WC 2014 Column


 

Day 3 - On the 3rd day, life and death were so antagonistic as synonyms for the participants in Groups C and D.



By Gabriel Cazotto

    On the day that football lovers relished themselves with four games (something that has not happened since 2002), the World Cup was marked by the first results of the "patients" of both the Group Life and the Group of Death.

    As a doctor before giving the results of an examination for a patient with bad news, let’s start with the so-called Group of Death, name coined in 1986 by Uruguayan coach Omar Borras to define their group who had Denmark, West Germany and Scotland. Interestingly, in December 2013, again Uruguay was in 2014 Group of Death. But if in 1986 the four teams were seen as favorites to advance, the great tipsters and the odds for Group D was indeed a triple dispute involving 7 World titles and two Olympics worth as World Championships. By the Ultraheavyweight Italy, Uruguay and England.

    But like every World Cup, they have forgotten the surprise factor, and especially someone who is used to do it, Costa Rica, which has already surprised everyone in Italy 1990 by reached the Second Round despite having Sweden and Scotland in their Group, and in 2002 who only got eliminated on goal difference, by the eventual Champion and Third Place Brazil and Turkey. The Ticos did it again! Playing a lot better since the first against Uruguay led by an outstanding match of the boy Joel Campbell. The Ticos, or perhaps from today known as the "Ghostbusters" outsourced what all Brazilians are feeling inside, eliminate Uruguay as soon as possible to expunge the ghosts of Maracanazo. Which they can have accomplished expressed in tears in the eyes of an old fan in TV while claiming your love by his country.

    If ghosts and tears marked the first game, the second took place under the sweat in Manauara sauna with 32 degrees at night. In another sensational game, marked by exceptional technical level firs round, a dummy play by Pirlo and a brilliant header from Balotelli gave the victory to the Azurri, who haven’t won in the World Cup since 2006 against Germany in the semifinal.

    Italy and Costa Rica survived, for instance, in the Group of Death. England still have a shot of surviving even with a defeat to Uruguay; while La Celeste is in the Uruguay is breathing by apparatus in the World Cup ICU; and another defeat to England in Sao Paulo eliminate the ghosts of 1950 still in the first round.

    In the Group of Life, coined that way by being one of only two groups that do not contain a World Champions; Colombia, even without Falcao, demolished Greece led by Cuadrado and James in a scenario typical of Barranquilla. If Minas Gerais has no beach, as the Brazilian claims, for 90 minutes the beaches and the heat of the Caribbean Barranquilla were teleported to their fans in the cauldron that they did against the Greeks in Mineirão. In the other match unlike the last World Cups, where the Ivorian fell in very difficult groups, the Group of Life allowed the Elephants to begin to show that the last glimpse of their golden generation is still not dead, guided by Yaya Touré and especially Drogba after entering the field, to overcome the 0x1 for Japan with two headed goals in two sensational crosses from the right defender Aurier to turn the tide against Japan and keep the dream of being the first African team to play in a semifinal. On the 3rd day, life and death were so antagonistic as synonyms for participants in Groups C and D.

Man of the Match:

James Rodríguez - COL
Joel Campbell - CRC
Andrea Pirlo - ITA
Serge Aurier - CIV



 

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