National Team Article Season 57 & 58

Seniors

World Cup Qualifiers

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Hungary	3	2	1	0	16	2	14	7
2	Australia	3	2	1	0	12	3	9	7
3	Peru	3	1	0	2	12	6	6	3
4	Honduras	3	0	0	3	1	30	-29	0

Results

1	04-05-2016 04:00	Peru – Australia	2 – 3
2	08-05-2016 04:00	Australia – Hungary	1 – 1
3	11-05-2016 04:00	Honduras – Australia	0 – 8

Our most important game was the first, as Honduras was a freebie and Hungary a challenge. But to progress we needed to beat Peru and we played well using a short passing tactic, but our dominance wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard.

Match Facts	PE	AU
Goals	2	3
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	0
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	0	3
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	0	2
Shots	4	20
Possession	48%	52%

Both Boyde Minne goals were cancelled out, so it was up to Remy Bundy in the 65^th minute to score the winning goal and give us the points advantage over Peru. We had more combined shots from our midfielders and supporting striker Tyler Boyd than Minne and Bundy.

10	B. Minne	St	2	5	5	5	100%	0		0	0
12	R. Bundy	St	1	1	1	3	67%	1	0%	0	0

Up next was our toughest game of the group. Hungary are a better team than us, yet Bryce Fazey in goals played the game of his life.

2

B. Fazey

Gk

0

0

0

16

63%

0

14

0

Stopping Hungary from scoring the winning goal, despite hungary having twice as many shots on goal.

Match Facts	AU	HU
Goals	1	1
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	0
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	3	1
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	0	0
Shots	9	17
Possession	50%	50%

Tyler Boyd scored in the 10^th minute, then through heroic defence and a big slice of luck we held the lead until the 80^th minute, which was enough to get us a draw and guarantee a spot at the World Cup.

The match against Honduras was party time. We amassed 34 shots on goal to their 5, Tyler Boyd bagged a double from only 2 shots and Bundy scored a 30-minute hat-trick coming on as a sub in the 60^th minute.

24	B. Edwards	Mf	1	1	1	9	89%	3	33%	0	2
20	T. Boyd	St	2	2	2	6	83%	0		0	1
34	Í. Kilmister	St	1	6	5	4	50%	1	100%	0	1
10	B. Minne	St	1	12	12	4	100%	1	100%	0	1
12	R. Bundy	St	3	13	13	0		0		0	0

Match Facts	HN	AU
Goals	0	8
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	0
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	0	4
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	1	0
Shots	5	34
Possession	52%	48%

Our Scorers

	Player	Team	GP	G	YC	RC
1	Remy Bundy	FCB	3	4	0	0
2	Boyde Minne	PAO	3	3	0	0
3	Tyler Boyd	YUM	3	3	0	0
4	Barnabas Edwards	KJU	3	1	0	0
5	Ían Kilmister	佟楼队	3	1	0	0

2015 World Cup

Group 8

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Portugal	3	2	0	1	11	3	8	6
2	Ireland	3	2	0	1	5	7	-2	6
3	India	3	1	0	2	5	8	-3	3
4	Australia	3	1	0	2	4	7	-3	3

Results

1	01-06-2016 04:00	Ireland – Australia	3 – 1
2	05-06-2016 04:00	India – Australia	3 – 1
3	08-06-2016 04:00	Australia – Portugal	2 – 1

Against Ireland the boys just didn’t show up to play, they weren’t terrible and the short passing tactic was sound. But the overall performance wasn’t there and we got beaten across the park. If we were to go through we now needed to win against both India and Portugal.

Match Facts	IE	AU
Goals	3	1
Injuries	0	1
Yellow cards	1	1
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	2	3
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	1	0
Shots	17	11
Possession	55%	45%

Next up was India, we switched to wings and were the better side, having the better of play across the park, yet Boyde Minne went down with an injury early on and Bundy couldn’t score either, while we watched India take their chances to put us out of the tournament.

India Stats

Total

3

12

10

102

65%

68

37%

13

27

Australia Stats

Total

1

17

14

115

77%

45

47%

8

35

As you can see this just wasn’t our game either, the difference between this and first game was we were the better team yet still lost.

Match Facts	IN	AU
Goals	3	1
Injuries	0	1
Yellow cards	2	0
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	2	3
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	1	3
Shots	10	14
Possession	48%	52%

So knowing we were eliminated, the pressure was off and the boys rocked up to the game with no expectations. Perhaps that helped, I don’t know, but whatever happened the bad luck evaporated. Our keeper Bryce Fazey had a day to remember as he stopped all but one shots on goal.

2

B. Fazey

Gk

0

0

0

17

82%

0

19

0

This allowed Boyd and Kilmister to take their chances, stealing us a win and our first points of the competition in a game we shouldn’t have won.

20

T. Boyd

St

1

5

5

8

50%

3

67%

0

2

34

Í. Kilmister

St

1

2

2

1

0%

0

0

0

Match Facts	AU	PT
Goals	2	1
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	0
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	2	4
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	1	2
Shots	10	20
Possession	47%	53%

Our Scorers

	Player	Team	GP	G	YC	RC
1	Tyler Boyd	YUM	3	2	0	0
2	Rex Weeks	YUM	1	1	0	0
3	Ían Kilmister	佟楼队	3	1	0	0

U/21’s

2015 Confederations Cup

Group Phase

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	U21 Chile	5	4	1	0	20	3	17	13
2	U21 Peru	5	4	0	1	22	4	18	12
3	U21 Australia	5	3	0	2	12	7	5	9
4	U21 Mz Country	5	1	2	2	8	12	-4	5
5	U21 Singapore	5	1	0	4	6	19	-13	3
6	U21 Lebanon	5	0	1	4	3	26	-23	1

Results

1	11-02-2016 04:00	U21 Peru – U21 Australia	4 – 0
2	14-02-2016 04:00	U21 Australia – U21 Chile	0 – 2
3	18-02-2016 04:00	U21 Australia – U21 Mz Country	3 – 1
4	21-02-2016 04:00	U21 Singapore – U21 Australia	0 – 3
5	25-02-2016 04:00	U21 Australia – U21 Lebanon	6 – 0

It wasn’t a great start to the campaign as the elected NC was too busy to scout and organise enough friendlies until a week before the start of the tournament. As such in our early group games we are still figuring out our best line up. But the with the top 4 teams progressing we could afford to lose a couple and still progress.

Because of NC inexperience the first game was played with an invalid default tactic. As such we got nothing out of it and having only played 3 friendlies before the tournament started were a long way behind in understanding how the team played together.

Match Facts	PE	AU
Goals	4	0
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	1
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	4	1
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	0	0
Shots	22	3
Possession	54%	46%

In the second game we gave Anvisco the chance to play his preferred lineup, they didn’t do too badly and the match was even across the park. We were unlucky to concede an own goal early in the first half, but no one could break through in open play until the 96^th minute when Manuelo Escuti scored for Chile giving them a 2-0 win.

16

M. Escuti

St

1

1

1

1

100%

4

25%

0

0

Match Facts	AU	CL
Goals	0	2
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	1
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	5	2
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	0	1
Shots	9	8
Possession	47%	53%

Against MZ Country we benefitted from them receiving a straight red card in the 37^th minute and won the match 3-1. Without the red card we may have lost, as the stats were even despite being 2-1 at that point and playing 11 against 10 men for the rest of the match.

We’ve got Alberto Mcjenkins to thank for winning the game, which helped us further define our starters and sub combinations.

17

A. Mcjenkins

St

2

6

4

5

60%

2

50%

0

1

Match Facts	AU	DC
Goals	3	1
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	0
Red cards	0	1
Free kicks	4	0
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	1	1
Shots	9	11
Possession	52%	48%

Next up was Singapore, with a settled backline our goalkeeper Myles Hands played his best game of the tournament keeping a clean sheet.

25

M. Hands

Gk

0

0

0

8

63%

0

11

0

Allowing Alberto McJenkins to score 2 goals and Ellis Haeberle 1 goals as shots on goal were even for both sides, despite us have 61% possession.

17

A. Mcjenkins

St

2

3

3

4

100%

0

0

1

22

E. Haeberle

St

1

3

3

0

3

0%

0

0

Match Facts	SG	AU
Goals	0	3
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	1
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	4	2
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	2	2
Shots	11	11
Possession	39%	61%

Against Lebanon we decided to change things up, giving our 10AP winger and AP midfielders a chance to show what they could do. They impressed us, but we kept in mind that our opponents were the weakest we’d faced in the group, still the wing tactic worked and gave us options for a hybrid tactic in the final stages.

19	J. Gilding	Mf	0	0	0	14	86%	4	50%	0	7
15	W. Reid	Mf	0	0	0	14	71%	5	80%	0	7
45	B. Block	St	1	3	2	4	100%	4	0%	0	1
6	P. Palmington	St	0	3	3	31	71%	0		0	0
4	K. Richards	St	1	8	7	5	80%	4	0%	0	0

Subs

3

L. Lingwoodock

St

1

3

3

3

100%

1

0%

0

1

17

A. Mcjenkins

St

3

6

5

2

50%

1

0%

0

Match Facts	AU	LB
Goals	6	0
Injuries	1	0
Yellow cards	0	4
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	7	1
Penalty kicks	1	0
Corners	1	0
Shots	21	3
Possession	59%	41%

Final Stages

The Last 16

U21 Australia – U21 Argentina

1 – 3

Unfortunately, we drew Argentina as our first knockout opponent. A daunting task, yet we prepared well began the match with wings, it was a tough first half as we were outplayed, yet the defence held up and we entered the sheds at 1-0 down thanks to our keeper and defenders.

25

M. Hands

Gk

0

0

0

13

77%

0

14

0

99	J. Flisfeder	De	0	0	0	6	50%	7	43%	0	4
11	J. Mcinnes	De	0	0	0	4	100%	3	100%	0	0
12	B. Kepert	De	0	1	0	11	45%	12	67%	0	11
18	D. Hanlen	De	0	0	0	5	20%	3	100%	0	1

The second half was much better as we matched Argentina to level the scores with a 59^th minute Lowrey Lingwoodock goal, only to watch them immediately score a goal to take the lead back.

3

L. Lingwoodock

St

1

3

1

5

20%

3

33%

0

0

Our best period of play came when we used our subs to change the midfield and switch from wings to short passing for the last 20 minutes of the game. We controlled the play and had a few chances to level the scores without finding the back of the net, before Biggs Kepert conceded an own goal from a corner. An unfortunate way to concede our last goal for the tournament, but we had played our best game despite losing 3-1 and being outplayed for the first two thirds of the match. Alberto Mcjenkins was our best player for the tournament, with Myles Hands in goal close behind him.

Match Facts	AU	AR
Goals	1	3
Injuries	0	0
Yellow cards	0	0
Red cards	0	0
Free kicks	6	1
Penalty kicks	0	0
Corners	0	2
Shots	5	18
Possession	43%	57%

Our Scorers

	Player	Team	GP	G	YC	RC
1	Alberto Mcjenkins	ZOX	5	7	0	0
2	Lowrey Lingwoodock	YUM	6	3	0	0
3	Keith Richards	FCJ	5	1	0	0
4	Braedan Block	JW	5	1	0	0
5	Ellis Haeberle	AFC	2	1	0	0

Written by Scruttino

National Team U/21s and Seniors

Under 21s

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	U21 Sweden	3	3	0	0	14	1	13	9
2	U21 Ecuador	3	1	1	1	8	6	2	4
3	U21 Australia	3	1	1	1	7	9	-2	4
4	U21 Israel	3	0	0	3	1	14	-13	0

Sweden def Australia 6-1

We went into the game knowing Sweden would have us covered in terms of pure talent. Assuming they would play wings we played a wide back 4, and went with a short passing tactic mainly due to the squad’s slightly higher count of passing vs AP.

Australia def Israel 4-1

After leaking goals against Sweden we changed things up to a wings tactic and saw some positive signs against the Israelis. Lawson was enormous on the wing before going off injured, setting up Milligan for 2 and Algoud for 1.

Ecuador drew Australia 2-2

This was our make or break game to qualify for the World Cup. Ecuador had a superior goal difference after getting a bigger result against Israel than what we managed in the earlier group matches. We stuck with the same wings tactic that we employed against Israel with a few minor tweaks. It was a disastrous start as we conceded 2 goals in the opening 11 minutes, but we clawed our way back to draw level in the 75^th. Lawson and Milligan were again a deadly combination with Milligan netting both goals.

Despite having more chances than our opponent we had to settle for a draw, and thus our World Cup aspirations came to an end.

Notes from the National Coach

Our Under 21 depth was found lacking, with all Aussie managers seemingly hell bent on either creating defenders or strikers. We only had 2 players in the whole squad capable of playing on a wing and little to no AP in the mids to get it to them. Hopefully the next NC will have more to work with if we all start training passing and AP in our next lot of youths/U21s.

Thanks to Eric and Troy for their contributions, it was like pulling teeth to get anyone to put their hands up to assist from the top echelon of Aussie managers, so appreciate you guys stepping in with some tactical advice when requested.

Seniors

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Chile	6	5	1	0	17	6	11	16
2	Argentina	6	3	2	1	27	7	20	11
3	USA	6	3	2	1	27	10	17	11
4	Australia	6	3	2	1	15	10	5	11
5	India	6	1	1	4	7	17	-10	4
6	MZ Country	6	1	1	4	9	28	-19	4
7	Guatemala	6	0	1	5	3	27	-24	1

Our fixture in the group stages effectively meant our fate was decided in the first three round as we came up against the MZ minnows in India, Guatemala and MZ Country.

India – 3-1 win

We dominated this match but couldn’t convert our chances, with only 3 goals from 21 shots.

Goals: Minne 2, Beattie 1

Best: Aliendi in defence was huge shutting down their winger (26 tackles, 23 intercepts), Minne with 18 shots for 2 goals was also serviceable

Guatemala – 1-1 draw

This was a shock result and had the potential to derail our campaign. Guatemala matched our performance, and our 5 man defence against short passing didn’t work as well as anticipated.

Goals: Minne 1

Best: Bunworth down back was the only one to stick tackles (71%) and Minter off the bench as a winger stepped up in the last 30 mins after Nolan did nothing all game.

MZ Country – 3-0 win

Solid team performance reverting back to a regulation wings tactic against a weaker opponent.

Goals: Minne 2, Bundy 1

Best: Kilmister in the mids setup plenty of play and defended well. Knevett in the backs was also solid on their winger and hit targets distributing from defence.

USA – 3-3 draw

Probably our best performance for the tournament, and the first time we went in as underdogs. Again we went with a fairly standard wing tactic (if it’s not broken why fix it?). We went up 2-0 early, and were 3-2 up until a last minute equaliser by the US in the 92^nd.

Goals: Minne 2, Shorten 1

Best: Minne converted a lot better this match with his 2 goals from just 6 chances, and Shorten’s work through the mids was vital.

Chile – 1-2 loss

Our only loss for the group stages came against Chile. We matched them in terms of stats, but their 91^st minute strike sunk us. Minne was goalless for the first time this tournament.

Goals: Beattie 1

Best: Most of the play was through the mids, with Feutrill and Kilmister the standouts. Beattie also played his best game for the tournament.

Argentina: 4-3 win

Knowing we were safely through the group stages, this was a chance for our B team to get a run to avoid cards for the playoffs. In a simming of epic proportions we scored 4 goals from 10 chances to steal a victory from a much more fancied opponent. This time we snuck in the late winner in the 95^th

Goals: Kinnard 2, Aroege 2

Best: Duncan in goals has a huge 26 saves, and Gillingwater through the mids hit plenty of targets

Playoffs

China – 3-4 loss

This game was a seesawing affair, with China coming out of the blocks quickly to go up 2-0 in the 17^th minute. The team rallied with Minne bagging 2 in quick succession before Feutrill gave us the lead in the 54^th. From there a red card to Aliendi made life hard, and China took the chances equalising not long after before putting the final nail in the coffin in the 91^st minute to end our world cup campaign.

Fair to say a combination of injury and the red card played a key part in the outcome of this match, but nevertheless we were competitive against a much larger nation and walk away with our heads held high.

Goals: Minne 2, Feutrill 1

Best: Christina in defence was a workhorse, and Minne again converted well to cap a spectacular tournament.

Written by Senile Old Men

AUSTRALIAN ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE

	Team	W	D	L	=	P	Status
1	Warringah Wizards	19	2	1	78	59
2	Finlandia HC	17	2	3	49	53
3	Brisbane Roar HC	14	3	5	21	45
4	The Jugular Vein	13	1	8	35	40
5	Kangaroo Crusaders	12	2	8	32	38
6	Dunedin Thunderbirds HC	11	1	10	-1	33
7	Relaxmore	9	2	11	-6	29
8	Monegeeta	7	4	11	1	25
9	Caboonbah	7	1	14	-30	22
10	GRATEFUL DEAD	7	2	13	-43	21	div1.1
11	Yaroona	4	3	15	-31	15	div1.2
12	Ice Road MutherTruckers	0	1	21	-105	0	div3.17

The Australian Ice Hockey League never ceases to surprise. Except of course if you are the Warringa Wizards who took the silverware again. That’s 3 times from the past 4 seasons. A continuation of their dominance has broken the backs of a few teams this season. GRATEFUL DEAD were looking quite promising at the end of last season and have pulled the pin along with Dunedin Thunderbirds HC. They depart the AIHL with Yaroona and new league participants Ice Road MutherTruckers.

New debutants The Jugular Vein have finished in a commendable 4^th. Finlandia HC and  Brisbane Roar HC both have had strong finishes to finish runner up and 3^rd place respectively. In 5^th place the Kangaroo Crusaders have outperformed Relaxmore who had a promising start but completely faded mid-season.

The two teams in the playoff zone Monegeeta and Caboonbah survived their playoffs to compete again in the AIHL.

AIHL Season 47 Preview

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P	Last 6
1	Auckland Anvils	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Brisbane Roar HC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Caboonbah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Dunedin Thunderbirds HC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Finlandia HC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Kangaroo Crusaders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Monegeeta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Polar Bear Club	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Relaxmore	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	The Jugular Vein	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Warringah Wizards	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Wodonga Ice Vikings	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

We welcome the new arrivals Auckland Anvils, Polar Bear Club and Wodonga Ice Vikings.

With some old blood exiting and new blood arriving I do not hesitate to say the mid table will be very tight indeed.

Written by Therk

Aussie National Team Football

U/21 Conferations Cup 2015

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	U21 Uruguay	7	6	1	0	28	5	23	19
2	U21 Australia	7	6	0	1	27	8	19	18
3	U21 Mexico	7	4	2	1	20	7	13	14
4	U21 Canada	7	4	0	3	23	12	11	12
5	U21 Peru	7	3	1	3	17	13	4	10
6	U21 South Africa	7	2	0	5	13	26	-13	6
7	U21 Malaysia	7	1	0	6	10	18	-8	3
8	U21 Guatemala	7	0	0	7	3	52	-49	0

The Big games were against Uruguay, Canada and Mexico. Though at the time we did know that all top 4 sides progress into the final stages. We lost to Uruguay but won against everyone else.

Last 16

U21 Uruguay – U21 Australia

2 – 4

In a strange draw we had to play Uruguay again. Seriously Managerzone should employ a seeded draw for the final stages of all competitions. But we had the better of the game without putting the score on the board. We levelled it up late in the game before a red card to Uruguay gave us a penalty which our central defender Bunworth slotted and Robbie Kruse sealed with his 2^nd goals as a sub.

Quarter Final

U21 Australia – U21 Mz Country

3 – 0

We entered the match favourites for the win and took hold of the game with a great display of football in the battle of the small userbase countries. A deserved victory which Kruse again sealed with 2 late goals as a sub.

Semi-Final

U21 Australia – U21 Indonesia

3 – 2

Indonesia have come on leaps and bound in recent years. Their national team is no longer the easy beats they once were and we got a slice of luck with Indonesia receiving a red card early in the game. Despite having the man advantage, more shots and possession we couldn’t put Indonesia away and the levelled the match late to send it into extra time. Once again Kruse was on hand late in the second half of extra time to give us the win.

Final

U21 Argentina – U21 Australia

9 – 1

Knowing that we were massive underdogs and going to face a wing tactic we sort to employ a one sided short passing counter. Sadly things went very wrong and we accept the blame for a poor tactical decision in the final. But still Australia doesn’t reach many finals so overall the team played very well.

Given that many of the players from the previous U/21 squad have now made the seniors national team, we are hoping that people keep developing these players so that the future of the national team remains strong.

Top Scorers

Pos.	Player		Team		Goals
1		Adriana Rius		Quespikay	25
2		Carlito Tevez		☆VaMpI®3 † DyNaStY★	21
3		Thomas Milton		Xeneize FC	16
4		Best Štriker		Kelab Bolasepak Penambang	14
5		汪旭延		辽宁东北虎	12
6		Urbano Timo		СА ЩУРМОВАЦИ	12
7		Efraim Larrauri		Flamengo	12
8		Robbie Kruse		Dewrang Lions	12
9		Alonso Saucedo		Guayacol United	11
10		Donn Grover		CAMBA CUA FC	11

World Cup Qualification 2015

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Spain	3	3	0	0	11	3	8	9
2	Australia	3	1	1	1	7	4	3	4
3	Moldova	3	0	2	1	3	6	-3	2
4	Malaysia	3	0	1	2	3	11	-8	1

We lost to Spain, yet played well against the other two with a draw being more frustrating than a fair result. So we had to wait to the final round of matches to guarantee progress and thankfully Spain didn’t throw their game allowing us to get through.

Top Scorers

Pos.	Player		Team		Goals
1		Nedžad Antončić		Sanderlend	11
2		Haşmet Metehan		ΧΑΤΖΗΚΥΡΙΑΚΕΙΟ PIRAEUS	11
3		Cyprien Bourry		Destroy Inmature Enemies	11
4		Niko Kobelt		Sundens BK	10
5		Ekhi Zumel		Casi Empato	10
6		Yiğitcan Yücesan		PURE FF	10
7		Rudolf Üksti		Munsi	9
8		Dany-Adams Raniers		Steaua FC Iasi	9
9					9
10		Ryan Giggs		…	8

World Cup 2015

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Netherlands	3	2	1	0	11	1	10	7
2	Romania	3	2	0	1	5	7	-2	6
3	Australia	3	1	0	2	3	9	-6	3
4	Italy	3	0	1	2	3	5	-2	1

This was a tough group. Really tough. In the first matches we got the better of Italy in a close game. Unfortunately we couldn’t produce the quality against either the Netherlands or Romania. So our campaign ended at the group stage.

This World Cup represented the end of an era for many older players of the squad, deterioration will kill them off before the next senior national team competition. So we’ve refreshed the squad with young talent and no players are olders than 31 for now.

Top Scorers

Pos.	Player		Team		Goals
1		Sérgio Neto		Varsel	12
2		Yiğitcan Yücesan		PURE FF	9
3		Anselmo Gauargi		Ultra Copos FC ™	8
4		Wouter Kleine		Eintracht Apfelstrudel	7
5		Johan Brandsma		Sorogain	6
6		Joel Rubio		Aiolikos FC	6
7		Marcos Pissa		Deportivo Andaluz	6
8		Florencio Bühler		King of Bongo Jr	6
9					6
10		Villiam Mårtensson		Digital Monsterz FC	6

Written by Scruttino

National Team Ice Hockey Article

Firstly thankyou to the couple of Aussie Ice Hockey managers still out there that voted me in for another term as National Team manager. With interest in the sport at an all-time low there were probably only a couple of you but thanks anyway! I have enjoyed my time representing our team and keeping the U21s and Seniors functioning.

The last two seasons have seen us struggle as a Nation competitively as less managers train teams and run squads with good homegrown players. This was particularly noticeable with the U21s who were unable to qualify for the U21 World Cup. In qualifying, wins over Denmark and Kuwait, a draw with Bulgaria,
and losses to Belgium and the Czech Republic saw us needing to beat China.

Ultimately, we lost 1-0 and missed out on World Cup action for the first time in some seasons. Most of the team came from a handful of AIHL clubs, but apart from 5-6 superstars the quality on a whole was at the lowest I’ve seen.

The seniors had an equally frustrating time, participating in the 2015 Confederations Cup. This is a tournament we have had success at before, regularly making the semi-finals. This time however we were beaten by Canada in the first knockout round and the season was over. The team struggled with deterioration and retirements and the next crop coming through is a little useless! Not many friendlies were played either.

No excuses from me, after many seasons of dedication I too gave up on Ice Hockey and sold up Dunedin Thunderbirds HC for some nice money. Nav and his team Warringah Wizards should have the run until he too gets bored, and then who knows what will happen.

Good luck to future National Team Coaches and hopefully one day we can return to greatness!

AUTRALIA NATIONAL TEAM

Our national Team played in the Confederations Cup 2015. We finished 2^nd in the group stage behind Chile and ahead of Paraguay and Lebanon. We lost out to Canada in the quarter Finals 3-2.

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Chile	3	3	0	0	15	3	12	9
2	Australia	3	2	0	1	13	5	8	6
3	Paraguay	3	1	0	2	6	11	-5	3
4	Lebanon	3	0	0	3	3	18	-15	0

Quarter Finals Results

Australia – Canada

2 – 3

AUTRALIA NATIONAL U21 TEAM

To qualify for the U21 world Cup finals the U21 team didn’t get through the group play. We placed 5^th from a group of 7. Always a challenge for a nation with no real winter. 😉

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	U21 Czech Republic	6	6	0	0	40	4	36	18
2	U21 Bulgaria	6	4	1	1	27	11	16	13
3	U21 Belgium	6	4	0	2	17	16	1	12
4	U21 China	6	3	0	3	17	27	-10	9
5	U21 Australia	6	2	1	3	10	9	1	7
6	U21 Denmark	6	1	0	5	11	20	-9	3
7	U21 Kuwait	6	0	0	6	1	36	-35	0

Written by Eric the eel and Therk

2014 ManagerZone World Cup Knockouts!

2014 ManagerZone World Cup Knockouts!

Written by geoclphredux

In this special article there will be critical analysis of each Knockout match of the MZ World Cup this year, from the Round of 16 to the Grand Finale. Each match analysis will describe the goals and give an evaluation of how that result probably came to be with a few other statistics collected by yours truly, geoclphredux. Remember this information comes from the 3D simulation, enjoy.

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Argentina vs Poland

Argentina
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: I. Franco (32 Year Old Striker worth 1,022,976GBP)
Came 1st from Group 3 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2005

Poland
Starting Formation Used: 3-4-3
Most Valuable Player: O. Zukowski (34 Year Old Striker worth 955,421GBP)
Came 1st from Group 8 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Runners-up in 2006

With two powerful opponents meeting up so early the rest of competitors must have let out a long breath of relief. Argentina’s qualified for every World Cup and only was left out of the Knockouts twice whereas Poland qualified for every World Cup except for last years, they must be looking for a good run to make up for that.

The first goal was delivered by the Argentine Winger B. Quilo. E. Figueroa, while closely marked, headed the ball nicely to beat the keeper, 1-0 Argentina.
Unsurprisingly this dominant tactic was used later, 9 minutes later to be exact, but this time the Argentine striker was completely unmarked and he had all the time in the World to beat the Keeper but he headed it in perfectly, 2-0 Argentina in 15 minutes.
The third goal in the match solidifies E. Figueroa’s Hat Trick, this time he didn’t need help from his Winger and he slammed it into the net just before half time, 3-0 Argentina.
Poland’s counterattacks have been rather disappointing; most leaded up to a pass back into an Argentine Midfielder but not this time, L. Kasperowicz used his pace and ran through half of the pitch in order to reply to Argentina’s third goal in only a few minutes, not only did he run past the defender C. Bieito he also ran past the Keeper to make the score 3-1.

In the second half a majority of the possession and shots went Poland’s way; K. Lesiecki was incredibly close in the 58th minute with a dipping header that beat the keeper but not the crossbar, Poland’s second goal was actually a gift from Argentina, a well-delivered Corner by T.Banan forced the Defenders to panic and B. Salvidor headed it into his own net, 3-2 to Argentina but with Poland catching up.
Argentina lessened the pressure with another headed goal by E. Figueroa delivered, this time, by B. Bidun. The Polish Keeper, D. Lewicki, got a hand to it but it was enough to stop powerful header, 4-2 Argentina.
In the 82nd Minute the Polish scored again past a confused Keeper, the confusion came from O. Zukowski’s shot that rebounded off the Crossbar in the path of K. Lesiecki who managed to beat the keeper, even if he did get a hand to it, 4-3.

What gifted Argentina this victory was the excellent use of the wings and E. Figueroa’s head. Obviously this automatically means that E. Figueroa is the MVP in MZ’s eyes but I believe the winger B. Quilo deserved it, he gifted two goals for E. Figueroa which turned out to be very important.

Romania vs Spain

Romania
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: M. Avram (34 Year Old worth 965,259GBP)
Came 1st from Group 4 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2007

Spain
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: O. Palomares (30 Year Old Defender worth 954,953GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 5 with 4 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Got to Quarter Finals in 2010 and 2012

Two European teams face off with similar tactics to Argentina, could be interesting to see who dominates the match.

Romania started the game with an incredible attack resulting in D. Ilica’s header smashing against the crossbar, but the first goal came from an excellent set piece from Spain. The Free Kick was taken in Spain’s own half by G. Palomares and he found S. Leyva who set up N. Roman’s attack with a through ball and he shot above the keeper as he fell too ground early, Spain leads 1-0.
It seemed that Romania were the more attacking side for the majority of the first half but the Spanish returns were quick, 5 players were rushing up against 4 Romanian Defenders in the 35th minute and a nice pass set up S. Leyva who had just beaten his marker and he took an ambitious shot from the edge of the box. The keeper got to it but the save was not strong enough, 2-0 Spain.

D. Ilica finally hit the back of net in the 76th minute (according to the 3D match’s time, in the match report it says he scored in 81st minute, weird), this goal was not set up by a winger as I was expecting and the goal was fired in by his boot, not his head. 2-1 to Spain and it may be too late for a return.

Not too many talking points in the second half, I was certainly surprised that Romania had 21 shots on target and only hit the back of the net once; with 19 saves I would say C. Amorebieta deserves the MVP.

Sweden vs Czech Republic

Sweden
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: B. Håkansson (35 Year Old Striker worth 1,110,233GBP)
Came 1st from Group 2 with 9 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2004, 2007 and 2013

Czech Republic
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: J. Pilný (32 Year Old worth 884,821GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 2 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Got to the Knockouts in 2006, 2011 and 2012

Now we have a little bit of controversy, these two teams qualified for the Knockout stages from the same group. Their last game was really against each other in the group; the result was 3-1 to Sweden, the reigning champions, not exactly a motivational boost for Czech Republic.

Czech Republic may be the underdogs in this particular match but they’ve experienced the World Cup plenty of times and held Sweden to a stalemate in the first half, defending well against many attacks.

In the second half Czech Republic made 3 changes to their squad at the same time, a risky move but they replaced 1 midfielder and 2 Strikers. The first goal came from a swift move from J. Vychodil, the striker that stayed on the pitch, who left the Swedish Defender D. Hegg in the middle of nowhere with a quick turn. The shot was taken almost when he passed the keeper in his run; no doubt that it was going in, 1-0 Czech Republic in the 80th minute.
The upset continues for the reigning champions, after a few shots at Czech Republic’s keeper, Czech Republic responded with, what seemed like, a well-practiced move and J. Vychodil scored with his head, finding the top corner very late in the game, 2-0 with no time for Sweden to get back into the game.

Looking at the tactics from the last time these two faced each other Sweden had a much more defensive line. I’m no tactical genius, but if it worked then I would not be surprised that it could have worked in this match, the formation change may have ruined the reigning champions chances. Not taking anything away from Czech Republic though, against the odds they got sweet revenge for their last result. J. Vychodil was my man of the match in this game too.

Portugal vs Netherlands

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: M. Veiga (34 Year Old Striker worth 895,128GBP)
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Runners-up in 2007

Netherlands
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: J. Saarloos (32 Year Old worth 965,259GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 1 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2012

The last time these two teams faced off in a real World Cup’s Round of 16 it was a nightmare, for the Ref. For neutral supporters around the world it could have easily been confused for a fight with breaks of football in between every now and then, 16 yellow cards and 4 reds were shown that day. Hopefully there’s less cards to talk about in the virtual world.

L. Kuipers from Netherlands took the lead a scored after a bizarre piece of short passing across the edge of Portugal’s box, this ruined Portugal’s marking system and Netherlands are 1-0 ahead very early on in the match. L. Kuipers also hit the crossbar with a strong header in the 6th minute after scoring.
A. Borba, of Portugal, rushed one on one against the keeper to try and equalise, the keeper was better off and knocked it out to an awaiting D. Sousa, unfortunately for Netherlands, D. Sousa is a Portugal striker and the goal was wide open! 1-1.
To turn the tables, a clever back-pass from A. Borba followed by an immediately lethal shot by M. Veiga beat the Netherlands goalkeeper again, now Portugal have the lead.

A late, typical, over-powered, wing tactic awarded Portugal with their third goal of the match, a well headed goal by A. Queirós. 3-1 to Portugal and now Netherland’s future doesn’t look so orange.
Netherlands did well to respond positively and scored in the 87th minute with the freshly brought on sub M. Graaff, too late to get that equaliser though, the match ended 3-2 to Portugal.

This one was a tight game; one glimpse at the statistics shows that, 15-16 shots, 54% to 46% possession but the falling point for the Netherlands was the defenders were too easily beat. D. Sousa rightfully earns MVP.

Brazil vs Denmark

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: R. Abreu (33 Year Old Striker worth 955,343GBP)
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Champions in 2010

Denmark
Starting Formation Used: 5-2-3
Most Valuable Player: H. Falver (33 Year Old Striker worth 934,658GBP)
Came 1st from Group 1 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Third Place in 2008

Not entirely sure how this one will go. Denmark is not a walk over in the world of MZ but Brazil was playing an odd formation with 3 Defensive Midfielders, 7 at the back may cause an issue.

Brazil found an opening, lethal it was, and they scored 2 goals within a few minutes of each other. The second goal was a much classier finish by A. Lago because the first goal was a very typical header by R. Abreu. Suddenly Brazil’s dominating very early.
Just to put salt in the wounds before first time was over R. Abreu received the ball again from a nice cross, but instead of heading it, he controlled the ball then struck it with his foot, 3-0 and Denmark are in trouble.

It was A. Lago’s turn in the second half to head it past the keeper, with it now at 4-0 with 82 minutes gone Denmark simply would need a miracle.

21 shots from Brazil against 7 from Denmark, clearly the Victors deservedly won this. The possession was equal but Denmark struggled to get past Brazil’s wall of 7 Defenders and that was the main difference. I expected Brazil to be tough to score against but I was not expecting their strikers to be this effective, I would share MVP amongst the two strikers if possible!

Cyprus vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cyprus
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: C. Kolovos (30 Year Old Midfielder worth 854,452GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 7 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Runners-up in 2012

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Starting Formation Used: 5-2-3
Most Valuable Player: N. Antončić (31 Year Old Striker worth 878,216GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 8 with 4 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Reaching the Knockouts in 2009

I did not know what to expect from this match at all, quite simply, I don’t even know if these two teams have played against each other outside the Qualifiers or Friendlies. Certainly rare to see both squads still in the competition, Cyprus had a spurt of power in 2012 but before that they never qualified before and Bosnia and Herzegovina has only reached the Knockouts in 2009 they’ll want to beat that record I’m sure.

The mystery of who would be stronger in this match simply took a minute to discover. Cyprus scored in their first attack, in the first minute; with a header (in fact I swear the next 4 shots from Cyprus came from the winger’s delivery and a header) good to see they have got a grasp of the over powered wings tactic. S. Patsatzis’ head makes it 1-0 to Cyprus.
Unsurprisingly the second goal went in just like the first, N. Cholas’ delivery followed by S. Patsatzis’ head, the keeper from Bosnia and Herzegovina got a hand to it but it was not enough. It is 2-0 to Cyprus.

No, you don’t get anything for guessing how the third goal went in. Headers from Cyprus are simply lethal! N. Cholas, again, crossed it in and found an unmarked A. Doukatelis. Late in the game and it’s 3-0 to Cyprus.

Bosnia and Herzegovina had a lot of shots but most were dealt with by the Cyprus Keeper quite well, the difference was N. Cholas for Cyprus, he deserved man of the match (or MVP) his work on the wing alone made the difference. Somehow the ball would just end up at his feet too, usually from a Bosnia and Herzegovinian clearance.

England vs Indonesia

England
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: L. Barraclough (33 Year Old worth 921,587GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 6 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Third Place in 2004 and 2005

Indonesia
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: E. Makatita (31 Year Old Midfielder worth 810,605GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 3 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Reached the Round of 16 in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013

Indonesia has fallen at the same Knockout stage 4 times so England probably was not the match up they wanted, England have not had much luck in the qualifiers in the recent past but they have never been knocked out in the Round of 16 when they have managed to get the Knockouts.

The first half was fairly end to end work, until England decided to crush some Indonesian dreams just before half time. A. Holt ran a solid 10 yards before firing a shot outside of the box. England lead the first half 1-0.

On the 72nd minute N. Argent drilled a pass straight to A. Holt; from there A. Holt ran past the keeper, the goal was almost guaranteed as he could have just dribbled it in, 2-0 to England.
Later a similar goal was almost set up, V. Hepburn to N. Argent and N. Argent to deliver a killer pass straight down the middle, this time finding the substitute É. Zola, he fired it in from close range, and 3-0, Indonesia are in trouble.
Just after writing that N. Argent made a critical tackle and passed it across the ground for É. Zola again 4-0 and the game is surely over now.

England’s tactics here were a breath of fresh air, after seeing many matches where both teams would use wings to dominate the other; it was nice seeing a realistic tactic was being used. N. Argent was the heart of the entire match, opening up 3 goals for England, Indonesia definitely were not a walk over as they had many shots but the threat of their squad seemed to lessen as the match went on.

USA vs Belgium

USA
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: C. Gaston (31 Year Old Midfielder worth 935,400GBP)
Came 2nd from Group 4 with 7 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Fourth in 2004 and 2011

Belgium
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Most Valuable Player: J. Servranckx (31 Year Old Striker worth 916,819GBP)
Came 1st from Group 7 with 6 Points
Best Performance in the World Cup: Quarter Finalists in 2006, 2009 and 2012

Two regulars in the knockout stages face off here, could not predict a winner.

The fun starts straight away as J. Holbrook finds the back of the net with a well-controlled shot 1-0 to USA after only a few kicks of the ball.
The second goal was produced by Belgium’s forward D. Raniers, a fantastic header clinched the equaliser, 1-1.
D. Raniers also scored a less conventional goal later, after two shots against the keeper the ball slowly rolled past the line, but I’m sure Belgium won’t mind how it goes in as they now have the lead 2-1.
Keeping headers out of this game seems to be impossible, USA equalise thanks to W. Grayson’s head after a great cross. 2-2, it’s really back and forth at the moment.
W. Grayson was hungry for more! Now taking USA into the lead again! The goal was pretty much exactly played out like the last goal too, 3-2 to USA.
J. Holbrook dodges a challenge to put it past the right of the keeper USA finally have some breathing space away from Belgium; USA leads 4-2 going into the second half.

After a USA Corner was cleared D. Raniers receives the ball and runs half way through the pitch to send the ball past the keeper, 4-3 to Belgium.
D. Raniers equalises after dispossessing an American Defender and, with the most awkward shot of the tournament I have seen so far, outwits the keeper. 4-4!

Well, it goes to Extra Time, which I didn’t realise is Golden Goal, D. Raniers is blessed by a superb long pass and he barely beats the American keeper, who will be having nightmares about that, if he wasn’t virtual.

The Round of 16 ended with a tight match there. Man of the Match for me is undoubtedly D. Raniers even though USA had more shots D. Ranier’s always seemed like more of a threat. Oh and I was not kidding earlier, check out the 4th Belgium goal in this game, it was a bizarre shot.

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Spain vs Argentina

Argentina
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 3 with 7 Points
Beat Poland 4-3

Spain
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 2nd from Group 5 with 4 Points
Beat Romania 2-1

Wow, if this was a real World Cup match I would not know who to put my money on. In this case Argentina had to get past a formidable opponent so I’m sure they are motivated to get through the rest of the tournament now.

B. Quilo did his job and ran down the wing to provide a free header for the Argentine star E. Figueroa. Besides that not too much happened in the first half, S. Leyva came close to scoring numerous times but unfortunately for him and Spain they are now 1-0 down going into the second half.

N. Roman picked up a loose ball literally inches away from the net after the Argentine keeper saved another shot; it is now 1-1.
To finish the match Argentina scored a ridiculously late goal in order to guarantee their country will be entering the Semi-finals, the goal was a nice one-on-one from B. Fortun which made the game end 2-1 for Argentina.

I believe what gave Argentina the push they needed to win was their substitutes, Spain was fairly equal with them on statistics but in the late stages of the game Argentina was playing with 3 new, fresh strikers. My man of the match goes to B. Fortun simply because of the late winning goal.

Czech Republic vs Portugal

Czech Republic
Starting Formation Used: 3-4-3
Came 2nd from Group 2 with 6 Points
Beat Sweden 2-0

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Beat Netherlands 3-2

Czech Republic must not have expected to get past Sweden, let’s see if they can make it through another European team, Portugal. This match was definitely going to be different as both teams had formations that didn’t suggest an obvious wing tactic.

There was a stalemate in the first half; D. Sousa came close to scoring twice just before the first half ended. We went into the second half 0-0.

Czech Republic’s J. Vychodil took it upon himself to break the tie; P. Záveský left the ball for J. Vychodil to take and he fired a shot from outside the box, great goal, 1-0.
Not too long after that was scored Portugal found a chance for a crushing equaliser. A. Queirós was in the perfect position for an overpowered header; it seems maybe the wing tactic is now being used. 1-1.
Yep definitely, the second Portuguese goal and the third were both identical to the first one. The match could have nearly ended 4-1, if the keeper didn’t block another header at the 90th minute, if only he knew how to do that earlier.

I sense, whatever Portugal did in the 65th minute saved them, they made 3 substitutions back then but I believe the passing style and the formation may have been changed and that was the bigger difference. MVP goes to A. Queirós in my opinion; a substitute that equalised, took the lead and completed their hat-trick was apparently not enough for MVP in ManagerZone’s ranking system.

Cyprus vs Brazil

Cyprus
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 2nd from Group 7 with 6 Points
Beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Beat Denmark 4-0

If this match was real, Cyprus would be the underdogs for sure, but here I don’t know. With Cyprus’s performance in 2012 anything can happen.

Brazil scored. A long pass out to the winger and an immediate cross back meant that R. Abreu could score very easily with his head and the markers were scrambled. 1-0.
Brazil’s second goal was another example of just how dominant the wing tactic is. 2-0 after R. Abreu scored with his head again and Cyprus are in a lot of trouble.

In the second half, Cyprus did score after A. Valkanas received a pass while standing beyond his marker but staying onside, he won the one on one battle with the keeper, 2-1 and who knows, Cyprus might make it back into this game.
Just when it was looking like all hope was lost, with Cyprus still needing an equaliser with only 5 minutes left to score one, Brazil’s W. Costa ran some distance through the middle of the pitch to barely beat Cyprus’ goalkeeper, 3-1 and Cyprus have no time left to do anything about it.

Possession was the main factor here and Brazil had 58% of it. More possession enables more opportunity for shots, Cyprus had 6, and Brazil had 23. It was hard to call a specific MVP here so I’ll go with the easy way out; R. Abreu because he scored the most and could have probably completed his hat-trick if he wasn’t tactically subbed off.

Belgium vs England

Belgium
Starting Formation Used: 3-4-3
Came 1st from Group 7 with 6 Points
Beat USA 5-4 after Extra Time

England
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 2nd from Group 6 with 6 Points
Beat Indonesia 4-0

The last Quarter Final match, between England and Belgium!

Belgium took the lead after using their striker’s incredible pace, at first I thought D.Raniers was going to score after T. Thijs smashed a long shot against the crossbar, the rebound went to an unmarked D. Raniers who ran to the side and back-passed for L. Hoolemans to take the strike against an over worked keeper. 1-0 Belgium.

England needed to get back into this game as soon as possible and at the start of the second half A. Holt received the ball from a nice cross, brought it down, controlled it and put it past the keeper. He was so unmarked that he had plenty of time to control his shot. 1-1 and the match ended that way.

Oh right, of course, extra time, no goals in the first half of it but in the second half people’s stamina started to fade out. T. Thijs that threatened the goal mouth before finished the game in the additional minutes left of extra time preventing it from going to penalties, which of course due to previous real life history, England probably did not want anyway.

Belgium’s striking force made the difference. The English defenders did a great job of keeping them from having more scoring opportunities. T. Thijs gets man of the match for me and England exit the tournament in the same place they did last year, consistent.

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Portugal vs Argentina

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Beat Netherlands 3-2
Beat Czech Republic 3-1

Argentina
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 3 with 7 Points
Beat Poland 4-3
Beat Spain 2-1

Now the pressure’s on, 4 teams left and Portugal and Argentina face off. Both using similar tactics, so it would be interesting to see who will move on to the finals.

Both teams were at a fierce dead-lock in the first half.

First to score, in the second half, is Portugal’s D. Sousa. He took advantage of a keeper mishap and collected the ball after his first shot in order to shoot again at a much more open goal. 1-0.
B. Fortun got the equaliser for Argentina with a powerful shot that the Portuguese Keeper could not shot 1-1.
Later in the game D. Sousa shot high at the keeper, the keeper pushed the ball into the underside of the crossbar making it 2-1 to Portugal.
But there was more, M. Veiga proved why he was Portugal’s most valuable player with a shot that barely beat the keeper and slowly rolled past the line, 3-1 and it’s not looking good for Argentina.
E. Guerrero ran half the pitch to score again for Argentina but it may be too late to think about getting the equaliser, the match ended 3-2 to Portugal.

In the second half Portugal had a lot more dangerous shots, I think Argentina struggled against breaking Portugal’s formation down as one small difference in their tactic was Portugal had 3 Defence Midfielders, similar to Brazil’s formation earlier in this tournament, and Argentina were held back by the wall of 7 players. Funnily enough these two teams got this far in the competition scoring plenty of overpowered headers thanks to the wing tactic, here; no goals were headers or even assisted by a cross. D. Sousa deserved man of the match.

Belgium vs Brazil

Belgium
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 7 with 6 Points
Beat USA 5-4 after Extra Time
Beat England 2-1 after Extra Time

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Beat Denmark 4-0
Beat Cyprus 3-1

After seeing that Belgium haven’t been able to win a game in the knockouts so far without it going to Extra Time I can’t help but pre-emptively doubt that they will beat Brazil. Brazil has been Champions before, United States and England has not.

Brazil took the lead very early on using their wing tactic; a sublime header by R. Abreu was too much for the Belgium keeper to handle. 1-0.
Brazil a few minutes later scored with another header but this one was not a typical one from the wing; it was an amazing long pass from J. Vítor Teles which R. Abreu subtly knocked towards goal 2-0 and it hasn’t even been 10 minutes.
D. Raniers scored via a very awkward shot, I had to watch the goal replay twice to realise that D. Raniers beat the Brazilian keeper with a back heel that wasn’t animated correctly, this probably gets the most bizarre goal award but Belgium will be happy that they’ve got plenty of time to find that equaliser. Brazil leads 2-1.

The first and second half just dawdled away after that, there were still threatening shots but no more goals, odd that the game was settled in the first half.

Brazil’s R. Abreu gets MVP from me and MZ, I would have given it too D. Raniers if he could equalise but even if he did I could see Brazil beating the Belgium team in Extra Time. Brazil had 18 shots and 17 of them on target, certainly the more active attackers in this match.

//

Brazil vs Portugal

Brazil
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 6 with 9 Points
Beat Denmark 4-0
Beat Cyprus 3-1
Beat Belgium 2-1

Portugal
Starting Formation Used: 4-3-3
Came 1st from Group 5 with 9 Points
Beat Netherlands 3-2
Beat Czech Republic 3-1
Beat Argentina 3-2

Well it’s come to this, The Grand Finale, Brazil vs Portugal. Both nations should be proud of their progress but it’ll end here, what team will claim the trophy? After the pleasantries and Brazil sang their second verse of their national anthem to a chorus of impatient tapping feet from Portugal we began.

The first goal came from a brave run by the Brazilian striker J. Paulo Mota. He dribbled the ball past the keeper and tapped the ball in before it was stolen from the diving goalie. 1-0 in 37 minutes.
Portugal probably wishes they could redo their kick-off after the first goal. A. Lago blocked Portugal’s possession and the ball got to W. Costa, who fired a shot, a minute after going 1-0 down Portugal go 2-0 down, nightmare.

Brazil have been practicing their long shots, their third goal came from A. Lago! 3-0 and Portugal need to do something special.
H. Matos of Portugal managed to barely beat the Brazilian keeper a few minutes later, hopefully this will encourage a comeback. 3-1.
Brazil responded to the Portuguese goal in force, in the 66th minute 3 Strikers from Brazil ran down the middle of the field with absolutely no Portuguese defenders in the way. W. Costa led the 3 strikers and did the honours with a nice back heel strike, 4-1 and it appears to be all over for Portugal.
A. Queirós scored the last goal of the tournament for Portugal but making it 4-2 with 85 minutes gone makes it seem like a consolation.

Brazil is this year’s World Cup Champions! The percentages of shots were simply outstanding in comparison with Portugal, 26 – 9. I feel that Brazil’s striking force all deserve MVP as 3 strikers scored in that game but I’ll agree with MZ rating’s this time W. Costa deserved it.

Congratulations Brazil on winning the 2014 MZ World Cup! If you want to look over the World Cup yourself at home click here:
http://www.managerzone.com/?p=cup&sub=playoff&cid=12602&tid=108
The match to determine third place is in there too. Thank you all for skimming though this article… it’s a long one I know, I hope you enjoyed it.

~geoclphredux

Page 3 Girls – ZONE #221

As written by user: damo11

Page 3 Girls has a new twist this season. Seeing as it’s World Cup season for both MZ and real life, the Aussie Zone is out to get the best Starting XI that we can find of the WAGs of the World Cup! Better known for the Italian team being banned from sex during the 1990 World Cup, Azeglio Vicini was quoted as saying, “Next weekend will be the last at liberty for the players before a long period of “seclusion. Chastity of players prior and during a major competition has been a long-debated but unsolved problem”.

The Brazilians have been banned this year from “acrobatic sex” acts.

World Cup 2014 Groups

As written by user: damo11

The MZ World Cup groups have been drawn. Australia has made Group 3.  The seeding went with two first placed finishers and two second placed finishers from qualification. Groups are randomly spread. Seedings from national ranks are below with group finishings, and past results that countries are expecting to do better than their previous cup outings.

Amazingly, Italy (ranked 8th, last World Cup runner up) and Uruguay (ranked 20th, Confederations Cup runner up) both did not qualify. Thailand is the lowest ranked country coming in at 71st, and 15 countries are having a crack at the Cup after missing out on qualification last year.

Click here for the VOTE/SURVEY for who you think will be in the Top 4 countries for the World Cup.

Group 1:
 CHINA –  Rank: 3rd – Favoured formation: 5-2-3
Group finish: Top of G12 (4W-0D-0L, GD: +17)
Confed Cup: Quarter Finals
Last WC: Final 16

Which teams will end top four the World Cup?

As written by user: aikaik

Here is a survey where you can pick the four teams that you think will end top 4 in the upcoming 2014 World Cup.

http://freeonlinesurveys.com/app/showpoll.asp?qid=484412&sid=70lsjm2mbmev303484412&new=True

It would be very interesting if as many as possible participated in the poll.  The poll ends 1st of june and I will show the result in this thread, which you will be able to use.

Thank you,
aikaik, National Coach of Sweden