Friday, July 4, 2014

World Cup Update -- Seven Games to Go

Well, this World Cup has been a lot of fun so far, and it was interesting to see the poor form shown by Italy, England, Portugal, and Spain.  But now it feels that we are finally going to get some games that matter.  The eight teams left have been light years ahead of everyone else, and I'm excited to see them play each other.

The first quarter-final features two ancient powers in France and Germany.  Remarkably, these two haven't met in the World Cup since the 1986 semi-final, although it's really not that surprising, given that they are usually kept far apart from each other in the draw.  Germany is a slight favorite to go through at odds of 8 to 11, while you can get France at 1 to 1.

Here are the teams:

FRANCE:
Goalkeeper:  Hugo Lloris (Captain) (Tottenham Hotspur) (England)

Defender:  Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle Utd) (England)
Defender:  Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) (Spain)
Defender:  Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool) (England)
Defender:  Patrice Evra (Manchester Utd) (England)

Midfielder:  Yohan Cabaye (Paris Saint-German) (France)
Midfielder:  Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-German) (France)
Midfielder:  Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille) (France)
Midfielder:  Paul Pogba (Juventus) (Italy)
Midfielder:  Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad) (Spain)

Forward:  Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) (Spain)

GERMANY:
Goalkeeper:  Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) (Germany)

Defender:  Philipp Lahm (Captain) (Bayern Munich) (Germany)
Defender:  Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich) (Germany)
Defender:  Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund) (Germany)
Defender:  Benedikt Howedes (Schalke '04) (Germany)

Midfielder:  Sami Khedira (Real Madrid) (Spain)
Midfielder:  Bastian Schweinsteiner (Bayern Munich) (Germany)
Midfielder:  Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich) (Germany)
Midfielder:  Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) (England)
Midfielder:  Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) (Germany)

Forward:  Miroslav Klose (Lazio) (Italy)

Now you can see why Bayern Munich is so good.

This is a wonderful uniform game, with Germany in their traditional white shirts with red and black trim, and the French in blue shirts, blue shorts, and red socks.

21 comments:

  1. An early goal! For the first time in six games, someone scores in the first half. In the 12th minute, Mats Hummels heads in a goal for Germany off of a free kick from Schwinsteiner. The Germans take an early lead!

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  2. 30 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France is trying to get back into this game, but they still haven't created too many chances.

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  3. 40 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France had a good chance a few minutes ago, but Neuer made a good save.

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  4. Half Time:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    That was a very comfortable half for Germany. France will have to do much better or they will be out.

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  5. On Univision, McDonald's has a cute commercial about a dad who roots for Mexico and his teenage son who hangs out with his American girlfriend and roots for the USA (which annoys the dad). Having known many American girls myself, I can see why the teenage son ends up rooting for the USA.

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  6. Germany hasn't lost a World Cup game where they were leading at the half since 1978.

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  7. 50 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France hasn't made much progress.

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  8. 60 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    You get the feeling that France are about to start really going for it.

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  9. 65 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France is still calm, but they really have to start taking more chances.

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  10. 70 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France having a hard time getting anything going, but they are now making a substitution. Sakho is replaced by Laurent Koscielny of Arsenal. A defender for a defender.

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  11. 75 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    The folks on ESPN Radio are frustrated that France haven't shown more desperation so far. "What difference does it make whether you lose 2-0, 3-0, or 1-0.

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  12. France makes another change; they replace Cabaye (a midfielder) with Loic Remy, a striker for Queens Park Rangers. This may be where we see France attack.

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  13. 80 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France is now looking to attack, but they're having a hard time getting the ball.

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  14. Now you can see why France has been so careful. In the 81st minute, a corner kick for France quickly turns into a run-out for Germany. Fortunately for France, Schweinsteiger makes a very weak strike which is gathered by the French goalkeeper.

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  15. In the 84th minute, France makes their last substitution, midfielder Valbuena is replaced by a striker: Olivier Giroud of Arsenal. So France now has three strikers on the field.

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  16. 85 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    I'll be surprised if France gets more than 3 minutes of stoppage time.

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  17. 88 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France cannot get the ball. Germany keeps stealing it in the midfield and then running back at the French goal.

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  18. 90 minutes:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    France has 4 minutes of stoppage time.

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  19. Full Time:

    France 0 - 1 Germany

    At the very end, Benzama had a pretty good shot for France, but Neuer blocked it with his right hand, and that was that. On the whole, a very easy win for Germany, who go into the semi-finals for the fourth World Cup in a row.

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  20. The press commentary on France is extremely negative, and I can see why. But I think Germany should get a lot of credit here.

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