Awwww, Poor Ronaldo

Yes, I just gave away the result of the Portugal vs Spain game. I can't help but celebrate whenever Christiano Ronaldo is faced with hardship, sorry. Today brought us the end of the round of sixteen games and it was a fantastic finish to an excellent round of soccer. I may have spoiled the result of Portugal vs Spain, but there is still the defensive struggle between Paraguay and Japan to discuss, plus I'll still give my thoughts on Spain's victory. The last day of this round may have given us fewer goals than any other, but that does not mean that it was any less exciting.


Japan vs Paraguay

The fact that this was a defensive battle should not lessen our view on the quality of the game as the tactics by each side were impressive to watch. Paraguay played good, aggressive defense that mostly kept Japan out of the offensive third and limited their chances in front of net. Japan played a softer style of defense, but they did very well to shut down chances once they came and the number of blocked shots, while implying a more risky style, was still something to behold. The match started very even with each team unable to get into any sort of rhythm due to the pressure and discipline from their opponents. Most of the play was in the neutral third of the field and, despite brief forays into the offensive zones, neither side created any serious chances. The 20th minute brought about the first chance for Paraguay and set the tone for how the game would be played: discipline and organization leading the way, only stepping aside to superior individual effort. In this case, an excellent turn by Lucas Barrios put him in on goal but his shot was stopped by Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima, who had an excellent match. Japan responded in the very next minute when Daisuke Matsui stepped into a loose ball and ripped a dipping shot that looked like it would clear the keeper but rang off the crossbar instead of ending in the back of the net. Paraguay had their next chance in the 29th when the ball fell to Roque Santa Cruz off of a corner kick, but his shot went wide thanks in part to excellent pressure from Japanese forward Keisuke Honda. Matsui was again dangerous for Japan in the 40th minute when some nifty dribbling got him free of his marker on the right side and a quick 1-2 played him into space. He put a pass into Honda that Honda controlled and then struck with the outside of his foot, but the ball curved just past the left post rather than occupying the back pocket of the net. Each team did well with their few high quality chances, but neither could gain the advantage on the scoreboard.

It's hard to describe the rest of this match in terms of chances, but unfortunately solid defense and excellent tactics don't make for excellent writing or reading. I would just like to make clear that the lack of chances for either side did not come from ineptness on offense, but rather from the high quality of defense that both kept the opposing side out of the danger areas as well as closed down chances that were beginning to form. I can't begin to list the number of times an attack was building well, but then a smart tackle or decisive header saved things for the side under siege. This seemed especially true for Japan as they often started their attacks well but couldn't put the final shot on goal to finish it off and make an opportunity worth writing about. Paraguay was the stronger team in general in this match though, putting on more pressure and possessing the ball more. They had a solid chance in the 59th when Claudio Morel Rodriguez played an excellent ball in from the left but Christian Riveros' well hit header was unfortunately directly at the keeper. Regulation finished still at 0-0 so extra time was needed to determine a winner. Paraguay had the better chances again, such as in the 95th minute when a cross came in from the left and Barrios put an excellent glancing header on goal. However, the angle was too poor to do much more than send the ball directly into Kawashima yet again. Substitute Nelson Haedo Valdez had Paraguay's last good chance in the 97th when he turned perfectly into the box but couldn't elevate the ball over Kawashima, who made an excellent decision to come charging off his line. Extra time ended at 0-0 as well, so we would have our first match determined by penalty kicks.

Not sure how exactly to break down a shoot out because describing each goal would be boring as hell, but I'll do what I can. Kawashima was the better keeper in my opinion as he guessed correctly on each of the first two shots and would have saved the second one were it not for an unlucky bounce over his well-placed outstretched arm. I also have to say that I loved Yasuhito Endo's PK. Once the referee blew the whistle, Endo stayed in place for a few extra seconds staring at the ball, then looked directly into the keeper's eyes for a second or two, and then calmly buried his shot high to the right. Cold as ice and I love it. Paraguay got the break though when Yuichi Komano struck his PK off the crossbar and suddenly Japan was behind a goal. They never caught up and Oscar Cardozo finished the match off with a well struck kick. Paraguay would move on to the quarterfinals while Japan went home. It's hard to not feel for Komano on this as no one wants to miss the decisive penalty kick. Still, I enjoyed watching Japan in every game they played and Keisuke Honda was an absolute revelation for me. I had probably seen him play a game or two with CSK Moscow and not known it but good god is he talented. Here's hoping he's one of the World Cup success stories that hits it big after a strong performance. Regardless of my love of Japan's national team, Paraguay were the better team in this match and they deserve to move on. Now, let's see how well they match up against Spain.

Paraguay 0 (5) - 0 (3) Japan


Portugal vs Spain

Much was made of this battle for the Iberian Peninsula, but I was personally just looking forward to an interesting, well played match. The big question was whether or not the pinpoint Spanish passing could break down a well organized and athletic Portugal team that would focus their efforts on defense. In the early going, Spain looked like they would emphatically answer that question, perhaps several times over. They tested the right side of the Portuguese defense severely and almost came away with early goals for both their strikers. In the very first minute, Fernando Torres cut in from the left and tried to place a ball at the back post. Portuguese keeper Eduardo was up to the task however, and not enough can be said about how well he played during this match. Eduardo made several conventional saves and several fantastic saves and generally kept his defensive-minded teammates in the match. David Villa tried his luck in a manner similar to Torres in the 3rd and 7th minutes, both shots requiring saves by Eduardo. It looked like Ricardo Costa would collapse at any minute and let in the all important first goal, but Portugal regrouped and began to stunt the Spanish attack.

The possession wasn't 100% Spain however, and Portugal did get some chances in this match. In the 21st, Tiago tested Iker Casillas with a shot from outside the 18 and Casillas did stop it, but popped the ball up in the air and then had to punch the ball away from Hugo Almeida, who was smartly crashing the net. Almeida got his own chance in the 39th off of a cross into the box from Raul Meireles, but couldn't get on the end of a well struck ball. Portugal then almost got a lucky goal off of Spain in the 52nd when Almeida put a cross into the box that Carles Puyol was forced to get a thigh to because Ronaldo was lurking behind him. The deflection proved dangerous though as it floated over Casillas and just wide of the back post. Despite these chances for Portugal, and they definitely did get others on counters and smartly held possession, this game was all about Spain endeavoring to break down the tight Portuguese defense. Spain was reluctant to throw everything forward because of how worried they were about a Portuguese counter attack (and rightfully so), so they played possession soccer and attacked carefully, testing each angle of the defense before making their final move. I think they could have benefited from someone like Jesus Navas or Cesc Fabregas coming into the match because they are players willing to take someone off the dribble and create more chaos among the defenders, but it is hard to argue with the results of who was on the field.

Spain's most dangerous time of the match outside of the first few minutes started in the 60th and ended in the result that they needed the most. The first chance was a pinpoint cross in from Sergio Ramos that substitute Fernando Llorente put a great diving header on, but could do nothing more than direct it right at Eduardo since the biggest challenge was getting to the cross in the first place. A minute later, Villa was at it again, cutting into the middle just as before and unleashing a curling, dipping shot that missed the back post by a foot or so at most. Then in the 63rd, the Spanish team got what they had been trying for all along. A clever backheel from Xavi freed Villa for a run in at goal from the lefthand side. Eduardo did well to charge out and block the initial shot, but the rebound fell back to Villa and he smartly elevated the ball and put it off of the underside of the crossbar and in. This is what David Villa does. He scores goals. 42 goals in 62 international appearances now? That's just ridiculous. This was the goal that broke the back of the Portuguese and while they valiantly searched for the equalizer, it was not to be and the patience of the Spanish attack won the day.

Spain 1 - 0 Portugal


Wow, what a fantastic round of games. We thankfully only had one match decided by a shoot out and even if every game wasn't a nailbiter, they were still all entertaining as hell to watch. I would obviously have rather seen the United States pull off a win against Ghana (still pretty bitter over that), but other than that, it's very tough to complain. And now, we have Germany vs Argentina and Brazil vs Holland to look forward to, with Spain still lurking in the wings. Plus the underdog stories of Ghana, Uruguay and Paraguay. This is shaping up to be an excellent, excellent final eight so do what you need to in order to enjoy these matches. I know I will. As always, thanks for reading.

The Favorites Hold Serve Again

Since the title of today's post obviously doesn't refer to Andy Roddick (goddamn it), you can assume I'm talking about the favorites in the round of sixteen. The only result that could be possibly be considered an upset was Ghana's win over the United States and I have a tough time believing that was much more than a toss-up in most people's books. Yesterday we had perennial powerhouses Germany and Argentina taking care of business and today we would find out if Holland and Brazil could do likewise. Unsurprisingly, they managed.


Slovakia vs Holland

Slovakia did have a great chance early on in the 2nd minute when Erik Jendrisek got open at the top of the 18 and put his shot just over. Unfortunately for Slovakia, it would be their only opportunity of the first half as Holland dominated the rest of possession and got the majority of the chances. The first of these chances came in the 7th when Dirk Kuyt picked Robin Van Persie out with a perfect cross, but Van Persie wasted Kuyt's good play by mistiming the header. He made up for it in the 11th minute when he made a good run through defenders and then laid the ball off to Wesley Sneijder, who wasted his chance by shooting right at keeper Jan Mucha. He made up for it in the 18th minute when he played a perfect one time ball up from the back that Arjen Robben ran onto in space. Robben crossed his defender over and took the ball towards the center of the field, ripping a left footed shot past Mucha and inside the right post. Fantastic pass by Sneijder to start Robben on the break and a superb bit of skill from Robben to beat his defender and get off a shot, with an assist to Van Persie for making a smart run behind Robben to draw a potential defender on Robben away. Great play by the Dutch and they looked to be in a strong position to take the game over.

The Dutch held possession for the rest of the first half, but really just knocked the ball around rather than going hard at the Slovaks. They were very patient in their passing and only looked to seriously threaten once or twice. In the second half however, they ramped up their pressure and started actively seeking the second goal that would, in all likelihood, put them through to the next round. In the 50th minute, Robben made a run almost identical to his goal scoring endeavor by cutting to the inside only this time his lefty shot was aimed at the back post and Mucha was forced to make a fantastic save. Robben was at it again in the very next minute, only this time he was working on the left wing before putting a ball into Van Persie who promptly hit a sprawling Mucha in the face with his shot. It was amusing to hear the announcers talk about the great save the keeper made when in reality he got struck in the face, but it was his good positioning that saved him (sort of) and kept Slovakia in the game.

Mucha's teammates made the most of his heroics by finally getting some shots on goal to test Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg. In the 67th, Miroslav Stoch made a Robbenesque run across the top of the 18 and put a high shot on goal that Stekelenburg was forced to touch over. Later in the 67th, Robert Vittek received the ball at the top of the 18 in an onside position, turned quickly to face goal and clear his defender, then calmly took his shot on net. His poise in this situation was excellent, but Vittek put the shot too close to Stekelenburg as the keeper made a fantastic save with his top hand as he went to ground, anticipating a low shot. Great reaction save by the Dutch keeper, but as well as he did to take his time, Vittek has to give the keeper no shot and just bury that in a corner. Holland made them pay for wasting their chances in the 84th minute when Kuyt beat Mucha to a ball out wide on the left (perhaps Mucha's only mistake of the match), then settled the ball and waited for the filling runs, feeding Sneijder perfectly so that all he had to do was pass the ball into the back of the net. Kuyt showed great hustle and composure on this shot and Holland was into the quarterfinals. Slovakia did bring the game back to a one goal margin in the 94th when Vittek converted on a well taken penalty kick, but it was too little too late as that was to be the match's last play. Some comfort for Vittek though, as that goal made him the all time goal scoring leader in Slovakia. Unfortunately, it was as his team was knocked out of the World Cup.

Holland 2 - 1 Slovakia


Chile vs Brazil

This match had the chance to be an exciting up-and-down match with plenty of chances for both sides as Brazil has all the skill in the world while Chile loves to play a fast paced, attacking brand of soccer. Rather than the tense contest some of us were expecting, we were instead shown exactly why Brazil is considered the best team in the world. Brazil dominated this match in terms of possession and chances and still didn't look like they were finding their highest gear yet, as they were content to play the ball around for much of the first half and only looked to attack when they had an obvious path to goal. Early on they settled for shots from distance, like in the 8th from Gilberto Silva that Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo was forced to make a diving save on, and in the 12th from Ramires that Bravo did well to smother and not let a rebound free on. Brazil's patience paid off in the 34th when Juan made his run behind three other Brazilian runs to get free and got his head on the end of a Maicon corner kick to bury the ball just underneath the crossbar. Great out-swinging ball from Maicon and a fantastic run and even better header from Juan. Brazil put the game seemingly out of reach just a few minutes later in the 38th when Robinho made a run down the left and passed into the middle for Kaka who quickly played the ball through to Luis Fabiano. Fabiano smartly touched the ball around the keeper and then calmly finished to put Brazil up by two and cap a fantastic sequence of passes.

Brazil kept applying the pressure and never let Chile see the ball for long enough for CONMEBOL's second place qualifiers to get into a rhythm. Alexis Sanchez and substitute Jorge Valdivia were able to make some interesting moments with their surges forward, but Brazil was defending way to well and was in command of the match. Brazil put the game firmly out of reach (as if it wasn't out of reach already) on a counter run by Ramires who set up Robinho at the top of the 18, dead center. Robinho wasted no time and hit a disgusting one touch shot that curled around Bravo and swung back inside the post for Brazil's third goal. Great surge forward by Ramires to do the dirty work but this is all about Robinho's brilliant shot which almost no keeper would have had a shot at. It's hard to say this about any keeper who gives up three goals in a match, but it's hard to envision Bravo playing any better. Yet Brazil is that good and still won 3-0. Humberto Suazo provided some entertaining moments for Chile after the Robinho goal, but nothing could be done about being down 3-0 to Brazil as the five-time World Cup champions steamrolled their way to a quarterfinal match-up with Holland.

Brazil 3 - 0 Chile


It's hard to look ahead with tomorrow's excellent Portugal vs Spain and Paraguay vs Japan matches, but I'm already drooling in anticipation over Argentina vs Germany and Holland vs Brazil. It may be an elimination round marked by the advancement of the favorites so far, but that's fine as it makes for some incredible matches along the way. Couldn't be happier with the quality of play so far and I'm already looking forward to what comes next.

Making Their Case for Best in the World

Today was lined up as a great day of soccer with two high quality matches: England vs Germany and Mexico vs Argentina. The English side had played quite poorly in the group stages, but still had the talent to pose a real threat to the Germans, who had only dropped one game, the game in which they played with ten men for two-thirds of the time. With these two soccer powers meeting in the round of sixteen, it was somewhat surprising to think about one of them going home already. Still, only one could move on and it was time to find out who.


England vs Germany

The first fifteen or so minutes of the game were somewhat dull as each team was testing the other out, trying to find the best places to attack. As a result, possession was held pretty evenly, though Germany seemed to do slightly more with the ball rather than just hold onto it and knock it around. The only real chance of this early patient period was when Mesut Ozil was played through on a nice chip over the English back line. He was able to put a shot on goal from a poor angle, but keeper David James denied his attempt. This weakness to balls played over the top would come back to burn England in the 20th minute when Miroslav Klose somehow was able to split two defenders on a long ball forward by the keeper Manuel Neuer and then touch it past James for the first goal of the game. This was terrible, terrible marking by the English defenders but also a bad job by James staying rooted to the line and only coming out when it was too late. Even with the bad play by England, credit must be given to Klose for fighting through the defenders and finishing well.

England seemed to be lacking creativity throughout this match as they couldn't find a way through the German defense on most of their attacks. They almost looking confused and befuddled when they had the ball and tried to push everything through the middle rather than get the wings involved. Germany pushed their wingers into the play well and this was perhaps the reason England didn't get wide as much. In the 30th, Sami Khedira set up Thomas Muller with a nifty backheel and Muller played through to Ozil who tried to elevate the ball over James but couldn't clear the keeper. Germany was pushing to take further control of the game with their second goal and it came in the 32nd minute when Klose played a clever chip to work Muller in behind the defense. Rather than take the shot himself, Muller crossed to Lukas Podolski who got the ball onto his favored left foot and blasted the ball across the face of goal and off the back post and in. Fantastic finish from Podolski and excellent quick passing by Germany which has been their trademark in this tournament.

After this second goal, England seemed to come alive and actually play up to their potential. In the 35th, James Milner put in a nice cross to Frank Lampard at the near post, but Neuer was just barely able to get his arm up to deflect the shot away. Neuer was fantastic all game long, but even he couldn't stop England in the 37th minute when Steven Gerrard found Matthew Upson in the middle with a cross and Upson buried the header for England's first goal. By all accounts, they should have had their second in the very next minute when Lampard dipped a volley over the head of Neuer and off the underside of the crossbar and in. However, neither the referee nor his assistant saw the ball cross the line and when the ball bounced back up, it hit the crossbar and then came down again, but this time in front of the goal line. Since they didn't see the ball over the line initially, they were fooled by the path of the ball after that and no goal was awarded. This was a terrible miss by the officiating crew and it changed the entire complexion of the game. Rather than England being able to essentially reset the game by tying it up, they were instead still pushing from behind to catch the Germans and Germany was able to take advantage of that.

England was starting to finally get into an offensive rhythm at the end of the first half and they were able to carry that over into the second half as well as they tried to get level (again). In the 52nd, Lampard ambitiously lined up a free kick from far out on the right side and, to everyone's surprise but his own, put a rocket of a shot on goal that clanged off the crossbar. England kept pressing after that and were pressing again when they were finally undone by it. Off of a failed corner, Gareth Barry took a terrible touch on the ball to give it away to the Germans and all of the sudden, Germany was on the break as most of the English defenders were left in their offensive zone after coming up for the corner. Bastian Schweinsteiger took control of the breakout and brought it back to the middle before playing a pretty through ball that Muller buried in the back of the net. Excellent counter by the Germans but there were still mistakes by the English that allowed the goal to happen. Glen Johnson had a chance to tackle Schweinsteiger off the ball but pulled back in case he fouled him, which is actually what he should have done even if it earned him a card.. Then before Muller's shot, James guessed far post and started to fall that way, taking him completely out of position when Muller aimed a good, but savable shot at the near post. Germany made these arguments over who was to blame academic just three minutes later when Ozil beat Barry to a long ball down the left flank, carried the ball calmly into the box, and found a streaking Muller towards the back post and Muller made no mistake. Two daggers in the span of four minutes, and this game was over for England. Fantastic performance by Germany with sloppy defense by England, but it would still be nice to know how things would have gone if Lampard's goal had counted and England had tied things at 2-2 in the first half.

Germany 4 - 1 England


Mexico vs Argentina

Here was a chance for revenge for Mexico as Argentina knocked them out last tournament in the round of sixteen on Maxi Rodriguez's absurdly difficult side volley into the back corner of the goal. Coming into this match, it was hard to envision anyone beating Argentina however, as they had ran through their first three games with little difficulty and were an early favorite to take home the title of world champions. It was hard to see that early on though as Mexico had the best chances on goal and almost took the early lead. Carlos Salcido started things off in the 8th minute with a nice shot from distance that keeper Sergio Romero didn't seem to see until it was already past him. Luckily for Romero and Argentina, the shot struck the crossbar and the game stayed scoreless. The very next minute though, Andres Guardado took an outside of the foot shot that barely scooted past the left post. If this ball had been curling in rather than out, it would have ended up in the back of the net rather than bouncing off the placards beside the goal. Mexico was being denied goals at the very last stage whereas Argentina's attacks were missing that last touch or last dribble or last past that would put them through. Several times they had attempts blocked, or had their dribbling attackers closed off by Mexican defenders at the last minute. Tense times for both fans that made for an exciting early part of the match.

Things had just started to slow down due to the intense Mexican pressure keeping the Argentina attack from building, when Argentina broke through and got on the board first, albeit controversially. It's no surprise that it was Lionel Messi with the creativity to get things going as he slotted the ball through to Carlos Tevez who had his original chance stopped by keeper Oscar Perez. The ball dropped to Messi though and the superstar flipped the ball forward to Tevez who headed it in for the goal. The problem was that Tevez was obviously in an offside position and for some reason, the referee's assistant missed it. Really, this was an easy call as the official was in a perfect position to see Tevez but inexplicably kept the flag down. The referee conferred with his assistant as they were mobbed by Mexican players appealing for an offsides call, but the goal stood and Argentina was unfairly put up 1-0. It would soon be 2-0 in the 33rd minute when Mexican defender Ricardo Osorio badly misplayed the ball and left it for Gonzalo Higuain, who jumped at the chance. Higuain held off Osario on his back while cleverly touching the ball around Perez before finishing into the open goal. An unforgivable mistake by Osario, but a lovely bit of skill from Higuain to make the most of the opportunity. Argentina put down the pedal after this and Mexico was lucky to make it to the break only down by two goals.

That didn't last long, however, as a wonderful individual effort from Tevez put Argentina up 3-0. Tevez had his initial pass blocked, but the ball squirted out to his right and Tevez stepped into a rocket of a shot from around twenty-five yards out that Perez never had a chance at. The ball sailed into the right corner of the goal and Mexico looked to be heading home again to Argentina and again in the round of sixteen. They never gave up though and created opportunities going forward. Substitute Pablo Barrera made a nice run along the goal line in the 60th minute but put his shot into the side netting. Then in the 63rd, Javier Hernandez got open in the box for a header on goal but put it over the top instead of in the back of the net. This was a fantastic opportunity for Hernandez and one he absolutely had to do better with. He did better in the 71st minute when his quick turn beat his defender and his shot roofed the keeper at the near post to put Mexico on the board. Unfortunately for them, it was too little too late as Argentina won their fourth straight game and moved on to the quarterfinals.

Argentina 3 - 1 Mexico


Despite the lopsided final scores, both of these games were quite competitive for most of the time. Both Argentina and Germany were too much for their opponents however, and have perhaps been the most impressive teams in this tournament so far. Perennial powerhouse Brazil may have something to say about that tomorrow when they take on Chile in what could be a highly entertaining affair. Holland are no slouches either and they try to make quick work of defensive minded Slovakia and their talented striker Robert Vittek. Great elimination games today and I can only hope that tomorrow's will be up to snuff. Thank you all for reading and keep enjoying these matches.

It Wasn't Enough, But Thanks for the Memories

Today was the beginning of the elimination rounds and I couldn't be happier. While there was definitely some high drama in some of the group stage matches, most notably being the United States vs Algeria game, nothing can quite compare to the elimination matches where you know that if you lose, you're out. I started off the day incredibly on edge about the USA vs Ghana game later in the day, but first there was the Uruguay vs South Korea game to take in. Luckily, we started things off fantastically.


South Korea vs Uruguay

This game started with a bang, or perhaps a thwump, when Park Chu-Yung took a free kick from the left side off the box and curled it off the near post. It was a very, very well taken kick and a bit unlucky for South Korea because the keeper was beaten on the shot. Uruguay made them pay immediately when Diego Forlan was able to turn away from two defenders and put a deceptively quick cross along the face of goal in the 8th minute. South Korean keeper Jung Sung-Ryong was unable to get to the ball and Luis Suarez took the gift at the back post and put it in the open net. Forlan created the chance (as he often does), Suarez finished calmly (which is unsurprising), but the key to this play was the keeper not getting to the ball. If you are going to come out and leave your net completely exposed, you absolutely have to get a touch to the ball at least to divert it. Regardless of blame or competence, South Korea was now in a hole that they desperately needed to get out of.

Uruguay played more defensively after scoring the opening goal, but it was a high pressure defense rather than a soft version that would allow the Koreans to make it into the offensive third before clogging the middle and denying chances. The best way I can describe how Uruguay played would be by comparing it to an aggressive forecheck in hockey. Defenders put pressure on nearly any Korean player with the ball and easy simple balls along the ground up from the fullbacks were challenged. I didn't count how many times a South Korean player was stripped of the ball fifty plus feet from goal, but it happened over and over in the first half. South Korea retained much of their game plan despite being down a goal and played disciplined defense while looking for the counter. Because of these two styles clashing, there were a lot of turnovers in the midfield and it was generally a game played in the neutral third with not much continuous possession by either side. South Korea has a couple of half chances, including a shot wide by Park Chu-Young and a dipping shot over the top by Cha Du-Ri, but the half ended with Uruguay still up a goal and South Korea looking for answers to their persistent defense.

Whatever the South Korean coach said at halftime, it worked because South Korea came out as the obviously better team in the second half. I don't know if it was because South Korea strung together more passes together in midfield and forced them out of it, or if Uruguay made a tactical defensive change, but there was no more high pressure as Uruguay shifted to more of a defensive shell strategy, a strategy that I was not a huge fan of as it ran counter to the good that Uruguay had done with their other system. As a result, South Korea started piling up offensive chances that presented a serious menace to Uruguay. Park Chu-Young dummied a ball in the 50th that left Kim Jae-Sung with an excellent chance, but he couldn't beat his defender to the ball. Then a minute later, Kim Jae-Sung had an open shot in the box but put it just over the bar when he should have done much better and at least challenged the keeper. Cha Du-Ri put an excellent cross into the box in the 59th minute and Park Ji-Sung flashed an superb header on goal but couldn't get enough power on it and Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera was able to save it fully outstretched on a dive. All of this led to the 68th minute when a defensive header by Uruguay only popped up in the air toward the back post and Lee Chung-Yong connected on his header to bring South Korea back to level. This was a long time coming for the Koreans and was much deserved as they had dominated up to this point in the second half.

To their credit, Uruguay flipped the proverbial switch after this goal and really controlled the game until the final whistle. Suarez was the man of the second half as he was everywhere, challenging defenders and making creative runs. In the 73rd and 74th minutes, he beat the offsides trap twice to get in on goal. The first time he launched a shot at the near post upper ninety from a bad angle that the keeper was forced to save and the second time he badly misjudged a header and put it harmlessly over the endline. He was looking very dangerous though and Uruguay did in general as well. It made you wonder why Uruguay seemed content to sit back and defend when they obviously had this ability to seek out a second goal and at the very least counter the South Korean attack. Whatever the tactics were, right or wrong, Uruguay had their form back and unsurprisingly it was Suarez that made their good play count in the 80th minute. On the left hand side of goal, he was able to shake his defender and cut in slightly to the right before curling a perfectly, perfectly placed ball that rang off the inside of the far post and into the back of the net. Magic. Absolute magic. One of the contenders for goal of the tournament, though I think I still prefer David Villa's run and upper ninety shot to put Spain on the board against Honduras. Regardless of overall accolades, Suarez's individual effort was fantastic and gave Uruguay the lead they needed to make it through to the quarterfinals. This was an amazing game to watch and an amazing start to the knockout rounds. I give all credit to South Korea, but Uruguay was simply the better team today.

Uruguay 2 - 1 South Korea


Ghana vs United States

I was incredibly nervous about this game going in because I know that Ghana's strengths lay in solid wing play and Asamoah Gyan creating from his striker position. The first blow came when the starting lineups came out and to be honest, I was livid. First complaint: Jonathan Bornstein starting. I know that Oguchi Onyewu would most likely be scratched due to health, but I thought that coach Bob Bradley needed to do everything he could to keep Bornstein off the field because he can't contain wingers with pace. Second complaint: Ricardo Clark starting over Maurice Edu. How do you bench the holding midfielder that played through an intense victory over Algeria? Why would you mess with a successful starting lineup? There was no reason to keep Edu on the bench to start the game and putting in Clark, the worst of all the US options at central middie, was unforgivable. Third complaint: Robbie Findley starting over Edson Buddle or Hercules Gomez. I understand Bradley has gone with Findley whenever he could but his pace is not enough to make up for his lack of touch on the ball and general unimpressive play up top. Both Buddle and Gomez have that "maybe they'll score right now" quality. Findley doesn't and I can't believe he started. In my opinion, Bradley was zero for three on important decisions before even hitting the field.

It's worth noting here that we watched this game at our local bar, Irish Village, which is an excellent place to watch a match like this. Enough people to get good reactions but not enough people to make it too crowded to move. Fantastic bar. Because of how we chose to watch the game, I did not take notes so you'll be getting emotional outbursts and an analysis based on memory. Since the latter is not my strong suit, be ready for a reactionary response to the match.

Fuck. Five minutes into the game, Clark proved why he should never had started this game. He tried to take on a defender in the defensive third when he had no reason to and was rightfully stripped of the ball. Kevin Prince-Boateng did an excellent job of progressing play, crossing over defender Jay DeMerit, and slotting a shot inside the left post leaving Tim Howard with little chance at a save. This was a bad, bad turnover from Clark and unfortunately the US were punished for his transgression. Credit to Prince-Boateng for remaining calm and having the intelligence to set up his left foot for the near side shot. Howard could perhaps have played tighter to the near post but it's easy to nitpick when you get 583 different views from 25 different angles. The moral of the story is the Clark gave the ball away terribly when he didn't need to and Prince-Boateng finished well.

After the goal, the US didn't seem to get their sense of urgency going. They seemed content to play mostly as they had coming into the game, trying to get a counter off of their defensive efforts. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Clark forced a change when he went recklessly into a Ghanaian player and drew a yellow card for the poor challenge. Great. So not only did our worst player on the field turn over the ball when he had no cause to, but he also took a stupid yellow by trying to rashly make-up for his mistake. I still can't believe Bradley started him. Thankfully, Edu was substituted for Clark in the 31st minute and order was restored. I can appreciate Bob Bradley essentially admitting he was wrong by taking out a player in the first half when an injury wasn't involved, but that still doesn't explain why he was started in the first place. Clark proved exactly why he should have been on the bench at the start of the match and hopefully Edu could do something to rescue the US from this hole.

It can't be said enough how devastating this was for the US fans in the bar. In three out of the four games, the US had given up a goal in the opening fifteen minutes of the match and it was simply deflating. Now your team needs to come back from a goal down and then score the go-ahead goal to get a win. I don't understand why the US needs to be losing in order to play their best, but they do and maybe this was actually what they needed. It took some time for the US to get moving again, but once they did, they started hitting the forwards with through and long balls and got them involved in the match. Altidore specifically had a great game by being able to hold the ball on forward attacks and distribute appropriately. The US created chances but Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingson played a fantastic game and was able to shut down most of what the US pushed forward. The match went into halftime still at 1-0 and we started to wonder what Bradley would do coming out of the half. Though I dogged Bradley for his decisions at the start of the match, he has a track record of making fantastic substitutions based on the need of the match, so I had faith in him putting a good team out on the field. His response to being down a goal at half was to sub in Benny Feilhaber for Findley and I fully agreed with this. Feilhaber has been fantastic as a substitute and he had the potential to give the US a much needed spark moving forward.

In response to the changes and the obstacles in front of them, the US came out and played a great second half. For the first twenty or so minutes. the US was the obviously better team and created chance after chance. I'd love to tell you exactly what they were, but I didn't note when they pushed forward well due to the general lack of note-taking. The crowd in the bar was anxious, not because they didn't believe, but because everyone knew that the US needed a goal and no one was sure when it might actually come. As it turns out, it came in the 62nd minute when Dempsey was cleared out on a great run through the right hand side of the box. After touching the ball around a defender, Dempsey has a great chance at a pass/shot option but was tackled hard by Jonathan Mensah. The penalty resulted in a free kick and Landon Donovan stepped up to the spot with the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. Donovan got Kingson guessing the wrong way, but he struck the ball off of the inside of the post before it nestled in the back of the net. Jesus God this PK gave me a heart attack. I saw Donovan beat the keeper but it wasn't until I saw the ball firmly in the goal before I could truly celebrate. I mean, it was the perfect PK since it gave the keeper absolutely no chance, but it's not exactly something you aim for. Regardless, excellent take by Donovan and the US was back to level.

The rest of the second half played out fairly normally. The US had chances, Ghana had chances, and some of them were very close. But no one could find the back of the net and we finished out the first ninety minutes even at 1-1. The entire bar was nervous. Everyone knew what was needed but anything could happen in the overtime period so you can't take anything for granted. As it turns out, Ghana had the superior play in the extra frames as Asamoah Gyan split the US defense in the 93rd minute by chesting the ball down to his left foot and putting a spectacular shot over Howard. This was absolutely devastating, but there is no denying the skill involved. Gyan settled the ball incredibly well while still streaking to goal and then lifted a shot just past a sliding DeMerit and a committed Howard. It pains me to give credit to this goal, but it is just. This was a fantastic play by Gyan and this is why he is regarded as the next possible African superstar. The US tried to comeback from this and did put some very close chances on and around goal, but it just wasn't enough. Ghana held on for the last twenty-seven minutes and made it through to the next round.

Ghana 2 - 1 United States


This was painful. It is always terrible to see your team lose but I would say that it's even worse to see it happen in the World Cup, the only truly high caliber international competition (sorry Olympics, your sports don't matter nearly as much), and one that only comes around every four years. The crowd at the bar was deflated and there's really no way to describe it. You hate seeing your team lose and it's even worse when it's your country as well. It will be tough to get over this, but credit has to go to Ghana for their win. They played a fantastic match and deserved to go through as they did. Gyan is already making a name for himself in this tournament and this will only add to his hype. I liked Ghana a lot going into this match and while I'm sorry to see the US lose (of course), I will be pulling for Ghana from here on out. The last African side making a deep run into this tournament would be a great storyline and something that is well deserved for such a quality side. The US can only sit back now and wonder at would have been, but we can at least take heart in making it this far and coming so close. I will never be an American apologist when it comes to soccer and I still think the US should have done better. That being said, I can't bitch and moan about losing a game where the opposing side did more with the chances that were given to them. It was a fantastic run and for all of the heartbreak that I feel right now, I will still always have Donovan's goal against Algeria to push me forward. I still think that the future for US soccer is bright and I have no doubt that we'll be back here in four years to try again. Thank you for what you did and thanks for the memories.

Thanks For Mailing It In

Today's games had the potential to be absolutely fantastic. Looking at the schedule at the start of the tournament, there's no way that you wouldn't have circled Brazil vs Portugal as one of the best match-ups of the group stage. Then once Spain lost their first match to Switzerland and everyone saw Chile dazzle in their victory over Honduras, you had to think that Spain vs Chile would be high drama as Spain would almost definitely need a win to move on. Unfortunately, the Brazil vs Portugal game was sandbagged last week when Brazil beat Ivory Coast and Portugal put up seven(!) goals on North Korea. With the Ivory Coast needing to make up nine goals in differential, there was almost no way that Portugal was going to take any risks against the Brazilians. I chose to watch that game anyway as there was no excitement in Ivory Coast vs North Korea, but even knowing how low the stakes were going in I still managed to be disappointed.


Portugal vs Brazil

The first fifteen minutes or so played out exactly as you would expect. Brazil held the ball more, as is their nature, but almost no serious chances were created for either side and cautiousness was the general mode of play. In the 18th, Raul Meireles put an excellent chip in from the left side looking for Tiago at the top of the penalty area, but he swung and missed on his volley. It was a half chance at best and it would have been quite impressive if he had connected, but it showed good creativity from Meireles and hell, it was the first interesting thing that happened in the match. Then in the 24th minute, Dani Alves put his third corner into the head of the first defender at the side of the six, further fueling my hatred of him. Really, I have this slightly irrational hatred of Dani Alves. He bitches and moans after any call that goes against him, and yes, of course he does because every player does, but for some reason it bothers me more when he does it. He's like that kid that hassles the ref all game long where you're playing rec league soccer. It's tiresome.

The 30th had the first real chance of the match as Nilmar got open for Brazil on the back post and put a nice touch on goal that goalkeeper Eduardo did well to get a hand to, deflecting it off the post. Then one of my favorite things in soccer happened the next minute when Tiago received a yellow card for diving in the box. A defender put a hand on Tiago to steady himself and Tiago pitched forward like a car hit him. Not only did the referee not buy that it was a foul, he clearly saw the dive and gave Tiago a deserved yellow. Love. It. The 39th brought the next chance which was Luis Fabiano getting free in the box for a header that he really needed to put on goal but instead sent it just wide on the left side. The half ended just as it started and to be honest, I might as well just tell you that that's how the match ended as well. There were some chances in the second half, like a dipping Simao shot, a long run by Ronaldo to set up Meireles, and a deflected shot by Ramires that brought out the best in Eduardo, but it was a very boring game in general since neither team needed to push for anything. In fact, the most exciting part of the game was probably in the 20th or so when the announcers tried to play up Ivory Coast's early 2-0 as a real tension builder. In reality, Ivory Coast's 3-0 was nowhere near enough and Brazil moved on in first place with Portugal in second.

Brazil 0 - 0 Portugal


Chile vs Spain

To me, this had a chance to be an all-timer. Spain couldn't rely on Switzerland drawing or losing to Honduras so they really needed to push for the win against a speedy, skilled team that didn't require much possession to be dangerous. Chile needed to fight as well since even a 1-0 defeat would leave them out of the next round if Switzerland could put together a convincing win against Honduras. This match had all of the necessity of a classic, but unfortunately events transpired to rob us of such quality.

The game started off cautious as both teams probed at each other, looking for weaknesses and testing strengths. As time pressed on, it was surprisingly Chile that was the better side. In the 10th, a cross into the box off of a run by Jean Beausejour was just slightly behind the hero of Chile's win over Switzerland, Mark Gonzalez. Chile kept earning half chances, such as the shot by Marco Estrada in the 12th that took a deflection but didn't do enough to bother Iker Casillas as he saved it comfortably falling to his left, and really did look dangerous when they were on the ball. The Spanish were playing surprisingly tentative even when Chile started pressing forward which seems mind-boggling since that's how they wasted a half against Switzerland before losing 1-0 on a second half goal. Then in the 24th, completely against the run of play, a very smart long ball was played up the left wing to Fernando Torres who looked like he would beat his defender and run in on the keeper alone. Chilean goalie Claudio Bravo did very well to come sprinting off the line and clear the ball away from Torres, but he made a crucial mistake in not clearing the ball out of bounds. Instead the ball rolled up the sideline and straight to David Villa who hit the ball on his first touch and found the back of the net on one bounce from around fifty yards out. People are not going to realize how difficult a play like this is but when you are playing at game speed and need to hit the goal from fifty yards away on the sideline, it is anything but a gimmie. Villa did incredibly well though and made Bravo pay for his mistake. And just to clarify, I do think that Bravo did the right thing in coming off of his line to clear the ball away from Torres. I just think that if you choose to do what he did, you must make sure the ball in cleared fifteen rows into the stands, and this is the part that was lacking.

Spain worked their way back into shape after this, spurred on by Villa just as in their victory over Honduras. In the 34th, he added to his legend by possessing the ball on the left side of the box and drawing two defenders before laying the ball to the top of the box for Andres Iniesta who side footed the ball inside the back post to put Spain up by two. Another simple looking finish by Spain that was really artfully done. Amazingly, on the same play, Chile went down to ten men when Estrada was given his second yellow for what looked like incidental contact on Torres. While I guess I can see where the referee is coming from since Estrada had been involved in several dangerous tackles including his first yellow, this was a very soft call and really shouldn't have been given. With Chile down to ten men and Spain holding a 2-0 lead, the rest of this game became very boring. Chile did well coming out of the break to make it 2-1 on substitute Rodrigo Millar's deflected shot that gave Casillas no chance, but quickly the game degenerated into Spain holding the ball for minutes on end while Chile tried to counterattack without leaving themselves completely exposed. The second half dragged mightily and finally ended 2-1, which was enough for Chile to make it through as Switzerland never got on the board against Honduras and was sent home with a scoreless draw. While the game didn't live up to my expectations, I was very happy to see both of these teams go through since I love their style of play and think they will make very interesting elimination match contestants.

Spain 2 - 1 Chile


As a bonus (if you actually consider me writing more a bonus), I'm going to briefly break down the eight elimination games that we'll see over the next four days. There are some very interesting contests in here and I think there could be some very high quality matches.

Uruguay vs South Korea

Uruguay has looked very dangerous during this tournament so far with Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez acting as a particularly formidable 1-2 combination. South Korea has played very disciplined, defensive soccer however and can contain less offensively powerful teams, but in the end, I think Forlan's talent and creativity will win the day here though I definitely expect South Korea to make Uruguay earn every chance they get.

Argentina vs Mexico

I think that Mexico has a lot of talent. Despite the fact that he's Mexican (note: this is a "anti-US soccer rivals" comment, not an embarrassingly racist comment), I love the creativity and pace of Giovani dos Santos and think that he will provide a challenge for the Argentinian defense. But really, how can you not pick Argentina to win? Lionel Messi is playing exactly how we all thought he was, Gonzalo Higuain is scoring prolifically, and Carlos Tevez is working doggedly for everything he gets. I would be surprised to not see Argentina coming through here.

United States vs Ghana

I think I would make the same pick if I wasn't biased but I really can't be sure. This is perhaps the biggest toss-up of this round as the US is creating loads of chances on offense but has been very sloppy on defense at times. These defensive errors are particularly scary because Ghana's attackers are fast, aggressive, and incredibly skilled. Their wingers play with pace and confidence and they switch up their runs enough to confuse defenses that are playing far more organized than the US right now. I think the US's fitness, organization and offensive ability will out do Ghana here, but I am definitely nervous about this match.

Germany vs England

Germany did not have an easy road through to the finals, yet here they sit at the top of Group D with six points, their only loss coming when Miroslav Klose was unjustly sent off early in their second game. England survived Group C, but only barely on a 1-0 win over Slovenia. While Germany has shown an attacking quality and general skill, England has stumbled through their matches and, to be honest, seem lucky to be in the elimination rounds. England has plenty of talent and can of course turn things around, but I don't see Germany rolling over for them. I like Germany in a well fought, but ultimately inevitable result.

Holland vs Slovakia

Holland should not take this match lightly as Robert Vittek has been a scoring machine that can trouble any defense he faces. Plus, Slovakia has been playing tight defense and knocked the defending champions out in their last group match. However, I think the real key here is the return of Arjen Robben to the Dutch lineup. His ability to run at defenders is something they were sorely missing in the first two games. In the end, Holland is just too skilled and too dangerous for the Slovaks.

Paraguay vs Japan

This is my first and only upset, but I'm actually starting to believe in the Japanese. They showed in their game against the Dutch that they can't contain a high powered attack all match, but they're playing a Paraguayan team that has more of a focus on defense than constant pressure up high. Keisuke Honda has been fantastic in Japan's matches so far and can score with almost no preamble or possession, something that makes an organized, disciplined defensive team like Japan incredibly dangerous. This will probably be a 1-0 result, but I think Japan has the quality to make it through.

Brazil vs Chile

What a fantastic pairing. I feel bad for Chile though because Brazil is such a skilled team and after seeing their side of the bracket, I would be very surprised if they don't end up in yet another final. Chile should make things interesting with their ability to constantly pressure defenses and get up and down the wings with ease, but this is Brazil's match to lose and I don't see how they do it.

Spain vs Portugal

The obvious pick for best match of the round of sixteen, this has every chance to live up to its incredible hype. Spain has looked sluggish at times, needing David Villa to jump start them in their last two games, but it's hard to deny that they are more talented and deeper than Portugal. Any team that can afford to use Cesc Fabergas as a second half substitute is absolutely loaded and I think this is what ultimately wins them the match. Portugal is no slouch though and don't think for a second that they will let Spain get an easy win. I would love to see a high scoring, free flowing game and here's hoping these teams can live up to the hype.


I think that's about it for me, finally. I hope everyone is enjoying things so far, both in the World Cup and in this blog, and let me assure you that it will only get better now that we're into the do-or-die games. I leave you with this one last chant:

USA! USA! USA!

Near Disaster!!!

I came home today ready to watch the games that were on earlier, went to the recorded shows screen on the DVR, and was terrified to see that no games were recorded from today. None at all. I could have sworn that I had set up everything to record through the end of the group stage on Friday, but perhaps I was mistaken. Regardless, I was now in a real bind because I was in danger of missing games for the first day all tournament and no channels were replaying the games. Luckily, I happened across ESPN Classic (which is removed from the other ESPN channels in our cable system) because they were playing all four games back to back. It got even better as they were playing the two games that I wanted to see in their first two time slots, Italy vs Slovakia and Japan vs Denmark. I don't know how I lucked into this after such a potentially catastrophic circumstance, but I did and I'm not complaining in the least.


Slovakia vs Italy

Going into this game, Slovakia needed a win to get through as well as a New Zealand tie or loss while Italy would be through with a win but could also survive a tie if the Paraguay vs New Zealand game ended that way as well, though it would depend on the amount of goals scored in each tie. Rather than analyze every possible scenario this way and that, know that each side really needed to put players forward and try to get a goal. I picked up the game in the 10th minute and could see right away that Italy looked quite flat. I'm not saying that they were god awful and could tell that within the first minute, but over the next five to ten minutes you could see a lack of purpose and direction for Italy while Slovakia dealt with their incursions well, not giving up any serious ground. In return, Slovakia was getting forward decently though they weren't holding a ton of possession or looking particularly dangerous. However, they were pressing up high and that turned into a score when Daniele de Rossi gave away a ball terribly in his defensive third. Juraj Kucka played a beautiful through ball to Robert Vittek who hit a roller to the left post on his first touch and put it just inside for the first goal of the match. Great look through and a perfect shot by Vittek. That is the epitome of a striker's instincts, where he just knows how to put the shot on goal that will lead to a score. Brilliant work.

Despite Italy now being down a goal and needing to score as opposed to trying to possibly play for a tie, there didn't seem to be any sense of urgency still. If anything, Slovakia got more into the game after the goal and though they didn't possess fully and just knock the ball around, they did still get forward and create chances. In the 35th, Zdeno Strba cranked a shot from distance that keeper Federico Marchetti was forced to make a diving save on at the left post. And in stoppage time at the end of the first half, Kucka lined up a near perfect volley that struck the side netting as it curved back towards goal slightly. These chances were impressive but they were from distance as Slovakia wasn't exactly dribbling circles around the Italian central defense. And such offensive potential does not change the fact that Slovakian defender Martin Skrtel almost put the ball in the back of his own net when he was trying to clear a ball played into the middle. Italy did have some chances in the first half, but nothing worth detailing and nothing that truly would have scared Slovakia either.

At the start of the second half, Italy actually did begin to put some chances on goal starting in the 50th minute when Vincenzo Iaquinta got free in the middle of the box for a header but mistimed it and sent the ball wide. Then in the 56th, Antonia di Natale had a through ball played to him in the box but he let it run by him and tried to hit it as it moved, which only ended up with him swinging and missing on an otherwise golden chance. He would get another try in the 62nd though when he got free at the top of the 18 and tried for the right post with a strike. Slovakian keeper Jan Mucha was up to the task however and covered the ball. The potentially controversial play at this part of the half was in the 67th minute when Fabio Quagliarella struck a shot on goal off of a short corner that beat the keeper but was cleared off the line by Skrtel. This was a really close play and it seems as if the ball doesn't have a chance to completely cross the line, but it's really hard to tell. It was a called as nothing on the field and the replays were inconclusive, so that's the way it would stay. I believe it's the right call, but I may have missed it as well.

The 73rd minute started an absolutely furious flurry of chances that made for an exciting and at times absurd last twenty minutes. The ball came back to Marek Hamsik after a failed corner and instead of trapping the popped up ball when it came down, he one touched it to the near post catching the Italian defense off guard. Vittek beat Giorgio Chiellini to the ball and touched it smartly past the keeper for Slovakia's second goal. Vittek did well to get the pass but this play was made by Hamsik fooling everyone by putting the cross in early rather than settling it. Very smart play to earn a goal. The Italians weren't going away though and after the second goal they really ramped up their play to get back to the team we know as the defending champs, the team we know has the skill to win everything. In the 81st, Quagliarella played a ball at the top of the box to Iaquinta who one touched it back to Quagliarella for the shot. Mucha did well to get to it but the rebound went to the left side and di Natale passed it into the back of the net for Italy's first goal. More controversy came after this goal when there was a struggle in the back of the net for possession of the ball and Quagliarella fell to the ground as if he had stepped on a rake that came up and hit him in the face. In reality, two Italian players were trying to take the ball out of Mucha's hands and put him on the ground to do so. While Mucha was on the ground, he hit Quagliarella in the face, hence the ridiculous play acting. Both got yellows, the game went on, I hate the Italians and their acting, let's move on as well.

Quagliarella almost got his revenge in the 85th when he put in a cross but was called offsides on a borderline call. This was another dicey one that the announcers called correct because he was leaning over but I personally never saw a definitive look. Close enough to be called regardless, so play continued. In the 89th, Slovenia jumped on that reprieve when substitute Kamil Kopunek timed a run perfectly on a throw-in and lofted a ball over the keeper when he was played through. Great, great touch on the ball and while Marchetti was not at fault here, you can't help but think this is a situation where Gianluigi Buffon might have made the save to keep the Italians in the match. Italy kept it close with a goal in the 92nd minute when Quagliarella took a pass at the top of the 18 and caught Mucha off his line with a lovely chip, but it wasn't enough to save Italy as they went down to the Slovakians and wouldn't have a chance to repeat.

Slovakia 3 - 2 Italy


Denmark vs Japan

This was a very interesting game as both of these teams had beaten Cameroon but lost to Holland. Additionally, they both played smart defense and were good on the counter attack. With both sides hanging their hat on such anti-aggressive qualities, this had the potential to be an incredibly boring, albeit important game. Thankfully though it started out slow it turned out to be anything but. Both teams had early chances, but they were half chances at best. A strike from distance over the bar, a failed volley, blah blah blah. Both teams held the ball decently with Denmark having nominally more possession and perhaps a few more chances. Japan was content with seeing what Denmark could throw at them and taking counters for their chances on goal. Their break came in the 17th when they were awarded a free kick fairly far back on the right flank. Keisuke Honda stepped up to take the kick and struck it well but not viciously towards the back post. Denmark's keeper Thomas Sorensen took one step to his left, anticipating a dipping shot at the near post, and by the time he realized the true trajectory of the shot and went back across goal it was too late and Honda's shot was nestled in the left corner. Honda went for craft instead of power on this shot and it paid off huge. Because Denmark needed a win and not a tie over Japan due to goal differential, they now needed two scores to come out ahead.

In the 30th, Japan made things even worse off of another set piece, this one about twenty-five yards back from goal in the dead center of the field. Both Honda and Yasuhito Endo stood over the ball but it was Endo that struck a right-footed ball that curled around the wall and perfectly inside the right post. Sorensen guessed right on this one but it didn't matter as the Japanese winger's shot was well struck and perfectly placed. Japan was up now up 2-0 in the first half and though there was time left, a three goal effort in the rest of the game would be Herculean. Starting the second, Denmark had plenty of decent chances but couldn't put the ball in. They did make it interesting in the 80th minute when Daniel Agger dove like a champ in the box to earn a penalty kick for the Danes. This was awful. I thought that Quagliarella flopping around was ridiculous but this was even worse because it gave Denmark a chance for a goal and a chance to get back in the game. Just terrible. Jon Dahl Tomasson stepped up to the spot and took a horrendous penalty kick that keeper Eiji Kawashima dove to his right to stop. Unfortunately for Japan, the rebound came right to Tomasson and he was able to tuck it in for a goal, becoming the all-time leader in goals for the Danish national team. Japan made that goal academic in the 87th however, when Honda took a through ball and made a disgusting heel flick turn to beat his defender toward the end line and then played an unselfish ball back across goal to Shinji Okazaki who took a touch to settle and then put it in the back of the net. Amazing, amazing turn by Honda and then a very smart pass to play his teammate into a wide open space. With that goal, Japan clinched the game and would go through to the elimination round in second place in Group E. Fantastic performance by the Japanese and they truly deserve to be there.

Japan 3 - 1 Denmark


There were fantastic games and I consider myself lucky that I was able to see them despite the DVR going crazy on me (or perhaps my planning shitting the bed). An amazing day of games that saw dark horse Japan through to the next round and showed defending champion Italy the door. I can't think of anyone who would have seen that coming ahead of time. Tomorrow is the last day of the group stage and I will try to both comment on the games, as well as put together a quick preview for the round of sixteen. I'm still looking forward to tomorrow's game though and Spain vs Chile should be an absolute delight, although Brazil vs Portugal has the chance to top it depending on how hard each side actually tries. This is an amazing time in the tournament and it should only be getting better from here. I hope everyone is still enjoying it because I know I am. Stop back tomorrow to see some more game recaps and probably a look forward at the next round. Take care and watch these games.

What a Match

I almost don't know what to say about today's games. I really don't. The United States game was one of the most exciting games I have ever seen and I was so happy afterward that I smiled every time I thought about that goal going in. It feels more emotional than logical at this point and I'm not sure how well I can describe it. The later games were interesting as well but then they seem to pale in comparison to the US match. I don't know what to say, but I will try at the very least.

Similar to last Friday, I took the morning off from work so I could watch the US match and then go in for the afternoon. I couldn't bear to stay in the dark about such an important result for the entire day and lose out on half the fun of such an experience, which is sharing it with others both during and after. In hindsight, I would have been furious with myself if I hadn't been able to watch this live so it was worth losing the money. Once at work, I was able to avoid talk of the Group D games despite a couple of people wanting to start "guess who the US plays on Saturday" conversations. All-in-all a very productive day. Well, a productive day for soccer. Let's get to the games.


Algeria vs United States

I debated not taking notes for this game since it was a US game and one of those games that you don't want to work at watching, you just want to watch. But I was watching the game in my apartment with my notepad and time to make a real record of it, so I did. My very first reaction to this game was actually horror. Horror, because I looked at the starting line-up and Jonathan Bornstein was starting at left back. Good god this scared me. Bornstein probably shouldn't have made the 23 man roster, let alone be starting a win-and-in game for the US. I felt somewhat better about seeing Maurice Edu in at midfield instead of Ricardo Clark and if the US is going to stick with a 4-4-2, I think Edu is the best partner for Michael Bradley in the middle. I personally like Jose Torres better, but Torres is a creative, offensive-minded midfielder who needs a holding middie to work with rather than someone who will roam like Bradley. When Torres plays with Bradley, he has to cover too much and it just doesn't seem to work. If the US were to switch to a 4-5-1 to utilize their depth in midfield then Torres would have a perfect spot, but I think that is a discussion for another time. One last pregame reaction: I have no problem seeing Hercules Gomez playing up front with Jozy Altidore, but I think I would have rather seen Edson Buddle starting. No disrespect at all to Gomez, I just think that he's better served coming off the bench because his pace and energy is such a spark. Buddle is solid when coming off the bench, but he doesn't seem to bring that injection that Gomez does.

The game started with Algeria getting the first couple of chances and making me generally nervous as hell. Karim Matmour lined up a volley off of a header in the very first minute but it only started to dip down after it cleared the crossbar. Then in the 6th, Rafik Djebbour took advantage of Jay DeMerit misplaying a high ball up to the front and chested the ball to himself and hit a side volley before the ball could touch the ground. The volley cleared goal keeper Tim Howard but only dipped enough to ring off the crossbar rather than settle into the back of the net. The US defense looked all out of sorts for the first ten to fifteen minutes and they should probably consider themselves lucky that they did not concede a goal, especially off of Djebbour's chance.

Though I preferred Buddle as a starter, Gomez played exceptionally well and really spearheaded the American attack early on. In the 7th, he possessed the ball on the right hand side and instead of crossing in the ball as expected, he tried an outside of the foot shot that swerved towards the near post. The keeper was surprised, but not surprised enough to be beaten and he was able to turn away the shot. Then in the 20th, Gomez got the ball on the right hand side of the box and put a quick shot in on keeper Rais M'Bolhi which the keeper did well to get a hand to. Gomez pulled in the rebound though and fed the ball across the goal mouth to Clint Dempsey who touched it in for a goal. A goal that was quickly disallowed by a questionable offsides call. To the side judge's credit, I only remember ESPN showing one angle of the offsides, a diagonal angle that made it difficult to tell exactly where Dempsey is, so perhaps it was justified. Regardless, it was a stomach punch of a call, especially considering the call that cost the US a victory over Slovenia just last week. Apparently that punch was part of a one-two combination as it was announced in the 23rd that Jermaine Defoe had scored for England, putting them up 1-0. Coming into this game, the US knew that if they won they were in. However, they could still make it through with a draw if England also drew and didn't score three more goals than the US on the day. England being up 1-0 meant that the US could not hope for a draw and move on, at least not unless Slovenia came from behind to tie.

The US started to control the game after having the goal disallowed and had the majority of the chances throughout the rest of play. In the 35th, Landon Donovan held the ball at the top of 18 waiting for an open man and when Dempsey made a run through, he fed it to him. Unfortunately Dempsey's first touch brought him too close to the keeper and while he still put a shot on goal, he wasn't able to elevate it or pick a side as the keeper already had closed the angle down. Then in the 37th, Donovan got free on the right side of the box and put a shot that the rapidly advancing keeper got a touch to. Donovan and Altidore both had a chance at the rebound and swung at it at the same time, possibly touching each other in doing so. It was Altidore who took the blame as he skied the ball over goal. The US ended the first half with another chance from Dempsey that he hit while falling to his left, but couldn't trouble the keeper to make more than a leaning save. The US dominated play in the first half after a shaky beginning but just couldn't seem to find the back of the net. I was angry because of the goal being disallowed, frustrated because of the lack of scoring despite chances, and nervous as hell because I knew the US needed to win this game.

The second half took some time getting going and the US didn't get their first quality chance until the 57th minute when Altidore made a run up the left side and put a ball into the middle at the top of the 18. An awkward touch by the defender left the ball sitting there and Dempsey ran onto it and curled a shot that struck the right post after catching the keeper flat footed. This was absolutely heartbreaking. To have a goal disallowed and then see your team catch woodwork on an open goal... it was brutal. Time matched on and in the 65th minute, substitute Benny Feilhaber made a beautiful run in from the right directly at the right post. He was looking for Altidore at the back post when he put the cross in but he didn't elevate it quite enough as it just barely clipped the keeper's back leg and went out for a corner. Great creative play from Feilhaber but it was just torture watching these chances go by as time ticked off the clock. Coming in as a substitute, Buddle almost put the US up in the 68th when he headed a Steve Cherundolo cross on goal but it was right at M'Bolhi and the keeper was able to cover it. Then in the 79th, Bradley took a straight shot off of a free kick played indirectly but his screamer was again right at the keeper and he was up to the task.

Agony. Absolute mental agony is the only way I can describe these last fifteen or so minutes. The chances were coming, but nothing was going in. It seemed similar to Spain's loss to Switzerland when they had all the chances in the world, even striking the crossbar, but couldn't get that goal to get a result. The US needed one goal to move through too the elimination rounds but it just wasn't happening. Everything was lacking the final finish or bouncing unluckily or just plain not working and it was terrible. Then, it happened. Finally. All of the waiting and all of the hope were rewarded in the 91st minute. Algeria was able to threaten the US defense and put a header on goal, but Howard held it easily. Before you knew it, he had thrown an absolute strike up as far as half field that Donovan ran onto and progressed forward. Donovan held on the dribble and then played the ball wide right to Altidore who put a cross into the box that Dempsey touched on goal. The keeper stopped the shot and it was heartbreak and agony all over again for a second. But there was a rebound. There was a rebound just sitting there and Donovan, who had been invisible for large portions of the game and just didn't seem to have had much of an impact, was the man on the spot and calmly tucked the ball into the left corner of the net. I'll be honest, I barely remember the next minute or so. I was out of my chair in a flash, screaming, fist pumping, everything I could think of that would make me look like an absolute ass to an uninformed observer, but I didn't care. I was incredibly happy, the happiest I think I've been to watch a US soccer game. Obviously the US held on for the last three minutes and won their group to go on to the elimination stages. What an amazing game. I have never been as excited for a goal as I was then. All of the frustration, all of the anxiety, they just melted away and the US victory was all that was left. I'm still smiling right now, thinking and writing about this goal. I of course want more from the US team going forward. Hell, I want them to win the whole thing. But if they are stopped short, I will still have this and I will love it.

United States 1 -0 Algeria


Ghana vs Germany

I chose to watch this game out of the Group D games because they were easily the two most entertaining teams in the group and this match was most likely to see who would win the group. Germany would almost certainly win the group with a win while Ghana definitely would win outright with a victory and would go through with a draw as well. Both teams had very good reasons to push for goals and the win, so the first half and some of the second half showed that as we were treated to a very entertaining match. Early in the match, Germany held more possession and got reasonable if not outstanding chances, such as Cacau's chance in the 3rd minute that was held easily by Ghanaian keeper Richard Kingson. They also had a chance in the 10th when Lukas Podolski passed the ball across goal, taking a deflection off of a defender and almost ending up in the back of the net. Their best chance of the first was when Mesut Ozil was played in on the keeper leaving him all alone. Ozil got a little too close to the keeper though and Kingson was able to come out and take away options from Ozil, making the save as the shot was put towards the back post. Around this point, Ghana started taking possession back from Germany and were able to get good chances as well as hold the ball for longer, bringing the game almost dead even in terms of which team looked better and more dangerous. Ghana's fatal flaw in this game however was finishing. They always seemed to be one pass away from springing a player for a goal, or one better decision away from the ball ending up in the back of the net. Germany's defenders did well also and kept disrupting the ball when it was at the feet of Ghanaian players, helping to end the half still tied 0-0.

The match got back on track in the second half and both sides looked incredibly dangerous. The breakthrough came in the 60th minute when Ozil took a pass from Thomas Muller at the top of the 18, set up his left foot, and absolutely rocketed the bouncing ball into the left side of goal, tailing away from Kingson. Fantastic individual effort for Ozil and also yet another lesson on why you close out strikers from distance and don't just let them shoot. With the goal here, one would think that the game would become wide open as Ghana pressed forward in search of the tying goal. And Ghana did for a while and looked most dangerous on Andre Ayew's effort off of a Asamoah Gyan backheel in the box. But by the 73rd minute, Australia was up 2-0 on Serbia, a result that would send both Germany and Ghana through, so Ghana didn't need to press. In fact, it was against their best interest to get caught out of shape because if they were scored upon, that would help Australia in their attempt to catch up to Ghana on goal differential. Because of this, the game slowed down to a crawl and it's really not worth talking about. Germany held on for the win and gets to play England this coming Sunday. The real story (for people like me at least) is that Ghana will face the US Saturday at 2:30 and I absolutely cannot wait.

Germany 1 - 0 Ghana


What a fantastic game for the US and a great, great day for soccer. I was giddy all day, I couldn't help it. So happy for the US going through and I still am. Tomorrow won't live up to today simply because the US isn't playing and winning, but it should still be yet another great day of elimination soccer. Hope you all are enjoying this just as much as I am and hope to see you back tomorrow.

An Interesting First Final Fixture Day

Today was the beginning of the simultaneous games experiment and it definitely could have gone worse. For those of you that didn't read yesterday's post, I'm choosing one game out of each of the concurrent sets and reporting on that since I'll have the alternate game spoiled by in-game updates. It's not a perfect system but it'll have to work for the next four days. Today I decided to watch South Africa vs France over Mexico vs Uruguay because if Mexico and Uruguay tied, they would both move on. In my mind, that meant that the game would be very cautious and boring, so I took a chance and watched the game featuring a discombobulated French team and a frenetic home squad. In hindsight, I'm actually pretty happy about that.


South Africa vs France

Both of these teams had been disappointing so far, but for different reasons. South Africa had a good opening match against Mexico but disappeared against Uruguay when it mattered the most. This was a chance for Bafana Bafana to get their fans into the game and maybe even make a charge at the knockouts stages. As everyone knows, France had been a mess in several different ways due to the rifts within their national team and with their coach. This game was a chance to bring their team together and even if they didn't make the next round and solve everything, they had a chance to bring a result back to France as recompense for at least some of the drama that had occurred during the last two weeks. Could one of these teams pull out a miracle and make it to the next round? Let's see.

France got an early chance when Andre-Pierre Gignac came in on goal in the 3rd minute, but South Africa's number two keeper Moeneeb Joesephs closed him down well. Then in the 10th, Djibril Cisse did well to get a head to a cross coming in but couldn't do any more than put it at the keeper. France may have had more half-chances early on but the game was pretty much a wash in possession. France did control more, but South Africa was able to hold the ball on the counter and none of France's possession was truly dangerous even if they were around the net. Everything changed in the 20th though when South Africa played a great ball in from a corner kick on the right hand side that French keeper Hugo Lloris came out to punch away but couldn't get a fist to. Waiting on the back post was Bongani Khumalo who came clear of his defender and put a good header into the back of the net. South Africa pulled ahead 1-0 and the crowd went wild. This is why it is so dangerous to be the home nation; the crowd swings can affect games and motivate lesser teams. No offense meant to South Africa, but they were the worst team on paper in Group A and would have to make it through on the strength of their fans.

South Africa was able to use this momentum moving forward, but were greatly helped by yet another debatable straight red card. While going up for a header, Yoann Gourcuff led too much with his elbow and ran it up into the cheek of a South African defender. The referee had seen enough right then and gave Gourcuff a red for an elbow. This is a very debatable red card and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it was obviously not malicious. Gourcuff was just going up for a header and trying to stabilize himself, not throw at an opposing players' head. On the other hand, the elbow ran all the way up into the South African player's jaw and the referees had been previously instructed to fully penalize malicious elbows. After everything, I think the referee made a rash decision but I can definitely see why he did it. It's a tough card for the French to take, but I can't complain too much. From the 26th minute on, the French would have to work with 10 men, a difficult task for any team.

South Africa did not waste any time and in the 37th minute, they were able to put in a loose ball for a 2-0 lead. Tsepo Masilela drove the ball across the six yard box and after a battle with the defender, Katlego Mphela hammered in a tough goal to put South Africa up 2-0. As they pushed forward, South Africa had a goal disallowed in the 38th minute on an offsides, which was the right call in the end. After that, there was no other real action in the latter stages of the first half, except the action in the Uruguay vs Mexico match when the Uruguay side put a goal in via Luis Suarez at the back post. This goal gave life to the South African side, who needed a full result from the other game as well as a huge win to make it through. From here on out, the game would become a constant score check as South Africa needed to preserve their 2-0 lead while still gaining enough goals to move on to the next round. A difficult line to walk, but South Africa seemed able to do it early on.

France looked much better in the second half as they were able to move people forward. Early on, Franck Ribery made numerous runs into the attacking zone and got several good chances. In the 59th, Ribery made a nice run into the box but was shut down by Josephs. Then in the 66th, Ribery got free at the top of the box but rolled a shot in on the keeper that was easily saved. Despite the ease of those saves, Ribery did play a fantastic match that showcased a lot of unappreciated hustle and chances on goal. France may not be moving on but Ribery tried his best to get them moving and was a fantastic force in this game. France was somewhat rewarded in the 69th when Bacart Sagna played a lovely through ball into Ribery. Ribery smartly one-touched the ball across to substitute Florent Malouda who passed the ball into the goal to cut the deficit to 2-1. France stole a goal on South Africa, damning Bafana Bafana's plans for the next round which is a shame based on what we have seen from South Africa so far. There were several chances in the later game but South Africa was unable to gain a result that would allow them passage to the elimination stages. Uruguay beat Mexico 1-0 but South Africa's goal differential was not enough to see them through. This was the first time a host country would not make the second round and it was a shame. Not so much because of their quality of play, but because of the excellent organization and the fan support. It will be a shame to move on in the tournament without them, but I don't doubt their fans will provide appropriate support for the other squads.

South Africa 2 - 1 France


Greece vs Argentina

I chose this game because I thought that Greece would have to press forward more and it could turn into a wide open match with Argentina gaining plenty of chances. It's not that I thought South Korea vs Nigeria would be boring, I just thought that it would be more fun to watch Lionel Messi than a potential stalemate that ended in a tie. As it turns out, I was half right about the Nigeria vs South Korea match and probably should have watched that one instead. Even with that being said, the Argentina vs Greece game produced many interesting moments. In the first twenty minutes or so, Argentina held the majority of chances but couldn't put anything on goal. Then in the 32nd, Diego Milito threw a pass across the front of the goal that keeper Alexandros Tzorvas couldn't get to and Sergio Aguero put a shot on goal for Argentina that Tzorvas got across to block. Excellent block on an open shot. As time went on, we found out that South Korea tied up Nigeria, putting them through if everything held the same. Despite being down and outclassed, Greece needed to push forward and gain some possession as only goals could save them now. This was too tall of an order though because Argentina possessed too much superior skill and was able to drag possession on throughout the match. While a tie favored Argentina and put them through in first place, they were not short of attacking moves as they pressured the Greek defense throughout. The breakthrough came in the 77th minute when Martin Demichelis cleaned up a loose ball inside the Argentine offensive six. Demichelis headed a ball on goal that his own man got in the way of and inadvertently touched back out to him. He made no mistake the second time as his strong shot found the back of the net easily, putting Argentina up 1-0. Even with their need to push forward, Greece was abused yet again in the 89th when Messi made a clever touch to the middle and ripped a shot on goal. Keeper Tzorvas was able to get a touch to it, but the rebound fell directly to substitute Martin Palermo who finished calmly into the back corner, making it look easier than it actually was. They didn't need this extra goal, but Argentina used it to secure their first place and let things sort out as they would.

Argentina 2 - 0 Greece


Uruguay would move on in the first spot from Group A and Mexico would take the second spot. This left Argentina in first in Group B and South Korea in second, giving us our first set of elimination match-ups:

Uruguay vs South Korea
Argentina vs Mexico

I loved how these matches were in doubt until the very end and I'm looking forward even more to the United States match. I'm nervous even thinking about it. I hope this was useful to describe today's games and I'll talk to you tomorrow about the US match. Let's just hope it's something I actually want to talk about.

So Yeah, Portugal Was OK in That Second Half

Greetings once again to anyone reading. Today brought us the last of the second fixture of group stage matches, the last day of the 7:30am/10:00am/2:30pm schedule of games before games are played simultaneously. Some people were asking me why the times of the games switch up, so I figure I'll address that here just in case others are unsure. Tuesday is the start of the last of each team's group matches and the schedule switches from the above to both games from a group being played at the same time, one group at 10am and the next group at 2:30pm. For example, on Tuesday France plays South Africa and Mexico plays Uruguay, both at 10. Then Argentina plays Greece and South Korea plays Nigeria, both at 2:30. The reason for this is to do everything possible to avoid collusion during these matches. They used to continue playing the games staggered as before, but then in 1982 (I believe, feel free to correct me on this) there was a particularly damaging instance where two teams knew that all each needed to make the next round was draw, leading to the most obviously orchestrated game at the World Cup. It looked as if the teams agreed beforehand not to attempt to win the match, and that very well could have been the case. Because of this, FIFA changed the rules to simultaneous play, which is definitely for the better. Except if someone were trying to watch every match, of course.

Which leads us to this, my decision about what to do once the games begin to run at the same time. I've thought about this and have realized that watching all four games each day is not only infeasible but unnecessary. My whole point with DVRing these games and remaining ignorant of the scores was to watch each game as if it was live. With games being played concurrently, this falls apart because the announcers for each game constantly comment on the other game, making it impossible to watch one and remain clueless as to the result of the other. And really, if I was at home while the games were running live, I would be watching the more interesting game and content myself with watching the highlights of the other one afterward. So that is what I will do each night when I get back from work. I will choose what I consider to be the more interesting game at each time block and do full commentary of those games. Into that write-up, I will insert commentary about the other game running to demonstrate what it was like to be watching possible group winners change from minute to minute. So, there you are. I hope this works for you because I can't really bring myself to stay up until at least 5am each night to watch two games I already know the results of. Any bright ideas are welcome though, so let me know if you have a better solution.

Before I start the games, I just want to say thank you to the people that know I'm doing this and haven't intentionally fucked with me. I've made it through pretty much every day without learning the scores beforehand and I appreciate anyone who has made an effort to keep me in the dark. The guys at work have been great with this especially because they're around me as the games are happening, but thanks as well to anyone who holds back from sending me texts, emails or messages online. I appreciate the help with this. Anyway, enough preamble. On to the games.


North Korea vs Portugal

Before the tournament started, I would have marked this down as an auto-win and probably even a blowout. But then I saw North Korea play Brazil very tough, even sneaking a goal as the game was winding down. I still assumed that Portugal would take this opportunity to collect the full three points, but that was at least a little more in doubt than I would have allowed before. Early on, this doubt looked justified as play was fairly even with Portugal taking more possession but both sides getting chances. In the 7th, Portugal had their first excellent chance as Ricardo Carvalho got free of his marker on a corner and put a very nice header on goal. Unfortunately, it was directly on goal as it struck the post and bounced wide. North Korea was in the game as well though and in the 11th minute Cha Jong-Hyok ran onto a ball played across the middle and let go a well struck first touch shot that swerved just wide right at the end. In between these chances, Portugal kept holding more of the possession and as time wore on, started to play more and more in their offensive third. They were rewarded for their attacking play in the 29th minute when Raul Meireles made an intelligent run behind the defense and Tiago put a through ball directly into his path, allowing Meireles to strike it well on his first touch into the right side of goal. Great vision on both the run and pass and an excellent way to open the match.

The rest of the half, Portugal spent most of their time attacking but to North Korea's credit, they hung in on defense and kept any other chances out. The problem was that now the Koreans were having trouble pressing forward as Portugal's attack became increasingly relentless. Where once they were able to hold possession for a while and get chances on goal, now they were holding on for dear life just trying to keep the ball out of the back of their net. But it worked for the rest of the first half, which was a big victory for North Korea just to be able to go in and recoup only down 1-0. Oh, and it wouldn't be a post about Portugal if I didn't mention an egregious Christiano Ronaldo dive, like in the 45th minute when a defender shielded him from the ball and Ronaldo fell to the ground as if he'd been shot. Ugh. What a diving ponce.

And then there was the second half. I think pretty much everyone knows this by now, but just in case you missed it, Portugal scored six goals this half. Six. That's more than the total number of goals scored in Group H so far this entire tournament. It's absurd, almost unheard of at this level of international play. But it happened and there were some spectacular goals. Since this half was completely dominated by Portugal and North Korea had no notable chances, let's just go through the goals:

Goal 1: Miguel carried the ball over midfield on the right side and put a beautiful long ball into the box for Meireles who chested the ball down to Hugo Almeida. Almeida then one-touch backheeled the ball to Meireles, who layed the ball off perfectly for Simao. Simao made no mistake about it and beats the keeper five-hole to cap a beautiful passing display. Amazing stuff.

Goal 2: Fabio Coentrao got free down the left flank (a constant occurrence during this match) and put in a well measured cross to an unmarked Almeida, who seemingly hovered in the air to knock the header back across the keeper and inside the left post. More standard than all the fancy passing, but still very impressive and efficient.

Goal 3: Ronaldo timed a run perfectly and had acres of space down the left flank (surprise!), allowing him to carry towards goal. As he was closed down by a defender, he picked out Tiago at the top of the 18 with a pass along the ground and Tiago finished smartly to the left of the keeper. One hand on the shot was not enough and Portugal was on the board again. Oh, and these three goals all came within seven minutes. Ridiculous.

Goal 4: A cross was put in from the left side (that's so weird) and the first Korean defender badly misplayed the clear. Liedson had a wide open shot inside the six, but to his credit very calmly played a somewhat difficult volley past the keeper, who had to be just furious with his defense at that point.

Goal 5: Liedson pressured the North Korean defense up high and was able to tackle the ball away, putting the ball right into the path of Ronaldo. Ronaldo touched the ball over the keeper, but Ri Myong-Guk still got a piece of it and the ball popped up in the air... onto the back of Ronaldo's neck where it stayed for a second before falling towards the ground. Ronaldo didn't let it even get that far as he volleyed it into the back of the net. A ridiculous bit of luck for Ronaldo, but still impressive that he was able to one touch shoot it.

Goal 6: Another ball in from the left (no, seriously) and Tiago made a sublime glancing header that found its way inside the right post. Amazing skill on this shot to beat a reasonably positioned Myong-Guk.

So yeah, Portugal was ok in the second half. An absolute barrage of goals that you started to disbelieve as it was happening. North Korea was shocked after the third overall goal and seemed to not be able to keep it together as they let in four more. A very impressive offensive display for Portugal, who have a trip to the knockout rounds all but locked up.

Portugal 7 - 0 North Korea

The standings for Group G are now as follows:

Brazil - 6 Points - +3 Goal Differential
Portugal - 4 Points - +7 Goal Differential
Ivory Coast - 1 Point - -2 Goal Differential
North Korea - 0 Points - -8 Goal Differential

As you can see, Ivory Coast needs to somehow make up 9 goals and have Portugal lose to Brazil in order to make it through to the elimination round. That's just not going to happen so the only question left is who will win the group, and we'll get that answer when Brazil plays Portugal on Friday. Should be an excellent match.


Switzerland vs Chile

I was really looking forward to this game because of the polar opposite styles that would be on display. Switzerland won their first game against Spain on the strength of their defensive tenacity and discipline, whereas Chile won their game against Honduras due to their unrelenting attacking pressure. This game would be a test of which strategy would win out, and early on it looked like that winner would be Chile. In the 10th minute, Arturo Vidal took a touch inside from the left wing and ripped a dipping shot that keeper Diego Benaglio was forced to palm off to the side. During the attempted clear, the ball fell directly to Carlos Carmona who blasted a volley towards the right side of goal that Benaglio dove to stop. Two excellent chances early on for Chile. Unfortunately, the game got a little choppy after that. Most of the possession was in a clogged midfield and neither team was able to keep the ball much in their offensive third. The referee helped to contribute to the start-and-stop nature of the game as well by having a quick whistle on nearly any contact and handing out cards like they were burning a hole in his pocket. All told, he gave out nine yellow cards and one game changing red card.

In the 31st minute, Valon Behrami was given a straight red for what the referee must have interpreted as a malicious elbow to the face of a Chilean player. If true, that would definitely warrant a red and Behrami should be ejected. Except it wasn't a good call. Behrami was being pulled from behind and was using his right arm to try to keep the player off of him. When his arm made contact with the defender, the referee blew the whistle immediately and forced Switzerland to play for an hour down an important player. Terrible decision by the referee and unfortunately, one that you could see coming from the early minutes of the game. He was bound and determined to make his mark on the game and you could only hope it would at least be justified when it happened. Sadly for the Swiss, that wasn't the case.

Chile pressed forward immediately after gaining the advantage, but Switzerland did a good job keeping them bottled up and frustrated for most of the rest of the first half. However, as injury time approached Chile started to use their wide play to open up the game, forcing the Swiss defenders to spread out and create passing lanes that the quick Chilean attackers could use to their advantage. No goals would come in the first half, but it was an important turning point for Chile to find a way to begin to break down the stout defense. The first real chance of the second half for Chile resulted in a goal that was disallowed immediately by the referee. Matias Fernandez took a free kick deep along the left hand side and played a smart ball on the ground to the top of the 18 for Alexis Sanchez to run on to. Sanchez struck the ball wonderfully and it took a slight deflection off of a Swiss defender and found the back of the net. But there were three Chilean attackers offside and because one of them was close enough to screen the keeper, the goal was called back. Tough way for a jubilant Sanchez to lose a goal but probably the right call. Then in the 55th, Sanchez almost took his goal back as a mistake on the ball by Stephane Grichting sent Sanchez in alone on the keeper. Benaglio was able to get a hand to the low shot though, and the Swiss kept the scoreless tie going.

During this time, Chile was dominating possession to the point where the Swiss were not even able to counter anymore. In fact, the first real counter they were able to put together was in the 63rd but it was still botched in the execution. In the 67th minute, the Swiss defense set an all-time World Cup record for straight scoreless minutes, which was an incredible feat. If you are a superstitious person however, you were just waiting for the goal to come as soon as they announced that the old record was broken. That goal did come in the 75th minute when Esteban Paredes timed a run down the right side perfectly to beat the offside trap. He collected himself at the end line and lofted the ball beautifully to the back post where his fellow substitute Mark Gonzalez was waiting. Gonzalez put his header straight down into the ground and then the bounce took it off the underside of the crossbar and in. Fantastic run by Paredes and a smart header by Gonzalez to avoid the defender in front of him.

The rest of the game devolved very quickly into sloppy play by both sides. Though Chile controlled the ball more often and were more composed going forward, they also lost their shape several times and let the Swiss come way too close to getting a cheap tying goal. The closest they came was easily in the 90th minute when Albert Bunjau set up Eren Derdiyok with a heel flick after drawing defenders to him. However, Derdiyok inexplicably missed an open goal as his side footed shot went wide left. With neither side scoring during this free-for-all time frame, Chile was able to take an important three points away from this game, setting them up nicely for their meeting with Spain this Friday. Switzerland is not in a terrible position either though, as they have three points and play group punching bag Honduras on that same day.

Chile 1 - 0 Switzerland


Honduras vs Spain

I told this to anyone who would listen to me in the lead-up to this game, so I'll say it here as well. I would be shocked if Spain won this game by any less than three goals. They had been getting dogged for nearly a week about their shocking defeat at the hands of the Swiss and now had all the pressure squarely on them to be the team they should be. Lucky for them, they had Honduras coming up and looked to be in a position to put a serious beating on. It seemed that beating was going to start early when David Villa controlled the ball in the center of the field and, from about 25 yards out, put a beautiful dipping ball on goal that beat the keeper but struck the dead center of the crossbar. It was an absolutely lovely strike that should have been rewarded with a goal, but Villa would score an even more memorable one minutes later. In the 17th minute, Villa took the ball down the left flank, dribbled between two well-positioned defenders, cut inside to get the ball on his right foot, and put a sliding shot into the right upper ninety. This was an absolutely amazing run and if you want to see beautiful soccer, I highly recommend finding it online. This is the type of soccer Spain is capable of playing and it's good to see them back at it.

Spain dominated the rest of this half as if Honduras were only playing with ten men. All Honduran possession was brief and none of it was capable in the least with no progress going towards goal. Spain on the other hand were knocking the ball around extremely well, keeping possession in Honduras' half of the field at all times and constantly threatening the goal. Fernando Torres had several chances during this stretch, including in the 33rd when he headed the ball almost exactly like Gonzalez in the Chile match, only Torres' header went down off the ground and back up over the goal. Torres is a dangerous, dangerous striker when he is at the top of his game but he is coming off a serious injury and you could tell tonight. His touch looked rusty and he wasted a few good chances that were created for him. Aside from Torres being out of top form, the only problem for Spain in the first half is that they couldn't put another goal in despite their total domination. Honduras somehow held on and went into the locker room down just one goal.

Right at the start of the second half, Villa made sure that Spain wouldn't accidentally give this game away. In the 51st, he was set up at the top of the 18 and blasted a shot that deflected off a defender and nestled in the back of the net. This was somewhat lucky for Villa and Spain, but they put themselves in a position to get lucky like this due to their dominance on the ball and aggressive play. Sergio Ramos almost reminded us of the Portuguese dominance earlier in the day when a minute later, he scorched a shot just past the right post and Spain never looked back from here on out. Villa did miss a chance for his hat trick in the 62nd minute when he took a penalty kick and somehow missed just wide right when he had the keeper going the other way. That one baffling moment aside, the rest of the match really isn't worth going over. Spain absolutely dominated and while they didn't score, which may be some cause for concern against higher quality teams in the future, they never were in danger and cruised to the victory. Not the three goal victory I was predicting, but they were in such complete control that I'm willing to give myself a break on it.

Spain 2 - 0 Honduras


As the last of the second fixture of games came to a close, here is how Group H looks:

Chile - 6 Points - +2 Goal Differential
Spain - 3 Points - +1 Goal Differential
Switzerland - 3 Points - 0 Goal Differential
Honduras - 0 Points - -3 Goal Differential

Chile is in pole position for a berth in the next round, but this could all come down to goal differential as it wouldn't be surprising to have three teams each at 6 points. Switzerland should have no trouble with hapless Honduras, so the question is how much can they score. If Spain were to handily beat Chile, Chile could be knocked out after a group stage where they won their first two games. This Friday afternoon will bring us answers and excitement and I absolutely cannot wait.

Yet another long post today, but it's finally done. I'm off to get my five hours of sleep so I hope all of you are doing better than that. Remember, if you have any better solutions to my "games being shown at same time" dilemma, by all means let me know. Until tomorrow.