So I was away this weekend so I didn't have as much of a chance to watch and write about this weekend's games but I'll do my best to recap them for you. Saturday saw four games, including a huge upset while Sunday gave us three more games and both days provided plenty of excitement.
Saturday:
Colombia vs Greece: Los Cafeteros faced a lot of question marks heading into the tournament as Falcao was not able to regain his fitness in time for the World Cup. Colombia were able to answer a lot of those questions with a dominant 3-0 win over Greece. James Rodriguez was the man of the match and looked dangerous all day, creating a goal and scoring another. Victor Ibarbo was impressive as well, using his speed on the left wing to trouble the Greek fullbacks. Greece looked toothless in attack all day and squandered their best chance when Theofanis Gekas hit the crossbar with about 30 minutes to play.
Uruguay vs Costa Rica: The first major upset in Brazil saw Costa Rica fall behind early before storming back for three second half goals. Edinson Cavani converted a penalty kick after 24 minutes but Costa Rica looked dangerous on the counter attack, especially striker Joel Campbell. Man of the Match Campbell tied the game 10 minutes after the break before Oscar Daurte gave Costa Rica the lead just three minutes later. Uruguay upped the pressure but were caught on the counter as Campbell fed Marco Ureña for Costa Rica's third. Urguay's Maxi Pereira was sent off in the 94th minute for kicking Campbell in frustration. Uruguay missed striker Luis Suarez and hope to have him back for their next game against England.
Italy vs England: A pretty close contest saw England with the most chances, but Italy was able to make the most of theirs and secure a 2-1 win. Claudio Marchisio scored on a long shot after a short corner kick play to give the Azzuri the lead after 35 minutes. England counter punched quickly as Wayne Rooney's long pass found Daniel Sturridge for the equalizer. Just five minutes after halftime, Italy's controversial striker Mario Balotelli scored what would be the game winner before promptly removing his shirt. Italy were able to hold off the Three Lions for the rest of the match to secure all three points.
Ivory Coast vs Japan: Keisuke Honda gave Japan the 1-0 lead after 16 minutes when he combined well with Shinji Kagawa and found the back of the net. With the goal, Honda became the first Japanese player to score in two World Cups. However, Ivory Coast came out in the second half looking for blood. They were able to turn they tide quickly by scoring in the 64th minute and then in the 66th. Serge Aurier whipped in two crosses that found the heads of Wilfried Bony and Gervinho, respectively, to level the game and take the lead. Despite some late pressure from Japan, Ivory Coast were able to hold on for all three points.
Sunday:
Switzerland vs Ecuador: Sunday's first game was the most exciting one so far. Ecuador came out in an attacking mood, much to the surprise of many experts, and heaped the pressure on the Swiss. Just after the 20 minute mark, Enner Valencia gave Ecuador the lead when he headed in Walter Ayoví's free kick to give his side an early 1-0 lead. Switzerland looked much more lively in the second half as Admir Mehmedi tied the score with a header from a Ricardo Rodriguez corner. Switzerland continued to apply the pressure for the rest of the second half and it looked like the match was headed for a draw. Two minutes into stoppage time, Rodriguez found Haris Seferović free in the box to score the game winner with seconds to spare and give Switzerland a crucial three points.
France vs. Honduras: One of the few routs in the early days of the World Cup saw France thrash Honduras by a score of 3-0. Honduras was able to hold off the attack from Les Bleus for the first 43 minutes before Wilson Palacios conceded a penalty and earned his second yellow card and a sending off. Karim Benzema converted the penalty and gave France the 1-0 lead at half time. The second half was all France as Honduras did their best to defend with only 10 men. Three minutes after halftime, Benzema's shot went off the post before bouncing off Honduran goalie Noel Valladares for an own goal and a 2-0 lead for France. Benzema sealed the deal when he blasted a rebound into the night for the third and final goal of the day after 72 minutes.
Argentina vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Many of the eyes were on Argentina heading into the match, but Bosnia was impressive. Argentina took the lead after just three minutes as Messi's freekick was knocked in by Sead Kolašinac for an own goal. Bosnia would not go away and brought the game to Argentina it what was a back and forth contest. Messi gave Argentina a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute as he cut in and tucked the ball in off the post with a very good shot. Bosnia was able to narrow the score to 2-1 with just six minutes to go but were never able to level the game as Argentina held on for the win.
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