Now Germany out too… say what you like about how boring Oranje are, but at least they survived (won!) the group
Any team that defeated both Spain and Germany deserve to advance and respect , and Japan deserves them. The coach prepare a good plan and the players execute it well.
South Korea scored near the end of the game with Son counter attack, hold the ball and fed the perfect pass to Hwang Hee-Chan who clinically converted. I don't think any of Janssen, Luuk, or Weghorst can do that. S.Korea now has a date with Brazil with the winner facing the winner of Croatia-Japan while the top of bracket has Netherlands-USA and Argentina-Australia. 3 Asian teams in the 2nd round, an impressive performance of Asian teams so far in this tournanment. 2 African teams are in Morocco and Senegal, and one from North/Central America. We will see. Yesterday and today's matches are very exciting to watch.
Group stage concluded. Oranje’s path to glory did not come out as a surprise, it was just as expected… USA, Argentina and Brazil — then the Final if they do indeed pass the death row
the other bracket is more difficult. Both South Korea and Japan are well organized teams and can frustrate Brazil. I don't think it's a done deal that they will win through.
Did not know that US coach Greg Berhalter played in the Eredivisie in the late 1990s: https://www.ajaxshowtime.com/bijzak...derland-ajax-was-zo-goed-in-mijn-eerste-jaren When he was at Sparta his club beat Ajax managed by none other than van Gaal.
The 3 teama may not survive past round of 16 but it is the first time Asia has more teams than Africa, S.America or N-C America.
My knee-jerk (without doing a ton of thinking or research) prediction on the R16: - USA and Senegal will take Oranje and England to the final whistle (possibly even ET), but in the end, the latter two teams have enough quality to survive and move on. - Switzerland could make it interesting as well, even upset if Portugal are not careful. Either way, this will be low-scoring and gritty match. - Japan are in cloud nine, and will be playing with tail wind. They will deliver Croatia a knockout blow. - Argentina, Brazil, France, and Spain will register routine wins. They have too much firepower relative to their oppositions.
It's quite funny the connections between the Orange Squad and the USA in the past have been with Greg/Louis and Cody/Christian and now they meet as World Cup opponents.
Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles are both out injured and will not play in any of the remaining Brazil matches. Still not sure that Neymar plays. As I noted in the prelude to this WC, injuries would play a crucial role given the compressed scheduling.
Cannot give Messi space and time near 16m50, his left foot will hurt you. Australia needs to be better with set piece and long distance to have a chance.
I want a repeat of Dennis Bergkamp’s decisive goal in WC 98 Quarter Final match v. Argentina!!! Only now from Blind to Gakpo or Memphis (or anybody really, I couldn’t care less as long as it’s the winning goal! )
Oh, I was thinking the last time Oranje met Argentina in the Quarter Final of a World Cup… That was a thriller!
I'd like to see Netherlands score goal like the 1st goal of France vs Poland today, and prevent such thing from Argentina. Mbappe probably practiced his shot using the below net which I hear England players are practicing penalty kick since they lost to Italy in Euro final. 2 goals today, 16 in the last 14, leading all goalscorers with 5. He is making a statement that he is the best.
Gulp. I was dead wrong.... Both Oranje and England advanced quite comfortably. England looked really good today, especially their attacking front. Their matchup v. France would be fun to watch from a neutral perspective. Could be raining goals!
Looks like Japan did not practice PK's... three incredibly weak penalties in the shootout Promptly sent home. Geez... I wish LVG instructed Oranje players to practice a lot on PK's. Shoot the ball hard and on target like there's no tomorrow!!
He is the best manager of any team in the tournament. I'm sure he has taken into account the possibility of penalties.
Surprisingly not many long distance goal. Where is Koeman or Jonk or Seedorf? Koop probably can but his play is not impressive so not much playing time. Brazil is just toying now. Japan probably had the best chance to upset. Can Switzerland pull it off? Still European and 2 South American teams, and (5 former champs, 2 finalists and either 1 semi finalist /1 new team).