Team of the Tournament So far

Goalkeeper 

Ochoa (Mexico)

 Right  Centre Back

Gary Medel  (Chile) 

Centre Back

Marquez (Mexico)

Left Centre Back 

Varane (France)

Defensive Midfielder

Vidal (Chile)

Attacking Midfielder
James Rodriguez (Colombia) 

                    









Attacking Midfielder
Muller (Germany)  

                      












Attacking Midfielder
Neymar (Brazil)

                                                     















Right Forward
Robben (Netherlands)  

                                             
Striker
Benzema  (France)

                                              
Left Forward
Messi  (Argetntina)

                                                                 

My Goals of the Tournament so far.

Top 5  Goals of the World Cup So far 

James Rodriguez (Colombia)  V  Uruguay

Tim Cahill (Australia)   V Holland

Robin Van Persie (Holland) V Spain

Messi (Argentina)  V Bosnia

Neymar (Brazil)  V Cameroon

Latest Betting reccommendations.

A couple of bets have jumped out at me as the tournament progresses,

• over 2.5 goals in a game and 
• both teams to score. 

I think there is incredible value in both of these markets.  

So if you have a euro or fifty cent spare you would not go wrong in betting on either of these for the games ahead.  

Last night I had had Switzerland France and Argentina to win and both teams to score in all three games.  It was quoted at 75/1 and it was a Honduran goal short of coming off.  

Today I am going for Germany, Ghana and Nigeria all to win at 13/1.  

Peerless Pirlo

 In the run up to the World Cup I wrote in this blog about the excitement that such a tournament brings to a 12 year old boy especially when his own country is competing in it. Well so far this tournament has brought that excitement to many neutrals who are much older and should know better.  This has been a tournament that reminds us why we all fell in love with the beautiful game in the first place. There has not been a draw yet, there has been an average of 3.5 goals, the highest since 1958 (early days I know) and there has been only one scoreless half of the 22 so far.  So all in all it is shaping up to be a tournament that will go down as one of the greatest in living memory. 

The weekend saw the entrance to the tournament of the much hyped Argentina, the flaky French and the soap opera that is the England team.  What sort of story line would  they produce this time?.  You got the feeling going into the game that it was going to be more along the lines of Emmerdale rather than Eastenders and that the expectations were being managed by both Hodgson and the FA. Talk of blooding youngsters and the next generation, is either a brave or political move by Hodgson, especially as he may not be around to see them flourish.   But first on to the action.  

Colombia V Greece 

The action on Saturday saw the Colombians beat the Greeks 3-0 and it could have been more.  Greece who won Euro 2004 with defensive tactics have not evolved from this strategy and for the neutral it is good to see one of the dark horses, Colombia dispatch them with ease.  It was like a home game for Colombia and it was the loudest atmosphere yet at the tournament.  The heat and conditions will not trouble Colombia and I expect them to go to the quarter finals at least as they are due to play the runners up in the Italian group.  An impressive performance that promises more.  

Costa Rica V Uruguay 

The second game of Saturday provided the biggest shock of the tournament so far.  Semi Finalists in 2010, Uruguay have kept faith in most of the squad from 2010 but were missing Suarez with a  knee injury going into this game.  Forlan and Cavani led the line for Uruguay and they took the lead through a penalty in the first half.  They had not played well but led at half time.  Costa Rick now with nothing to lose went at Uruguay in the same way they had in the second half against Ireland in a recent friendly.  Campbell who is on Arsenal's books took his chance from a cross with a half volley and smashed it into the back of the net.  Uruguay's reaction to conceding was dispirited and they looked leggy and jaded and were undone from a header from a well taken free.  Costa Rica had Uruguay on the back foot and made it 3 towards the end with a beautiful pass from Campbell, the games star performer, and a well taken finish by the striker.  Uruguay were  reduced to ten men late in the game, and will struggle to get out of the group at this stage. Costa Rica had the greatest day in World Cup history.  

England V Italy 

You know England are playing in a World Cup when RTE donate an hour to the pre-match build up and bring in the A team of Brady, Giles and Dunphy.  England games have produced some classic "RTE Panel" moments over the years from the Garth Crooks and Sven love bomb to the brilliant critique of Graham Taylor's England in Euro 92. This tournament  had started well in this regard as Dunphy has promised to wear a dress if England reach the quarter finals.  If the Irish public needed another reason to cheer against England, here was it.   

The game on Saturday night was a fantastic contrast of styles.  From the possession based Italians to the pacy counter attacking English,  the game always had you on the edge of your seat.  Even when the pace of the game dropped in the final quarter due to the humid conditions.  English players were out on their feet and several went down with cramp.  That is what  chasing a ball around for 90 minutes does for you. The Italian style of letting the ball do the work exemplified  by Pirlo, was perfect for these energy sapping conditions.  In an attacking sense this was a positive performance from England with Sterling and Sturridge bringing their Liverpool form into the game. However Stephen Gerrard and Wayne Rooney both had nights they would like to forget.  Both were out of position and neither were playing their natural game.  For Rooney there is hope, as he can be moved into his favoured position of behind the striker or even up top.  Gerrard does not have the legs to play his natural game and does not have the footballing brain to play the one he wants to play for club and country. If you want a stat that shows the gulf in class between Pirlo and Gerrard.  Pirlo completed 105 of his 108 passes to Gerrard's 62 out of 67 on the night. The game passed him by if you pardon the pun. The problem for England is they do not have a player to replace him, as Carrick and Barry were left at home and neither of them are international class, but would probably do a better job in that role.  

The night did belong to Pirlo and the attacking wing back Darmian.  One ran the show and the other caused all sorts of problems down England's left hand side.  In only his second cap Diame was one of the stand out performers and tactically Prandelli outsmarted Hodgson and pinned Rooney back throughout the game.  All three goals in the game were things of joy and beauty and England can take heart from the turn and pass played by Sterling to setup Rooney who provided a beautiful cross for Sturridge. To others it showed that Pirlo is flawed and he was turned by Sterling far too easily and it is a weakness that should be exploited by more teams.  

It all sets it up for a do or die game between England and Uruguay on Thursday night.   Will Suarez be back, will Rooney be dropped and can Gerrard control a game of football.  I can already answer the latter. 

Ivory Coast V Japan 

This was a game I did not see live as it began at 2am and poor old Tony O'Donoghue of RTE was given the night shift. Tony one of the nicest and most knowledgeable TV reporters out there is the anchor for RTE's afternoon highlights show but tonight he drew the short straw. Just looking at highlights and going on reports it seems like it was a decent game that sprung into action when Drogba came on for the Ivory Coast.  They were 1 nil down at the time and although he did not score, within minutes of him coming on Ivory Coast had equalised and taken the lead from two headers.  Finally the Ivory Coast have a group that they can get out of it. Twice they have been drawn in groups of death when  their golden generation players were  at their prime. Now when some of them seem a little past it they get a group that should see them join Colombia in the next round in my opinion.   How far they go after that is any one's guess but once it is knock out anything can happen.  

So another great day of football came to a close and the tournament gets better and better.  

High Five for Holland

After the controversy of the opening match and poor refereeing decisions, we went into Day 2 hoping that the  football would make the headlines.  Football is never as simple as that and Day 2 of the 2014 World Cup provided us with  both sides of the beautiful game.  

Mexico V Cameroon 

The day began with the 5pm kick off between Mexico and Cameroon.  Cameroon who were a shambles in qualification, and even in the run up to the Finals, there was talk of player disputes and strikes.  Not ideal preparation for a World Cup Finals.  The opening half exposed  all of these cracks and Cameroon were a shambles.  Mexico who were neat and tidy and were well able to keep possession and create chances.  In fact in the first half they scored 2 perfectly good goals through ex Spurs and Barcelona forward Dos Santos. Both were deemed to be offside and replays showed clearly both were  legitimate goals. Mexico went in at half time in the soaking conditions, I am sure angry and frustrated. However after a sluggish start to the second half they did not let this get to them. Mexico scored a well worked team goal and deservedly took the lead through their experienced striker Peralta.  Cameroon were never getting back into the game although they did have half a chance near the end.  Mexico started the tournament composed and with a clear game plan and their game against  Croatia in the final  group game will be the group decider in my view.  Cameroon will go home early and may prove to be one of the worst teams in the tournament.  

Spain V Netherlands

The second game of the day was a repeat of the last World Cup Final in South Africa, Spain V Netherlands.  Both teams had questions marks hanging over their heads coming into the game.  Did Spain have too much mileage on the clock,  Was tika taka dead ? For the The Dutch it was can their forward three propel their younger defensive colleagues to glory? The expectations in Holland were low amongst journalists and fans alike. The Dutch fans outnumbered the Spanish, close to 5 to 1 and before kick off if you were to say that would be reflected in the score line at the end, you would have been visited by men in white coats, and no not GAA umpires.

Spain chose to prepare for the tournament at high altitude rather than the humidity training, many countries went for.  This was either  going to be an inspired or a disastrous choice.  I think we got our answer here.   From the start Holland were in the faces of the Spanish.  Not quite as aggressive as four years ago and the right side the rules this time. They did not let Spain dictate the pace of the game in the way they like.  Sneijder had a chance early on when he shot straight at Cassilas. This exposed cracks in the Spanish centre back partnership of Pique and Ramos.  They looked fragile.  However a debateable penatly mid way through the first  half for a "foul" on Costa was converted by Alonso.  This gave  Spain the impression that all was ok and that they were in control and they could have made it 2 with a chance for Sliva towards the end of the second half.  However the match was lit up in the 44th minute with a moment  of pure footballing genius from Robin Van Persie.  A beautiful 30 yard pass from the young Blind with his father watching on, was met by the flying Van Persie's  with his head, in a moment  that will go down as a classic World Cup Goal.  It had shades of Bergkamp and DeBoer from Marseille in 1998. This was the goal that the Dutch needed, to give them faith and confidence in the system that Van Gaal had deployed.  The game changed on this moment of genius.  

The second half had only just begun when another great pass from Blind this time to Robben,  was pulled from the sky with an exquisite first touch and smashed into the back of the net by Robben.  2-1 and Spain were ragged.  Although they had a goal disallowed through offside, Spain had lost the one thing they crave in a football match, and that is control.  Van Gaal was tactically beating Del Bosque up and Costa and Alonso were withdrawn.  However the problems were in other places.  Ramos Pique and the experienced Cassislas were all having nightmares and Holland got two goals directly from goalkeeping mistakes.  One from when the keeper misjudged the flight of a cross and another when his first touched let him down and Van Persie pounced to slide it in to an empty net.  The Dutch fans rubbed it in with cheers of Olés for every Dutch pass.  Spain were a shambles and what was most surprising was that the scoreline did not flatter the Dutch.  A final goal from Robben which made it 5 and the high fave between Van Gaal and Van  Persie that marked the first  goal had proved to be prophetic.  Spain did lose the opening game of the last World Cup to Switzerland.  But this was differnt and felt it. Spain have serious questions to ask themselves.  Do they keep faith with Cassilas?  Do Ramos and Pique survive for the next match?  Do they go back to their tried and trusted strikerless formation?  Del Bosque is a great coach and it will be interesting to  see how he responds to this setback.  For the Dutch everything went right for them in the second half, but Van Gaal seems to have them set up brilliantly that maximises their resources. Their defence will face different tests as the tournament goes on but Group B opened with a bang. 

Chile V Australia 

The late game on Day 2 was the much fancied Chileans against an Australian team that were written off by many.   For many non footballing fans Chile and Australia are sections within the Wine Department of an off licence.  The question was, which sort of vintage would both countries produce.  For  the Australians it was a young team with a  couple of experienced campaigners  such as Tim Cahill thrown in.  Chile according to many reports were about to produce a vintage crop and it in the words of Frank Sinatra, it could be a "very good year".    Chile started the much better side and were 2 goals in front after 14 minutes and looked to be running Australia ragged. Slick attacking play with effective one twos were exposing the ponderous Australian defence but gradually the Socceroos started to get back into the game.  A trademark header from Tim Cahll before half time gave them hope.  Cahill will go down as one of the great headers of the ball. For a guy who is not a giant, his leap and timing are perfection when it comes to winning headers in the box.  The second half was open and competitive and Australia were never out of the game and exposed defensive fragilities in the Chilean team.  A third goal towards the end, sealed the victory for Chile and put a sheen on a win that was far from simple for Chile. Chile play Spain next and will be  seeking revenge for their defeat in 2010.  A draw may suit the Chileans but their style of play does not suit playing for such an outcome.  It promises to be a cracker.  

Day 2 really sparked  the opening of the World Cup and if it continues along these lines it should be a great tournament.  A stunning result in Salvador for the Dutch will make headlines throughout the world.  So far we have had 4 games and only one team has failed to score and there has been a total of 15 goals so far.  It could be a "very good year" alright.  

Home Town Decisions.

                                       

There is a reason why the hosts have never lost their opening game at a World Cup and tonight we found out why.  One, they have the massive enthusiasm and support of their home fans and two and maybe more importantly, if there are decisions to be made, they are most likely to end on the positive end of them.  You have got to feel sorry for Croatia after tonight's opening match of the 2014 World Cup.  Croatia played the game brilliantly, attacked with purpose, had two brilliant central midfield performances but unfortunately for them, they were let down by the referee and their own goalkeeper.  

The opening match of previous World Cups have been curious affairs. From the controversial and shocking game between Cameroon and Argentina that opened Italia 90 to the 8 goal affair between Germany and Costa Rica at Germany 2006.  There has often been a major story from these games and tonight was no different.  The game had a surprise goal to open the game, a shocking refereeing decision, a wonderful display from Modric, Neymar and Oscar and a goalkeeping display that was laborious at best.  

Croatia came into the game as massive underdogs but they caused Brazil plenty of problems tonight and with any luck will be in this tournament after the second week.  They attacked Brazil in a quasi counter-attacking policy which penetrated the Brazilian defence 3 or 4 times in the opening 20 minutes.  This tactic paid off and Croatia opened the scoring through  an own goal from Marcelo,  the first time a World Cup has begun with an own goal.  To be fair to Brazil they responded to the goal with guts and determination and did not wilt amongst the expectation of their home support. A shot from outside the box from Neymar crept into the bottom corner late in the first half and the sides went in at half time in what was an open and entertaining first half. 

The second half had begun slowly and Croatia were frustrating the hosts and it was not until Fred felt an arm on his shoulders and went down, did the game have its biggest talking point.  Fred fell to the ground and the referee quickly pointed to the spot.  Penalty !!! the Croatian players surrounded the referee and he defiantly waved away their protests and brandished a yellow card to the Southampton defender Lovren.  An extremely harsh decision which caused the Brazilian striker to thank the heavens.   He had been anonymous until that point and this was his only major input to the game.  The penalty was taken by Neymar and a poor penalty was nearly saved by the keeper but in the end finished in the back of the net.  

2-1 and the rest of the world began to shift their support from Brazil to Croatia.  From then on the Croats were out of their comfort zone and were chasing a game they did not deserve to be behind in.  Towards the end of the game they caused panic in the Brazilian defence with David Luis causing panic to even the most laid back Brazilian fan.  Seconds after one of these panic stations, Oscar broke into the Croatian half and struck his shot with his toe from 25 yards out and caught the keeper by surprise and the ball found the back of the net.  Once again the keeper was slow to get down.  Not taking away anything from Oscar's effort but this was a poor goalkeeping display from Stipe Pletikosa and in the end he cost his side.  

So Brazil get over the first hurdle with a little help from poor goalkeeping, poor refereeing decisions and good performances from Neymar and Oscar.  But there are serious question marks hanging over this Brazilian team.  To most observers of the English Premiership, the decision to choose Paulinho over Fernandinho seems a strange one. However Scolari has a history of choosing pragmatism over romanticism.  This is not samba football but it is effective football and although this Brazilian team has flaws, it will go a long way with home support, favourable refereeing decisions and a coach who knows how to win.  Write them off at your peril.  

My Bets for World Cup 2014

Double  Brazil to win the tournament and Fred to be the top scorer 40/1

Top Goal Scorer Benzema 28/1

Sergio Aguero 14/1

More to follow