Match 51: NETHERLANDS
v. MEXICO 
16
16
Date: Sunday June 29, 2014
Venue: Estadio Castelao,
FORTALEZA
PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!
WHAT? YOU DON'T LIKE CHESS MATCHES? I DO!
It was always going to be a very pragmatic, tactical match like this
> 97 degrees on the pitch, a probably overcooked EURO side versus a
counterattacking CONCACAF side .. .. It always seemed that there was going to
be just one goal today, and so far so good .. ..
1
Main action early on was a surprising NED sub in just the 9th minute
when NIGEL DE JONG had to come out and went straight to the dressing rooms ..
.. hmmm .. .. MEX narrowly looked the livelier side and crushed some decent
long bombs .. .. NED didn't have their first shot until ROBIN VAN PERSIEs
errant try in the 27th minute .. .. As the 1H scorched on, NED came forward on
the flanks, surprising considering they only used 3 crosses in their last match
v. CHL and only 5 against AUS .. .. When the chance came, they
sent in 4
crosses in the 1H .. .. Main action early on was a surprising NED sub in just the 9th minute
when NIGEL DE JONG had to come out and went straight to the dressing rooms ..
.. hmmm .. .. MEX narrowly looked the livelier side and crushed some decent
long bombs .. .. NED didn't have their first shot until ROBIN VAN PERSIEs
errant try in the 27th minute .. .. As the 1H scorched on, NED came forward on
the flanks, surprising considering they only used 3 crosses in their last match
v. CHL and only 5 against AUS .. .. When the chance came, they
h20
(31:15)
(31:15)
There was only that 1 shot for NED in the 1H and 6 for MEX, including
some pretty good rips from outside the box; 0-0 @ HT .. ..
2
It
was just an ordinary start to a 2H, but just three minutes in, GIOVANI DOS
SANTOS chests down a pass on top of the 'D', hit his L/Footer through 3
markers, and by the time JASPER CILLESSEN saw the ball, it was past him >
L/Right .. .. Of course, NED went into attack mode after that and heaped loads,
and loads of pressure upon MEX .. .. GUILLERMO OCHOA was unbeatable after a
point-blank header from STEFAN DE VRIJ in the 57thj minute saw OCHOA beat off
the header and off the post .. .. Then he stopped ARJEN ROBBEN by closing off
the 5-hole .. .. Can he be beaten? Ever?
It
was just an ordinary start to a 2H, but just three minutes in, GIOVANI DOS
SANTOS chests down a pass on top of the 'D', hit his L/Footer through 3
markers, and by the time JASPER CILLESSEN saw the ball, it was past him >
L/Right .. .. Of course, NED went into attack mode after that and heaped loads,
and loads of pressure upon MEX .. .. GUILLERMO OCHOA was unbeatable after a
point-blank header from STEFAN DE VRIJ in the 57thj minute saw OCHOA beat off
the header and off the post .. .. Then he stopped ARJEN ROBBEN by closing off
the 5-hole .. .. Can he be beaten? Ever?
h20
(75:20) Did the second water-break help NED; hmmm .. .. interesting ..
..
(75:20) Did the second water-break help NED; hmmm .. .. interesting ..
..
Just
3 minutes from glory, the set-piece bogeyman again bit MEX when off a CK, the
broken play saw the ball drop to WESLEY SNJEIDER in the L/Box and he gratefully
crushed it > L/Left to equalize .. .. ARJEN ROBBEN, who constantly abused
RAFA MARQUEZ down the R/Flank throughout the 2H, finally was rewarded for his
hard work when he forced MARQUEZ to the ground and drew the PK in the 94+ minute
which saw KLAAS-JAN HUNTELAAR easily convert his R/Footer > L/Left ..
..
The
supposed 1H ROBBEN PK was not one, the ball was behind him anyways .. .. And,
ROBBEN probably deserved the last PK call > That's always the chance you
take when you have a paceless backline, and it finally burned MEX .. ..
MEX
deserved the lead, and NED deserved the win .. .. And, to think NED won
starting a guy getting just third cap for NED (PAUL VERHAEGH), losing tough guy
DE JONG after just 9 minutes and getting nothing from VAN PERSIE .. .. One
would think NED could do better .. ..
NED
MoM:
WESLEY SNEIJDER (club: Galatasaray)
Kinda quiet in the Festival thus far, but finally
came good when NED needed him and did he ever .. .. Perhaps in his last WC, the
enigmatic SNEIJDER can carry NED when he wants, and also spur on any discontent
as well .. ..
MEX
MoM: GIOVANI
DOS SANTOS (club: Villareal)
25YO had not
scored for MEX in forever, and he finally did tonight .. .. Had been terrific
in Spain .. ..
=================================================================
Match 51: COSTA RICA v.
GREECE 
16
16
Date: Sunday June 29, 2014
Venue: Arena Pernambuco, RECIFE
PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!
CONCACAF HATES STOPPAGE-TIME!!
In a WORLD CUP FESTIVAL that everyone complains that nobody plays
defence, now everybody wants more offense? After watching two of the best
defences in BRA? CRCs brilliant quasi-offside trap and GREs all-hands-on-deck
philosophies showed everyone that defence is all about hustle & teamwork ..
.. Reckon it's just not something most people like to emphasize .. .. But I've always loved the TICOs, Loved Them!!!
1 CRC put themselves under pressure in the 1H with a few careless TOs and
oonly had 2 shots in the 1H .. .. Surprisingly, GRE looked spry and lively as
they came forward more often than CRC and had their best chance in the 37th
minute off a terrific deep cross from the R/Flank that found DIMITRIOS
SALPINGIDIS getting off a point-blank shot that KELYOR NAVAS brilliant
leg-saved as he was leaning in the opposite direction .. ..
CRC put themselves under pressure in the 1H with a few careless TOs and
oonly had 2 shots in the 1H .. .. Surprisingly, GRE looked spry and lively as
they came forward more often than CRC and had their best chance in the 37th
minute off a terrific deep cross from the R/Flank that found DIMITRIOS
SALPINGIDIS getting off a point-blank shot that KELYOR NAVAS brilliant
leg-saved as he was leaning in the opposite direction .. ..
GRE has been coming forward more and more this Festival > 4 v. COL,
9 v. JPN & 11 v. IVC .. .. And, they have already created 5 in the 1H alone
.. .. GRE looks livelier and more likely to grab the first score; 0-0 @ HT ..
..
2 Much like the first game, the opening score came early in the 2H when BRIAN
RUIZ took the very first cross of the 2H at the top of the 'D', first-timed
his L/Footer and rolled it > L/Right for the 1-0 lead .. .. CRC made life
difficult for themselves when OSCAR DUARTE was rightly given his second YC ..
..
Much like the first game, the opening score came early in the 2H when BRIAN
RUIZ took the very first cross of the 2H at the top of the 'D', first-timed
his L/Footer and rolled it > L/Right for the 1-0 lead .. .. CRC made life
difficult for themselves when OSCAR DUARTE was rightly given his second YC ..
..
Of course, GRE bombed forward (13 crosses + 7 attacking set-pieces)
trying to beat the seemingly-impregnable KEYLOR NAVAS ad in stoppage time (91+
minute) they finally broke through .. .. Off another point-blank save by NAVAS,
the ball fell nicely for SOKRATIS at the penalty spot, and although he
drove his volley straight into the ground, the bounce was enough to fly in to
goal over NAVAS' outstretched hand; 1-1 @ FT .. ..
xtra
1H)
GRE continued to throw themselves forward (7 crosses + 3 attacking set-pieces)
in first-15 and CRC heroically held tight with no real chances for GRE .. ..
1H)
GRE continued to throw themselves forward (7 crosses + 3 attacking set-pieces)
in first-15 and CRC heroically held tight with no real chances for GRE .. ..
2H)
NAVAS, just as he has all Festival long, has stopped everything anyone has
thrown at him and every time GRE tried to come forward, he got in the way .. ..
Running on fumes, GRE stumbled forward (6 crosses + 3 attacking set-pieces) in
the final-15 and CRC heroically stood strong despite being a man down for the
final 54 cramp-wrenching minutes .. ..
gk
TERRIFIC
PK SHOOTOUT! Only a single player missed and that turned to be the decider
.. .. Five terrific PKs by CRC; BORGES, RUIZ, GONZALEZ, CAMPBELL & UMANA!
Then a terrific D/Right, one-handed save by Superman NAVAS gets little CRC into
the QUARTER-FINALS .. .. I always knew it .. .. And, they are going to give
NED all they can handle .. ..
TERRIFIC
PK SHOOTOUT! Only a single player missed and that turned to be the decider
.. .. Five terrific PKs by CRC; BORGES, RUIZ, GONZALEZ, CAMPBELL & UMANA!
Then a terrific D/Right, one-handed save by Superman NAVAS gets little CRC into
the QUARTER-FINALS .. .. I always knew it .. .. And, they are going to give
NED all they can handle .. ..
CRC
MoM:
KEYLOR NAVAS (club: Levante)
Impossible to give, or do, anything more than he
has for Club & Country, obviously .. .. Came to BRA as one of the top-10
GKs in the world, and may now be TE BEST GK IN THE WORLD!!
GRE
MoM: SOKRATIS (club:
Borussia Dortmund)
Hulking GRE
defender who drives around GER in a tiny FIAT Mini .. .. Yes, he hit his
rebound into the ground, but it in, didn't it?
=================================================================
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)
D: Matt BESLER (USA) -- David LUIZ
(BRA)
M: Jermaine JONES (USA) -- Arjen ROBBEN (NED) --
Brian RUIZ (CRC) -- 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) --
GK Guillermo OCHOA (MEX) -- 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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