Costa Rica 1, Italy 0
France 5, Switzerland 2
Ecuador 2, Honduras 1
Three thoughts on the games
- I (like many others) saw Costa Rica's win over Uruguay and thought little of it, believing they'd fall back to Earth when they had to face the European teams. Now we're all paying attention. The UEFA teams are struggling so far compared to their CONCACAF and CONMEBOL brethren. Is this signaling a change in the guard? Not really, the main reasons for this are a) UEFA teams tend to struggle in World Cups outside of Europe, much like CONMEBOL and CONCACAF teams tend to struggle in Europe, and b) The western hemisphere teams are better suited to the conditions the teams are facing in summer in Brazil.
- I've long enjoyed watching Germany play on the World Cup stage since 2006 (Jurgen Klinsmann's cycle coaching them). They play a counter-attacking game, but they do it aggressively and with purpose. Once they get up a goal the game turns into a very back-and-forth affair, with Germany trusting they will make more of their opportunities than you will with yours. France, in this World Cup, is playing very much that same way, and it makes for terrific viewing.
As for the game, it was actually worse than the final score made it look: a) France became the first team to gain a penalty kick and not score on it in this World Cup, b) it was 5-0 at one point, and c) Switzerland's first goal came as the result of some of the worst wall play on a free kick that I've seen on this stage. As the tweet below says,
It’s really hard to have stop a penalty and still have a terrible game as a goalkeeper, but this is one.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) June 20, 2014
- The region of CONCACAF has has a smashing run of success in this World Cup...with the exception of little brother Honduras. It's difficult to pull for underdog Honduras, as they play an extremely physical (some might say cynical) game but also fall down in agony if brushed against. Their link-up play leaves much to be desired on this stage, and Ecuador made enough of their chances to get the three points.
Today's Games:
Argentina vs Iran (12:00 PM, ESPN)
Germany vs Ghana (3:00 PM, ESPN)
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Nigeria (6:00 PM, ESPN)
note, all games are available streaming on ESPN3/the WatchESPN app
Updated Tables
A reminder: the number in parentheses next to each team name is the latest FIFA World Ranking.
Qualified for Knockout Round: Netherlands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France
Eliminated from the Knockout Round: Cameroon, Australia, Spain, England, Honduras
GROUP A
|
||||||||
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
Brazil (3)
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
Mexico (20)
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
Croatia (18)
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
3
|
Cameroon (56)
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
-5
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
GROUP B
|
||||||||
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
Netherlands (15)
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
8
|
3
|
6
|
Chile (14)
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
Australia (62)
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
-3
|
3
|
6
|
0
|
Spain (1)
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
-6
|
1
|
7
|
0
|
GROUP C
|
||||||||
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
Colombia (8)
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
Ivory Coast (23)
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
Japan (46)
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
-1
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
Greece (12)
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
-3
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
GROUP D
|
||||||||
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
Costa Rica (28)
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
1
|
6
|
Italy (9)
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
Uruguay (7)
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
-1
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
England (10)
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
-2
|
2
|
4
|
0
|
GROUP E
|
||||||||
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
France (17)
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
Ecuador (26)
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
Switzerland (6)
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
-2
|
4
|
6
|
3
|
Honduras (33)
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
-4
|
1
|
5
|
0
|
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