India Vs Australia Semifinal World Cup Cricket 2015

Here, we are.

The Semifinal match of India where it will be facing a big team of Australia. 

I believe this is going to be the first real test of India  in this World cup.

 Although, India did faced some big names in its league matches, but none of them could really  put pressure on Indian squad.

I have already lost interest in India-Pakistan matches. Same is the case with India-West Indies match. I was expecting some real threat from South Africa, but it went badly for the proteas.

Coming from there, today's match will be the first real test for the Indian team. This time, in real sense, the best four teams  made it to the Semi final. It was little heart breaking for me to see South Africa loosing at the penultimate ball. I was routing for that team, all of because of their history (chokers) and some of my small connection with the Country. New Zealand on the other hand, I feel, is a great team only in its backyard.  I don't really remember this team performing any better at any other place in the World. So, I am not supporting  this team.

Coming back to India and Australia, it is really difficult to make any statement on which team will survive today. Both teams are in great form. Just out of insecurity one feels about their own team,  I am feeling, probably, its Australia Vs New Zealand Final. I hope, I am wrong.

As usual, I won't be watching the match, but following from time to time, on Cricinfo.

Let the best team win. 

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( I hope its India)

A Well deserved World Cup Winner - Germany

Congratulations Germany!

Football has received a well deserved Champion in this World Cup. I have been following performance of many teams since last few years. One team that always stood out was Germany.

In Euro Cup, I couldn't believe when Germany lost to Italy, thanks to Balotelli's two goals. Germany somehow don't have good answer to Italy and Spain's way of playing. If Germany is playing to either of these two teams, I am not sure if Germany would win. But, since, both the teams could not qualify beyond first round, I was kind of sure, that, this time, it is Germany.

Brazil and Argentina's game is not impressive. It is player centric and I feel there is lack of team work in these teams. That's why we get Neymar and Messi. We hear chants by their names, which, I doubt happen about Muller who has always been consistent but never came into picture untill last few days.

That also brings up another point how media turns a God into a criminal with in a day. Till yesterday, Messi was the God of Football, but today, he is looked upon as a criminal by the media. I found it so difficult to watch news today, because, overall tone of the news was, how it was all Messi's fault that Argentina lost. Luckily, Neymar managed to escape such a situation.

Was it really a Brazil -Germany match!

What happened last night was nothing less than a nightmare. Did any one expected that Brazil will go down so badly, the worst ever performance of any team in the semi finals of World Cup.

Unbelievable!

Before the match, when I was talking to someone, I predicted Germany's win. To support my statement, I added that since Nyemar is out and Silva is not playing, their strong point that is attack has become weak and their defence has always been weak. Brazil wins match because of their attack. I did not know, my words will be so true. Brazil's defence was not just weak, it was the weakest. Somewhere, Spain must be relieved that they were not worst looser of this world cup.

I always wanted Germany to win. I have been supporting them. I felt they had some problems from two teams, Spain and Italy. But since these two teams even did not make beyond the first cut, I started feeling assured that this times its Germany.

Yesterday's win has made that expectation even stronger.

I am wondering if Argentina or Netherlands are really thinking about winning the semi final match. Because if they win, they face Germany. Are they ready for it? 

I think, Argentina will make it to finals. Riding on the waves of Messi, they can make it to finals. But Messi alone is not enough to get them the cup considering they will be facing Germany. 

Netherlands is good, but are good enough to be in the finals? I suspect. 

Very soon, every thing will be clear.

Finally, a glimpse of the difference in body language between the two teams that mattered the most yesterday.

Football World Cup 2014 in Brazil

Football is a religion in most of the countries of the world. If there is one game that is most famous, then, you can be sure of it to be Football. Unlike India, where Cricket is a religion, Football, is a game which has followers in every part of the world, be it South America, North America, Australia, Asia, Africa or the Core of Football i.e. Europe.

India also has a big fan base, but if compared to Cricket, number is negligible. Apparently, India stand 157th in the world ranking which tells story about its low fan base. Except for Bengal, Kerala and North-East states, fan base are hardly in small packets, which erupts only during big events like World Cup, spread across the country.

This year, starting tomorrow is the world cup of football. This time's host is Brazil. It should be a proud moment for that country. But seems, it is caught in some kind of turmoil. Every day we hear some news of protests, some times violent,  going across in Brazil. Brazil is also a developing country just like India, which faces lots of problems in carrying out quality work. I remember news during commonwealth games preparation back in 2010 in India. The news coming from Brazil about World Cup arrangements remind me strongly of those. Anyway, over the time, some how it is managed, and organizers manage to save their skin. I am sure, same will be true about Brazil.

Coming back to Football, this time, it is speculated that Brazil is the most probable champion. Somehow, that has become routine to expect Brazil to be champion, but then, it some how manages to loose out either in Quarters or Semi. This time they are depending a lot on players like  Neymar. I personally won't go with Brazil. I have the same image for Brazil as we have for South Africa in Cricket.

Other team that falls in the same category is Germany. I have supported Germany a lot. Thanks to my German friend, I followed their game closely in the recent European cup and was shattered when after consistent performance they lost pathetically in semis to Italy, thanks to Balotelli's two goals.

So, my advice, do not support these two teams till they do not raise world cup in their hands. They are the two best teams who can loose at any point from any team.

Last time champion, Spain, apparently is not a favourite any more. They don't have a very successful track record on South American soil. Also, its too boring to watch their matches. Nothing happens in the match where Spain. I guess they will manage to keep all their matches draw with 0-0 score except for one two where they will just score a goal just enough to win a match and reach the next level. In later phase, however, they somehow manage to score goals at their will.

Italy could probably be a big contender in the race. With players like Balotelli, they have a strong attack. But probably they are a little weak on their defence.

Argentina is another team I will be looking forward to. With Messi at the top, this team can do wonders.

Ronaldo's Portugal is one good team. I followed them during European cup. It is a good team, but it doesn't seem like a threat at any point. They are good qualifiers but I suspect if  they good finishers to touch the World Cup.

Back in 2010, I was praying for France for some good reason. But their internal team problems marred their way and threw them out in the initial round itself. This time, I am not sure what to expect from the team.

England is one team which try to portray itself as a big team and in reality on grounds, it is always a disappointment. 

There are many other teams which may make an impression. Some teams like Belgium, Netherlands, Nigeria, Mexico are called underdogs. But except for giving some unexpected results they won't make much difference. 

I will be looking forward to the performance of Asian teams. Among all, I guess Japan is the strongest team which may show some good moves.

Overall, its going to be awesome month ahead. I am going for Germany and Argentina to begin with. Let's see how it develops over the time.

If you want to know about any team in detail, their history, their team or any other thing, you can check this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup_squads