After this week’s pre-World Cup friendlies, several teams
will be making adjustments to their squad and tactics before final decisions
are made for Brazil. Several teams were
surely disappointed with their results following Wednesday’s matches. The US along with Italy, Greece, the
Netherlands, and many more suffered tough losses as they prepare for the World
Cup
The United States suffered one of the toughest losses of
this week after losing to Ukraine in Cyprus.
The match was moved due to the current political tensions in the
Ukraine, but the fact that Ukraine no longer had home field advantage did not affect
the match result. The United States fell
short by two goals with a final score of 2-0.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s side was somewhat different from the teams he
assembled during qualification. Without
usual starters Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, and a drastically different
back four, the US struggled against Ukraine.
This loss to Ukraine is quite significant because the Ukraine was unable
to qualify for the World Cup after losing in a playoff to France. With both Germany and Portugal winning, the
pressure is now on for the US and Ghana as well. Both sides will need to make adjustments
prior to this summer if they hope to survive the group stage.
The United States and Ghana will not be the only teams that
will hope for improvements over the coming months. Italy suffered a somewhat tough loss this
week losing 1-0 to Spain, which will encourage adjustments, but it is also
somewhat likely that these changes will be minor. Though teams are never fond of losing, a loss
by such a narrow margin to Spain will not be the worst result possible. Spain currently ranked as the number one team
in the world, and is truly in a different caliber of team than what Italy will
face in the group stage. While England,
Uruguay, and Costa Rica are all strong sides, they cannot compare to Vicente
Del Bosque’s Spanish side. Italy should
be a strong contender to win their group, but will first have to defeat
England, who has been in good form lately.
Roy Hodgson’s team defeated Denmark 1-0 at Wembley on Wednesday with a
goal from man-in-form Daniel Sturridge.
Despite a long term injury to Theo Walcott, England has adjusted well
and young players such as Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana have supplemented
English veterans such as Steven Gerrard and John Terry.
Another team that is sure to be disappointed with their
friendly result is the Netherlands. The
Dutch lost to France, who barely made it through qualification, 2-0. Though France has very good forwards, they
currently have an aging defense with a few exceptions. This could pose a problem as the World Cup
approaches. The fact that France held
the Netherlands scoreless should concern the Dutch manager. With major scoring threats such as Robin van
Persie and Arjen Robben, it is somewhat surprising that the French kept a clean
sheet. If the Netherlands are unable to
sort out current issues, they may find themselves in trouble in the World
Cup. Aside from Australia, Group B will
be a very tough group. The Netherlands
will face Spain, Australia, and Chile in the group stage, none of which will be
easy matches. Despite Chile losing to
Germany, star players such as Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal will make the
South American team a difficult team to beat.
The final team that will need to make some serious changes
ahead of their trip to Brazil is Greece.
Greece also lost 2-0 on Wednesday as they hosted South Korea. Greece currently has an aging squad, which
could very well be an issue as they prepare for Brazil. The Greek’s results will be heavily reliant
on young star Konstantinos Mitroglou. If
Mitroglou performs at the level that he did in qualification, Greece will be in
a position to be very competitive within Group C. Japan, Greece, Cote d’Ivoire, and Colombia
are all very evenly matched teams and any team in the group could easily
win. The key to Group C will undoubtedly
be performing at the absolute top form possible. There is not a single team in the group that
will be able to cruise through on the fact that they are the best team. This will be an exciting group to watch and
any of the teams could win the group depending on how each team maintains form. Greece will surely look for a way to keep all
their top players in-form after Wednesday’s performance.
Despite many teams seeing success or a need for alterations
before the World Cup, there are also many teams that are right on pace for a
successful World Cup campaign. Belgium
drew with Cote d’Ivoire who has a fairly strong side. Belgium is definitely going to be a team to
watch throughout the world cup. With stars
such as Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, Christian Benteke, and Romelu Lukaku the
Belgians will surely make it through the group stage, and could potentially
have a very successful World Cup.
As more international friendlies occur keep an eye on how
the squads are changed and tactics altered.
Also be sure to follow future articles after these matches right here on
NP Soccer Talk and on NP Soccer Talk’s radio show, which can be found at
blogtalkradio.com/npsoccertalk!
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