I would like to kill two birds with one stone here by making some snarky comments about the first round and apologizing for totally botching the knockout phase of the World Cup in our predictions article. Apparently I was drinking before the tournament even started. It wouldn’t be a Sports Optimator post if we didn’t mess up or jinx someone (Spain), so let’s get to those stock reports.
Rising Stock
1 – Germany. Yes the Aussies managed to draw a bogus red card, but Germany was already up 2-0 at that point which would have been one of the best results in the first round. The fact that they added two more made it look worse, but for me the thing that impressed me most is their creative attacking style. I was looking for a plodding German side that would just wear down their opposition much like Italy, but they looked exciting and very dangerous. This game also planted the seeds for a new Man Crush in Mesut Özil, and who doesn’t like saying Schweinsteiger?
Mesut Özil; turning the page on the Ballack era one creative pass at a time.
2 – Holland. The Dutch join Germany as the only favorite to handle their opener well with a 2-0 win over the Nicklas Bendtner lead Danish. You can’t hear me, but I’m laughing about the last part of the previous sentence, although Bendtner nearly scored an awesome header. Nearly. The Dutch looked vulnerable to counter attacks, but even without Arjen Robben starting they managed to appear explosive and aggressive with the ball. I would be happier with 2-0 if the Danes tried to attack, which leads me to the next riser…
3 – Parking The Bus. I know there are a lot of teams out there that just cannot compete with the more talented teams. If everyone used an attacking game plan we would see a bunch of 6-1 score lines and humiliated fans. With that in mind, a number of teams have adopted a super defensive scheme that looks an awful lot like being balled up in the fetal position. Despite the boredom of watching the favorites dribble into a brick wall, it works very well and has slowed or toppled a number of teams in the first round. The most notable failure so far is Spain, the favorite to win it all, who were felled by Switzerland’s 25-0-0 formation and some shady defending. North Korea also managed to pull off an “upset” by losing to Brazil 2-1, and I was worried it would be 6-0. Their only goal gave Kim Jong Il the footage his propaganda machine needs to make it look like they weren’t manhandled for 99.9% of the game.
Plunging Stock
1 – Spain. I know, I picked them to win it all. They are so talented, but losing to the Swiss after dominating that game will no doubt cause some panic. They are by no means finished, if they win the next two they advance, but this doesn’t look good. Spain is the only top team to lose to the Parked Bus formation, but Cesc Fàbregas didn’t play and they showed a bit a disconnect between the midfield and forwards. If I see one more team dribble up the middle of the field and try to pass a ball through 8 defenders I’m going to puke.
2 – France. The French looked horrible and managed one of the most boring 0-0 draws I’ve ever seen. From what I saw the French are good at two things; blaming their performance on the vuvuzelas, and letting Yoann Gourcouff shoot from 40 yards out and look confused about sending the ball 15 yards over the goal. I have no idea what they were doing, they looked very uninterested in winning their game and it showed. Despite their talent they could be an easy out if they advance.
3 – Portugal. Another 0-0 draw that featured a boring superpower. Ivory Coast didn’t start their best player, Didier Drogba, but Portugal couldn’t do anything with the opportunity. Cristiano Ronaldo also failed to do anything, as I predicted, aside from rattle the woodwork with what could easily have been the goal of the tournament. I was close to making #3 “Passive Top Seeds” since the first round featured so many top seeds that looked like they were playing for a draw. Had Portugal won this game they would no doubt have been in a great position to advance, but now they are in a bad position and will have to beat North Korea and pray for a draw with Brazil.
Prediction Revisions
I know I have the advantage of watching the first round, but since I messed up the bracket some of the match ups changed. Once again, my bad, this was me being an idiot. I’d hate to disappoint our reader. Not included in the stock report above is France's 2nd round stinker (2-0 loss) to Mexico, so all of my confidence in them has left the building.
I have no doubt this will not come true, a Brazil-Argentina final is likely.
Sorry about the size, blogspot strikes again. The biggest change is that I have Holland winning it all, but I can see Germany winning it just as easily. I'd like to see Holland purge the demons of '98 and '74 all in one tournament.
