halftime

The Dutch are doing a good job of disrupting the Spanish short passing game. To my eye, the reasons are:

• They press quickly once the ball enters their half of the field.
• They are, shall we say, aggressive.
• The Spanish are not as precise with their passes as they have been in the past.
• The Spanish insist on going through the middle, which is extremely clogged up.

Howard Webb is doing a good job dealing with a dirty Netherlands side and a Spanish side that has been drawn into the dirt a few times, too. Webb’s biggest mistake was not giving a red card to De Jong for his Stephen Chow imitation.

There is almost nothing in the first half which the neutral fan would find appealing. I’m riveted, but I care who wins. I wouldn’t blame casual fans for changing the channel.