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We take a look at the best and worst players from the Day 3 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.Matches Played1) Colombia 3-0Greece2) Uruguay 1-3Costa Rica3) Italy 2-1England4) Ivory Coast2-1 Japan
#1 Goalkeepers
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On the left we have Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas while on the right we have Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis.
Best Goalkeeper
Navas easily walks away with the award of the best goalkeeper of day 3. After an Edison Cavani penalty which he couldn't stop, he never allowed the Uruguayans to score another goal.
After Costa Rica had pulled things back with two goals from as many minutes, it was Navas who made sure that his country kept the lead and his acrobatic save to deny Diego Forlan was proof of a fantastic display of goalkeeping.
Worst Goalkeeper
Orestis Karnezis of Greece looked clueless and a fifth minute goal by Colombia where the ball just trickled into the net with Karnezis unable to do anything was a sorry sight to see. Colombia added two more and each time Karnezis had no idea how to deal with them.
Karnezis just managed to snatch away the Worst Goalkeeper award from Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera who had an equally pathetic day in the field but the fact that Karnezis allowed a goal which he could have saved had he been bit more alert gave him extra brownie points to take away the award.
#2 Defenders
Costa RicasOscar Duarte on the left and Englands Gary Cahill on the right.
Best Defender
Oscar Duarte easily walks away with the title. Not only was he good at the back, where he was keeping a check on the likes of Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan which he did very efficiently, he also managed to score a goal which ultimately gave Costa Rica an important lead and played an important role in their win over the former champions.
Worst Defender
Cahill committed one small mistake of not keeping a check on Italian striker MarioBalotelli and the latter scored the winner for his country. It was evident that Cahill could have had a good day in the field, but it was never going to be easy to match the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Candreva.
#3 Midfielders
England’s Steven Gerrard on the left and Italy’s Andrea Pirlo on the right.
Best Midfielder
Andrea Pirlo has been nothing less than a cog in the wheel of the Italian team and he showed it yesterday against the Three Lions. After Italy lost their goalkeeper Gianlugi Buffon to injury, Pirlo not only took up the mantle of leading the team but he did it with elan and showed his abilities by leading from the front.
Not only did he set up a Claudio Marchisio’s goal with a well timed dummy but he kept manoeuvering the ball with sublime touches and showed that age is just a number for him. He keeps on getting better with age and England never had a clue how to deal with him.
Worst Midfielder
Pirlo’s counterpart Steven Gerrard is no amateur and is considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world. But then instead of taking a cue from Pirlo, Gerrard came with a performance which was much below his standards.
Though he was trying hard, he never seemed convincing and that hurt England’s chances. Unlike Pirlo who assisted Marchisio, Gerrard failed to create chances for his team and even spurned a freekick opportunity without eve hitting the target, which would have helped his team at least draw the match, if not win it.
#4 Forwards
Costa Ricas Joel Campbell on the left and Englands Wayne Rooney on the right.
Best Forward
Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell easily walks away with the award. Not only did he bring his team back into the game by scoring a goal which brought his team level with Uruguay, he beautifully set up Costa Ricas third goal which ultimately evaporated any Uruguayhopes of coming back and drawing the match.
If Campbellcontinues the good form he displayed in the next couple of matches, then it wont be long before Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger decides to put him on the top of the list in his scheme of things.
Worst Forward
Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney is still looking for that elusive World Cup goal and he was denied once again. But what would hurt him more will be that the chance he missed ultimately blew away any English hopes of securing a comeback.
A simple chance which Rooney should have put away was fired wide of the target and England lost a match they should have drawn, if not win.Of course, English Manager Roy Hodgson is to be partially blamed for not making Rooney play in his normal position but the striker will have to take the responsibilityin his stride and will have to come up withgood performances if he and England wish to proceed to the next round.
