Personally the most disappointing day of the World Cup for me, was back at work today, so having to watch the games while working is not the best way to assess players and how they play, my plan was to record the games and watch them all back, however leaving the house today I forgot to set the recording, so the South Africa v Uruguay game, is the only one I’ve got to watch in all it’s HD glory, and it’s hard to watch games when you already know the score and in an office of football fans, so just gonna have to bear with it and watch as much as I can.

MY THOUGHTS:

Was really impressed with the football Chile played today, they 3-1-3-3 formation Bielsa plays worked an absolute treat, when they were going forward at times the man on the ball had 6 players in front of him to pass to, the players always kept moving, the passing and movement was great, Honduras did their best and showed they are no light-weights trying to hit Chile on the break whenever they could, they just didn’t have the quality to take advantage.

Valladares made one of the best saves not even in this tournament but EVER! Chile looked certain to make it 2-0 but Valladares’s diving save kept his team in the game giving them a chance to earn a point, however his efforts were in vain, the Premier League duo of Palacios and Figueroa weren’t impressive Maynor playing at Centre Back and not on the left as usual, Honduras missed the talents of David Suazo the pacey stiker would have made a big difference.

Can’t say how much Chile impressed me today Sanchez, Valdivia, Fernandez and Vidal all played superbly, Valdivia deputising for qualification top scorer Humberto Suazo impressed never seen him before, but he looked more like a playmaker than a striker, coming off the front to create chances, the best player on the pitch was Alexis Sanchez, fast, tricky very very skillful he was a trouble for the Hondurian’s all game, was unlucky not to score, but if he plays like that in the next two games, I can’t see him not scoring.

MY THOUGHTS:

Well I don’t think anyone predicted this score today, a definite coupon buster, Spain threw pretty much everything at the Swiss defence 63% possession and 22 shots on goal, usually would be enough to win any match, however the defence unlike the cheese didn’t have any holes in it. Lichtsteiner, Von Bergen, Gritching and Ziegler were superb the whole game stopping the Spanish Armada finding any clear cut chances, most shots that got through were luckily aimed straight at keeper Benaglio.

Barnetta, Inler and Fernandes worked tirelessly in the midfield in defence and going forward, and when the chance arose Fernandes was there to snatch the dream start from the Spanish, N’Kufo played the target man job well causing Puyol and Pique problems and helping the team break forward.

Spain at times bombarded the Swiss box, Iniesta played very well bamboozaling the defence at times just unable to find that killer pass, Xavi Alonso played pretty well controlling the midfield most of the game and also rattled the crossbar with a rocket of a shot, Villa looked very isolated upfront on his own, not getting the service, there comes a time when crossing the ball into the middle of two tall centre backs just isn’t the answer anymore but Spain kept trying, Torres when he came on looked at about 60% fitness, I beleive Spain wouldn’t have tried him out till at least the 3rd group game.

Going to be very hard for Spain to win the group now and a potential meeting with Brazil could be on the horizon, and he would all love that.

MY THOUGHTS:

Not the best game ever but a fantastic night for Uruguyans, Forlan has played 2 fantastic games and led his team to potentially a place in the last 16, Forlan’s slightly deflected shot opened the scoring and broke South African hearts, the Bafana Bafana never recovered from this, they just never got going at any stage, the fire from the opening game was just never there, the cold Pretoria air seemed to cool down the hosts.

Tshabalala tried his best in the first half tryin to be the spark in the team, but a few shots he had went wayward, after this he went as cold as the air night, Pienaar and Modise were very quiet, Letholonyane and Dikacgoi were solid for most of the game but Dikacgoi the Fulham man lost his desire after his booking and never looked the same.

With the likes of Bernard Parker and Siyabonga Nomvete you would think Pareira would have changed it up and gave the hosts a chance, but he never did and now a win against France and other results going their way will save South Africa from becoming the first home nation from going out in the Group Stage.

The back four of Uruguay looked more comfortable than the three that played against France, with Diego Perez superb as the anchor man this gave the platform for Forlan, Suarez and Cavani to forge forward, as much as Forlan impressed Suarez was ineffectual, also going down under challenges too easily, I have been expecting more from the Ajax man, Cavani played better, looking to link up with his attack partners troubled the South African back line, a little flick on that helped Suarez win the penalty, but it was all about Forlan, he was superb, leading his team, the oldest man on the pitch was a pillar of experience, his goal spurnned himon, he stayed calm in the 5 minutes he had to wait to take his penalty in which he dispatched expertly, top scorer in the tournament, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got 4 or 5 in South African.

Time to get back to watching some football, and what better way than a bit of Friday night Bundesliga.

Dortmund travelled the short distance to the BayArena to take on the league leaders, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the Dortmund club.

LEVERKUSEN: Adler – Schwaab, Friedrich, Hyypia, Castro – Barnetta, Bender, Vidal, Kroos – Derdiyok, Kiessling
DORTMUND: Weidenfeller – Owomoyela, Subotic, Hummels, Dede – Kuba, Bender, Sahin, Valdez – Zidan, Barrios

A few players a knew already but quite a few I was seeing for the first time, the Bender brothers were pointed out by ESPN before the game so was interested to see them, and I had never heard of Barrios before, and alot of names I know but not seen play, so was very interested.

Overall it was a good game, the first half far more enjoyable and both teams playing an attractive style of football, just after Lars Bender had a great chance to open the scoring for Leverkusen it was Dortmund who took the lead, Vidal lost the ball in the midfield, some good work from Valdez his cross was headed expertly past Adler by Argentine striker Lucas Barrios, Leverkusen should have been level when Derdiyok had a clear header from Kroos’ cross but he headed wide, it was a very open first half both teams showing attacking intent, Dortmund looking a better team than their middle table position shows, however Leverkusen again nearly pegged them back just before half-time, Toni Kross again with the free kick, it was met by Sami Hyypia but his header whistled just past the post, how Liverpool could do with someone of Sami’s aerial ability right now at set-pieces.

The second half didn’t start with the same attacking intensity as the first and for 20 minutes there was nothing worth mentioning, then Leverkusen won a corner after a contentious free kick, Barnetta swung the ball in and Manuel Friedrich rose highest and and powered a great header past Weidenfeller, it looked like now Dortmund would have to fight if they wanted a point from this game, Friedrich and Barnetta going close 5 minutes after the goal, the game seemed to fizzle out though, no more clear cut chances, and both teams in the end deserved to go away with something, Dortmund the better team in the first half but Leverkusen much the better in the second.

I liked the partnership of Kiessling and Derdiyok upfront for Leverkusen seems a very busy pairing, both players have some pace and like to run, then you have the height and aerial ability of Kiessling, and then Derdiyok brings pace and ability, with both players being quite young this could be deadly in a few years.
Vidal had a quiet game, Barnetta was lively down the flank, always been a fan of his, technically sound player, decent pass, good passer of the ball, was good to see Toni Kroos, alot of potential needs games and is getting them at Leverkusen, didn’t do alot from open play but his dead ball were always causing problems.
Hyypia was solid as he has always been and is showing why it was a mistake by Rafa Benitez to let him go for free, commanding in defence, deadly in the air, could easily still play in the premiership, his partnership with Friedrich is full of maturity and experience.

I was happy to see Dortmund playing some good football, and they have some nice players, Hummels and Subotic look a good pairing at the back and will continue to grow together, Dede is in with the bricks at Dortmund, 12 years service, doesn’t happen at all any more, the midfield looks a little young to me, Sahim, Bender and Kuba have an average age of 21, I wonder how much they could progress with an experienced player in there to help them.
Zidan was very quiet upfront forgot he was playing at one point, Valdez impressed, a flop when he first signed but did very well out on the left battled back hard when Dortmund didn’t have the ball and a great cross for Barrios’s goal.
Lucas Barrios I think will be a name to remember, having not heard of him at half time, I search Wikipedia for some details and for Colo Colo he had 49 goals in 53 games, that is very impressive, 2 in 6 for his new club, if he can settle quickly he could be a player to watch, his header for the goal was superb, and he was always busy and trying to make something happen.

Last players I wanted to mention was Lars and Sven the Bender brothers, both look very decent young players, playing at the heart of the midfield they had a good battle and honours were shared in the Bender household, definitely two players to keep an eye on, and who would count against a pair of Benders in the German midfield in the years to come

MATCH RATING 7.5/10

M.O.M – Lucas Barrios – Dortmund