That's what you could take away after watching the first three matches of this competition currently happening in 6 Brazilian Cities between 8 teams. Although Brazil beat Japan 3-0 I was not impressed by the Selecao. I found their passes quite sloppy. True they got some great talent on board but don't they always do? Italy met Mexico and the match felt like a World Cup Final. Italy has a strong squadron and seem to be a lot more organised than the Brazilian side. But don't write Mexico off yet. It is after all the current Gold Medalist of the last Olympic Soccer tournament.
And then Spain played Luis Suarez and friends and won 2-1. Spain is simply unbelievable. As usual they make a debilitating number of precise passes that drive their opponents nuts and then pounce for goal each time they're given half a chance. Which is quite often.
But let's not be in a hurry to sell the bear's skin. The final is on June 30 at what used to be the Grand Daddy of all stadiums: the Maracana.
Brazil played better since then and they have snatched their ticket to the finals against a strong Uruguayan side. Interesting to note that Uruguay has two players who are the top scorers in Italy (Cavini) and England (Suarez almost). Plus they've got Forlan. A team to watch next year.
ReplyDeleteI counted 35 passes between players of La Roja in one of their matches. Festival kokom!