Today, the Netherlands and Chile are to fight it out for top spot in Group B to see who will avoid a round-two assignment against five-time FIFA World Cup winners Brazil.
The Oranje and Chilean squads both won their first two games, putting them into the last 16 with a maximum six points each and sending reigning champions Spain crashing out in spectacular fashion, along with group minnows Australia.
Only goal-difference separates the two, with the Netherlands narrowly on top after their 5-1 win demolition of Spain and 3-2 scrap against the Socceroos.
Hosts Brazil are favored to top Group A, meaning they will face whoever finishes second in Group B — a match that neither the Netherlands, nor Chile would relish.
Yet with the outcome of Group A — where Brazil, Mexico and Croatia are separated by just one point — far from clear, Group B’s winners could still end up facing the Selecao.
It is a complicating factor that neither the Netherlands, nor Chile will want to dwell on before today’s game at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo.
In their 5-1 deconstruction of La Roja, Netherlands striker Arjen Robben clocked a record-setting 37kph as he inspired his side to avenge their loss to Spain in the 2010 finals. Yet it remains to be seen if the Bayern Munich speed specialist will hit those heights in the Chile clash, effectively a precursor for the knock-out challenges ahead.
Robben and teammate Robin van Persie of Manchester United have lit up the tournament with three goals each, but more are needed if their side are to reach their second final in a row.
Coach Louis van Gaal, who will link up with Van Persie when he takes the reigns at Old Trafford next season, will be looking for more solidity after some distinctly worrying moments against Australia.
Against one of the tournament’s least fancied teams, the Clockwork Orange were trailing 2-1 early in the first half before Van Persie and Memphis Depay spared their blushes.
“I needed to change something at half-time to boost their confidence and change their mindset,” Van Gaal said. “Fortunately, it turned out OK, but it could have turned out differently. To recover and correct that situation showed a lot of mental strength.”
The Dutch squad may find themselves against an under-strength Chile after Juventus star Arturo Vidal and Sport Club Internacional’s Charles Aranguiz both skipped training on Friday.
Aranguiz and Vidal, who is on a yellow card, came off injured during the 2-0 rout of Spain, which sensationally ended the European and world champions’ title defense. However, Vidal said he had no concerns about picking up a second yellow that would earn him a one-match ban, ruling him out of Chile’s round-of-16 game.
“This squad is showing how great it is and that’s why I’m not thinking about that yellow card, nor that I could be suspended,” Vidal told Chile’s El Mercurio newspaper. “I just hope to play and be in the group, that’s the mentality of this group.”
Midfielder Carlos Carmona, who could be promoted to the starting lineup if either Vidal or Aranguiz are ruled out, said the squad was strong enough to cope with their absence.
“Eventual suspensions are something normal in these tournaments, but we have players who can replace anyone in such an eventuality,” the 27-year-old Atalanta BC player said.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but