Pierre Boisrond has followed soccer and the World Cup
closely for many years and also writes for other websites. We at PWC are proud to have him as
a columnist. He will share his views about the past, present and future of
the World Cup.
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Messi erupted Maracana; Benzema led France; Switzerland late Win
The world was waiting to see Lionel Messi of Argentina during the Day 4 of
the World Cup. Before seeing Messi, the world has to see Switzerland vs Ecuador. The Swiss controlled the ball well early but it was
Ecuador’s Enner Valencia who gave his nation the lead in the 21st minute. Despite the attacks on the wings from Ecuador, the Swiss
continued to search for the equalizer. That equalizer finally came very early in the second half for Switzerland after Mehmedi put the
ball in the net and tied the game 1-1. Both teams had chances to go ahead throughout the second half. In stoppage time, the Ecuadorians
seemed they were going to score a goal but was denied by the Swiss defense and via a deadly counter-attack, Haris Seferovic pierced
Ecuador’s defense in the 93rd minute and give Switzerland their first three points in Brazil 2014. The Swiss played with determination
and they went for the win. It was a tough blow for the Ecuadorians because they thought they earned a point in this game. My prediction
was 1-1, but Switzerland proved me wrong by winning the game 2-1.
The second game was between France vs Honduras. It was an interesting game between both teams. Honduras started to play very well. But
as the game progressed, the French were in total control. The game totally changed when France were awarded a penalty kick after a foul
committed by Palacios who was also ejected from the game. Karim Benzema executed the penalty kick to put France ahead 1-0.
In the second half, the French started where they left off and with the help of goal line technology, the referee was able to award a 2nd
goal France; FIFA claimed it is an own goal but I would have given the goal to Karim Benzema. Playing with 10 men against France was a
difficult task for Honduras. Benzema made it 3-0 in the 72nd minute to earn France their initial three points in this World Cup. For
Honduras, they did play with courage but France were too much for them. My prediction was 3-0 in favor of France.
The third game of Day 4 was the one that the world was waiting to see. We all wanted to see the Messiah, Lionel Messi. There were lot of
excitement in Rio de Janeiro at the Maracana Stadium, the cathedral of world football. More than 74,000 attended the game to see the
debut of the world best footballer against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The game started very well for the Argentines on an own goal after a free kick taken by the super talented Messi. At this time, many
might have thought this would be an easy game for Argentina. It was not at all. I think Bosnia played well, they were a bit unlucky and
they attacked Argentina and they could have scored 1 or two goals in the first half if it were not for Romero who stopped two dangerous
balls by Bosnia and Herzegovina. Argentina did not play well in the first half. The team was more individualistic instead of playing
collectively. Alejandro Sabella, the coach of Argentina, came up with a surprise lineup by using five defenders. It seemed Sabella had
lot of respect for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Edin Dzeko. His tactical lineup did not work for Argentina and Messi could not do much as well.
Before the start of the second half, on twitter I pointed that he must bring Fernando Gago to put control in the midfield. Luckily he
did exactly that and he also brought in Gonzalo Higuain. One has to give Sabella’s credit for recognizing that his initial starting
lineup did not work. After he made those changes, Argentina played much better and it was on a magnificent combination between Higuain
and Messi that brought the second goal for Argentina with a fantastic left shot by the Son of God, Messi. However, Bosnia-Herzegovina
were still playing well and with a lack concentration by the Argentine defense and Vedad Ibisevic put the ball between the leg of Romero
who should have stopped the ball.
I think Bosnia played very well, they did not come to play a defensive game. They had several opportunities to score even two goals or
more. Argentina had the world’s top footballer, so he had to come with something magically special to erupt the faithful attendees in
Rio de Janeiro “ En El Mitico Maracana, el Templo del Futbol Mundial.” If Argentina have to reach the finals, they cannot come up with
that lineup. Sabella made a mistake and he recognized it by changing the lineup in the second half. Luckily for Sabella, he was not
playing one of the contenders of this World Cup. This is the first win for Argentina but much more work is needed. I predicted
Argentina to win 4-1 but Sabella used a defensive lineup that might have had an effect on most pundits’ predictions.
Here are my predictions for day 5:
Germany 2- Portugal 1
Nigeria 3 - Iran 0
USA 2- Ghana 1
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