I get up at seven, so I can\’t handle 11pm kick-offs.
And I just can\’t do 32-team World Cups any more.
It\’s too many games, too many matches I don\’t want to see.
But now, with only 16 teams left, I\’m starting to enjoy it.
There\’s some hard information, some meaningful recent form, some likely lads looking to score the goal that wins this World Cup.
Eight games? Yes!
Eight games is a scenario I can comprehend, something I can have an opinion on.
Today is a day off which allows football junkies a moment to consider the prospects facing the 16 teams still in the competition.
The six Latin American teams all play on Saturday and Sunday.
Brazil v Chile is on Saturday at 5pm.
I love Alexis Sanchez, the main man in a side who play like a club team. No other team looks as solid and fluent as Chile.
Colombia are better than Uruguay and will win the 9pm game.
Holland v Mexico is at 5pm on Sunday.
The Mexicans play three centrebacks, so the measured diagonal balls of Daley Blind won\’t find Robin van Persie so easily. Arjen Robben will have to be their matchwinner again.
Costa Rica, the surprise winners of Group D, beat Uruguay 3-1 after being 1-0 down. Then they nicked past Italy with that beautiful Bryan Ruiz header. When it didn\’t matter, Costa Rica drew 0-0 with England, after England had been eliminated.
Now they play Greece at 9pm on Sunday.
Big Samaras made a goal against Ivory Coast in their third game, and after Bony equalised, Samaras buried a penalty in stoppage time for 2-1. After opening with a 3-0 defeat by Colombia, Greece scrapped for a vital point against Japan and then squeezed through.
I liked some of the things Samaras used to do at Manchester City, while admitting that Celtic is more his level. I\’m wishing him luck because the Colombians are strong athletes and far superior to any team Greece have faced so far. With Spain, Italy and England already out, the Greeks have over-achieved.
They will make Colombia work for it.
Monday\’s 5pm game is France v Nigeria, whose flying winger Musa equalised a minute after Messi scored in 3, and made it 2-2 two minutes after Messi scored again. Rojo\’s winning goal for Argentina was a bit jammy. But the best team won.
France had enough chances to beat Ecuador 5-0.Their 4-3-3 system works better than most and right now Deschamps looks like one of the best coaches in the tournament. Hugo Lloris is one of the few reliable goalkeepers.
I liked Algeria in their first game, where they led for about 45 minutes before conceding goals to Fellaini and Mertens.
Germany v Algeria is Monday\’s 9pm game and it could be tight until Muller scores again. Did you see his winner from the edge of the box against USA?
Ghana have been in disarray off the pitch while the remarkably gifted Asamoah Gyan has been showing his class on it.
Portugal beat Ghana 2-1 but became the only team to go out on goal difference. They got four points, as did the USA.
Argentina v Switzerland is on Tuesday at 5pm.
Bayern\’s Shakiri, having just scored an electric hat-trick against Honduras, is so hot that he might burst into flames on the pitch. Spontaneous combustion in Sao Paulo would make Shakiri a proper legend.
Belgium v USA is the final game in the Round of 16 and it\’s at on Tuesday at 9pm.
Still think Eden Hazard is a No.10 who is wasted on the left wing. He should be getting the ball near the D, not near the touchline.
So I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Hope to write more coherently than I’ve been doing so far.
Admittedly, I was knackered after editing the ebook.
That process made me think: Once upon a time I could do a 32-team World Cup, writing 30-40,000 words about each tournament.
Having blogged France 98, I did the next three and collected them as My Four World Cups, whose lucid Preface may be sampled on Amazon and on Amazon.com with a new Author Biography.
27th June 2014