CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA - JULY 06: Fernando Muslera of Uruguay cannot save the shot by Giovanni Van Bronckhorst of the Netherlands as he scores the opening goal during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Semi Final match between Uruguay and the Netherlands at Green Point Stadium on July 6 2010 in Cape Town South Africa. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
The passing stats from Holland's perspective show a team that dominated the Uruguayans when the game was on the line:
| Mins | Pass F | Wgtd | Pass A | Wgtd | % Pass | % Wtd | |
| Tied | 48.8 | 516 | 100 | 234 | 47 | 69 | 68 |
| Up 1 | 29.5 | 177 | 39 | 284 | 59 | 38 | 40 |
| Up 2 | 18.5 | 311 | 71 | 350 | 65 | 47 | 52 |
Holland is better than Uruguay, but not so much better that they could afford to not back off when they had the lead - Uruguay controlled possession when they were trailing by 1.
It's instructive to look at each team's performance while tied and compare it to how they did in previous games. First, Holland:
| Hol | Mins | Pass F | Wgtd | Pass A | Wgtd | % Pass | % Wtd |
| vs Uru | 48.8 | 516 | 100 | 234 | 47 | 69 | 68 |
| Prev. | 194 | 508 | 95 | 289 | 56 | 64 | 63 |
The Dutch were reasonably dominant so far, but reached a new level against the Uruguayans. If they face Germany, I think they'll be substantially underrated. As for Uruguay, they stunk up the joint:
| Uru | Mins | Pass F | Wgtd | Pass A | Wgtd | % Pass | % Wtd |
| vs Hol | 48.8 | 234 | 47 | 516 | 100 | 31 | 32 |
| Prev. | 300.3 | 222 | 49 | 340 | 76 | 39 | 39 |
Uruguay had not favored ball possession thus far, but this represents a new low. Controlling just 32% of passing and territory is simply not going to win you very many games.
There are 3 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.