The time has come … the time which fans hate to love and teams love to hate … when the decision of who moves onto the next level of the FIFA World Cup is made on the bases of errors and misses by football teams in their initial matches.
Argentina has shown lots of promise during its first two matches, and has become the first team to reach the second stage, after winning both its matches. Although their performance against Nigeria was far from convincing, Maradona’s boys came back from a slow start to score as many as 4 goals against South Korea, to grab the top position in Group B.
Germany and Brazil, always the favourites for the last four positions, are the other teams to show promise in the event so far. While Brazil couldn’t score more than they missed, Germany trounced Australia 4-0 in the most one-sided encounter of the tournament so far.
South Africa and France head the disappointments of the event list. Not even the crowd favouring the Bafana Bafana would have predicted a loss against Uruguay, a side that last won the tournament 60 years back … but that’s what football is all about. As for the last World Cup’s runners up, they seem out of sorts and short of ideas in their preparations and might reconsider playing Henry in the starting lineup, because he is still better than the players who couldn’t deliver in the opening match.
Italy and England have also not been able to deliver albeit great expectations. While the Italian side is made up of 9 players who helped them win their 4th World Cup in 2006, Fabio Capello has a lot to think before his side’s big match tomorrow. He may have fielded his best side in the first match against United States, but he forgot that a weak goalkeeper can be a mistake. Robert Green was that mistake, and if Capello was bothered by who-to-name and who-not-to-name, his worries have increased after Green’s miss which cost England two valuable points, and a morale-boosting win. The England coach/manager might bring back the 39 year old David James, who wears the number 1 shirt, and must be the team’s number 1 goalkeeper as well for all his experience and exploits. He deserves a chance to excel where the young guns failed miserably. England will have to play their best game when they take on Algeria in their most important match in years. A loss would reduce the possibility of reaching the second stage, but why would England lose to a side that barely qualified for the event?
The truth is that is exactly how West Germany saw Algeria when the two sides met in the 1982 World Cup, and complacency helped Algeria achieve one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game. The players may not be the same when Algeria takes the field, aiming for an upset, but the coach is. Rabbah Saadane was the coach in that historic triumph, and his return will further boost the Africans.
The team that has impressed despite losing their opening match is Euro Champion Spain. The Spaniards were unlucky to lose their match 1 nil to Switzerland, but they always come back from such situations, and this time might be one of them. They had the possession of the ball mostly in their match, made more attempts on the goal but couldn’t net the ball, but they might come out stronger the next time they take the field.
The tournament has captured the imagination of all those who are or aren’t interested in football. It remains to be seen whether the tall claims by most teams prove true as it progresses, or are proven false by least expected opponents.
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