Netherlands vs Australia
Coming off of their 5-1 victory over Spain, the Dutch looked to coast to another win over the Aussies. After 20 minutes it seemed like the game was heading toward a Dutch rout. Arjen Robben picked up the ball at midfield and ran straight for the goal. His speed was too much for the Australian defense and he slid the ball past the keeper for a 1-0 lead (http://gfycat.com/DelectableCookedJackal). The Dutch looked dominant up till that point, but the Australians answered immediately. Almost directly from of the kick off a long ball toward Tim Cahill turned into the goal of the tournament so far. Just seconds after Robben's goal, Cahill drifted into some space in the box, received a 40+ yard pass, and volleyed the ball with his weak foot off the crossbar and in (http://gfycat.com/TidyRepentantKestrel). After the equalizing goal, the Aussies were the ones who looked the more likely to take the lead. 7 minutes after the halftime break, Janmaat was judged to have handballed Bozanic's cross and the Australians were awarded a penalty (http://gfycat.com/BrokenMinorAlbertosaurus). Jedinak stepped up to the spot, sent the keeper the wrong way, and gave the men from down under the 2-1 lead (http://gfycat.com/ForkedEuphoricChanticleer). After falling behind the Dutch seemed to come alive. Just a couple minutes after Australia scored a wonderful pass through the Aussies defense found Van Persie alone in the box, and he was never going to miss. His sent his shot into the roof of the net and the game was tied 2-2 (http://gfycat.com/JoyfulFlatClingfish). 10 minutes later Memphis Depay, in his World Cup debut, got the winner for the Dutch. His swerving shot from 30+ yards out bounced past the keeper, who should have saved it, and in (http://gfycat.com/SpicyInfantileIslandwhistler). His goal gave the Netherlands the 3 points, but the Australians made them work for it. The result of this game meant that the Dutch are guaranteed progression to the next round, and the Aussies are going home.
Spain vs Chile
In a this must win game for Spain, I thought they were going to come out and impose themselves on the Chileans early. That prediction proved to be wrong. Chile played without fear. They attacked Spain on the counter and knocked them back on their heels. In the 19th minute, the South Americans opened the scoring. A massive oversight by the Spanish defense left Vargas wide open in the middle of the box, and when the ball was played into him he had all the time in the world to put the ball past Casillas (http://gfycat.com/GoodTintedBeauceron). Spain looked as if they were never ready for the match and Chile made them pay. In the 43rd minute, an Alexis Sanchez free kick was poorly parried by Casillas, straight to Aranguiz. His cheeky outside of the foot shot, wrong footed the Spanish keeper, who yet again was the man at fault for the goal (http://gfycat.com/SnappyMeaslyApisdorsatalaboriosa). Chile looked great in this match, much better than in their opener against Australia, but the bigger story is the performance of Spain. The team that had when the previous 3 major tournaments they have played in never looked interested. It is unbelievable to think that a team that had been so dominant in previous years could be beaten so soundly twice in a row on the world's biggest stage. They played without urgency or desire. They deserved to be beaten. Chile guaranteed themselves progression, and their final game against the Netherlands will determine who finishes 1st and 2nd.
Croatia vs Cameroon
Both Cameroon and Croatia needed a win in this match to give themselves a realistic chance at making it through to the next round. Both teams dropped their opening matches, but the Croatians looked significantly better in their losing effort than Cameroon did in theirs. Not only did Croatia seem like the stronger side, they also got back their star striker, Mario Mandzukic, after he served his 1 game suspension in the opener. It didn't take long for Mandzukic to make his presence known. After just 10 minutes, Mandzukic was able to get onto the end of a cross from the right side and pass it back out to Perisic. He played the ball across the goal, where Olic just had to tap the ball into the net (http://gfycat.com/CompassionateLeanBrownbutterfly). Things went from bad to worse for the Africans after Alex Song was shown a red card for this closed fist punch into the back of Mandzukic (http://gfycat.com/BrilliantCourageousFirefly). Cameroon struggled to get a foothold in the match with 11-men, there was no way they could keep up with the Croatians playing a man down for over half the game. Just 2 minutes into the second half a bombing run down the left hand side saw Perisic in on goal. His shot caught the Cameroonian keeper leaning the wrong way, and he beat the goalie at his near post to put the game out of reach 2-0 (http://gfycat.com/GlamorousOblongHalcyon). Less than 15 minutes later Mandzukic, who had been menacing all game, finally got his goal. The big man rose high above the defense and, from a corner kick, put his header past the goalie (http://gfycat.com/GreatSoggyGoldeneye). About 10 minutes later, in the 73rd minute, Mandzukic added a 4th. The African goalie parried the initial shot directly into his path and he easily turned the ball back into the net (http://gfycat.com/PessimisticSharpBaboon). The Africans had fallen apart at the seams, while the Croatians turned in one of the most dominant performances of the tournament. Cameroon was eliminated with the loss, and Croatia left themselves a very good chance at progression. Their final match with Mexico will determine who goes through to the next round.
Group A Standings
Group B Standings
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