As the World Cup draws to a close England are once again conspicuous by their absence in the latter stages. The South Americans who dominated the early stages have since been usurped by the remaining Europeans. A pragmatic Dutch side and the favourites Spain have reached the final.
The Germans who entertained us so well have finally fallen at the semi-finals. Much was written about their suspect defence and lack of experience in the squad. However the tournament has shown that their youthful exuberence can take them far. The defence was always well protected and the team had a system which was superbly drilled by their canny tactician Joachim Loew. Their style showed up Argentina and their coach Maradonna as naive novices on the world stage whilst England were made to look like dinosaurs, just as Hungary showed them up over 50 years ago.
Uruguay deserve credit for getting so far although I found them rather negative, as I have at previous World Cups. Ghana were one kick away from the semi-finals but were great for the tournament as Africa's representatives in the second round and beyond. There should be honourable mentions for the likes of Chile, Paraguay and Mexico for entertaining along the way. The French were the biggest disgrace of the tournament while many of the big names failed to live up to their billing - take a bow Ronaldo, Rooney, Drogba, Torres, Kaka.
We have seen a new tactical system come out of the World Cup - the 4-2-3-1 - more on this in a future blog.
Overall I've found the World Cup a little disappointing. Fabulous for Africa and congratulations to South Africa for holding a tournament which was a success off the pitch. However on it a lack of goals, entertainment, quality and drama have left it wanting.
Let's hope the Dutch can display some of their classic skills and we get an exciting final, though I fear it will be a dour affair and one goal may well win it.
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