World Cup 28/06 – Netherlands & Brazil Sail Into Last Eight

Netherlands	2	vs.	1	Slovakia
Arjen ROBBEN 18’ Wesley SNEIJDER 84’		MotM = Arjen ROBBEN (NED)	Róbert VITTEK 90+4P’
Last 16		Ref = Alberto UNDIANO (ESP)	Durban

BOTH sides started this game quickly and had a couple of good scoring chances between them in the opening quarter of an hour.

But Arjen Robben (who came back from injury against Cameroon) scored a brilliant solo goal to put the Dutch 1-0 up.

However, Slovakia showed the kind of determination that led them to victory over now outgoing World Champions Italy. They pressurised the Dutch and kept them honest throughout the match.

With the scores still at 1-0 Netherlands, both keepers made excellent saves to deny a bigger lead and a level score line. Slovak keeper Ján Mucha blocked a close range shot with his nose to keep his side in the game.

Unfortunately he was at fault for the Netherlands’ second goal. He came to the edge of this area to punch the ball away after a quick Dutch free kick, but the Netherland’s Dirk Kuyt beat him to the ball and squared it to Wesley Sneijder who side footed the ball home for 2-0.

Slovakia won a penalty in the last minute, and the man who scored two goals against Italy, Róbert Vittek, converted the spot kick with the very last kick of the game.

Zakumi: “Slovakia have done really well in their first World Cup as an independent nation, and should make it into Euro 2012.”

P92: “But the Netherlands still look as if they haven’t got into top gear yet.”

Zakumi: “They are not the finished article at the moment.”

P92: “At the moment, you’re right.”

Brazil	3	vs.	0	Chile
JUAN 35’ LUÍS FABIANO 38’ ROBINHO 59’		MotM = ROBINHO (BRA)	–
Last 16		Ref = Howard WEBB (ENG)	Johannesburg – JEP

THE first half an hour saw Brazil and Chile cancel each others’ chances out in what was a really entertaining and intriguing match.

Brazil’s first goal came from a very British football league corner. The big defender JUAN out jumped everyone around him and directed a bullet header into the roof of the Chilean net.

Brazil’s second goal came just three minutes later and the game seemed over. LUÍS FABIANO did well to keep his head as he took the ball past the keeper and rolled the ball into the goal. The game was all but confirmed as a Brazil win when ROBINHO made it 3-0 just around the hour mark. But Chile went down fighting, trying to score right up until the final whistle.

The English officials: Howard Webb (ref), Mike Mullarkey and Darren Cann (linesmen) had a third brilliant game, and must surely be the hot tip to referee the final.

Zakumi: “Brazil into the last eight again.”

P92: “They could play Ghana in the semis if they both win their quarter-finals.”

Zakumi: “Oh I’d love to see that.”

P92: “So would everybody else accept the Dutch and Uruguay.”

Today’s games are:

• Paraguay vs. Japan, ITV 15:00
• Spain vs. Portugal, BBC 1 19:30

World Cup 2010 – The Last 16

HERE we have the matches for the Last 16 round of the 2010 World Cup

Uruguay	vs.	South Korea
U.S.A.	vs.	Ghana
Germany	vs.	ENGLAND
Argentina	vs.	Mexico
Netherlands	vs.	Slovakia
Brazil	vs.	Chile
Paraguay	vs.	Japan
Spain	vs.	Portugal

Spain vs. Portugal and Brazil vs. Chile are the big derby matches.

Argentina vs. Mexico is a grudge match from four years ago. Argentina won 2-1 AET.

Germany vs. England…well need I explain?

Zakumi: “Here we go. Knock-out football.”

P92: “Oh yes. And remember, from now on if you lose…you go out.”

Today’s games are:

• Uruguay vs. South Korea, ITV 15:00
• U.S.A. vs. Ghana, ITV 19:30

World Cup 25/06 – Brazil, Portugal & Spain Advance

Portugal	0	vs.	0	Brazil
–		MotM = CRISTIANO RONALDO (POR)	–
Group G		Ref = Benito ARCHUNDIA (MEX)	Durban

 

North Korea	0	vs.	3	Côte d’Ivoire
–		MotM = Didier DROGBA (CDI)	Yaya TOURÉ 14’ ROMARIC 20’ Salomon KALOU 82’
Group G		Ref = Alberto UNDIANO (ESP)	Nelspruit

 

Group G
Pos.	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	PTS
1	Brazil	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	7
2	Portugal	3	1	2	0	7	0	+7	5
3	Côte d’Ivoire	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
4	North Korea	3	0	0	3	1	12	-11	0

BRAZIL and Portugal fly through the group of death, and remarkably in the order I’d said they would finish.

Brazil haven’t played the samba football we’ve seen in past years, but all the time they are getting the results nobody in Brazil should moan.

Portugal look rock solid in defence, but they need to score more. All there seven goals came against North Korea. Teams like North Korea aren’t in the last 16, and goals must be scored.

Côte d’Ivoire must think that their luck just isn’t in when they are at World Cups. In 2006 they were drawn with Argentina and the Netherlands. So with Brazil and Portugal in 2010 they have gone out at the group stage and been denied to show the world how good they are in the latter stages.

When North Korea played against Brazil the most of the world (including me) was behind them. They had a real go at the five-time champions and when they scored it felt like I was cheering for England. But their game against Portugal was a case of men against boys and they got blown off the pitch. I hope they are back in four years time.

Zakumi: “I just hope they aren’t punished for not winning.”

P92: “You and I both pal.”

Chile	1	vs.	2	Spain
Rodrigo MILLAR 47’		MotM = Andrés INIESTA (ESP)	David VILLA 24’ Andrés INIESTA 37’
Group H		Ref = Marco RODRÍGUEZ (MEX)	Tshwane / Pretoria

 

Switzerland	0	vs.	0	Honduras
–		MotM = Noel VALLADARES (HON)	–
Group H		Ref = Héctor BALDASSI (ARG)	Mangaung / Bloemfontein

 

Group H
Pos.	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	PTS
1	Spain	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6
2	Chile	3	2	0	1	3	2	+1	6
3	Switzerland	3	1	1	1	1	1	0	4
4	Honduras	3	0	1	2	0	3	-3	1

NO surprises in the final order of the teams in this group.

 But this group did throw up a few shocks, most notably Switzerland beating Spain 1-0 in their opening game. Spain are another team that just have not got into their stride yet. If they want to add the World Cup to their Euro 2008 title they need to play better.

Chile have shown themselves to be a strong side, but their lack of discipline in this group could come back to haunt them.

Switzerland and Honduras never really looked like advancing, but Switzerland can take great pride with the fact that they beat Spain.

Zakumi: “Well that’s it for the group stage.”

P92: “The real World Cup starts now.”

World Cup 24/06 – Defending Champions Italy Crash Out

Slovakia	3	vs.	2	Italy
Róbert VITTEK 25’ 73’ Kamil KOPÚNEK 89’		MotM = Róbert VITTEK (SLK)	Antonio DI NATALE 81’ Fabio QUAGLIARELLA 90+2’
Group F		Ref = Howard WEBB (ENG)	Johannesburg – JEP

 

Paraguay	0	vs.	0	New Zealand
–		MotM = Roque SANTA CRUZ (PAR)	–
Group F		Ref = Yuichi NISHIMURA (JAP)	Polokwane

 

Group F
Pos.	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	PTS
1	Paraguay	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
2	Slovakia	3	1	1	1	4	5	-1	4
3	New Zealand	3	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
4	Italy	3	0	2	1	4	5	-1	2

ITALY – the defending World Champions – are sent crashing out of the tournament, finishing bottom of a group I thought they would win with ease. But they played so poorly that they didn’t really deserve to have the title of reigning champions. The 2010 Italy team have become the fourth team in history to be eliminated in the group stage as World Champions. The others are: the 1950 Italy team, the 1966 Brazil team and the 2002 France team. It is also the first time that both of the previous finalists – in this case Italy and France – have been knocked out in the groups. The fact that both of these two finished bottom of their groups shows just how much has changed in four years. In France’s case their manner, in Italy’s case the age of their players.

New Zealand can go home with their heads’ held high. They stayed undefeated in the group, scored two goals and led Italy in their South African adventure. They’ve shown that at times they can play football just as well as they can play Rugby and Cricket.

I thought Paraguay would advance, but not as group winners, and that Slovakia would come third. But yet again I was wrong and we have yet another unexpected team in the last 16. Slovakia played brilliantly against Italy in their 3-2 over them, and if I were the winner of Group E I wouldn’t be expecting and easy match.

Zakumi: “Neither would I. France and Italy out as well as finishing bottom of their groups! LOL!”

P92: “Epic fail!”

Denmark	1	vs.	3	Japan
Jon Dahl TOMASSON 81’		MotM = Keisuke HONDA (JAP)	Keisuke HONDA 17’ Yasuhito ENDŌ 30’ Shinji OKAZAKI 87’
Group E		Ref = Jerome DAMON (RSA)	Rustenburg

 

 

Cameroon	1	vs.	2	Netherlands
Samuel ETO’O 65P’		MotM = Robin VAN PERSIE (NED)	Robin VAN PERSIE 36’ Klaas-Jan HUNTELAAR 83’
Group E		Ref = Pablo POZO (CHI)	Cape Town

 

Group E
Pos.	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	PTS
1	Netherlands	3	3	0	0	5	1	+4	9
2	Japan	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6
3	Denmark	3	1	0	2	3	6	-3	3
4	Cameroon	3	0	0	3	2	5	-3	0

NO surprise to see the Dutch topping this group with ease (no disrespect to the other teams).

I was however surprised to see Japan making it into the last 16 for the first time on foreign soil. They played wonderfully against Denmark after they lucked a win against Cameroon.

Denmark looked like a good side at times. But they were totally outplayed by Japan and if they had have gotten into the last 16; I don’t think that they would have won.

Cameroon were just another team that didn’t turn up, which is a shame because that means yet another African team has fallen in round one.

Zakumi: “Japan have proved they are deadly at free kicks, so watch out Paraguay when you play them on Tuesday.”

P92: “If they play like they did against Denmark they could give the established order a real headache.”

Zakumi: “What’s ‘established order’ at this World Cup?

P92: “Touché.”

Today’s games are:

• Portugal vs. Brazil (The game I’ve most been looking forward to), BBC 1 15:00
• North Korea vs. Côte d’Ivoire, BBC 3 15:00
• Chile vs. Spain, ITV 1 or 4 19:30
• Switzerland vs. Honduras, ITV 1 or 4 19:30

World Cup 21/06 – Portugal’s Magnificent Seven

Portugal	7	vs.	0	North Korea
RAÚL MEIRELES 29’ SIMÃO 53’ HUGO ALMEIDA 56’ TIAGO 60’ 89’ LIÉDSON 81’ CRISTIANO RONALDO 87’		MotM = CRISTIANO RONALDO (POR)	–
Group G		Ref = Pablo POZO (CHI)	Cape Town

THE first 20 minutes or so of this game could have seen either team score a couple of goals each. Portugal came closest in these opening exchanges in a soaking wet Cape Town. After the European team did score the North Korean players started to fade away, but to their credit they played on with great heart and kept themselves 0-1 down at half-time. But Portugal smashed six goals past them in a second half which they utterly dominated. Portugal are now almost certain to qualify along with Brazil for the last 16, whereas North Korea are unceremoniously dumped out of the World Cup.

Zakumi: “What a second half. I can’t wait for Portugal vs. Brazil later this week.”

P92: “That’s been the game I’ve been waiting for ever since the draw was made.”

Chile	1	vs.	0	Switzerland
Mark GONZÁLEZ 75’		MotM = Mark GONZÁLEZ (CHI)	–
Group H		Ref = Khalil AL GHAMDI (KSA)	Nelson Mandela Bay / Port Elizabeth

A MATCH that will be remembered more for its cards than goals unfortunately. The referee seemed to like the colour yellow, as he booked nine players during the match which he never really let off the leash. Unsurprisingly to me, a red card was also shown during the game. Valon Behrami (Switzerland) caught Chile’s Jean Beausejour and Arturo Vidal in the face when they tried to tackle him from behind. Vidal went down like he had been hit with a brick in yet another show of poor sportsmanship in this World Cup. My Dad and I can’t be the only ones finding this entire fake face holding malarkey pathetic and childish can we?   

Zakumi: “Switzerland broke a record in this match. Before Chile scored Switzerland had gone 558 minutes without conceding a goal in a World Cup finals match.”

P92: “They beat Italy’s mark by eight minutes.”

Zakumi: “Don’t steal my moment.”

P92: “Oh, sorry.”

Spain	2	vs.	0	Honduras
David VILLA 17’ 51’		MotM = David VILLA (ESP)	–
Group H		Ref = Yuichi NISHIMURA (JAP)	Johannesburg – JEP

SPAIN knew that if they lost they would go out. But the reigning European Champions showed the world some wonderful football as they somewhat eased passed Honduras. David Villa scored Spain’s two goals on the night, and could have scored a hat-trick were it not for him missing a penalty. Spain should have won by several goals, but misses and off the line clearances prevented Honduras’s night paralleling North Korea’s afternoon.  

Zakumi: “We are now exactly halfway through the 2010 World Cup.”

P92: “And let’s hope that it continues to excite and shock us. Except for when England play.”

Tomorrow’s games are:

• France vs. South Africa, ITV 1 or 4 15:00
• Mexico vs. Uruguay, ITV 1 or 4 15:00
• Greece vs. Argentina, BBC 1 19:30
• Nigeria vs. South Korea, BBC 3 19:30

World Cup 20/06 – New Zealand Show Italy Up At Football Instead of Rugby

Slovakia	0	vs.	2	Paraguay
–		MotM = Enrique VERA (PAR)	Enrique VERA 27’ Cristian RIVEROS 86’
Group F		Ref = Eddy MAILLET (SEY)	Mangaung / Bloemfontein

PARAGUAY thoroughly deserved their 2-0 victory, along with almost certain qualification to the last 16. Slovakia on the other hand never looked like scoring, and now must beat defending champions Italy to have any hope of advancing to the knock-out stage.

Zakumi: “Yet another strong performance by a South American team there.”

P92: “It saddens me to say this but it really does look like the trophy is going to the southern hemisphere again.”

Italy	1	vs.	1	New Zealand
Vincenzo IAQUINTA 29P’		MotM = Daniele DE ROSSI (ITA)	Shane SMELTZ 7’
Group F		Ref = Carlos BATRES (GUA)	Nelspruit

IF you thought New Zealand drawing against Slovakia was a big shock, well take a look at this! The All Whites drew against and led the reigning World Champions Italy. Smeltz’s early goal looked offside, and it wasn’t clear to me looking at the replays if the ball hit an Italian defender or not. But the goal stood. Italy went on the attack for the rest of the game and hit the post soon after they went behind. They did try to get Rory Fallon sent off midway through the first half and their penalty was not a penalty in my eyes, so one iffy goal each evened it up. New Zealand had the world on edge late in the second half when they almost won the game, but the remarkable thing is, is that after two games each in this group New Zealand can still go through and Italy can still go out.  

Zakumi: “Yet another shock! What is going wrong with the big European teams?”

P92: “If I knew that I’d tell you.”

Brazil	3	vs.	1	Côte d’Ivoire
LUÍS FABIANO 25’ 50’ ELANO 62’		MotM = LUÍS FABIANO (BRA)	Didier DROGBA 79’
Group G		Ref = Stéphane LANNOY (FRA)	Johannesburg – JSC

BRAZIL’S first goal really opened up what was turning into a rather dull game. LUÍS FABIANO scored the goal from a tight angle leaving the Côte d’Ivoire keeper stunned. I though his second goal was good enough to be compared to Pelé’s iconic goal in the 1958 final. But the replays showed me that he handled the ball twice. Just call him Henry. After ELANO scored Brazil’s third goal the game seemed over, but the Ivorian icon that is Didier Drogba scored a bullet header to make it 3-1. The game had been blighted by players pretending to be injured, and this came to a head right at the end. Kaká had been booked a few minutes earlier, and he and Kader Keita accidently collided. Keita then went down like he’d been shot and Kaká was ridiculously sent off for violent conduct.

Zakumi: “FIFA have got to stop players acting like this.”

P92: “I know. It makes me sick seeing top level footballers cheating like they did in this game.”    

Tomorrow’s games are:

• Portugal vs. North Korea, BBC 1 12:30 (A repeat of one of the best games in 1966)
• Chile vs. Switzerland, BBC 1 15:00
• Spain vs. Honduras, ITV 19:30

World Cup 16/06 – Switzerland Stun Spain

Honduras	0	vs.	1	Chile
–		MotM = Jean BEAUSEJOUR (CHI)	Jean BEAUSEJOUR 34’
Group H		Ref = Eddy MAILLET (SEY)	Nelspruit

CHILE should have smashed Honduras in this game, but their finishing let them down. When their goal did come, it was quite fortunate. The ball came off a Honduran defender and onto Jean Beausejour. You can’t help but think that Honduras are just happy to be in the World Cup.

Zakumi: “Chile claim they can go all the way to the semis, but not with their finishing the way it is at the moment.”

P92: “Agreed. Happy 16^th birthday by the way Zakumi.”

Zakumi: “Ah, thank you. What did you get me, a Bafana Bafana win?”

P92: “How about a massive upset?”

Zakumi: “What?”

Spain	0	vs.	1	Switzerland
–		MotM = Gelson FERNANDES (SUI)	Gelson FERNANDES 52’
Group H		Ref = Howard WEBB (ENG)	Durban

SWITZERLAND pulled off one of the biggest World Cup upsets of modern times by beating reigning European Champions – and millions of people’s tip to win the tournament – Spain. The Spanish put the Swiss under constant pressure throughout the game, but the closest they came was when XABI ALONSO hit the bar. Switzerland’s goal was scrappy to say the least but it will go down in history. They to hit the woodwork, so it could have been even worse for Spain.

Zakumi: “Brilliant! I wanted a game that goes down in history on my birthday and I got it!”

P92: “See I told you I had a massive upset for you.”

Zakumi: “And a Bafana Bafana win?”

P92: “Er…”

South Africa	0	vs.	3	Uruguay
–		MotM = Diego FORLÁN (URU)	Diego FORLÁN 24’ 80P’ Álvaro PEREIRA 90+5’
Group A		Ref = Massimo BUSACCA (SUI)	Tshwane / Pretoria

URUGUAY outplayed South Africa for the whole match, and a 3-0 win is just what they deserved. The host nation’s keeper Itumeleng Khune conceded the penalty and was sent off. He is only the second goalkeeper to be sent off in a finals match.  It looks increasingly likely now that South Africa will become the first home nation to go out in the group stage. Whereas Uruguay look as if they can do some damage in this tournament.

Zakumi: “What happened?!”

P92: “It’s football mate. It happens.”

Zakumi: “Yeah. I suppose you’re right.”

Tomorrows games are:

• Argentina vs. South Korea, ITV 12:30
• Greece vs. Nigeria, BBC 1 15:00
• France vs. Mexico, BBC 1 19:30

World Cup 15/06 – David Takes on Goliath

New Zealand	1	vs.	1	Slovakia
Winston REID 90+3’		MotM = Róbert VITTEK (SLK)	Róbert VITTEK 50’
Group F		Ref = Jerome DAMON (RSA)	Rustenburg

NEW ZEALAND earned a well deserved and historic draw against Slovakia. The All Whites secured their first ever points at a World Cup when Winston Reid scored in the very last minute. Slovakia seemed to think that one goal was enough for them to win and top the group.

Zakumi: “But how wrong were they?”

P92: “Very as it turns out. The New Zealanders must feel like they have just won the World Cup.”

Côte d’Ivoire	0	vs.	0	Portugal
–		MotM = Cristiano RONALDO (POR)	–
Group G		Ref = Jorge LARRIONDA (URU)	Nelson Mandela Bay / Port Elizabeth

THIS game promised so much, and yet delivered so, so little.

Zakumi: “The only thing I can remember from it is Cristiano Ronaldo hitting the post and diving.”

P92: “Let’s not sugar-coat it, he cheated and on more than one occasion. He even conned the ref into booking another player.”

Brazil	2	vs.	1	North Korea
MAICON 55’ ELANO 72’		MotM = MAICON (BRA)	JI Yun-Nam 89’
Group G		Ref = Viktor KASSAI (HUN)	Johannesburg – JEP

NORTH KOREA not only stunned Brazil, but the whole footballing world when they went in at half-time with the scores at 0-0. You never would’ve known the world No. 1s and five times World Champions were playing the world No. 105s. Brazil did merit their two goals based on their efforts, but North Korea surprised everyone with a world class goal late on. They had a chance to draw the match, but it just wasn’t to be. If I were North Korea, I’d fancy my chances against Portugal and Côte d’Ivoire.

Zakumi: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw Jong Tae Se crying when the North Korean national anthem was playing.”

P92: “It surprised me as well; I’ve never seen any player do that before. Can I take my North Korea shirt off now?”

Zakumi: “Yeah. In fact England can learn something from North Korea about defending.”

P92: “Easy mate.”

Tomorrows games are:

• Honduras vs. Chile, ITV 12:30
• European Champions Spain vs. Switzerland w/ English ref Howard Webb, BBC 1 15:00
• Hosts South Africa vs. Uruguay, BBC 1 19:30