And we're down to our Final Four! All of them are heavyweights, and all of them have a legit change of winning.
Up first we have Brazil... the host, the penta-champion, the scratch, la canarinha, la verde-amarela... facing off against Germany, Die Mannschaft, DAS UBER FUßBALL MACHINEN. This is the Germans' 4th straight semifinals after finishing 2nd, 3rd, and 3rd in the last 3 World Cups. Unbelievable... and then you remember West Germany made 3 straight finals: '82, '86, and '90. Incredible. Tune in at 4 pm Eastern for this Goliath vs. Goliath match-up, live from Belo Horizonte (ESPN in the US).
Your Mandatory "No love lost between these two teams" Video
Shockingly, Brazil and Germany have only played each other once at the World Cup. The scenario was the 2002 Final in Yokohama, and it doubled as the crowning moment for one Ronaldo Luíz Nazário de Lima. Enjoy!
Uniforms
I'd rather see the blue shorts or blue socks, instead of this year's all-white version. Germany's away jerseys are an atrocity. Decided advantage, verde-amarela.
Three Burning Questions
1. Neymar is out. Yeah. :( Who will step up and fill the massive hole?
The natural choice to replace injured star Neymar in the Starting XI is amazingly-named Chelsea winger Willian. However, the creative responsibility will fall squarely on the shoulders of another Chelsea player: Oscar. The task for Germany is pretty simple: cut-off Oscar from the run of play and watch as Hulk, Willian, and Fred run around like chickens with their heads cut-off. In Fred's case, I'm pretty sure he didn't have a head to begin with. He's awful.
2. Will Klose dare break Ronaldo's scoring record in Brazilian soil?
Sadly, I think the answer is no. The German attack did not play with the same coherence and intensity that characterizes them in the match against France. I expect Gotze to be back in the lineup, with Müller moving to the center-forward position. The rest of the line-up should remain unchanged from the team that professionally dispatched la France. Klose will only get his chance if Germany is down late and they decide to bomb the Brazilian penalty area with crosses. Schürrle is the preferred substitute option anyway.
3. What will be stronger? Brazilian emotion or Germany's apathetic approach?
Normally, I'd say that the key to beat Brazil is to prevent them from scoring in the first 20 minutes. They really feed off the emotion of the crowd. We saw what happened in the quarterfinals against Colombia. However, if there's a team that is equipped to survive an early Brazilian strike is this German team. They've seen it all. They will not panic and they will find a way.
Brazil will win if...
... Fred scores. Because if Fred scores, you know that things are DEFINITELY going Brazil's way.
Germany will win if...
... the match is played. After all, "Football is a simple game. 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."
The Final Score
Brazil 1 (4) - Germany 1 (3). Because it couldn't be any other way. Not only do Brazil reach the final of their own tournament, but they do it while beating the Germans at what they do best, penalty kicks. By the way, I think Brazil scores early (that clown Fred will probably use his knee or something) and Germany ties it late.
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2014
Friday, July 4, 2014
World Cup 2014 - Quarterfinals Preview: Brazil vs. Colombia
It's Samba vs. Cumbia. Friday, July 4th, in Fortaleza. 4 pm Eastern kickoff time.
Your Mandatory "No love lost between these two teams" Video
Once upon a time, Brazil beat Colombia 9-0. That's the worst loss in Colombian history.
Uniforms
In this battle of Yellow vs. Yellow, Brazil gets the edge due to home-field advantage. The Colombian away red jerseys are nothing to write home about.
Three Burning Questions
1. When did Brazil turn into England?
If you watched any of the Brazil vs. Chile match, you must have noticed that, at some point during the course of the game, Brazil decided to just boot the ball up-field and pray for the best. Considering the quality of their strikers (more on that coming up), this is not a strategy that suits them very well. Brazil is at its best when Neymar and Oscar are dictating play, with overlapping runs by Marcelo and Dani Alves. They need to get back to the basics if they plan on reaching the Semifinals.
2. Jackson or Ibarbo for Colombia?
The only lineup decision that Colombian manager José Pekerman has to make is a tactical one. Does he choose Jackson Martinez and play a 4-4-2 with Teo Gutierrez in a shadow striker position? Or does he select Victor Ibarbo instead and play a 4-2-3-1, with Teo playing the sole striker role? As mentioned above, Colombia should find space behind Brazil's aggressive fullbacks and must be able to exploit it in order to win. If it were up to me, Ibarbo would be the choice.
3. Will fatigue play a role in the heat and humidity of Fortaleza?
Almost all of the Brazilian Starting XI has played 390 minutes: 4 full matches plus 30 minutes of extra time. Luiz Gustavo, Neymar, Oscar, Dani Alves, and Marcelo have all ran more than 40 kms already! On the other hand, none of the Colombian starters have played all 90 minutes in each of the 4 matches. James Rodriguez leads all Colombians with 36 km traveled, yet he didn't play the first half of the match against Japan and was subbed out at the end of the Round of 16 match against Uruguay.
It doesn't seem like it'll be a particularly hot day in Fortaleza (72F), but the humidity should be around 70%. If the match goes to extra time, Colombia should have fresher legs. If you consider Neymar's nagging calf injury, I would be willing to bet that Brazil goes all out to win in 90 minutes.
Brazil will win if...
... either of their completely inept strikers, Fred or Jo, scores. They are both so bad you wonder why they don't just grab somebody off the beach and give him the #9 jersey. I think the current version of Ronaldo, R9, would be an upgrade over Fred.
Colombia will win if...
... the match goes to extra time. As mentioned above, Brazilian players have had to play a lot more than their Colombian counterparts. Jose Pekerman has done an excellent job rotating the squad and all players are close to full fitness. They should be able to grab a late winner by outrunning a very tired Brazilian back four that might get caught in transition.
The Final Score
Brazil 2 - Colombia 1. Brazil wins it after Zapata or Yepes loses a ball trying to play out of the back and Neymar capitalizes. I've been picking against Colombia all tournament and I'm not going to change my strategy now.
Your Mandatory "No love lost between these two teams" Video
Once upon a time, Brazil beat Colombia 9-0. That's the worst loss in Colombian history.
Uniforms
In this battle of Yellow vs. Yellow, Brazil gets the edge due to home-field advantage. The Colombian away red jerseys are nothing to write home about.
Three Burning Questions
1. When did Brazil turn into England?
If you watched any of the Brazil vs. Chile match, you must have noticed that, at some point during the course of the game, Brazil decided to just boot the ball up-field and pray for the best. Considering the quality of their strikers (more on that coming up), this is not a strategy that suits them very well. Brazil is at its best when Neymar and Oscar are dictating play, with overlapping runs by Marcelo and Dani Alves. They need to get back to the basics if they plan on reaching the Semifinals.
2. Jackson or Ibarbo for Colombia?
The only lineup decision that Colombian manager José Pekerman has to make is a tactical one. Does he choose Jackson Martinez and play a 4-4-2 with Teo Gutierrez in a shadow striker position? Or does he select Victor Ibarbo instead and play a 4-2-3-1, with Teo playing the sole striker role? As mentioned above, Colombia should find space behind Brazil's aggressive fullbacks and must be able to exploit it in order to win. If it were up to me, Ibarbo would be the choice.
3. Will fatigue play a role in the heat and humidity of Fortaleza?
Almost all of the Brazilian Starting XI has played 390 minutes: 4 full matches plus 30 minutes of extra time. Luiz Gustavo, Neymar, Oscar, Dani Alves, and Marcelo have all ran more than 40 kms already! On the other hand, none of the Colombian starters have played all 90 minutes in each of the 4 matches. James Rodriguez leads all Colombians with 36 km traveled, yet he didn't play the first half of the match against Japan and was subbed out at the end of the Round of 16 match against Uruguay.
It doesn't seem like it'll be a particularly hot day in Fortaleza (72F), but the humidity should be around 70%. If the match goes to extra time, Colombia should have fresher legs. If you consider Neymar's nagging calf injury, I would be willing to bet that Brazil goes all out to win in 90 minutes.
Brazil will win if...
... either of their completely inept strikers, Fred or Jo, scores. They are both so bad you wonder why they don't just grab somebody off the beach and give him the #9 jersey. I think the current version of Ronaldo, R9, would be an upgrade over Fred.
Colombia will win if...
... the match goes to extra time. As mentioned above, Brazilian players have had to play a lot more than their Colombian counterparts. Jose Pekerman has done an excellent job rotating the squad and all players are close to full fitness. They should be able to grab a late winner by outrunning a very tired Brazilian back four that might get caught in transition.
The Final Score
Brazil 2 - Colombia 1. Brazil wins it after Zapata or Yepes loses a ball trying to play out of the back and Neymar capitalizes. I've been picking against Colombia all tournament and I'm not going to change my strategy now.
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