The kind of World Cup matches I'd like to see more of!

The Nederlanders were as solid as they needed to be today.  The early Brazilian goal,  a lovely through ball down an open lane as big as a freeway,  didn't dishearten the Orange side at all.  They'd already come back in the pre-tournament from being down one to Hungary. That didn't unsettle them although it took till the fifty-sixth minute to come back and take the lead.  Dutch grit was plenty in evidence in this game against the Brazilians.   My good friend and longtime soccer observer, Mark, noted recently that Brazil's play no longer is the beautiful game for which they were famous.  That observation proved true today as Brazilian players early on took to banging the orangemen around.  I think there were six early fouls.  And the Dutch may have wanted to demonstrate that they'd had enough after Robben hooked and spun to the ground in the right corner.  It was shortly afterward that Sneijder arced his long cross into the box,  completely flummoxing Julio Cesar and the Brazilian defender jumping next to him.   When Orange tallied a second time with a flicked on cross from Robben at the corner,  the South Americans came unglued.  Four minutes later, Felipe Melo was stamping on Robbens lying on the ground earning him a red card.  Kaka's face reflected petulance.  And the clock ticked down.   Without question the Netehrlands got some luck on their side.  Brazil,  until the players began to express their frustration, was dangerous.  But the result was satisfying.   And I thought I'd seen one of the most exciting matches of the Copa so far.


But then I turned the television on  (I had been watching the ESPN3 stream of Brazil v Netherlands) and discovered,  to my surprise that there were still seven or eight minutes left in the neck and neck match between Ghana and Uruguay.  I don't think I've ever seen quite as dramatic a contest as the end of this epic struggle.   Clearly, both teams were exerting themselves mightily and were playing ferocious defense without giving up efforts to string their passes into the opposing goal.   To my eye, Ghana began to gain momentum in the waning minutes, three or four times putting a ball on the feet or chest of an attacker in front of Uruquay's goal only to be repelled each time!  The teams,  clearly weary and foot heavy,  battled again for more than thirty minutes because there is added time to the added time.  Valiantly.  Still trying to maintain their shape,  to get back and cover, to move off the ball,  to think creatively no matter how parts of the brain scream 'stop running'.    Yes, there are dives in the game and a shameful practice that is.   But there are also moments of true agony.   Gyan,  the Ghanaian forward,  scrambling hard to get the strike that will save it all with a full run down the right wing.  Goes down in the corner as he rotates to cut back.   Uruguayan players complain.  But the replay shows the tackle crashing into the back of his lower leg as his foot plants and turns.  This is no game for poseurs.

And then,  with stoppage time at 120+ and slipping away,  Ghana had a shot at point blank range! The shot was blocked, but, immediately volleyed back. Muslera, the Uruguayan keeper, was lost from the first shot, but two defenders stood on the goal line and one, Suarez,  cleared the ball with his hand!  Chaos ensued.  Senor Bencerenca,  the official,  gave Suarez the boot for the handball and pointed to the spot.  Immediately millions focused their attention on Asamoah Gyan, Ghana's #3, who steps to take the kick. Certainly the Black Stars will win!  A Uruguyan player,  maybe Suarez, is walking away in tears with a teammate trying to comfort him.  Gyan strikes the ball.  Muslera dives left!  The ball rises,  centerline,  hits the crossbar and heads to heaven.  Gyan missed!   He looks skyward and turns away putting his jersey between his teeth.  He was given the chance to bring Africa to the next level.  And he missed.  Prince-Boateng tries to comfort him.   Muslera reaches up and kisses the crossbar.   He does it again.   The referee signals the end of extra time.  The game will go to PKs.  I do not think I can recall a more dramatic moment in watching futbol for thirty five years.  Incredible.   

And probably we all know the rest of the tale.  How Gyan recovered some of his self-esteem with a well-placed shot.  But ultimately it was Muslera who was the hero,  stopping two of the Black Stars' kicks and anchoring the win for the Uruguayan side.  The battle could not have been won and lost on a much smaller margin of difference.  A single penalty kick,  perhaps taken a little in haste and affected by the immense pressure of a continent's hopes riding in the balance.  I hope that Asamoah Gyan can believe that he is a hero and not a goat.   It's like the old rhyme,  "For want of a nail the shoe was lost....etc."   Except I think that was about an English king and that's an entirely different story.  

The link is to You Tube footage of those closing moments.  I suspect this will be a classic.

The Dramatic Final- Ghana vs Uruguay

When it was all over,  I thought about our Portland Timbers losing on PKs the other night to the Flounders.   And it occurred to me that things could be much much worse.  One could end a World Cup run of legendary character with a single kick.  It happens.