Classy Klaas serves the Cheeseheads well...
30/06/14 02:10
Day 17 in the Footcall house...
After all the drama of the penalties yesterday, the next wave of knockout games were upon us and first up it was the return of the orange army, The Netherlands. They were facing the dynamic Mexicans and just like the Brazil game we were treated to an epic duel.
The first challenge for the two teams was the Fortalezan heat, it was a blistering 39 degrees pitch side! Maybe the South Americans were somewhat more accustomed to it than the Dutch, I got the feeling that given the pale skin of some of the Europeans they might well end up the same colour as their shirts. I tell you how hot it was, there were two 'official' drinks breaks in the middle of each half, thoughts sprung to mind of Jack Charlton trying to get fluids out to his Irish team in Florida in 94! This might now become a regular feature within excessively hot conditions, I wonder if the opposite will apply? How about when it's four degrees below on a frozen pitch at Sheffield United in the depths of February, will all the players be able to sneak off for cup of Bovril and a Yorkie? :-) Some of the fans even had to move out of the direct sunlight and seek shade with certain parts of the stand for fear of spontaneous combustion like one Spinal Tap's drummers!
Like the pitch temperature, the first half of this match was on fire and all it needed was a goal. It was a terrific half with plenty of chances but it finished nil nil. After the break Mexico steamrollered Holland and their acclimatisation paid off as former Tottenham striker, Giovanni Dos Santos dispatched the ball inside the right hand upright - he certainly never did that for Spurs! Now the game really sprung to life and Holland pushed for an equaliser.
Yet again this World Cup has thrown up a new hero, this time in Mexican keeper, Guillermo Ochoa. He saved a point blank save from the head of de Vrij and then again with his feet from Robben. Sadly though his luck ran out with less than three minutes to go as Wesley Sneijder blasted the ball into the back of the net to make it all square. It was looking for all the world like we were heading to extra time again but Arjen Robben had other ideas as he danced his way through to the touch line where he was fouled by Mexican captain Rafael Marquez. In his inimitable style Robben went down like and extra from Call Of Duty and even though there might have been the faintest of touches you just knew he made a meal of it. So we were beyond the 90 and super sub Klaas Jan Huntelaar stepped up to slide the ball in the bottom left corner. Goooooallll! The Dutch fell on each other to celebrate, the Mexicans fell on their knees. Holland were through but just like Brazil, it was a narrow escape. Meanwhile 90% of Footcallers exhaled in unison as The Netherlands move into the Quarters.
The evening match in Recife was perhaps not quite as tasty an encounter. This time Costa Rica were sparring with Greece whilst we had the distraction of Dolly Parton on the red spot. I was flicking between the two but settled back on the footie cos the Queen of Country seemed more interested in story telling than singing. The first half was somewhat unremarkable barring the daring feats of Navas in goal for Costa Rica. On paper (what is this paper we keep talking about?) were the darlings of Group D having topped the group and were a really tight set of players that played much like a club team. Greece on the other hand were the rough and ready boys, some of which were nearing old age in football terms, but they certainly knew all the tricks.
In the second half mishit a side footed shot and it slid into the bottom right corner to put the Costa Ricans one up. Soon after they should have been awarded a penalty as the ball hit the hand of the Greek defender in the box. Fortunately for Greece the ref didn't see it despite the protestations from the South Americans. Things became even worse moments later as Duarte got sent off for Costa Rica for a second bookable. This was not looking good. Towards the end of the game Greece were making their extra many pay and they were really pushing for the equaliser. Just like the Dutch earlier in the day, their persistence paid off as Papastathopoulos (yes I did copy and paste that ;-) bounced the ball over the top of the helpless Navas to send it into extra time.
ET was not phoning home, the ground was alive and rocking like a Glasto headliner. Both teams wanted the win and both keepers had to bust a nut to keep their nation afloat but another thirty minutes passed and it was crystal meth time again... PENALTIES!
Now the penalties yesterday were not the finest quality, and I hope the Brazilians were watching this as we were treated to a fine display of spot kicks. The first seven were impeccable and as we got to the nitty gritty it was Greeks who faltered first as Theofanis Gekas failed to convert and it was cometh the hour cometh the man, Mr Navas who literally saved the day. Well not quite, as Michael Umana still had to score to secure the victory. Well he kept his focused and dispatched just as well as any of his colleagues had done previously. Queue the Costa Rican Celebrations! This was the first time their nation had ever got to the Quarter Finals of a World Cup.
And so to the Footcall League...
Richard is hanging on to the top spot and the top seven have all selected the correct teams to win so far. A few gamblers have started to slip, Andy Brunt is now heading the wrong way whilst Nick Rowland along with Darryl Farmer & John Fox move up.
I heard that Paul Wakefield (27th) had plumped for Mexico to go all the way, I guess he was nostalgically thinking about how well they performed in the Olympics. Sadly that was the Under 21 team and these were the big boys and like Paul their race is run.
I think the results over the next couple of days will sort us out, what we really need is a shock victory for one of the underdogs.
We shall see...
David