) but got caught out
by the Dutch height in the 77th minute when a perfect ball from DARYL JANMAAT
saw sub LEROY FER powerfully climb and crush his header > L/Right to
grab the only goal they really needed .. .. CHI kept coming but an NED
counterattack in stoppage time finally put the match away on a long-ball to
speedy ARJEN ROBBEN down the L/Flank and his sweet cross into the R/Box found
sub MEMPHIS DEPAYs R/Foot for an easy tap-in .. ..
Fairly-even match, but when CHI couldn't connect, NED strength and
height finally won out .. ..
NED
MoM: LEROY
FER (club: Norwich City)
Came on as defensive sub but his massive header
was all that NED needed .. .. Of Curacao ancestry, he once bought his
girlfriend a horse, but there was just one little problem > She lived in an
apartment .. ..
CHI
MoM: ALEXIS SANCHEZ (club: Barcelona)
Terrific
close-control all day with pace and whatever threat CHI had coming forward, he
was usually at the helm .. ..
=================================================================
Match 34: CROATIA v.
MEXICO
Date: Monday June 23, 2014
Venue: Arena Pernambuco, RECIFE
PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!
CRO had everything to play for so they came out, pushed forward and
pressed high when the opportunity arose .. .. CRO pumped in 12 crosses just in
the 1H alone after they hit in 17 balls in at the crushing of Cameroon last
time out .. ..
Even though CRO was the more probing side, it was MEX that came closest
to scoring when HECTOR HERRERAs L/Footed bomb from above the 'D' came back off
the corner of the bar/post .. .. Classicly, MEX counterattacked when CRO lost
possession, forcing 7 set-pieces in the attacking-third - MEX had 11 set-pieces
in both previous matches combined .. ..
MEXs fitness finally began to show as they began beating CRO to loose
balls and you know what happens after that .. .. In the 72nd minute off a MEX
CK, El Capitan RAFAEL MARQUEZ rose in mid-box and headed through the GK
> L/Right for soft 1-0 lead .. ..
ANDRES GUARDADO stretched the advantage
to 2-0 just three minutes later when making a L/Box run and ORIBE PERALTA found
him from the R/Flank and GUARDADO crushed his first-time L/Footer > U/Left
.. .. CHICHARITO HERNANDEZ just added to the pain in the 82nd minute
when MARQUEZ headed-on a CK that fell to an unmarked HERNANDEZ in the L/Box and
he just tapped it home for the 3-0 lead .. ..
CRO clawed back a consolation score in the 87th minute when IVAN
PERISIC got loose in the L/Box and L/Footed > L/Right .. .. CRO could
have gotten on top of MEX but just couldn't connect in the final-third while
MEX does what it historically does best, counter and wear down their opponents
.. .. If they can keep NED at bay and grab a goal late - you never know .. ..
Not too bad for the last team out of CONCACAF .. ..
CRO
MoM: DARIO
SRNA (club: Shakhtar Donetsk)
Was all over the pitch early on and pumping in
crosses .. .. If CRO took the lead early, it would have been because of him ..
..
MEX
MoM: RAFAEL MARQUEZ (club: Leon)
Arch-enemy of all
US Soccer fans, the 35YO can still do it and get on the end of crosses .. ..
Now holds the World Cup record for Captaining his National Side in four
consecutive World Cups .. ..
=================================================================
Match 33: CAMEROON v.
BRASIL
Date: Monday June 23, 2014
Venue: Estadio Nacional,
BRASILIA
PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!
What does this match mean to the people
in the capital? How many matches have you been to where people start crying
when their side steps unto the pitch?
And, their boys paid promptly when a typical, slumbering CMR was
dispossessed in their own half by LUIS GUSTAVO who raced down the L/Flank and
sent a pretty cross into the M/Box and saw NEYMAR first-time the
R/Footer > L/Right just 17 minutes in .. .. CMR did counter in the 26th
minute when NYOM got loose down the touchline from the left and also sent a
nice ball through the box for an easy tap-in for MATIP .. ..
NEYMAR countered in the 34th minute when he took the ball
in L/Box, cut back to the middle and then R/Footed past the diving GK to take a
2-1 lead into the dressing room .. ..
BRA kept coming forward with the long-ball in the second half putting a
third score on CMR four minutes after HT when DAVID LUIZ overlapped down the
L/Flank and sent a nice ball to FRED that he easily headed home .. ..
The rout was complete six minutes from the whistle when on a sweet give-and-go
at the top of the box set sub FERNARDINHO free in the L/Box and
toe-poked > L/Right .. ..
Yes > That NEYMAR guy is pretty okay .. .. Yes > BRA defence can
be shaky .. .. But what happened to BRA playing the ball through the midfield instead
of just punting the ball over the top .. .. Not the BRA we used to know .. ..
New and improved? We'll see .. ..
CMR
MoM: none
MEX
MoM: NEYMAR (club: Barcelona)
Posterboy is
improving as the Festival moves on, but BRAs defence will determine how far
they go .. ..
=================================================================
WIN OR GO HOME?
What
happens when you get to the 2014 World Cup for your first match .. ..
If you LOST your last Friendly
before your first Group Match = 1W – 1L – 2D = 5 pts
If you WON your last Friendly
before your first Group Match = 9W – 9L – 2D = 29 pts
If you DREW your last Friendly
before your first Group Match = 2W – xD – 2L = 6 pts
=================================================================
EXPERIENCE! Yeah, or neh?
How players do when they came to
BRA with 5 caps, or less .. ..
Ramon Azeez (NGA), Oliver BOZANIC
(AUS), Diego Costa (ESP), Matteo Darmian (ITA), Cedric Djeugoue (CMR), Antoine
Griezmann (FRA), Maksim KANUNNIKOV (RUS), Sead KOLASINAC (BIH), Gabriel Paletta
(ITA), Raheem Sterling (ENG), Jose Juan Vazquez (MEX), Alex Wilkinson (AUS),
YUN Suk-Young (KOR)
4W -- 11L
-- 2D
=================================================================
PANDO! or GORDO? SIDE OF THE TOURNAMENT
Manager:
Jorge Luis PINTO (CRC)
GK:
Guillermo OCHOA (MEX)
D: Matt BESLER (USA) -- Mats HUMMEL
(GER) -- David LUIZ (BRA)
M: Jermaine JONES (USA) -- Arjen ROBBEN (NED) -- James
RODRIGUEZ (COL)
F: Tim
CAHILL (AUS) -- F Lionel MESSI (ARG) ◘ --
NEYMAR (BRA) -- Robin VAN PERSIE
(NED)
Bench: MF
Charles ARANGUIZ (CHI) -- MF Andrew AYEW (GHA) --
F Karim
BENZEMA (FRA) -- D Danny BLIND (NED) -- F
Joel CAMPBELL (CRC) --
F
Olivier GIROUD (FRA) -- MF Luka MODRIC (CRO) -- F Thomas MULLER (GER) --
GK Keylor
NAVAS (CRC) -- -- MF OSCAR (BRA)MF Andrea PIRLO
(ITA) --
Paul POGBA (FRA) -- MF Juan
QUINTERO (COL) -- -- F Alexis SANCHEZ (CHI) ■ --
F Mathieu VALBUENA (FRA) -- F Enner
VALENCIA (ECU) -- Mario YEPES (COL)
◘ - denotes 2010 Pando! or Gordo? Starting Side of the Tournament
■ -
denotes 2010 Pando! or Gordon? Honorable Mention of the Tournament |
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