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Showing posts with label Semi Final. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Semi Final. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Carles Puyol brought La Furia Roja to the finals, after defeating Germany through the Dramatic games
1:00 PM
Vicente del Bosque's side won their third straight game 1-0 and will now play the Netherlands in Sunday's final at Soccer City.
Spain deserved their victory after controlling huge periods of the match, but once again it was far from a vintage performance.
Del Bosque's team improved on their scrappy performance against Paraguay in the previous round but still struggled to carve out clear openings.
Spain deserved their victory after controlling huge periods of the match, but once again it was far from a vintage performance.
Del Bosque's team improved on their scrappy performance against Paraguay in the previous round but still struggled to carve out clear openings.
The winning goal came when Puyol showed great determination to atone for a poor first-half miss by heading home Xavi's corner with 17 minutes remaining.
The Euro 2008 champions, who defeated Germany 1-0 in the final of that competition, should have scored a second after striking with the sort of counter-attack that had been a trademark of their opponents' play in this competition, but Pedro failed to pick out a completely unmarked Fernando Torres.
Germany had invited pressure by adopting an increasingly deep defensive line as the match wore on - and may regret not taking the game to their opponents more while it remained goalless.
Joachim Loew's team scored four against both England and Argentina in their previous games and had illuminated the competition with their bold play.
But they had few opportunities to strike on the counter against Spain and so Germany taste defeat at the semi-final stage for the second successive World Cup.
Spain coach Del Bosque chose Wednesday's tie to drop the out-of-form Torres, drafting in Barcelona's lively young forward Pedro and deploying David Villa as a lone striker.
And while Del Bosque's team certainly looked comfortable as they worked the ball around midfield, Germany showed excellent shape and discipline, and were rarely dragged out of position.
Spain did occasionally pick holes in the German defensive structure, with Pedro playing in Villa only for keeper Manuel Neuer to deny him after only five minutes.
Puyol headed over from a firm Andres Iniesta cross, wasting an excellent chance, while a raking cross-field pass from Xabi Alonso found Sergio Ramos in space, only for the Real Madrid full-back to drill his ambitious shot wide.
Germany did not have the opportunity to launch a counter attack until the 22nd minute, but that broke down after a miscommunication between Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski.
Loew's team looked increasingly threatening as the half wore on and had what initially appeared to be a strong penalty appeal in injury-time, after Ozil went down under a clumsy challenge from Ramos.
Ozil was certainly in a very threatening position after collecting a pass from Miroslav Klose and looked to be fouled, but replays suggested the initial contact had been made outside the area.
The start of the second half was a repeat of the first in that Spain passed and probed - but this time they started to seriously threaten Neuer's goal.
Alonso twice shot wide from distance, as did Villa with a low effort he tried to curl across goal, but the impressive Pedro did force a sharp save from Neuer.
Germany were dropping ever deeper and would have fallen behind but for two near misses. The first saw Villa come within inches of converting a low Iniesta cross, while Ramos was likewise agonisingly close to converting from Alonso's angled pass.
Loew brought on Marcell Jansen and Toni Kroos for Jerome Boateng and Trochowski as he tried to change the game in his team's favour.
And Kroos forced a save after a deep cross from Podolski, but shortly afterwards Puyol struck and Spain were able to close out the match to seal their place in the final and ensure that the World Cup will have a first-time winner in 2010.
The Euro 2008 champions, who defeated Germany 1-0 in the final of that competition, should have scored a second after striking with the sort of counter-attack that had been a trademark of their opponents' play in this competition, but Pedro failed to pick out a completely unmarked Fernando Torres.
Germany had invited pressure by adopting an increasingly deep defensive line as the match wore on - and may regret not taking the game to their opponents more while it remained goalless.
Joachim Loew's team scored four against both England and Argentina in their previous games and had illuminated the competition with their bold play.
But they had few opportunities to strike on the counter against Spain and so Germany taste defeat at the semi-final stage for the second successive World Cup.
Spain coach Del Bosque chose Wednesday's tie to drop the out-of-form Torres, drafting in Barcelona's lively young forward Pedro and deploying David Villa as a lone striker.
And while Del Bosque's team certainly looked comfortable as they worked the ball around midfield, Germany showed excellent shape and discipline, and were rarely dragged out of position.
Spain did occasionally pick holes in the German defensive structure, with Pedro playing in Villa only for keeper Manuel Neuer to deny him after only five minutes.
Puyol headed over from a firm Andres Iniesta cross, wasting an excellent chance, while a raking cross-field pass from Xabi Alonso found Sergio Ramos in space, only for the Real Madrid full-back to drill his ambitious shot wide.
Germany did not have the opportunity to launch a counter attack until the 22nd minute, but that broke down after a miscommunication between Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski.
Loew's team looked increasingly threatening as the half wore on and had what initially appeared to be a strong penalty appeal in injury-time, after Ozil went down under a clumsy challenge from Ramos.
Ozil was certainly in a very threatening position after collecting a pass from Miroslav Klose and looked to be fouled, but replays suggested the initial contact had been made outside the area.
The start of the second half was a repeat of the first in that Spain passed and probed - but this time they started to seriously threaten Neuer's goal.
Alonso twice shot wide from distance, as did Villa with a low effort he tried to curl across goal, but the impressive Pedro did force a sharp save from Neuer.
Germany were dropping ever deeper and would have fallen behind but for two near misses. The first saw Villa come within inches of converting a low Iniesta cross, while Ramos was likewise agonisingly close to converting from Alonso's angled pass.
Loew brought on Marcell Jansen and Toni Kroos for Jerome Boateng and Trochowski as he tried to change the game in his team's favour.
And Kroos forced a save after a deep cross from Podolski, but shortly afterwards Puyol struck and Spain were able to close out the match to seal their place in the final and ensure that the World Cup will have a first-time winner in 2010.
Germany
|
0-1 |
|
FT |
| (HT 0-0) | Puyol, 73 | ||
Team |
|||
Germany
|
Spain
|
||
Substitutes:
| Substitutes:
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| |||
Spain
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands, Oranje cruised into his third final
7:09 PM
The Dutch looked short of ideas for long periods but still had the quality in front of goal when it mattered to set up an all-European final against Euro 2008 champions Spain or Germany in Johannesburg on Sunday.
After Giovanni van Bronckhorst's spectacular opener, Uruguay were gifted an equaliser when goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg failed to deal with Diego Forlan's long-range shot.
After Giovanni van Bronckhorst's spectacular opener, Uruguay were gifted an equaliser when goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg failed to deal with Diego Forlan's long-range shot.
But Sneijder and Robben again made the difference for the two-time runners-up, who were left hanging on at the end following Maxi Pereira's injury-time reply. However, the Dutch held firm to make sure of their progress.
It was a dramatic end to an often tepid match as Uruguay, who were without the suspended Luis Suarez following his goal-line handball that helped them past Ghana in the quarter-finals, only showed real attacking intent when they fell two goals behind.
Cheered on by an army of Oranje fans, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk saw his side struggle to find their feet in the early stages, with their only sight of goal being wasted when Dirk Kuyt fired wastefully over after keeper Fernando Muslera had punched Sneijder's cross straight at him.
The South Americans, in their first semi-final for 30 years, were defending in depth and in numbers but that tactic did not help them when Van Bronkhorst broke the deadlock after 18 minutes
The ball was fed out to the left-flank and the veteran Feyenoord left-back had time to look up and use his trusty left foot to spank an unstoppable 35-yard shot into the top corner.
But going ahead did not help the Dutch work out how to break down a well-organised Uruguay defence, and they also seemed unwilling to commit players forward in search of more goals.
Martin Caceres had to hold off Robben as he ran on to Robin van Persie's through-ball, but that was the nearest the Netherlands came to extending their lead.
Uruguay, in the absence of the prolific Suarez, were faring little better at the other end and Stekelenburg did not have a save to make until he had to deal with Alvaro Pereira's bouncing shot after 36 minutes.
That all changed before half-time, however, and it was the Dutch goalkeeper at fault as Forlan notched his fourth goal in six games in the finals in South Africa.
Stekelenburg had a clear view of Forlan's swerving strike from 25 yards out and got a hand to the ball, but was still unable to keep it out.
The Ajax keeper had another nervous moment at the start of the second half when he beat Edinson Cavani to a through ball but failed to make a proper clearance and Van Bronkhorst had to clear Alvaro Pereira's curling shot off the line.
But the game quickly got bogged down in midfield and there were few chances to speak of until Forlan brought a much better stop from Stekelenburg with a dipping free-kick.
The Netherlands had been disappointing up to that point but showed again how they do not have to play well to win games in the tournament with a two-goal burst in the space of three minutes that was enough to give them victory.
Van Marwijk's side showed signs of life when Van Persie latched on to a long ball over the top and played in substitute Rafael van der Vaart, who saw his low shot pushed away before Robben fired the rebound over.
And they were back in the lead after 70 minutes when Sneijder's shot hit the luckless Maxi Pereira and span in off a post, with Van Persie trying but failing to get a touch to help it on its way.
In their next attack, Robben made it 3-1, escaping the attentions of Diego Godin to meet Dirk Kuyt's cross and plant a firm header into the bottom corner.
Uruguay looked exhausted and Robben could have added a fourth when he burst forward on to a Van Persie flick late on, but got his attempted chip all wrong.
Instead the Dutch faced a frantic finale when, in the 92nd minute, Maxi Pereira ran on to a quickly taken free-kick, turned Eljero Ejia and curled a precise shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez's team had time to launch a few balls into the Dutch box but van Marwijk's side survived and it is they who will go forward hoping it will be third-time lucky for them in a final following their defeats in 1974 and 1978.
It was a dramatic end to an often tepid match as Uruguay, who were without the suspended Luis Suarez following his goal-line handball that helped them past Ghana in the quarter-finals, only showed real attacking intent when they fell two goals behind.
Cheered on by an army of Oranje fans, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk saw his side struggle to find their feet in the early stages, with their only sight of goal being wasted when Dirk Kuyt fired wastefully over after keeper Fernando Muslera had punched Sneijder's cross straight at him.
The South Americans, in their first semi-final for 30 years, were defending in depth and in numbers but that tactic did not help them when Van Bronkhorst broke the deadlock after 18 minutes
The ball was fed out to the left-flank and the veteran Feyenoord left-back had time to look up and use his trusty left foot to spank an unstoppable 35-yard shot into the top corner.
But going ahead did not help the Dutch work out how to break down a well-organised Uruguay defence, and they also seemed unwilling to commit players forward in search of more goals.
Martin Caceres had to hold off Robben as he ran on to Robin van Persie's through-ball, but that was the nearest the Netherlands came to extending their lead.
Uruguay, in the absence of the prolific Suarez, were faring little better at the other end and Stekelenburg did not have a save to make until he had to deal with Alvaro Pereira's bouncing shot after 36 minutes.
That all changed before half-time, however, and it was the Dutch goalkeeper at fault as Forlan notched his fourth goal in six games in the finals in South Africa.
Stekelenburg had a clear view of Forlan's swerving strike from 25 yards out and got a hand to the ball, but was still unable to keep it out.
The Ajax keeper had another nervous moment at the start of the second half when he beat Edinson Cavani to a through ball but failed to make a proper clearance and Van Bronkhorst had to clear Alvaro Pereira's curling shot off the line.
But the game quickly got bogged down in midfield and there were few chances to speak of until Forlan brought a much better stop from Stekelenburg with a dipping free-kick.
The Netherlands had been disappointing up to that point but showed again how they do not have to play well to win games in the tournament with a two-goal burst in the space of three minutes that was enough to give them victory.
Van Marwijk's side showed signs of life when Van Persie latched on to a long ball over the top and played in substitute Rafael van der Vaart, who saw his low shot pushed away before Robben fired the rebound over.
And they were back in the lead after 70 minutes when Sneijder's shot hit the luckless Maxi Pereira and span in off a post, with Van Persie trying but failing to get a touch to help it on its way.
In their next attack, Robben made it 3-1, escaping the attentions of Diego Godin to meet Dirk Kuyt's cross and plant a firm header into the bottom corner.
Uruguay looked exhausted and Robben could have added a fourth when he burst forward on to a Van Persie flick late on, but got his attempted chip all wrong.
Instead the Dutch faced a frantic finale when, in the 92nd minute, Maxi Pereira ran on to a quickly taken free-kick, turned Eljero Ejia and curled a precise shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez's team had time to launch a few balls into the Dutch box but van Marwijk's side survived and it is they who will go forward hoping it will be third-time lucky for them in a final following their defeats in 1974 and 1978.
Uruguay
|
2-3 |
|
FT |
| Forlan, 41 Pereira, 90+2 |
(HT 1-1) | Van Bronckhorst, 18 Sneijder, 70 Robben, 73 |
|
Team |
|||
Uruguay
|
Netherlands
|
||
| Substitutes:
| ||
| |||
Netherlands
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