Game # 41 - Nigeria vs Argentina

What an opening - two goals in the first 4 minutes. I am so glad that no Nigerian defender got near Messi's shot - he hit that so hard that I was afraid it might rip someone's head off! Once that was over, Argentina started to look like the team of old with controlled possession, raiding attacks and constant building pressure - a great sight to see. Having said that, Nigeria were no sluggards either and launched a fair few attacks of their own, but the Argentinian defence was well organised and generally kept them out. Messi's second, just before half-time was a moment of perfect placement that not many people can do as consistently.

The start of the second half was just as exciting but it was Nigeria that scored first and then Argentina restored its lead just 3 minutes later. The game stayed as exciting throughout with Nigeria never relenting in it's search for an equalizer but it was not to be. 2-3 to Argentina it was and a great game. I also realized that whilst Messi might be the goal scorer that everyone notices, Di Maria is the real engine of the attack - he might not have scored a goal but he had more shots (and more shots on goal) than Messi - in any other team in the world, Di Maria would be the superstar but he plays second fiddle to Messi.

Game # 42 - Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iran

Sometimes games like this can be dull and spiteful but this turned out to be an unexpected gem. Bosnia and Herzegovina finally got their attack going and Iran finally looked like a team that wanted to win, rather than a team that wanted to avoid losing. Ironically, Iran lost this by a larger margin but they certainly came way with an enhanced reputation for good soccer. Bosnia and Herzegovina dominated every stat on paper but watching it, the game seemed much closer. Dzeko's goal was a great individual enterprise, really from a seemingly safe position whilst the second (from Pjanic) was sadly gifted after a major Iranian defensive error. What I liked was the Iranian response - rather than cave in and give up, this absolutely inspired them and they tried very hard to score, eventually successful in the 82nd minute, only to concede another just a minute later. 3-1 it finished and both teams played exciting football, resulting in an absorbing spectacle. Neither team got through, because of the result in the other Group game.

Game # 43 - Honduras vs Switzerland

The only statistic that matters is that this game saw the second hat-trick of the tournament and it was from Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri. Almost every other stat is in Honduras' favour - time in possession, corners and so on. It must be a difficult game for Honduras to decide on strategy - already eliminated and not much to play for. To their credit, their choice was to attack and they did this, sadly to no avail. Shaqiri's first goal was a work of art and one of the better goals of the tournament so far. For all their attack, Honduras just lacked finishing power in the last third and, whilst that improved in the second half, the counter attacks of Switzerland were just lethal. Every time they had possession, they looked like could score and they did two more times. The result means that Switzerland went through whilst Honduras already knew that they were eliminated but this ensured that they would finish last in their group too.

Game # 44 - Ecuador vs France

It was surprising to see France, who had scored 8 goals in the first two games, get held scoreless but the Ecuador defence was well marshalled. Considering that a win could have put them through (depending on the other result), Ecuador's attack was lackluster and it was France who did far more of it, coming close to scoring on numerous occasions. It would be both disappointing and concerning to France that they were unable to score in a game where they dominated possession (60-40), shots on goal (13-7) and corners (7-1) and yet failed to find the net even once.

The result was that Ecuador were eliminated and France went through first.