Hmm, and Dutch fans don't have any bias towards France, do they?
Actually, we don't. There's not a lot of history between our two nations, unless you count the days of Napoleon, but that brought us more good than bad. They've eliminated us once, 1996, but that tournament was so terrible from our part, there are no hard feelings about that.
Um, that's what you're supposed to do when there is 10 minutes left and you're down a man.
And that's why France looked better. They still played terrible offense, all balls through the crowded center of the field, but since they got every ball back right away it appeared to be ok.
Come on now, you're bias is painfully showing here. France's offense was poor, but that is no reason to discount Uruguay's defense. Part of the reason France's offense was poor was because of Uruguay's defense. France got NOTHING in the box the entire game.
If you play a team like Uruguay, a team that likes to retreat and plays with a very tight defensie, that keeps the spaces small, then playing Anelka, who's only strong point is playing in space, is not the smart way to go. On top of that, Domenech had him playing on an island for most of the game with virtually no penetration from the midfield or attacks from the sides. That's playing into Uruguay's strong point in stead of attacking them on their weak side. This France can do so much better, but it's almost like they refused to.
And as for Uruguay, i don't mind if a team plays defense first. As long as you play to win. Their only objective tonight was to not get any goals against. When the ball was played forward, it was up to Suarez and Forlan to do something with it. Nobody came along to help, no midfielders joining them upfront. Ugly.
Especially in this situation, where the first game in the group ended in a draw and a difference could've been made by winning, without the risk of falling behind in case it didn't work, since the second place would still be very much in range, i expect more out of a team that wants to win.
Both South-Africa and Mexico, although not always good, played to win. Like it should be done in my book.
