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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Belgium in the Round of 16; USA kept Portugal in the World Cup
Day 11 started with Belgium vs Russia. I predicted that Belgium would win
the game 2-1. However, the score was 1-0 in favor of Belgium via the young, Divock Origi in the 88th minute. I expected a lot from
Belgium. So far, they have not shown me what they are capable of showing. It appears that the Belgians had to wait until the last 10
minutes to start playing football. However, they have continued to find a way to win through the talented Eden Hazard. Beating Russia
1-0, the Belgians have obtained their ticket in the round of 16th. It is a good accomplishment for them considering that they have been
waiting since 1986 World Cup.
The Russians, on the other hand, did not play bad. They could not finish their opportunities. At the end of the
game, they appeared to be tired at the end of the game and could not defend their backline. They will have to go in their final round to
search for the qualification but it will not be easy for the men of Fabio Capello.
The second game of the journey was between South Korea and Algeria. I predicted South Korea to win the game 1-0.
Algeria won the game 4-2. It was a fantastic game from the beginning. It seems that the South Koreans were a bit relaxed in the first half
and the Algerians caught them by surprise. The Algerians played excellent attacking football and the South Koreans could not get anything
going since.
The Algerians scored their first goal in the 26th minute by Islam Slimani. Two minutes after that, Rafik Halliche
scored the second goal for Algeria and Abdelmoumene Djabou augmented the score for the Algerians to put them up 3-0 in the 38th minute.
The South Koreans found themselves down 0-3 at half-time. It was great football played by the Algerians in the first half.
In the second half, the South Koreans played with a sense of urgency. In the 50th minute, it was Heung-Min
Son who scored their first goal. The South Koreans started to play like I thought they would have played in the first half. They
had to go in the attack in search for the equalizer. However, the Algerians made them pay for their ambition by scoring a beautiful
fourth goal by Yasine Brahimi in the 62nd minute. The South Koreans were able to reduce the score in the 72nd minute by Ja-Cheol Koo.
The game ended 4-2 in favor of the Algerians who will go for their ticket to the next round in their next game.
Concerning the South Koreans, thinks are complicated for them now. Had they played in the first half in the same manner they played in the
2nd half, they would have had a chance.
The last game of the day was between the USA and Portugal. Portugal needed three points to have a great chance
in obtaining their qualifying chance for the round of 16th. The game started pretty very well for the Portuguese after the American
defender, Cameron, made a defensive error that Nani converted in goal in the 5th minute. The USA did not give up and they continued
to attack Portugal in search of the equalizer. The Americans were the better side. However, Portugal had some opportunities as well
to score as well. If it were not for Tim Howard, the American goalie, USA would have found themselves down 0-2 at half-time. The game
ended 1-0 for the first half.
In the second half, the Americans stepped up their game to the highest level and were determined to equalize the
game. Portugal did not play well at all and Ronaldo was basically lost in the game and was unable to get anything going. In the 64th
minute, Germaine Jones tied the game for the Americans with a majestic right-footed shot that left the Portuguese goal keeper helpless.
It was indeed a beautiful goal.
Portugal were wounded and the USA continued to pressure them. The pressure paid off in the 81st when Clint
Dempsey chested the ball to put the United States up 2-1 and a chance to qualify for the round of 16. Unfortunately for the Americans,
a lack of concentration by Michael Bradley who lost and easy ball in the midfield that opened an opportunity for Ronaldo who delivered
a magnificent cross that Varela headed in the bottom of the USA net guarded by Tim Howard.
Ronaldo and Varela have given us some lifeline to their nation. If not, they would have found themselves in the
same situation with Spain and England. The USA defenders should have done better in preventing Varela to score with 30 seconds left.
However, it was a lack of concentration by Michael Bradley that cost the USA the immediate qualification to the round of 16. Now the
Americans will face the Germans in their last game in search of their ticket for the round of 16th.
In terms of prediction, I was 33% for day 11. Here are my predictions for Day 12:
Spain 2 vs Australia 1
Chile 2- Netherlands 1
Cameroon 0 – Brazil 3
Croatia 1- Mexico 2
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