Sweet Sixteen Time

The knockout stage of the last sixteen starts tomorrow, with clashes between sides where the favorites on paper should waltz through to the quarter finals. They are also between teams who have very little history of any sort between them, let alone previous football history.

First up are the Oranjeboom of the Netherlands against the Bud Light boys of the good ol' US of A. The Yanks, buoyed by their heroic win over the Islamic republic of Iran and all that meant, will be no pushovers.

The two sides have never faced each other in a competitive match before. The last time they played was in a friendly international in 2015, which the USA won by four goals to three. The Orangemen still have some players who featured in that game, including Blind and Depay to name but two out of the five. The Yanks only have one which is not a surprise given that they are the youngest squad in the tournament.

In my opinion, the future of the USMNT is bright, as I wrote they have the youngest squad in the tournament which bodes well for them in four years' time when they will be one of the host nations. The popularity of the game is growing across the nation, especially with the younger generation with the proliferation of coverage of English football on TV. Ownership of teams by Hollywood stars and NFL owners is also on the up both abroad and domestically. Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mcelhenney at non-league Wrexham and Matthew McConaughey at Ausin in Texas to name just a few.

Even though older Americans still do not take "soccer" seriously, not liking the number of drawn games, and the play acting of players, when they are sometimes barely touched (have to agree, that is a disgrace) therefore not considering the game manly compared to gridiron. They obviously have not watched much rugby or Aussie rules, both fiercely competitive contact sports, where the only protection seen is a mouthguard and a jockstrap.

Anyway, back to the game, reaching the knockout stages was the goal for the US, anything else will be a bonus, therefore they have nothing to lose and can afford to play a little more expansively. Tyler Adams the US captain exemplifies the spirit of this team, the defensive midfielder who plays for Leeds United is a human dynamo who never stops moving. One thing is for sure, they will outrun the Dutch.

The Orangemen, as we have alluded to earlier in the tournament, tend to be rather mercurial and have everything to lose and while I would love for an upset to happen, they should have too much nous for the raw Americans to deal with.  

Two to watch out for:

Adams, young to be a Captain

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Gakpo, a prolific striker

The second game sees Don't cry for me Argentina against the bush ranging Ned Kelly's from the land down under. For those not familiar with the reference, Ned Kelly is a legend of Australian folklore. He was the son of a felon who had been transported to Australia from GB. He then embarked on a life of crime, from a young age, after his father's death, and as an escaped convict, he led the hated British a merry dance before being captured and sentenced to death by hanging.

Without wanting to detract from their achievement which should be lauded for what it is, the Sheep dippers basically blagged their way into this stage. They managed to mug off Tunisia, which has to be said in retrospect was a pretty impressive result given that the Tunisians then beat a France B team. The Aussies then had the good fortune to face the Danish Vikings who were so unbelievably poor, that they managed to nick another one- nil victory to finish second in the group.

However, the true level of the Aussies should be measured by their four one defeat by Les Bleus and now that they are due to play against the gauchos from the pampas, I am sad to say that their wonderful odyssey will come to a painful end.

The two teams faced each other in the play offs to see who would qualify for the 1994 finals. Obviously, there are no players left from those games, but the current Australian manager Graham Arnold, a stereotypical old school Aussie, hard as nails and brooking no nonsense played in defence in those games. there is also a connection for the Argies, Alexis Mac Alister who plays in midfield is the son of Carlos who played for Argentina back then.

Despite the plethora of upsets, that we have had so far, and despite that delusional Aussie fans who have had too many tinnies,  will point to the fact that the Saudis beat the Argies, it is sadly not going to happen again. I hope that I am completely wrong, but I do not think so.

Two to watch:

Alvarez, is sharp in the box

Duke will be looking for another sucker punch.

On Sunday, we will feature, Les Bleus against the Polaks and EnGerLand against Senegal.