World Cup 2014 - Group B: Preview & Analysis

link ?

 

Saw it on ESPN, though it was Van Neestleroy who said it

 

I heard del Bosque will now have to do something he's never done in his career before...




...Coach!

 

Pretty fair, but if it was him who said it, might as well believe that he thought of it even before they slaughtered Spain. It's not as if it were the kind of unbiased analysts.

Here in Chile, we also have a former NT player (Eduardo Bonvallet) whom comments regularly in the media, that we are destined to be next WC champion, and he has been saying it, since lots before last WC....

 

That is unimportant. Domination,possession,tikitaka.
Soccer is Defending, Attacking.
How to do that,

1. discipline, there were so many mistakes in the defense of Spain. From the Keeper to the defenders. How do you want to win this match?? On the other hand. netherland made is very good. Spain won 3 titles and they got 0 goals in knockout.
2. additude motivated, focused
3.Individual qualities. Spain didnt won 3 titles because they played tikitaka. They won 3 titles because the had or have the best players.

Spain had problems in discipline and additude.
And thats humanely It was not only the cups for Spain. Spanish teams dominated the european cups. Barcelona,Sevilla,Real Madrid, Valencia,Atletico Madrid. This year 3 Spanish teams in the finals. But for that all you need big discipline and additude. And then there comes the time where you has mentaly the totally full crash. But it was only one match. And it was great. Better losing 1:5 and and you can set the clock back to 0 and the additude and discipline comes back. Spain is not death.

On the otherhand. Netherland had a very good discipline and additude. They were very focused,aggressive, a bit foul a bit dirty. But thats OK. The quality of the netherland is maybe not as high as the quality of spain. But it is a world class team too. And after the bad european championschip in Poland/Ukraine and the critism in the country. They were very motivated.

 

But, how many Spain NT's players were starters in R.Madrid? Only 2(Casillas and Ramos) or 3 (but Alonso didn't play the Final por R.Madrid).

How many Atlético de Madrid's players are starters in Spain NT? Only 1 (the Brazilian-born, naturalized Spaniard Costa).

How many Sevilla's footballers played for Spain NT against Netherlands? No one.

Barcelona and Valencia didn't dominated this season, maybe you were referring to some years ago.

 

I only hope that for our next match-up against Spain, Vicente del Bosque doesn't use their "ace under the sleeve" mexican-born player, Mr. Marco Rodriguez, otherwise known as "chiquidracula".

Btw, Spain's black, alternative suit, would perfectly fit him.......

 

I agree. I think they matched well with Spain and its a bit too early to tell. Perhaps the game vs Chile will give us a better perspective.

 

When pique had puyol pulling the strings in defense, directing the defense, he was made to look world class. With puyol fading away with injuries for the past 3 years, pique has looked terrible. Puyol was a massive loss IMO.

 

whahahahahaha the better team losing 1-5. Sure..... It is not about possession. It is about what you do with it.

 

Sheesh... second time I've had to explain: the comment was meant to be sarcastic.

 

sorry I missed it too! ;-) sarcasm is a really tough to convey emotion in writing...

 

yeah yeah I responded before I read your first reply ;-) #knee-jerk

 

The proper spelling of the keeper's name is Ca5-1llas.

 

On to the next game... Blind with a minor injury, but seems like he can play. Biggest question is whether van Gaal will switch to 4-3-3 or stick with 5-3-2. Personally I think it'll be better to go for 4-3-3 with Lens for BMI.

 

Anyone else find it strange when, during the ESP-NED match, there were a few shots of some FIFA dudes like Platini, and whilst pretty much the whole stadium was going wild and cheering (except the Spanish), they looked as if their pet dog just died or were holding up a giant fart?

 

I think Netherlands has a strong chance to top the group or at least get ahead. It's a bit too early to say but the impression I have is that they're a pretty decent team. The one I find the least likely to get ahead is Australia, frankly.

I'm not sure between Spain and Chile. I want Chile to win and I'm rooting for them but I think Spain has a good chance too. Spain's team is rather flip-floppy, they seem to end up settling too early even at times when they should be more decisive and get moving. I feel like they spent most of the match against the Netherlands just passing the ball around the midfield, seemingly quite relaxed and taking the possession of the ball for granted, leaving gaps in-between that were relatively easy to break through. If they'd been bolder, kept their ranks closed, and advanced more decisively they could probably have scored a million times better. If they're in that mood, Chile can win. On the other hand, if they really set their minds to it and get to work in a way that makes a shred of sense... they can probably win over Chile quite easily.

 

The one issue that was lost for everyone in Group B, with the draw between Brazil and Mexico, is that now all the teams in group B, lost control on whom we are going to face at the next phase, as being 1st or 2nd, will not give certainty to no one if we could avoid confronting the home team, next round. This happens because both of the last 2 matches of group B will be played a couple of hours in advance of both matches of group A, so we at group B will not know if it is best to top the group or not, while for the teams in group A, they will be absolutely positive whom is going to be first and whom is going to be second in group B, so they can play their last game in the group, knowing which results can help them to face the opponent they prefer to confront, the next round.

I tend to believe that Brazil prefers to face us (Chile), because they usually slaughter us at their home, so even if we top the group, we might still be facing them the next phase. In regards to both Netherlands and Spain, I don't really know whom Brazil prefers as opponents in next round.

 

So I noticed as well. Is there a reason why the matches are played like that?

Anyways, hoping for a decent performance of the Netherlands tonight. Hope they dont get overconfident, because theyre just not as good as most people like to think they are now. Van Gaal will probably change to 4-3-3 with Lens on the wing instead of Vlaar. Personally I am hoping Depay will make an appearance, but like most Dutch media say, Van Gaal likely to stick with Lens, who did a pretty good job in qualifying.

Most predictions in Holland are going for a small dutch victory 1-0, 2-0. To be honest I hope we get a couple more goals, just to be on the safe side for the last match. If Spain defeats Chile with a narrow margin, I guess we can expect a frantic Chilean side for the last match.

 

Even though a Spain win would give us a little boost to our inexorable climb to World Cup victory at the Maracana in three weeks time it would be fun to see them knocked out within two games.

The Netherlands has never been able to defeat the mighty Socceroos and tonight will be no different.

 

The reason is very simple : Brazil is whom organized this whole WC, so when they organized it, they got sure to get certain relative advantages advantages all along the way in regards to everybody else (most hosts do the same thing, so it shouldn't surprise no one). Only at group phase, they get the benefit of having more hours of rest than their eventual opponents. Remember that when the draw took place, last year, it had Brazil as the seeded team in group A, even before the draw took place (it was not for nothing it was done this way)

To me, the Netherlands had a great day against Spain, but their big victory is nothing but a big surprise. It is not as if it could not be expected to have them beat Spain, as it was among the possibilities, but unexpected was the diference they established there. Both Spain and Netherlands are great teams, and whenever these results happen it is something you never expect. Before the match was played, I believe that no one in Netherlands expected something like this to happen, but lots thought it was possible to defeat them, the same as to be defeated by them.

I hope Australia beats you guys. It's not personal. It is just what benefits the most, my team. (as a fan)
If not, then lets hope you defeat them by 2 goals, the same way we defeat Spain by 4 goals, so in that last match all odds be 50 % the same for both teams, to pass as 1st or 2nd in the group.

In any case, (as a football fan not bonded to any team), good luck today !

 

Ok let's stop being boring. Just like with Spain we got some scores to settle with Australia (6-1 field hockey defeat in World Cup final) so I'd say 7-1 for Holland tonight.

 

Suspected something like that, o well I still expect brazil to top their group and will hope for Holland to top ours.enough speculation already, can't wait !!!!!

 

Why would you expect that? Australia's strength in field hockey is of great utility to the national football team. Our shared knowledge of Dutch weakness will be on devastating display tonight.