World Cup Ro16 Day 1: Bring Out Your Heroes

Uruguay 2, South Korea 1

What a great start to the knockout rounds. I am very happy with this match for the following reasons:

No extra time
No penalties
3 goals
Great effort from both sides

To those grumbling about the desire of both sides to sit back and counter, I hope that you can find some appreciation in matches like this in the future. The intensity and desire was there in both sides to see in the way that they broke down field for one another, raced back in covering, ran out to meet attacking players toe-to-toe, and it was there for everyone to see in the joy of Uruguay and the heartbreak of South Korea when the final whistle blew.

We had two sides that were full of belief this morning, and I for one will stand and applaud both for the determination that they showed. In the end, Uruguay to me were the deserving side as they had too much quality in their attack. Uruguay play a very Rafa Benitez-like system where the front four attack and the back 6 defend with an occasional burst forward from the holding midfielder. Ultimately, Uruguay looks to be strong in defense as a unit, give their four attackers complete freedom, and rely on their individual skill and accurate long passing from back to front to get at the defense. You might not like to watch it, but look what it did for Benitez in knockout tournaments at Liverpool. This is a dangerous team. I really cannot see Ghana beating them at all.

Both Suarez and Diego Forlan are obviously on form up top, and let’s be honest, every England fan in the world desperately wishes to see Gerrard look the way that Diego Perez has in this tournament. He is physical, he drives forward, he disrupts play, and he’s very clever at picking up little fouls that stop attacks far from the goal until the match official tells him to knock it off. The fact that he was foul-free in the second half when Korea dominated possession proves that he is an intelligent fouler and not a midfield goon.

For South Korea, a noble effort, but a deserved fate. In truth, the official missed a blatant handball in the first half that would have made the match 2-0, and might have left the South Koreans sinking without a trace. They played some determined football with some real speed and style. You have to love their uncomplaining nature as well. They take yellow cards from officials with acknowledgment when it is deserved, they are trained to get back in position rather than throwing tantrums. Best of all, they had the radical idea of instead of having a press conference crying about the ball, they spent extra hours practicing free kicks with the ball. They were rewarded with three – and nearly four – goals for their effort and I’m sure many teams will have to rue that just a little extra work from the Koreans yielded such a large dividend that everyone else seems to have let pass by. I heard the English players are bored, maybe they should follow the South Koreans example and kick a few outside the hotel.

While it is sad to see South Korea go out, this is what you want to see come out of the World Cup, a battle between two sides who will give everything to play one more match. It takes a good team in defeat to make that drama possible just as much as it takes a good team in victory. Cheers South Korea, a World Cup tournament very well played.

As for Uruguay, they are looking ever the part of dark horses to win the whole thing. What a story it would be if this tiny South American nation who won the first World Cup could go on in the modern game and somehow pick up their third.

Ghana vs. United States

So here you are in the biggest pressure cooker your team has ever faced. Your decision? Play a guy who lost his cool and once did this in an MLS game?

Ricardo Clark was an absolute nightmare in this tournament. He never should have set foot on the field. It was a horrible mistake by Bob Bradley to play him and Robbie Findley, while leaving Maurice Edu and Benny Feilhaber on the bench to start the match. This has been the two sides of Bob Bradley. Side one is that his teams have not been prepared at kick-off for the match. Side two is that when going down early, he absolutely did not mess around in making the changes that needed to be made and rolling the dice in order to make the daring choices to get his sides in a position to get the job done.

There is a lot to admire about this team, their manager, and what they have achieved in his tenure with USA soccer. Is it a better tenure than Bruce Arena’s? I’m not sure… it’d make an interesting chat at the bar somewhere down the road. For now, the United States is left with the disappointment that comes with knowing there was chance to get back to the quarterfinals. The melancholy is further compounded by the fact that this generation of players, who have dominated our soccer history for the last ten years, are all heading into a territory where they will all be past their prime by the time World Cup Brazil comes along in 2014. For the next rotation, Edu, Bradley, Altidore, Feilhaber, Torres and Robbie Findley will be the only players from this squad under 30. Only a couple of those players gave much of an account of themselves at this tournament.

In short, I think there’s real cause for concern about the future, and that’s the part that stings about this the most. There should be real uncertainty as to when, if ever, we will be back in the quarterfinals again.

Here are four players who would have made a big difference for the USA in this tournament: Charlie Davies, Oguchi Onyewu, Jermaine Jones and Nevan Subotic. Three of the above players were injured, and one of them declared to play for Serbia instead of the United States. This is not to complain – as surely Ghana could point to the absence of Michael Essien – but instead to show how, despite having some of our nation’s best ever players, the cover for this team was still pretty thin, and we paid a heavy price for that in the end.

As for Ghana, this is not sour grapes, but I thought that they were woeful at the end of the day. Their passing was terrible under pressure, and their defense is not sure of itself in the least. They deserved the three points on this day, but again, I cannot see this ending well against Uruguay. Ghana have consolation that we do not; their best days appear ahead of them. Ours appear to be behind us…

Best XI Wiki:

GK: Diego Benaglio (SWI)

FB: Maicon (BRA), Fabio Coentrao (POR)

CB: Winston Reid (NZE), Diego Lugano (URU)

CM: Diego Perez (URU), Kevin Prince Boateng

WG: Lionel Messi (ARG), Tiago (POR)

ST: David Villa (SPA), Gonzalo Higuain (ARG)

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.