The World Cup pitch in the Americas is already throwing up a few unexpected bruises, and if you blinked through the early morning kick offs you might...
The World Cup pitch in the Americas is already throwing up a few unexpected bruises, and if you blinked through the early morning kick offs you might have missed a proper humbling. The USA, playing with the authority of a side that knows the geography of the knockout rounds, dispatched Australia 2. 0 with the kind of clinical efficiency that suggests this host nation is no mere ceremonial figurehead. For the Socceroos, their all. yellow kit made them look like a bunch of bananas on a sun drenched counter, ripe for the taking. And take them the Americans did.What we witnessed was not a slip on a classic World Cup banana skin, but a thorough and systematic dismantling. Australia had earned plaudits for their opening victory over Turkey, but regression to the mean can be a brutal equaliser. There was no low block to frustrate, no cynical game management. Instead, the USA simply came and took what they wanted, exploiting space in transitional play with a directness that left the Australian defence looking as fragile as a wet paper bag. The question now is whether the Socceroos have the tactical flexibility to recover, because the route to the knockout phase suddenly looks a little more treacherous.Of course, any discussion of this matchday would be incomplete without acknowledging the elephant in the stadium, or rather the furnace on the pitch. GoalZaza can reveal that two first round fixtures were played in severe heat that, according to the football players' union, should have triggered a delay or postponement. A further four games took place in cities where ambient temperatures nudged that same threshold, though air conditioning inside the venues offered some mitigation. It is squeaky bum time for the organisers, because asking players to perform high intensity work in such conditions is not just a question of comfort, it is a matter of duty of care. The sport's governing bodies have a responsibility, and so far the response looks a little half baked.Look ahead to Brazil versus Haiti later tonight. The Seleção will be favourites, of course, but Haiti have a habit of making life uncomfortable for supposed giants. If the USA can stroll through, Brazil will be expected to do the same, but this tournament has already shown that form and reputation count for little when the heat is on. Literally.
