Football Nomad

The group stages have concluded and we are left with four tasty quarter-finals at the World Cup.

The final round of group fixtures were full of excellent matches and lead to a couple of surprising results.

The pick of the bunch was England’s 2-0 victory over Japan which, coupled with Germany’s thrilling 4-2 win over France (more on that in a moment) forced the exciting, possession-happy Japanese into an epic match-up with the hosts.

I still see Japan as one of the very best sides at the tournament — England’s win was a tactical success based largely on smash-and-grab — but that result has put them in serious trouble. Germany, who looked back to their sharpest with captain Birgit Prinz on the bench and the exciting Fatmire Bajmaraj causing trouble with her pace and directness, look likely to book a place in the semi-finals.

If Germany v Japan is the one quarter-final not to be missed then neither France v England nor Brazil v USA cannot be far behind.

France’s early tournament thrills ultimately came up short against a more organised, more direct German side but their seven goals in three games marks them as a force going forward. England, meanwhile, have failed to impress despite topping their group.

Personally I fancy the French in this one as long as Louisa Necib, who was heavily marked out of the last game by the Germans, can have an impact. It would probably help, too, if the referee refrains from handing out yellow cards to French defenders for perfectly good slide tackles, as Kirsi Heikkinen did all too often against Germany.

Brazil and the USA are two sides with big reputations but neither have particularly impressed me in this tournament. It seems a strange to say, particularly about Brazil (seven goals for, zero conceded), but both have struggled badly when confronted with an opponent at their level.

The US were like a wave crashing against a concrete wall in the first half against Sweden, paving their way to a first group stage defeat in nineteen games. Meanwhile Brazil struggled for long periods in their first group game against Australia. Call me crazy but I just don’t see either of these two teams as potential champions.

The last quarter-final, Australia v Sweden, is one that I have a personal interest in for two reasons. One, because I am Australian. Two, because I am currently in Sweden.

I marked out the Swedes as tournament dark horses and their impressive win over the US justified that decision, however the Australians will be just as tough an opponent. Both sides are organised, efficient and athletic and possess the experience to not only win this fixture, but push on and seriously trouble Germany or Japan in the semi-final.

So, for no reason other than it will be funny to laugh at me when I get it wrong, here are my quarter-final score predictions:

England 0-1 France
Germany 3-1 Japan
Sweden 0-1 Australia (A.E.T)
Brazil 1-2 USA

If I’m being honest, my following of the tournament over the past few days has not been the best.

Japan’s 4-0 crushing of Mexico, England’s 2-1 comeback victory over New Zealand, Sweden’s hard-fought 1-0 defeat of North Korea, USA’s 3-0 win over Colombia, Australia’s thrilling 3-2 win over Equatorial Guinea and Brazil’s 3-0 thumping of Norway have flown by in an instant.

Of those six games I’ve probably seen about 200 minutes of football, far too few for a person writing a blog on the tournament.

One of those 200 minutes included an astonishing moment of incompetence as Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal and her assistants inexplicably failed to spot Bruna catching the ball in her own penalty area against Australia. The worst penalty non-decision of all time? Quite possibly.

Rather than look back over games that are done and dusted I prefer to look forward to the exciting final round of group matches that are poised to take place. My feelings on these games are as follows:

• While the world has been surprised at the emergence of France and Japan as genuine threats in this tournament, both nations will feel they are simply playing to their potential. They will view respective matches against Germany and England as a test of whether they are capable of pushing on to win the tournament.
• I fully expect the Japanese to beat England in Group B, which makes Germany v France in Group A all the more tasty. Both will want to avoid a Japan side that maintain possession better than any side in the tournament.
• Sweden is the dark horse for me. Two single-goal victories look underwhelming on paper but I fancy them to give the USA a decent scare in their final group game.
• With the so-far disappointing Norwegians needing to beat Australia to get into the quarter-finals and the Aussies only needing a draw, this could well the best game of the final round. Expect some end-to-end stuff.

I’ll be going to the Lido again tonight to watch France v Germany and taking along a camera to get some happy snaps.

So stay tuned and enjoy the football.

The Women’s World Cup just keeps getting better.

No post yesterday, as I spent a large portion of my time collecting a friend from the airport and showing him around Ye Olde Berlin town. As a result, I must make a quick comment on the action from Group D before I focus on what proved to be a pivotal day in Group A.

Norway may have snuck past Equatorial Guinea with a late goal from feisty winger Emilie Haavi, but the African side’s captain, Añonma, blew my mind. She took, wait for it, 15 of the 20 shots that Equatorial Guinea registered. On another day Añonma could have registered a hat-trick (she blew three great one-on-ones) and was not only the best player on the pitch by a mile, but the most impressive performer of the opening round of fixtures.

Memories of Eric the Eel meant I gave EQG no chance in this game but Añonma and her teammates surprised with their pace and shoot-on-sight mentality. It felt strange to feel so disappointed at the end of a game for a team I had absolutely no knowledge of beforehand, but such was the impact made by these fantastic ladies.

The sad thing for Equatorial Guinea is that in losing against Norway, who were extremely disappointing despite the victory, they may well have blown their best chance at progressing from the group.

In the day’s later contest Brazil were a little fortunate to get past a polished, aggressive Australian side by a single goal. Being Australian myself it is hard not to be biased, but I thought the girls in green and gold outplayed a Brazilian side that won the game through a moment of predatory striking by Rosana.

Australia is another side that look to possess a top goalkeeper in Melissa Barbieri, while the exciting Lisa De Vanna impressed up front. They look the goods to get out of the group despite losing to Brazil and should they face the USA, it could be terrific quarter-final encounter.

The world’s best player Marta, meanwhile, was conspicuous by her anonymity.

Moving on to yesterday and the French produced the team performance of tournament to destroy Canada 4-0 and book their place in the next round. Each of their four goals was brilliantly taken with Gaetene Thiney’s second strike, thumped in off the post from range, the pick of the bunch.

France were marvelous throughout this contest, harassing from the front and threatening often through the classy presence of Louisa Necib. In Laura Georges they have an accomplished centre-back and their match-up with hosts Germany, who also won again, looks set to be a thrilling contest.

As for Germany, they beat a gallant Nigerian side 1-0 in front of a massive crowd in Frankfurt.

I watched this game at a fan gathering held inside one of Berlin’s premier concert venues, The Lido, and had a great time. The place was absolutely packed with fans — many of them pretty ladies in football shirts, huzzah! — and the atmosphere was positively jovial. I was ordering a couple of drinks at the bar (“Zwei hefeweizen, bitte!”) when Simone Laudehr thrashed home the game’s only goal but the reaction from the thousandish-strong crowd was brilliant.

I’ll be back there in a few days when the Germans take France and I will be taking photos. So be prepared.

Stray Observations

– Añonman has arguably the weirdest name of all the players at the World Cup, but she might well be the best. All green hair, tippy-tappy touches on the ball and blistering pace, she has transformed Equatorial Guinea from a novelty into a genuine threat.

– Although EGQ still provide some novelty. Check out the reaction of this fan to one of Añonman’s misses.

– Is Canadian captain Christine Sinclair the toughest player — man or woman — in the world? First game: breaks nose and scores goal. Second game: plays with mask and takes another nasty knock to the snoz. Still doesn’t want to go off despite her team being three down.

– Having seen all the teams play I can safely say that the Norwegian team is the prettiest. Sorry, Sweden.

– I pity any of the teams that have to play Germany or France in the next round. That means you, England.

– Despite Nigeria’s excellent tactical discipline — they’ve conceded only two goals to France and Germany — their physical discipline has been missing. Osinachi Ohale drew plaudits from me for her show of bravery against the French but a cowardly elbow aimed at one of the Germans was disappointing, to say the least.

USA, the #1 ranked team in the world, produced the most impressive performance of the tournament to dispatch North Korea 2-0 in Dresden.

A relatively even first half saw the Koreans keep pace with the US, but the game turned on its head after the break when Lauren Cheney headed in a superb team goal to put the US in the lead. They grew in stature, producing a collection of good chances before extending the lead through Rachel Buehler’s neat finish in the 76th minute.

There appeared to be a rather disappointing disparity between the professionalism of the US team and the Koreans. The Korean goalkeeper Myong Hui Hong looked out of her depth at times as Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach and Cheney caused the Korean defence all sorts of trouble as the game went on.

I feel neither sexist nor racist in saying it was rather difficult to tell the Korean players apart at times (the German commentary at what is fast becoming my WWC home, Kreuzberg’s Bar 11 didn’t make things easy either) but their #8 on the right flank, the very tricky, very nimble Su Gyong Kim was a standout. She ghosted past her marker countless times but was let down by a lack of support from her teammates in the danger area.

The US looked imperious, at least a good match for the Germans, but it looked clear from the first game of the day that they won’t have it all their own way.

Sweden may have only beaten Colombia by a solitary goal, but they looked organised at the back, cohesive going forward and should only get better as the World Cup progresses.

In a tournament where possessing a strong goalkeeper looks to be a vital advantage, Sweden look to have one of the best in Hedvig Lindvahl. The stats showed she only had two shots to save but she looked calm, commanding and in complete control throughout the 90 minutes.

Colombia’s star performer was the lightning-quick Carmen Rodallega (cousin of Wigan forward Hugo, if you were wondering) but, like Korean Kim, she received precious little support from those around her. Meanwhile Colombia’s other playmaker, the talented Yoreli Rincon, infuriated with her arrogance and individualistic attitude. Someone needs to remind her that football is a team game.

If it looks unlikely that Colombia will finish anywhere other than bottom of this group, the same cannot be said of Sweden. Their organisation and experience looks to hold them in good stead and I see them as an outside chance to finish ahead of the US.

Stray Observations

– This was perhaps the least interesting pair of games in the tournament. Both were one-sided affairs and there was nothing matching the flare and excitement of the Mexicans of the previous day.

– It appeared that Lauren Cheney’s inclusion in the US’ starting side was a late decision made by coach Pia Sundhage in order to bolster her team’s attacking threat. It turned out to be an inspired choice.

– The crossing in this tournament has been excellent thus far. Already Germany, England, France, New Zealand and now the US have scored via quality delivery from the flanks.

– It was great to see German referee Bibana Steinhaus in charge of the USA v North Korea game. Some of you may remember her from this classic incident in a Hertha Berlin game from last season.

The first truly exhilarating moment of the Women’s World Cup arrived yesterday when Mexican midfielder Monica Ocampo, all 1.56m of her, scampered forward and let fly from distance to rattle home a stunning goal against England.

It was a tremendous, audacious strike and one which completely turned this Group B encounter on its head. England had dominated the opening half-hour and held a one-goal advantage after Fara Williams excellent header.

But from the moment Ocampooooo (how many ‘o’s do you think she deserves? Five should suffice, no?) scored the Mexicans grew in confidence. Soon the were letting fly from all angles, from all distances in a bid to test England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.

Not that they had it all their own way. Mexico owed a lot to their own goalkeeper, 16-year-old Cecilia Santiago, for keeping them in the game. Her shot-stopping skills were immaculate and she commanded her area like a grizzly old veteran (think Jens Lehmann but with longer, darker hair and a tan). She’s definitely one to watch in this tournament.

As are the Mexicans. England were expected to breeze this game but in the end I felt they came off as marginally the worse team, despite possessing the game’s outstanding player, the immaculate Kelly Smith. Such was her control of the midfield and “I’ll do what I want” body language that it was a surprise she didn’t ask the rest of her teammates to take a breather and take on the Mexicans on her own.

England, who are hoping to make at least the semi-finals, will be concerned at the sight of Japan putting New Zealand to the sword earlier in the day.

The final score may have been 2-1 but in truth the Japanese battered New Zealand and could have won by four. Japan’s high-pressure game paid dividends early on when Yuki Nagasoto’s superb lob from the edge of the area opened the scoring. But New Zealand powered back into the game via their long-ball game when Amber Hearn headed in a fantastic cross from right-back Ria Percivel.

However the Japanese were simply too quick, too nimble, too fit for New Zealand as they stretched them throughout the second half. Despite threatening often from open play they got the game’s decisive goal through Aya Miyama’s well-guided free-kick.

Japan were the day’s outstanding team, and the one looking most likely to go furthest in the tournament, but Mexico stole my heart. A 16-year-old goalkeeper, endlessly energetic midfielders who shoot on sight and a goalscorer who celebrated by kicking the corner flag: what’s not to like?

Stray Observations

– Despite Mexico’s great result they will be extremely worried about captain Maribel Dominguez’s late injury. She put in an outstanding lone-striker shift up front and if her injury proves serious, they may fade out of the tournament rather quicker than I am hoping.

– The Germans seem to have done a great job in choosing their stadiums for this tournament. Rather than going for the biggest, they’ve gone for compact, atmospheric venues where 15,000-20,000 people can make a lot of noise. Great stuff.

– If Japan find their shooting boots and finish top of the group, they could make it all the way to the final.

– The first signs of play-acting, something I was relieved to see absent from the opening day, came from the Mexicans. Hopefully it doesn’t become too much of a theme or my pure-white image of the women’s game will lie in ruins.

– Ocampooooo!