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FIFA World Cup 2022: Quarterfinals

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We’re down to 8 teams left.  These quarterfinals would turn out to be some of the best futbol of this World Cup so far.

Croatia 1 (4-2 pen) 1 Brazil: Five-time winner Brazil is looking to get back to the finals for the first time since facing Germany on their home soil eight years ago. Other than that disastrous appearance, they’ve been bounced out of the World Cup at the quarterfinal level in 3 of the last 4 tourneys. Can A Seleção avoid the quarterfinal curse this time? Croatia was a surprise finalist four years ago in Russia and this is likely superstar Luka Modric’s last go-round on the World Cup stage. Can the Vatreni shock the world against the heavily-favored Brazilians? Croatia plays a 4-1-2-3 formation with a dangerous left side that has Perisic at wing and Modric at left mid. Brazil runs 4-2-3-1 with Richarlison up top and Neymar in the prime distribution area behind him.

Brazil had the better first half shots, but was putting everything right at Livakovic in goal. Croatia clogs the goal box whenever Brazil threatens. Croatia’s best first half opportunity came on a cross into the box for Perisic about the 12-minute mark, but he couldn’t quite get a good foot on it. Still Croatia had to feel good about keeping Brazil goalless in the first half.

Brazil came out in the 2nd half putting tremendous pressure on the Croatian defense with better shots, but a great save by Livakovic keeps his sheet clean. Another build-up results in great opportunity for Neymar but he couldn’t get a good foot on it. Croatia is fortunate that an inadvertent handball in the box was negated by an offsides call. Croatia’s defense time and again prevents good angles on shots by Brazil.

Brazil subbed out Richarlison for Pedro at the 83-minute mark. Richarlison had two fantastic goals in this tournament, one of which is the goal of the Cup so far, and is Brazil’s most dangerous finisher. Don’t understand why they would take him out. The game was scoreless at the end of 90, but you had the feeling that Croatia was comfortable in this position as they have been tied at the end of regulation quite a lot in this tournament. With the way that Livakovic shut down Japan in PKs, they would be justifiably confident if they could get the game to penalty kicks.

In first extra period, Brazil maintained the pressure, but Croatia remained stout. Croatia’s best opportunity of game came toward end of the period when Petkovic split two defenders and laid one across for Brozovic, but he sailed his shot high. Toward the end of stoppage time in the period, Brazil finally executed some of their beautiful game. Neymar made a run up the middle and was rewarded with a deft give and go that had him breaking in free on the goalie. Rather than take the quick shot, he pushed the ball beyond the advancing Livakovic and hammered it home.

With only 15 minutes remaining in their tournament life, Croatia had to start taking some risks. About 11 minutes into the second extra period, a quick counterattack down the left side to Orsic is completed with a perfect delivery to the top of the box where Petkovic slammed a left-footer home. Penalty kicks here we come.

Livakovic stoned the first PK by Brazil. Croatia makes its first four shots, while Brazil made the next two. Marquinhos needed to make fourth Brazil kick to keep hope alive, but slammed it off the left post. Brazil overwhelmingly had the shot, shot on goal, and corner kick advantage, but were unable to make the most of those opportunities because of the suffocating defense and great goal-keeping by Livakovic. The Croatian goalie was the star of this match and Croatia is returning to the semi-finals for the second straight time and are looking for a repeat return to the finals. Meanwhile, Brazil, the number one team in the world is sent home in the quarters again. – AW

Netherlands 2 (3-4 pen) 2 Argentina: The Netherlands and Argentina have a long history at the World Cup, facing off in the 1978 finals and prior semis and quarters. The Oranje play the 3-4-1-2 and have 6’8”, but inexperienced Andries Noppert in goal. His only international experience has been in this World Cup. La Albiceleste run a 3-5-2 with Messi and Alvarez up front. Messi is likely playing in his last World Cup. Can he extend his time in the tournament?

Noppert nearly made a brutal mistake in the 7th minute, passing the ball out of the goal box just barely by an oncoming Argentine striker. Messi got his first shot at the 21st minute, but curled it up just a little high and wide. Argentina was really putting some early pressure on the Netherlands defense, but the Dutch settled in and are very quick to the ball, taking away angles and packing the middle to try to attempt to prevent Messi magic. Whenever Messi touched the ball near the box, he usually had 3-5 defenders surrounding him.
Although this game had similarities to the Brazil-Croatia game, it would not remain scoreless in regulation. In the 34th minute, Messi threaded a no-look pass to a cutting Molina up the middle past the defense. Molina struck his shot past Noppert into the left side of the net.

On set pieces, Netherlands kept running two players toward the ball, with the first one running by ball and the second one kicking it. They were not faking anyone out and needed to vary their approach.

The referee seemed to lose control a bit of the match. A lot of yellow cards were issued, including several against the benches. Netherlands had no shots on goal in the first half. The Argentine defense spread itself wider than the Dutch defense, but still didn’t allow runs or passes through. Netherlands was not using their height advantage by putting any crosses high into the box for much of the game.

Early in the second half, Messi committed a very bad handball foul, but the referee didn’t book him. Did he get the superstar treatment? One of his teammates got a yellow for a similarly deliberate handball in the first half. This would become important later.
In the 60th minute, Messi got pulled down outside the box, but his resulting free kick was just barely high. Ten minutes later, Acuna tried cutting back in left side of box and got pulled down. The contact was pretty minimal, but a PK was declared. Messi did a little stutter step which appeared to freeze Noppert and he buried the penalty kick in the right side of the net. Argentina had to feel pretty good about a two-goal lead with about 20 minutes left.

The desperate Dutch immediately brought a forceful attack, but Argentine goalie Emiliano Martinez picked a long ball into the box out of the air and then stood over a fallen de Jong, much like LeBron James over Draymond Green in the NBA Finals some years ago. Tempers flared and players on both teams get booked. With the number of yellow cards, both coaches had to worry about players getting a 2nd yellow and ejected from game.
With the Dutch increasing their pressure, they finally remembered to use their height. In the 83rd minute, Berghuis curled a long cross from right side onto the head of 6’6” Weghorst in the middle of box and he banged it into left corner of net. The Dutch followed up with even more desperate pressure and Berghuis just barely missed with another shot minutes later that went into the side of net.

In the 88th minute, a near riot ensued after Paredes took down Van Dijk in front of the Dutch bench and then fired the ball into their bench. Numerous Dutch players came off bench and Paredes got knocked down. Paredes got one yellow card for the takedown, but probably should have been ejected for firing ball at the bench.

As game went into stoppage time, 10 extra minutes were announced because of frequent time-wasting and yellow-card knockdowns. The Dutch got an early free kick outside the box, but Berghuis couldn’t get his shot through the Argentine wall. With time running out, the Dutch got another free kick just outside the box. Messi gets a yellow for arguing the call. Had he gotten a yellow for the deliberate handball earlier, this would have resulted in his ejection. As the wall jumped, Koopmeiners instead rolled a slow ball to the side of the wall to Weghorst, who controlled with the first touch and turned to put a left footer into the left side of the net to tie it up. Finally, something different from one of their set pieces and it worked perfectly and just in time. The benches cleared again at end of regulation. The last second goal by the Dutch absolutely stunned the Argentines.

Each team has one good opportunity in first extra period, but couldn’t convert. There was also more fouling, but the ref kept the card in his pocket. However, the card came out early in the second extra period when Montiel said something that he shouldn’t have after a takedown. A few minutes later, Pezzella knocks Gakpo down on a breakaway and got booked. The free kick got through, but the Dutch can’t get a good foot on the ball.
Argentina threatened with a nice sequence where DiMaria set up Fernandez, who in turn delivered a perfectly placed ball to Martinez, but his shot was deflected. As time was running out, Argentina ramped up the pressure. They clearly did not want to go to penalty kicks. However, the Dutch defense would not wilt. Noppert shut down one good shot and punched out DiMaria’s attempt to curl in a corner kick. Argentina put another one off the left post. The rally was averted and for the second time today, we were going to penalty kicks. Noppert had never faced a penalty shootout in his professional career. Would that lack of experience cost the Dutch?

Martinez guessed right and blocked the first two Dutch penalty kicks. He made no saves during the game, but came up strong here. Messi, Paredes, and Montiel deliver on the first three Argentine kicks. Koopmeiners, Weghorst, and de Jong make the next three kicks for the Dutch, while Fernandez was wide left in the 4th position for Argentina. So, it came down to Lautaro Martinez with the 5th penalty kick for Argentina. He put a perfectly placed ball into the left side of net. Noppert’s inexperience likely was deadly. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dutch arguing during the shootout resulted in two yellows for Dumfries and a yellow for Lang. None of it mattered as Argentina was through to the semis. – AW

Morocco 1 – 0 Portugal:  Morocco are the only non-European or South American team left in the tournament. Portugal has been a constant World Cup disappointment throughout the storied career of Cristiano Ronaldo. Both come into this game with something to prove. The Atlas Lions play a pretty standard 4-3-3 formation as does Os Navegadores. Portugal again starts with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.

Portugal controlled things early on, but Morocco brought everyone back on defense. However, Morocco would make quick counterattacks down the sides and was finding space to operate. In the 42nd minute, on a high cross into the box, En-Nesyri soared over a defender and the goalie and directed his header down and bounced it into the net.
In first half stoppage time, the referee did call a foul in the box against a Moroccan defender. Portugal rightly upset that they didn’t get a PK. However, they responded with an excellent opportunity that went off the top post. Morocco in turn had a great shot that was just barely wide left. Morocco went into the half with their one goal lead.

Minutes into the second half, a brilliant free kick from outside the box on the right by El Yamiq, into the goal box flooded with Moroccans. Costa was just able to make the save and a rebound went off a defender. Five minutes into the second half, Ronaldo subbed in. Portugal looked better without him in the first knockout game. Can Ronaldo now be the hero leading a comeback in this one?

A Ramos header goes just wide in the 58th minute, but both teams were finding some success on high crosses into the box. Morocco had a speed advantage that they were using to quickly counterattack, but were otherwise staying home to frustrate Portugal. In the 83rd minute, Ronaldo set us Felix for a left-footer just inside the goal box, but Bounou made a great save by just getting a hand on the ball to direct it out. As stoppage time began, Ronaldo got an opportunity, but fired it right at Bounou for another save.
A couple of minutes into stoppage time, Cheddira got a 2nd yellow and was ejected. If it was going to win the game, Morocco would have to do so with 10 players on pitch. Foul was not yellow-worthy in my opinion.

Portugal was getting really desperate and throwing numbers into the final 3rd. Five minutes into stoppage time, Morocco played a long pass into the Portugal side with a striker running onto it, but he couldn’t quite get a good foot on shot and hits it weakly at Costa. In their final chance, Pepe’s header on a cross from the left is wide. History is made as Morocco becomes the first African squad to make it to the semi-finals. Ronaldo was crying in the tunnels as he left realizing that his likely final World Cup was another disappointment. – AW

England 1 – 2 France:  It’s the English Channel game with England trying to erase over 50 years of World Cup frustration facing off against the defending champs. The Three Lions operate out of a 4-3-3 formation with captain and star Harry Kane as the center striker. Les Bleus create through a 4-3-2-1 formation with Oliver Giroud up top and player of the tournament so far, Killian Mbappe, on the left wing.

France pressed hard on the English defense early. In the 16th minute, France started a counterattack from deep in their own end and the ensuing run moved the ball all over the field stretching the defense. The ball found Mbappe who sent the it wide right to Griezmann, who pus it back to Tchouameni in the middle. From outside the box, the midfielder ripped a shot deep into the left side of the goal through traffic and under a defender’s legs.

Immediately after, England got a free kick outside, but close to the box. On the kick, the Englishmen next to the French wall duck and the shot goes through the hole, but Lloris played it perfectly for the easy save. Minutes later though he was forced to make a great save on a Kane shot. In the 25th minute, Kane got tripped up while dribbling into the box on right side. No foul was called, but there was a VAR review. Turned out that contact was just outside the box, so play was continued. It looked like Kane pushed off before trip in any event.

Lloris made another great save in 28th minute. On the resulting corner, ball is driven into middle of the box where it just sat for several seconds as players on both teams tried to kick it in or out. Finally, Rabiot pulled the ball out to the right and cleared it. Whenever Mbappe got the ball, he received a lot of attention. Clearly England did not want to give him room to create. The half ended with France holding onto the slim 1-nil lead.

Early in the 2nd half, Henderson set up Bellingham to rip a shot, but Lloris just got a hand on it to tip it over for another huge save. There was some confusion in the box on the resulting corner kick before the ball found Lloris. Five minutes in, the hero becomes the heavy as goal scorer Tchouameni tripped up Saka in box. Kane took the penalty kick and blasted it into the top left corner to even things up. No goalie could have stopped that even if they guessed the right direction. Perfectly placed.

On the ensuing kick-off, France dropped a deep pass to Ravio up the middle. He one-timed it, but couldn’t get quite enough on it. A minute later, Mbappe outraced the defense down the left side and played a good cross to the middle of the box, but it didn’t find any of the French strikers. On the other end, England was doing what no French opponent had done in the tourney. Put shots on goal. Lloris had 6 saves already in the 60th minute.

On a set piece in 69th minute, McGuire flicked a header toward the left post, but it was just barely wide, skidding off the post. England really changed the game in the 2nd half, controlling the midfield and finding space for shots. Pickford had his first big save in 76th minute. Giroud one-timed a header, but Pickford dove to his right to punch it out. On the ensuing corner, the ball was cleared out to the French midfield and they pushed it right back to Griezmann on the right side. He delivered what was essentially a second corner kick to the middle of the box. This time, Giroud used his noggin to find the left side of the net. France back on top.

Just minutes later, Hernandez ran through Mount on a cross into box. No foul was called initially, but the VAR review confirmed it. Hernandez got a yellow and England got a PK. Really stupid foul by Hernandez. Kane again took the kick, but it sailed high over the goal and France breathed a sigh of relief. Kane appeared to have let the goalie’s dive alter his plan and he will regret that mistake.

Lot of time lost in the second half with the VAR review and subs. 8 minutes of stoppage time was added. It was desperation time for England. Play was getting really rough, but ref was letting a lot go. In the 99th minute, McGuire was taken down just outside box. On potentially the last chance of the game for England, Rashford’s free kick was just barely high and the final whistle sounded. Lloris was the man of this match, time and time again with the saves and interceptions of crosses into the box. – AW

So the quarterfinals are now set with two former champions, the two finalists from the last World Cup, the first African country to make it this far, perhaps the final go-rounds for superstars Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, and the emergence of the next great star, Killian Mbappe. The semi-finals should be good.

The Day of Finals

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July 7, 2019 presented a rare confluence of futbol championship events.  In the morning (US time), the 2019 Women’s World Cup final between the U.S. and the Netherlands took place in France.  In the afternoon, the Copa America final featured host country Brazil versus Peru.  In the evening, the U.S. men’s team faced off against Mexico in the Gold Cup final in Chicago.  The U.S. women’s team rightfully considered themselves disrespected by the North and South American soccer federations for scheduling their finals on the same day the World Cup came to a conclusion.  Nonetheless, it was a great day to be a soccer fan.

2019 WORLD CUP FINAL:

The United States cruised through the group stage scoring an astounding 18 goals while giving up none.    The Netherlands didn’t have it quite so easy in their group, but still came away with three convincing wins.   The American found tougher games in the knockout rounds, but won by a 2-1 score in each round–the Round of 16, the Quarterfinals, and the Semifinals–on their way to the finals.  The Dutch gave up a goal in their 2-1 Round of 16 win, but threw shutouts in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals.  This was only the second World Cup that the Netherlands had qualified for, but they served notice of their abilities by winning the European championship two years ago.

From the start, the U.S. dominated the game.   They continually pushed the attack, fired shots, and earned corners as the game was largely played in the final third.  The Dutch showed resilience on their back line though and turned away attack after attack by the  Americans.  For the first time in the tournament, the U.S. failed to score in the first 15 minutes of the game and the game was still scoreless at the half.

The American lethal front line of Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Tobin Heath continued their relentless assault into the second half and earned a penalty kick 15 minutes in when a Dutch defender kicked too high in an attempt to prevent Morgan from receiving a pass inside the box.  Rapinoe buried the penalty kick as she has done all tournament.  The Dutch defense seemed rattled at that point and less than 10 minutes later, that discombobulation cost them.  U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle took a pass near the mid-line, dribbled straight down the center of the field, made a simple juke move at the top of the box that turned the defender the wrong way and then rocketed a left-footer past the goalie into the right corner of the goal.  Even with the two goal lead, the U.S. continued to press the attack, something many squads fail to do when they build a lead.  The Dutch got their best chances as time ran down, but could not convert.

The 2-0 win gave the U.S. their fourth World Cup title–their second in a row–two more than any other national squad.  Rapinoe won both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards.  With the emergence of the 24-year-old Lavelle, who won the Bronze Ball award, the future of the U.S. team continues to look very bright.  Much of the Dutch squad will still be in their primes in four years, so look for them to be a force at the 2023 World Cup.

Given the American womens’ dominance at the highest levels, it is high time that the U.S. soccer federation paid the women the same as the men.  The womens’ team scores better results, draws bigger crowds, and gets better TV ratings.  It’s time they get PAID!

2019 COPA AMERICA FINAL:

In a rarity, the Copa America final matched two teams that came out of the same group.  In the group stage, Brazil punished Peru 5-0, but La Blanquirroja managed to advance out of the groups with a tie against Venezuela and a win over Bolivia.  Peru then won Quarterfinals and Semifinals games against Uruguay (penalty kicks) and Chile, respectively, that they really had no business winning, but for a stout defense that turned away numerous shots and making the most of the few chances their offense received.  Seleção fought through some minor bumps in the road, notably a tie against Venezuela in the group and a penalty kick win against Paraguay in the Quarterfinals, two national squads that Brazil should have dominated.  In a hard fought game, Brazil turned away Argentina 2-0 in the Semifinals, disappointing Leo Messi on the world stage yet again.

in the Final the Peruvians surprisingly came out swinging at the start, repeatedly pushing into the Brazilian box, but could not finish.  At the 15-minute mark, a Brazilian run down the right sideline produced a long cross into the box where Peru’s defense had collapsed inward, leaving Everton alone on the back side.  He ran onto the cross and rammed home the first goal of the game.  Just before half-time, Paulo Guerrero delivered the equalizer for Peru on a penalty kick after a pass in the box bounced off the arm of a falling Brazilian defender.  Minutes later, in extra time, Peru’s defense again failed, leaving Gabriel Jesus with too much space at the top of the box which he converted into a 2-1 halftime lead for Brazil.

Brazil continued to dominate the ball in the second half, but neither team was able to get much in the way of shots on goal.  However,  as Jesus tooketh, he also gaveth away, doing Peru a favor and earning his second yellow card of the game by delivering an elbow to the back of an opposing player’s head while jumping for a high ball.  Brazil had to play a man down for the final 20 and Peru nearly tied it up again on a long shot by Edison Flores.  However, Brazil maintained its attack and got an insurance goal on a questionably earned penalty kick just before extra time.  With the 3-1 victory, Brazil won its first Copa America championship since 2007.

2019 GOLD CUP FINAL:

Mexico and the United States have long dominated the CONCACAF Gold Cup with 7 and 6 championships, respectively.  Canada is the only other national squad to have won a Gold Cup.  So it came as no surprise that El Tri and the Americans found themselves facing off in yet another Gold Cup Final.  Both squads rumbled through their groups without much problem scoring many goals in the process.  For the U.S., always known for their conservative game, this attacking approach was refreshing.  Both team faced tougher games in the knockout rounds, but survived to reach the championship game.

The Americans did not abandon Coach Gregg Berhalter’s attacking style, creating two great early opportunities for Christian Pulisic and Jozy Altidore that could not be converted.  The Mexicans played a more patient passing approach, but the stiff U.S. back line prevented any troubling penetrations in the final third.  At the end of the half, the stats say Mexico had more possession and shots, but the U.S. clearly created the more dangerous opportunities, though they were unable to finish them.

An early corner in the 2nd half nearly put the Americans on the board.  A header off the Pulisic corner was saved by a defender’s header on the goal line at the near post.  A follow-up shot went off a defender’s back.  As the half progressed though, Mexico’s attack kept building, earning corners and putting shots on goal.  Momentum had clearly shifted and the Mexicans finally cashed in on a push up the middle where Raul Jimenez put through a beautiful back heel pass to Jonathan dos Santos at the top of the box.  Dos Santos then placed a left-footer into the top left corner of the net that U.S. goalie Zach Steffen could only watch.  The United States staged a furious rally in the final 20 minutes, but despite some great opportunities, they could not find the equalizer.

The Americans should feel good about their showing in this tournament.  They still need to find a Clint Dempsey-like finisher, but the attacking style suits the make-up of the team.  Budding stars like Pulisic, Weston McKinnie, and Reggie Cannon, all 20 or 21 years old portends a bright future for the USMNT.  Mexico’s bend but don’t break approach survived this time, but many of their attackers are 25 and under, so they will get better with experience too.  Hopefully both squads continue to get better so that CONCACAF can put forward a better presence at the World Cup.

MCZ F1

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Runners-Up: Netherlands

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What Went Right?  Expert at direct attacking quality. Not nearly as fluid or flashy as “Total Football” but effective nonetheless. No side made use of the flanks more than this one. Used their speed to great use, breaking down defenses on the wings. Their forward attack was so fast and effective that they didn’t need to go forward in numbers. Best attacking flankers in the game, their wingers could score from any angle and did. Were so good on the flanks that they could switch possession from side to side in the blink of an eye. The 4-5-1 they employed was more of a 4-2-1-2-1, and it was that “diamond” attack up front that made them go offensively. The Dutch did not dilly-dally around; when they got possession they got the ball to their forward flankers quickly and without preamble, yet still had a majority of possession in every game except the final. On the rare occasions where they patiently built up an attack they did it on the flanks and were expert at beating the offside trap. One of the two or three best sides in the tournament in counterattacking, especially on the flanks. Not the best at getting the ball into the box but one of the two or three best sides at taking quality long shots from outside the box that were on target. One of the two best sides at taking advantage of opposition mistakes in the back. They didn’t spend a lot of time in their own end, preferring to take the game to their opponents and playing in the attacking end. Despite their lack of height they were fantastic in the air and on 50-50 balls. Pretty decent at reading the game and anticipation in the back, and their backline wasn’t afraid to take on anybody who came into the penalty area. From the start they were going to let everybody they played know that they were going to take them on, and exhibited a physicality and nastiness not seen in previous incarnations. To that end they played with a bad disposition, making hard tackles and getting a body on any opponent who had the ball. Didn’t sit back and wait for their opponents to attack, choosing instead to close them down and take the ball away from them. Next to Spain the surprisingly second best goalkeeping in the tournament.

What Went Wrong? As great as they were on the wings they were just as soft in the center on both sides of the ball – and in the end it mattered. In an era when a suffocating defense is the linchpin to success at the international level the Netherlands gave up way too many goals for a World Cup finalist. The center of the defense had way too many mental lapses, were surprisingly easy to break down, and played with a certain nastiness that bordered on dirty. The same can be said about their defensive/holding midfielders, who contributed virtually nothing going forward, were pretty slipshod about distribution and attacking orchestration, and showed no defensive finesse in taking on opposition attackers before they got to the backline. While both fullbacks were proficient in contributing to the attack, there were too many times when they were just embarrassed by an opposition winger on their rear flanks who juked them out of their pants, leaving the back exposed to efficient service into their box. Not the world’s most effective use of the center of midfield going forward, and needless to say they were just average at getting service into the box, although when they did it usually was one of their wingers or Wesley Sneijder who got on the end of it. Relied way too much on just two players, Sneijder and Arjen Robben, instead choosing to play a three-man game in attack that also included Robin van Persie (before Robben was healthy in the knockout round the three-man attack consisted of Sneijder, Dirk Kuyt on the left flank and van Persie up front). Worst of all, they chose to get away from what worked for them prior to the final and practically mug Spain, playing like they were thugs. It was nasty, unattractive and embarrassing. If they had just played their game and attacked like they had been they may have been holding that 13 pound trophy instead of Spain.

Who Stepped Up To The Plate?  Who else? Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben. Four years ago under coach Marco van Basten, it was Robben on the left flank, van Persie on the right flank, and Ruud van Nistelrooy as the target man up front in the three man game, with the midfield getting circumvented entirely. It didn’t work; the Netherlands were easily ousted in the Round of 16. It was a stroke of genius to move van Persie up front, bring Sniejder inside in the space just behind van Persie, make a winger out of Dirk Kuyt on the left, and switch Robben to the right side. Once Robben was back and healthy, they were so good at switching play and working the triangle game on the flanks that you just didn’t know where they were coming from, and that made them hard to defend. This more than anything is why the Netherlands were playing for a championship. There was arguably nobody harder in the midfield to displace than Nigel de Jong and Mark van Pummel, er, Bommel, who were the best thing defensively about the Netherlands. Thirty-six year-old left back Giovanni van Bronckhorst was at his level best getting forward on the left flank and breaking off some great service inside. Nothing spectacular from keeper Maarten Stekelenburg, but he was steady, reliable, didn’t make any mistakes and actually managed to make quite a few stellar saves, and that was enough to make him the second best goalkeeper in this tournament. On the rare occasions when he got in Rafael van der Vaart created some good opportunities for Robben and Sneijder to convert; why he wasn’t on the pitch for every minute of every game is beyond me. They lost absolutely nothing going forward on the flanks when they brought in Eljero Elia, whose speed alone just created so much space for an attacker to run into. And 36-year-old Andre Ooijer and Khalid Boulahrouz were actually better in the center of defense than anybody they had starting.

Who Didn’t Show Up?  For the most part John Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen played pretty well, but on way too many occasions you could tell they just weren’t communicating with each other and Stekelenburg – and that’s when they were the most prone to breaking down their defensive shape in front of goal. As good as he was going forward, van Bronckhorst was just as ineffectual in the back, allowing too many attacking wingers to come in and break him down in the back. Still, he was much better on the left than Gregory van der Wiel was on the right; he didn’t do anything particularly well. De Jong and van Pummel, er, Bommel were virtually useless going forward; their entire existence was simply to mug any opposition player that came into their area, get the ball out to the flankers and then get out of the way. They could have done so much more.

How Was The Coaching?  As ugly as that final game was, Bert van Marwijk actually coached pretty well. Previous incarnations of the Dutch national obviously had much better players with much better flashy creative flair and magical ball skills, but they also lacked a backbone and refuse-to-lose quality. This wasn’t “Total Football”, the fluid movement-intensive system that transformed Dutch football, but “Total Football” didn’t win them any championships, either. So I’m not going to blame van Marwijk for using a more direct attacking approach and instilling a crunching hardness into this side. Still, there are two reasons to be critical of van Marwijk. One is he could have gotten a lot more creative in the center of midfield if he either (1) had one or both of de Jong or van Pummel, er, Bommel go forward and attack some, or (2) replace either de Jong or van Pummel, er, Bommel with van der Vaart, arguably the best creative midfielder the Dutch have (and somebody I’ve been saying for more than four years now needs to see a lion’s share of time on the pitch). Secondly, you don’t change your game in response to the other team’s tactics. That’s what the Netherlands did when they played Spain, got away from the attacking side that had got them there and turned into these maulers and mashers who hit and kicked Spain at every turn. YOU NEVER CHANGE YOUR GAME! You always make the other team bend to your will. By turning into thugs van Marwijk was basically saying he had no confidence in his defense. This is the Netherlands, for God’s sakes. They should be able to attack, attack, attack at will. Sure it would have been a track meet, but the Dutch would have put some goals in the back of the net, gotten into Spain’s head and shook their confidence. Instead we got stuck with this war of attrition, a trench warfare that looked like something out of a bad World War I movie. That I lay solely at the feet of van Marwijk.

Did They Finish Where They Were Expected?  No they did not – and that is exactly the point. The Netherlands got further than anybody thought they’d get. The Dutch are creative and offensive enough to beat anybody on the planet. Before this tournament, if I had thought the Netherlands was going to play in the final I’d have given them better than even odds that they would win. They instead turned into something ugly that defied football sense. Yet even at that the Dutch had way too many chances to win the final. Kudos for getting where nobody thought they would, but they should be the ones celebrating a world championship in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. That Spain’s long football ignominy is finally over and Holland’s continues I just don’t have any sympathy for.

What Now?  As critical as I am of their tactics, coaches and finish, I can’t help but be very positive of the Netherland’s football future. There is as much talent on the ground in the Netherlands as there ever has been, and they clearly are now steeped in coaches that can instill a certain tactical rigidity when they need to. Plus, they manage to integrate new players into the national side when they need to. On the tactical side I would just suggest that they find some defenders who can play with just a little more finesse and a little less brutishness, and they could get a little more creative offensively in the center of midfield.