World Cup 2014 – Matchday One, Day Six

Brazil and Mexico both fail to find the net in a goalless Group A draw. Belgium come from behind to get the better of Algeria thanks to goals from Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens, while Russia and South Korea play out a 1-1 stalemate in the final match of Round 1:

Belgium Bench the Key to Comeback Win
One down and unable to find a way past a stubborn Algeria rearguard, Marc Wilmots rang the changes to seal a vital win for Belgium. Romelu Lukaku recovered from a knock in time to start up front but lasted less than an hour before being replaced by Divock Origi in a disappointing display, whilst Wilmots’ two other subs, Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens, both found the net in a 2-1 triumph. Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard were two of the most popular picks heading into yesterday’s 5pm kick-off and both supplied an assist apiece to get their World Cup accounts up and running.

While the impact of his substitutes will certainly give Wilmots food for thought, the introduction of Fellaini up front is more likely to be Belgium’s Plan B – upcoming opponents Russia surely won’t operate with such defensively-minded tactics as the Algerians next time around.

Feghouli On the Spot for Algeria
The Valencia player arrived on the back of four goals and eight assists in La Liga last term. Favourably priced across the Fantasy games, Feghouli benefitted from penalty duties for the Algerians and spoiled Thibaut Courtois’ clean sheet by slotting home from the spot on 24 minutes to highlight his worth as a budget option. Bearing in mind this was Algeria’s only shot on goal – from a total of three attempts – Vahid Halilhodzic’s side desperately need to improve in the final third, with clean sheets for Russia and South Korea looking a reasonable shout.

In the FIFA McDonald’s game, three of Belgium’s back-four produced five or more recovered balls. Daniel Van Buyten led the way with seven, while Toby Alderweireld and Vincent Kompany made six and five respectively. For Algeria, Nabil Bentaleb and Madjid Bougherra were the standout performers with five apiece.

Brazil held to Mexican Stalemate
Phil Scolari made one enforced change for last night’s match against Mexico, with Ramires replacing the injured Hulk in the front three. Both sides went into this one on the back of victories in their opening matches but the hosts were unable to replicate the form that swept aside Croatia last Thursday, thanks mainly to a defiant display by Guillermo Ochoa between the posts. The Mexican keeper made six saves and denied Neymar owners any Fantasy returns with an outstanding point-blank stop particularly catching the eye. Scolari swapped off both wide men and lone forward Fred later in the match to no avail and the latter’s starting berth may well be called into question for the final match against Cameroon after another poor performance up front.

Mexico were unchanged from the 1-0 win over Cameroon, as Giovanni dos Santos partnered Oribe Peralta up front in a 5-3-2 formation. With back-to-back clean sheets in their opening couple of games, they’ve proven to be far more resilient than perhaps expected and owners of wing-back pair Miguel Layun and Paul Aguilar will be reasonably confident of further returns in their final group game against Croatia.

In the FIFA McDonald’s game, Thiago Silva racked up 10 recovered balls for Brazil, with Luis Gustavo just behind on nine and David Luiz some way back with five. For Mexico, the three centre-halves excelled. Hector Moreno (10), Rafael Marquez (8) and Francisco Rodriguez (six) all stood out, as did Layun (six) and central midfield pair Hector Herrera and Jose Vazquez, who managed six and five respectively.

Kerzhakov Saves Russia’s Blushes
The veteran was, as expected, handed a role on the bench for last night’s clash against South Korea. Fabio Capello opted for Alexander Kokorin up top, with Denis Glushakov benefitting from Roman Shirokov’s injury absence in the centre of the park, though it wasn’t until Kerzhakov’s introduction that Russia were able to make the breakthrough. With Kokorin shifted to the left, Kerzhakov took his place as the lone forward in a 4-3-3 and fired an equaliser just three minute after his introduction to stake a claim for a starting role against the Belgians next time around.

South Korea also had their sub striker to thank. Hong Myung-bo handed Park Chu-young the lone forward role in a 4-2-3-1 but withdrew the Arsenal man just before the hour mark as both sides struggled to find a way through. Replacement Lee Keun-Ho vindicated his manager’s decision by firing the Koreans ahead just nine minutes after arriving on the park and could well be set to lead the line next time around – with Algeria set to provide a stubborn resistance, though, Fantasy interest looks limited.

In the FIFA McDonald’s game, Vasili Berezutski (nine) was Russia best performer for recovered balls. Both full-backs also impressed – Dmitri Kombarov and Andrei Eschenko (who also supplied the assist for Kerzhakov’s leveller) managed six apiece. For South Korean, three of the back-four – Yun Suk-Young (seven), Kim Young-gwon (eight) and Hong Jeong-ho (six) – stood out, as did central midfielders Ki Sung-yeung and Han Kook-yeung, with eight and seven respectively.