Impact Soccer

Game 1 : Poland vs Brazil

First of all, it was great to see the Olympic Stadium here in Montreal full of people after a very long time. The crowd was about 50-50 in terms of support.... maybe a slight edge to Polish supporters, and both sets of fans combined to create a wonderful atmosphere! Once the game was underway, it was surprising to actually see the Poles getting the better of the play while the Brazilians showed a few flashes of individual prowess. But eventually, Poland got a deserved goal through a beautifully struck free-kick. However, before the half was done, a serious blow would come in the form of a red card to one of the Polish players. And to be fair, both of his yellows were deserved, and the player walked off the pitch in tears, probably thinking that with a man down his teammates might not be able to hold the fort. But I tip my hat to those Polish kids, they played their hearts out and really didn't give Brazil much. At the same time, the Brazilians were much to individualistic and that doesn't work when you want to breakdown a team playing everyone behind the ball. The final whistle blew and Poland got a deserved 1-0 victory. In fact, I am certain that the scoreline would have favored the Poles even more had they not gone a man down. In the end, Brazil was quite disappointing.

Game 2 : South Korea vs USA

Wasn't quite sure what to expect from this one, but what a game it turned out to be!!! The Koreans quickly showed what they were all about. The were unbelievably fast, great technical skills, and had wonderful vision to boot! Even more surprising was that they didn't shy away from physical play either. Not to mention that pretty much the whole crowd were behind them (... or just anti-USA ). In any case, we were certain that the Koreans would pot a goal soon enough. But against the run of play, the Americans actually got the first goal of the match off a cross from the right wing that was headed in at the far post. But this didn't seem to slow down the Koreans who kept coming in wave after wave with blazing speed. They were eventually rewarded with a beauty of a goal which resulted from some very nice passing, take a gander:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIQswOedBjo

Before the half was over, Korea added another but it was called back for offside. The second half was much of the same, although the US did manage some pressure, but it was Korea who had the best chances to put the game away with one shot even coming off the corner of the woodwork. In the end, it finished 1-1 but really the Koreans should have taken it by a score of 4-1 or 5-1. The just lacked a little bit of finish in and outside the 18 yard box. The US can consider themselves lucky to have gotten the draw!

The next games in Montreal will be on Tuesday: USA vs Poland and South Korea vs Brazil. The USA-Poland match should be a pretty tight physical affair. As for the Korea-Brazil game, unless Brazil start playing more as a team, and if Korea can keep up their torrid pace, then I see Korea walking (or should I say running) all over Brazil.

Daniel a écrit :On voit ce qu'un toit sur les estrades peut faire...

Mpenza a écrit :

Daniel a écrit :On voit ce qu'un toit sur les estrades peut faire...

Ça peut aussi garder au stade 10 000 personnes qui piquent un sprint vers le stationnement quand il se met à pleuvoir.