Match 49: BRAZIL v.
CHILE 
16
16
Date: Saturday June 28, 2014
Venue: Estadio Mineirao, BELO
HORIZONTE
PANDO! or GORDO? Gordo?
1
BRA came out as they have the whole Festival, direct and lots of
long-balls over the top > But when you have electric NEYMAR chasing
long-balls, why not .. .. Both sides pressed high and CHI went to the long-ball
when possible .. .. BRA pushed forward early and had 3 set-pieces (1 for CHI)
when NEYMAR took a CK in the 18th minute and THIAGO SILVAs head-on towards
DAVID LUIZ was turned in by poor GONZALO JARA
who probably didn't know anything about it .. ..
BRA came out as they have the whole Festival, direct and lots of
long-balls over the top > But when you have electric NEYMAR chasing
long-balls, why not .. .. Both sides pressed high and CHI went to the long-ball
when possible .. .. BRA pushed forward early and had 3 set-pieces (1 for CHI)
when NEYMAR took a CK in the 18th minute and THIAGO SILVAs head-on towards
DAVID LUIZ was turned in by poor GONZALO JARA
who probably didn't know anything about it .. ..
A sloppy, nonchalant back-pass by HULK off a deep throw-in saw EDUARDO
VARGAS steal the ball, feed ALEXIS SANCHEZ in R/Box and slid his
R/Footer > L/Left to equalize .. .. That same nonchalance at the back almost
bit again late in the half when
another deep steal led to a scramble in the box
that found a relieved BRA still level @ HT .. ..
BRAs intention for the first-45 minutes as they pressed forward to
create 9 attacking set-pieces when in their previous two matches, they had only
9 set-pieces in the entire match .. .. Just 4 attacking set-pieces for CHI in
the 1H, but they prefer to attack from the run of play, as opposed to relying
on FKs, or CKs .. .. They had 5 attacking set-pieces combined in their first
pair of matches .. ..
2x
The 2H was poor for both sides and both sides got nervy and passed the
ball to nobody .. .. BRA STAMINA & WEIGHT OF EXPECTATION? Maybe, maybe both
.. .. CHI was a bit better (6 crosses + 5 attacking set-pieces), and chopped up
the match while BRA didn't earn a single dangerous set-piece in the last 45
minutes of regulation time .. .. The handball call v. HULK was correct,
shoulder, or not, it was a foul > Maybe not a YC, but definitely a hand-ball
.. ..
The 2H was poor for both sides and both sides got nervy and passed the
ball to nobody .. .. BRA STAMINA & WEIGHT OF EXPECTATION? Maybe, maybe both
.. .. CHI was a bit better (6 crosses + 5 attacking set-pieces), and chopped up
the match while BRA didn't earn a single dangerous set-piece in the last 45
minutes of regulation time .. .. The handball call v. HULK was correct,
shoulder, or not, it was a foul > Maybe not a YC, but definitely a hand-ball
.. ..
xtra
Both sides
huffed and puffed, and it surely wasn't pretty .. .. Both sides just waited out
the extra 30 minutes just to get to PKs > Not the stuff of Champions, huh?
BRA put together a little bit more with 5 attacking set-pieces, but CHI almost
but the favorites out in the 119th minute when sub MAURICIO PINILLA took the
ball above the box and his crushed R/Footed came right back off the bar .. ..
oh so close .. ..
Both sides
huffed and puffed, and it surely wasn't pretty .. .. Both sides just waited out
the extra 30 minutes just to get to PKs > Not the stuff of Champions, huh?
BRA put together a little bit more with 5 attacking set-pieces, but CHI almost
but the favorites out in the 119th minute when sub MAURICIO PINILLA took the
ball above the box and his crushed R/Footed came right back off the bar .. ..
oh so close .. ..
gk
MLS
SAVES THE TOURNAMENT FOR BRAZIL > Imagine, by the fourth PK, CHI was
even on PKs after missing their first pair .. .. NEYMAR put BRA up 3-2 in the
fifth round, when GONZALO JARAs R/Footer went off the R/Post and back across
the goalmouth .. .. BRA is lucky to get through, but how much did this take out
of them for the QFs .. .. we'll see .. ..
MLS
SAVES THE TOURNAMENT FOR BRAZIL > Imagine, by the fourth PK, CHI was
even on PKs after missing their first pair .. .. NEYMAR put BRA up 3-2 in the
fifth round, when GONZALO JARAs R/Footer went off the R/Post and back across
the goalmouth .. .. BRA is lucky to get through, but how much did this take out
of them for the QFs .. .. we'll see .. ..
BRA
MoM:
HULK (club: Zenit)
Employed in God-forsaken RUS, HULK showed a wide
range of talents including his nice touch on the ball .. .. After the 1H, HULK
was far more dangerous than NEYMAR and could have bagged a couple of goals ..
..
CHI
MoM: ALEXI SANCHEZ (club: Barcelona)
Not the hardest
of shots, but it was good enough to beat the GK .. .. Had a really nice
Festival but was largely kept quiet the whole match .. ..
=================================================================
Match 50: COLOMBIA v.
URUGUAY 16
16
Date: Saturday June 28, 2014
Venue: Estadio do Maracana, RIO
DE JANEIRO
PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!
URUGUAY WAS JUST AN ONE-TRICKY PONY . .. .. AND HE BITES!!
1
URU looked tired from the opening whistle despite COL being a bit
sloppy in possession .. .. COL wasn't exactly in any hurry either, truth be
told .. .. Early on, the most notable URU contribution were a couple nice
clearance headers by DIEGO GODIN .. ..
URU looked tired from the opening whistle despite COL being a bit
sloppy in possession .. .. COL wasn't exactly in any hurry either, truth be
told .. .. Early on, the most notable URU contribution were a couple nice
clearance headers by DIEGO GODIN .. ..
Like ROBIN VAN PERSIE, like TIM CAHILL, world class goals are the
perfect mixture of brilliant technique, unsurpassed feel/instincts for the
game, and not passing on an opportunity to put something on goal .. .. And in
one moment, JAMES RODRIGUEZ will have a score that will last for all
time .. .. On a simple, 28th minute build-up, from the top of the box,
RODRIGUEZ chested-down a pass and then contorted his body to volley L/Footed
> U/Middle past an unbelieving FERNANDO MUSLERA .. .. Serious, serious GOLAZO!!
From the beginning of the match, URU just doesn't like any type of
threat, and five minutes in, you just got the feeling this is the closest that
URU is going to get .. .. URU didn't force a save, or have any serious attempt
on goal until the 39th minute when ALVARO GONZALEZ fires in and was saved
comfortably .. .. 1-0 comfortably @ HT .. ..
2x
Much
more of the same from both sides in the 2H to start and in the 50th minute,
wunderkid JAMES RODRIGUEZ did it again > He's always in the right
place at the right time, huh?!?! Off a terrific cross from the L/Flank to JUAN
GUILLERMO CUADRADO rolling down the R/Box and athletically headed back across
the box to RODRIGUEZ in M/Box who first-timed his R/Footer to easily roll in
his brace .. ..
Much
more of the same from both sides in the 2H to start and in the 50th minute,
wunderkid JAMES RODRIGUEZ did it again > He's always in the right
place at the right time, huh?!?! Off a terrific cross from the L/Flank to JUAN
GUILLERMO CUADRADO rolling down the R/Box and athletically headed back across
the box to RODRIGUEZ in M/Box who first-timed his R/Footer to easily roll in
his brace .. ..
URU just didn't seriously threaten at all tonight, and the combination
of older legs and the whole SUAREZ farce, URU was a spent side as soon as they arrived
at the Maracana .. ..
The real question is, will this BRA side coming off an
emotional match, be able to hold down RODRIGUEZ & CUADRADO next week? I
doubt it = BRA will probably go out next FRI .. ..
COL
MoM:
JAMES RODRIGUEZ (club: Monaco)
How much longer will this wonder-orgasm continue?
And, he's not even a striker > He's a #10 .. .. I can't remember the last
time a 'relative' unknown hit the biggest stages and looks the best footballer
in decades .. .. Amazing!
URU
MoM: EDINSON CAVANI (club: Paris
Saint-Germain)
Called 'the
perfect son-in-law' by URU Manager OSCAR TABAREZ, his non-stop running proved
the only real threat for URU .. ..
=================================================================
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), Eder BALANTA
(COL), Oliver BOZANIC (AUS), Diego COSTA (ESP), Matteo DARMIAN (ITA), Lukas
DIGNE (FRA), Cedric DJEUGOUE (CMR), Antoine GRIEZMANN (FRA), Anel HADZIC (BIH),
Adnan JANUZAJ (BEL), Maksim KANUNNIKOV (RUS), Sead KOLASINAC (BIH), Aissa MANDI
(ALG), Gabriel PALETTA (ITA), Juan QUINTERO (COL), Morgan SCHNEIDERLIN (FRA),
Luke SHAW (ENG), Raheem STERLING (ENG), Tino SUSIC (BIH), Jose Juan VAZQUEZ
(MEX), Alex WILKINSON (AUS), YUN Suk-Young (KOR)
10W -- 11L
-- 5D
=================================================================
PANDO! or GORDO? SIDE OF THE TOURNAMENT
Manager:
Jorge Luis PINTO (CRC)
GK:
Keylor NAVAS (CRC) -- Guillermo OCHOA (MEX)
D: Matt BESLER (USA) -- 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) --
MF Juan
Guillermo CUADRADO (COL) -- F Olivier GIROUD (FRA) --
D Mats HUMMEL (GER) -- MF Luka MODRIC (CRO)
-- F Thomas MULLER (GER) --
MF OSCAR
(BRA) -- MF Andrea PIRLO (ITA) -- MF Paul POGBA (FRA) --
MF Juan
QUINTERO (COL) -- -- F Alexis SANCHEZ (CHI) ■ -- F Xherdan SHAQIRI (SUI) --
F Mathieu VALBUENA (FRA) -- F Enner VALENCIA (ECU) -- D 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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