..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Nani: Portugal grieving after draw

Portugal goalscorer Nani has revealed that the team are "grieving" after they were held to a 2-2 draw by USA on Sunday, a result that leaves their World Cup qualification hopes in tatters.

The Manchester United forward put the Seleccao ahead early on but a stunning equaliser from Jermaine Jones and a poacher's finish from Clint Dempsey looked set to dump the Euro 2012 semi-finalists out of the competition with a game to go.

However, Silvestre Varela's headed goal from Cristiano Ronaldo's pin-point cross changed their fate - at least temporarily - but Nani admitted afterwards that the mood is very much one of deep disappointment in the dressing room.

"We are disappointed," the 27-year-old told RTP. "We wanted to win the game to feed our World Cup dream. Now, it's harder, and there is a lot of grief within the squad.

"We gave USA a tough game. Now we must rest and see what we can do next. We are aware that it is very difficult. We all must do our best. We came to Manaus to win, but we were overwhelmed in the second half. Then it was complicated."

If Germany and USA (both on four points) draw, Portugal and Ghana (both on one point each) cannot go through should they win, while a victory in both games could see one of the current bottom two teams pounce for second place in Group G.

Portugal's awful goal difference - they were beaten 4-0 by Joachim Low's men in their opener - means that they realistically need Germany to beat USA by a healthy margin while giving Ghana a similar treatment on Thursday.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Bento downcast despite last-gasp Portugal equaliser

Portugal boss Paulo Bento is extremely pessimistic about his team's chance of making the World Cup's last 16 after failing to beat USA on Sunday.

The Seleccao went ahead through a close-range Nani goal but second-half strikes from Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey left Jurgen Klinsmann's side heading for the Round of 16 with a game to spare.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo whipped an inch-perfect cross into the box in the last minute of stoppage-time for Silvestre Varela to head home, preventing USA from immediate qualification and Portugal from imminent elimination.

But Portugal have to win their final game against Ghana and hope that Germany defeat USA by at least three goals to have any hope of reaching the knockout stages this summer, and Bento is realistic that his team look set to be dumped out of the tournament on Thursday.

"It is a result that is bad, that's obvious," he told RTP. "It does not put us out of the World Cup but it leaves us in a very precarious situation.

"We started well, with getting the goal, but then had great difficulty in holding off the right flank of USA. We tried to change this situation in the first half and the remainder in the second but we could not.

"The 2-2 result was representative of what we did with our last effort, an effort that was great considering the difficult conditions in Manaus.

"Now we have to play the last game and exhaust all of the possibilities we have, though there are few at this time."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

The battle to avoid Brazil

The hordes of yellow shirts fill the crowd, the players and fans belt out the national anthem in unison, the spirit envelopes everybody in close proximity. And then, of course, there is Neymar.

There is something special about Brazil inviting the rest of the world to see what can become of football when a whole country pulls in one direction for a couple of hours. The hairs on the back of the neck have rarely been more alert, even for neutrals.

But it is hardly the most mouth-watering of prospects for an opposing national team and, for one of Netherlands and Chile, it will almost certainly become a reality at the weekend.

Brazil will probably qualify from Group A as winners, while it would take a pair of freak results on Monday evening to knock out the Selecao and spare both Louis van Gaal and Jorge Sampaoli from having to plot a route past the host nation on the way to the quarter-finals.

The probability is that the early kick-off at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo has become a play-off for the right to avoid Brazil. With both nations having already qualified, such a fixture might normally be expected to be a non-event. But given the apparent booby prize awaiting the loser, this one suddenly takes on another guise.“It is going to be a final,” claimed Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal in a press conference on Sunday. “Both teams want to win the group, and it is certainly going to be difficult to play Brazil in their own country in the World Cup.

“But we are not concentrating on that, only on trying to beat Netherlands.”
There was a lot of that. Both coaches added their own line regarding the need not to focus on Brazil, but the reality is that the final group game has a raised importance entirely because of the home side. If the rhetoric about this game being like a final is true, then that is exactly because Brazil are likely to await the losers.

For Chile in particular, the sight of their name alongside that of the five-time winners is not one they will relish. Three times they have reached the knockout stages in previous World Cup finals tournaments, and all three times they have been sent packing by Brazil.But while in 1962 they were hosts, in 1998 they had the likes of Ivan Zamorano and Marcelo Salas in their ranks, and four years ago they were led by the legendary Marcelo Bielsa, this time around they feel they have something more in their favour, boasting probably the best ever generation of Chilean footballers.

“It’s difficult to talk about Brazil and what has happened before,” says Vidal. “On Monday we will just have to play to win and we will go step by step, but we do believe in ourselves.“I guess this is Chile’s best generation. We have a lot of players playing outside of Chile and when we come back together we are very strong.”

But the Dutch side they face have quality too, and they will surely fancy their chances more against Brazil based on previous history. In four World Cup meetings, the Oranje have a 2-2 record against the Selecao, and even then one of their two defeats came only after a penalty shootout, in the 1998 semi-final in Marseille.But if there was a clear motivation in Louis van Gaal’s anti-Fifa rant on Sunday, in which he claimed there was "unfair play" in the scheduling of Brazil’s fixtures, it was because he knows as well as anyone how tough they will be to knock off their perch in their homeland.

With the nation behind them last year Brazil became unstoppable, sweeping all-comers aside to win the Confederations Cup. They could quite easily do the same again this month, and neither Netherlands nor Chile will want to be stood in their path too early in the competition.

It is not winner takes all in Sao Paulo on Monday, but it sure does feel like it.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ochoa won't stop Mandzukic - Modric

Croatia star Luka Modric has backed Mario Mandzukic to score past Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa because the Bayern Munich striker "has scored past better goalkeepers".

The forward missed the opening World Cup game when the Balkan side were beaten 3-1 by hosts Brazil but came back from suspension in style by scoring a double when they defeated Cameroon 4-0.

Modric, who was present in both matches in the heart of midfield, hopes to send Mexico's vocal fanbase home miserable by beating them in Monday's crucial final game, casting doubt on whether Ochoa is good enough to keep Mandzukic off the scoresheet.

"Mexico will have extraordinary support from their fans, but this is not an advantage for them and it's not an obstacle for us," the Real Madrid man told reporters on Sunday. "We will try to disappoint them.

"Mexico are a great team, they have shown a high level football, they have an aggressive style, but we are a better team and we have better individuals than Mexico.

"With all due respect to Ochoa, Mandzukic has scored against better goalkeepers than him."

If Mexico win or draw, they are guaranteed to go through to the last 16. Croatia will go out if they lose, while a draw would only see them go through if Cameroon, who are out, beat Brazil (who would immediately have a worse goal difference).

The two teams that qualify from Group A will face one of Netherlands or Chile, whose crunch clash to decide the group winner kicks off four hours beforehand.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Dani Alves calm over last-16 draw

Brazil defender Dani Alves is adamant his team are aiming to finish top of Group A at the World Cup.

Chile or the Netherlands await Brazil, who are likely to need at least a point against Cameroon on Monday to seal their place in the last 16.

And the Barcelona man says the hosts are unfazed about who they would face in the round of 16, insisting their aim is to finish top of the group.

"We're not going to think that now with this possibility if it's better to come first or to come in second in the group," he said.

"We want to be first. Second is just there to congratulate who comes in first and that's not the point of being here. We can't think about choosing this or that.

"We have to follow our path. Our path is to finish the first group stage in first place, and who we face in the second phase we have to try to get them out and then after that get them out, and then get to the end.

"We can't think about this now."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Messi needs help - Di Maria

Argentina winger Angel Di Maria says Lionel Messi needs more help from the rest of his team-mates if the Albiceleste are to enjoy a successful World Cup.

Messi has scored the crucial goals against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran to give Argentina back-to-back wins in Brazil, but Alejandro Sabella's side have only netted one other - an own-goal in their opener last weekend - and the rest of the forward department have come under-fire for their disappointing displays.

"El Pipa [Gonzalo Higuain] has been a little bit injured and didn't play the two games before the competition, while Kun [Sergio Aguero] has also had some injury problems," Di Maria told reporters at Argentina's training base outside Belo Horizonte on Sunday. "It's difficult when you have injuries, it affects you, and it affects how you adapt alongside your team-mates."

"But we will all look to improve," he added. "It was important to get the six points (from the Bosnia and Iran games) to qualify for the next round. Now we will try to help Messi so that things are a little easier."

Asked what Messi can do that he can't, Di Maria joked: "Everything! Leo is Leo and he always appears in the moments when nobody else does.

"He scored a great goal [against Iran]. When he hits it, there is little they can do. We're happy to have him. Lots of people were criticising him and saying he wasn't playing well, but he has shown that's not the case."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Three-match ban ends Song's World Cup

Cameroon midfielder Alex Song has been handed a three-match ban after his sending-off against Croatia.The Barcelona midfielder was dismissed five minutes before half-time for a senseless elbow into the back of Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic.

Down to 10 men, the African side went on to lose 4-0 and will exit the World Cup at the group stage as a result.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

My fitness was key, reveals Hazard

Eden Hazard felt his “freshness” allowed him to contribute to Belgium’s late victory over Russia on Sunday.The Chelsea winger escaped down the left with two minutes to go before pulling the ball back for substitute Divock Origi to fire home the only goal of a poor game.

It meant Belgium advanced to the knockout stages while Russia’s fate will be decided in the final round of matches in Group H.

Man of the match Hazard said: “I feel fit, I’m in good shape so I try to make the difference and often I make the difference at the end of the match so that shows I am still fresh.

“It was a complicated match but we are very happy with the result and the victory. We still have one match to go and we are qualified. We will try to get three wins in this qualification campaign.”The former Lille man admitted it had not been a classic encounter but was delighted the Red Devils’ superior fitness had carried them through.

“We didn’t play a very good match. The last 10 minutes were good, that’s all. The substitutes we had were fresh and I guess the Russian defence was a bit tired and we had more space,” he added.Origi replaced the ineffective Romelu Lukaku 12 minutes into the second half but Hazard was quick to stick up for his club team-mate.

“I think Origi and Romelu have different styles. Lukaku didn’t have the ball very much, it was complicated for him, he did not have much space. I think Divock took advantage of that. I think both players had something to do with the victory.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

USA 2 Vs 2 Portugal In Pictures

 

[Wolverine GTR]

FIFA World Cup 2014 Fixtures 2014.06.23

FIFA World Cup 2014 Fixtures 2014.06.23

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Group B

Netherlands Vs Chile

Australia Vs Spain

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Group A

Cameroon Vs Brazil

Croatia Vs Mexico

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[Wolverine GTR]

Common Spain!Final match 1ka kohomahari win karamu

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[Wolverine GTR]

Ada Australia Vs Spain match 1ka Spain main playersla kihipa denek ge final World Cup match 1ka wenna puluwan

David Villa,Xavi,Torres,Pique & Xabi Alonso

Ithin agllanta farewell 1kak hatiyata kohomahari win karanna one Spain

Good Luck Spain

VAMOS ESPANA​

 

[07sanjeewakaru]

Ada Australia Vs Spain match 1ka Spain main playersla kihipa denek ge final World Cup match 1ka wenna puluwan

David Villa,Xavi,Torres,Pique & Xabi Alonso

Ithin agllanta farewell 1kak hatiyata kohomahari win karanna one Spain

Good Spain

VAMOS ESPANA
​

What a team that was....finally found their waterloo in totally unexpected way....Brutal and Catastrophic..!
Demonstrating how miserable life can be in a minute..!
2008 Euro Cup..
2010 World Cup..
2012 Euro Cup...And Confederation cup final-2013...
Euro 2012 may be the pinnacle..That final with Italy..!
The fantastic way they played..The way they unite the whole Spain through and amid of Catalonia issue...
Hatts Off to the (may be)best Dynasty in the Foot ball History...!
All things must pass by........!

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Full Time

Australia 0 Vs 3 Spain

Spain Goal(s)

David Villa 36'
Torres 69'
Mata 82'


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[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Spain!

Spain signing off with a great style!

Ada play karapu squad 1ka patta & ada playa karapu style 1katama meh tournement 1ka purawatama play kalanam final result 1ka meeta wada wenas wenna thibbaAnyway gone is gone

& We miss you David VillaYou are our hero

David Villa retire wena 1ka gananam godak dukaiOne of favourite players

Ithin Hamadama dinanneth naha hamadama paradinneth nahameh tournement 1ke wechcha mistakes hadagena next thiyana matches wala play karamu

VAMOS ESPANA

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[Wolverine GTR]

Australia 0-3 Spain: Villa, Torres & Mata return respect to Roja exit

Spain finished their deflated World Cup campaign with a confident 3-0 victory over Australia on Monday in Curitiba to restore some pride despite the reigning champions' early exit.

Vicente del Bosque's men headed into their final group fixture knowing they could no longer reach the knockout stages following defeats to Netherlands and Chile.

However, goals from David Villa, on his last international appearance, Fernando Torres and substitute Juan Mata ensured Spain at least signed off from the competition with victory, and avoided finishing bottom of Group B.Spain's famous tiki-taka style has been derided in some quarters following their elimination, while there is also doubt over the future of Del Bosque.

The defending champions were far from their fluent best on this occasion, but still did enough to earn an ultimately comfortable win.

After a slow opening, Spain turned up the tempo and Villa broke the deadlock nine minutes before the break with an improvised flick from close range, giving Australian fans a timely reminder of his talent ahead of his upcoming loan spell in the A-League with Melbourne City.

The impressive Andres Iniesta, collecting his 100th cap, then set up Torres for a second in the 69th minute, before Mata - Villa's replacement - rounded off the scoring late on.

Spain will still leave Brazil knowing they have much to ponder, while Australia can move forward with optimism after drawing plaudits for their plucky performances throughout the tournament.

Villa, Torres and goalkeeper Pepe Reina were handed starts as Spain made a raft of changes, with the much-maligned Iker Casillas and Diego Costa among those dropping to the bench.Australia showed more attacking vibrancy during a tepid opening, yet it was Spain who fashioned the first chance of note in the 20th minute.

Iniesta worked space on the right and showed great vision to pick out Villa at the back post, only for the forward to lash his volley wide.

Spain began to up the ante thereafter and Iniesta's clever backheel sent Jordi Alba free, but the full-back shot straight at Mat Ryan.

The lively Villa then showed neat trickery to bamboozle Mile Jedinak and fired a teasing cross along the six-yard box that neither Koke nor Torres could connect with.However, Australia's resistance was broken in the 36th minute.

Iniesta's probing throughball caught Jason Davidson flat-footed and Juanfran got to the right byline before pulling back for Villa, who provided an ingenious close-range flick from behind his standing leg.

Spain struggled to rediscover a high tempo after the break, with several misplaced passes curtailing promising attacks.

The biggest round of applause for the second half was reserved for Villa, who was replaced by Mata shortly before the hour mark, the 32-year-old shaking his head as he emotionally exited the pitch before burying his head in his hands on the substitutes bench.

Spain's control of possession provided a second with just under 20 minutes remaining.Iniesta was once again the architect with a defence-splitting pass that Torres collected on the left of the box before calmly slotting right-footed into the far corner.

Further gloss was added to the scoreline in the closing stages when substitute Cesc Fabregas picked out Mata in the penalty area, and the Manchester United man slipped the ball under goalkeeper Ryan.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Netherlands 2-0 Chile: Fer & Memphis walk Oranje into top spot

Netherlands scored twice in the second half to seal Group B top spot over Chile with a 2-0 victory on Monday, with goals from Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay keeping their 100 per cent record intact.

The pair found the net inside the last 15 minutes to settle a largely forgettable encounter in Sao Paulo and ensure that Louis van Gaal's men will likely avoid host nation Brazil in the last 16.A meeting of two of the competition's most eye-catching teams had been highly anticipated, yet it had failed to live up to its billing before late heroics from Fer and Memphis.

Indeed, with the Netherlands - shorn of suspended star striker Robin van Persie and requiring just a draw - opting for a cautious approach, two counter-attacking sides largely cancelled each other out.

But it was always Van Gaal's men who had looked the most likely to secure victory, with their third successive triumph ultimately coming from two unlikely sources.Chile, though, can still take solace from having already secured their spot in the knockout phase, where it seems certain Croatia or Mexico await.

With both sides sitting back, the game lacked any real ingenuity during the opening exchanges.It was Chile who created the first opening, Eduardo Vargas heading over the crossbar.

The South Americans were beginning to enjoy the better of proceedings and came close to breaking the deadlock when Felipe Gutierrez curled over after being picked out by Alex Sanchez's clever corner.But Louis van Gaal's men responded well, enjoying a good spell towards the end of the opening period.

Netherlands' endeavour almost brought reward, too, as Stefan de Vrij headed Arjen Robben's vicious, curling free kick wide.Suddenly started making his presence felt, Robben illustrated his vast quality when picking up the ball inside his own half before beating two players and shooting narrowly wide.

The game was taking on an end-to-end nature, epitomised by an unmarked Gutierrez back-heading wide from Marcelo Diaz's set-piece.

Any momentum built up before the break had disappeared afterwards as both sides struggled to fashion opportunities, the desperation best summed up when Sanchez hit wildly over from 35 yards.Robben still looked the likeliest of the Netherlands' attacking players, firing straight at Claudio Bravo after wriggling into space in the box.

Bravo had to be on high alert with 15 minutes to go, turning Memphis' 20-yard effort over the crossbar.Yet he could do little moments later as Fer met Daryl Janmaat's centre with a bullet header that flew into the corner.

Chile responded with expected verve, yet that desire to force an equaliser ultimately proved their undoing as Robben tricked his way down the left and squared superbly for Memphis to tap home in injury-time.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Hummels: Germany won't play for draw against USA

Mats Hummels says there is no chance of Germany playing for a draw against USA on Thursday, despite both sides requiring only a point to secure qualification from World Cup Group G.

The opening round of the group stage saw Germany defeat Portugal 4-0 and USA see off Ghana 2-1, but two draws on matchday two mean Portugal and Ghana trail the joint-leaders by three points.

Former Germany coach and attacker Jurgen Klinsmann is coaching the Americans, but Hummels insists there is no chance of Joachim Low's side playing for a point.

"We are not a team who plays for draws," the 25-year-old told a press conference. "We're definitely going to play to win and anything else would be totally unfair to all the other teams.

"However, if it's 1-1 in the 91st minute, I won't be dribbling past 4 players."

Germany required a Miroslav Klose header to rescue a point last time out after going 2-1 behind to Ghana - a match Hummels believes exposed some of his team's weaknesses.

"Against Ghana we showed weaknesses that we know are there and want to focus on them," he said. "Personally, I can be satisfied. But after two games relatively little has been done. I think we can improve in general."

The Dortmund stopper also refused to enter into the debate of whether captain Philipp Lahm should play at full-back or in midfield, asserting that is uninterested in exactly where they Bayern Munich man is deployed.

"We don’t discuss the whether we now have a favoured position for Philipp," Hummels continued.

"He does a good job in both positions and for me it is relatively unimportant whether he plays in defence or in midfield."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Prandelli: Italy will not play for a draw against Uruguay

Cesare Prandelli has insisted that Italy will not be playing for a draw in their final Group D game against Uruguay on Tuesday.

The Euro 2012 finalists will book their ticket for the round of 16 if they avoid defeat against the Uruguayans, but Prandelli has made it clear that Italy are determined to bag the full three points and qualify in style.

"I have told the lads to believe in themselves and that they will qualify. We are determined to win this game. In order to get a good result, we will have to approach the game with the intention to win it," Prandelli said at the pre-match press conference.

"We are not the kind of team to go out there and play for a draw. I don't want to see the team suffer on the pitch. We have to show courage and fight for a good result. A very difficult task awaits, because it will be all or nothing.

"After the draw, I already said that it would all come to the final group game. This cannot be compared to anything. It's the biggest game of my career as a coach."

Experienced midfielder Andrea Pirlo, meanwhile, has backed up his coach's opinion that Italy should go out to play for the win as they target qualification for the knockout stages.

"We are not worried. We are all aware that an important game awaits. We know our strengths and what we have to do to emerge victorious.

"We hope to be able to play our own game. You will see a different Italy than against England and Costa Rica. We will not be playing for a draw."

Italy triumphed over England 2-1 in their opening game, before they were beaten 1-0 by Costa Rica on matchday two.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Lampard undecided on England future

Frank Lampard has revealed he will wait until after the World Cup to make a decision on his international future.

The 36-year-old is expected to captain England in their final match of the tournament against Costa Rica on Tuesday, with Steven Gerrard set for a place on the bench as Roy Hodgson looks to give those in his squad who haven't appeared a chance to impress.

But, like Gerrard, the veteran midfielder is looking to take time to evaluate his future as he also weighs up his next move in club football having been released by Chelsea.

"I don't know whether I will [retire] or not," he told BBC.

"I am going to get home and make a decision at that point because I have my own [club] future to sort out as well.

"This is not the time and place to make the decision. Sometimes when you are away for a month you don't always come up with the right judgement."

If selected, Lampard will make his 106th international appearance at Belo Horizonte, while Leighton Baines (hamstring) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee ligaments) are the only injury absentees.