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Rafael Marquez concedes a penalty that too match-winning against Arjen Robben of Holland. But the manager of Mexico Miguel Herrera demands Pedro Proenca to be sent home as he allowed a penalty which was invented to Arjen Robben by which Holland moved to the quarter finals.

Herrera put all the blame on the referee for his team not making it through the quarter finals. He criticised the official of Europe who was in charge of the European team and not only in the match versus Holland in two or three other matches Mexico suffered due to bad refereeing. Accordingly Robben’s third dive was a tumble and he said that the referee was late enough to prevent it. Robben himself stated that he did dive which was the first fall. He even apologised for such a shot. Herera fumed over the dismal decision by the referee and he hoped that the committee will look into account regarding the decision of the referees. However, they could not decide the course of the match and therefore had to give up. He vehemently stated that if Holland’s team has a conscience then they should seriously look into it and not be in the next round.

Throughout the course of the World Cup- The match against Cameroon Mexico were denied of two goals, against Croatia there were two penalties which was denied and he literally meant favouritism which was shown towards Holland. All the decisions which were doubtful were denied to Mexico. Mexico was knocked out in 2006 by a superb goal from Maxi Rodriguez of Argentina which is played in the spirit of the game but to be knocked out due to a poor decision makes it unsympathetic. Clearly the whistle man got severely criticised by all in and after the game which will be a learning lesson for the other referees.

Dutch coach Louis van Gaal has stated that Robin van Persie is definitely not at 100%, but he expects the forward to be at his best when the World Cup 2014 kicks off for the Dutch against Spain. The 30-year-old had an injury plagued season with Manchester United, but towards the back and of the season, it is understood that manager David Moyes allowed him to continue his recovery in Holland. Van Gaal says that this played a huge role in his recovery, which has enabled him to appear in the last few friendly matches for the national team. However, he was taken off in the 2-0 win over Wales and the worst was feared for the striker.

The soon-to-be Manchester United manager announced that van Persie is definitely not at 100% but since the World Cup is two weeks away, it would allow him enough time to get his best. Netherlands open their tournament with a match against Spain in what would be a repeat of the 2010 finals. This match could determine their fate in the tournament, as anything other than a victory will put them at a huge risk of missing out on the knockout stages. Van Gaal will want to go out on a high.

“He is not 100 per cent, but we have two weeks to go. I think he will be 100 per cent. He is coming out of injury but we built him already up in our federation, our medical department. It was under the permission of David Moyes, so we could control him. He has worked very hard. Then he played two matches of 20 or 30 minutes and the last match 70 minutes. We did not expect that as the injury was bad,” said the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona coach.

Nigeria manager Stephen Keshi decided not to pick Villarreal striker Ikechukwu Uche for the upcoming World Cup 2014. The 30-year-old has been in fine form for the Spanish outfit this season. He has scored 12 goals in the league. After not featuring for the Nigerian national team since the African cup of nations last year, it seems that his international career is over as far as Keshi is concerned. The striker does not feature in the preliminary squad announced by the African nation. Nigeria will be expecting a tough World Cup after being grouped alongside Argentina.

Argentina will clearly be the favourites to win the group, but the second spot is up for grabs. Nigeria will be competing along with Iran and Bosnia for this final qualification position. Despite missing out on the squad for the World Cup, the 30-year-old has stated that he does not have any regrets and anger against manager Keshi. He says that he will be supporting his teammates despite not being on the plane to Brazil. The manager has come under criticism for not taking Uche, but he has responded by saying that the media should focus upon the team rather than individuals.

Nigeria begin their World Cup campaign against Iran.

“We spoke two weeks before the squad was announced to clarify certain things that had been written and said in the media. Most significantly, it was a very good discussion. It gives me great pleasure that there is no ill will towards anyone. I thank the coach for that. I also wish my teammates all the best in Brazil because we are all one family whether you are in the squad or not,” said the 30-year-old striker.
He is one of the most experienced players available at the disposal of Keshi with more than 45 international appearances.