Day 3 Match Reactions
I set my cell phone alarm clock at 6:30 this morning hoping to wake up in time for the Ghana match, but my phone failed me so I woke up naturally at 7:30 instead. I heard the noise of ever present vuvuzela horns from the tv downstairs... my dad was watching the recorded Slovenia match...
Algeria-Slovenia:
This was the 4 am game today, and they didn't have a Xavi, so I was not up to see it. From the goal highlight, it looks like it was just a very bad goalkeeping rather than a good strike.
Ghana-Serbia:
I have to say I expected more from Serbia. Even though they are one of the no-name-darkhorse type team, they do have some starting 11 players with experiences at the top team in Europe (Vidic, Zigic, Ivanovic, and Stankovic). I never liked Zigic, he was always awkward and ineffective at Valencia. Good riddance. Vidic and Ivanovic are both respectable defenders in the Premier League's top two. And Stankovic, he was always very good for Inter, and can fire some lethal long shots from the midfield. I was pretty surprised to see that most teams now play short-pass football as opposed to ugly air-ball (as illustrated best by the 2006 Ukraine-Swiss match).
Germany-Australia:
I expected Germany to score a lot of goals, especially in the group stage and they did just that. They could've gotten 6-7 goals if all the chances were converted. Mario Gomez was once again a disappointment, except that he was highly aesthetically pleasing. I as doubtful when Klose was once again included in the German squad before because he may be a bit old now and didn't do that well in Budesliga this season. He proved me wrong today with his goal, though he could've gotten another one if he could've reacted faster from Podolski's cross. Podolski didn't have a great season in Koln either, but somehow he always performs in the big tournament, and he did just that today.
Lahm was great as expected, but the two players that stood out for me were Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira. Schweinstiger has really matured as a footballer over the years, and turned into a really talented and intelligent midfielder for Germany. He was the playmaker today. He kept the ball well, and made the right passes and controlled the tempo like Xavi does for Spain. I love good midfielders, for me watching how they dictate the game is even more satisfying than watching strikers score goals. I thought he was just a Portugal-slayer before, but now I think he really took over this German team from Ballack. Bravo Schweini! In today's game, Khedira was linking up very well with Schweini in the midfield and was able to position himself very well throughout the game.
Look forward to see if the Dutch team can put in an even better performance tomorrow. Denmark is not to be underestimated!
Algeria-Slovenia:
This was the 4 am game today, and they didn't have a Xavi, so I was not up to see it. From the goal highlight, it looks like it was just a very bad goalkeeping rather than a good strike.
Ghana-Serbia:
I have to say I expected more from Serbia. Even though they are one of the no-name-darkhorse type team, they do have some starting 11 players with experiences at the top team in Europe (Vidic, Zigic, Ivanovic, and Stankovic). I never liked Zigic, he was always awkward and ineffective at Valencia. Good riddance. Vidic and Ivanovic are both respectable defenders in the Premier League's top two. And Stankovic, he was always very good for Inter, and can fire some lethal long shots from the midfield. I was pretty surprised to see that most teams now play short-pass football as opposed to ugly air-ball (as illustrated best by the 2006 Ukraine-Swiss match).
Germany-Australia:
I expected Germany to score a lot of goals, especially in the group stage and they did just that. They could've gotten 6-7 goals if all the chances were converted. Mario Gomez was once again a disappointment, except that he was highly aesthetically pleasing. I as doubtful when Klose was once again included in the German squad before because he may be a bit old now and didn't do that well in Budesliga this season. He proved me wrong today with his goal, though he could've gotten another one if he could've reacted faster from Podolski's cross. Podolski didn't have a great season in Koln either, but somehow he always performs in the big tournament, and he did just that today.
Lahm was great as expected, but the two players that stood out for me were Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira. Schweinstiger has really matured as a footballer over the years, and turned into a really talented and intelligent midfielder for Germany. He was the playmaker today. He kept the ball well, and made the right passes and controlled the tempo like Xavi does for Spain. I love good midfielders, for me watching how they dictate the game is even more satisfying than watching strikers score goals. I thought he was just a Portugal-slayer before, but now I think he really took over this German team from Ballack. Bravo Schweini! In today's game, Khedira was linking up very well with Schweini in the midfield and was able to position himself very well throughout the game.
Look forward to see if the Dutch team can put in an even better performance tomorrow. Denmark is not to be underestimated!