World Cup 2010 - Thoughts on the second group matches

I think I can speak on behalf of everyone watching the World Cup when I say..."that's more like it".

The second round of group stage matches certainly delivered much more entertainment, more attacking football, and more goals. Some teams have already confirmed their place in the next round, while others have been eliminated. The South Americans are still, for the most part, showing their European counterparts how to get the job done. I think the vuvuzelas are starting to quieten down a bit now too, or maybe it's just wishful thinking.

Anyway, on to this week's achievements, starting with...

Best Performance

Portugal v North Korea

It doesn't matter who you play, scoring seven goals in a World Cup match is outstanding. After the performance Portugal gave against the Ivory Coast last week, and how strongly North Korea defended against Brazil, Carlos Queiroz must have given his team a serious lambasting. They could have scored more on the day, too. Paraguay also get a mention for a fine win against Slovakia.

Worst Performance

France v Mexico

Congratulations, Mr Domenech. Your side made it two on the bounce, even pipping England to this award. The players just didn't care. This is a team with serious issues on and off the field. I take nothing away from Mexico though, they were excellent. But France were in the World Cup final four years ago. Now I expect them to finish last in their group. Awful.

Best Goal

David Villa - Spain v Honduras

One of the best goals you're likely to see this tournament. What a magnificent solo effort. Just when you thought he'd done too much, he still managed to get the shot away after embarrassing two defenders. I know it was only against Honduras, but you can only play the team in front of you. You can see why Barcelona paid £34 million for him. Chile v Spain now looks like a mouth watering fixture.

Biggest Surprise

Germany losing to Serbia

I'll be honest, I had Serbia down as dark horses to cause a few upsets this year. But how did Germany lose this one after playing so well against Australia a few days beforehand? They looked well off the mark all over the pitch. Now they need to beat a tough Ghanaian side to be sure of qualifying, and they need to do it without Miroslav Klose. Group D is still wide open.

Best Game

Slovenia vs USA

What a comeback. Slovenia were by far the better team in the first half, but USA dominated the second. They should have had a third and probably won the game if a perfectly legitimate goal hadn't been disallowed. This is what the World Cup is all about. This game just edges out Cameroon v Denmark, which was also exellent.

Worst Game

England v Algeria

Don't worry, I hadn't forgotten. What an atrocity. England are becoming the new France. Despite the amount of quality in this team, there's no unity whatsoever. It's difficult to see how Fabio Capello changes that before the game against Slovenia. Having said all that, Algeria were just as terrible.

Best Moment

New Zealand drawing with Italy

This is just such a great story. New Zealand had longer odds than North Korea to win the World Cup. They held the holders to a draw and were inches away from actually winning the match. Anything extra they do from here would be a bonus. Surely they can't make it through to the next round? There have already been some impressive scalps so far.

Worst Moment

Kaka's red card against Ivory Coast

There were a number of awful decisions from officials in the last set of games, but this one takes it. The referee didn't see what happened. I don't know what the linesman or fourth official thought they saw. This dismissal needs overturning. Would it be too much to just bring in the best referees for this tournament, regardless of where they're from? Fortunately Brazil are already through to the last sixteen.



That's it for the second lot of group stage games. As always, your thoughts and comments are appreciated.