7. Spain
THOSE PEOPLE WRITING off Spain following their 5-1 defeat by Holland would do well to remember that they have failed to win their opening match in the past two major tournaments as well, and still ended up triumphant. Yet the ignominious manner of their defeat to the Dutch was undoubtedly a unique experience for this team, and it will surely be a difficult psychological blow to recover from, especially as it now puts them in a perilous position in terms of qualification from their group. They will need to cut out the individual defensive errors that put a flattering look on Holland’s win, while coach Vicente del Bosque may satisfy critics by replacing weary-looking midfielders such as Xavi with fresher, younger players like Koke. Either way, Spain face a mammoth task in regaining momentum, yet if anyone’s up to the challenge, it’s the impossibly talented reigning world and European champions.
Key player: Andres Iniesta
Random stat from the opening game: 27 out of 29 of Holland’s tackles were successful compared to just 22 out of Spain’s attempted 35.
6. Argentina
Of all the genuine World Cup contenders we’ve seen, Argentina have undoubtedly been the most cautious of them all, while also being one of the least convincing. Alejandro Sabella played an oddly defensive 5-3-2 line-up against a Bosnia side who were themselves plainly set up to defend. Though Argentina led 1-0 at half-time, their lead was a fortuitous one, with Bosnia matching them in most areas of the field. Nevertheless, the half-time substitutions changed the game immeasurably, as Gonzalo Higuain and Fernando Gago replaced Hugo Campagnaro and Maxi Rodriguez. The Argentines consequently reverted to their favoured 4-3-3 formation, with the whole team — most notably Lionel Messi — suddenly looking more confident owing to this more familiar and comfortable system. Of course, there were still problems, despite Argentina’s considerable improvement. There was a naivety in the way they attacked in the closing stages, with Bosnia exposing their defensive vulnerability, getting a goal back and generally finishing as the stronger team. Hence, it was a deeply uneven display from Sabella’s side — they will need to deliver far more composed and consistent performances in their remaining matches in order to maintain their hopes of winning.
Key player: Lionel Messi
Random stat from opening game: 56 of Messi’s 70 attempted passes were successful during the match.
5. France
It’s difficult to discern France’s precise level currently, given that they were plainly up against a quite limited side in Honduras, who are arguably the worst team involved in this year’s World Cup. The French players, however, outclassed their opposition in a fairly accomplished manner and certainly have top quality in many areas. They look one of the most powerful sides in the competition — with players such as Raphaël Varane, Paul Pogba and Karim Benzema, they possess formidable physicality in addition to their proficient technical ability. The central midfield of Pogba and Yohan Cabaye will ensure they dominate the midfield area against teams far better than Honduras, yet their defence — scarcely tested in their opening group game — is the main area of concern. Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho often looks like he has a mistake in him, while Varane is still very young and barely played for Real Madrid at all last season.
Key player: Paul Pogba.
Random stat from opening game: Honduras committed 14 fouls over the course of the encounter — only one more than France (13).
4. Italy
Despite their discouraging form in the build-up to the World Cup, Italy demonstrated their credentials as a potential outside bet for glory in their opening match with England. The Italians were both tactically and technically accomplished. The midfield, and in particular, Andrea Pirlo, seldom gave the ball away (their overall passing accuracy was the best in a World Cup match since 1966), while Balotelli produced an efficient and (dare I say it) mature performance in the lone striker role. Full-back Matteo Darmian, on only his second cap, was another positive, causing England countless problems with his incisive if somewhat risky attacking runs. The intelligent game management of coach Cesare Prandelli was another factor which indicates that they could be serious contenders, though the lack of pace in key areas is one of the question marks that hangs over them, and this weakness may be exposed far more regularly by sides better than England.
Key player: Andrea Pirlo
Random stat from opening game: Pirlo completed an incredible 103 of his 108 passes during the game.
3. Brazil
Brazil were not overly impressive in their opening fixture (and were similarly disappointing last night against Mexico), and they were undoubtedly more than a little fortunate to prevail owing to the hugely favourable refereeing decisions they received, but these two factors should not significantly affect their status as one of the pre-tournament favourites. Furthermore, there are a number of reasons that explain and partially excuse their evident inadequacies in certain respects. Firstly, they were playing against a very good Croatia team with two of the best midfielders in the world in Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. And secondly, the pressure on host teams going into a World Cup is notoriously intense, and Brazil showed considerable mental strength to overcome this taxing challenge. Moreover, there is a Chelsea-like efficiency to this side — they seem capable of getting the job done, even with minimal levels of flair and creativity in the team. Moreover, they have a highly experienced and tactically astute manager at their disposal. For instance, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s decision to give Neymar a rare chance to play centrally owing to Croatia’s somewhat soft centre paid off handsomely, as the Barca star thrived — he was afforded far too much space and caused serious damage to Brazil’s opponents as a result.
Key player: Neymar
Random stat from opening game: Croatia committed 21 fouls in the game, compared with Brazil’s five.
2. Holland
The major concern about Holland going into this tournament was the weakness of their defence, yet the Dutch assuaged these doubts considerably in their extraordinary match with Spain. Aston Villa’s Ron Vlaar, in particular, was superb, as the influence of the Spanish attacking trio — Anders Iniesta, Diego Costa and David Silva — was curtailed significantly for much of the contest. Moreover, in attack, the Dutch were lethal, and in midfield, their opponents could not cope with the intensive pressing of Nigel de Jong and Jonathan de Guzman, which prevented the Spanish from getting any regular rhythm in their forward play. Of course, they rode their luck at times, particularly when Silva missed a one-on-one to put Spain two-ahead, and the suspicion is that they possess too many ordinary players to go all the way, however they will always be very difficult to beat, as was patently the case last Friday.
Key player: Robin van Persie
Random stat from opening game: Arjen Robben completed the fastest sprint ever recorded in a football game, running 37km per hour as he comfortably outpaced Sergio Ramos in doing so.
1. Germany
Though Germany’s comprehensive win over Portugal may have been as much due to Paulo Bento’s side’s self-destructive tendencies more than anything else, they were still undeniably impressive in ruthlessly dispatching the opposition. In Toni Kroos, they possess a brilliant technical player capable of opening up defences practically at will, while Thomas Müller could easily rack up countless goals. Their defence is also strong, while the only doubt surrounds midfielders such as Mario Götze and Mesut Özil, who tend to invariably blow hot and cold. A previous issue was where the goals would come from, with 36-year-old Miroslav Klose the only natural striker in the squad. Yet Müller, for one, demonstrated his ability to stylishly fill this void against the Portuguese the other day.
Key player: Toni Kroos
Random stat from opening game: Kroos had a 96% passing accuracy rate against Portugal.
