It was somehow appropriate that a mediocre tournament should end with a sterile, ill-tempered match. The harassed English referee Howard Webb issued 13 yellow cards - easily a record for a World Cup final - the second of which led to John Heitinga’s dismissal in extra time, but the red card should have come out far earlier than it did. Holland’s Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel committed terrible first-half fouls which deserved instant dismissal but one suspects Webb was under considerable pressure from FIFA’s top brass to keep 22 players on the pitch for as long as possible in this football showpiece.
Arsenal’s Robin van Persie was the first to be carded for a rash foul and his evening failed to improve. Playing as a lone striker, the Dutchman hardly touched the ball for the first 20 minutes and he was forced to feed off scraps for the entire match. I cannot recall a scoring chance falling to Van Persie over the 120 minutes, which was an indictment of the negative way Holland played. Although Holland won every game apart from the final, it was a frustrating tournament for Van Persie, who scored only once - against Cameroon -and was never seen at his best. The Dutch were only four minutes away from taking the final into a penalty shoot-out but this cynical team were not a patch on the sides of 1974 and 1978 who entranced everybody but ultimately lost those World Cup finals to West Germany and Argentina respectively. Sadly, they did not deserve to make it third time lucky. Even their 1970s Dutch legend Johan Cruyff deplored their tactics and said he was pleased Spain won. At least Holland were responsible for one of the goals of the tournament which came from their 35-year-old captain and former Arsenal defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who scored from 35 yards in their 3-2 semi-final victory against Uruguay. He would love to have repeated the feat against Spain, his final bow before retiring.
The Spaniards, the pre-tournament favourites, deservedly added the World Cup to their European title of two years ago. They are a fine side, if slightly over-praised by some of the pundits. I do not think they are as appealing or as exciting as the team who won the European Championship in 2008. Fabregas was not first choice for them then and he was not first choice for them here. My view is that Spain would have won both trophies more convincingly if Fabregas had played more often. He is as creative as the Barcelona trio and fellow midfielders Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernandez and Iniesta and more of a goal threat, as his 19 strikes for Arsenal last season suggest. Spain scored only eight goals in their seven matches, the last four of which ended 1-0. They remind me of Arsenal in many ways. Technically gifted, dominating possession but lacking width and a cutting edge. Their shooting seldom equalled their approach play and it was interesting that for all their fluency against Germany in the semi-finals - probably their best performance - their winning goal came from a corner fiercely headed home by Carles Puyol.
Nicklas Bendtner was hindered by a groin injury throughout the tournament but still made his mark. He netted in Denmark’s 2-1 victory over Cameroon in the group stage, and it was his fine pass that led to Dennis Rommedahl’s spectacular second-half winner. Bendtner’s tournament ended when Japan defeated the Danes 3-1 in their final group game.
Cameroon were another country who failed to clear the first hurdle. It might have been different if they had picked Alex Song in their first match against Japan. Instead, Song was confined to the substitutes’ bench as Cameroon lost 1-0 and by the time he did play - against Denmark - they were facing an uphill battle to qualify. Cameroon were the only country who lost every game in the World Cup.
Emmanuel Eboue did his utmost for Ivory Coast but his and his country’s cause was not helped by the negative mindset of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, especially in their goalless draw with Portugal in the group stage.
Philippe Senderos, who has since joined Fulham on a free transfer, was still an Arsenal player when the tournament started but he was injured during Switzerland’s startling 1-0 victory over Spain in their opening group match and did not take any further part. That proved to be the high point for Switzerland, for they went on to lose to Chile and were held to a goalless draw by Honduras.
Carlos Vela, the Mexico forward, was another injury victim and disappointed not to be more involved in their campaign, which ended in the round of 16 when they were beaten 3-1 by Argentina.
France was one of the few countries who did worse than England, so it was a World Cup to forget for Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Abou Diaby and Gael Clichy, although Clichy spent most of his time on the subs’ bench. The hostility between the French players and manager Raymond Domenech boiled over and the ill-feeling was reflected in their listless displays against Uruguay, Mexico and South Africa. When former Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after a row with Domenech, it looked as if most of the French players wanted to follow him. France finished bottom of their group but were only participating in the World Cup finals because Thierry Henry’s blatant handball which led to the winning goal against the Republic of Ireland in qualifying was not spotted by the referee or the linesman. A great pity, for the Irish would have made far worthier finalists.
The reputations of two Arsenal players, Theo Walcott, of England, and Samir Nasri, of France, were enhanced by not going to the World Cup. I was one of those who felt that Walcott had not shown enough consistency to earn selection by manager Fabio Capello, but England made such a mess of things that he could scarcely have done worse than any of the first-choice players. Nasri, like Walcott, was downcast after being surprisingly excluded from a French party of 23 to South Africa but must have had mixed feelings after watching his colleagues implode.
England looked worryingly vulnerable and disjointed in warm-up matches against Mexico and Japan and the feeling that the team had gone backwards since the end of qualifying was confirmed when the World Cup began in earnest. England and Capello fouled up big-time, failing to top a group that included the United States, Slovenia and Algeria and playing rubbish in the process. If England had beaten Algeria or the United States or scored one more goal against Slovenia they would not have had to face the vibrant Germans in the round of 16. However, England played so badly against Germany that they would probably have been defeated by Ghana if the group had turned out differently.
What sank Capello, who is lucky to still be in a job, was not so much opting for a rigid 4-4-2 as relying on players who were not match fit. Ledley King and Gareth Barry ought to have been left at home while Wayne Rooney was so dire that it was hard to believe he was not hampered by an injury sustained a few months previously. The biggest embarrassment was when Emile Heskey was sent on against Germany with about 15 minutes left and England losing 4-1. Capello’s decision reminded me of 1992 when Graham Taylor took Gary Lineker off with England needing to score against Sweden to stay in the European Championship. That proved to be the beginning of the end of Taylor’s time as England manager. Could Capello suffer a similar fate?
World Cup 2010 will be remembered for the unpopular Jabulani ball and the endlessly irritating vuvuzela. The tournament also saw big-name players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Kaka, Rooney, and Steven Gerrard flop. One of the best matches was the third-place fixture between Germany and Uruguay - a game which few felt the World Cup needed. The absence of fear, however, encouraged both teams to be adventurous and it was difficult to recall one backward pass. If only the same could have been said for the rest of the competition. Instead, safety-first proliferated and some countries, notably Greece, Switzerland and Portugal, seemed frightened to cross the halfway line. Incidentally, New Zealand, the World Cup outsiders, were the only country to go home undefeated. Funny old game eh?
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