By Paul Downey.
The World Cup Semi-Finals have now taken place, here’s a selection of players who shone during the two matches. Please vote for who you think produced the best performance.
Diego Forlan (Uruguay) – Although the South Americans slipped out of the tournament, Forlan again took centre stage with a sensational long range drive to pull them level after falling behind to Van Bronckhorst’s pile driver. Also went close with a freekick in the second half. Will still fancy his chances of the Golden Boot, if he is fit enough to play in the Third place playoff.
Khalid Boularhouz (Netherlands) – Brought in from the bench to fill in at right back, and did excellent job with all his defensive duties. Now based in Germany, he looks a completely different player than the one seen in a Chelsea shirt during the Mourinho era. He would be very unlucky to lose his place for the Final.
Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) – The game against Uruguay wasn’t his best, but he popped up when it mattered to put the Netherlands back ahead. After being credited with the first against Brazil, he is now joint top goal scorer with David Villa. It would be an excellent achievement for him to claim the Golden Boot as well as possibly the World Cup itself to go with a domestic treble at Inter Milan last season.
Carlos Puyol (Spain) – Helped to contain the threat of Klose, and was in the right place at the right time to power home a header to seal Spain’s first ever World Cup Final appearance. The Barcelona man has been very consistent throughout the tournament forming a formidable partnership in defence with Gerard Pique, which has only shipped two goals in the whole tournament.
Andreas Iniesta (Spain) – Another Spaniard who has grown in stature as the tournament has progressed, and is a vital cog every time the European Champions attack. The Barcelona midfielder is great at playing ‘in the hole’ and provides something different from the passing talents of Xavi and Xabi Alonso in the middle of the park.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – Not as productive as in previous games, but the Bayern Munich man covered so much ground all over the park. He has shown throughout the tournament he is fully capable of filling the void left by Michael Ballack in central midfield, and could be courted by Europe’s elites before the start of the new domestic campaign.
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Do you agree with our choices? If not tell us who you would like to see in the poll and why?
