World Cup 2010 - Second Round (part two)

Four more games in two days, and we're down to the last eight teams in World Cup 2010. Whilst the usual suspects have made it to the quarter-finals, I can still sense a huge upset happening at some point. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the last four games of the second round.

Holland 2 – 1 Slovakia

In all honesty, this was a fairly underwhelming game. Although Holland won, they rarely found themselves needing to step up a gear against Slovakia to get the job done. Granted, Arjen Robben’s goal was quite special, but until Wesley Sneijder scored and the doubled the lead with five minutes to go, the result wasn’t safe. Holland had a whole host of chances but failed to capitalise earlier in the match. I can’t quite figure it out. History tells us that Holland usually thrive in the group stages of major tournaments, and tend to struggle in the knockout stages. If they don’t start playing better, history is going to repeat itself. They’re just not clinical enough in front of goal. On paper, they have one of the strongest teams in the tournament, but something still isn’t working. They now face a daunting quarter-final against Brazil now. Holland enter this match as underdogs, so it will be interesting to see how Bert van Marwijk prepares his team for this one. Slovakia now return home knowing that they exceeded expectations in this tournament.

Brazil 3 – 0 Chile

As far as complete team performances are concerned, I think this was the best of the tournament so far by Brazil. What a fantastic display of football. The three goals scored by Juan, Luis Fabiano and Robhino respectively demonstrated how much of a threat this team can be at any point in the game. Chile were restricted to very few chances in the game, and although they showed creativity in the middle of the park, they struggled against a resilient Brazilian defence. The loss of key players through suspension in their game against Spain really hurt them, especially in defence. It’s shame to see Chile eliminated from the tournament as they have been a great side to watch, and had they faced anyone else in the last sixteen, we might have seen them progress. Brazil were just suffocating. Dunga must be excited about the quality of players he has to work with, and the depth in which said quality lies. It’s difficult to see this team not making the final.


Paraguay 0 – 0 Japan (Paraguay win 5-3 on penalties)

Despite both of these teams having done incredibly well in the group stages to progress to the last sixteen, this was probably the most disappointing game of the second round. Penalty shoot outs are always a difficult way to declare a winning team, but after two hours of football and no goals scored, it almost seemed fair this time. You have to feel for Yuichi Komano who blasted his spot kick against the crossbar. The game never really amounted to much in terms of clear goal scoring opportunities, and neither side went all out in extra time to get a goal. Japan may feel that they could have progressed further in this tournament, but taking the whole of the game into consideration, Paraguay deserved to win - but only just. They now face a very stern challenge against Spain, who are hitting good form just at the right time. What are the chances of two South American semi-finals?

Spain 1 – 0 Portugal

This might not have been the spectacular goal fest many football fans had been anticipating, but Spain played a very intelligent game against the Portuguese. Vicente del Bosque stuck to his game plan, despite not having scored in the first half, having faith that his team would find a goal. With David Villa on the pitch, it’s more than just a possibility. He now has four goals in the last three games. Unless Fernando Torres can rediscover his goal scoring form, Spain may have to rely on Villa for a little longer. Their defence did its job in frustrating Cristiano Ronaldo, limited him mostly to shots from distance. Portugal also defended strongly, but their key players in midfield didn’t get enough of the ball so as to provide an attacking threat. The red card for Ricardo Costa near the end of the game was thoroughly disappointing, as there didn’t seem to be any contact at all between him and Capdevila. The better side won on the night, though.



That's the end of the second round. The quarter-finals begin on Friday, and we have some very interesting matches. I'll be writing about those over the weekend, so stay tuned. Your thoughts and comments are appreciated, as always.

World Cup 2010 - Second Round (part one)

We're four matches in, and we've seen more spectacular goals balanced with more controversy. The intensity appears to have been stepped up in this round, which makes for some great entertaining football. Here are my thoughts on the first four games of the second round...

Uruguay 2 – 1 South Korea

Uruguay have been a surprise in this tournament. They won Group A with relative ease, and were rewarded with what appeared to be a very winnable second round match against South Korea. Luis Suárez put Uruguay ahead early on with a little help from a goalkeeping error, but seemed to fade a little in the second half which let the Koreans back into the match. Uruguay went on to win the game though, and showed good strength and character in doing so. Overall, they were the better team, as they have been in all their games so far. Diego Forlan was instrumental once again. This team has the ability to turn defence into attack with ease. Ajax had better watch out, because I imagine a number of teams have noticed Suárez in the last few games. His second goal, which turned out to be the winner, was superb. Uruguay now have a very legitimate shot of reaching the semi final stages if they can maintain the right balance which has been successful for them so far

USA 1 – 2 Ghana (aet)

This was a really good game of football. USA, for the third time in four games, went 1-0 down early on to a determined Ghanaian side. Their defence really has been quite terrible in this tournament, and it’s the reason they haven’t managed to progress any further. Players like Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan can only carry this team so far. They don’t have enough quality in front of goal. All five of their goals in this tournament came from midfielders. USA did show good character in the second half and were good for their equaliser. They even had a number of good opportunities to win the game in regulation, but conceded early in extra time, and it was again due to poor defending. The finish, though, was excellent by Asamoah Gyan – another player who has a good future ahead of him. I’m not sure this one can really be called an upset because Ghana are clearly the best African side in this tournament. However, they are young, and Uruguay possess a tough challenge for them.

Germany 4 – 1 England

A fantastic and promising display if you’re a Germany supporter, an absolute horror show if you’re an England supporter. Germany dominated the game and played some fantastic football. Thomas Mueller was outstanding. England’s defence, bar Ashley Cole (who I think has been England’s best individual player in this tournament) was appalling. John Terry and Matthew Upson were nowhere for the first two goals. England pulled one back, and should have been level at half-time after Frank Lampard’s strike was adjudged to have not crossed the line, despite a number of replays demonstrating otherwise. The most disappointing thing is that England had the momentum after half-time, but failed to capitalise. They just haven’t gelled as a team, and their better players certainly were not at their best. Germany ripped them to shreds with two excellent counter-attacking goals later on in the game and won the game comfortably. What happens to Fabio Capello now? This one will take a long time to heal for England fans. Germany, however, were fantastic.

Argentina 3 – 1 Mexico

This was the most entertaining game of the first four. The first half was probably the best 45 minutes of attacking football so far in this tournament. Mexico were clearly rattled by Argentina’s first goal courtesy of Carlos Tevez, which was a shame because the game had been quite even up until that point. Sloppy defending was at fault for Argentina’s second, by which point it seemed there was no way back for Mexico. However, they continued to press on in the second half and created some good chances. Tevez’s second, and Argentina’s third, was unstoppable, but Hernandez’s consolation was enough to keep the game exciting until the end. Mexico played fairly well, but they just lack a cutting edge in front of goal to make them a top side in international football. Argentina were good value for their win and now face a dynamic German side in the quarter finals. These two teams have some history so it promises to be a fiery encounter.



Stay tuned for the second part of this section where I will look at the remaining second round matches, and also the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Your comments are always appreciated.