Rearguard actions almost won the day with the Dutch struggling to break Danish resistance before an Agger own-goal set them on their way. Italy meanwhile failed to get that kind of break but huffed and puffed their way to a 1-1 draw against the tough-tackling Paraguayans. Yesterday’s other game saw Japan run out winners over a Cameroon outfit that left Alex Song benched and Samuel Eto’o out wide. Here’s the analysis of yesterday’s key performers from day four…
The combination of clean sheets and Bonus Points paid off again for owners of Dutch defenders with the raiding Gregory Van der Wiel awarded with both attacking and defensive bonus, while Joris Mathijsen earned a couple of defensive points. They were the leading scorers in Oranje, with Dirk Kuyt returning a point share of the two defenders courtesy of his goal to cap the 2-0 win.
The performance and Fantasy returns of both Robin Van Persie and Wesley Sneijder would have disappointed their investors although the stats show that Sneijder completed almost 94% of his passes – impressive considering he also made 45 passes in Denmark’s half, including five that led to goal opportunities. Patience with Sneijder looks advisable then. Similarly Van Persie wasn’t firing but showed enough to confirm that he will be integral if/once the Dutch start firing and both players came out of the game with attacking bonus. Eljero Elia was lively on his arrival and could be in line to inject some pace into the Dutch starting lineup next time out. He earned an attacking bonus and an assist in his 23-minute appearance.
Denmark struggled to pose any real attacking threat and so it’s not surprising that defensive bonus provided the only real source of return. Dan Agger and Martin Jorgensen both contributed a defensive bonus point, although the statistics show that Simon Kjaer was the Danes strongest defensive player with 3 tackles won and 4 clearances – again though, this failed to translate to points in the McDonalds/FIFA game and Kjaer ended the game on just one point.
Japan’s win over Cameroon failed to earn them a single bonus point in the McDonalds/FIFA game – perhaps not surprising with just three efforts on goal in the entire game. Keisuke Honda will doubtless pick up some suitors a budget midfielder in the McDonalds/FIFA game. As for Cameroon, they had the bulk of possession and fired in more shots; subsequently they benefited from a total of six attacking bonus points across their side. Samuel Eto’o came out with a couple of bonus as did sub Idrissou Emana. However Eto’o’s role on the flank will have alarmed his Fantasy owners. Surely that will have to change with Paul Le Guen’s side forced to attack against Denmark next time out – a must-win fixture for both sides.
Italy’s chasing of a 1-0 deficit at half-time gave them the platform to come out of the game with a shower of attacking bonus. Riccardo Montolivo was the biggest beneficiary, despite the bullying tactics from the Paraguyan midfield. Montolivo earned a 3 point return and also earned defensive bonus with the stats showing a total of six successful tackles made on the night. Fabio Cannavaro beat that and earned a couple of defensive bonus as a result – some compensation for the loss of the clean sheet.
Wigan’s new signing Antolin Alcaraz was the star performer for Paraguay, notching the goal and 3 defensive bonus points – a total of 6 clearances contributing to that. The tireless Victor Cáceres was perhaps the most effective Paraguay player on the night – he made 7 successful tackles and 4 clearances. Again these weren’t recognised by the McDonalds/FIFA game but are worth noting if you’re searching for a cheap defensive midfield option. Attacking bonus was thin on the ground for the South Americans although both Claudio Morel from full-back and Lucas Barrios up front showed some intent and came out of the game with single point bonuses. Having earned a point last night, it remains to be seen just how much ambition Paraguay show against Slovakia next time out.