Greece 0 - Japan 0

Photo by Lars Baron

Japan and Greece faced each other today in Group C action in Natal. The teams did not want to come out of their defensive shells too early in this match, but Japan eventually were the first team to go for the attack. Japanese forward Yuya Osako shot a curler from the top left of the penalty box that flashed just wide of the far post. A Keisuke Honda free kick was easily parried by Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis. In minute 38, Greece lost captain Kostas Katsouranis to a second yellow card, leaving them to defend for a draw for the next fifty-five minutes of the match. Vasileios Torosidis had a late attacking chance for the Greeks. His initial shot from just outside the box was blocked, but he gathered his own rebound and forced a save from Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. The first half ended with the teams knotted at zero goals apiece.

Theofanis Gekas came in as a second-half substitute and nearly scored a goal for Greek in spite of their numerical disadvantage. Off a corner kick, he powered a header that was slightly slowed by the body of Yasuhito Endo, allowing Kawashima time to come across the goal and make the save. Midway through the period, Japanese forward Shinji Kagawa (pictured, blue) hit a beautiful cross to Atsuto Uchida. Uchida laid the ball across the ball to Yoshito Okubo, who shanked his chance with the goal at his mercy. Minutes later, Uchida stripped Sokratis Papastathopoulos inside the Greek penalty area, but his one-time finish zoomed wide of the post. Okubo tried to scored with a knuckler from distance, but Karnezkis read the movement well and punched the ball to safety. In the final minute of regular time, Endo 's free kick low to the far post elicited one final diving stop from Karnezis. In spite of being a man down for a majority of the affair, Greece escape with a 0-0 draw. The result means that Colombia are guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage.

Colombia IN 6 pts +4
Cote d'Ivoire 3 pts 0
Japan 1 pts -1
Greece 1 pts -3

Match Reports:
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/1896075/three-points-japangreece-underwhelm-in-draw
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/story/1896124/fernando-santos-calls-greece-brilliant-after-red-card

Highlights:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186454/index.html

Colombia 2 - Cote d'Ivoire 1

Photo by Christopher Lee

Brasilia was the site for the top of the table clash between Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire. Both teams were choosing their spots carefully in the beginning of the match, too scared to leave space at the back to be exploited by the other's speedsters in attack. Didier Zokora was a man possessed in central defense for Cote d'Ivoire, cutting out three such counterattacks all by himself in the first period. Just before the half hour mark, Colombia created a golden chance through the play of right winger Juan Cuadrado, who laid off a ball for James Rodriguez. Rodriguez gave a rolling ball to a spot eight yards from goal, but Teofilo Gutierrez got his feet all wrong and scuffed the chance. Serge Aurier nearly created a goal out of nothing for Les Elephants. He intercepted a pass out from Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina and then had a shot off a give-and-go, but Ospina redeemed himself with a save. The ball never left the Colombian half of the field in the final five minutes. The first half ended as it began: with no score.

Zokora took a yellow card early in the second period, meaning that he will be suspended for Cote d'Ivoire's group finale. Max Gradel was nearly in on goal for Cote d'Ivoire, but Colombian centerback and oldest field player at Brasil 2014 Mario Yepes make a last-ditch tackle to prevent a scoring chance. Cuadrado was a monster down the right flank, and he nearly scored from an obtuse angle, but Cote d'Ivoire goalkeeper Boubacar Barry tipped the ball enough for it to scream of a post and away. Souleymane Bamba did not communicate well with Zokora on a simple ball rolling toward the Ivoirian goal. Bamba ran into Zokora and cleared the ball out for a corner kick. Colombia capitalized on this error. Cuadrado's corner kick found a streaking Rodriguez, who defeated the dual markers of Zokora and Didier Drogba to win the header and score the opener. Barely six minutes later, Rodriguez stripped Serey Die at the back and passed immediately to Gutierrez on the counter. Gutierrez pushed across the goal for a tap in by Juan Quintero, who used the opportunity to score his first international goal and put Colombia ahead 2-0. Gervinho used a moment of individual brilliance to cut the deficit. He pulled off a slaloming run from the left flank that left four Colombian defenders in his wake before unleashing a rocket into the net. Colombia were able to hold on during a nerve-racking final quarter hour and change to capture the victory. Colombia win 2-1 and are sitting pretty atop the Group C table.

Colombia 6 pts +4
Cote d'Ivoire 3 pts 0
Japan 0 pts -1
Greece 0 pts -3

Goals
Colombia
James Rodriguez 64
Quintero 70

Cote d'Ivoire
Gervinho 73

Match Reports:
http://www.espnfc.us/blog/the-match/60/post/1895161/colombia-prove-one-of-the-world-cups-most-entertaining-sides
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2014/m=6/news=colombia-edge-cote-d-ivoire-near-knockout-stages-2377058.html

Highlights:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186468/index.html

Cote d'Ivoire 2 - Japan 1

Photo by Clive Rose

Cote d'Ivoire, having finally avoided drawing two world powers in their FIFA World Cup finals group, were finally a popular pic to advance to a knockout stage. Their first opponents were Japan, a team that made the knockout stage in 2010 and won the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Les Elephants were the first team to make inroads at the other's goal in rainy Recife as Gervinho curled a ball around a defender to find Wilfried Bony. Atsuto Uchida provided the timely block, and the danger was averted by Japan. At the quarter hour mark, Japan kicked into gear. Off a throw-in deep in Ivoirian territory, the Japanese worked a three-pass combination for a goal. Keisuke Honda rolled around Yaya Toure and fired a superb shot at high speed into the Ivoirian net to give Japan a 1-0 lead. The Ivoirian defense looked porous for the next five minutes, and Uchida had a clear shot from an angle seven yards out, but his shot went straight into the body of Cote d'Ivoire goalkeeper Boubacar Barry. Cote d'Ivoire decided to start driving at high velocity up the center of the pitch, and soon enough they were regularly drawing free kicks in scoring range. Arthur Boka curled in a ball from such a position that just barely did not get down in time to get under the crossbar. From thirty yards out from a half-clearance, Boka unleashed a laser shot that took quite an effort Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima to keep out of the goal. On the other end, a timely block from Souleymane Bamba was all that prevented a dangerous Honda shot from reaching its target from nineteen yards out. By the end of the half, Japan had lost all momentum and Cote d'Ivoire were playing brightly. Boka again tested Kawashima with a shot that went through the legs of a Japanese defender with power, but Kawashima made the catch. Japan escaped the first half with a 1-0 lead.

Cote d'Ivoire continued on the front foot to start the second half. Serge Aurier found himself in the box after a good run-up by Gervinho, but his shot was partially blocked, and Boka's header attempt was woefully wide of target. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Les Elephants had yet to find the equalizer, so they turned to talismanic striker Didier Drogba off the bench. His first touches led to a run own the right flank and a pass to Gervinho that almost resulted in a tap-in for a third teammate, but Gervinho's ball was cut out by the Japanese defense. Finally, the defense of Samurai Blue broke. Aurier swung in a whipped cross and Bony was able to beat Masato Morishige to the header. Bony redirected it to the far side netting, and the onslaught seemed imminent. The very next minute, Aurier sent in a cross from the exact same position. This time, Gervinho sent in a header ahead of the mark of Japanese centerback Maya Yoshida. The Drogba effect turned the score from 0-1 to 2-1 in the space of six minutes on the pitch. With less than ten minutes to go, Drogba drew a foul in a dangerous position off a goal kick. Kawashima was made to dive to save Drogba's free kick attempt. Three minutes on, Drogba nearly scored on a four-versus-four situation off a pass from Gervinho, but Morishige's ankle provided enough of a block to send the shot just wide. Cote d'Ivoire did enough to see the game out, and they win 2-1 to set up a top-of-the-table clash with Colombia in their next game.

Colombia 3 pts +3
Cote d'Ivoire 3 pts +1
Japan 0 pts -1
Greece 0 pts -3

Goals
Cote d'Ivoire
Wilfried Bony 64
Gervinho 66

Japan
Keisuke Honda 16

Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2014/m=6/news=elephant-charge-flattens-japan-2371013.html
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/1882517/ivory-coasts-inspired-comeback
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2014/06/15/world-cup-2014-group-stage-day-3/ (Daily Summary)

Highlights:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186507/index.html

Colombia 3 - Greece 0

Photo by Paul Gilham

Greece were looking to use their counterattacking style to place pressure on Group C favorites Colombia in their opening group match in Belo Horizonte. However, Colombia quickly put Greece on the back foot early. Attacking midfielder James Rodriguez was the dominant player on the pitch. Guillermo Cuadrado shook his marker, Jose Holebas, drove the ball up the right flank for Colombia, and then sent a ball into the box. Rodriguez was making the run to the near post, but he decided to dummy over the ball after seeing that he had taken both Greek defenders with him on the run. Left back Pablo Armero (pictured, yellow #7)  was waiting behind him for the ball. Armero's shot was heading into the goal when it was deflected by Konstantinos Manolas. The ball still made its way into the net to give Colombia a 1-0 lead. The very next minute, the Greeks nearly pulled level. Panagiotis Kone shot off the bounce from his first touch after receiving a pass from the left flank sent in by Georgios Samaras. Kone's shot curled toward the back post but sailed just wide. The rest of the half was rather subdued, but Colombia looked the stronger side. Los Cafeteros took their 1-0 lead with them into their locker room.

Rodriguez played a corner kick to the near post. Abel Aguilar beat everytime reek to the near post and flicked the ball onto the back post for Teofilo Gutierrez to apply the finishing touch. Greece tried to get back in the game, but were unable to manufacture enough chances. Their best came from a two pass sequence. Kone swung a ball to the far post which was volleyed across the six-yard box by advanced right back Vasileios Torosidis. Theofanis Gekas smashed his open header into the crossbar, and Greece's chances sailed back up the pitch with the ball. Late in stoppage time, Rodriguez scored a goal of his own. Cuadrado hit a backheel pass inside the box to Rodriguez, who then maneuvered onto his favored left foot inside the Greek penalty area and finished with aplomb. Colombia win 3-0 to stake their claim of supremacy in Group C.

Goals
Colombia
Pablo Armero 5
Teofilo Gutierrez 58
James Rodriguez

Match Reports:
http://soccer.si.com/soccer/planet-futbol/2014/06/14/colombia-world-cup-falcao-james-rodriguez-jose-pekerman-greece?eref=sihp
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/1880938/three-points-by-andy-mitten-on-colombias-3-0-win-over-greece

Highlights:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186471/index.html