World Cup 2014 – Group B Update

With the blink of an eye we find ourselves in the final round of group games in what has been interesting with plenty of goals from the outset.

Who could forget the great result for the Dutch against Spain in the opening game or the Australians running the Dutch very close in their second game that ended with the Netherlands winning 3-2? This group has given us a few surprises, some very good football, some excellent goals and some battling performances that have kept us on our toes.

Two games left in the final matches of the group that saw the Netherlands take on Chile and Spain against Australia.  The latter two teams had already been eliminated from the World Cup so that game was really only ever about pride, avoiding three losses in a row and trying not to finish in bottom position.

Australia 0 – 3 Spain

• Arena da Baixada, Curitiba – Attendence 39,375
• Referee – Nawaf Shukralla
• Spain goals – Villa, Torres, Mata
• Bookings – Spiranovic, Jedinak, Ramos

The reigning champions went into this encounter trying to salvage a poor tournament by their high standards set in recent years.  Australia would also want to go out with a good account of themselves and the hope of grabbing something from this game following some very good hard fought performances.

As expected, Spain dominated possession with plenty of shots on target but it was not until the ten minutes before the break that the deadlock was broken. Striker David Villa converted with a well taken goal from a cross out on the right that he finished with a clever reverse side-foot past the outstretched keeper.

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres added to the scoreline for Spain with twenty minutes to go which pretty much put the game out of the reach for the brave Socceroos. They were missing the presence of Tim Cahill, having previously retired from International football after the last game, and because he was also suspended for the encounter against the Spaniards.

Midfielder Juan Mata slotted home late on to seal victory for the Spaniards but this will be scant consolation for a tournament where they never really got going and where the passing and goal conversions were not at the standard that we have come to expect. David Villa left the pitch in tears as it was a game signalling the end of his International career.

Despite the loss in the final game, Australia can go home with their heads held high. The did end up finishing bottom of the group but showed some great spirit at times and are certainly a work in progress that are bound to be present at the next World Cup. Spain need to go away, have a good look at what went wrong and take these lessons into building a new look team and perhaps playing style for the Euros in two years time.

Netherlands 2 – 0 Chile

• Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo – Attendence 62,996
• Referee – Bakary Gassama
• Netherlands goals – Fer, Depay
• Bookings – Blind, Silva

The Dutch and the Chileans had already beaten both Spain and Australia in the first two games leaving them free to battle for top spot in their final group game. The game involved the very good and improving Dutch team against a very exciting, flamboyant and cavalier Chile side that was bound to be highly entertaining.

Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations with a bit of a scrappy and physical affair as both sides looked to save their legs for what lies ahead in the next round of the competition.

Chile actually dominated in many respects with around two thirds of the overall possession but the Netherlands had over double the amount of shots so used their possession better in creating more chances. This pattern was to come home to roost when the first goal arrived late in the game and was the foundation for gaining the Oranje top spot and pushing the Chilean team into second place.

The main issue in this game was that both teams severely lacked a target man to lead the line and as a result the game had a lot of build up from both sides but little or no end result.  A cunning substitution from the Dutch saw the arrival of the tall figure of Leroy Fer from Norwich City whose height was a key factor when he latched on to the ball in the Chilean box and headed home confidently to take the lead with just over ten minutes to go.

The South Americans battled back a little but did not really threaten with any menace until the game was put completely out of their reach in the last minute with a tap in from Memphis Depay. The goal followed a trademark pacey run and cross from Arjen Robben leaving Depay very little to do with his effort.

As mentioned in the previous article, although this game meant little with regards to qualification it was a game about avoiding the hosts Brazil in the second round which would be the booby prize for finishing runners up in Group B.

Looking Ahead

For securing second spot, Chile will face Brazil in the last sixteen. Brazil have not really impressed anybody as yet and have not really ever looked composed at any point due to massive public pressure. 

Despite being a great looking team on paper they do not really have an out and out striker and only Neymar seems to be able to score regularly at present. This lack of fire power and potential single point of failure may be vital in progressing into the quarter finals. 

The game against Chile is bound to be a tough affair as the South Americans are capable of a very good passing game that is built on stretching and attacking the opposition. Brazil’s defence has looked very fragile at times and is definitely their achilles heal and one that is bound to be exposed by the Chilean strike force. Chile are also built on a good and organised defence so, keeping Neymar out of the game is likely to be a massive factor in progressing. 

This passionate South American draw is surely due to be a very good encounter and it is expected that the Chileans will be back at their best with key players back in the team. With all of this in mind, it would not be a surprise if Chile progress to leave the hosts to mop up the tears of a massive country and the favourites expectations.

Van Gaal’s Oranje side will face Mexico who beat Croatia to make the second round. In a tournament that has revolved around either great team performances with no star players such as Mexico or great personal performances from star players amongst a relatively average team (e.g. Messi, Neymar, Benzema), this game looks to be an interesting match up. 

Mexico do not concede many goals and generally do not score many either with the exception of the game against Croatia.  What Mexico have in abundance is organisation, team spirit and results built on a joint team effort rather than relying on stand out individuals.

The Netherlands on the other hand are pretty good in all positions but have two very good individuals in the shape of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.  The Netherlands are also a team that have enjoyed scoring lots of goals in this tournament already and also scored loads in their qualifying campaign.

Two very different teams will take to the field in this competition so it will be a case of which style wins the day and also whether key individuals can be kept quiet.  The key is if Robben and van Persie can be kept out of the game, then the Mexicans have a good change at progressing.  However. if the likes of Robben and van Persie are able to influence the game then it must surely be the Netherlands that proceed into the second round.

Final Group Standings