World Cup - Day three

Day four at the World Cup and the stand out game today was Italy beating England by two goals to one.  However the scoreline does not really reflect the match. 

England had many chances and in attack they where excellent going forward and Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge both played very well. Contrary to popular opinion I thought Wayne Rooney played well. 

Where England lost the game was in defence and the goalkeeper. What was most surprising and frustrating about Roy Hodgson pick of these players is that three of four have only played domestic games last season and none of them won any silverware. 

A sign of a defence struggling is when they are backing off as opposed to putting in tackles. 

However despite this poor defence England will I think make it to the knock out stages but that is as far as they can go with this ineffective defence. 

Italy did what they needed to do to win the match and I got the impression that they where not fearful of losing to England and going as far as helping English players with cramp. 

So Italy where not tested in this game but I am sure they will make it through the knock stages and beyond.  

World Cup - Day two

Day two of the World Cup and Mexico beat Cameroon by a goal to nil. I was not too surprised as Cameroon do not have the players they once had. 

Mexico have been getting good results recently and plus they have a fantastic fan base which helped to keep them motivated and focused. 

The shock of the day was The Netherlands beating Spain by five goals to one. It was very embarrasing to wach Spain been humiliated on the world

stage.

On top of that they gave away some really bad goals due to poor defending and goalkeeping. What was most surprising is there manager Del Bosque did not play Santi Carzola at all.

I think this loss will hit Spain badly and it will be a real challenge to recover from this. The Netherlands where fantastic and there two stand out players where Robin Van Persie and Arren Roben. 

Elsewhere Chile beat Australia by three goals to one and I think that Australia where poor and too reliant on Tim Cahill. 

The Aussies seem to lack a little bit of pace and creativity. This was a surprise because four years ago they had a strong squad. 

Day two had it's suprises and I hope that teams watching of these matches realise that there is no hiding place and they need to step up. 

World Cup - Day One

The opening game of the World Cup and Brazil beat Croatia by three goals to one. However the scoreline did not reflect the game.

Croatia went ahead in the first ten minutes albeit by an own goal and then Brazil got an equaliser. Then somewhat controversially the refree awarded Brazil a penalty. 

In real time it did not look like a penalty and looking at the replay, Brazil where very fortunate to be given that penalty. 

Up until that point both sides where pretty even and once Brazil converted the penalty, Croatia did not really look like they where going to get an equaliser. 

Then in extra time to add salt to Croatia's wounds Brazil got the third goal and killed of the game. 

So Brazil got a rather fortunate win but Croatia did not really play their free flowing attacking football style that we are used to seeing from them.. 

World Cup preview

Ok I am a little late with my World Cup preview but it is better late than never..I haven't got World Cup fever yet but I am sure I will soon get it. 

The teams to watch this World Cup are Spain, Argentina, Italy, Germany and Brazil. Needless to say that they are all World Cup wiinners. 

These teams will be hard to beat with their experience of winning this plus some unbelievable players. 

Teams that I think have an outside chance of winning it our France and Portugual. France are former winners but I don't think they have the team to win it but I expect them to do reasonably well. 

I also think that realistically Ivory Coast might do reasonably well. I am hoping that both Ghana and England do well but it is going to be incredibly difficult for them. 

So it should a really interesting World Cup with lost of twists and turns, happiness and heartbreak and that is why it's called the beautiful game. 

Au revoir.... French Open 2014

This year French Open had some early surprises but ultimately the expected winners.

In the women's draw early losses of Li Na and Serena Williams was a shock. However meant that previously unknown players like Taylor Towsend Garbine Muguruza where able to flourish. 

 

The final between Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep with Maria as the winner was no real surprise. 

In the men's draw the early loss for Stanislas Wawrinka was a shock and it that players like Ernest Gulbis where able to step up and make a name for himself. 

The match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with Rafa as the winner was no real surprise but it was a fantastic final that really showcased men's tennis. 

So the French Open is over for another year we now have some new household names but the more established players like Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal did what they do best which is winning grand slams. 

French Open - Day fifteen

Day fifteen of the French Open and in the men's final Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in four sets. It was a fantastic final which really could have gone either way. 

However Novak looked a little lethargic out there and was not really going for the big shots. 

Rafa started of badly but gradually reduced his unforced errors and increased his winner count. In a stark contrast to Novak, Rafa was full of running and was able to take it up to the next level to secure the win. 

Novak played well pretty much in the of the tournament but today he came up against Rafa who is clay court specialist and it seemed a little too much for him but I am sure he will bounce back at Wimbledon. 

This was Rafa ninth French Open title and his fourteenth grand slam and hopefully Rafa will win at least three more grand slams. 

French Open - Day fourteen

Day fourteen of the French Open and it was ladies finals day and Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep in three close sets. 

The first set was key to the outcome of this match as I suspect if Simona had won the first set she would have gone into the second set with the belief that she is only a set away and do this. 

However this was not the case and losing the first would have been a bit of a body blow and as she has never been in a grand slam final she would have any relevant experience that she could really use. 

Whilst Maria has been in many grand slam finals so is experienced in winning these big matches and knows how to adapt when things are not going her way. 

Simona played reasonably well but if she really wants to challenge for grand slam titles then she needs to improve her serve because against players like Serena Williams, Li Na or Vitoria Azarenka she will struggle to get her serve how out of their hitting zone.  

So it was a very good win for Maria but I think Maria's experience of winning Grand Slams was huge in this match. She was able to adapt her game and win the big points and the match.