Olé indeed! Spain simply outclassed the Ukraine 4-0.
The most famous strikers on both teams, ironically, failed to impress. Shevchenko was so quiet that I thought he wasn’t even in the team! His few attempts at goal were blocked by a responsive and resilient Spanish defence. To be fair, Raul was called in as a substitute, but only when Spain were already up 3-0. It was an indication that he was not yet ready to start in a match. His team-mates were more than able to cope with his absence.
Goalkeeper Casillas was definitely not as busy as his counterpart Shovkovskyi, who was sabotaged unwittingly by a free-kick deflection from his own defense wall. If not for the Ukranian goalkeeper, more goals would have been let in as his defence was almost nonexistent at times.
Spain was playing free-flowing football – very much like Arsenal on a rampage – and while they were very good, it was also partly because the Ukranian midfield and defense allowed them to run riot.
The ineffectiveness of both star strikers, however, brings up a big question. Does a famous player deserve to be in the team even though he’s out of form, or recovering from injury? Because it appears that reputation alone is not enough to win a World Cup match.
I’m thinking of Rooney, of course, and wondering if he can do any better if he plays tomorrow. Because if he can’t, can England count on the somewhat out-of-form Owen? Perhaps Crouch and Walcott should play instead…
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Does a famous player deserve to be in the team even though he’s out of form, or recovering from injury? Because it appears that reputation alone is not enough to win a World Cup match.
Can anyone say “Ronaldo”? The Brazilian offense seemed transformed when Robinho took his place on the pitch….
Spain v. Ukraine was the most boring match today. Who would have expected that Tunisia v. Saudi Arabia would be so exciting? And to have two matches decided in stoppage time on the same day?