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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Chile red-carded Spain; Holland and Chile in the round of 16; Croatia spanked Cameroon
Day 7 of the World Cup started with Netherlands versus Australia. I
predicted that the Dutch would win the game 2-0 but they won it 3-2. It was a very exciting game where both teams wanted the win. It
is unfortunate that the Australians are eliminated from the tournament because they played extremely hard to maintain their chances of
qualifying for the next round. But again, Facing Robben and Van Persie are not an easy task for the opponents.
The Australians found themselves down 0-1 in the 20th minute after Robben, the Usain Bolt of Football, used his
speed to pass the Australian defenders and tested the goalie with a powerful left shot that ended up in the bottom of the Australia’s
net. However, the Australians came right back to tie with a spectacular volley by Tim Cahill after receiving a majestic parabolic cross
from Ryan McGowan. The first half ended 1-1.
In the second half, the Australians were gifted a penalty kick (PK). I don’t think it was a penalty kick
because it was not an intentional hand ball. Jedinak stepped up to take the penalty kick to put the Aussies up 2-1 in the 54th minute.
Having Van Persie, a true striker, is a tremendous advantage for Holland. It was Van Persie who tied the game 2-2 for the Netherlands.
The Australian had another opportunity to take the lead but he could not capitalize on this golden opportunity. Soon after that, the
Dutch made them pay via Depay who sent a swerving shot that the Australian’s goalie was unable to do anything about it. Netherlands
won 3-2 and secured their spot in the next round. Concerning Australia, they would have to play their last game and then pack their
bags to Sydney.
The game of the day for Day 7 was between Spain and Chile at the Maracana Stadium, the world’s most famous
football stadium. I predicted a tie 1-1 for this game, but Chile won the game 2-0 and that result shocked the world. What has happened
to Spain? What has happened to Spain could have happened to any team that has been providing us with spectacular football for the last 6
years. At some point, this fantastic journey had to have an end.
On June 18th 2014, Chile put an end to Spain’s football dynasty. I did not want Spain to go out so early since
they have always played beautiful football but today Chile suffocated the Spaniards and they could not do much. Everything went wrong
for Spain…From Casillas to Pedro, everything you could have imagined, has gone wrong for the Spaniards.
Chile came to play to earn those 3 points, they attacked and they defended well. They took control of the game
from Spain and in the 20th minute Eduardo Vargas put Chile up 1-0 after he rounded Casillas to catapult the ball in the back of the
net. Things got very worse for Spain before the half when Aranguiz put Chile 2-0 after Casillas made a rookie mistake by punching the
ball into the center area to the feet of Aranguiz who buried the ball in the bottom of the net.
In the second half, the Spaniards had a ton of possession but they could not capitalize on their few
opportunities. Chile had an excellent game plan that rendered the Spaniards very ineffective. As a result, The Chileans booked
their ticket for the round of 16.
Despite being eliminated, the fans of the round ball have to appreciate this Spanish national team for showing
how to beautifully play the game of football. For Casillas, this year has not been a good year for him. I hope his legacy will not be
tarnished by those two bad games. We must congratulate Chile and Holland for making it to the next round.
The third game of Day 7 was between Croatia. I predicted that Croatia would win the game 2-0 but they won it
4-0. Croatia have an excellent midfield and having Mario Mandzukic up front will definitely bring goals. It was unfortunate in the
first game that the referee had interfered with their game against Brazil. Today they have shown they have the scoring power to
intimidate lot of opponents.
Concerning Cameroon, this is a team that is in complete disarray. Their own players are fighting among
themselves. Song showed lack of discipline and earned himself a red card. They have not shown much in this World Cup and that is
why they will be in route to Yaoundé very soon.
Concerning my predictions for day 6, I was 67% right. Here are my predictions for day 8:
Colombia 2 – Ivory Coast 1
Uruguay 1- England 2
Japan 1- Greece 0
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