The Dutch and the Spaniards mustered enough juice to defeat their opponents in the World Cup 2010 semifinals, Uruguay and Germany, respectively, and advance to the finals. Summary reports of the two matches can be viewed here and here.
A great overall effort by the Uruguay team in not giving up and pressing all the way to the end in an impressive but unsuccessful attempt to equalize against the Dutch, who came out as victors to advance to the final.
On the other hand, the German team's performance showed a marked degradation compared to their previous impressive victory against the Argentine. Of course, they lacked the creative play making and finishing ability of Thomas Mueller who had to stay out for having received two yellow cards during the earlier games. The Spaniards, on the other hand played relatively comfortable and were able to control the midfield and created most of the opportunities. This was by far the most anxiously anticipated game during the 2010 game so far, but lacked the anticipated sparkle and beauty, although the strong header by Carles Puyol which put the Spaniards on top was a real beauty.
The next two games are going to be exciting. The Dutch and the Spaniards each is hoping to clinch the title for the first time in the World Cup history. The Germans will likely have a much more relaxed game and they would be able to benefit from Thomas Mueller's presence. Uruguay is hoping to carry the South American reputation in the absence of other contenders who were sent home earlier.
The mental aspects of the game and a team's ability to maintain composure and control seems to be increasingly more important as the stakes get higher. It seems to me that Germany would have been able to perform much better had they been able to maintain a better composure and mental strength. Of course, this is easier said than done. Just an observation.
No comments:
Post a Comment