Tim Cahill scored the goal of the tournament to date as a gutsy Australia came unstuck in a narrow 3-2 defeat by Holland.
If there was ever a game to epitomise what is great about a World Cup this was it. Great drama, top quality goals, end to end action and a mammoth effort by the underdogs as Australia came so close to causing a major shock at this summer's tournament.
When Arjen Robben raced clear to open the scoring after 20 minutes it looked like business as usual was on the cards and, if the Aussies weren't careful, they could be on the end of a hiding from the Dutch as per their group rivals Spain.
But just a minute later Cahill produced a worldy of a World Cup goal to not only wow the fans, but also wake his side up and cause them to make a real go of it for the rest of the match. A high ball flew into the box and Cahill met it with the sweetest of volleys to hammer the ball home. As Dan Walker, of the BBC, would say, what a thronker!
It was a truly world class goal by Cahill but the former Everton man picked up his second yellow card of the tournament and will unfortunately miss his country's final group match against Spain. If results go as expected it will be their last game of the World Cup in Brazil but, if it is, at least the midfielder bowed out in style.
The underdogs continued to press and caused a surprise to the Dutch fans, along with the neutrals, when they took the lead. The ball smacked against the hand of Daryl Janmaat and a penalty was given. Some would say it was harsh as the ball was hit at his hand but we've all seen them given before and that's what happened in this clash! Mile Jedinak slotted home the penalty to give Australia an unlikely lead. But before Australia had a chance to build momentum, Holland hit back with a leveller from the in-form Robin Van Persie inside four minutes. The Manchester United striker beat the offside trap before firing the ball beyond Matthew Ryan from close range.
Substitute Memphis Depay hit the decisive blow after 68 minutes when his long-range strike beat Ryan, who probably should've done better to cope with the shot. Although the goalkeeper could've probably prevented the goal it was unfair of the ITV commentary team to talk about two goalkeeping blunders in two days. Ryan should've done better to get to the shot but it was nothing compared to the error by his Russian counterpart Igor Akinfeev the previous day, which was far more of a blunder.
Holland held on for a narrow 3-2 win, which was far less convincing than the result many were expecting from this match. Australia put up a much stronger fight than the Dutch's previous opponents holders Spain and will count themselves unlucky not to come away with a point.
It will be a difficult result to take for Australia who have no points to show for two spirited performances, although mathematically they are still in with a slim shout of qualifying for the knockout stages. Holland, on the other hand, were not at their best this time around but still got the job done with maximum points and eight goals from their opening two games.
If the games continue in the same fashion this will truly be a World Cup to remember. Our beloved nation England may find themselves playing the part in another World Cup cracker when they play Uruguay in Sao Paulo.
England will need to find their own Cahill-like hero in front of goal, while the defence will also have to stay strong to keep out the dynamic duo of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
Stopping Suarez is not an impossible task. For all his world class ability, he failed to score against any of the other sides in the top four of the Premier League last season. So can he score in the big games when it matters? We'll find out soon, but let's hope the likes of Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill have games to remember and frustrate Uruguay's star man.
England can also take heart from the fact group minnows Costa Rica came from behind to secure a deserved 3-1 win against the South Americans. So, why can't we? I say we can, we are more than capable of getting a result, so here's hoping for one hell of a huge performance from the Three Lions.
QUE SERA SERA
EN-GER-LAND
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