Mexico vs Netherlands WC 2014

With Netherlands going into the match as clear favorites based on their current form, no one expected such a fight from the Latin American country, who haven’t reached the quarterfinals in their five consecutive previous appearances in the World Cup. But Netherlands proved that the match is not over until the last minute, with their cool heads, even though it was scorching hot in Fortaleza. Dutch team wouldn’t have survived the entire match without the cooling breaks, which were taken for the first time in this World Cup. It was not a great start for the Dutch with Nigel de Jong going off the field within first ten minutes of the first half due to injury. First half saw equal opportunities missed by both the teams. Mexican goal keeper Ochoa continued his good form from where he left off against Brazil, keeping the Dutch goal less. With minutes into the second half, Giovani put the Mexicans in the lead with a crisp goal into the corner of the nets. This brought the animated Mexican coach, Miguel Herrera into action. I just wonder how can a coach act so insane, whenever his team scores a goal. Mexicans totally went into defensive mode after scoring this goal, which turned out to be a very bad tactic costing them a place in the quarter finals. Luck was not favoring the Dutch with Vrij’s little contact off Arjen Robben’s corner kick, bounced off the cross bar due to the amazing reflexes from Ochoa. I was almost in a shock when Louis van Gaal substituted Robin van Persie with Klass-Jan Huntelaar in the 75th minute. It calls for a lot of courage to take out Persie that too when Netherlands was trailing! That turned out to be a decisive moment in the match with Huntelaar scoring the winning penalty kick. When the entire nation started losing its hope of going into the quarters, Sneijder rocketed one into the nets with just two minutes to go in regulation time. After so many saves in the match, Mexican goalie Ochoa was a mere spectator watching the ball crashing into the nets. Even after scoring the equalizer, Netherlands went for the kill to finish the match before the extra time. This lead Arjen Robben gaining a penalty kick which Huntelaar converted into a goal. Netherlands just WRAPped up Mexicans hope of making the quarters in the final 5 minutes of the match and they took one step closer towards winning this World Cup.

Spain vs Netherlands WC 2014

I have never felt so excited before for a football match. There are many reasons for that. The most important one is me being an Indian. You might wonder how someone’s nationality can decide his love for sport. But that’s a fact. Let me break this for you. Cricket is a religion in India. Since I was an avid cricket fan, I never felt the need to follow football. And India ranks 154th in the world football ranking, with a handful of matches played every year, it doesn’t make any difference whether I follow it or not. But football is all about playing for a club rather than your own country. But as a fan, I never felt a real connection to any of this clubs. Things have changed and now I can finally relate myself to a football team, The Netherlands! It was the third match of 2014 FIFA World Cup – Spain vs Netherlands. A rematch of 2010 world cup final. There were many questions to be answered. Can Netherlands give a fitting reply for their defeat in the 2010 final? Can Arjen Robben get past Iker Casillas? Can Netherlands defy the odds? There was so much excitement going into the match with people gathering in pubs, in front of giant screens – all dressed in orange with an electrifying atmosphere. There are only two occasions when the entire country turns orange – Kings/Queens day and when Netherlands plays an important football match. Definitely this was one such occasion! Most part of the first half was dominated by Spain, until Robin van Persie started flying! I would say his diving header was the turning point of the game, which lifted the spirits of his teammates. That was also the emotional moment of the match. Robin ran all the way to give a high-five to Louis van Gaal. How often do you see a player doing that to a coach? Second half was a complete turnaround, with Netherlands attacking from the word go. That actually paid off with Arjen Robben and Stefan de Vrij making it 3-1. These two goals in the second half almost sealed the match for Netherlands. After that it was more like a ritual for Spain, from defeat to embarrassment with the final score line reading 5-1 in favour of Netherlands. The final goal by Robben was a class act. He single handedly scored this goal by running 2/3 rd of the ground, almost a 100 meter race between the Spaniards defenders and Robben, which he won comfortably. No one ever dreamt a score line like this. The last time Spain conceded at least 5 goals in an international was in 1963. That sums up the tremendous win for Netherlands in their opening match in 2014 World Cup!