So, Costa Rica eh? I have to admit I’m somewhat aggrieved by the scoreline yesterday, mostly because I got a €20 free bet and put it on Joel Campbell to be first goalscorer at 10/1.
I don’t know if he would have taken the penalty he should have been awarded, but if Chiellini hadn’t fouled him and he’d been allowed continue his run, I suspect he’d have scored. That would have been nice for me. But there appears to be a willingness on the part of referees to let a lot of stuff go during this World Cup and I don’t think we can really complain about that.
It’s hard to remember any game that has suffered because of overly officious refereeing, as was certainly the case in previous years. The games have much more flow to them and that’s a good thing. Except when it costs me a load of money but I accept that’s just a personal grievance.
Italy really should have been ahead before Costa Rica scored. Mario Balotelli wiping a few million off his price with a pretty woeful attempt at lobbing the keeper. If that had been Sanogo etc etc. As far as I can remember – please bear in mind some drinks were taken – that was about the best chance Italy created, although I do recall the keeper making a smart save at one point. As sluggish as the Italians were, the Costa Ricans were fantastic, working tremendously hard as a team and as unfortunate as it is for England, they deserved their win and their passage into the knock-out round.
The next game was France v Switzerland, and Olivier Giroud made up for the Joel Campbell disappointment by scoring first (but a fiver at 9/2 isn’t quite as good as the return Campbell would have brought). I liked this from L’Equipe (via Ben Lyttleton):
Giroud, what madness!… He leapt like a kangaroo in delight… & is a marvellous team player, which is essential.
I like the idea of delighted kangaroos at the best of times, but a kangaroo with a hipster Mohawk scoring a goal in the World Cup is great. France were excellent, Switzerland were not. Giroud got a nice assist also, speeding … yes … speeding down the left as they ruthlessly countered from a Swiss corner and playing a great ball across goal for Valbuena to knock home.
The Arsenal connection at the heart of that Swiss defence didn’t have a good night at all. Djourou giving away a daft penalty, Senderos kicked fresh air which led to a goal, and overall, despite the two late goals they got back, they were well and truly battered.
The French look interesting … in that they don’t appear to want to stab each other in the neck as they sleep, which is quite the leap forward considering how things went at the last World Cup. Whether they can maintain the peace remains to be seen, but if they can they’ll give anyone a good game based on what we’ve seen so far in this tournament.
I tried to stay awake for the late game which saw Ecuador beat Honduras 2-1 but tiredness won out in the end. Is Carlo Costly the best name at the World Cup though? I think it might be. Open to suggestion for rivals though. I think Paul Pricey and Engelbert Expenseev come close, but they don’t quite get there.
Today we’ve got Argentina v Iran, which I don’t think is going to be one of those games that surprises people. Nigeria v Bosnia and Herzegovina is the late one, while the main Arsenal interest comes at 8pm when Germany play Ghana. Per Mertesacker should win his 100th cap which is a fantastic achievement, and Mesut Ozil should start in what promises to be the most interesting game of the day.
Arsenal news update: [tumbleweed.gif]
Till tomorrow.
