occasional posts by risa aratyr
GERMANY v ARGENTINA On paper? A not-to-be-missed match, end-to-end, neck-and-neck. On the pitch… Argentina got creamed. Germany won by a resounding 4 – 0 margin. The one and only question I had at the end of the 90 minutes was, “How the hell is anybody going to beat these guys?” Argentina’s pride was crushed as … Read more WC Fields [1/4 finals] — Day #2
HOLLAND v BRAZIL Holland has what it takes to be real contenders. They’ve already shown their coordination, precision passing, attack mentality and individual skills. In this match they revealed a ruthless side to their game that sent a message to their opponents in the next round: if our beautiful football isn’t enough to win it, … Read more WC Fields [1/4 finals] — Day #1
In the States, the media ranks games in terms of expected audience size and national interest. All USA matches get massive coverage, followed by those involving Brazil, England, Germany and Italy. Some of these fixtures live up to their press. Some don’t. Some that slip under the American media radar are the hard fought, end-to-end … Read more WC Fields [k.o.] — Paraguay v Japan
That’s what I’m talking about. Sure, Portugal can cream North Korea 7 – 0. Not that I put unlimited faith in the FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking table, but when team #3 plays team #105… well, duh. Being on a numeric par, the Spain/Portugal fixture promised a tighter match, and delivered on that promise — though not by … Read more WC Fields [k.o.] — Spain v Portugal
The competitors from South America have been doing brilliantly. Comes a point, though, where the field narrows. Finally, inevitably, one of the nations had to fall. Watching Chile progress has been terrific, but surely no brows were raised at this result. On the day, sure. Chile might get a winner. On a World Cup day… … Read more WC Fields [k.o.] — Brazil v Chile