1. Croatia – Malta

Croatia beat Malta, no surprises there.  The only reason I start with this match is its status as a qualifier.  And to talk about Niko Kranjcar.  Harry Redknapp is unappreciative of the obviously gifted Croatian and the rumors are flying that he’s looking to leave.  I’d urge Mr. Redknapp to reconsider, especially after this performance.

While a brace against Malta is no brace against Spain, Kranjcar is the sort of player that Spurs should learn to manage in order to become more competitive.  He’s got the goods to play for a top team, and a sale to an EPL club would hurt their ambition.  With Lennon still not delivering, and over reliance  on Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart becoming problematic in the face of injuries, why not give Kranjcar a spot as a right sided attacking midfielder?

Next was Argentina against Brazil in Qatar…

2. Argentina – Brazil

Although Argentina won, I have more to say about Brazil, but first – Mr. Messi.  The real positive for Argentina is that Messi can have a so-so night and still decide to run half the length of the pitch before nutmegging his marker with a low shot that beats the keeper.  Sure it was only one goal and the defense didn’t seem to be moving at 100% pace, but a friendly of this nature is never a friendly.  Second, praise for Javier Pastore, who scored a hat trick this weekend but only partially showed why a big club will almost certainly splash out big money for him this summer.  If he gels with the Argentina front three Los Albiceleste will be a horrifying opponent for everyone.

That being said, Brazil to me looked better on the pitch.  If this were a league fixture I’d say a point a piece would be fair, but since only reputations (in a friendly) were at stake, I doubt many of the players, especially the veterans, will be beating themselves up too much about the loss.

A positive they can take from this is that Ronaldinho is not finished for them.  He was perhaps too much of a fantasia (an attempted back heel goal might have been buried by a swivel and hard shot) but it was his first performance for Brazil since Dunga had decided on the players he would take to the World Cup.

Lastly, Chelsea should take heart from Ramires’ wonderful performances at the center of the pitch.  He was a great marker but also wasn’t a bad when Brazil needed men forward.  If Carlo Ancelotti was watching, he might be considering how to tinker with the Chelsea lineup to get such efforts out of the Brazilian.

3. England – France

England lose and France win; an ancient rivalry marks another event; what else can we take from this?  It certainly seems that Laurent Blanc has go his players singing the national anthem; Fabio Capello doesn’t seem nearly as interested in making his England players display the same patriotic feelings.

As for football matters, the French deserved their victory.  They created more clear chances and looked the senior team, although they, like the Three Lions, had a fresher look about them than the teams of South Africa 2010.  While France’s new faces might be more a matter of long term plan than England’s (which may have been more injury related), the integration has been done more smoothly.

With players who have amassed plenty of club caps but fewer international caps (Adil Rami, Mathieu Valbuena), Les Blues played a more balanced game.  There were no Kieran Gibbs on the pitch for France, a player thrown into England with fewer than 35 Arsenal caps in all competitions, including those tough Carling Cup fixtures!  Instead, the youngsters for France (M’Vila and Sakho) has almost 50 caps in less than a season and a half for Rennes and over 100 for PSG, respectively. Both are considered integral parts of the set up; Gibbs is a fringe presence at Arsenal, especially this season.

Extras:

The Iberian Derby was a total rout.  Sergio Ramos apparently forgot what his teammate Ronaldo can do.  Mourinho seems to have held Ramos in check to great effect for Real Madrid.  Sure, he doesn’t bomb forward to terrorize the opponents as he used to, but Madrid is no longer left exposed to counter attacks.  Perhaps Spain should take a lesson.  Manchester United will be pleased to see Nani’s boast about being a top player wasn’t all talk, either.  As for Spain, the whole world knows how they play.  They seem unwilling to change the (very effective) philosophy.  Top teams with top coaches can exploit this.

With the Copa América draw recently out and international friendlies imminent, now might be a worthwhile time to look at what that tournament might have in store for football fans.  It’s not as well publicized or followed as its European counterpart because most people see it as the international La Liga: a competition basically geared to set up two super teams (Brazil and Argentina) in a final where the brightest talents of world football can tussle.

Recently, the accusation has been true, sort of.  While the past two tournaments has seen Brazil trump Argentina in the final, the whole tournament is a delight for the football fan.  For one, this year’s inclusion of Mexico promises to continue the tradition of El Tricolor surprising the big guns.

In 2007 Mexico deservedly beat Brazil 2-0 and won the group stage, and although Argentina handled them in the semifinals 3-0, the Mexicans still earned some respect from their South American counterparts by winning the third place match against Uruguay.  In 2004, Mexico beat Argentina 1-0 in the group stages, but  Brazil trashed them 4-0 in a pitiful exit.

Another reason to watch is the hopeful coronation of Messi on the world stage.  While the Argentine failed to dominate the 2010 World Cup, this can be largely blamed on the unbelievable tactics employed by Maradona (how many times in South Africa did we see Messi pick up the ball around the halfway line simply because the midfielders lacked the quality to bring the ball forward on their own?).  Hopefully in 2011 Messi can show those who still doubt him (and honestly I’m highly suspicious of the existence of these supposed Messi-doubters) that he is the finest footballer on the planet.

Taking a look at the draw, if all goes expected, another Brazil-Argentina final looks to be on the cards.

It’s difficult to see Argentina not winning their group (Bolivia, Colombia, Japan), especially as all of the matches will be played in front of a home crowd.  On top of that huge motivation, Los Albiceleste will be seeking to avenge themselves against a Japan team that recently beat them 1-0.  All the players will want to make a statement to say that they team that dismantled Spain 4-1 is the real version of Argentina, not the meek squad that was humbled in Japan.

Brazil have slightly harder group (Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela) considering Paraguay’s bold showing at the World Cup.  No matter how many superstars are injured, overweight, or out of form, Brazil always manages to field one of the most imposing teams in the world.  No Ronaldinho, Kaka, or Luis Fabiano?  Why not play Robinho, Pato, and Nilmar?  If Ramires isn’t playing well with Chelsea, why not select the reinvigorated Felipe Melo?  The point is, whatever team they field, like Argentina, Brazil will be favorites to win their group.

Group C is the most interesting because it includes Uruguay, giant-killers Mexico, the surprisingly decent Chile, and likely whipping boy Peru.  If Diego Forlán plays like he did in South Africa, Uruguay should win the group and make for a great challenge to anyone in the whole tournament.  If the results go as predicted in this hyper-early stage, Uruguay should meet Brazil in the semifinals.  This will probably be Forlán’s last hurrah in a major tournament, so he’ll surely want his countrymen to remember him fondly.  Brazil (presumably) be warned.

But of course, Mexico love to cause trouble and have come runner-up and third place a couple of times each, so don’t count them out of the running just because there are some big guns to contend with.  Lastly, Chile may yet surprise us, given their high FIFA and ELO ranking, but personally I feel the team won’t impress and we’ll see them back in the 20s or 30s in the world ranking by the close of 2011.

Argentina seem to have the easiest path to the final, although if there is an upset in Group C (or even a massive Group B upset, but I strongly doubt Brazil will place in 3rd in their group), Los Albiceleste may face a tough fight before playing the final in El Monumental in Buenos Aires.

A Brazil-Argentina final looks probable, but the inclusion of Mexico and Uruguay give me hope that an upset could happen.  All of the football matches are yet to be played, but international football fans should be salivating at the prospect of some of the matches, even (especially?) if the final is again, Brazil-Argentina.

In this episode, Germany’s manager Jogi Löw hits the streets of London to give his Fashion Löwdown. PLUS the video show takes a look at some of Brazil’s goals courtesy of Brazilian channel El Loco Televizione. And interviews Dutch fans (and some Dutch wannabees) in London.

The Netherlands shocked the world Friday when they overcame an early goal by Brazil to beat the South American team 2-1 in regulation. Dutch supporters around the world will be partying long into the night.

After Brazil scored the early goal through Robinho, it seemed as if it was going to be one of those days for Brazil. When Brazil goes ahead, they’re often unstoppable. But when luck fell Holland’s way after Felipe Melo scored an own goal, the Dutch looked like a different team entirely and deservedly grabbed a second goal from a corner that met Wesley Sneijder’s head and into the back of the goal. Poor defending by Brazil, but surprisingly rather than trying to win the game, Brazil seemed more focused on chasing the referee than chasing goals.

But here are just some of the pictures from a historic day for Dutch football in the 2010 World Cup.

It’s the game that everyone has been waiting for. Brazil against Holland. But the big question is whether Holland will turn up on the day. Judging by their first half performance, they’ve been unable to penetrate Brazil’s defense.

During and after the game, share your thoughts, observations and opinions in the comment section below.

Let’s hope this game is a great one.

The greatest in the world at the moment?

Brazil are the greatest football playing nation on the planet, there are very few who would argue that. They have five World Cups and Eight Copa Americas to their name and the very rarely disappoint their country. Whereas many European nations go through phases of good squads, Brazil have a never ending product line of top quality players and the flair and style of the Brazil side often makes people want to see them above any other team on the planet. But when you think about great Brazillian players, you’d probably come up with a load of players who love to attack: Pele, Ronaldo, Romario, Ronaldinho, Zico and Rivaldo etc. With the exception of Cafu and Roberto Carlos (who in their own right were more attacking minded than defensive – although Cafu could do it all!) you would struggle to convince people that Brazil have had a lot of world class defenders in the past. In 2002, they managed to win the World Cup with Dida in nets and Roque Junior at centre back and although the latter was voted in the World Cup XI, if you have seen both of these players in their club career, you wouldn’t exactly consider them amazing.

Enter Dunga. A man that has caused a stir in his home nation by changing the Brazil way and moulded the national side in his own model. Instead of building a side from front to back, Dunga has reversed this and turned Brazil into a much more rigid outfit that almost splits the team into stern attacking and defensive orders. Dunga hasn’t exactly revolutionised the entire Brazil mentality, but instead he has almost evolved it and has five players that allow him to make his system work like a charm:

Julio Cesar:

The best quality a goalkeeper can have is his organisational skills. How a keeper communicates and orders the defenders in front of him is very important and this is something Cesar does brilliantly as he knows how to talk to the players in front of him in order to protect his goal. This is the reason many have considered Buffon one of the greatest for the past decade as he knows how to organise the people in front of him, and when called into action he is equally adept to making saves. Barcelona V Inter last season at the Nou Camp is a prime example of Cesar’s organisation as he was constantly talking to those in front of him and sending orders out that kept Barca out over and over again. By the time he retires, he could be known as the greatest Brazil keeper of all time.

Lucio and Juan:

About five or so years ago, you wouldn’t have considered these two to be world class defenders. But experience has made both of these players into outstanding and many are even calling Lucio the best defender in the world at the moment. The experience they have both gained in a top league like Serie A has aided them greatly and like a fine wine, they are getting better with age. Lucio himself is a unique character, one look at him in England and people often start describing him as a ‘beast’ and we all know how passionate he can become about the game (one way to put it). Juan on the other hand has had his injury problems, but he is reliable and can often just make himself into a brick wall that no one can get around. These two are both athletic as well and very good on the ball, I suppose the reason I believe that these two are part of the greatest Brazil defence is the fact that they are both ball playing defenders that are as passionate about defending as the likes of Pele and Zico were about attacking. Also looking on the bench, there is a 25 year old Thiago Silva that plays for A.C Milan (are you seeing a theme here). I’m not one of these people who falls into the stereotype that Italian football is ” boring defensive football” as often these claims are made by people that rarely watch it, but Italian’s do know how to defend and it is part of their culture. Both have moved from German football and it has really sharpened their skills and often come up against some of the top attacking players in the world while at Serie A.

Felipe Melo and Gilberto Silva:

One has had a poor season in Italy which saw him sent off numerous times and the other plays in the Greek top division. With all due respect to Greek league, you’d often think your two amazing defensive midfielders would be playing for the likes of Real Madrid or Chelsea, but just because Gilberto doesn’t play at the very top of the mountain, it doesn’t mean he is any less of a player. Felipe Melo on the other hand has had a difficult first season in Italy that many foreign players often experience due to the unique football culture in that country; even Zidane had a struggle at first! These two players allow the likes of Kaka, Robinho, Fabiano and Elano (or Alves now I suppose) in front of them stay up the top end of the pitch and give them the confidence that they can perform the job of sweeping up when the opposition try to catch Brazil on the break. They also allow Maicon and Bastos to break forward from full back in true Brazil style and their main role is just filling in the gaps that attackers can leave when they attempt to go forward. Melo is a no nonsense player and he isn’t afraid to kick you into next week if he needs to and Silva has an elegance that tells you he is fully aware of his surroundings and knows what his role is.

Obviously I am only 21, so I didn’t really experience past generations of Brazil squads, but in my opinion (although i’d love to add Cafu to this team), this is the best Brazil defence I have ever seen. They just look solid at the back and these five players mean that they don’t need to rely on their attacking players too heavily. Now Brazil are about to play Holland and I hope I’m not going to eat my words…

Watch the sneak preview of Nike’s new Write The Future viral video featuring Brazil’s Robinho making mincemeat of his opposition as he dribbles past the opposition.

The new Nike viral World CUp video is supposed to premiere next week. Enjoy.

The group stages have concluded and now we can all look forward to good old fashioned knockout Football. What this World Cup has provided us so far has been, well, a bit baffling really, it has provided little in the way of genuine thrills and excitement but a huge amount of intrigue. It has been engrossing and most importantly it has provided some genuine surprises.

Group A was the setting for the demise of the French, no heart, no passion, no cohesion, spats, rows and fallouts equalled one point for Les Bleus and a shameful early flight home. Henry should’vedone the world a favour and kept his hand by his side. Uruguay and Mexico qualified from the group with relative ease, both sides have shown through some assured displays that they are more than capable of having a successful run in this World Cup. It was such a disappointment not to see the South Africans get through, maybe naivety, nerves and a little bit of expectation got the better of them, particularly against the Uruguayans, yet their performances either side of that game were impressive and it was a shame not to see the host nation progress. The South African squad, unlike the French, can hold their heads high.

Argentina somewhat strolled through Group B, winning all three games, as impressive as that looks on paper there do appear to be a few cracks in the Argentinean side, particularly at the back. As yet you couldn’t really put them down as nailed on finalists. South Korea qualified as runners up, they are a well organised outfit and create plenty of openings going forward, they make for a tricky opposition. Elsewhere in Group B Greece were Greece and Nigeria were bitterly disappointing, their campaign will only be remembered for Yakubu’s astonishing miss against the Koreans.

The USA claimed top spot in Group C with virtually the last kick of the group, securing a berth in arguably the easier side of the draw. It was no less than the Americans deserved, particularly after clawing their way back from two nil down in their previous match to claim a vital point. England finished runners up, after being vilified for their part in two drab draws they secured qualification with a One nil victory over Slovenia, England may live to regret not converting more of their chances, they now face a tricky route through the knockouts. Far from being spectacular Algeria and Slovenia ensured that qualification for the US and England was not as comfortable as many imagined it would be.

The ever efficient Germans got their World Cup off to a flying start, breezing past an awful Australian side in a four nil rout. That German efficiency went missing in game two when they fell to a one nil defeat at the hands of Serbia. Group D   like most groups was wide open going into the final round of matches. A one goal victory against the Ghanaians clinched top spot for Joachim Low’s men. Ghana finished second, salvaging some pride for what has been a poor World Cup for the African nations. To be fair there wasn’t much between the three sides that finished below the Germans, the Australians were vastly improved after their first display and the Serbs looked well organised and difficult to beat. It was Ghana’s win in their first game which proved how crucial it is to get points on the board as early as possible.

The Dutch waltzed to 9 points in Group E without even having to get out of second gear. Japan finished a thoroughly deserving second. Denmark and Cameroon were quite frankly awful in what was possibly the dullest group of the tournament. The Indomitable Lions, for me, have been the let down of 2010 so far.

Group F was home to the shock of the Tournament, Italy not only failed to qualify but finished bottom of their group. On the back of two lacklustre draws no one expected the Italians to fall short again in their last match. You have to credit the Slovakians for playing with such belief, it has to be the game of the tournament so far, and in contrast to the French, despite their shocking start the Italians fought all the way in their final game and very nearly pulled off a great escape in the dying seconds. Special mention must go to New Zealand, to finish undefeated in a group containing the Azzurri, Paraguay and Slovakia is some achievement for the All Whites and it is a shame three sides could not progress from Group F because no one would begrudge them 90 more minutes of World Cup Football.

Brazil finished top of the pile in Group G with Portugal qualifying as runners up. The Ivory Coast were another African disappointment and the North Koreans went from terrific to terrible in three games. Brazil look strong, their two defensive midfielders play a priceless role and have so far been fantastic, if their more creative colleagues hit form then the boys from Brazil will be the team to beat.

In the final group Chile continued to wave the South American flag proudly. They played with the freedom and expression expected from Group favourites Spain. The Spanish did not buck the trend of struggling European sides, leaving qualification to the last game after a less than convincing start, but they did manage to turn things around and claim top spot. Switzerland were their normal no nonsense selves, set up not to lose and not to be pleasing on the eye. I would like to say the Hondurans did more than just make up the numbers, sadly I can’t.

As the World Cup heads into stage two a lot of teams will try to forget their struggles in the group stages. This is the business end of the tournament and it’s game one as far as they are concerned, if you slip up now you don’t get another chance to set things right. There is still no real favourite, results wise it has been one of the most unpredictable World Cups so far, one thing we know is that every side is beatable. The form book was thrown out of the window during the group stages, and there’s no indication that will change in the knockouts.

Greed And A Lack Of Passion

I’m starting this blog in the 68th minute of Ivory Coast’s game against Brazil and they are 3-0 down and Sven has just made his second substitute, but unfortunately it is a like-for-like sub and isn’t exactly a response you should be giving when you’re losing 3-0 , and even then it wasn’t an instant response. When England first head hunted Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2001, he was one of the top club managers in the world and Lazio fans shed tears as he walked out of the club for the last time, begging him to stay. Before his England appointment, he was successful at almost every club he had been at, even managing to win the UEFA cup with Goteborg, and you only need to look at how many Swedish club sides have won a European trophy to let you know that it is one difficult task. So England had their man, a manager who seemed to just understand the game and knew how to be successful, but I don’t need to tell you that it didn’t exactly work out.

In 2002, England had a great tournament and if you ignore those people that blame David Seaman for our exit, the majority were very proud of their nation despite a quarter final exit, and it seemed like we had players who still had time to grow and a manager that could deliver that success. In Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006, the Portuguese beat us, twice, and England fans were forced to watch on as an indecisive Sven waited patiently without throwing caution to the wind, much to a nation’s frustration. Beyond that, he then was snapped up by an ambitious Man City side, but his reign ended with a 8-1 loss to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season, many believing Sven had lost the plot, playing a shaky defence that involved Elano at right back.

But no need to fear for Sven’s future, he got another great job, as Mexico gave him the chance to take their side onto greatness. Sven lasted 13 games as Mexico manager, and even had the nerve to discuss the Portsmouth manager position less than a year after taking the post. Then it got even stranger, as rumours circulated that Sven would be part of a takeover for the oldest professional football club in the world, Notts County. Everyone laughed, but by the end of the day a deal was done, and Sven found a new home. God knows what happened from there, as no one was sure who the real owners were and Sven claimed he was conned and needed to put his hand in his pocket to save face. Sven had to write off a massive pay off from the club, but still got a decent two months wages for a club ridden with debt. But once again, Sven didn’t need to fear, as he had another shot at the World Cup, with the Ivory Coast, but by this time, many people across Europe felt Sven had lost his winning mentality, but as I write this, he sits on the Ivory Coast bench.

In their opening game, one of Africa’s great hopes for the cup were poor against Portugal, but to be fair, the majority of other teams looked cautious as well. But in this match against Brazil, which has just ended 3-1, Ivory Coast look poor. They are a decent side, and when Kaka was sent off, in the 89th minute or so, they actually showed a little bit of urgency, the same urgency that should have come from the manager when Brazil went 3-0 up. I know you could argue that it is Brazil, but Ivory Coast should not be ripped to pieces like I’ve seen in this game. And the problem is obvious – Sven is only motivated by money, and this is because of his time in England. Sven loves the attention he receives and it seems he can’t resist the chance to get a massive pay cheque, but at the same time he doesn’t seem to actually care about how he performs in his job any more. He seemed to enjoy the lifestyle more when he was England manager, and beyond that it appears as if he doesn’t actually put any thought into the job in hand.

Man City were a good side, but by the end of his reign he was playing players in any position and they were torn to shreds by various sides. Mexico are one of the top teams in North America but Sven struggled to help them qualify for a World Cup and it would have been a crime (as we see by Mexico’s attacking pace in this World Cup) to have failed in the qualifying with that side. And I don’t even want to go into the Notts County fiasco, it was an absolute disgrace what he did there and now the club has been left with a huge amount of debt, just so him and a few of his buddies could get a massive pay out. I just can’t understand why anyone would take a risk on him, he clearly isn’t bothered about success too much and the Ivory Coast are now in danger of going out of the World Cup despite being, arguably, the strongest African nation in the competition. Sven doesn’t have a passion for football anymore and he isn’t even a very good mercenary. I wouldn’t be surprised if he became manager of a team in Qatar after this World Cup is over, and I feel sorry for Ivory Coast fans, because I know England fans had to sit through his lack of care for our national side. The biggest shame is what I pointed out before – Sven was once one of the best managers in Europe, but instead he is an example of how money can corrupt a person.

When we think back to previous World Cup tournaments, many fans – myself included – look back to the 1982 Brazil side as the best in our living memory.

The names of the players conjure some beautiful memories. Players such as Socrates, Eder, Falcao, Junior, Zico and others.

Thanks to YouTube, all of them are the incredible goals that they scored in the 1982 World Cup are featured in the above video. Don’t you wish the Brazilians were as good as this now!