The going get tough after yesterdays disaster for England - Hops and dreams will not be enough to advance. Still there is the EPL and Crystal Palace to look forward to.
Three teams through already and three teams on their way home so far.
Game One: (game twenty-four )
Italy - Costa Rica Top of the table clash this one.
England are hoping that Costa Rica win to in some parallel universe keep them in the tournament. When you finish laughing about that read on.
Teams with uneven temperament in this, it could end up littered in yellow cards.
Not a lot to pick in the first 15 minutes of this, a point would of course suite both teams. Series of half chances and missed opportunity as the game gets to 30 minutes and 0-0. Most of the game being played in the middle 1/3rd of the pitch, which doesn't make for entertainment.
Then at 42 minutes Italy lapse and Costa Rica crack the defence and in a one on one situation Italy appear to get away with a clumsy tackle from a player tracking back and a penalty denied. That appears to be a shocking decision first up. #Scenes
It's a beautiful game though and from a cross from the left and the unmarked player , where Costa Rica exact revenge and it's 1-0. Still time in this half for dramatics and rolling around and Italy with a free kick from about 35 yards wasted it's half time and 1-0 Costa Rica, It should have been 2-0
Italy need a goal and are pushing up high, it's tense, and at 60 minutes there is not a lot to separate these two in this half. Mad Mario gets a booking for stupidity.
75 minutes in and Costa Rica have to be thinking they have this. The game ebbs somewhat as Costa Rica look to pull off the most unlikely feat of beating 2 teams in the top 10 ranked teams
1-0 Costa Rica #Scenes and jubilation for them. For England it wasn't over it is now.
Game Two: (game twenty-five )
Switzerland - France This also to decide top spot. for one of these team the 0 will go as you don't hunk it'll be 0-0 .
Switzerland in strife early on losing a defender to a high foot challenge, and on 17 minutes this is taken advantage of and France go 1-0 up from a corner kick, unchallenged header.
It gets worse 2-0, sloppy passing the French take possession and two passes later a classy finish, Goal keeper is going to hate that letting one in at the near post.
The French crank it up and begin to look really poised, close to a goal back but it's offside so that didm't count. Could it get worse though, a penalty which was soft.
SAVED!!!! and the rebound hits the woodwork, lady luck might be changing her mind. But no, blindingly quick counter-attack from a corner kick that breaks down and it's 3-0, it's all dazzle!!
Half-time 3-0 and France look like a steam-roller.
Swiss start brightly, however the French team appear to have this on a string. 60 minutes and the French have done enough and don't appear to be in a hurry to improve but look dangerous, the Switzerland team looking for gaps but not finding them in a well organised French defence.
France relentless though and it's 4-0 the Switzerland team have no answers, and their defence is unpicked again. with 35 to play it's not going to end well.
A well manufactured and worked move in the left opens up the man on the right of the box and it's 5 ! Can't help but thinking that you wouldn't want to be a goalie in this game. Switzerland are broken and France are shooting at will. 15 to go.
From 30 yards though, the defensive wall more a sieve and it's 5-1.
Superb finish and a goal for the highlights reel and 5-2 Personal glory in a match that the Switzerland team will want to avoid talking about, but there are positives in this for them and they need to keep focussed on the next game.
One last flick of the tail and despite a blindingly good finish the referee has blown the whistle and by fractions of a second France miss out on a 6th
5-2 in an even tempered and open game.
Game Three: (game twenty-six )
Honduras - Ecuador Depending on the result for this is who advances
Teams playing the unusual these days 4-4-2 formation.
18 minutes of not much and Ecuador spurn a chance from right in front and it remains 0-0
30 minutes a long ball from a defensive position finds a player in front of goal and he pulls the trigger - 1-0 Honduras, a goal that will make the highlights reel.
Honduras finally and eventually score at the world cup finals!
Game then goes all frantic as Ecuador realise what has happened and 2 minutes passes before it's 1-1 with what you have to say is a soft goal against a flat foot defence. #Scenes
(goal #76 so far of the tournament).
Confusion at the last play of the half, referee calls offside as the ball is bundled into the net, linesman and referee are at odds, the man in the middle is the arbiter of all things and so it's no goal and 1-1 at the half. Who said it was boring.
Game still lacks imagination or spark though as the pedestrian pace,lack of drive through the mid furled and poor last touch by both teams does not bring edge of seat excitement.
Referee is fairly strong though and denies another penalty at 57 minutes, hardly enough to get up a sweat for. Gol!!!!!!!!!! Ecuador
2-1 Ecuador at 65 minutes, a come from behind lead.
Last 10 and it'll either open up and be adventurous and both teams will push for a goal, or it'll become handbags and niggle.
Referee blowing his whistle like a madman as the payers continue the action only to look horrified when they realised. Referee is either having blinder or a mare.
Game over and 2-1 Ecuador, let's get the party started.
For the portions I saw today, I was really disappointed in the offsides calls, or non-calls. At least one, maybe two of the French goals were offsides. And that controversial one in the Honduras-Ecuador game was clearly offsides -- not sure what the line ref was looking at.
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