A very interesting day that completed the first week of the 2014 World Cup, as the Netherlands found themselves in the next stage thanks to a dramatic win over Australia, while Chile will join them in Group B after beating Spain, ending any chance the world champions had of qualifying to the round of 16. Croatia are back in the picture in Group A after a dominant performance against an embarrassing Cameroon side.
Australia 2 Netherlands 3: Probably the best match we’ve had so far in the World Cup. The Netherlands took the lead after a mistake on defense led to an Arjen Robben goal on the counter attack. One minute later Tim Cahill scored a brilliant volley, the best of the tournament so far. Australia kept on the pressure and were rewarded in the second half with a penalty kick scored by Mile Jedinak, the captain. Robin van Persie equalized four minutes later and substitute Memphis Depay scored the winner with a bouncing shot from long range. The Netherlands advance to the round of 16, Australia are out.
Spain 0 Chile 2: Chile are in the next round, Spain are out. A rough start from Spain resulted in an opening goal for Eduardo Vargas, making the most of another defensive blunder. Just before half time it was Charles Aranguiz who put Chile two goals up. Spain tried coming back and saving face in the second half but solid defense and a great day from Claudio Bravo denied all of their attempts.
Cameroon 0 Croatia 4: An embarrassing performance for Cameroon who remain without a goal in this tournament. Alex Song was sent off for punching Mario Mandzukic in the back while Benoit Assou-Ekotto got into a fight with teammate Benjamin Moukandjo. Ivica Olic opened the scoring for Croatia, Ivan Perisic added one from a tight angle and Mario Madnzukic cemented their dominance with two goals from close range in the second half, leaving us a very interesting match between them and Mexico to determine one of the qualifiers.
So how are we doing in terms of goals? An excellent bounty of 11 goals in 3 matches brings us to 60 in 20 so far in this tournament, exactly three goals per match as the World Cup continues to bring us goals and plenty of attacking football. Alex Song of Cameroon was the third player to be sent off in the tournament, while his side remains goalless after two matches.
Group A Table
Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brazil | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
Mexico | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
Croatia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3 |
Cameroon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
Group B Table
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Netherlands (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 6 |
Chile (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
Australia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0 |
Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 |
Top Scorers
1. Thomas Muller (Germany), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Robin van Persie (Netherlands) – 3 goals
2. Neymar (Brazil), Karim Benzema (France), Tim Cahill (Australia), Mario Mandzukic – 2 goals
3. Oscar (Brazil), Oribe Peralta (Mexico), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Stefan de Vrij (Netherlands), Alexis Sanchez (Chile), Jorge Valdivia (Chile), Jean Beausejour (Chile), Pablo Armero (Colombia), Teofilo Gutierrez (Colombia), James Rodriguez (Colombia), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay), Joel Campbell (Costa Rica), Oscar Duarte (Costa Rica), Marco Urena (Costa Rica), Claudio Marchisio (Italy), Mario Balotelli (Italy), Daniel Sturridge (England), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast), Gervinho (Ivory Coast), Enner Valencia (Ecuador), Admir Mehmedi (Switzerland), Haris Seferovic (Switzerland), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Vedad Ibisevic (Bosnia), Mats Hummels (Germany), Clint Dempsey (United States), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Josh Brooks (United States), Sofiane Feghouli (Algeria), Marouane Fellaini (Belgium), Dries Mertens (Belgium), Mile Jedinak (Australia), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Eduardo Vargas (Chile), Charles Aranguiz (Chile), Ivica Olic (Croatia), Ivan Perisic (Croatia) – 1 goal
Tomorrow
Colombia vs Ivory Coast
Uruguay vs England
Japan vs Greece