I'm still surprised that so many people, both here and in the circles of football commentators, were amazed that the Netherlands pulled out the win.
Granted the Netherlands has never won the Cup before, but that doesn't mean that we're automatically outclassed by someone who has (even Brazil). Matches are decided by the teams on the field not those of prosperity.
The Brazilian team that went onto the field just wasn't up to the task.
Aside from that one, horrible, mistake by the Dutch in the first half Brazil just couldn't disassemble the Dutch defence. The only times they really managed to cause chaos in the Dutch penalty area after that was from set-pieces.
There was some individual brilliance by some of the Brazilians but they never really linked up. Whereas the Dutch took their time building up attacks and came forward in groups that linked up and looked a lot more dangerous.
I think the deciding factor was the mental toughness of the Dutch.
When they went a goal down so early they could have given it up - but they stayed positive, they kept playing their game, and in the end they were rewarded for it.
The Brazilians on the other hand just seemed to go to pieces after the Dutch scored, what discipline they had in terms of their tackles and attitude towards the refs just crumpled - and it was completely shattered after the Dutch got that second one.
The ref was shocking; Brazilians definitely played rougher yet they only got 1 yellow card, while the Dutch got 4 (2 of which have ruled players out for our next match... thank you very much) and there was an offside against us that was definitely onside. And I still think the Brazilians were lucky to get away with having 10 men on the field at the end of play:
Bastos chopped the legs out from under Robben, from behind, about 5 times and only got a single yellow for it.
Robinho should have at least been cautioned after he brought Robben down then went back to berate him after the ref gave the freekick to the Dutch. And I think later he mouthed off at the ref for another freekick.
Boss_Giygas,
Technology will not slow the game down, I mean seriously the replays the broadcasters made that showed the mistakes the refs made took all of about 10-20 seconds to show - we've got stoppage time for a reason (and if we were able to stop the main clock and start another for all stoppages we could have more accurate amounts of stoppage time).
And it certainly won't change it - the rules will still be the same, the players will still be humans. A referee's mistake is not part of the human factor of the game, it's a mistake.
I mean seriously, would you walk up to a team that lost or got a draw but should have got a draw or a win because one of their shots crossed the line but the linesman didn't see that and say "the ball did cross the line but the ref didn't see it, hard luck."?
Heck there's already a mircochip in the ball, why not try to create a system, like in ice hockey, when the ball crosses the line a buzzer goes off? Or put a camera in the crossbar.
I just don't understand the reluctance to move to technology now that we've got it. It won't change what makes the game so great - the players and their talent - it will just make sure the rules are applied properly.
Anyway onto tonight:
Argentina 2 - 3 Germany.
This could well be the match of the round, although it's got some ground to make up on the Netherlands vs Brazil match, cause both of these teams look very strong - especially going forward. Neither team's defence has proven that strong either so it could be a high scoring one.
They seem pretty evenly matched, although I think the German attack may be a shade stronger, and it may well come down to if the young Germans can keep their cool under the pressure of a Quarter Final.
Parguay 0 - 2 Spain.
Spain have come back from that shock opening loss really well, and shown why they were favourites heading into the Cup. Parguay just hasn't performed the same way at all, and I can't see them winning it or even forcing it to extra time (much less penalties).
