The Whole Delivery

Photo from Getty Images  FT: Korea Republic 2-4 Algeria  As mentioned at halftime, Kim Young-Gwon and Hong Jeong-Ho reputations diminished massively today. Islam Slimani gave them constant problems, and when they needed Han Kook-Young to protect them, he could not on that sweet 4th goal from Yacine Brahimi.   A dream day for Valid Halilhodzic, as the tensions between him and the Algerian federation will subside for tonight. Concerns though will be how his captain Madjid Bougherra lost focus on Son's goal while his backline couldn't prevent Koo finishing the second.   Hong Myung-Bo will have to ponder major chances heading into a must win side against a Belgium team who will at least look to have one good performance before the knockout stage.  It's one thing to have Messi and company score a boatload of goals on them four years ago, but it is another to have a talented but decent at best Algerian side do the same.  (More to c...

Day 10 Best XI:  Intriguing day it was at the World Cup, here was Day 10's team of the day:  Vincent Enyeama is the clear choice in goal, as he contends with Guillermo Ochoa and Keylor Navas for goalkeeping performance of the tournament. His late denial of Dzeko adds to his great reputation.  Enyeama's presence was aided by his prodigious centerback, 20-year-old Kenneth Omeruo . A star making performance by the Chelsea property. Although his team's heroic effort received no points, Amir Hossein Sadeghi was a firm member of Carlos Queiroz's great backline.    Harrison Afful may have provided a great cross for Andre Ayew's second tally of the tournament, but his defending was what caught the eye for me on the day. Only one arguable mistake he made on the defensive end, and that was him having to recover for Jonathan Mensah out of positive on Mario Gotze's goal to start a wild second half.  The second member of a courageous Irania...

Once again, Ghana's poor defense will have to somehow be organized enough when dealing with clever runs from Germany's front 3. How they will do that with Afful replacing a disappointing Opare and the messes at the back with Boye and even Mensah is a pipe dream for coach Akwasi Appiah. On the other end, can Christian Atsu improve and get at Benedict Howedes, who is just not a natural fullback. Howedes did good enough against Germany, but at times still showed his centerback tendencies whenever Gotze or Ozil didn't track back to help him. How Boateng tries to disrupt Kross great calm in the midfield, while Ayew and Gyan, whenever he drops back, will try to make Khedira and Lahm nervous. Khedira looked so goo against Portugal, while Lahm had himself a few nervous moments by getting caught on the ball too long by Miguel Veloso. Lahm will have to make sure to be attentive and persistent on Gyan whenever he drops into the midfield. (Will be back for Nigeria-Bosnia tac...

Best XI of Day 9  Honestly, it could have been the whole entire Costa Rican team that garnered the whole XI of the day, but Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud's great displays to lead France to a wonderful 5-2 lead could not be overlooked.  Finally, Enner Valencia continues his remarkable 2014. Even with his clear miss in the first half, the Pachuca man was the difference again for his Ecuadorian nation as his two goal tally has them in second place in Group E for the moment.  (Come back tomorrow for Day 10 of the World Cup, as Group F, G, and H take the weekend over to complete the second round of games. Peace for now).   Best XI of Day 8:  Because this didn't come yesterday, here is the Day 8 team of the day.  The likes of Suarez, Rodriguez, Gervinho, and Cuadrado were undisputed choices.  He probably should have had a hat trick and may have played his last meaningful game at the World Cup but Wayne Rooney still ...

Photo from FIFA.com First, how Referee Carballo didn't send Diego Godin off for his deliberate challenge on Sterling after already receiving a yellow clearly must have been due to just the Spanish speaking solidarity. That can only explain how ridiculous that call was not made.  Second, another listless performance from Gerrard, Welbeck, and Henderson, and it seems again that the same problems that Gerrard had with Lampard seem to be the same with Henderson.  Henderson plays on the right at Liverpool a little ahead of Gerrard, but he's just playing ahead of him in the center and neither really are committed to joining in on the attack. Henderson has got to stick behind Gerrard and protect him when he gets forward while the captain has to be that deep lying playmaker for his nation. That is the only way they will get themselves out of this mess.  For Oscar Tabarez, it was as perfect of a half you could come up with outside of Godin being lucky to not be...

Kagawa getting dropped is the big decision from Zaccheroni, while Salpingidis being replaced by Fetfatzidis was a major change for Santos here, as well as bringing back in Mitroglou.  Kone and Fetfatzidis provide enough quality to create something for Greece without relying on Torosidis from right back. And that is why Nagatomo is vital again here to make sure that channel is taken away from Greece.  That's the tactical prematch thoughts for today. See you tomorrow for more of the Kickaround prematch thread.      Tactical Thoughts for Uruguay and England  The whole Suarez dynamic and how Henderson will have to help Cahill and Jagielka contain Suarez and Cavani, the real key of this match will be how young Gimenez has communication with Godin on dealing with Rooney and how overlapping Welbeck and Sterling will be on for Sturridge. Gimenez is a fine talent, but Oscar Tabarez couldn't throw him in a more pressure cooker situation....

Team Of Day 7 This was by far the toughest team to call this tournament, as Australians Tim Cahill and Mathew Leckie, along with Dutch explosive wingers Arjen Robben and Memphis Depay, would have been in this team had it not been for consistent excellent play from Ivica Olic, Mario Mandzukic and Alexis Sanchez. Particularly hardest was Mandzukic and Cahill, as the Red Bulls forward produced the co-goal of the tournament with that amazing strike. It proved to be a bittersweet World Cup goodbye for Cahill, as that was his last match in the global competition after picking up his second yellow in as many games. A sensational player throughout his career for both club and country, Cahill showed that at least in MLS and CONCACAF play that he has plenty of quality left in him. Jara, Mena, and Isla probably had their best defending day as a group for Chile, with great last ditch defending, organization for most of the match, and just that bit of luck on giving the clear chance for...