This will be the third time the Netherlands have reached the FIFA World Cup final as they look to win their first ever cup. Holland fell to hosts West Germany in the ’74 final and also lost to hosts Argentina in the ’78 cup final. The Netherlands are thrilled to not play the host country as it truly is an advantage for the host country.
To beat Spain, Holland will have to stay patient in the back and finish their scoring chances. Spain plays a very technical game and are fine with keeping possession as long as possible to create scoring opportunities. Holland are also superb in keeping possession of the ball but Spain is just too good in the midfield.
If Holland can get an early goal they could possibly win the match. Spain has shown throughout the tournament that they struggle to find the back of the net. As much as the Spanish backs get involved in the attack, Holland has the talent to punish Spain on the counter. Even as Spain dominated Germany in the semifinal, the Germans still had some decent opportunities to take the lead with their best play maker(Muller) on the bench.
Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben will have to pick their chances to attack the Spanish defense wisely. Sneijder has been the player of the tournament so far and Robben looks unstoppable going forward. Robin Van Persie needs to be a bit more creative but I expect him to have a huge game. The Spanish center back combination of Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique has been stellar only allowing 1 goal so far and it was in the opening match.
The Netherlands have been the best team on paper so far but will fall to Spain on Sunday. Spain will control the match from the first whistle and win 2-0.
Here is the fan reaction to the semifinal victory to send them to the finals!
The lone African country remaining in the 2010 FIFA World cup, Ghana, fell 4-2 in penalty kicks to Uruguay. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and stayed scoreless throughout the overtime periods. Ghana were the better team for the majority of the match, but both nations had great chances at goal to win the game in regulation and in the overtime periods.
Ghana took the lead in the 45th minute when Sulley Muntari’s shot from 30 yards out dipped and danced its way past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. It was a great finish by Muntari, as he struck it perfectly allowing the controversial Adidas Jubalani to move like crazy.
Diego Forlan took things into his own hands as he tied the match in the 55th minute with a free kick from 20 yards out. Forlan hit it perfectly and surprised goalkeeper Richard Kingson, as the ball dipped just underneath the crossbar.
After back and forth action the game ended 1-1. Both teams looked exhausted at the start of overtime until Ghana took over showing their athleticism. Ghana had numerous chances to get the winner but the Uruguayan back line stayed tight.
The drama began in the 120th minute when Ghana were awarded a free kick at the corner of the 18 yard box. After a goal line clearance fromm the Uruguayan defense, Asamoah Gyan’s second attempt looked headed for the net, but Luis Suarez intentionally used his hands to stop it to earn a straight red card.
Gyan stepped up with the game on the line and hit the crossbar to end the match. Gyan had Muslera beat to the left side but couldn’t keep the ball down. Uruguay were given life when they thought all was lost.
In the shootout Gyan would come back and hit his penalty in the upper 90 to make up for his miss, but it wasn’t enough as Muslera came up huge with 2 great saves in the shootout to lead Uruguay to a 4-2 win.
This is a heartbreaking way for any team to lose but Ghana should be extremely proud of their run. They were the youngest team in this years tournament and will be major contenders four years from now in Brazil.
At the beginning of the game Brazil was 35-0-2 when leading at halftime in the World Cup. After going up a goal before halftime into today’s match, the number one team in the world broke that streak falling to the Dutch 2-1, in the first match of the quarterfinals.
Brazil opened up the match totally dominating the boys in orange. In the 10th minute Robinho made a great diagonal run behind the Dutch defense and put his side up a goal. Felipe Melo sent an amazing ball from midfield right down the heart of the opposition’s defense and Robinho calmly tucked the ball away.
In the 31st minute Brazil nearly went up two goals if not for some very acrobatic goaltending. After some great combination passing Kaka found himself with an open shot from the top of the box. The shot was headed right for the upper ninety but Netherland keeper Maarten Stekelenburg made what could be the save of the tournament, to keep his side down a goal.
After halftime Holland came out putting much more pressure on the Brazilians and slowly gained the momentum in the match. In the 53rd minute Brazil Allowed its first own goal in its illustrious World Cup career off a Wesley Sneijder shot from outside the eighteen.
Arguably one of the best keepers in the world, Julio Cesar, tried to come out and punch the ball out but hit his own player instead, causing the ball to deflect off of Melo and into the back of the net.
In the 68th minute every jaw in the world dropped to the floor, when the Flying Dutchmen scored on a corner kick to go up 2-1.
Arjen Robben sent a low ball to the near post and Dirk Kuyt flicked the ball into the middle of the six-yard box. Sneijder, the smallest man on the field at 5’7”, used every inch of his frame to send the ball into the corner of the goal. It was a terrific goal and for the first time in the tournament the Brazilians looked to be on their heels.
In the 73rd minute Melo lost all composure when he was sent off with a straight red. After Robben fell to the ground for about the fiftieth time, Melo had had enough and stomped on the back of his leg with his cleats. Melo let his team and nation down as his side would play the rest of the game a man down.
Brazil could never regain the momentum in the match and were lucky not to get beat four to one. Dunga will have some serious explaining to do as his entire country has been criticizing his style of play. Brazil will not stand for anything besides being world champions and someone’s head has to roll.
Brazil will have to wait another four years to win its sixth World Cup, when they play host to the tournament in 2014, but don’t count on Dunga being at the helm.
As the U.S. national team looks back on its performance from the FIFA World Cup, serious staff questions need to be answered. The biggest question of all is whether the United States Soccer Federation will retain Bob Bradley or look elsewhere for leadership. After their heartbreaking overtime loss to Ghana, the federation is going to let things settle and will wait until after the tournament is completed to start looking towards the future.
In the first match of the cup the U.S. tied international powerhouse England 1-1, to get off to a great start. The story of this summers tournament started here even though the Americans received a great result. Steven Gerrard punished the soft American defense in just the 4th minute of the match and if not for the biggest mistake by a goalkeeper in World Cup history, the U.S. would have lost.
Once again in the Americans second match the start was unbearable to watch. The U.S. saw itself down 2-0 to Slovenia at the half, which made Bradley change his tactics and make some key substitutions. After great goals from Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley got the U.S. even, Maurice Edu’s excellent finish, which would have won the match was disallowed by referee Koman Coulibaly.
It was a great comeback for the point, and yes Coulibaly screwed us, but we shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place. Bradley’s defense once again was soft to start the match and were punished as any team would have playing at this level. Bradley had to come away from this match excited for how is team played the second half but worried about his squads second consecutive slow start.
Needing a win to guarantee a spot in the knockout stage the U.S. played a gritty Algerian squad who also had a slight chance to advance, but seemed to be content with a draw with the favored Americans. After back and forth action for the last 10 minutes of the match Donovan scored one of the greatest goals in U.S. history to win Group C in extra time.
As you can see in this unbelievable video of U.S. soccer fans after Donovan’s goal, this team had finally caught the attention of the American Public.
In the knockout round the U.S. fell 2-1 to Ghana in overtime after regulation finished at 1-1. Ghana once again got through the soft U.S. defense in just the 5th minute after Ricardo Clark lost the ball at midfield to grab the early lead. Bradley made some key substitutions and his team took control of the match in the second half and were unlucky to not come away with the win.
Asamoah Gyan scored 2 minutes into the first overtime period once again punishing a soft U.S. back-line. Throughout the rest of the overtime the U.S. had some decent chances to tie it once again but didn’t have the legs to comeback.
Questions Bob Bradley will have to answer to keep his job:
How did you prepare your team before each match? The U.S. allowed soft early goals in 3 of its 4 matches and also just 2 minutes into overtime in the knockout stage.
How were you instructing your center backs to play? Throughout the tournament Jay Demerit, Oguchi Onyewu, and Carlos Bocanegra were victimized time and time again for not putting pressure on the ball and retreating as players took them on.
Where was Oguchi Onyewu the last 2 matches? Onyewu did not have his best performances is the first two matches but with his speed and size in the center he should have been used especially in the last match.
What made you think Robbie Findlay could succeed at this level? Robbie Findlay started 3 out of 4 matches at forward and never was a threat to opposing defenses. Yes, Findlay has incredible speed but does not possess the technical ability to score goals at this level.
Why was Edson Buddle not used more? Buddle came into the tournament as the hottest goalscorer in the MLS and even scored two goals in their last friendly with Australia. Looking back, Bradley has to question himself on not getting him on the pitch more.
Why was Ricardo Clark inserted back into the starting 11 against Ghana? Clark started and played well in the first match against England but his giveaway started the lone England goal. In the Ghana match, Clark once again gave the ball up in the midfield and Ghana punished them.
Why was Benny Feilhaber not used more? Feilhaber was questionably the best player throughout the tournament for the Americans. Why would Bradley continue to use him as a substitute?
In my opinion Bradley should be let go after the tournament is completed. The main goal Bradley put in front of his players was to get out of group play. Why not have the goal be to win the tournament? At least get to the semifinals! The American public should not stand for these results. We are people who demand the best and demand we win international competitions. There is NO reason why we should lose to a country as small as Ghana. I mean we have 300 million people to choose from. Why can’t we find 11 people to put on a soccer field?
Bradley has been under some heat for some time now and shouldn’t keep this prestige position. We should go back and try to get Juergen Klinsmann or a younger coach who can relate better with the players. The youth development here is on the right track and all we need is the right person to lead the way. NOT BOB BRADLEY!
After finishing last in Group B with two losses and a tie, the President of Nigeria has banned his country from international competition for the next 2 years. President Goodluck Jonathan endorsed the idea to completely dissolve the Nigerian Football Federation and start from scratch.
I’m not sure how exactly FIFA will respond to this as the organization is completely against governments getting involved with their national soccer teams. For Nigeria’s sake this looks like the only thing they could have done to get control of their program. I do however question the 2 year ban as that could be used as time to get comfortable with the new direction they are going in.
This will be the third time the Netherlands have reached the FIFA World Cup final as they look to win their first ever cup. Holland fell to hosts West Germany in the ’74 final and also lost to hosts Argentina in the ’78 cup final. The Netherlands are thrilled to not play the host country as it truly is an advantage for the host country.
