The gentleman from Brazil

Today's Game

It is no secret that the further into the tournament teams advance, the higher the intensity becomes. Today was no different. Germany and Ghana were fighting for their lives for the rest of the tournament and Simon was cast into the middle of the mix. From the beginning, the game was very fast and had the potential to be quite physical. This match was not nearly as physical as it could have been--or as I anticipated it would be... The first foul wasn't until 16 minutes into the match.

Positioning

Simon did a decent job of staying in position and moving with play. However, I noticed quite a lot of standing, watching, and dodging of the players. It seemed as though he couldn't quite figure out where to be on the pitch to effectively observe play, but not to get in the way.

Going Forward

As more South American teams advance out of the group stage and continue to perform well, Simon's chances of getting a semifinal or a final are relatively slim. He did a nice job of controlling this match and giving to the game what was required, but there was not much to test the gentleman from Brazil in this contest.