The Intrepid Reporter: World Cup 2014: Back home

The Intrepid Reporter

Thursday 26 June 2014

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World Cup 2014: Back home

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WORLD CUP 2014

Preview - Groups A-D - Groups E-H - Complete results

England v Italy - England v Uruguay - England v Costa Rica

GROUP A Brazil and Mexico qualify

Thu 12-Jun	BRAZIL	3-1	CROATIA	Sao Paulo
9pm ITV	Neymar 29, 71(pen) Oscar 90+1		Marcelo (og) 11
Fri 13-Jun	MEXICO	1-0	CAMEROON	Natal
5pm ITV	Peralta 61
Tue 17-Jun	BRAZIL	0-0	MEXICO	Fortaleza
8pm BBC
Wed 18-Jun	CAMEROON	0-4	CROATIA	Manaus
11pm ITV			Olic 11, Perisic 48 Mandzukic 61, 73
Mon 23-Jun	CAMEROON	1-4	BRAZIL	Brasilia
9pm ITV	Matip 26		Neymar 17, 35 Fred 49, Fernandinho 84
Mon 23-Jun	CROATIA	1-3	MEXICO	Recife
9pm ITV	Perisic 87		Marquez 72, Guardado 75 Hernandez 82

GROUP B Netherlands and Chile qualify

Fri 13-Jun	SPAIN	1-5	NETHERLANDS	Salvador
8pm BBC	Alonso 27(pen)		Van Persie 43, 72 Robben 53, 80, De Vrij 64
Fri 13-Jun	CHILE	3-1	AUSTRALIA	Cuiaba
11pm ITV	Sanchez 12, Valdivia 14 Beausejour 90+2		Cahill 35
Wed 18-Jun	SPAIN	0-2	CHILE	Rio de Janeiro
8pm BBC			Vargas 20, Aranguiz 43
Wed 18-Jun	AUSTRALIA	2-3	NETHERLANDS	Porto Alegre
5pm ITV	Cahill 21 Jedinak 54(pen)		Robben 20, Van Persie 58 Depay 68
Mon 23-Jun	AUSTRALIA	0-3	SPAIN	Curitiba
5pm ITV			Villa 36, Torres 69 Mata 82
Mon 23-Jun	NETHERLANDS	2-0	CHILE	Sao Paulo
5pm ITV	Fer 77, Depay 90

GROUP C Colombia and Greece qualify

Sat 14-Jun	COLOMBIA	3-0	GREECE	Belo Horizonte
5pm BBC	Armero 5, Gutierrez 58 Rodriguez 90+3
Sun 15-Jun	IVORY COAST	2-1	JAPAN	Recife
2am ITV	Bony 64, Gervinho 66		Honda 16
Thu 19-Jun	COLOMBIA	2-1	IVORY COAST	Brasilia
5pm BBC	Rodriguez 64, Quintero 70		Gervinho 73
Thu 19-Jun	JAPAN	0-0	GREECE	Natal
11pm BBC
Tue 24-Jun	JAPAN	1-4	COLOMBIA	Cuiaba
9pm BBC	Okazaki 45+1		Cuadrado 17(pen) Martinez 55, 83 Rodriguez 89
Tue 24-Jun	GREECE	2-1	IVORY COAST	Fortaleza
9pm BBC	Samaris 42, Samaras 90+3		Bony 74

GROUP D Costa Rica and Uruguay qualify

Sat 14-Jun	URUGUAY	1-3	COSTA RICA	Fortaleza
8pm ITV	Cavani 24(pen)		Campbell 54, Duarte 57 Urena 84
Sat 14-Jun	ENGLAND	1-2	ITALY	Manaus
11pm BBC	Sturridge 37		Marchisio 35, Balotelli 50
Thu 19-Jun	URUGUAY	2-1	ENGLAND	Sao Paulo
8pm ITV	Suarez 39, 84		Rooney 75
Fri 20-Jun	ITALY	0-1	COSTA RICA	Recife
5pm BBC			Ruiz 44
Tue 24-Jun	ITALY	0-1	URUGUAY	Natal
5pm ITV			Godin 81
Tue 24-Jun	COSTA RICA	0-0	ENGLAND	Belo Horizonte
5pm ITV

GROUP E France and Switzerland qualify

Sun 15-Jun	SWITZERLAND	2-1	ECUADOR	Brasilia
5pm ITV	Mehmedi 48, Seferovic 90+3		E Valencia 22
Sun 15-Jun	FRANCE	3-0	HONDURAS	Porto Alegre
8pm BBC	Benzema 45(pen), 72 Valladares (og) 48
Fri 20-Jun	SWITZERLAND	2-5	FRANCE	Salvador
8pm ITV	Dzemaili 81, Xhaka 87		Giroud 17, Matuidi 18 Valbuena 40, Benzema 67 Sissoko 73
Fri 20-Jun	HONDURAS	1-2	ECUADOR	Curitiba
11pm ITV	Costly 31		E Valencia 33, 65
Wed 25-Jun	HONDURAS	0-3	SWITZERLAND	Manaus
9pm BBC			Shaqiri 6, 31, 71
Wed 25-Jun	ECUADOR	0-0	FRANCE	Rio de Janeiro
9pm BBC

GROUP F Argentina and Nigeria qualify

Sun 15-Jun	ARGENTINA	2-1	BOSNIA-HERZ	Rio de Janeiro
11pm BBC	Kolasinac (og) 3 Messi 65		Ibisevic 85
Mon 16-Jun	IRAN	0-0	NIGERIA	Curitiba
8pm BBC
Sat 21-Jun	ARGENTINA	1-0	IRAN	Belo Horizonte
5pm ITV	Messi 90+1
Sat 21-Jun	NIGERIA	1-0	BOSNIA-HERZ	Cuiaba
11pm BBC	Odemwingie 29
Wed 25-Jun	NIGERIA	2-3	ARGENTINA	Porto Alegre
5pm ITV	Musa 4, 47		Messi 3, 45+1, Rojo 50
Wed 25-Jun	BOSNIA-HERZ	3-1	IRAN	Salvador
5pm ITV	Dzeko 23, Pjanic 59 Vrsajevic 83		Ghoochannejhad 82

GROUP G Germany and United States qualify

Mon 16-Jun	GERMANY	4-0	PORTUGAL	Salvador
5pm ITV	Muller 12(pen), 45+1, 78 Hummels 32
Mon 16-Jun	GHANA	1-2	UNITED STATES	Natal
11pm BBC	A Ayew 82		Dempsey 1, Brooks 86
Sat 21-Jun	GERMANY	2-2	GHANA	Fortaleza
8pm BBC	Gotze 51, Klose 71		A Ayew 54, Gyan 63
Sun 22-Jun	UNITED STATES	2-2	PORTUGAL	Manaus
11pm BBC	Jones 64, Dempsey 81		Nani 5, Varela 90+5
Thu 26-Jun	UNITED STATES	0-1	GERMANY	Recife
5pm BBC			Muller 55
Thu 26-Jun	PORTUGAL	2-1	GHANA	Brasilia
5pm BBC	Boye (og) 31, Ronaldo 80		Gyan 57

GROUP H Belgium and Algeria qualify

Tue 17-Jun	BELGIUM	2-1	ALGERIA	Belo Horizonte
5pm ITV	Fellaini 70, Mertens 80		Feghouli 25(pen)
Tue 17-Jun	RUSSIA	1-1	SOUTH KOREA	Cuiaba
11pm BBC	Kerzhakov 74		Keun-ho 68
Sun 22-Jun	BELGIUM	1-0	RUSSIA	Rio de Janeiro
5pm BBC	Origi 88
Sun 22-Jun	SOUTH KOREA	2-4	ALGERIA	Porto Alegre
8pm ITV	Son 49, Koo 72		Slimani 26, Halliche 28 Djabou 38, Brahimi 62
Thu 26-Jun	SOUTH KOREA	0-1	BELGIUM	Sao Paulo
9pm ITV			Vertonghen 77
Thu 26-Jun	ALGERIA	1-1	RUSSIA	Curitiba
9pm ITV	Slimani 59		Kokorin 6

FIRST ROUND FALLERS
Group A - Croatia W1 D0 L2 F6 A6 Pts 3 - Rank 19
Ultimately for Croatia, it came down to a winner-takes-all match against Mexico following an unfortunate opening day defeat to Brazil and a 4-0 thrashing of Cameroon. But Mexico, who struggled through qualifying, have been one of the surprise packages of the World Cup and richly deserved their 3-1 win which dumped Niko Kovac's Croatians out.

Group A - Cameroon W0 D0 L3 F1 A9 Pts 0 - Rank 32
A disaster from start to finish - or perhaps even before the World Cup started - with the Cameroon players predictably indulging in a row over bonuses. There were no win bonuses to be had anyway as Cameroon's seventh appearance in the finals ended with them racking up a record seventh successive defeat, stretching back to 2002. Starting with a 1-0 loss to Mexico which could have been much worse, the Indomitable Lions completely collapsed in their second match against Croatia, losing Alex Song to a reckless sending off on their way to going down 4-0. In a bizarre moment towards the end of that game, Benoit Assou-Ekotto landed a headbutt on team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo. The campaign ended with a 4-1 defeat to the hosts Brazil to leave Cameroon ranked last of the 32 teams competing.

Group B - Spain W1 D0 L2 F4 A7 Pts 3 - Rank 23
The end of an era - as Spain, winner of their previous three major tournaments, went out of this World Cup after just two games. Yet, even during the course of the first match, a Spanish implosion looked unlikely. Vicente del Bosque's men led 1-0 and David Silva had just missed a good chance to double the lead when Robin Van Persie equalised with a brilliant diving header. But, after half time, the game turned on its head as Van Persie and Arjen Robben proceeded to rip apart the ageing Spain defence with goalkeeper Iker Casillas, in particular, enduring a horrible night. On the back of the 5-1 defeat, Spain moved on to face Chile - but the South Americans high-pressing game proved too much for the vulnerable defence in a 2-0 defeat. David Villa and Fernando Torres scored, along with Juan Mata, in a 3-0 defeat of Australia in the dead-rubber. It was a sharp reminder of what La Roja once were.

Group B - Australia W0 D0 L3 F3 A9 Pts 0 - Rank 30
The lowest-ranked team of the tournament unsurprisingly went out in the group stage, losing all three games in a very tough group. Nevertheless, the youthful Socceroos can head home with their heads held high - and with a strong candidate for goal of the tournament following Tim Cahill's stupendous volley against the Netherlands. That made it 1-1 against the Dutch in Porto Alegre - and when Mile Jedinak converted a penalty early in the second half, it looked as if there was going to be a huge shock. Ultimately, the Dutch stepped up their game to win 3-2, and that comeback - along with the Aussies' stage-fright in going 2-0 down to Chile after just 14 minutes, were the vital moments of a campaign which finished in rather anti-climatic fashion against a Spain team with something to prove.

Group C - Ivory Coast W1 D0 L2 F4 A5 Pts 3 - Rank 21
Just what will it take for Ivory Coast to progress through the group stage at a World Cup? Handed two fiendishly difficult groups in 2006 and 2010, it looked as if the Ivorians had cracked it this time, particularly when Wilfried Bony and Gervinho overturned Japan's surprise lead in their first match. A 2-1 reverse to Colombia was disappointing, but not unexpected - and left the Elephants with the task of holding their nerve against Greece. Instead, they seemed to panic - even when Bony equalised Andreas Samaris' goal, one last Greek attack ended with Georgios Samaras converting a stoppage-time penalty he had won himself. Off the field, the Toure brothers, Yaya and Kolo, had to deal with the difficult news that their brother Ibrahim had died of cancer.

Group C - Japan W0 D1 L2 F2 A6 Pts 1 - Rank 29
Keisuke Honda's goal against Ivory Coast gave Japan an ideal start to this World Cup - but that was about as good as it got for the Blue Samurai. The Ivorians came back to win 2-1 and, although Japan kept themselves in with a shout of a Last 16 place with a dull 0-0 draw against Greece, a heavy defeat to the free-scoring Colombians showed exactly how just short of the required standard they were.

Group D - Italy W1 D0 L2 F2 A3 Pts 3 - Rank 22
Despite an ideal start - victory over England in the first match - Italy failed to make it through the group phase for the second World Cup in a row. A lacklustre performance in the second match against Costa Rica got exactly what it deserved - a 1-0 defeat - and that scoreline was repeated in a winner-takes-all clash against Uruguay. A hot-headed encounter saw Claudio Marchisio sent off for a studs-up challenge - but the real controversy came, inevitably, through Luis Suarez and his bite on the shoulder of Giorgio Chellini. One minute later, the Azzurri were behind to Diego Godin's header with barely any time to rescue the game. Coach Cesare Prandelli and the head of the FA Giancarlo Abete have both resigned.

Group D - England W0 D1 L2 F2 A4 Pts 1 - Rank 26
Somewhat encouraging against Italy, dreadfully disappointing against Uruguay and downright dull against Costa Rica. All the matches have already been covered on this site - so I am not going to scratch the Three Lions' wound any harder, thank you.

Group E - Ecuador W1 D1 L1 F3 A3 Pts 4 - Rank 17
Sixty seconds of Ecuador's opening match against Switzerland would sum up a campaign which fitted the phrase so near yet so far. Level at 1-1 into stoppage time, La Tri had a glorious chance for a famous World Cup win - but the ball was scrambled clear and, seconds later, Haris Seferovic had slammed in a glorious Swiss winner on the break. It actually then got worse before it got better with the impressive Enner Valencia hitting his second and third goals of the tournament to overturn a shock Honduran opener - and so the results heading into the last day meant that Ecuador only had to match Switzerland's result to go through. But, while the Swiss recovered their goal difference, previously damaged by France, by beating Honduras 3-0, Ecuador toiled against the French in a 0-0 draw. Their cause was hardly helped by Antonio Valencia's sending off - though the level of caution exercised even late on in the match had to be seen to be believed.

Group E - Honduras W0 D0 L3 F1 A8 Pts 0 - Rank 31
Probably the kindest thing to write here is that Honduras will not be much missed from the World Cup, their thuggish attitude out of place in this wonderfully free-flowing tournament. Their 'style' of play was evident from the start, Wilson Palacios seeing red against France in a 3-0 defeat. A second loss to Ecuador followed, although La Bicolor at least managed to score their first finals goal since 1982 when Carlo Costly gave them a brief lead. Xherdan Shaqiri's hat-trick for Switzerland ended slim hopes of progression in the last round of matches, Honduras returning home without a point.

Group F - Bosnia-Herzegovina W1 D0 L2 F4 A4 Pts 3 - Rank 20
Bosnia-Herzegovina belatedly stepped up to the mark, goals from Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic and Avdija Vrsajevic giving them a first ever World Cup finals win. Their first goal in the finals was actually scored by Vedad Ibisevic against Argentina - but a nightmare start, featuring an own goal from Sead Kolasinac, meant it was no more than a consolation. A 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the second game sent the Bosnians out, and so the historic 3-1 victory over Iran was effectively too little, too late. It did, at least, take the Dragons off the bottom of Group F and the whole experience should prove vital in years to come for a clearly talented generation of footballers. Coach Safet Susic is not sticking around, though - he has resigned.

Group F - Iran W0 D1 L2 F1 A4 Pts 1 - Rank 28
Proof, if it were needed, that an overly-cautious approach was not the right attitude for this World Cup. Desperately boring in an opening 0-0 against Nigeria, the Iranians actually came out their shell and missed some good chances against Argentina, only to go down to a last-minute Lionel Messi strike. Team Melli still harboured some hope of a Last 16 place but these were quickly extinguished by already-eliminated Bosnia-Herzegovina. A late goal by Charlton Athletic striker Reza Ghoochannejhad at least ensured the Iranians did not go home without a goal - and, indeed, it meant that none of the 32 teams in Brazil failed to score at least once. Ongoing sanctions continue to bite hard into Iranian football with Carlos Queiroz unable to be kept on.

Group G - Portugal W1 D1 L1 F4 A7 Pts 4 - Rank 18
Portugal were still paying for Pepe's stupidity in getting sent off for a headbutt right until the very end of the group phase after their 4-0 opening defeat to Germany left them with too much to do. Indeed, the Portuguese could have been out after two games after falling 2-1 behind to the United States in a disjointed performance. But, into the fifth minute of stoppage time, the otherwise well-shackled Cristiano Ronaldo escaped on the right and produced a brilliant cross for Silvestre Valera to convert. That point still left A Selecção with much to do as their goal difference was far inferior to the Americans - but they probably could have made it up against Ghana if Ronaldo had managed to take all of his chances. As it was, Portugal did win - but only by 2-1 and so they head home after the group stages for the first time since 2002. Talisman Ronaldo will be 33 by the time of the next World Cup in Russia.

Group G - Ghana W0 D1 L2 F4 A6 Pts 1 - Rank 25
Ghana failed to make it through the group stages of a World Cup for the first time amid acrimony in the squad over unpaid bonuses. It has been reported the Black Stars' players even needed a phone call from their country's president to get them on a plane to Brasilia for the decisive group game against Portugal - though it did not do them much good anyway. A comical John Boye own goal and a Cristiano Ronaldo strike gave the Portuguese a consolation win and left Ghana bottom despite encouraging performances in the 2-1 defeat to the United States and the 2-2 draw against Germany which was probably game of the tournament so far.

Group H - Russia W0 D2 L1 F2 A3 Pts 2 - Rank 24
For Russia under Fabio Capello in 2014, refer to England under the Italian in 2010 - except for a fortunate group stage win. Deathly dull throughout, the Russians battled their way to a 1-1 draw in their opening match against South Korea before being beaten by a late Belgium goal in their second game. At this point with England four years ago, Capello won his final group match against Slovenia to progress - and it looked as if history really was going to repeat itself when Russia took a 1-0 lead against Algeria. But Islam Slimani's controversial second half equaliser sent the North Africans through at Russia's expense, Capello's men having scored just twice and failed to win any of their games. Much more will be expected in four years time when Russia will host the World Cup for the first time.

Group H - South Korea W0 D1 L2 F3 A6 Pts 1 - Rank 27
South Korea have gone a long way backwards since reaching the semi finals of their home World Cup in 2002. Now placed outside of the top 50 in the FIFA rankings, the Koreans looked short on quality right through the group stage, scraping a draw against Russia thanks to a goalkeeping error before being comfortably beaten by Algeria in the first ever instance of an African team hitting four goals in a single World Cup match. Still with a slim chance of progression in the last round of matches, the Koreans were given a chance against Belgium when Steven Defour stupidly got himself sent off in first half stoppage time. But still the Taeguk Warriors could not take advantage - and, indeed, Belgium earned a third narrow win through Jan Vertonghen's goal to leave the Koreans bottom of the group.

Rank Teams ranked in places 17 to 32 by points scored, goal difference then goals scored.

(Q) BRAZIL

(Q) MEXICO