World Cup Day 7: Brassell Knows Best (or #FranceFail)

Argentina 4, South Korea 1

There were some questionable tactics in an Argentina match… only they didn’t come from Diego Maradona.  At halftime in the US, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez noted that South Korea were wasting Ji Sung Park by playing him in the middle against Mascherano.  South Korea seemed to have difficulty holding the ball for any duration whatsoever and were poorly organized defensively.

Speaking of Roberto Martinez, I want to throw something out there.  I have a suspicion that regardless of how well the United States do in this World Cup, it will be the end of Bob Bradley’s tenure as manager.  The lethargy of Bruce Arena’s second World Cup run probably guarantees this.  I also have a suspicion that Jurgen Klinsmann is lingering around on ESPN because he also knows this, and he wants the job after Bradley is done.  He has been very publicly supportive of Bradley, has tried to make a point of mentioning his familiarity with soccer in the US, and has even publicly downplayed the extent of the disagreement when he was in talks for the job in 2006.  Both Klinsmann and US are not in the same place they were in 2006 and I would not be surprised to learn that Klinsmann is trying to restart the courtship.  But what about Roberto Martinez?  He has been a superb manager at Wigan Athletic. His team plays attractive football when the conventional wisdom is that sides like Wigan cannot survive and play with style at the same time. His comments in the ESPN studios have been precisely correct every time he answers a question.  He’s probably taken Wigan as far as he can given the realities of the English Premier League.  I wouldn’t mind Klinsmann taking over the USA, but I hope someone at USSF gives Roberto Martinez a serious look.

Okay, back to Argentina and South Korea.  Argentina looked equal parts magnificent and frail in this match.  Demichellis had a match to forget at center back.  Walter Samuel came out of the match with an injury.  Jonas Gutierrez has two yellow cards in two matches at fullback.  They had the ball almost the whole match, but very nearly conceded two goals off of what couldn’t have been more than four chances on goal from South Korea.  Not to mention that they have one out and out central midfielder, the well-aged Juan Sebastion Veron, who is already carrying an injury.

When Argentina came to life in this match as an attacking force was when Carlos Tevez came off and was replaced by Sergio Aguerro.  In the Nigeria match, Argentina looked to have more life in the first match when Tevez came off and Diego Milito came on.  Many fans of the English game have great admiration for Carlos Tevez because of his work rate, speed and dribbling.  But Tevez is not, and generally has never been a great player in terms of combining with other players.  It is no accident that all three forwards touched the ball on Higuain’s two goals after Aguerro came on.  With Aguerro or Milito, they will keep moving the ball to and from their teammates until someone gets a clear chance on goal.  With Tevez, when the ball comes in, he wants to motor at goal and make something happen.  That style of play does not really fit in well with the personnel around him.

I would like to see Maradona experiment with an Aguerro/Milito/Messi attacking triple.  I expect that won’t happen because we probably won’t see Messi in a meaningless match.  Still, I have suspicions that this might be the lineup that can really be most dangerous.  I know that’s a bit harsh to Higuain immediately following a hat trick in the World Cup, but I just would like to see that dynamite passing and exchanges to fully unleash the power of Messi.

Greece 2, Nigeria 1

Sani Kaita’s moment of madness spoiled the day for Nigeria.  If there’s anything more shameful than kicking out like that, it might have been Greek play acting on Kaita’s kick where the writhing player sprung to his feet as soon as the official turned his back to issue the card.  Before losing Kaita, Nigeria seemed in clear control, and even with the extra man, the Greek goals were hardly things of beauty.  The steadfast play of Vincent Enyeama came undone towards the end as he spilled the ball for the Greek game-winner.

Still, not all bad news for Nigeria. Despite two defeats from two matches, a Greek loss to Argentina combined with a win over South Korea sends Nigeria into the final 16.  One could be forgiven for not looking forward to the Greece-Argentina clash.  One suspects that many of the Argentine stars may get a rest and Greece will try and duplicate the Euro ‘04 form and keep anything from significant from happening.  The Greece will likely hope for a draw and hope to get Nigeria to help them by at least drawing South Korea.

Mexico 2, France 0

Andy Brassell called it.  Eric Abidal admitted it himself before the tournament.  He’s not a center back.  It should be added that William Gallas looked a poor imitation of a center back for a lot of the match as well.  He had a wonderful moment where he took being “just happy to be there” a little too literally as he let Carlos Salcido cut to the goal, take a long touch in the box and shoot without so much as taking a step when only a single step was needed to cut the ball out.  Even with a majority of the possession in the first half, Mexico looked more likely to score, with one early counter attack featuring THREE Mexican players behind both central defenders, onside, on the break.  The first goal, and the manner it was scored, could not have been less surprising.

France was utterly disorganized on both sides of the ball.  If you occasion a re-watch of the match, look how many times there are three attackers out wide so close “you could throw a blanket over them”, as the saying goes.  Zidane will have to feel vindicated in his criticism of Domenech’s leadership… if he’s not busy trying to pretend that Andrew Boyens is a superhero.  Maybe he should add Blanco?  ”Every team needs the Ancient…”

What impressed me about Mexico was that they played with that fire they have, but it was moderated for the moment.  They were in control and confident.  They played to each other, they trusted each other, and even up 2-0, they were still looking to push the ball towards the French goal.  Another noteworthy item for the Mexicans is that they seem to be able to go to the bench without missing a beat.  That could be a huge advantage going further into the tournament.

Group A & B Going Down the Stretch…

I’m fearing the potential ugliness of the last match day in Group A.  I worry that Uruguay and Mexico will settle for the bore draw that guarantees that both go through.  I worry that France-South Africa will be a listless match between two teams that feel beaten.  Still, Uruguay and Mexico have to be thinking about Argentina looming for whoever finishes second, and that gives a winner in the other match a glimmer of hope.

If I was Irish, I would be absolutely livid at how France have played…

Group B is sending Argentina, and incredibly, Nigeria still have every chance of going through with a win against South Korea.  Having said that, they have not looked the part of a team that can beat South Korea to this point.

Best XI Wiki:

GK: Diego Benaglio (SWI)

FB: Maicon (BRA), Arturo Vidal (CHI)

CB: Rafa Marquez (MEX), Winston Reid (NZE)

CM: Steven Gerrard (ENG), Sami Khedira (GER)

WG: Thomas Muller (GER), Lionel Messi (ARG)

ST: Diego Forlan (URU), Gonzalo Higuain (ARG)

Starting to look like a great team, actually…

Tomorrow features Germany, the United States and England… cannot wait to share it with the world!

Written By Steven Maloney (80 Posts) Steven Maloney is a regular contributor for Glorious Football. You can follow him on Twitter @stevenmaloney. Like Albert Camus, he fancies himself as having learned his morals "on the football pitch and in the theater." His football writing interests are in the institutional structures and strategies of world football, as well as the ways in which contemporary politics enters into the world of football and vice-versa. His most cherished memories of the game are of being in Holland for Euro 2000. In the interests of full disclosure, he supports Arsenal, the United States and DC United.

Tagged as: argentina, france, greece, mexico, nigeria, south africa, south korea, world cup, World Cup 2010