World Cup 2014 – Scout Notes – Matchday 2, Day 3

Fit-again Luis Suarez is England’s chief tormentor, after scoring twice to leave the Three Lions on the cusp of elimination. Gervinho is in the goals for Ivory Coast but the Africans lose out to Colombia, with James Rodriguez netting once again, while Japan and Greece both fail to find the net in a goalless Group C draw:

Suarez Double Downs England
The script was written, really, after the Liverpool forward recovered from a knee injury in time for last night’s vital encounter. Suarez sat on the sidelines for the opening loss to Costa Rica but came back with a bang against Roy Hodgson’s side, nodding home a superb Edinson Cavani cross before taking advantage of a Steven Gerrard error to boost Uruguay’s chances of progressing. While a game against Italy is no easy task, Suarez’ deadly finishing is sure to bring further investment his way as the South Americans look for a result to seal a place in the knockout stages.

Tactics-wise, Oscar Tabarez moved from 4-4-2 to 4-3-1-2 and made five changes to the side that lost to Costa Rica. Martin Caceres came in for the suspended Maxi Pereira at right-back, centre-half Diego Lugano dropped out for Jose Maria Gimenez, while further up the pitch, Alvaro Gonzalez, Nicolas Lodeiro and Suarez came in for Walter Gargano, Christian Stuani and Diego Forlan.

Rooney Finally Breaks World Cup Duck
Unchanged from last week’s loss to Italy, England had the majority of possession (63%) and fired six attempts on target to their opponents’ two but once again were undone by some poor finishing. Wayne Rooney was handed a central role behind Daniel Sturridge last night, as Roy Hodgson shifted Raheem Sterling onto the right flank, and the former was involved in England’s best chances – nodding against the woodwork early on before converting a close-range tap-in from Glen Johnson’s cross. Although Hodgson’s side could be eliminated if Italy draw with Costa Rica tonight, some holding England assets may well hold for their final game (particularly if they still have everything to play for), though Sterling’s owners may be a little concerned after he was subbed off just after the hour mark.

In the FIFA McDonald’s game, there were just 56 recovered balls in this one. For Uruguay, Arevalo Rios led the way with six, whilst Gimenez managed five at centre-half. Phil Jagielka was England’s standout performer with six, though Adam Lallana caught the eye after registering four in just 19 minutes as a second-half sub.

Rodriguez Nets Again in Colombia Win
The South Americans were unchanged from the side that coasted past Greece last time around. Monaco’s James Rodriguez was again key to his side’s triumph and followed up last week’s strike with the opener against the Ivorians to vindicate our Fantasy attentions, whilst right winger Juan Cuadrado and lone frontman Teofilo Gutierrez also kept their tallies ticking over by providing an assist apiece. The 2-1 victory puts Jose Pekerman’s side in the Group C driving seat and with a final game against Japan to follow, further investment could prove profitable.

Gervinho Gem Not Enough for Ivorians
A superb solo effort from the Roma wide man proved no more than scant consolation in a poor display from the Africans. Sabri Lamouchi’s decision to drop Salomon Kalou onto the bench along with Didier Drogba allowed Max Gradel to join Wilfried Bony and Gervinho in the front three but with just three efforts on target all match, they lacked any real cohesion in the final third. Given that Kalou and Drogba were regulars during the qualifying campaign, Lamouchi’s decision to freshen up his forward options for Brazil 2014 has met with mixed results – indeed, it wasn’t until Drogba’s introduction in last week’s win over Japan that his side finally found their feet. With the final game against Greece a must-win, Lamouchi has decisions to make up front if his side are to progress.

In the FIFA McDonald’s game, three of the Colombia back-four registered at least five recovered balls – Pablo Armero and Mario Yepes managed six and Cristian Zapata produced five. Central midfield pair Cheick Tiote (seven) and Serey Die (five) stood out, as did centre-half Didier Zakora, with five.

Ten Man Greece Hold Japan
Alberto Zaccheroni made a couple of changes for the 11pm kick-off. Yasuyuki Konno came in at centre-half for Masato Morishige, whilst further up the park, United’s Shinji Kagawa was dropped for Yoshito Okubo in the attacking midfield three, with Shinji Ozazaki moved to the left flank to accommodate the switch. Despite playing against 10 men for over 50 minutes due to the dismissal of Greek central midfielder Konstantinos Katsouranis, Japan were simply unable to break down a side that shipped three to Colombia in the previous Matchday. Zaccheroni’s side had 72% possession but managed only four efforts on target all game – a win against the South Americans next time around could still see them through but few, if any, will be convinced to invest after last night’s display.

Greeks Falter in Front of Goal Once Again
Fernando Santos also made a couple of alterations to his starting XI. Both changes were in attack, as Kostas Mitroglou replaced Theofanis Gekas through the middle and Ioannis Fetfatzidis came in for Dimitrios Salpingidis on the right of the front three, but once again, Greece were unable to find the net in a poor attacking display. It’s no real surprise, bearing in mind they scored just 12 times in 10 qualifying matches and although their resilience helped deliver clean sheets for Fantasy owners, Santos’ side will need to change tactics in the final game if they are to have any chance of progressing – a win over Ivory Coast, coupled with a Colombia victory over Japan, would still see them through.

In the FIFA McDonald’s game, central midfielder Hotaru Yamaguchi (six) and centre-half Maya Yoshida (five) were the standout players for Japan when it came to recovered balls. Greece, unsurprisingly, caught the eye more in a battling display – full-backs Vasilis Torosidis and Jose Cholebas led the way with nine and seven respectively, followed by centre-halves Sokratis Papastathopoulos (six) and Kostas Manolas (five).