Quartet eye knockout stage:
The action continues in Brazil with four teams victorious in
their opening games vying to build on winning starts. Costa Rica were
particularly impressive in their surprise success against Uruguay, racking up
three goals for the first time in a FIFA World Cup™ match, and they now take on
an Italy team that has scored at least once in their last 15 finals fixtures.
Elsewhere, Group E rivals Switzerland and France
know each other well already. The neighbouring nations have met 36 times in the
past, with Les
Bleus enjoying the upper hand thanks to a record of 15
wins, nine draws and 12 defeats. France also looked more assured in their
opener, making light work of Honduras, whereas the Swiss needed to dig deep to
secure a late triumph against an enterprising Ecuador side. The winners of the
summit meeting between the section leaders will advance if the other match ends
drawn.
In that game, Honduras can expect a stiff
examination from Ecuador, and will need all their defensive solidity to
frustrate opponents boasting considerable attacking flair. The history books
slightly favour the South Americans too, with La
Tri earning three victories and seven draws from
their 12 encounters.
Italy-Costa Rica (Group D), Arena Pernambuco,
Recife, 13.00 (local time)
Switzerland-France
(Group E), Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, 16.00 (local time)
Honduras-Ecuador
(Group E), Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, 19.00 (local time)
Ecuador and Honduras can make do without
training-camp spies as their respective coaches are already fully clued into
what makes their opponents tick. Ecuador boss Reinaldo Rueda oversaw the
CONCACAF hopefuls at the 2010 World Cup, no less, although his reign was not a
fruitful one. As for Honduras's Luis Fernando Suarez, he steered La Tri to
the Round of 16 at Germany 2006.Karim Benzema's double against Honduras made him
the first France player to score two goals in a World Cup game since Zinedine
Zidane lit up the Final on 12 July 1998. Benzema came close to notching a
treble too, Los
Catrachos's goalkeeper
turning a shot from the Real Madrid forward into his own net. As a result, he
missed out on the team's first World Cup hat-trick since Just Fontaine fired
three goals past Paraguay in 1958, en route to ending the tournament on 13
strikes. Encouraging omens for Les
Bleus?
Elsewhere, Group E rivals Switzerland and France know each other well already. The neighbouring nations have met 36 times in the past, with Les Bleus enjoying the upper hand thanks to a record of 15 wins, nine draws and 12 defeats. France also looked more assured in their opener, making light work of Honduras, whereas the Swiss needed to dig deep to secure a late triumph against an enterprising Ecuador side. The winners of the summit meeting between the section leaders will advance if the other match ends drawn. In that game, Honduras can expect a stiff examination from Ecuador, and will need all their defensive solidity to frustrate opponents boasting considerable attacking flair. The history books slightly favour the South Americans too, with La Tri earning three victories and seven draws from their 12 encounters. Italy-Costa Rica (Group D), Arena Pernambuco, Recife, 13.00 (local time)
Switzerland-France (Group E), Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, 16.00 (local time)
Honduras-Ecuador (Group E), Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, 19.00 (local time)
Ecuador and Honduras can make do without training-camp spies as their respective coaches are already fully clued into what makes their opponents tick. Ecuador boss Reinaldo Rueda oversaw the CONCACAF hopefuls at the 2010 World Cup, no less, although his reign was not a fruitful one. As for Honduras's Luis Fernando Suarez, he steered La Tri to the Round of 16 at Germany 2006.Karim Benzema's double against Honduras made him the first France player to score two goals in a World Cup game since Zinedine Zidane lit up the Final on 12 July 1998. Benzema came close to notching a treble too, Los Catrachos's goalkeeper turning a shot from the Real Madrid forward into his own net. As a result, he missed out on the team's first World Cup hat-trick since Just Fontaine fired three goals past Paraguay in 1958, en route to ending the tournament on 13 strikes. Encouraging omens for Les Bleus?
0 comments:
Post a Comment