[Blue_V]

Only germany looks a balanced side and the most strongest side. All others have weakness that are glaring.

Robben is a missile, what an awesome goal.

[naveenroy]

Sigh of relief - now the Spaniards can go ahead and enjoy a good holiday.

Chile played tenaciously! What a team. Would love to see the Dutch Chile match - will be interesting to see who "decides" to be placed second in the group

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Would love to see the Dutch Chile match - will be interesting to see who "decides" to be placed second in the group

That will be quite a match. I want Chile to go all the way now. But, are we sure Brazil will top Group A?

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

That will be quite a match. I want Chile to go all the way now. But, are we sure Brazil will top Group A?

Ah, that's a good question. Interesting stuff!

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by E63

Dont count Chile out against the Dutch.

Especially with Van Persie suspended for that match. Chile look to be playing wonderful - probably the best in this group.
I wouldn't be surprised if they beat the Oranje.

A Brazil vs. Netherlands encounter seems imminent. And all of those encounters have turned out to be great ones - 1974, 1994, 1998 and 2010.

Barring 1998 & 2006, whoever has beaten the Dutch has gone on to win the World Cup.

Very interesting times indeed...

[thoma]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

Chile look to be playing wonderful - probably the best in this group.

No way Chile is better than the Dutch or the Socceroos! Yesterday, the opening quarter hour, Chile was just kicking the ball here and there; there was no specific moves, I was confused where the ball was going and switched off the TV. I guess even the opposition got a bit mazed!

IMO, the socceroos should have come up second in this group.

[E63]

Originally Posted by thoma

No way Chile is better than the Dutch or the Socceroos! Yesterday, the opening quarter hour, Chile was just kicking the ball here and there; there was no specific moves, I was confused where the ball was going and switched off the TV. I guess even the opposition got a bit mazed!

IMO, the socceroos should have come up second in this group.

Then I think I must have been watching an altogether different game.

Chile performed as a team, as a unit, whereas Spain were all over the place. There was no energy in the Spanish side. No desire to win.

[yosbert]

I do not see much uncertainty in Group A standings. Surely Brazil can put at least one past Cameroon who were hammered by Croatia today. The second spot is a direct fight between Mexico and Croatia.

And to dismiss Chile just based on reputation is simply childish. Their performance yesterday was most impressive. We have a good match on cards to determine Group B toppers and avoid Brazil in round of 16.

[dass]

From whatever I have been able to see, Germany already look a class apart. My vote is for them to win it. Though personally, I would like to see Brazil win.

[Ddrive]

With Spain, Australia and Cameroon already out of the contest, two more await their verdicts tonight.

Uraguay vs England & Japan vs Greece, two out of this four will be gone if they loose tonight.

[finneyp]

After the initial round of group matches, Netherlands appears to be the strongest contender for WC'2014.
They have a well balanced team of strikers (Van Persie, Robben), midfielders (Sneijder, de Jong) and able defenders.

Other teams doing well are - Germany, Chile, Italy, Belgium & England and teams having potential but need to catch up are Argentina, Portugal, Brazil...

[E63]

So after the exit of Spain yesterday, is it time for England to depart today?

They certainly have a tricky fixture against Uruguay

[kaushik_s]

^^ Uruguay didn't seem to be in form in their last game. Things might change if Suarez plays today though. But England played better football and if they continues to play like that then they might have a chance against Uruguay.

I don't really agree to Dutch team being a balanced side. Their defense seems to be pretty weak. In fact if Spain had better strikers they could've scored few goals against them for sure. They would crumble against the likes of Germany/Argentina etc who have much stronger attacking forwards.

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

I don't really agree to Dutch team being a balanced side. Their defense seems to be pretty weak. In fact if Spain had better strikers they could've scored few goals against them for sure. They would crumble against the likes of Germany/Argentina etc who have much stronger attacking forwards.

Spot on!
Much as I love the Dutch but cannot miss the fact that they don't have a Jaap Stam, Frank Rijkaard or a Frank de Boer - or even a Van Bommel (sic) - in their ranks today.
Van Gaal has rebuilt the team with a mix of established and new players - with the defense being completely new - their Achilles heel.

Goals do win you matches, but bad defense makes you lose matches.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

with the defense being completely new - their Achilles heel.

Righto. One another thing that works against the Dutch is that they tend to get upset on provocation, though not as much as Portugal. They are desperate for a cup. Even in the Spain match, it is mostly because they got upset by a goal they fired all cylinders, but happy that they channeled their frustration for good that time.

Originally Posted by thoma

Gone are the kinds of Pierluigi Collina and Howard Webb.

My bad. Howard Webb is indeed very much in action live on your screens.