South Africa 2010 Blog

GROUP REVIEW: GROUP A

2010-07-14T10:20:00.006-04:00

GROUP REVIEW: GROUP A

Final Standings

Results

Group Stage

Mexico 1-1 South Africa
France 0-0 Uruguay
Uruguay 3-0 South Africa
Mexico 2-0 France
Uruguay 1-0 Mexico
South Africa 2-1 France

Knockout Round

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea
Argentina 3-1 Mexico
Uruguay 1-1 (4:2) Ghana
Netherlands 3-2 Uruguay
Germany 3-2 Uruguay

Team Recaps

France

Updated World Ranking: 21st (Down 12)
Overall Tournament Rank: 29th of 32
Goalscorers: Florent Malouda (1)

Recap

France was a catastrophe this tournament. They underachieved on the field and off the field, embarrassing their country in the process.

France's biggest problem on the field was on offence. They managed just 1 goal in 3 games, and that goal did not come until very late in their final game against South Africa, when they were down 2-0. This team just could not get goals this tournament and their aging defence could do little to prevent goals being allowed.

France will be remembered in this tournament for their pathetic off-field display between their losses to Mexico and South Africa. The players, objecting to tactical and personnel decisions made by coach Raymond Domenech organized a strike and refused to train in advance of the South Africa game. The action led to the benchings of many players for France's final game, including reported ringleaders, superstar Franck Ribery and captain Patrice Evra.

Grade: F. The only F I'm giving out in this tournament and it is entirely based upon their inexcusable off-field behaviour. Other teams were bad in this tournament, but they at least didn't quit and throw a tantrum.

Mexico

Updated World Ranking: 24th (Down 7)
Overall Tournament Rank: 15th of 32
Goalscorers: Javier Hernandez (2), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (1), Rafael Marquez (1)

Recap

Mexican fans had high hopes for this team coming in and while they looked promising at times, I'm not sure they had a terribly good tournament.

They tied with South Africa to open the tournament. They didn't look bad in that game but it's hard to tell if they were playing down to South Africa's level or if South Africa was just charged up for opening the tournament at home. They then defeated France 2-0 and it appeared as if Mexico was bound to make a deep run in the tournament. In retrospect, that victory against France isn't a lot to brag about. They then lost to Uruguay, missing out on the very favourable draw afforded to the Group A winner and were taken out by Argentina in the Round of 16.

1 win and 2 losses for Mexico in 4 games, and the team they beat was a shambles throughout the tournament. Not the best performance by Mexico. The good thing for Mexican fans though is that the nucleus of this time is very young, and likely has at least another 2 World Cups in it. If they can continue to build with youth, Mexico will be a force in 2014 and 2018.

Grade: C. Mexico didn't look bad at times. They showed a lot of the promise we'd expected to see but they weren't able to reflect it in the standings and took an early exit in the Round of 16. Promising play is great but in a tournament where 1 loss can eliminate you, you need to get results and Mexico didn't do that.

South Africa

Updated World Ranking: 66th (Up 17)
Overall Tournament Rank: 20th of 32
Goalscorers: Bongani Khumalo (1), Katlego Mphela (1), Siphiwe Tshabalala (1)

Recap

All things considered, the South African team did about as well as they could have been expected to going in to this tournament.

There was some optimism amongst observers that South Africa could get out of Group A, as no host had ever failed to advance from the group stage. But in the end, the hurdle was too big for South Africa.

They put up a very promising performance in the opener against Mexico, no doubt spurred on by the 85,000 fans in Soccer City cheering them on. In reality though, the team that lost 3-0 to Uruguay is probably a more accurate reflection of the strength of this team. They were able to cap off the group with a win against a demoralized France, a marquee victory for South Africa nonetheless.

For all of their "success" though, don't expect to see South Africa in 2014. This team has a long way to go to be amongst the elite teams in Africa, and will not have the advantage of an automatic spot in the next tournament.

Grade: C+. They didn't get out of group but they surpassed the expectations of many. It also gave casual fans in South Africa reason to stay interested in the tournament when they might not otherwise have done so.

Uruguay

Updated World Ranking: 6th (Up 10)
Overall Tournament Rank: 4th of 32
Goalscorers: Diego Forlan (5), Luis Suarez (3), Edinson Cavani (1), Alvaro Pereira (1), Maxi Pereira (1)

Recap

The surprise of the tournament, tiny Uruguay, who had not won in 60 years went to the semifinals, and lost to Germany in the third-place game, which in my opinion was the most entertaining of the tournament.

A pair of stars were also created for Uruguay. Diego Forlan, a name known in soccer circles won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament, cementing his legacy in World Cup history. Luis Suarez also made a name, scoring 3 goals, but he will be more remembered for outrageous dives in a pair of group games, and the now infamous handball against Ghana which prevented the winning goal for Ghana and helped Uruguay advance to the semifinals.

Uruguay was the biggest surprise in this tournament. Very few people had this team getting to the semifinals, and some didn't even have them getting out of their group. They benefitted from an easy knockout round draw but there is no denying the quality this team showed throughout the tournament, as evidenced by narrow 3-2 losses to both Netherlands and Germany at the end.

Uruguay was the last team to qualify, and came very close to winning. That goes to show that nothing is a given in this tournament.

Grade: A. Uruguay gets an A for both their quality of play, and for how far beyond their expectations they performed. They were one of the best and most entertaining teams of the tournament and gained a lot of respect in the world stages as a result. Their leap from 16th to 6th in the world rankings is a reflection of that.

Predictions Revisited

Pre-Tournament predictions in Italics

Who Should Win? : France. France should have been the victor going in to this group but they performed nowhere near where they should have. Very disappointing tournament for them.
Who Will Win? : France. Switched this pick to Mexico later but hats off to Uruguay who were the best team.
Best Match: Mexico vs. South Africa. First game of the World Cup and will go a long way to determining how this group plays out, both in terms of assessing Mexico's ability, and South Africa's chances. No argument here. The game was back and forth and South Africa stunned the crowd by scoring first. Mexico had to fight to equalize and it was a great game to kick off the tournament.
Worst Match: Uruguay vs. South Africa. Slow-paced game, which will be overshadowed by Mexico-France clash the following day. This game actually more exciting than anticipated albeit it was completely one-sided. Worst game of this group had to be France-Uruguay. Was a complete contrast on the opening day to the Mexico-South Africa game and had viewers fighting just to stay awake while watching.
Best Player: Franck Ribéry, France. Ribéry was a complete non-factor in this tournament, along with most of the French side. Diego Forlan was by far the best player in the group, and in the tournament.
Breakout Performance: Giovani dos Santos, Mexico. The only other potential name to throw in here would be fellow Mexican youngster Javier Hernandez. Both players shone in the front four for Mexico. Hernandez showed great finishing touch while dos Santos gave opposing defenders problems every game with his speed and ball-handling ability.
Advancing to Round of 16: France, Uruguay. Again, scratch France and substitute Mexico in there. Not the order I expected but it was clear in the tune-up games that these 2 were the strongest in the group, and their game against each other at the end of the group decided which was first and which was second.

Final Thoughts

Not the Group of Death that some anticipated it would be. The group was all but decided with 2 games still to play and neither South Africa or France threatened to advance from the group. Mostly entertaining games although a couple were very dull.

Outlook for 2014

France-Laurent Blanc has taken over as coach and will hopefully purge the team of the troublemakers and egos which led to the "strike". France is too talented a soccer nation not to rebound, and they should be back in full strength come 2014.

Mexico-Mexico is still young and could be a darkhorse to win the tournament in 2014. They shouldn't face too much difficulty qualifying from CONCACAF and it will be a shock if they are not back in 2014.

South Africa-They showed promise this tournament but whether or not they can keep it up will be a big question mark. They're currently ranked 12th in Africa, and I will be very surprised if they qualify in 2014.

Uruguay-Uruguay is talented but they will lose a few key parts prior to 2014, including Forlan in all likelihood. The advantage they will have is that Brazil will not take part in qualifying as they will host the tournament. Uruguay usually leaves it to the last second in qualifying, a habit they need to break. They have the talent to qualify but I won't say outright that they will at this point.

Game 64 Recap: Spain 1-0 (ET) Netherlands

2010-07-11T17:08:00.004-04:00

SPAIN 1-0 (ET) NETHERLANDS

It took nearly 120 minutes for either side to find a goal, but Spain's Andres Iniesta was eventually able to find the winning goal, and give Spain their first ever World Cup championship. With the loss, Netherlands now has the worst record of any nation in the World Cup final, losing all 3 times they have appeared. It also ended an unbeaten streak for the Dutch dating back nearly 2 years, and it was the first time they did not win in either qualifying or the finals of this tournament.

Spain has continued their brilliant run of success at the end of this decade. They have lost just 2 games in the past few years, and are now just the second team in history to win a World Cup after winning the European championship. The 2nd-ranked team in the world coming in to the tournament, they will presumably assume the top spot after this tournament, heading in to Euro 2012 qualifying as the top-ranked World Cup champion.

There will surely be some questions of the refereeing in this game, as English referee Howard Webb handed out a whopping 14 yellow cards in this game, 9 to the Dutch and 5 to the Spanish. Two of those Dutch yellow cards went to John Heitinga, who was ejected with just over 10 minutes remaining in extra time, an outcome that had to be a factor in the Iniesta goal.

Predictably slow start to this game as neither side wanted to surrender an early goal, although Netherlands nearly did just that. Sergio Ramos was left open on a Xavi corner kick and was able to head the ball towards goal, requiring a great save by Maarten Stekelenburg who was outstanding in this game. Ramos nearly created another goal when his cross nearly deflected off Heitinga and in to the goal, and Villa received an opportunity but his volley of a Capdevila cross went wide.

After the action in the first 15 minutes, things slowed down dramatically. Spain was content to hold the ball and play the possession game while the Dutch were just lobbing long balls forward to Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben. Robben had a chance late in the first half with a shot off the right flank but Iker Casillas was able to turn it wide.

Bizarre play in the 34th minute as Gregory van der Wiel played the ball long to Casillas, giving Spain possession after an injury to a Spanish player. The long ball took a high bounce and went over the head of Casillas and just wide of the goal. Casillas looked none too pleased with van der Wiel for having played the ball goalward, and it surely would have been the strangest World Cup final goal ever.

Spain came out the stronger team in the second half but struggled initially to manage any quality scoring chances. The Dutch, having lacked offence through much of the game got their best chance in the 62nd, again from Robben. Gerard Pique misplayed a long ball forward which led to a Robben breakaway. However, Casillas was able to come up with a monster save, getting his leg in the way of Robben's shot and sending it just wide.

Opportunities started coming for Spain after that but Stekelenburg was equal to the task denying David Villa from 5 yards out. Ramos again got a free header off of a corner kick but put this chance just over the crossbar, and Iniesta was denied a shot on goal by a great tackle in the penalty area from Wesley Sneijder.

Neither side could pick up a goal in regulation time, sending the game to extra time. Spain thought they won a penalty kick early in the period on a mad scramble in the Dutch goalmouth but it came to nothing. Cesc Fabregas then got a breakaway of his own and Stekelenburg made almost a mirror-image save to that of Casillas earlier in the game, preserving the draw.

Jesus Navas appeared to score late in the first half of extra time but Giovanni van Bronckhorst deflected the ball just wide of the goal. That was the last good chance of the first extra time period.

Despite Heitinga's ejection early in the second period, neither side could manage a goal until the 116th minute. Fernando Torres attempted to cross the ball to Iniesta but it was turned aside by the Dutch defender. However, it went straight to Fabregas who was successful in finding Iniesta, who just snuck a shot past the arm of Stekelenburg for the lone goal of the final. The Netherlands, down a man could do nothing to equalize, as they appeared physically spent and emotionally frustrated, mostly with referee Howard Webb.

Neither Villa or Sneijder could score, which means Germany's Thomas Muller won the Golden Boot Award as top goalscorer. All 3, along with Uruguay's Diego Forlan had 5 goals, but Muller was awarded the trophy as he had the most assists of the four. Muller also won the Young Player Award. Forlan, the backbone of Uruguay and really the only reason they progressed to the semifinals won the Golden Ball Award as the tournament's best player. Casillas won the Golden Glove Award as the best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Man of the Match, not surprisingly was Iniesta who scored the winning goal with minutes to go. Next up for both teams is qualifying for Euro 2012. Qualifying for these teams for the next World Cup will begin sometime in the fall of 2012.

Notes

Along with the 2 yellow cards to Heitinga, Dutch yellow cards went to van der Wiel, Joris Mathijsen, van Bronckhorst, van Bommel, de Jong, van Persie and Robben. Spanish yellow cards went to Carles Puyol, Iniesta, Xavi, Joan Capdevila, and Sergio Ramos. Dutch subs were Eljero Elia, Rafael van der Vaart and Edson Braafheid, replacing Dirk Kuyt, de Jong and van Bronckhorst. Spanish subs were Jesus Navas, Fabregas and Torres, replacing Pedro, Xabi Alonso and Villa.

Game 64 Starting Lineups

2010-07-11T13:19:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Spain and Netherlands:

Spain (4-5-1)

No surprises from Spain as they will go with the exact same lineup they employed against Germany.

Goalkeeper-Iker Casillas (#1)
Left Back-Joan Capdevila (#11)
Left-Centre Back-Carles Puyol (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Gerard Pique (#3)
Right Back-Sergio Ramos (#15)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Xabi Alonso (#14)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Sergio Busquets (#16)
Left Attacking Midfield-Pedro (#18)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Xavi (#8)
Right Attacking Midfield-Andres Iniesta (#6)
Centre Forward-David Villa (#7)

Netherlands (4-2-4)

Back to their first-choice starting 11 as van der Wiel and de Jong return from suspension.

Goalkeeper-Maarten Stekelenburg (#1)
Left Back-Giovanni van Bronckhorst (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Joris Mathijsen (#4)
Right-Centre Back-John Heitinga (#3)
Right Back-Gregory van der Wiel (#2)
Left-Centre Midfield-Nigel de Jong (#8)
Right-Centre Midfield-Mark van Bommel (#6)
Left Forward-Dirk Kuyt (#7)
Centre Forward-Wesley Sneijder (#10)
Right Forward-Arjen Robben (#11)
Striker-Robin van Persie (#9)

World Cup Final (Game 64) Preview: Spain vs. Netherlands

2010-07-10T20:23:00.008-04:00

Game 64 Preview: Spain vs. Netherlands

Date: July 11, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Soccer City, Johannesburg
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): 4-4-1
Last Meeting: 2002 Friendly-Netherlands def. Spain 1-0

Team Profiles

Spain

World Ranking: 2nd
Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Captain: Iker Casillas
Finals Appearance: 13th
Best Finals Finish: Fourth Place (1950)

Netherlands

World Ranking: 4th
Coach: Bert van Marwijk
Captain: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Finals Appearance: 9th
Best Finals Finish: Finalists (1974,1978)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Spain: 10-0-0, GF: 28 GA: 5
Netherlands: 8-0-0, GF: 17 GA: 2

Previous Games

Spain:

June 16th-Switzerland def. Spain 2-1
June 21st-Spain def. Honduras 2-0
June 25th-Spain def. Chile 2-1
June 29th-Spain def. Portugal 1-0
July 3rd-Spain def. Paraguay 1-0
July 7th-Spain def. Germany 1-0

Netherlands:

June 14th-Netherlands def. Denmark 2-0
June 19th-Netherlands def. Japan 1-0
June 24th-Netherlands def. Cameroon 2-1
June 28th-Netherlands def. Slovakia 2-1
July 2nd-Netherlands def. Brazil 2-1
July 6th-Netherlands def. Uruguay 3-2

Rosters

Spain

Netherlands

Background

Last game of the tournament to determine who will be the 2010 World Cup Champion, and subsequently become the Eighth champion in World Cup history. This will also mark the first ever time that Europe has won a World Cup on a continent other than their own.

Spain have never even been to a World Cup final, having already bettered their best ever performance from 1950. Netherlands have been to the final twice before, falling short both times in 1974 and 1978.

Both teams have quality goalkeepers between the posts, who will be counted on to hold their teams in this game. Iker Casillas is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and while he is coming off a mediocre season with Real Madrid, he remains a force in goal. Maarten Stekelenburg plays for Ajax in the Dutch league, and is a solid goalkeeper albeit not in the elite echelon of world goalkeepers. Edge: Spain.

Solid defences on both sides but they play slightly different styles. The Spanish like to use fullbacks Sergio Ramos and Joan Capdevila as midfielders and offensive threats, leaving Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol at the back. This allows Spain to play their possession game and get shots on goal, but leaves them open to counter-attack. The Dutch keep their back line of Gregory van der Wiel, Joris Mathijsen, John Heitinga and Giovanni van Bronckhorst back more, to play as a traditional defensive line. Both styles work for their respective teams. The Dutch have surrendered more goals than Spain have but they also play a more open style of soccer. Edge: Even.

Both sides employ defensive midfielders, Sergio Busquets for Spain, and Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong for Netherlands. Busquets does a good job of filling the role Marcos Senna did for years with Spain. de Jong is responsible for protecting the back for the Dutch, while van Bommel has more license to roam the field, and will be the aggressor on a number of hard tackles in this game. Edge: Netherlands.

I'll bundle the offensive midfield/forwards together as both teams tend to blur the line between the two. David Villa, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta will be joined by either Pedro or Fernando Torres (likely Pedro) to form the offensive punch for Spain. Xavi is the catalyst in the centre and sets up plays for the others. All 5 are capable of scoring but the real threat is David Villa, currently tied for the tournament goals lead at 5. The Dutch front 4 is comprised of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie and Dirk Kuyt. Kuyt and van Persie provide attacking and scoring options but Robben and Sneijder are the players who run this offence in the midfield. Sneijder has 5 goals on the tournament as well, while Robben is a threat whenever the ball is on his feet. Edge: Even.

Injuries

Spain: None
Netherlands: Wesley Sneijder (Probable-Calf), Maarten Stekelenburg (Probable-Hip)

Discipline

Spain: N/A
Netherlands: N/A

Spain will win if:

They shut down Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. Spain might have a bit of trouble playing their possession game against the Dutch, who are an excellent possession team as well. Robben and Sneijder are deadly at all times but especially on the counter-attack. If Spain loses possession, their defenders need to get back in a hurry, and Busquets needs to lock down on Wesley Sneijder, preventing him from getting any opportunities in this game. The Dutch have a number of players who can score but Robben and Sneijder are the ones Spain have to be most concerned about.

Netherlands will win if:

They can keep Spain out of their penalty area. The Dutch defence is good, but not necessarily great. Stekelenburg in goal is good, but again not necessarily great. Spain will have more chances on goal than the Dutch in this game. If Netherlands can prevent players like Iniesta, Villa or Pedro from getting those free runs in to the penalty area that they love, they'll force Spain from shooting from outside, shots the 6'5" Stekelenburg should handle comfortably. If they allow the Spaniards to get inside their lines for shooting chances, they will not win this game.

Prediction

For all the offensive threats in this game, this isn't going to be high-scoring. Both sides will be looking to defend as much as possible at the start, not wanting to surrender a lead early on. Both sides also love to hold possession as much as possible. That translates in to a low-scoring game, and actually a game that some would class as boring if it wasn't a World Cup final.

The combo of Robben and Sneijder for Netherlands gives them the chance to get some goals on Spain, something that has only happened twice in six games this tournament. But I think Spain will be able to control the ball in this one and I doubt the Dutch defence can hold Spain outside of the scoring area for an entire game.

Spain wins this one and needs all 90 minutes (or more) to do so.

Spain 1-0 Netherlands

Game 63 Recap: Germany 3-2 Uruguay

2010-07-10T16:33:00.003-04:00

GERMANY 3-2 URUGUAY

The best of the game tournament turned out to be the only one that had no real implications. Germany and Uruguay went toe-to-toe for 90 minutes in this game, with Germany emerging the victor on a late goal from midfielder Sami Khedira.

The game started at a quick pace with both sides getting chances in the first 10 minutes. Diego Forlan picked up a pair of free kicks for Uruguay, narrowly missing the goalpost on his second attempt. Minutes later, Arne Friedrich got his head on a Bastian Schweinsteiger corner kick but could only connect with the crossbar. Thomas Muller then headed the rebound in to a Uruguay defender and the ball was cleared.

Muller opened the scoring in the 19th minute with his 5th goal of the tournament, to give him a tie for the lead in goals with just one game to go. Schweinsteiger fired a shot on goal from 30 yards out which fooled goalkeeper Muslera who could only punch the ball back in to his penalty area. Muller picked up the rebound and slid it in to the corner of the goal for the easy tap-in.

The German lead did not last long though as the equalized in the 28th minute. Schweinsteiger coughed the ball up in the midfield, leading to a Luis Suarez run through the German half. Suarez found Edinson Cavani on a run up the left side and Cavani made no mistake on the shot, putting it inside the far post past German goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt. Butt was seeing his first action of the tournament.

Suarez nearly found a goal for himself late in the first half on a run in to the penalty area but his shot went just wide. It was a tough night for Suarez who was booed by the crowd every time he touched the ball, no doubt as a response to his handball in the quarterfinals which contributed to a Ghana loss.

Uruguay picked up the go-ahead goal a few minutes in to the second half, from their star player Diego Forlan. Egidio Arevalo beat 2 defenders on the right wing and crossed the ball to Forlan who expertly volleyed the ball towards the goal, past Butt who could only watch the ball go in to the net. It was the fifth of the tournament for Forlan, giving him a share of the tournament lead in goals as well.

Germany would not let Uruguay hold the lead for long though, as Marcell Jansen tied the game a few minutes later. Jerome Boateng provided a long sailing ball in to the penalty area which Muslera was unable to get hands on, and Jansen was able to head the ball home. This was not the first goal Muslera has allowed this tournament where he was too hesitant to go after a ball and it resulted in a German tying goal this time.

Butt managed to keep Germany in this game as Uruguay continued to threaten on offence, making saves in quick succession on Suarez from distance, and Forlan from in close. Butt's hard work payed off in the end as Germany found the winning goal in the 82nd minute.

Mesut Ozil played the ball in to the penalty area on a corner kick. The Uruguayan defence was unable to clear the ball and Khedira was given an open header, which he volleyed over Muslera and inside the far post.

Forlan got one last chance to make a dramatic ending on the final play of the game, with a free kick from just outside the penalty area. Forlan put the ball through the wall but it was unable to dip under the crossbar, heading the topside of the bar and going out of play. The referee whistled for full time seconds later.

Brilliant game from both sides who in a game with nothing to lose, played open offensive styles of soccer which fans have been clamouring for all tournament. Thomas Muller was named Man of the Match, as the 20 year-old tied the tournament lead in scoring with his goal, and all but guaranteed that he will win the Best Young Player Award of the tournament.

Notes

Dennis Aogo and Cacau got yellow cards for Germany, as did Diego Perez for Uruguay. German subs were Stefan Kiessling, Toni Kroos and Serdar Tasci, replacing Cacau, Jansen and Ozil. Uruguay subs were Walter Gargano and Sebastian Abreu, replacing Perez and Cavani. Miroslav Klose was held out of the game with a back injury. This means that unless Klose returns in 2014 at the age of 36, he will not be able to match Ronaldo's all-time scoring record of 15 goals. Klose currently sits at 14.

Game 63 Starting Lineups

2010-07-10T13:36:00.004-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Germany and Uruguay:

Germany (4-5-1)

5 changes for Germany. They have been hampered by a flu bug and injury so they're prevented from starting their regular 11.

Goalkeeper-Hans-Jorg Butt (#22)
Left Back-Dennis Aogo (#4)
Left-Centre Back-Per Mertesacker (#17)
Right-Centre Back-Arne Friedrich (#3)
Right Back-Jerome Boateng (#20)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Bastian Schweinsteiger (#7)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Sami Khedira (#6)
Left Attacking Midfield-Marcell Jansen (#2)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Mesut Ozil (#8)
Right Attacking Midfield-Thomas Muller (#13)
Centre Forward-Cacau (#19)

Uruguay (4-4-2)

A few changes for Uruguay as well who are returning to their usual starting lineup.

Goalkeeper-Fernando Muslera (#1)
Left Back-Martin Caceres (#22)
Left-Centre Back-Diego Godin (#3)
Right-Centre Back-Diego Lugano (#2)
Right Back-Jorge Fucile (#4)
Left Midfield-Edinson Cavani (#7)
Left-Centre Midfield-Egidio Arevalo (#17)
Right-Centre Midfield-Diego Perez (#15)
Right Midfield-Maxi Pereira (#16)
Left-Centre Forward-Diego Forlan (#10)
Right-Centre Forward-Luis Suarez (#9)

Third Place Game (Game 63) Preview: Germany vs. Uruguay

2010-07-09T16:53:00.007-04:00

Game 63 Preview: Germany vs. Uruguay

Date: July 10, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Germany 6-2-2
Last Meeting: 1993 Friendly-Germany def. Uruguay 5-0

Team Profiles

Germany

World Ranking: 6th
Coach: Joachim Löw
Captain: Philipp Lahm
Finals Appearance: 17th (also appeared as West Germany)
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1954,1974,1990)

Uruguay

World Ranking: 18th
Coach: Oscar Tabárez
Captain: Diego Lugano
Finals Appearance: 11th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1930,1950)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Germany: 8-0-2, GF: 26 GA: 5
Uruguay: 7-6-7 GF: 30 GA: 21

Previous Games

Germany:

June 13th-Germany def. Australia 4-0
June 18th-Serbia def. Germany 1-0
June 23rd-Germany def. Ghana 1-0
June 27th-Germany def. England 4-1
July 3rd-Germany def. Argentina 4-0
July 7th-Spain def. Germany 1-0

Uruguay:

June 11th-Uruguay tied France 0-0
June 16th-Uruguay def. South Africa 3-0
June 22nd-Uruguay def. Mexico 1-0
June 26th-Uruguay def. South Korea 2-1
July 2nd-Uruguay tied Ghana 1-1 (Uruguay advances 4:2 on penalty kicks)
July 6th-Netherlands def. Uruguay 3-2

Rosters

Germany

Uruguay

Background

It's a game that no one really wants to take part in but Germany and Uruguay will square off in Port Elizabeth in a contest for third-place. There are a few perks to taking third place in this tournament, the first of which being pride. Also up for grabs are an additional 2 million dollars in prize money to the victor, and a shot at the Golden Boot Trophy for a few players who are sitting on 4 goals, one behind the tournament leaders.

Uruguay may find itself out of its depth again in this game as they were against Netherlands in the semifinal. Germany have been an offensive machine for much of the tournament and will be looking for some retribution after getting soundly beaten by Spain in their semifinal game.

Rosters will be announced tomorrow but it is anticipated that both sides will play their starting lineups in what is essentially a meaningless game. Hopefully both sides will go with their strongest sides, although don't be shocked if their are a few replacements, as coaches give some World Cup experience to younger players who haven't seen a lot of time in this tournament.

Injuries

Germany: Miroslav Klose (Questionable-Back), Philipp Lahm (Probable-Illness), Lukas Podolski (Probable-Illness)
Uruguay: Diego Forlan (Probable-Thigh), Diego Lugano (Probable-Knee)

Discipline

Germany: N/A
Uruguay: N/A

Germany will win if:

They get back to an aggressive counter-attacking style that saw them score 4 goals in three separate games this tournament. Germany was far too passive against Spain. They allowed Spain to control the ball and never got the chance to set up their countering style. Thomas Muller's return to the lineup will boost their offence but they can not sit back like they did against Spain if they want to win this game.

Uruguay will win if:

They take a lesson from Spain and play a ball possession game. Uruguay does not have a strong defence and while Fernando Muslera has shown flashes of brilliance in this tournament, he's surrendered 5 goals in the past 3 games in the Uruguay goal. Uruguay needs to be patient and focus on wearing down Germany and keeping the ball in their possession. If they let Germany win the possession game, they will get lit up by the German offence and will have no chance in this game

Prediction

It's always tough to predict a third-place game as you never know how serious either side is taking the game or what team is going to start. On the assumption that both teams stick with their starting lineups, I like Germany in this game. Uruguay is not the ball-control juggernaut that Spain is and I can't see Germany falling flat in 2 consecutive games. Germany scores early and often in this one as Muller and Klose try for the a shot at the Golden Boot Trophy. Klose is also just one goal short of a tie with Ronaldo for the all-time goal-scoring lead in the World Cup.

Germany 3-1 Uruguay

Knockout Round Analysis-Semifinal Edition

2010-07-09T16:48:00.003-04:00

Here's the updated bracket after the semifinals games:

No surprises in the Netherlands-Uruguay game. Scoreline was close but not at all indicative of how the game story went. Netherlands controlled this game and it should be no surprise that they advanced to the final.

Spain beat Germany in the other semifinal and while the result isn't necessarily surprising, Germany's performance was. Germany was very passive in this game, a disastrous tactic to employ against a team that dominates possession like Spain does. It took 73 minutes but Spain was inevitably going to score in that game. Disappointing show by Germany who had done so well up to that point in the tournament and they're stuck with third place at best.

Game 62 Recap: Spain 1-0 Germany

2010-07-07T16:23:00.004-04:00

SPAIN 1-0 GERMANY

It wasn't pretty but Spain was able to grind out a victory against a lackluster German team, to set up a final date with the Netherlands. Neither team has won the World Cup before, assuring that an 8th country will join the ranks of the World Cup champions after this tournament.

Spain won this game in typical Spanish fashion, controlling possession of the ball with their passing, and wearing down their opponents on the way to victory. Germany could offer little in the way of offence as they had so little of the ball, and could only hold on defensively for so long before surrendering a goal.

Spain had the better of the scoring chances in the first half. An early through ball from Pedro found David Villa in the penalty area but he could not get a solid touch on the ball, driving it straight at the goalkeeper Neuer.

Carles Puyol then drove a header over top of the net from in close off of an Andres Iniesta corner kick.

While there was little in the way of offensive chances in the first half, there was a sense that if a goal was going to come, it would belong to Spain. They dominated the pace of the game and very rarely in the half was the ball outside of the German half.

Chances continued to come for Spain in the second half. Xabi Alonso fired a shot just wide in the 48th minute after Pedro delivered him the ball beautifully just outside the box.

Pedro then had his own chance with a shot from outside the area which was saved by Neuer. The loose ball squirted out to Andres Iniesta who ran in to the penalty area but his short cross to Villa just missed and the opportunity was squandered.

A rare German chance came in the 69th minute when Lukas Podolski found Toni Kroos on a cross into the penalty area, but Iker Casillas was able to make the save on Kroos' volley.

Spain responded in the 73rd, picking up the only goal of the game, and it was from Puyol off of another corner kick. Xavi played the ball in to the back of the area, and Puyol came on a run from way out and leaped over everyone to get the touch with his head, and inside the far post past Neuer.

Spain nearly finished the game in the 85th when Pedro and Fernando Torres came on a 2-on-1 rush but Pedro passed on the cross to Torres and wasted possession. Luckily for Pedro and Spain, Germany could offer nothing against the defensive shell Spain fell in to and the Puyol goal was enough to send them through to the final.

Spain and Netherlands will play in the final on Sunday at Soccer City in Johannesburg. Germany will play Uruguay in the third-place game the day before in Port Elizabeth.

Xavi was named Man of the Match, as he was again the playmaker in the Spanish midfield, setting up many of the numerous chances they had in the second half.

Notes

No yellow cards issued in what was a very clean game. Marcell Jansen, Kroos and Mario Gomez were the German subs, replacing Jerome Boateng, Piotr Trochowski and Sami Khedira. Torres, David Silva and Carlos Marchena were the Spanish subs, replacing Villa, Pedro and Xabi Alonso.

Game 62 Starting Lineups

2010-07-07T13:22:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Spain and Germany:

Spain (4-5-1)

1 change for Spain that will be surprising to some although anticipated by many who have followed Spain this tournament. Star striker Fernando Torres is out of the starting lineup, having failed to score or find his game in this tournament. Pedro takes his place. Spain have also gone to a 4-5-1, a mirror image of Germany's formation.

Goalkeeper-Iker Casillas (#1)
Left Back-Joan Capdevila (#11)
Left-Centre Back-Carles Puyol (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Gerard Pique (#3)
Right Back-Sergio Ramos (#15)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Xabi Alonso (#14)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Sergio Busquets (#16)
Left Attacking Midfield-Pedro (#18)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Xavi (#8)
Right Attacking Midfield-Andres Iniesta (#6)
Centre Forward-David Villa (#7)

Germany (4-5-1)

Just one change for Germany as well as Piotr Trochowski take the place of the suspended Thomas Muller.

Goalkeeper-Manuel Neuer (#1)
Left Back-Jerome Boateng (#20)
Left-Centre Back-Per Mertesacker (#17)
Right-Centre Back-Arne Friedrich (#3)
Right Back-Philipp Lahm (#16)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Bastian Schweinsteiger (#7)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Sami Khedira (#6)
Left Attacking Midfield-Lukas Podolski (#10)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Mesut Ozil (#8)
Right Attacking Midfield-Piotr Trochowski (#15)
Centre Forward-Miroslav Klose (#11)

Semifinal Game 2 (Game 62) Preview: Spain vs. Germany

2010-07-06T16:56:00.008-04:00

Game 62 Preview: Spain vs. Germany

Date: July 7, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Germany 8-6-6
Last Meeting: Euro 2008 Final-Spain def. Germany 1-0

Team Profiles

Spain

World Ranking: 2nd
Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Captain: Iker Casillas
Finals Appearance: 13th
Best Finals Finish: Fourth Place (1950)

Germany

World Ranking: 6th
Coach: Joachim Löw
Captain: Philipp Lahm
Finals Appearance: 17th (also appeared as West Germany)
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1954,1974,1990)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Spain: 10-0-0, GF: 28 GA: 5
Germany: 8-0-2, GF: 26 GA: 5

Previous Games

Spain:

June 16th-Switzerland def. Spain 2-1
June 21st-Spain def. Honduras 2-0
June 25th-Spain def. Chile 2-1
June 29th-Spain def. Portugal 1-0
July 3rd-Spain def. Paraguay 1-0

Germany:

June 13th-Germany def. Australia 4-0
June 18th-Serbia def. Germany 1-0
June 23rd-Germany def. Ghana 1-0
June 27th-Germany def. England 4-1
July 3rd-Germany def. Argentina 4-0

Rosters

Spain

Germany

Background

Netherlands winning yesterday assured us that it will be an all-Europe final for the second straight tournament. Now it is up to these two European powerhouses to determine which will join the Dutch in that game.

Spain has already equaled their best ever showing in a World Cup by getting to the semifinals, but is desperately trying to add a World title to their current European title. They will also be looking to become just the second nation to win the World Cup immediately after winning the European Championship. The first team to accomplish that feat? Germany.

3-time champion Germany has surprised everyone with their showing so far. They were criticized for being too young with an average under 25 and at no point were they considered a favourite to win the tournament. Not only have they been winning, but they've put up 4 goals for in 3 separate games, and dispatched of England and Argentina in the knockout round by a combined score of 8-1. Germany has gone from longshot to favourite throughout this tournament and will be looking for one more victory to set up the rivalry game in the final between Germany and Netherlands.

Also on Germany's mind in this game is redemption. These teams last met in the final of Euro 2008 in Austria, with Spain emerging as a 1-0 victor. Two-thirds of the anticipated starters in this game started that game so these teams know each other well, and this should be an exciting game as a result.

Injuries

Spain: None
Germany: Cacau (Abdominal-Probable), Sami Khedira (Leg-Probable)

Discipline

Spain: N/A
Germany: Thomas Muller (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)

Spain will win if:

They can win the possession battle against Germany like they have in every other game. Spain has been a little boring some might say in this tournament, content to control the ball in the midfield, but it works for them. Whether or not it will work against Germany is a different story. If they can grind the game down like they did in the Euro 2008 final then they can squeeze out the victory. Dangerous tactic to play against a counter-attacking team in Germany but it's what Spain does best.

Germany will win if:

Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose can make up for the loss of Thomas Muller to suspension. The 20 year-old Muller has been a star in this tournament with 4 goals from his attacking midfield position. He is not the midfield catalyst for this team but his finishing touch is something Germany will sorely miss. If Podolski and Klose can provide the offensive finish Muller has then Germany will be fine. If not, Germany could be destined for the third-place game.

Prediction

Germany wins and here's why. Spain has abandoned the wings on offence. Everything they have done is straight up the middle, and they collapse in to the centre offensively. With Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Friedrich and Mertesacker in the middle, that is not going to work.

Both goals Germany has surrendered in this tournament have come from the flanks, an area of the field Spain has ignored in this tournament. Between that fact and Germany's potent offence, Germany will win this game and go to the final.

Germany 2-1 Spain

Game 61 Recap: Netherlands 3-2 Uruguay

2010-07-06T16:28:00.003-04:00

NETHERLANDS 3-2 URUGUAY

Not the strongest performance by the Dutch but they did enough to beat a watered-down Uruguay squad and advance to the World Cup final for the third time, hoping to emerge victorious for the first time.

Uruguay on the other hand will look to console themselves with a victory in the third-place match, a game in which they will surely benefit from the return of suspended striker Luis Suarez and injured captain Diego Lugano.

Slow start to the game as the teams waited to get a handle of the pitch and their opponent, but the game woke up in the 17th minute when Netherlands opened the scoring on what will surely go down as the goal of the tournament.

A string of innocent passes in the midfield led to a Giovanni van Bronckhorst goal from 35 yards out when no scoring chance appeared obvious. van Bronckhorst fired a strike from way out which soared past the diving goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, and inside the confluence of the crossbar and the far post for an amazing goal. The Dutch struck first on a great goal which they deserved based on the course of play.

Uruguay didn't go away though and showed the resiliency they have all tournament by notching an equalizing goal just before halftime.

Diego Forlan continued his impressive World Cup run by picking up his fourth of the tournament, with a strike from 30 yards out. Forlan picked up the ball from the centre of the field and was left wide open by the Dutch defence. His curling shot went over the head of the defender Heitinga and past goalkeeper Stekelenburg who got a hand to it but not enough to deflect the shot wide. Disappointing goal for the Netherlands as the defence should not have given Forlan nearly enough room to shoot, and Stekelenburg should have made the save.

Although they weren't the stronger side if the first half, Uruguay emerged as the aggressor after halftime. A poor back pass to Stekelenburg in the 49th minute nearly turned in to an Edinson Cavani goal before going out for a corner kick. Forlan then threatened the goal in the 67th minute on a free kick from a dangerous position which was just turned away by Stekelenburg.

Netherlands got the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute though and it was from Wesley Sneijder, who equaled the tournament lead of 5 goals with his strike. Sneijder fired the ball from the edge of the area off the leg of Maxi Pereira and past Muslera in to the far post for the 2-1 lead.

Netherlands appeared to put the game away just 3 minutes later on an Arjen Robben goal. Dirk Kuyt took the ball in the corner and made a perfect cross to Robben who headed the ball down an in off of the near post, past a frozen Muslera who could only watch the ball go in.

That goal appeared to be the dagger but Uruguay would not go away and found their second goal a minute in to injury time. A set piece off of a free kick led to a pass to Pereira who curled the ball past Stekelenburg to make the score 3-2. Uruguay threatened around the Dutch penalty area for the rest of injury time but couldn't get another shot on goal.

Uruguay will now face the loser of the other semifinal in the third-place game Saturday in Port Elizabeth. Netherlands will take on the semifinal winner Sunday in Johannesburg. Wesley Sneijder was named Man of the Match. Not a lot of great performances in this game but Sneijder did score the would-be winning goal and tied the tournament lead in goals scored in this game.

Notes

Dutch yellow cards went to Mark van Bommel, Sneijder and Khalid Boulahrouz. Uruguayan yellow cards went to Pereira and Martin Caceres. Dutch subs were Rafael van der Vaart and Eljero Elia replacing Demy de Zeeuw and Robben. Uruguayan subs were Sebastian Abreu and Sebastian Fernandez, replacing Alvaro Pereira and Forlan.

Game 61 Starting Lineups

2010-07-06T13:12:00.005-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Netherlands and Uruguay:

Netherlands (4-2-4)

Two changes for Netherlands. van der Wiel and de Jong are suspended, so Boulahrouz and de Zeeuw will start in their places. Mathijsen was pulled from the starting lineup just before the Brazil game, but he is healthy enough to start again in this game.

Goalkeeper-Maarten Stekelenburg (#1)
Left Back-Giovanni van Bronckhorst (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Joris Mathijsen (#4)
Right-Centre Back-John Heitinga (#3)
Right Back-Khalid Boulahrouz (#12)
Left-Centre Midfield-Demy de Zeeuw (#14)
Right-Centre Midfield-Mark van Bommel (#6)
Left Forward-Dirk Kuyt (#7)
Centre Forward-Wesley Sneijder (#10)
Right Forward-Arjen Robben (#11)
Striker-Robin van Persie (#9)

Uruguay (4-4-2)

Four changes for Uruguay as they account for injuries and suspensions.

Goalkeeper-Fernando Muslera (#1)
Left Back-Martin Caceres (#22)
Left-Centre Back-Mauricio Victorino (#6)
Right-Centre Back-Diego Godin (#3)
Right Back-Maxi Pereira (#16)
Left Midfield-Alvaro Pereira (#11)
Left-Centre Midfield-Egidio Arevalo (#17)
Right-Centre Midfield-Walter Gargano (#5)
Right Midfield-Diego Perez (#15)
Left-Centre Forward-Diego Forlan (#10)
Right-Centre Forward-Edinson Cavani (#7)

Semifinal Game 1 (Game 61) Preview: Netherlands vs. Uruguay

2010-07-05T14:12:00.008-04:00

Game 61 Preview: Netherlands vs. Uruguay

Date: July 6, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Uruguay 3-1-0
Last Meeting: 1980 Friendly-Uruguay def. Netherlands 2-0

Team Profiles

Netherlands

World Ranking: 4th
Coach: Bert van Marwijk
Captain: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Finals Appearance: 9th
Best Finals Finish: Finalists (1974,1978)

Uruguay

World Ranking: 18th
Coach: Oscar Tabárez
Captain: Diego Lugano
Finals Appearance: 11th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1930,1950)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Netherlands: 8-0-0, GF: 17 GA: 2
Uruguay: 7-6-7 GF: 30 GA: 21

Previous Games

Netherlands:

June 14th-Netherlands def. Denmark 2-0
June 19th-Netherlands def. Japan 1-0
June 24th-Netherlands def. Cameroon 2-1
June 28th-Netherlands def. Slovakia 2-1
July 2nd-Netherlands def. Brazil 2-1

Uruguay:

June 11th-Uruguay tied France 0-0
June 16th-Uruguay def. South Africa 3-0
June 22nd-Uruguay def. Mexico 1-0
June 26th-Uruguay def. South Korea 2-1
July 2nd-Uruguay tied Ghana 1-1 (Uruguay advances 4:2 on penalty kicks)

Rosters

Netherlands

Uruguay

Background

Two very different stories for these teams as they enter the first semifinal of the tournament. Netherlands is riding high, having won their first 5 games of the tournament. They have yet to lose or tie in 2010, and have not lost in 24 consecutive games. Uruguay on the other hand advanced to this stage in a swarm of controversy, after they defeated Ghana in no small part due to an intentional handball by Luis Suarez. That handball has sent many neutral observers in to the Dutch camp for this game, and we can expect a sea of orange in the stands when this game starts.

Both sides will be missing key pieces in this game. Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong are suspended for Netherlands, as are Suarez and Jorge Fucile for Uruguay. Uruguay are also having to deal with injury troubles as Nicolas Lodeiro is out, while captain Diego Lugano's participation is very questionable at this point.

The Dutch have tremendous balance and depth and should be able to cover for the absences. Their front four of van Persie, Robben, Sneijder and Kuyt caused all sorts of problems for Brazil defensively, and Uruguay is likely to face similar troubles in this game. Uruguay will have some trouble covering for their absences, especially in Suarez who is their most dangerous goalscoring threat. Diego Forlan will have to work extra hard in the attacking midfield to create opportunities for Uruguay offensively.

Netherlands are arguably the greatest side to never win a World Cup, and they now find themselves one win away from a chance to rectify that. Uruguay meanwhile will be trying to continue their quasi-Cinderella run to the final, without one of their top goalscorers and possibly their captain.

Injuries

Netherlands: Robin van Persie (Probable-Elbow), Joris Mathijsen (Probable-Leg)
Uruguay: Diego Lugano (Questionable-Knee), Nicolas Lodeiro (Out-Foot)

Discipline

Netherlands: Gregory van der Wiel (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME), Nigel de Jong (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)
Uruguay: Jorge Fucile (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME), Luis Suarez (Red-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)

Netherlands will win if:

Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder create havoc along the flanks as they did against Brazil. Their play single-handedly took Michel Bastos out of that game as he could not do anything to defend other than continuously foul Robben. Uruguay won't have their first-choice left back Fucile in this one, and look for the Netherlands to exploit that. If they do, they will get scoring chances all game off of the right side and with their talent, will be able to convert those chances in to goals.

Uruguay will win if:

Diego Forlan can maintain the offensive flare he's shown this tournament without Suarez on the field. Forlan has been one of the best players, but he's been playing more of an attacking midfield role, setting up plays and letting Suarez finish them. Forlan won't have that luxury this game. He needs to be the go-to guy up front to get the goals. If he cannot do that, or if no one can fill his void in the midfield, then Uruguay can't possibly hope to win this game.

Prediction

Uruguay's come further than many people figured they could (helper by a favourable draw), and that run is about to come to the end. Both teams are missing bodies but the difference is that Netherlands has the depth to cover their suspensions and injuries, whereas Uruguay doesn't. Not to mention the overwhelming advantage in talent Netherlands has, especially in the midfield. Uruguay puts up a fight but they don't have the tools to match Netherlands and Netherlands goes back to the final for the first time in 32 years.

Netherlands 2-0 Uruguay

Knockout Round Analysis-Quarterfinal Edition

2010-07-03T16:58:00.005-04:00

Here is the current bracket:

Comments on the quarterfinal matches:

Netherlands-Brazil-Bit of an upset although I don't think Netherlands gets the credit it deserves. I also don't think the Brazilian defence is as good as coach Dunga thought it was when he switched to a defensive style team and we saw that in this game. Brazil could not do anything against a solid Dutch defence and they got burned by their defence in their own end. Brazil played truly terrible in the second half and they're going home as a result.
Germany-Argentina-Someone might want to tell Diego Maradona to remind his players that their game was indeed today and not later. Argentina simply didn't show up in this one and I don't think it would have mattered even if they did. Was watching the replays and the game can be summed up by Gonzalo Higuain on the third goal. I know you're a forward playing defence at that moment but you need to step up and challenge Schweinsteiger as he's going by you rather than kicking a leg out and watching him go towards goal. Argentina gave up it seemed at that point and Germany deserves all the credit they get for that win.
Spain-Paraguay-Game perked up in the second half after one of the most boring displays of soccer in the tournament. The result was what it should have been although the path to it was unexpected.
Uruguay-Ghana-Left this one to the end as I want to touch on the whole Suarez handball issue. I thought this was an entertaining game. The two sides were evenly matched. I thought both teams tired a bit as the game went on which created a lull in the action but it certainly woke up at the end.

Regarding the Suarez handball, I've seen a lot of different viewpoints about it but the main one is that Suarez cheated.

I disagree. Suarez was in a tough position, where he was the only one in a position to make a save on a ball that was surely going in, and he did what was necessary in order to give Uruguay a chance to win the game.

Was it within the rules of the game? NO.
Did he get penalized for it? YES.
Does that mean he cheated? NO.

If people are going to argue that Suarez cheated, then when a hockey player gets a slashing penalty, they're cheating. When a basketball player charges in to an opponent, they're cheating. When a baseball player steps in to an inside pitch, they're cheating.

It's part of the game. He committed a foul knowing full well that he would be penalized for it and he was, but it afforded Uruguay the opportunity to win that game. The only point I can really make to the detractors of what he did is what would you rather he do? Watch the ball sail in to the net, pick the ball out and say 'better luck next time'? Exactly. He did what needed to be done, inside or outside the rules of the game.

Was it sporting? No, not really but I'd rather see a person take a direct foul in an attempt to win a game than sit idly by and essentially forfeit a game. That to me is the more unsportsmanlike act.

Suarez has been suspended 1 game by FIFA for the direct red card, and it would be a crime if he receives additional punishment. Well done to Luis Suarez for having the sense to sacrifice his future in the tournament to let Uruguay continue on to the semifinals.

Game 60 Recap: Spain 1-0 Paraguay

2010-07-03T16:34:00.003-04:00

SPAIN 1-0 PARAGUAY

It was a story of missed opportunities in this game as both sides had the chance to grab the victory, but it was Spain who came out with a narrow 1-0 victory.

Very slow start to the game as anticipated. Spain was content to control possession in the game and wear down Paraguay as much as possible. Paraguay surprised many observers though as they were the ones with the quality scoring chances in the first half.

Xavi livened up the game in the 30th minute with a volley from 35 yards out that dipped just over the crossbar. Jonathan Santana followed that up for Paraguay, just coming up short on his heading attempt to a cross.

Paraguay appeared to score late in the first half but the ball was called back for offside. The long ball was played in to the penalty area and Nelson Valdez headed it home for the goal. Valdez was called for offside but replay showed that it was his forward partner Cardozo that was offside and not Valdez. The goal should have stood, but the game went to halftime at 0-0.

Bizarre second half in this game, as both sides were afforded wonderful chances but could not capitalize.

Paraguay was awarded a penalty kick in the 58th minute, when Oscar Cardozo was dragged to the ground by Gerard Pique in the penalty area. Cardozo took the penalty himself but his shot was saved by Iker Casillas, who dove the correct way and made the save with his chest.

4 minutes later, Antolin Alcaraz took down David Villa in the Paraguayan penalty area, giving Spain a penalty kick. Xabi Alonso stepped up to take the penalty kick and scored, but the referee ruled that Spanish players entered the penalty area before the kick was taken. The kick was replayed and this time Villar made the save with his arms diving to the left, and the rebound was deflected out for a corner kick.

Golden opportunities wasted by both sides, and the game remained scoreless until the 83rd minute. Andres Iniesta made a great run up the centre of the field before passing off to Pedro on the wing. Pedro's shot struck the far post and rebounded out to Villa, who fired at the opposite post. The ball struck the post, shot across the face of goal in to the other post and finally in to the back of the net. Memorable goal for David Villa who now leads the tournament in goals with 5.

Paraguay nearly got the equalizer in the 89th minute as Lucas Barrios made a run down the right side. Barrios' shot was stopped by Casillas but it rebounded straight to a charging Roque Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz had a ton of net to shoot at but Casillas was able to recover enough to get in front of the shot and make the save to preserve the 1-0 victory for Spain.

Spain will now face Germany in the semifinals Wednesday in Durban. Regardless of result, Spain is now assured of matching their greatest ever finish in a World Cup, going all the way back to a fourth-place finish in 1950. Iniesta was named Man of the Match as the Villa goal was created entirely by him.

Notes

Pique and Sergio Busquets were given yellow cards for Spain. Claudio Morel, Santana, Victor Caceres and Alcaraz picked up yellow cards for Paraguay. Spanish subs were Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Carlos Marchena, replacing Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Carles Puyol. Paraguayan subs were Enrique Vera, Santa Cruz and Barrios, replacing Edgar Barreto, Valdez and Caceres.

Game 60 Starting Lineups

2010-07-03T13:58:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Spain and Paraguay:

Spain (4-4-2)

No changes for Spain. Some speculation that Torres might be replaced but he is in the starting lineup.

Goalkeeper-Iker Casillas (#1)
Left Back-Joan Capdevila (#11)
Left-Centre Back-Carles Puyol (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Gerard Pique (#3)
Right Back-Sergio Ramos (#15)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Sergio Busquets (#16)
Left Midfield-Xabi Alonso (#14)
Centre Midfield-Xavi (#8)
Right Midfield-Andres Iniesta (#6)
Left-Centre Forward-David Villa (#7)
Right-Centre Forward-Fernando Torres (#9)

Paraguay (4-4-2)

Paraguay has changed formation to almost a mirror-image of that which Spain employs. They also have 6 new bodies in the lineup, after their scoreless draw with Japan.

Goalkeeper-Justo Villar (#1)
Left Back-Claudio Morel (#3)
Left-Centre Back-Antolin Alcaraz (#21)
Right-Centre Back-Paulo Da Silva (#14)
Right Back-Dario Veron (#2)
Centre-Defensive Midfield-Victor Caceres (#15)
Left Midfield-Cristian Riveros (#16)
Centre Midfield-Edgar Barreto (#8)
Right Midfield-Jonathan Santana (#11)
Left Forward-Nelson Valdez (#18)
Right Forward-Oscar Cardozo (#7)

Game 59 Recap: Germany 4-0 Argentina

2010-07-03T11:47:00.003-04:00

GERMANY 4-0 ARGENTINA

There were questions coming in to this game about Argentina's ability to defend against a powerful offence like Germany. Germany answered those questions in this one. Argentina looked lost in their own end in this one and could do nothing to break through the German defensive lines, in what was a stunning blowout in Cape Town.

Germany immediately opened the scoring in the game, in a 3rd minute after a foul on Lukas Podolski. Bastian Schweinsteiger took the free kick from the side of the penalty area, and found Thomas Muller who headed the ball home. Muller somehow got front position on Nicolas Otamendi and headed the ball downward off the leg of goalkeeper Sergio Romero who appeared to be way out of position on the goal.

Germany nearly made it 2-0 on a patient setup which sprung Muller free on goal. Muller passed the ball across to Miroslav Klose who put the ball over the crossbar. The Argentine defence was completely dissected by the Germans and it should have been 2-0 at that point.

Argentina started to gain some momentum as the half wound done but they could do nothing to break through Germany's defence. Messi, Tevez and Higuain were resigned to taking weak shots from the outside all match, all of which were handled easily by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Argentina came out strong in the second half but again could not manage to threaten the German goal. As time passed, the defence pushed further and further forward which led to the inevitable second German goal.

In the 68th minute, Schweinsteiger played the ball forward to Podolski who patiently made his way through the penalty area before passing across to Klose who only had to tap the ball in to the open net. 6 minutes later, Germany put the game away from the most unlikely of sources.

The Argentine defence looked deflated at this point and Schweinsteiger was allowed to walk through 3 or 4 defenders down to the near post. Romero committed to stopping Schweinsteiger and he passed off the central defender Arne Friedrich who tapped the ball home. It was the first career international goal for Friedrich in his 76th appearance for Germany.

Germany padded their stats in the 89th minute when a German attack led to a Mesut Ozil cross to Klose who buried the ball in the far post for his second of the match. It was a dominant performance by Germany and Klose up front, and Klose is now just one goal behind Ronaldo in career goals in a World Cup.

Very disappointing performance for Argentina, but specifically for Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. Maradona talked a big game on this tournament but his team could not match the expectations that Maradona had put up for Argentina. As for Messi, the best player in the world was a complete non-factor in this game, and leaves the World Cup having scored no goals in five games.

Germany will play in the semifinals Wednesday in Durban, against either Spain or Paraguay. Man of the Match honours went to Schweinsteiger who had a part in setting up all 4 German goals, not to mention completely shutting down Messi in this game.

Notes

Javier Mascherano and Nicolas Otamendi picked up yellow cards for Argentina, while Muller picked up a yellow for Germany. Big blow for Germany there as Muller will miss the semifinal due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Argentine subs were Javier Pastore and Sergio Aguero, replacing Angel Di Maria and Otamendi. German subs were Marcell Jansen, Toni Kroos, and Piotr Trochowski, replacing Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira and Muller.

Quarterfinal Game 4 (Game 60) Preview: Spain vs. Paraguay

2010-07-03T10:47:00.007-04:00

Game 60 Preview: Spain vs. Paraguay

Date: July 3, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Spain 1-0-2
Last Meeting: 2002 Friendly-Spain tied Paraguay 0-0

Team Profiles

Spain

World Ranking: 2nd
Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Captain: Iker Casillas
Finals Appearance: 13th
Best Finals Finish: Fourth Place (1950)

Paraguay

World Ranking: 31st
Coach: Gerardo Martino
Captain: Justo Villar
Finals Appearance: 8th
Best Finals Finish: Round of 16 (1986,1998,2002)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Spain: 10-0-0, GF: 28 GA: 5
Paraguay: 10-5-3, GF: 24 GA: 16

Previous Games

Spain:

June 16th-Switzerland def. Spain 2-1
June 21st-Spain def. Honduras 2-0
June 25th-Spain def. Chile 2-1
June 29th-Spain def. Portugal 1-0

Paraguay:

June 14th-Paraguay ties Italy 1-1
June 20th-Paraguay def. Slovakia 2-0
June 24th-Paraguay ties New Zealand 0-0
June 29th-Paraguay ties Japan 0-0 (Advances 5:3 on Penalty Kicks)

Rosters

Spain

Paraguay

Background

That Paraguay is even around for the quarterfinals is a minor miracle considering they've only scored 3 goals and won once in their first four matches of the tournament. They need to rectify that immediately in this game as Spain have been gaining in strength all tournament and have a tendency to overwhelm their opponents in games.

More concerning for Paraguay is that none of their forwards have accounted for any of the Paraguayan goals. They cannot possibly hope to advance in this tournament if they cannot get production from their strikers up front, and this could very well be the last game for Paraguay.

Spain have recovered nicely from their opening stumble against Switzerland, improving in every game. They too have forward issues coming in as star striker Fernando Torres has been absent in this tournament, scoring no goals and not looking to be in top form. If Torres continues to struggle, it would not be surprising to see the Liverpool star out of the Spanish starting 11.

All signs point to this being the last game of the tournament for Paraguay. They will need their strikers to step up in a big way if they wish to have any chance of defeating Spain in this game.

Injuries

Spain: Javi Martinez (Questionable-Ankle), Raul Albiol (Questionable-Leg)
Paraguay: None

Discipline

Spain: Xabi Alonso (Yellow)
Paraguay: Roque Santa Cruz (Yellow), Enrique Vera (Yellow), Cristian Riveros (Yellow)

Spain will win if:

They avoid the mental lapses that have plagued Spain in major tournaments before. Spain always have talented sides but have always had a reputation as an under-achiever in big tournaments. They managed to vanquish that reputation in part by winning Euro 2008, but you have to wonder if this team is completely over that tendency. If Spain plays the way Spain can, they'll be going to the semifinals.

Paraguay will win if:

Their strikers can wake up from the slumber they're in. That a team could be in the quarterfinals averaging less than 1 goal a game and having won just once is baffling. If they can't get some production from their forwards, they will not win this game. Plain and Simple.

Prediction

Paraguay falls in to a defensive shell trying to contain Spain. Spain eventually earns a goal and controls possession for the rest of the game, not fearing the weak Paraguay offence.

Spain 1-0 Paraguay

Game 59 Starting Lineups

2010-07-03T08:59:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Germany and Argentina:

Germany (4-5-1)

No changes for Germany.

Goalkeeper-Manuel Neuer (#1)
Left Back-Jerome Boateng (#20)
Left-Centre Back-Arne Friedrich (#3)
Right-Centre Back-Per Mertesacker (#17)
Right Back-Philipp Lahm (#16)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Bastian Schweinsteiger (#7)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Sami Khedira (#6)
Left Attacking Midfield-Lukas Podolski (#10)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Mesut Ozil (#8)
Right Attacking Midfield-Thomas Muller (#13)
Centre Forward-Miroslav Klose (#11)

Argentina (4-3-3)

No changes for Argentina either.

Goalkeeper-Sergio Romero (#22)
Left Back-Gabriel Heinze (#6)
Left-Centre Back-Nicolas Burdisso (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Martin Demichelis (#2)
Right Back-Nicolas Otamendi (#15)
Left Midfield-Angel Di Maria (#7)
Centre Midfield-Javier Mascherano (#14)
Right Midfield-Maxi Rodriguez (#20)
Left Forward-Carlos Tevez (#11)
Centre Forward-Lionel Messi (#10)
Right Forward-Gonzalo Higuain (#9)

Quarterfinal Game 3 (Game 59) Preview: Germany vs. Argentina

2010-07-03T04:13:00.009-04:00

Game 59 Preview: Germany vs. Argentina

Date: July 3, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue:Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Argentina 8-6-4
Last Meeting: 2010 Friendly-Argentina def. Germany 1-0

Team Profiles

Germany

World Ranking: 6th
Coach: Joachim Löw
Captain: Philipp Lahm
Finals Appearance: 17th (also appeared as West Germany)
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1954,1974,1990)

Argentina

World Ranking: 7th
Coach: Diego Maradona
Captain: Javier Mascherano
Finals Appearance: 15th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1978, 1986)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Germany: 8-0-2, GF: 26 GA: 5
Argentina: 8-6-4, GF: 23 GA: 20

Previous Games

Germany:

June 13th-Germany def. Australia 4-0
June 18th-Serbia def. Germany 1-0
June 23rd-Germany def. Ghana 1-0
June 27th-Germany def. England 4-1

Argentina:

June 12th-Argentina def. Nigeria 1-0
June 17th-Argentina def. South Korea 4-1
June 22nd-Argentina def. Greece 2-0
June 27th-Argentina def. Mexico 3-1

Rosters

Germany

Argentina

Background

This is not a storied rivalry per se, although there is plenty of dislike between the two teams, after Germany eliminated Argentina in a shootout in this stage of the 2006 World Cup. Since the draw when it became apparent these teams could again meet in the quarterfinals, Argentina has been looking forward to redemption.

Argentina comes in to this game with a dynamic, explosive offence that has scored 10 goals in its four games. Lionel Messi has been the best player in the tournament, and Gonzalo Higuain has led the tournament in scoring the entire way. Argentina is suspect on defence though, having looked shaky in every game they've played, which will concern Diego Maradona, as they go up against a young, talented and dynamic offence in their own right in Germany.

Germany is the youngest team in this tournament but you wouldn't know it from watching them play. Their youngsters have injected new life into a team that was in need of young stars and playmakers. With an average age of under 25, one has to assume Germany is already the favourite to win the World Cup in 2014, but this team believes they have the capability to win now.

This will be an exciting game. 2 strong offences, with 2 questionable defensive performances throughout the tournament, could turn this one into a back-and-forth slugfest. Germany is not as talented offensively but they have more stability in the back, which could be the deciding factor in this one.

Injuries

Germany: None
Argentina: Lionel Messi (Probable-Illness)

Discipline

Germany: Arne Friedrich (Yellow), Sami Khedira (Yellow), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Yellow), Mesut Ozil (Yellow), Thomas Muller (Yellow), Philipp Lahm (Yellow), Cacau (Yellow)
Argentina: Gabriel Heinze (Yellow), Javier Mascherano (Yellow), Mario Bolatti (Yellow)

Germany will win if:

They don't suffer the breakdown defensively that they did against England. They were thoroughly in control and up 2-0 when out of nowhere, they surrendered 2 goals (let's face it, that ball was in the net) in a matter of minutes. Argentina will take advantage of every slip on defence and can score bunches of goals in a hurry. No mistakes on defence, and they should go home victorious in this game.

Argentina will win if:

Javier Mascherano can shut down Mesut Ozil. The 21-year-old Ozil has become one of the stars of this tournament with his attacking midfield play that many have compared to Messi who will be out on the same field in this game. Ozil has stated that he wants to upstage Messi in this game, and it will be Mascherano's job to stop that. Ozil is the catalyst for Germany in the offensive end, similar to how Xavi is for Spain. If he is out of the game, Germany crumbles in the offensive zone.

Prediction

There's going to be goals in this game, that much is for sure. Who comes out on top is a different story. Argentina is better up front, albeit only marginally. What concerns about Argentina though is that their defence is old and has not played well all tournament. I think Germany has too much speed and firepower up front which will be the determining factor. High-scoring game that Germany takes home to send Argentina home for a second straight tournament.

Germany 3-2 Argentina

Game 58 Recap: Uruguay 1-1 (4:2) Ghana

2010-07-02T17:20:00.003-04:00

URUGUAY 1-1 (4:2) GHANA

Asamoah Gyan has been one of the breakout stars of this tournament, but he will forever remember the penalty kick that gave Ghana the opportunity to be the first ever African semifinalist in World Cup history.

Uruguay was the dominant team early on in this game, controlling the first 25 minutes of the match. They struggled to get quality balls towards goal but it appeared imminent that they would find the first goal and control the rest of the match.

However it was Ghana that came alive late in the first half and managed to find some scoring chances. Isaac Vorsah headed a cross towards goal which just barely missed the near post. That was immediately followed by a Ghanaian attack, which Gyan touched just wide of the goal on the pass from Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Just before the halftime whistle blew, Ghana picked up the lead from veteran Sulley Muntari. From 35 yards out, Muntari fired a wicked curling shot which confounded goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, and bent inside the right post for a stunning goal. Muslera may not have seen it immediately but the curve on the ball made it unlikely he would ever get a hand to it.

Diego Forlan equalized 10 minutes in to the second half on a spot kick. Forlan sent the free kick over the wall and it eluded Richard Kingson before finding the back of the net. Both this goal and the Muntari goal will add to the criticism of the Jabulani ball. Forlan's kick resembled a knuckleball in baseball more than a free kick, while Muntari's ball originally appeared bound to miss outside of the left post, before sneaking inside the right post. Players have complained for months about the poor quality of the ball and this game appeared to confirm their fears.

Neither side was able to pick up a quality chance in the second half, and it was not until the end of extra time that we saw a chance, in what will go down as one of the most memorable and bizarre moments in this World Cup.

After conceding a free kick in a dangerous position, the ball was played in to the Uruguay area. The first Ghanaian touch was saved by Muslera, but the rebound went to Dominic Adiyiah who headed the ball towards the goal. With Muslera out of position, Luis Suarez was forced to bat the ball away with his arms, prompting a red card for Suarez, and a penalty kick for Ghana. It appeared that Ghana had the win in the bag, but Gyan, who had nailed 2 penalty kicks so far this tournament rang the shot off the crossbar and out of play. That was the last touch of extra time.

For the second time this tournament, we went to penalty kicks, and Uruguay took advantage, having come so close to being eliminated in extra time. Forlan, Mauricio Victorino and Andres Scotti scored on the first 3 shots for Uruguay. Gyan and Stephen Appiah scored for Ghana before captain John Mensah's shot was stopped by Muslera. Uruguay squandered their advantage when Maxi Pereira put his shot over the crossbar, giving Ghana an opportunity to get back in the shootout. They could not however as Adiyiah's shot was saved by Muslera before Sebastian Abreu buried the ball to clinch the victory for Uruguay.

Uruguay will now face Netherlands in the semifinals, Tuesday in Cape Town. Man of the Match went to Forlan who was his usual dominant self all game, and is an established candidate for player of the tournament at this point.

Notes

Hans Sarpei, John Pantsil, and Mensah picked up yellow cards for Ghana. Jorge Fucile, Diego Perez and Egidio Arevalo picked up yellow cards for Uruguay. Fucile, along with Luis Suarez will miss the Netherlands game due to suspension. Ghanaian subs were Appiah and Adiyiah, replacing Samuel Inkoom and Muntari. Uruguay subs were Scotti, Nicolas Lodeiro and Abreu, replacing Diego Lugano, Alvaro Fernandez and Edinson Cavani.

Game 58 Starting Lineups

2010-07-02T13:30:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Ghana and Uruguay:

Ghana (4-5-1)

Ghana moving to a 4-5-1 formation. Just 2 changes as Ayew and Jonathan Mensah are out with suspension, replaced by Muntari and Vorsah.

Goalkeeper-Richard Kingson (#22)
Left Back-Hans Sarpei (#2)
Left-Centre Back-John Mensah (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Isaac Vorsah (#15)
Right Back-John Pantsil (#4)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Anthony Annan (#6)
Left Midfield-Sulley Muntari (#11)
Left-Centre Midfield-Kevin-Prince Boateng (#23)
Right-Centre Midfield-Kwadwo Asamoah (#21)
Right Midfield-Samuel Inkoom (#7)
Centre Forward-Asamoah Gyan (#3)

Uruguay (4-4-2)

Hint of a formation change as Cavani is moving back to a midfield role. Victorino and Alvaro Fernandez are in while Godin and Alvaro Pereira are out.

Goalkeeper-Fernando Muslera (#1)
Left Back-Jorge Fucile (#4)
Left-Centre Back-Mauricio Victorino (#6)
Right-Centre Back-Diego Lugano (#2)
Right Back-Maxi Pereira (#16)
Left Midfield-Edinson Cavani (#7)
Left-Centre Midfield-Egidio Arevalo (#17)
Right-Centre Midfield-Diego Perez (#15)
Right Midfield-Alvaro Fernandez (#20)
Left-Centre Forward-Diego Forlan (#10)
Right-Centre Forward-Luis Suarez (#9)

Quarterfinal Game 2 (Game 58) Preview: Ghana vs. Uruguay

2010-07-02T12:14:00.007-04:00

Game 58 Preview: Ghana vs. Uruguay

Date: July 2, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Soccer City, Johannesburg
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

Team Profiles

Ghana

World Ranking: 32nd
Coach: Milovan Rajevac
Captain: Stephen Appiah
Finals Appearance: 2nd
Best Finals Finish: Round of 16 (2006)

Uruguay

World Ranking: 18th
Coach: Oscar Tabárez
Captain: Diego Lugano
Finals Appearance: 11th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1930,1950)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Ghana: 8-3-1, GF: 20 GA: 8
Uruguay: 7-6-7 GF: 30 GA: 21

Previous Games

Ghana:

June 13th-Ghana def. Serbia 1-0
June 19th-Ghana tied Australia 1-1
June 23rd-Germany def. Ghana 1-0
June 26th-Ghana def. U.S.A. 2-1

Uruguay:

June 11th-Uruguay tied France 0-0
June 16th-Uruguay def. South Africa 3-0
June 22nd-Uruguay def. Mexico 1-0
June 26th-Uruguay def. South Korea 2-1

Rosters

Ghana

Uruguay

Background

Ghana is the lone African side to qualify for the knockout round and will be looking to continue their unlikely run in to the semifinals with a win over Uruguay. To do so, they'll need to do it without 2 of their starters, off on suspension, and with 3 other players carrying injuries.

Ghana has done a phenomenal job to reach this stage, but you have to wonder if they will be in over their head against a Uruguay team that has been steamrolling opponents and has one of the best striker tandems of any team remaining in the tournament. The entire continent is cheering for Africa right now, but if they can pull the upset in this game, the entire world might be cheering for the underdogs to proceed.

For Uruguay, they will be up against a team that is a completely contrasting style to the one they just defeated in South Korea. Ghana is a big, aggressive side with agile and creative forwards who will give Ghana chances out of almost nothing. They are similar to Uruguay as they like to play a wide-open style, but Uruguay will go in with a clear advantage in talent, which could very well be the difference in this one.

Injuries

Ghana: Isaac Vorsah (Questionable-Knee), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Questionable-Hamstring), Asamoah Gyan (Probable-Ankle)
Uruguay: Diego Godin (Questionable-Thigh)

Discipline

Ghana: Anthony Annan (Yellow), Prince Tagoe (Yellow), Lee Addy (Yellow), Jonathan Mensah (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME), Andre Ayew (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)
Uruguay: Diego Lugano (Yellow), Jorge Fucile (Yellow), Mauricio Victorino (Yellow)

Ghana will win if:

They can get somebody on Forlan and Suarez, and not let them get any room to move for the entire game. Forlan and Suarez have found excellent chemistry in this tournament, and have methodically broken down each defence they've gone against so far. Ghana needs to shut them down from the start, and not give them any chance to get going. If Ghana can shut them down, and force Uruguay to get scoring chances from other players, they MIGHT have a chance of winning.

Uruguay will win if:

They can contain the speedy Ghanian forwards and midfielders. The U.S. defence could not handle the speed of Ghana up front which is why they lost. If Uruguay can keep up with their pace, they eliminate much of the threat Ghana poses offensively. If they can't, Ghana is going to be finding the back of the net at some point in this match.

Prediction

Ghana has become somewhat of the feel-good story in this tournament. I just don't think they have enough to beat Uruguay in this one. Ayew is suspended, Boateng likely won't play, Vorsah will play but won't be 100%. Ghana could maybe play Uruguay with a full roster. With the suspensions and injuries they're carrying though. I don't see how they can beat Uruguay.

Uruguay 2-0 Ghana

Game 57 Recap: Netherlands 2-1 Brazil

2010-07-02T11:50:00.003-04:00

NETHERLANDS 2-1 BRAZIL

The 5-time champions crashed out of the tournament after a colossal second-half collapse, which allowed the Netherlands to make a surprising comeback, and advance to the semifinals.

It was a story of two completely different halves, as Brazil were all over the Dutch in the first half, and were unlucky to only be up 1 goal at halftime. The second half was a complete turnaround though, as Brazil collapsed defensively and emotionally, surrendering 2 goals to the Netherlands and finding themselves incapable of mounting a comeback as they looked completely dejected.

Robinho nearly opened the scoring for Brazil in the 8th minute when Dani Alves came rushing in and dished the ball to Robinho for an easy tap-in. However, a very late, albeit correct offside call was made the linesmen back outside the penalty area and the goal was waived off.

Robinho scored 2 minutes later though and this time the goal was valid. Felipe Melo played a long through ball up the middle to Robinho who made a small flick on the ball to put it past Stekelenburg. The Dutch were trying to play an offside trap but Andre Ooijer, a late pre-game addition to the starting lineup did not push up, giving Robinho the easy goal. Ooijer was starting in place of Joris Mathijsen, who picked up a knee injury in the pre-game warmup.

It was all Brazil for the rest of the half as the Dutch could not manage any chances on goal. The closest Brazil came to a second tally was on a Kaka shot from outside the penalty area which was dipping towards goal and was just turned aside by an excellent leap from Stekelenburg.

The second half was more of a balanced affair as it started, as the Dutch were able to control possession better, and spend more time around the Brazilian net. The catalyst to their rally was Arjen Robben, who had been giving Brazil's defenders fits all game along the sideline with his runs and ball handling skills.

After a foul on Robben, Wesley Sneijder received a pass and sent a long ball towards goal which eluded everyone and found the back of the net. Sneijder thought he had picked up the goal but replay showed that the ball brushed off the head of Felipe Melo and over Brazilian keeper Julio Cesar. Melo was credited with the own goal and it was a 1-1 game.

The Dutch picked up the winner with 20 minutes to go and it was again Sneijder. Arjen Robben bent in a free kick which was flicked backwards across the face of goal by Dirk Kuyt. Sneijder was left completely unmarked in front of the goal and headed the ball home to give the Dutch the lead.

Brazil lost all control after that goal, as was evidenced by Felipe Melo being sent off with a red card for a challenge on Robben. Melo brought down Robben from behind then stomped on Robben's injured hamstring, for the blatant red card foul. Down to 10 men, Brazil could not manage a comeback, and the top-ranked team are subsequently out of the tournament.

The Dutch will now face the winner of Uruguay and Ghana on Tuesday from Cape Town. The Dutch will likely be without a few starters, as van der Wiel and de Jong will be suspended, while the health of Mathijsen is currently unknown. Regardless, the Dutch will be the favourites against either opponent, and stand a good chance of advancing to their first final in over 30 years.

Sneijder picked up Man of the Match honours, as he was the key figure in both Dutch goals, and was by far the best player on the field for the Netherlands this game.

Notes

Michel Bastos picked up a yellow card for Brazil to go with Melo's red card. Dutch yellow cards went to Gregory van der Wiel, John Heitinga, Nigel de Jong and Andre Ooijer. Brazilian subs were Gilberto Melo and Nilmar, replacing Bastos and Luis Fabiano. The lone Dutch sub was Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, replacing Robin van Persie.

Game 57 Starting Lineups

2010-07-02T09:14:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Brazil and Netherlands:

Brazil (4-4-2)

Felipe Melo returns from injury and takes the place of the suspended Ramires.

Goalkeeper-Julio Cesar (#1)
Left Back-Michel Bastos (#6)
Left-Centre Back-Juan (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Lucio (#3)
Right Back-Maicon (#2)
Centre Defensive Midfield -Felipe Melo (#5)
Left-Centre Midfield-Gilberto Silva (#8)
Right Midfield-Dani Alves (#13)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Kaka (#10)
Left-Centre Forward-Robinho (#11)
Right-Centre Forward-Luis Fabiano (#9)

Netherlands (4-2-4)

Small alignment change as Kuyt and Robben switch sides but no personnel changes for the Dutch.

Goalkeeper-Maarten Stekelenburg (#1)
Left Back-Giovanni van Bronckhorst (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Joris Mathijsen (#4)
Right-Centre Back-John Heitinga (#3)
Right Back-Gregory van der Wiel (#2)
Left-Centre Midfield-Nigel de Jong (#8)
Right-Centre Midfield-Mark van Bommel (#6)
Left Forward-Dirk Kuyt (#7)
Centre Forward-Wesley Sneijder (#10)
Right Forward-Arjen Robben (#11)
Striker-Robin van Persie (#9)

Quarterfinal Game 1 (Game 57) Preview: Brazil vs. Netherlands

2010-07-01T19:23:00.007-04:00

Game 57 Preview: Brazil vs. Netherlands

Date: July 2, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Brazil 4-2-3
Last Meeting: 1999 Friendly-Brazil tied Netherlands 2-2

Team Profiles

Brazil

World Ranking: 1st
Coach: Dunga
Captain: Lúcio
Finals Appearance: 19th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1958,1962,1970,1994,2002)

Netherlands

World Ranking: 4th
Coach: Bert van Marwijk
Captain: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Finals Appearance: 9th
Best Finals Finish: Finalists (1974,1978)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Brazil: 9-2-7, GF: 33 GA: 11
Netherlands: 8-0-0, GF: 17 GA: 2

Previous Games

Brazil:

June 15th-Brazil def. North Korea 2-1
June 20th-Brazil def. Ivory Coast 3-1
June 25th-Brazil tied Portugal 0-0
June 28th-Brazil def. Chile 3-0

Netherlands:

June 14th-Netherlands def. Denmark 2-0
June 19th-Netherlands def. Japan 1-0
June 24th-Netherlands def. Cameroon 2-1
June 28th-Netherlands def. Slovakia 2-1

Rosters

Brazil

Netherlands

Background

If these teams had ended up on opposite sides of the playoff bracket, we could very well be previewing the final in this game. These teams are that good. Unfortunately, one of them will going home far too early as they meet here in the quarterfinals.

Netherlands has played 4 games and won 4, but has yet to face a top-quality opponent in this competition. Defensively, they have been a rock with virtually nothing getting through to challenge goalkeeper Stekelenburg. Up front, they possess a deadly attack featuring van Persie, Sneijder and Robben, which has yet to reach its full potential in this tournament.

Brazil started off slow with a 1-goal win over North Korea but has strengthened in every game since, defeating Chile 3-0 in their Round of 16 match. Brazil will likely still be without midfielders Elano and Felipe Melo in this match, absences that could finally come back to hurt Brazil against the powerful Dutch team.

This game is too close to call in many ways. Both teams have talented offences, solid defences and strong goalkeeping. Little separates the teams from each other and one mistake by other team could be all that determines the outcome in this one.

Injuries

Brazil: Elano (Out-Ankle), Felipe Melo (Questionable-Ankle)
Netherlands: Rafael van der Vaart (Probable-Calf)

Discipline

Brazil: Juan (Yellow), Luis Fabiano (Yellow), Kaka (Yellow), Felipe Melo (Yellow), Ramires (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)
Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg (Yellow), Gregory van der Wiel (Yellow), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Yellow), Dirk Kuyt (Yellow), Nigel de Jong (Yellow), Robin van Persie (Yellow), Arjen Robben (Yellow), Rafael van der Vaart (Yellow)

Brazil will win if:

Maicon and Michel Bastos remember that they are defenders and not midfielders. Brazil loves to send their 2 wide backs forward in offence to overwhelm their opponents' defence. But the Dutch are wonderful on the counter-attack and all 6 midfielders and forwards can score from all around the penalty area. If Brazil continues to push forward as they like to in this game, they could very well get burned by the Dutch offence. They need to keep their defenders a bit further back and ensure that not giving up goals is the top priority.

Netherlands will win if:

Their four defenders can keep up their performance from group play and the Round of 16. Netherlands has given up 2 goals, both from penalties. I think the Dutch have the discipline to no surrender a penalty in this game, and if they can continue their play, they could be looking at another clean sheet, and a berth in the semifinals.

Prediction

It really is a shame that these two teams are meeting in the quarterfinals. You could argue that they have been the two best teams in the tournament, and they're equally matched in all ways.

The most notable difference is in goal. Julio Cesar is a better goalkeeper than Stekelenburg is, which could be the difference. I really like the Dutch defence, they've been rock solid all tournament but Brazil is a much stronger team than the ones they've faced. Brazil scores in the second half and picks up the 1-0 victory to advance to the semifinals.

Brazil 1-0 Netherlands

Knockout Round Analysis-June 29, 2010

2010-06-29T16:45:00.004-04:00

The Round of 16 finished up today with a pair of lackluster games. On the plus side, the better team won in both games.

Paraguay and Japan played for 120 minutes without picking up a goal, and neither side appeared terribly interested in offence at any point. Came down to penalty kicks and Yuichi Komano ringing his shot off the crossbar made the difference.

I'll profess to not being up-to-date on who in the Japanese national team is good at penalty kicks but I find hard to believe that Komano, a defender was amongst their best spot kickers. Interesting choice for Japan which will have to answer for that call.

Spain beat Portugal in a game that was close in some ways but Portugal never really got the chances that Spain did in the game. Spain were the better team and they got rewarded for a good performance.

Spain and Paraguay will meet in the quarterfinals. No offence to Paraguay, but based on their last 2 games, this will be their last of the tournament. Spain has gotten better and better, and will be relieved to be facing one of the weaker teams in the tournament at this stage.

The tournament's on break for a couple days, as they allow teams the chance to recover after four games in less than 3 weeks. It will also give some of the playing surfaces a chance to recover from the wear and tear of multiple games over the same time period.

Here's the updated bracket for the knockout round:

Game 56 Recap: Spain 1-0 Portugal

2010-06-29T16:26:00.003-04:00

SPAIN 1-0 PORTUGAL

The Battle of Iberia went to Spain who was clearly the better side on this night, winning 1-0 and advancing to the quarterfinals. Portugal had their chances but could not capitalize, and only stayed in the game due to some outstanding play by their goalkeeper Eduardo.

The defending European champions have now won three straight since losing to Switzerland in their group opener and appearing to be gaining in strength in each game they play. For Portugal, this was the first goal they surrendered in the tournament, but they were unable to score in 3 of the 4 games they played, which will certainly be cited as a reason for their failure in this tournament.

Spain announced their intentions of scoring early in this game, as both David Villa and Fernando Torres got good strikes off of runs on the left side, which were turned away by Eduardo.

Portugal's first chance came after Tiago fired a shot in from the outside which Iker Casillas punched upwards and back towards his goal. Casillas was able to recover in time to out-jump Hugo Almeida to the ball and clear it to safety. Casillas had more trouble handling the ball on a long free kick, where Casillas flubbed the catch but the Spanish defence was there to clear the ball.

Casillas was one of the most outspoken critics of the Jabulani ball coming in to the tournament, and it was apparent why in Cape Town as he struggled to handle the ball all game.

Portugal nearly got the opener at the start of the second half, when a Hugo Almeida cross was deflected by Carles Puyol and nearly snuck inside the far post. Portugal stayed in the game for the rest of the half but could not come close to goal again.

Spain got the winning goal in the 63rd minute from David Villa, who picked up his fourth goal in four games, and is now tied for the goal-scoring lead in the tournament with Gonzalo Higuain and Robert Vittek. Andres Iniesta played the ball forward into the penalty area for Villa whose first shot was straight at Eduardo who made the save but Villa was able to chip the rebound over the sprawling Eduardo, and off the underside of the crossbar for a goal.

It was all Spain at this point. Sergio Ramos made a great run forward from the midfield, beating his defender but Eduardo got fingertips to Ramos' shot and deflected it wide of the far post. Villa later played the ball forward to Fernando Llorente who got a slight touch of the head on the ball, and it just missed the post.

Any opportunity Portugal had of tying the game was erased in the 90th minute, when Ricardo Costa was sent off with a straight red card after he struck Joan Capdevila in the head with his elbow as they challenged for a header.

Tough game for Portugal as they were overwhelmed by Spain from the start. Cristiano Ronaldo had his worst game of the tournament and was a non-factor for Portugal, who desperately needed a big game from their star if they wanted a win.

Spain will now face Paraguay in the quarterfinals, Saturday in Johannesburg. Man of the Match went to Spanish midfielder Xavi. Not sure what the fans were thinking in that vote, as Xavi had a quiet game by his standards, and Eduardo was far and away the top player on the field in this game.

Notes

Xabi Alonso picked up a yellow card for Spain, their first of the tournament. Tiago got a yellow card for Portugal, to add to the straight red card for Ricardo Costa. Spanish subs were Danny, Pedro Mendes and Liedson, replacing Almeida, Pepe and Simao. Portuguese subs were Llorente, Pedro and Carlos Marchena, replacing Torres, Villa and Xabi Alonso.

Game 56 Starting Lineups

2010-06-29T13:28:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Portugal and Spain:

Portugal (4-3-3)

Back to the traditional 4-3-3 for Portugal. 2 changes as Duda and Danny are out, replaced by Hugo Almeida and Simao.

Goalkeeper-Eduardo (#1)
Left Back-Fabio Coentrao (#23)
Left-Centre Back-Bruno Alves (#2)
Right-Centre Back-Ricardo Carvalho (#6)
Right Back-Ricardo Costa (#21)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Pepe (#15)
Left-Centre Midfield-Raul Meireles (#16)
Right-Centre Midfield-Tiago (#19)
Left-Centre Forward-Cristiano Ronaldo (#7)
Centre Forward-Hugo Almeida (#18)
Right-Centre Forward-Simao (#11)

Spain (4-4-2)

4-4-2 formation for Spain. Same lineup but Iniesta moves back to the midfield as opposed to being a forward.

Goalkeeper-Iker Casillas (#1)
Left Back-Joan Capdevila (#11)
Left-Centre Back-Carles Puyol (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Gerard Pique (#3)
Right Back-Sergio Ramos (#15)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Xabi Alonso (#14)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Sergio Busquets (#16)
Left Midfield-Andres Iniesta (#6)
Right Midfield-Xavi (#8)
Left-Centre Forward-David Villa (#7)
Right-Centre Forward-Fernando Torres (#9)

Round of 16 Game 8 (Game 56) Preview: Portugal vs. Spain

2010-06-29T13:03:00.004-04:00

Game 56 Preview: Portugal vs. Spain

Date: June 29, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Spain 15-5-12
Last Meeting: Euro 2004-Portugal def. Spain 1-0

Team Profiles

Portugal

World Ranking: 3rd
Coach: Carlos Queiroz
Captain: Cristiano Ronaldo
Finals Appearance: 5th
Best Finals Finish: Third Place (1966)

Spain

World Ranking: 2nd
Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Captain: Iker Casillas
Finals Appearance: 13th
Best Finals Finish: Fourth Place (1950)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Portugal: 7-1-4, GF: 19 GA: 5
Spain: 10-0-0, GF: 28 GA: 5

Previous Games

Portugal:

June 15th-Portugal ties Ivory Coast 0-0
June 21st-Portugal def. North Korea 7-0
June 25th-Portugal ties Brazil 0-0

Spain:

June 16th-Switzerland def. Spain 2-1
June 21st-Spain def. Honduras 2-0
June 25th-Spain def. Chile 2-1

Portugal

Spain

Background

Bragging rights are up for grabs as the two Iberian nations, currently ranked 2nd and 3rd in the world square in off a much-anticipated matchup. Spain holds the big lead in head-to-head record throughout history but these teams have not in 6 years, and Portugal won the last game these two played.

Both teams are replete with superstars, and know the other side very well, as many of the Portuguese players play in Spain's La Liga, while the others have met in Champions League matches before.

Who wins this game will likely be determined by which stars are going to step up. Cristiano Ronaldo has been a little quiet in this tournament for Portugal, and he will have to play his best for Portugal to win. Fernando Torres has been a ghost for Spain up front as he has done nothing this tournament, still coming back from knee surgery. If either Ronaldo or Torres can find their game, their team will stand a good chance of winning.

Injuries

Portugal: Deco (Questionable-Hip), Danny (Doubtful-Leg)
Spain: Xabi Alonso (Questionable-Ankle)

Discipline

Portugal: Duda (Yellow), Cristiano Ronaldo (Yellow), Pepe (Yellow), Tiago (Yellow), Fabio Coentrao (Yellow), Pedro Mendes (Yellow), Hugo Almeida (Yellow)
Spain: N/A

Portugal will win if:

They hang back defensively and force Spain to shoot from outside. Spain gets frustrated when they can't get into the opposing penalty area and goals from inside. If they are unable to do that, they will start winging balls at the net from distance, and more often than not will miss the target. If Portugal can do that, they should be able to keep Spain off the board, or at least limited to one goal.

Spain will win if:

Fernando Torres finds his game in a hurry. Xavi will set everything up in the midfield but David Villa has really been the only source of offence for this team. Portugal knows this and they'll be on Villa like a blanket. If Torres can't contribute as a second scoring threat for Spain, they will be in a lot of trouble in a hurry.

Prediction

Two good teams but looking at the strength of the starting 11 and the bench, I simply think Spain is the better team. Not much to go on in an even game like this but talent should win out in the end.

Spain 2-1 Portugal

Game 55 Recap: Paraguay 0-0 (5:3 PK) Japan

2010-06-29T12:47:00.004-04:00

PARAGUAY 0-0 (5:3) JAPAN

The first game of the tournament to go to a penalty shootout sends Japan home in a heartbreaker, while 50% of the quarterfinal teams will come from South America.

Very slow game for the most part as the teams seemed bent on preventing the other side from scoring rather than seeking out goals themselves. Wise strategy as both sides recognized the danger their opponents posed but made for a bit of a sleeper for fans without a vested interest in either team.

Both sides had some chances in the first half. Lucas Barrios broke through the Japan defence but got a weak shot off at Eiji Kawashima who turned the ball away, and the Japanese defence cleared their lines before Roque Santa Cruz could get to the ball. Santa Cruz had his own opportunity later when the ball bounced to him off of a corner kick but he fired his shot wide from in close.

Japan came close when Daisuke Matsui volleyed a loose ball in the Paraguayan at the goal, which sailed over the head of Justo Villar but only found the crossbar. Keisuke Honda fired a shot from far out off a Japan cross but he curled the ball wide of the far post.

The second half was much like the beginning of the first half and neither side managed any quality shots on goal. The same story for extra time, as penalty kicks seemed inevitable in this game even in the second half.

Paraguay shot first in the penalty kicks. The first five shots were goals, as Paraguay's Edgar Barreto, Lucas Barrios and Cristian Riveros found the back of the net, as did Japan's Yasuhito Endo and Makoto Hasebe. The turning point was on Japan's third shot though, when Yuichi Komano fired his shot off the crossbar and over the net. Tough break for Japan, and Takeshi Okada will certainly have to answer questions as to why a defender was taking the third penalty kick for Japan.

Predictable finish to the shootout after the Komano miss. Nelson Valdez and Honda sank the fourth shots for each team, and Oscar Cardozo scored the 5th shot, to clinch the win for Paraguay who scored in all 5 of their penalty kicks.

Paraguay will advance to face the winner of Spain and Portugal in their game later today. That quarterfinal match will take place on Saturday from Johannesburg.

Keisuke Honda picked up Man of the Match honours in a losing effort. Honda was the main source of offence for Japan and scored a penalty kick to keep Japanese hopes alive briefly in the shootout.

Notes

Cristian Riveros picked up the only yellow card for Paraguay. Yuto Nagatomo, Endo, Matsui and Honda got yellow cards for Japan. Paraguayan subs were Valdez, Barreto and Cardozo, replacing Edgar Benitez, Nestor Ortigoza and Santa Cruz. Japanese subs were Shinji Okazaki, Kengo Nakamura and Keiji Tamada, replacing Matsui, Yuki Abe and Yoshito Okubo.

Game 55 Starting Lineups

2010-06-29T09:04:00.004-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Japan and Paraguay:

Japan (4-5-1)

Mirror image lineup from the Denmark game.

Goalkeeper-Eiji Kawashima (#21)
Left Back-Yuto Nagatomo (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Marcus Tulio Tanaka (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Yuji Nakazawa (#22)
Right Back-Yuichi Komano (#3)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Yuki Abe (#2)
Left Midfield-Yoshito Okubo (#16)
Left-Centre Midfield-Yasuhito Endo (#7)
Right-Centre Midfield-Daisuke Matsui (#8)
Right Midfield-Makoto Hasebe (#17)
Centre Forward-Keisuke Honda (#18)

Paraguay (4-3-3)

A few changes for Paraguay as players are suspended or returning from injury. Paraguay have shuffled lineups throughout the tournament so it shouldn't hurt them too much.

Goalkeeper-Justo Villar (#1)
Left Back-Claudio Morel (#3)
Left-Centre Back-Antolin Alcaraz (#21)
Right-Centre Back-Paulo Da Silva (#14)
Right Back-Carlos Bonet (#6)
Centre-Defensive Midfield-Nestor Ortigoza (#20)
Centre Midfield-Cristian Riveros (#16)
Right-Centre Midfield-Enrique Vera (#13)
Left Forward-Edgar Benitez (#10)
Right Forward-Roque Santa Cruz (#9)
Striker-Lucas Barrios (#19)

Round of 16 Game 7 (Game 55) Preview: Japan vs. Paraguay

2010-06-28T18:35:00.007-04:00

Game 55 Preview: Japan vs. Paraguay

Date: June 29, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Paraguay 2-1-3
Last Meeting: 2008 Friendly-Paraguay ties Japan 0-0

Team Profiles

Japan

World Ranking: 45th
Coach: Takeshi Okada
Captain: Shunsuke Nakamura
Finals Appearance: 4th
Best Finals Finish: Round of 16 (2002)

Paraguay

World Ranking: 31st
Coach: Gerardo Martino
Captain: Justo Villar
Finals Appearance: 8th
Best Finals Finish: Round of 16 (1986,1998,2002)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Japan: 8-2-4, GF: 23 GA: 9
Paraguay: 10-5-3, GF: 24 GA: 16

Previous Games

Japan:

June 14th-Japan def. Cameroon 1-0
June 19th-Netherlands def. Japan 1-0
June 24th-Japan def. Denmark 3-1

Paraguay:

June 14th-Paraguay ties Italy 1-1
June 20th-Paraguay def. Slovakia 2-0
June 24th-Paraguay ties New Zealand 0-0

Japan

Paraguay

Background

Japanese coach Takeshi Okada surprised everyone before this tournament, when he said that Japan would reach the semifinals. However, they advanced out of Group E when few thought that was possible, and have a favourable matchup here in the Round of 16 so perhaps Okada knows something everyone else doesn't.

The best move Japan has made is to move Keisuke Honda to the centre forward position, away from his usual midfield role. Honda has been brilliant with the ball, and is a danger to the opposing defence whenever he has possession.

Paraguay won Group F but did not impress in their final group match, drawing with New Zealand 0-0. They will need to get back to scoring in this game as they take on a Japan team who put 3 on the board to defeat Denmark and advance to this stage.

This could be a very wide open game. Paraguay has a better defence than Japan does but Japan has shown a knack throughout the tournament to use their passing and speed to break through their opponents' lines. Also, Japan is one of the fittest teams in the tournament, ranked number one in distance traveled on the field in the group stages.

This will be a back and forth game and don't be surprised at all if goals come early and often in this one.

Injuries

Japan: None
Paraguay: Antolin Alcaraz (Questionale-Ankle), Jonathan Santana (Questionable-Leg)

Discipline

Japan: Yuki Abe (Yellow), Yuto Nagatomo (Yellow), Yasuhito Endo (Yellow)
Paraguay: Roque Santa Cruz (Yellow), Enrique Vera (Yellow), Victor Caceres (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)

Japan will win if:

They can create goals on the attack, and not just off of set pieces. 2 of Japan's 3 goals against Denmark came direct from free kicks. That's a brilliant feat, and hadn't been done in 40 years in the World Cup, which is why its a problem. Japan can not rely on getting goals from free kicks. If they can't score on the rush, they could have trouble finding a victory in this game.

Paraguay will win if:

They do not lose containment on Japanese players in their own penalty area. Japan are small and quick and can dart around the penalty area in a hurry. Both Denmark and Netherlands frequently lost sight of the players they were marking, leaving Japanese players open in their penalty area. Defensive end responsibility will by a must for Paraguay if they want to win this game.

Prediction

Favourable matchup for both teams as neither is considered a favourite to win the tournament. Paraguay is an all-around quality team in a tournament where South America is dominating. Japan has a few question marks on the field but have shown they are a talented team in winning 2 of 3 to get here.

I think this game goes to extra time or penalties, simply because there is very little separating the two skill-wise. Paraguay is perhaps a bit better defensively but the Japanese offence has impressed me all tournament. The decisive factor as I see this game going to penalty kicks? Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar. Villar is a very good goalkeeper. But 5'11" goalkeepers and penalty kicks don't make for a good match.

Paraguay 2-2 Japan (Japan wins on penalty kicks)

Knockout Round Analysis-June 28, 2010

2010-06-28T18:24:00.003-04:00

No surprises in today's game in what was a predictable section of the bracket. Brazil defeated Chile 3-0 in an excellent performance. Netherlands defeated Slovakia 2-1 but the game story was much the same as the Brazil game.

That sets up the Brazil-Netherlands match which has been penciled on many people's calendars since the groups were drawn. In reality, the winner of the game will be going to the final, as Uruguay or Ghana should be a breeze after the quarterfinal game.

Here's the updated bracket. Paraguay/Japan and Spain/Portugal tomorrow as the Round of 16 wraps up.

Game 54 Recap: Brazil 3-0 Chile

2010-06-28T16:25:00.003-04:00

BRAZIL 3-0 CHILE

Chile came in to this game hoping they can turn their knowledge of their continental rivals' game into a Chilean victory. Instead, it turned into a nightmare that Chile, and most South American teams are all too familiar with when they play Brazil, as Chile extended its personal losing streak to Brazil to 8 straight games.

This game was all Brazil. Save for the opening few minutes when Chile controlled possession, Brazil dictated the pace of the game, the possession and a win was inevitable from about the 10th minute onward. With the victory, Brazil sets up a quarterfinal match with Netherlands, which could very easily be the final had they been on opposite sides of the bracket.

Brazil's pressure led to them getting corner after corner in the first half, with their first goal coming off one in the 35th minute. Maicon sailed the ball in to the penalty area, and defender Juan got up over everyone and headed the ball to the top corner, past the arm of Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo.

The rout was on just 3 minutes later as Brazil made it 2-0. Robinho took the ball on a long run down the left side. Critics of Brazil's defensive game will love this goal, as Robinho crossed the ball to Kaka in the centre of the field who immediately played it forward to a barely-onside Luis Fabiano. Fabiano took control of the ball and deked the flailing Bravo before tucking the ball in to the net. Beautiful goal by Brazil, made to look easy by their three stars up front.

Any question of a Chilean comeback was answered in the 60th minute when Ramires intercepted a clearing attempt by Chile at midfield, and ran the ball up the middle to the edge of the penalty area. With a shot attempt available, Ramires unselfishly left the ball for Robinho who hammered the ball home for the final Brazil score. Robinho nearly managed another late in the game but Bravo made a nice lunging save to turn it aside.

Chile simply could not do anything in this game, as Brazil was all over them from the start and reasserted why they are the number-one team in the world, and the odds-on favourite to win the World Cup. The Brazil-Netherlands quarterfinal will take place Friday in Port Elizabeth. The winner will surely be the favourite to advance out of the top half of the bracket, as they will face either Uruguay or Ghana in the semifinals.

Robinho was named Man of the Match in a game full of top performances for Brazil.

Notes

Ramires and Kaka picked up yellow cards for Brazil, while Ismael Fuentes and Arturo Vidal picked up yellow cards for Chile. Ramires will miss the quarterfinal as a result due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Brazilian subs were Nilmar, Kleberson and Gilberto Melo, replacing Fabiano, Kaka and Robinho. Chilean subs were Rodrigo Tello, Jorge Valdivia and Rodrigo Millar, replacing Pablo Contreras, Mark Gonzalez and Mauricio Isla.

Game 54 Starting Lineups

2010-06-28T13:42:00.004-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Chile and Brazil:

Chile (4-3-3)

Considerable changes for Chile as they get 2 players back from suspension, but lose 3 from the Spain game to suspension.

Goalkeeper-Claudio Bravo (#1)
Left Back-Ismael Fuentes (#2)
Left-Centre Back-Gonzalo Jara (#18)
Right-Centre Back-Pablo Contreras (#5)
Right Back-Mauricio Isla (#4)
Left Midfield-Jean Beausejour (#15)
Centre Midfield-Carlos Carmona (#6)
Right Midfield-Arturo Vidal (#8)
Left Forward-Mark Gonzalez (#11)
Centre Forward-Humberto Suazo (#9)
Right Forward-Alexis Sanchez (#7)

Brazil (4-4-2)

Back to their starting lineup, but Ramires and Dani Alves are in for the injured Elano and Felipe Melo.

Goalkeeper-Julio Cesar (#1)
Left Back-Michel Bastos (#6)
Left-Centre Back-Juan (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Lucio (#3)
Right Back-Maicon (#2)
Centre Defensive Midfield -Gilberto Silva (#8)
Left-Centre Midfield-Ramires (#18)
Right-Centre Midfield-Dani Alves (#13)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Kaka (#10)
Left-Centre Forward-Robinho (#11)
Right-Centre Forward-Luis Fabiano (#9)

Game 53 Recap: Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia

2010-06-28T11:51:00.006-04:00

NETHERLANDS 2-1 SLOVAKIA

A late penalty kick for Slovakia salvaged some semblance a respectable scoreline for the underdogs, in a game they were thoroughly dominated in. Netherlands won comfortably but kept Slovakia in the game for too long, not going up 2-0 until late in the second half.

Slovakia was unable to manage much of anything in this game, clearly outclassed by the superior Dutch team on the field. This game was no-pressure situation for them though, as they'd already exceeded expectations by advancing over Italy from their group.

Slow start to the first 10 minutes as the teams got in to the game, although even at that stage, a Netherlands victory appeared a foregone conclusion. Wesley Sneijder picked up the first good chance in this period with a clean strike on goal but it was directly at Slovakian goalkeeper Jan Mucha.

Netherlands continued to pressure and got the first goal in the 18th minute from Arjen Robben who was making his first start of the tournament, as he is still recovering from a pre-tournament injury. Sneijder played the ball downfield from way back in his own half. Robben got on the end of the pass and cut to the middle and used his deadly left foot to strike the ball home inside the near post for the early goal.

Game stalled through the rest of the first half with Robin van Persie electing to shoot from outside on an odd man rush, but his shot was weak and didn't trouble Mucha at all.

Robben nearly picked up his 2nd of the game to open the second half, on an almost identical shot to his first goal. Off of a set play, Robben cut to the middle from the right side and a left-footed strike to the far corner was just deflected wide by Mucha. Mucha continued his strong play a few minutes later off another a Dutch rush. Robben walked in on the left flank and slid the ball inside to van Persie who deflected the ball towards goal, which a diving Mucha saved with his head.

There weren't many opportunities for Slovakia to score but their 2 best chances came in short succession in the middle of the second half. Miroslav Stoch carried the ball in to the area and patiently worked his way to a shooting position before firing at the net, requiring a strong punch away from Maarten Stekelenburg.

Moments later, some poor Dutch defending left Robert Vittek alone in front with the ball, but Vittek's shot was straight at Stekelenburg who again did a great job to punch the ball away. The Dutch defence had been solid all game but this section surely concerned the Dutch fans who nearly saw their team tied with Slovakia despite controlling the game.

The Dutch finally managed the insurance goal they'd been seeking in the 84th minute. While the Slovakian defence was still arguing with the referee about a foul call, the Dutch played it forward to Dirk Kuyt who was able to bring the ball down behind Jan Mucha who had attempted to catch it. Kuyt then patiently waited for Sneijder to catch up before passing it off to him for the tap-in goal.

Bit of redemption for Slovakia in injury time as Martin Jakubko was brought down by Stekelenburg in the penalty area leading to a penalty kick. Robert Vittek buried the shot to tie Gonzalo Higuain for the scoring lead in the tournament at 4 goals. It was too little, too late though for Slovakia as the final whistle blew before they could even fish the ball from the net.

Netherlands will now face the winner of Brazil and Chile on Friday in Port Elizabeth. Man of the Match goes to Robben who looked sharp in his return to the Dutch starting lineup, with the opening goal and numerous chances.

Notes

Stekelenburg and Robben picked up yellow cards for Netherlands, while Martin Skrtel, Juraj Kucka and Kamil Kopunek got yellow cards for Slovakia. Dutch subs were Eljero Elia, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay, replacing Robben, van Persie and Sneijder. Slovak subs were Kopunek, Marek Sapara and Jakubko, replacing Erik Jendrisek, Marek Hamsik and Radoslav Zabavnik.

Game 53 Starting Lineups

2010-06-28T08:57:00.004-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Slovakia and Netherlands:

Slovakia (4-4-2)

Move to a 4-4-2. Only change from the Italy game is that Vladimir Weiss is in for the suspended Zdenko Strba.

Goalkeeper-Jan Mucha (#1)
Left Back-Radoslav Zabavnik (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Jan Durica (#16)
Right-Centre Back-Martin Skrtel (#3)
Right Back-Peter Pekarik (#2)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Juraj Kucka (#19)
Left Midfield-Miroslav Stoch (#15)
Right Midfield-Vladimir Weiss (#7)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Marek Hamsik (#17)
Left-Centre Forward-Robert Vittek (#11)
Right-Centre Forward-Erik Jendrisek (#18)

Netherlands (4-2-4)

Van der Wiel is back in for Boulahrouz. Van der Vaart is the one who falls on his sword to make room for Arjen Robben who will make his first start of the tournament.

Goalkeeper-Maarten Stekelenburg (#1)
Left Back-Giovanni van Bronckhorst (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Joris Mathijsen (#4)
Right-Centre Back-John Heitinga (#3)
Right Back-Gregory van der Wiel (#2)
Left-Centre Midfield-Nigel de Jong (#8)
Right-Centre Midfield-Mark van Bommel (#6)
Left Forward-Arjen Robben (#11)
Centre Forward-Wesley Sneijder (#10)
Right Forward-Dirk Kuyt (#7)
Striker-Robin van Persie (#9)

Round of 16 Game 6 (Game 54) Preview: Chile vs. Brazil

2010-06-28T08:11:00.005-04:00

Game 54 Preview: Chile vs. Brazil

Date: June 28, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Brazil 46-7-12
Last Meeting: 2009 World Cup Qualifier-Brazil def. Chile 4-2

Team Profiles

Chile

World Ranking: 18th
Coach: Marcelo Bielsa
Captain: Claudio Bravo
Finals Appearance: 8th
Best Finals Finish: Third Place (1962)

Brazil

World Ranking: 1st
Coach: Dunga
Captain: Lúcio
Finals Appearance: 19th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1958,1962,1970,1994,2002)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Chile: 10-5-3, GF: 32 GA: 22
Brazil: 9-2-7, GF: 33 GA: 11

Previous Games

Chile:

June 16th-Chile def. Honduras 1-0
June 21st-Chile def. Switzerland 1-0
June 25th-Spain def. Chile 2-1

Brazil:

June 15th-Brazil def. North Korea 2-1
June 20th-Brazil def. Ivory Coast 3-1
June 25th-Brazil tied Portugal 0-0

Rosters

Chile

Brazil

Background

There will be no surprises when these teams meet, having met 65 times in history, 10 times in the past decade. Brazil has gotten the best of the historical record, and of the recent one, having won the last 7 meetings between the teams, dating back to the 2004 Copa America.

This match is going to create an interesting stylistic matchup. Under Dunga, Brazil has gone away from its traditional free-flowing high-scoring style, to more of a defensive style. Many observers have complained that the switch has made Brazil boring, and that they've lost much of their offensive punch as a result.

Chile is the exact opposite, as coach Marcelo Bielsa has instituted an all-out attacking style, that one would usually associate with Brazilian soccer. Chile's philosophy is simple. You can allow as many goals as you want as long as you score more than your opponent.

Whether or not Chile can win depends on how effective their attack is against the Brazil defence. The Brazil defence does have some holes in it. But will Chile be able to exploit those holes and pump in a few goals is the question as you can be certain Brazil will be getting plenty of chances of their own in this game.

Injuries

Chile: None
Brazil: Elano (Probable-Ankle), Felipe Melo (Doubtful-Ankle), Julio Baptista (Doubtful-Knee)

Discipline

Chile: Jorge Valdivia (Yellow), Humberto Suazo (Yellow), Waldo Ponce (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME), Marco Estrada (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME), Gary Medel (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)
Brazil: Juan (Yellow), Felipe Melo (Yellow), Luis Fabiano (Yellow), Ramires (Yellow)

Chile will win if:

They can get 1 or 2 early goals and put Brazil on their heels. Chile had a woeful first half against Spain, going down 2 goals by halftime. They have the offensive capability to make comebacks, but they leave their defensive end completely exposed in the process. This is not a team that is good at coming from behind games, as they are more likely to end up surrendering more goals than scoring them. Chile desperately needs the first goal in this game if they want to win.

Brazil will win if:

They play defence first and offence second like Dunga wants. For all of their talent up front, they cannot ignore the danger posed by the Chilean offence. Chile can score in bunches, at will. If Brazil takes their time in this game, weathers the early Chilean attack and controls possession, their chances will come. If they ignore the defensive end, as they have been prone to do in some games, they will be in big trouble.

Prediction

Tricky game to predict as Chile has underperformed in this tournament and has the capability to beat Brazil in a one-game scenario. Their offence will give Brazil fits, and I go back to the goal Brazil surrendered to North Korea, where they essentially fell asleep. That's a concern in this game for the Brazilian team. They aren't the offensive threat they used to be, and have not been entirely successful in their transformation to a primarily defensive team.

I could see this game going to extra time or penalty kicks. I think Brazil is the better team, but can they score the goals needed to beat Chile? We'll find out, but I go Brazil in a nail-biter.

Brazil 2-1 Chile

Round of 16 Game 5 (Game 53) Preview: Slovakia vs. Netherlands

2010-06-28T07:25:00.006-04:00

Game 53 Preview: Slovakia vs. Netherlands

Date: June 28, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): (Includes results against Czechoslovakia) Slovakia 6-2-1
Last Meeting: 1986 Friendly-Czechoslovakia def. Netherlands 1-0

Team Profiles

Slovakia

World Ranking: 34th
Coach: Vladimír Weiss
Captain: Róbert Vittek
Finals Appearance: 9th (also as Czechoslovakia)
Best Finals Finish: Finalists (1934,1962)

Netherlands

World Ranking: 4th
Coach: Bert van Marwijk
Captain: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Finals Appearance: 9th
Best Finals Finish: Finalists (1974,1978)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Slovakia: 7-2-1, GF: 22 GA: 10
Netherlands: 8-0-0, GF: 17 GA: 2

Previous Games

Slovakia:

June 15th-Slovakia tied New Zealand 1-1
June 20th-Paraguay def. Slovakia 2-0
June 24th-Slovakia def. Italy 3-2

Netherlands:

June 14th-Netherlands def. Denmark 2-0
June 19th-Netherlands def. Japan 1-0
June 24th-Netherlands def. Cameroon 2-1

Rosters

Slovakia

Netherlands

Background

Ignore the head-to-head record up top as these teams have not met in 24 years, 10 years before Slovakia became a country. While Czechoslovakia had success against the Netherlands, Netherlands is a far greater team at the present.

The previous 4 Round of 16 games were action-packed, or had enough intrigue in them to make them exciting. This game has the potential to break that cycle, as Netherlands could end up with a blowout if they're on form.

Slovakia will need another great performance from striker Robert Vittek, who scored 2 goals in their surprising 3-2 victory over Italy. They will also need their defence to be better, as Slovakia is a side that is susceptible to allowing multiple goals in a game, not a promising sign for a team about to face the likes of van Persie, Sneijder and Robben.

Netherlands has not had a bad performance in this tournament but has yet to perform to the top of their ability. With a quarterfinal matchup against Brazil looming large, they will be looking to hit another level in their play, as a victory over Brazil would put them in the driver's seat to reach the final.

Injuries

Slovakia: None
Netherlands: Arjen Robben (Probable-Thigh), Rafael van der Vaart (Probable-Calf)

Discipline

Slovakia: Jan Mucha (Yellow), Peter Pekarik (Yellow), Robert Vittek (Yellow), Jan Durica (Yellow), Vladimir Weiss (Yellow), Stanislav Sestak (Yellow), Zdenko Strba (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)
Netherlands: Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Yellow), Dirk Kuyt (Yellow), Nigel de Jong (Yellow), Robin van Persie (Yellow), Rafael van der Vaart (Yellow), Gregory van der Wiel (Yellow)

Slovakia will win if:

Jan Mucha plays better in goal than he did against Italy. It's a rare occasion in which I'll call put a goalkeeper as needing to play better, but I don't think the Slovakian outfield can play better than they did against Italy. I also don't think that a repeat of that performance is good enough to beat Netherlands. Mucha needs to step up his performance, to handle the Dutch onslaught. Only if he is able to will Slovakia stand a chance of winning.

Netherlands will win if:

They continue to be patient in their offensive setup and get shots on goal. Netherlands is the better team on paper and in practice. If they play their game and avoid a letdown, they'll move on to the quarterfinals.

Prediction

Slovakia peaked in their game against Italy, and barely defeated the worst Italian team in years. Netherlands is on the top of their game and does not have the deficiencies that the Italian team did.

Netherlands wins this game comfortably, to set up the first half of what would be the marquee matchup of the quarterfinals.

Netherlands 3-0 Slovakia

Knockout Round Analysis-June 27, 2010

2010-06-27T22:01:00.004-04:00

Two games today. I'm going to touch on them and then rant about how FIFA is living in the Stone Age.

Germany def. England 4-1. I went back and forth trying to predict this one, figured Germany would win, talked myself in to thinking England win and woke up again thinking it would be Germany. Dominant performance by Germany and they walloped England.

Argentina def. Mexico 3-1. Same result except for the whole chaotic round of flip-flopping I went through. Argentina was exactly as good as advertised and disposed of Mexico with little difficulty.

Ok. Now to the important part.

VIDEO REPLAY!!! INSTITUTE IT NOW!!!

I wanted video replay to be brought in prior to this tournament and both games today had incidents where video review capability would overturn terrible officiating decisions which directly affected the course of the game:

England-Scored a goal to tie the game 2-2 right before halftime. Despite ball clearly crossing the line, none of the officials saw the ball in the net and play went on. England instead goes in to halftime down a goal and subsequently loses 4-1.

Argentina-Scores goal to open scoring at 1-0. Goalscorer Tevez is blatantly offside but official doesn't call offside and goal counts when it shouldn't. Mexico completely loses all momentum, coughs up another immediately and loses game 3-1.

Why is FIFA allowing these poor game-altering decsions to go on. FIFA President Sepp Blatter has cited two reasons as to why he is opposed to video:

1. Slows down the game-At what expense? Is it honestly worth not taking 30-45 seconds on a tight play or a questionable goal to maintain the pace of the game? Can't speak for everyone else but I'd personally rather have the referee ensure that the call on the field is actually, well, correct. That way the outcome of the game can actually be determined by the play on the field. 45 seconds to review a play or World Cup game decided because referee 25 yards away flubbed a split-second decision? Yeah, that shouldn't be as difficult a decision as it is for FIFA.

2. Devalues the referee's influence/opinion in a match-Are you kidding me? Who would be looking at the replay? That's correct, THE REF! It isn't as if you're putting it in the hands of the fans or the managers or players. Let the ref take a look and ensure they get the call correct as opposed to making a snap judgment in a second on a play that is too close to call.

Let's take this one step further and look at the 4 major North American sport leagues and how they use replay:

MLB-The least use of replay in major sports as it is only used for verifying whether balls were home runs or not.

Does it slow the game down? Yes, but let's face it, baseball doesn't exactly have a lot of pace to the game anyway.
Does it get the call right? Yes!

NBA-Used retroactively to determine whether field goals were for 2 or 3 points, and to determine if shots were released prior to or after a shot clock expires.

Does it slow the game down? Not really. The field goals are done retroactively by the scorekeeper and the shot clock review takes all of several seconds.
Does it get the call right? Yes!

NFL-Each teams gets two challenges a game and if they get both right, they get a third. To be used at their discretion after a play.

Does it slow the game down? Yes, but their is a lull after each play anyway.
Does it get the call right? Yes!

NHL-Used to determine close goal line decisions and whether or not goals went in or not.

Does it slow the game down? Yes it does.
Does it get the call right? Yes!

What's the common denominator in each of those scenarios? THEY GET THE CALL RIGHT! Imagine the novelty of a concept where close decisions in a sporting event could actually be verified as correct as opposed to an observer's best estimate. That's a world I want to live in....

What am I proposing?

Two extra officials and a review booth for the fourth official. Put one official behind and offset from each goal. Elevate them if necessary so that they can see the entire goal line. If there's a close goal line decision (England today...), let him confer with the referee to share opinions. If they're certain that the ball went in, congratulations, you have a goal. If not, the fourth official has a video booth. Let them take 30 seconds to review from a few angles and make the correct call.

How difficult is that? Even if play continued, you'd have one of the following four scenarios:

The ball ends up in the net-Should be an easy decision to make but if it is questionable, review it. You have a good 30-45 seconds before the ball is fished out of the net, brought back to midfield and the teams reset. Plenty of time to take a look.
The ball goes out of touch-Well, play is stopped at that point anyway, might as well take a look at the play...
The defending team gets possession-Blow the play dead and review it. If it was a goal, back to midfield for the restart. If not, goal kick for the defending team, like they would have had anyway.
The offending team gets possession-Play the advantage like is already done on foul situations when the offensive attack continues. Wait until the attack fizzles out and then do scenario 3 once possession has been turned over.

Hopefully FIFA does something to fix this. Because let's be honest, allowing important decisions in a tournament of this magnitude to be incorrect is injust. The bigger issue of FIFA's recognition that errors are occurring, and yet nothing is being done about it. That's just a crime as far as I'm concerned, and it will certainly have negative impacts on the growth and existence of the sport.

Anyway, that's my rant of the day. Here's the updated bracket for the knockout round. Netherlands-Slovakia and Brazil-Chile are up tomorrow.

Game 52 Recap: Argentina 3-1 Mexico

2010-06-27T16:24:00.003-04:00

ARGENTINA 3-1 MEXICO

For the second time today, a dominant performance by the winning team was overshadowed by questionable refereeing, an issue that is beginning to plague this tournament as it nears its end.

The opening 25 minutes were an even contest. Mexico was more than capable of playing with the favoured Argentina, as they created more and better chances than the South Americans. Carlos Salcido fired a shot from well outside the penalty area which dipped and struck the crossbar. Soon after, Andres Guardado one-timed a pass from Giovani dos Santos which appeared goal-bound but just curled outside the far post at the last second.

The controversy occurred in the 26th minute, on a Carlos Tevez goal which gave Argentina the 1-0 lead. Tevez took a through ball from Lionel Messi but Mexican goalkeeper Oscar Perez did an excellent job of charging out and challenging the ball. The ball squirted out to Messi who played it forward again to Tevez who headed the ball home. Tevez was clearly offside but the referee did not call it and it was 1-0 Argentina. Like the England game, a poor referee decision impacts the scoreline which in turn impacts the outcome of the game.

Argentina picked up a fair goal minutes later on a poor Mexican turnover. Ricardo Osorio made a lazy pass which was intercepted by Gonzalo Higuain on a breakaway. Higuain patiently waited for Perez to bite as he dipped around him and tapped the ball in for a goal.

Argentina put the game out of reach just after halftime on a shot by Tevez. Tevez attempted a pass to Messi in the penalty area but the ball deflected back out to Tevez. Tevez then lined up the shot and fired from 25 yards away, rocketing the ball into the top corner past Perez.

Mexico had the life sucked out of them at that point but valiantly tried to push forward to get some goals back. They succeeded in the 71st minute when young striker Javier Hernandez collected a pass from midfield, turned around the defender Martin Demichelis and fired the ball into the top corner past Sergio Romero. That would be as close as Mexico could cut the deficit though.

FIFA will certainly have some questions to respond to about the introduction of video replay and the controversial goal and no-goal calls in today's games. It would appear that no change is imminent, which is a shame for what the federation promotes as "the beautiful game".

Argentina will now face Germany in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday in Cape Town. Tevez was named Man of the Match for his 2 goals, the first of which should not have counted, while the second was a beautiful strike.

Notes

Mexico's Rafael Marquez picked up the sole yellow card of the game. Mexican subs were Pablo Barrera and Guillermo Franco, replacing Adolfo Bautista and Andres Guardado. Argentina subs were Juan Veron, Jonas Gutierrez and Javier Pastore, replacing Tevez, Angel Di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez.

Game 52 Starting Lineups

2010-06-27T13:44:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Mexico and Argentina:

Mexico (4-3-3)

Three changes for Mexico as Bautista, Juarez and Hernandez are in for Moreno, Blanco and Franco.

Goalkeeper-Oscar Perez (#1)
Left Back-Carlos Salcido (#3)
Left-Centre Back-Rafael Marquez (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Francisco Rodriguez (#2)
Right Back-Ricardo Osorio (#5)
Left-Centre Midfield-Andres Guardado (#18)
Centre Midfield-Gerardo Torrado (#6)
Right-Centre Midfield-Efrain Juarez (#16)
Left-Centre Forward-Adolfo Bautista (#21)
Right-Centre Forward-Giovani dos Santos (#17)
Striker-Javier Hernandez (#14)

Argentina (4-3-3)

Formation is the same but Messi has essentially been playing forward all tournament so I'll call it a 4-3-3. Argentina going mostly with the roster of their first 2 games, after resting their starters last game.

Goalkeeper-Sergio Romero (#22)
Left Back-Gabriel Heinze (#6)
Left-Centre Back-Nicolas Burdisso (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Martin Demichelis (#2)
Right Back-Nicolas Otamendi (#15)
Left Midfield-Angel Di Maria (#7)
Centre Midfield-Javier Mascherano (#14)
Right Midfield-Maxi Rodriguez (#20)
Left Forward-Gonzalo Higuain (#9)
Centre Forward-Lionel Messi (#10)
Right Forward-Carlos Tevez (#11)

Game 51 Recap: Germany 4-1 England

2010-06-27T11:51:00.003-04:00

GERMANY 4-1 ENGLAND

A controversial referee decision again impacted a game in this World Cup, overshadowing what was an excellent performance by Germany against England.

With the scoreline at 2-1 Germany before halftime, a Frank Lampard goal was disallowed despite having clearly gone over the line, in a scene reminiscent of England's World Cup-winning goal over West Germany in 1966. Lampard lofted a ball over German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from the top of the area which went off the bottom of the crossbar and down across the goal line before coming back out. The goal was clearly in but no referee saw the ball cross.

Germany picked up an early chance on a German run from the midfield which dominated the game story. Mesut Ozil got past Ashley Cole for a clean strike on net but David James was able to make the save from in close.

England could offer no offence in the first 20 minutes and Germany took advantage. In what was the first mistake in a terrible showing by the England defence, a Neuer goal kick sailed down the field and after John Terry misjudged the distance of the kick, Miroslav Klose beat Matt Upson to the ball and slid it past James who had backed off of his challenge assuming Upson or Terry would handle the ball.

Klose nearly found his second ten minutes later as he got another clean break off of some nice passing between Muller and Khedira. James challenged the ball well to make the save but again poor defending by England.

Germany did get the deserved second goal minutes later from Lukas Podolski. Klose sent a through ball forward which led to a 2-on-1 for Muller and Podolski. Muller made the smart decision, feeding the ball to Podolski who hammered the ball home past David James.

England could have folded at that point but they didn't, and got their first goal a few minutes later when Upson headed home a Steven Gerrard cross from a corner kick. England should have gotten the equalizing goal a few minutes later but Lampard's goal was disallowed.

Down 2-1 at halftime when they should have been tied, England came out strong in the second half, with Frank Lampard nearly getting his goal off a free kick which he rattled off the crossbar. England had Germany on their heels for the first third of the half but could not manage any more chances and as their defence increasingly pushed forward, Germany was able capitalize on counter-attacks.

In the 67th minute, off an England free kick that Lampard fired into the wall, Germany came out on a 3-on-2 counter-attack. Bastian Schweinsteiger carried the ball the entire way before dishing the ball off to Muller who put his shot off James and in.

Muller put the nail in the English coffin three minutes later, when he scored on yet another odd-man rush for Germany off a Mesut Ozil pass. Gerrard was able to manage a quality scoring chance later but England was done at this point.

The story coming out of the game will be of the disallowed Lampard goal, which would have given the game a 2-2 draw at halftime. Whether or not it affected the outcome is debatable but it certainly will increase the calls for goal line officials or video replay to be introduced, a topic that FIFA and many soccer purists have avoided for years.

Germany will play again on Saturday in Cape Town, against the winner of Mexico and Argentina later today. Muller was named Man of the Match, after scoring 2 goals and setting up a third in this game.

Notes

Glen Johnson of England and Arne Friedrich of Germany picked up the only yellow cards of the game. English subs were Joe Cole, Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips, replacing James Milner, Jermain Defoe and Johnson. German subs were Piotr Trochowski, Mario Gomez and Stefan Kiessling, replacing Muller, Klose and Ozil.

Game 51 Starting Lineups

2010-06-27T09:00:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for England and Germany:

England (4-4-2)

No changes for England as they employ the same lineup as they did against Slovenia.

Goalkeeper-David James (#1)
Left Back-Ashley Cole (#3)
Left-Centre Back-John Terry (#6)
Right-Centre Back-Matthew Upson (#15)
Right Back-Glen Johnson (#2)
Left Midfield-Steven Gerrard (#4)
Left-Centre Midfield-Gareth Barry (#14)
Right-Centre Midfield-Frank Lampard (#8)
Right Midfield-James Milner (#16)
Left-Centre Forward-Wayne Rooney (#10)
Right-Centre Forward-Jermain Defoe (#19)

Germany (4-5-1)

Only one change as Cacau is out and Miroslav Klose is back in after his suspension.

Goalkeeper-Manuel Neuer (#1)
Left Back-Jerome Boateng (#20)
Left-Centre Back-Per Mertesacker (#17)
Right-Centre Back-Arne Friedrich (#3)
Right Back-Philipp Lahm (#16)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Sami Khedira (#6)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Bastian Schweinsteiger (#7)
Left Attacking Midfield-Lukas Podolski (#10)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Mesut Ozil (#8)
Right Attacking Midfield-Thomas Muller (#13)
Centre Forward-Miroslav Klose (#11)

Round of 16 Game 4 (Game 52) Preview: Mexico vs. Argentina

2010-06-26T20:40:00.007-04:00

Game 52 Preview: Mexico vs. Argentina

Date: June 27, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Soccer City, Johannesburg
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Argentina 12-4-9
Last Meeting: 2008 Friendly-Argentina def. Mexico 4-1

Team Profiles

Mexico

World Ranking: 17th
Coach: Javier Aguirre
Captain: Rafael Márquez
Finals Appearance: 14th
Best Finals Finish: Quarterfinals (1970, 1986)

Argentina

World Ranking: 7th
Coach: Diego Maradona
Captain: Javier Mascherano
Finals Appearance: 15th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1978, 1986)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Mexico: 11-5-2, GF: 36 GA: 18
Argentina: 8-6-4, GF: 23 GA: 20

Previous Games

Mexico:

June 11th-Mexico tied South Africa 1-1
June 17th-Mexico def. France 2-0
June 22nd-Uruguay def. Mexico 1-0

Argentina:

June 12th-Argentina def. Nigeria 1-0
June 17th-Argentina def. South Korea 4-1
June 22nd-Argentina def. Greece 2-0

Rosters

Mexico

Argentina

Background

Two high-powered offences will clash in this game of Latin American powers. Mexico are the lone remaining representative of CONCACAF while Argentina will be looking to become the second South American team in the quarterfinals, joining Uruguay.

Mexico is a young squad with extraordinary talent and speed on the offensive end. They haven't been able to translate that into goals for the most part though, averaging just 1 per game so far in the tournament. They'll need to pick up the goalscoring in this game as they face the most dangerous attacking team in the tournament.

Messi, Higuain and Tevez form a very dangerous forward partnership which wreaked havoc in group play as Argentina scored 7 goals in 3 games. If Messi in particular continues his strong play then Argentina could very well be in line to pick up their third World Cup title in history.

Both teams have strong offences and suspect defending. If both teams show up to play, we could be looking at a very high-scoring, fast-paced affair. The first goal will be crucial in this game, as whoever gets it will have the opportunity to settle down the pace of the game and get in to a comfort zone they might not otherwise have.

Injuries

Mexico: Carlos Vela (Questionable-Hamstring)
Argentina: None

Discipline

Mexico: Francisco Rodriguez (Yellow), Gerardo Torrado (Yellow), Guillermo Franco (Yellow), Hector Moreno (Yellow), Israel Castro (Yellow), Javier Hernandez (Yellow)
Argentina: Mario Bolatti (Yellow), Gabriel Heinze (Yellow), Javier Mascherano (Yellow)

Mexico will win if:

They stop Messi. Never in recent World Cup history has an outfield player had such an impact on the tournament without scoring a goal. Messi has taken over every Argentina game so far, and with opponents struggling to contain him, his teammates are finding open looks at the goal. If Mexico allows Messi to operate freely, they will get scored on. If they can find a way to shut him down without leaving one of the other Argentine attackers open, they have a chance to win this game.

Argentina will win if:

Their defence doesn't suffer a let-down against a dangerous Mexican team. Argentina is enormous striking power but their defence is not a strong suit and has been shaky at times in this tournament. They do not want to get dragged into a shootout with Mexico who can score at will when they want to. If they can limit Mexico to a goal or less, they should win this game in regulation.

Prediction

Argentina should be concerned about the Mexican attack but they have too many goalscorers and playmakers up front to not make up for any defensive lapses. Closer game than some might anticipate but Argentina comes out on top.

Argentina 2-1 Mexico

Round of 16 Game 3 (Game 51) Preview: England vs. Germany

2010-06-26T18:12:00.007-04:00

Game 51 Preview: England vs. Germany

Date: June 27, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): 12-12-3
Last Meeting: 2008 Friendly-England def. Germany 2-1

Team Profiles

England

World Ranking: 8th
Coach: Fabio Capello
Captain: Steven Gerrard
Finals Appearance: 13th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1966)

Germany

World Ranking: 6th
Coach: Joachim Löw
Captain: Philipp Lahm
Finals Appearance: 17th (also appeared as West Germany)
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1954,1974,1990)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

England: 9-1-0, GF: 34 GA: 6
Germany: 8-0-2, GF: 26 GA: 5

Previous Games

England:

June 12th-England tied U.S.A. 1-1
June 18th-England tied Algeria 0-0
June 23rd-England def. Slovenia 1-0

Germany:

June 13th-Germany def. Australia 4-0
June 18th-Serbia def. Germany 1-0
June 23rd-Germany def. Ghana 1-0

Rosters

England

Germany

Background

These teams have met 27 times in history and the record is dead even, with each team on 12 wins, 12 losses and 3 draws. It is also one of the greatest rivalries in football, due to both the prolonged competitiveness of each side and the historical ties that the two nations share.

After an excellent qualifying campaign, England has struggled in this tournament, drawing with the U.S. and Algeria before picking up a 1-0 victory over Slovenia. Wayne Rooney has been nowhere near top form, and goaltending questions have plagued them since Robert Green's mishap against the U.S. This team has the potential to make a deep run but has yet to show that they can live up to the high expectations placed upon them.

Germany opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory over Australia, and many people appeared ready to acclaim Germany as this year`s champion. Germany scored just one goal in their next 2 games though, and needed a victory over Ghana in their last game to ensure advancement to the knockout round. Moreover, Germany is facing significant injury concerns as they go in to this game.

This will be a very close contest. Germany is perhaps the more talented of the two teams but injuries and rivalry will ensure that this is an even match. Whichever team is able to control the midfield should emerge victorious in this game which will more than likely be decided by just one goal.

Injuries

England: Ledley King (Probable-Groin)
Germany: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Questionable-Hamstring), Jerome Boateng (Questionable-Calf), Cacau (Out-Abdominal), Mesut Ozil (Probable-Leg)

Discipline

England: Glen Johnson (Yellow), Steven Gerrard (Yellow), James Milner (Yellow)
Germany: Sami Khedira (Yellow), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Yellow), Mesut Ozil (Yellow), Thomas Muller (Yellow), Philipp Lahm (Yellow), Cacau (Yellow)

England will win if:

They can prevent the penetrating runs into the penalty area that Germany is so good at. Germany loves to flood players in to the box on runs from different angles, and pick out the open targets for clear shots on goal. The English defence has been good this tournament, conceding just one goal which was not the fault of the defence. They will need to be solid in this game and ensure that no German player is left unmarked. Germany may score, but if England can make them work for every opportunity, they can come out of this game on top.

Germany will win if:

They neutralize Wayne Rooney. England's offence has been anemic so far in this tournament, managing just 2 goals for in a weak group. Rooney has been non-existent, which is a big reason for England's inability to score goals. If Germany ensures that Rooney remains a non-factor in games, they should keep England off the board. If Rooney does manage to have a breakout game though, Germany is heading home.

Prediction

This is such a close game to call. It is a huge rivalry, both teams are ranked in the top 10 and both have similar problems coming in. When both teams are at their best, they can challenge for a final. The teams are even similar in style of play and there is literally nothing separating them.

Oddsmakers like England, I think Germany's better but their injuries are certainly a concern. Where I think the difference will be is on the English defence. Defence is never viewed as a strong point for the English, but if you exclude the fluke goal by Clint Dempsey, this team has yet to give up a goal in World Cup play. The unit is playing well, and I think it is enough to give England the advantage in this game.

England 1-0 Germany

Knockout Round Analysis: June 26, 2010

2010-06-26T17:52:00.003-04:00

Two games down in the Round of 16. First to Uruguay-South Korea.

I wasn't surprised by the result in this game. Uruguay is a better team and should have won. I am impressed however by the resiliency of the South Koreans. They were in this game until the end and while Uruguay had just too much talent to deal with, they put up a great performance. Nothing for them to be ashamed of after that.

Now to Ghana-U.S.A. Great win for Ghana. So much was made of this being the first ever tournament in Africa and having only one African team of six advance to the knockout round was disappointing. This is a bright spot though for the continent, as Ghana gamely disposed of the U.S., and has already matched the top African performance in history at the World Cup. Not only have they matched that performance, but they will stand somewhat of a chance to continue further as Uruguay is a favourable opponent to them compared to some of the other potential quarterfinal teams.

The game was even throughout. Both teams were even in skill level but the difference I saw was in terms of speed and possession. Ghana was playing a very defensive formation but they created chances with their speed all game, taking advantage of the slow American defence. And then there's possession. The final stats show possession was about even but Ghana was able to completely control the pace of the game, as they either had the ball on their feet or were blanketing the Americans whenever they had the ball. The U.S. could offer little in response and Ghana deserves the victory.

Here's the updated bracket below. Tomorrow we'll see what should 2 very exciting matches, as England squares off with Germany while Mexico will try to defeat Argentina who has been dominant all tournament.

Game 50 Recap: Ghana 2-1 U.S.A.

2010-06-26T17:03:00.003-04:00

GHANA 2-1 U.S.A.

Just like in 2006, a 2-1 loss to Ghana has sent the U.S. home earlier than they would have liked. For Ghana, they equal the best African performance in World Cup history, matching Cameroon's quarterfinal appearance in 1990.

The first game of the tournament that went past 90 minutes was fought hard by both teams, but it was the Ghanaians who got the winning goal early in extra time, to send them through to the quarterfinals.

Ghana opened the scoring just 5 minutes in to the game on a goal by Kevin-Prince Boateng. Ricardo Clark turned the ball over at midfield and Boateng took the ball on a run. Terrible defending by the Americans as both central defenders cheated towards Asamoah Gyan who was also on the run. Boateng took a step to the left and fired a low hard strike towards the bottom corner which beat Tim Howard, who appeared to be well off his angles.

Ghana continued to be the aggressor through the first half, controlling possession with their passing skills and creating havoc for the U.S. defence with their speed. Ghana was creating scoring opportunities out of seemingly nothing but didn't come close to goal again in the first half.

The best U.S. opportunity of the first half came from Robbie Findley in the 31st minute. Findley made a great run with the ball on a partial breakaway but Findley, who has struggled with a finishing touch all tournament fired the ball directly at Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

The U.S., in their typical fashion made a comeback in the second half after looking terrible in the first. They nearly tied the game immediately on a Benny Feilhaber shot. John Mensah made an uncharacteristic poor decision in his own end and coughed the ball up to Jozy Altidore who made a clever back-heel pass to Feilhaber. Kingson charged out quickly and was able to stop Feilhaber from close range.

It was all U.S. in the first 20 minutes of this half and they were rewarded for their hard work with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute after Jonathan Mensah hauled down Clint Dempsey in the penalty area. Landon Donovan coolly stepped up and hammered the ball home off the post to tie the game.

Both sides appeared to tire in the second half, understandable considering both played just three days ago. Ghana could not muster much in the way of offensive opportunities while the U.S. could only play long balls to Altidore which Kingson usually came up with first.

With neither side able to break the deadlock in regular time, the teams went to a 30-minute extra time period. 3 minutes in, Ghana found the winner from Asamoah Gyan who scored his third of the tournament. Another mental mistake by the U.S. defence gave Gyan the room to bring down the long pass off his chest and he made no mistake, firing the ball past Tim Howard who had no chance.

From there, the Ghanaian defence turned in to a wall, as the U.S. threatened constantly but could not get the ball through to the goal of Kingson. Ghana was able to hold off a late U.S. rally in extra time to pick the huge victory and keep the hopes of an entire continent alive. Tough tournament for the U.S. as they got in to extra time of the Round of 16 but did not really show the quality of play that many expected of them in this tournament.

Ghana will now take on Uruguay on Friday in Johannesburg in the quarterfinals. Uruguay is looking to try and win its 3rd World Cup championship, while Ghana has a chance to becoming the first ever semifinalist from Africa in World Cup history.

Andre Ayew was named Man of the Match. Playing on the wings, he gave the U.S. fullbacks trouble all game with his speed and ball skills, setting up a number of chances for the Ghanian offence.

Notes

Yellow cards for the U.S. went to Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Ricardo Clark. Ghanaian yellow cards went to Jonathan Mensah and Ayew. Both players will miss the quarterfinal due to an accumulation of cards. American subs were Maurice Edu, Feilhaber and Herculez Gomez, replacing Clark, Findley and Altidore. Ghanaian subs were Lee Addy, Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari, replacing Hans Sarpei, Boateng and Samuel Inkoom.

Game 50 Starting Lineups

2010-06-26T13:42:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Ghana and the U.S.A.:

Ghana (5-4-1)

Very defensive formation for Ghana as they have been running offensive-minded formations all tournament. Samuel Inkoom replaces Prince Tagoe in the only personnel change.

Goalkeeper-Richard Kingson (#22)
Left Back-Hans Sarpei (#2)
Left-Centre Back-Jonathan Mensah (#8)
Centre Back-John Mensah (#5)
Right-Centre Back-John Pantsil (#4)
Right Back-Samuel Inkoom (#7)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Kevin-Prince Boateng (#23)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Anthony Annan (#6)
Left Midfield-Andre Ayew (#13)
Right Midfield-Kwadwo Asamoah (#21)
Centre Forward-Asamoah Gyan (#3)

U.S.A. (4-4-2)

Two changes for the U.S. as Findley replaces Gomez and Clark replaces Edu.

Goalkeeper-Tim Howard (#1)
Left Back-Jonathan Bornstein (#12)
Left-Centre Back-Carlos Bocanegra (#3)
Right-Centre Back-Jay DeMerit (#15)
Right Back-Steve Cherundolo (#6)
Left Midfield-Landon Donovan (#10)
Left-Centre Midfield-Ricardo Clark (#13)
Right-Centre Midfield-Michael Bradley (#4)
Right Midfield-Clint Dempsey (#8)
Left Forward-Robbie Findley (#20)
Right Forward-Jozy Altidore (#17)

Game 49 Recap: Uruguay 2-1 South Korea

2010-06-26T11:52:00.003-04:00

URUGUAY 2-1 SOUTH KOREA

Uruguay held off a game opponent in South Korea in a very rainy game in Port Elizabeth, and is the first team to advance to the quarterfinals, one of 5 potential South American teams in the final 8.

There were times when South Korea was the better team in this game, and considering their pre-tournament goal was to advance out of the group stages, they should be exiting South Africa with their heads held high.

In a surprising start to the game, both teams perhaps showed some nerves as defence was almost non-existent for the opening 15 minutes. South Korea won an early free kick, and Park Chu-Young, who scored off a free kick from a similar position in their last game, put the ball over the wall but struck the outside of the post.

Uruguay responded immediately and picked up the opening goal in the 8th minute from Luis Suarez. Edinson Cavani played the ball way out wide for Diego Forlan who beat his defender and played the ball across the face of goal. The South Korean defence fell asleep on the ball and the Korean keeper missed it which gave Suarez an easy one-time shot for the goal at the far side of the area.

The game slowed down considerably as the teams settled in to their respective games, with Uruguay content to hang back on defence. Park Ji-Sung and Park Chu-Young kept South Korea in the game with their midfield play but could not manage a goal before halftime.

Uruguay should have been afforded a penalty kick prior to the halftime whistle but the referee missed the call. A Maxi Pereira shot was blocked by a South Korean arm in the penalty area. May have been incidental contact but the defender was leading with his arm and the shot appeared goal-bound.

South Korean pressure picked up in the second half and they were rewarded for their efforts with an equalizing goal in the 67th minute. Poor defending by Uruguay as they were unable to initially clear the ball from their penalty area off a free kick. The ball shot upward and straight to Lee Chung-Yong who jumped over Uruguayans Diego Lugano and Fernando Muslera to head the ball home.

Both teams pushed forward at that point as they both went searching for the game-winning goal, which came with ten minutes to go, again from Suarez. A Forlan corner made its way to Suarez, again at the far side of the penalty area. Suarez cut back towards the centre of the field, and hit a wicked curling shot which somehow curved enough to catch the inside of the far post for the game-winning goal.

South Korea tried to tie but could one manage one decent chance. A long ball was played forward to Lee Dong-Gook who slid the ball between Muslera's legs, but Muslera caught enough of the ball to slow it down and Lugano was able to clear the ball from the Uruguay line before it crossed.

Uruguay will now take on the winner of U.S.A./Ghana on Friday in Johannesburg. Suarez was named Man of the Match for the 2 Uruguayan goals, the second of which could be a goal of the tournament candidate.

Notes

3 yellow cards in the game, all for South Korea going to Cho Yong-Hyung, Kim Jung-Woo and Cha Du-Ri. South Korean subs were Lee Dong-Gook and Yeom Ki-Hun, replacing Kim Jae-Sung and Ki Sung-Yeung. Uruguayan subs were Mauricio Victorino, Nicolas Lodeiro and Alvaro Fernandez, replacing Diego Godin, Alvaro Pereira and Suarez.

Game 49 Starting Lineups

2010-06-26T09:11:00.005-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for South Korea and Uruguay:

South Korea (4-5-1)

South Korea's gone back to the 4-5-1 they used earlier in the tournament. Only one personnel change as Yeom Ki-Hun is out of the starting lineup, replaced by Kim Jae-Sung.

Goalkeeper-Jung Sung-Ryong (#18)
Left Back-Lee Young-Pyo (#12)
Left-Centre Back-Lee Jung-Soo (#14)
Right-Centre Back-Cho Yong-Hyung (#4)
Right Back-Cha Du-Ri (#22)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Kim Jung-Woo (#8)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Ki Sung-Yeung (#16)
Left Midfield-Lee Chung-Yong (#17)
Centre Midfield-Park Ji-Sung (#7)
Right Midfield-Kim Jae-Sung (#13)
Centre Forward-Park Chu-Young (#10)

Uruguay (4-3-3)

Same formation they've used throughout with just one personnel change, with Godin in for Victorino.

Goalkeeper-Fernando Muslera (#1)
Left Back-Jorge Fucile (#4)
Left-Centre Back-Diego Godin (#3)
Right-Centre Back-Diego Lugano (#2)
Right Back-Maxi Pereira (#16)
Left-Centre Midfield-Alvaro Pereira (#11)
Centre Midfield-Diego Perez (#15)
Right-Centre Midfield-Egidio Arevalo (#17)
Centre Forward-Diego Forlan (#10)
Left-Centre Striker-Luis Suarez (#9)
Right-Centre Striker-Edinson Cavani (#7)

Round of 16 Game 2 (Game 50) Preview: Ghana vs. U.S.A.

2010-06-25T18:37:00.005-04:00

Game 50 Preview: Ghana vs. U.S.A.

Date: June 26, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Ghana 1-0-0
Last Meeting: 2006 World Cup-Ghana def. U.S.A. 2-1

Team Profiles

Ghana

World Ranking: 32nd
Coach: Milovan Rajevac
Captain: Stephen Appiah
Finals Appearance: 2nd
Best Finals Finish: Round of 16 (2006)

U.S.A.

World Ranking: 14th
Coach: Bob Bradley
Captain: Carlos Bocanegra
Finals Appearance: 9th
Best Finals Finish: Third Place (1930)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Ghana: 8-3-1, GF: 20 GA: 8
USA: 13-3-2, GF: 42 GA: 16

Previous Games

Ghana:

June 13th-Ghana def. Serbia 1-0
June 19th-Ghana tied Australia 1-1
June 23rd-Germany def. Ghana 1-0

U.S.A.:

June 12th-U.S.A. tied England 1-1
June 18th-U.S.A. tied Slovenia 2-2
June 23rd-U.S.A. def. Algeria 1-0

Rosters

Ghana

U.S.A.

Background

These two teams have met just once before. That was in Group E in the last World Cup, and the upstart Ghana defeated the U.S., eliminating them from the tournament and sending Ghana through to the knockout round. A lot of players that played in that game are playing in this one, and you can bet that they haven't forgotten that result, especially on the American side.

Ghana was the best of the African teams in group play, and the only one to advance out of the group stages. They'll have the entire continent of Africa (and anti-American fans around the world) rooting for them in this game. This is an experienced teams and many of their players play in big leagues so the pressure shouldn't be too much for them but they certainly have a tough task in front of them.

The U.S. won Group C, despite winning just one game and not playing very well with the exception of one half against Slovenia. Their biggest concern, as usual will be on defence. Their central defence has struggled all tournament, and Ghana have one of the most exciting young players in this tournament up front, in Asamoah Gyan.

Will it be redemption for the Americans or does Ghana have the Americans' number? This has the potential to be a highly entertaining game, and like all American games, shouldn't be decided until very late.

Injuries

Ghana: Isaac Vorsah (Out-Leg)
U.S.A.: None

Discipline

Ghana: Anthony Annan (Yellow), Jonathan Mensah (Yellow), Prince Tagoe (Yellow), Andre Ayew (Yellow), Lee Addy (Yellow)
U.S.A.: Steve Cherundolo (Yellow), Jay DeMerit (Yellow), Jozy Altidore (Yellow), DaMarcus Beasley (Yellow)

Ghana will win if:

They attack with their speed and get shots on goal. The U.S. is good on the counter-attack, but they are terrible at defending against a counter-attack. Ghana has tons of pace up front and can stretch any team's defence with that speed. The other part is get shots on goal. American fans might disagree but Tim Howard has not been good in goal this tournament, save for a few key moments against England. Get the ball up front, and put it towards the goal, and good things should happen.

U.S.A. will win if:

They shut down Asamoah Gyan. Gyan has had a hand in every Ghanaian scoring chance this tournament. He is the catalyst up front and can score from many different places. This could be a problem for the U.S. as they don't really have a shut down defender on their team. As a unit, they need to contain Gyan, while preventing any lapses against a speedy Ghana team, and they should come out successful.

Prediction

The U.S. is a better team but if I were Bob Bradley, I'd be greatly concerned about how the U.S. defence is going to handle Ghana's speed. England and Slovenia don't have speed up front and Algeria doesn't have the talent to make use of their speed. Ghana does. The U.S. defence gets strung out when it faces a team with speed and that could be the difference maker. But I'm not ready to count out the U.S. after their stunning comeback against Slovenia and late win against Algeria. They're a resilient side and that makes this prediction so difficult.

I think Ghana gets the first goal and puts the U.S. on its heels. The U.S. ties it in the second half and this game goes to penalties. Predicting penalties is a crapshoot, but Tim Howard is one of the best goalies in the world and he steps up in a big way in this game.

U.S. 1-1 Ghana (U.S. wins on penalty kicks)

Round of 16 Game 1 (Game 49) Preview: South Korea vs. Uruguay

2010-06-25T18:09:00.006-04:00

Game 49 Preview: South Korea vs. Uruguay

Date: June 26, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Uruguay 4-0-1
Last Meeting: 2007 Friendly-Uruguay def. South Korea 2-0

Team Profiles

South Korea

World Ranking: 47th
Coach: Huh Jung-Moo
Captain: Park Ji-Sung
Finals Appearance: 11th
Best Finals Finish: Fourth Place (2002)

Uruguay

World Ranking: 18th
Coach: Oscar Tabárez
Captain: Diego Lugano
Finals Appearance: 11th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1930,1950)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

South Korea: 7-0-7 GF: 22 GA: 7
Uruguay: 7-6-7 GF: 30 GA: 21

Previous Games

South Korea:

June 12th-South Korea def. Greece 2-0
June 17th-Argentina def. South Korea 4-1
June 22nd-South Korea tied Nigeria 2-2

Uruguay:

June 11th-Uruguay tied France 0-0
June 16th-Uruguay def. South Africa 3-0
June 22nd-Uruguay def. Mexico 1-0

Rosters

South Korea

Uruguay

Background

The Round of 16 kicks off with Group A winner Uruguay, taking on South Korea. These teams find themselves in the easiest section of the bracket, with the winner advancing to face either USA or Ghana in the quarterfinals.

Uruguay was one of the most impressive teams in group play, outplaying France and Mexico in Group A which they won handily. They have a dynamic forward duo with Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera has yet to surrender a goal in 3 games so far.

South Korea snuck in to the knockout round on the back of a victory over Greece, and a thrilling draw with Nigeria. They also lost by a wide margin to Argentina though, and there are still questions about how good this team really is, as they could only take points against an underachieving Nigeria and an overrated Greece.

This game will be decided in South Korean end. Suarez, Forlan and Edinson Cavani have caused huge problems for their opponents defensively and have accounted for 3 of 4 Uruguayan goals in group play. If they get going against a weak South Korean defence, Uruguay will take this game easily. Do not discount South Korea though as they have their own stable of talented offensive players, in Park Ji-Sung, Park Chu-Young and Lee Jung-Soo.

Injuries

South Korea: None
Uruguay: None

Discipline

South Korea: Lee Chung-Yong (Yellow), Yeom Ki-Hun (Yellow), Kim Nam-Il (Yellow)
Uruguay: Diego Lugano (Yellow), Jorge Fucile (Yellow), Mauricio Victorino (Yellow)

South Korea will win if:

They can improve their defence enough to contain the Uruguayan front trio. South Korea surrendered more group stage goals than any other team in the knockout round at 6. Teams can't expect to win games at this stage when they're giving up 2 goals a game, especially against a team with the strikers that Uruguay has. If South Korea can take the Uruguayan front 3 out of play, they severely limit Uruguay's attacking options.

Uruguay will win if:

They can get the ball to Diego Forlan in space. The Uruguayan attack is centred on getting the ball to Forlan so that he can either shoot or create opportunities for Suarez or Cavani. If Forlan is able to get in to an open area of the field with the ball, Uruguay will be successful in breaking down South Korea for goals.

Prediction

Qualifying for the knockout round with a negative goal differential, 6 goals for and facing a team that has yet to give up a goal is not a recipe for victory. But that's exactly the scenario in which South Korea find themselves right now. I think Forlan and Suarez are jumping at the opportunity to face this defence and with good reason. They take this game and try hard not to look past their quarterfinal matchup as they have a very favourable road to the semifinals awaiting them.

Uruguay 2-0 South Korea

Group/Knockout Round Analysis-June 25,2010

2010-06-25T17:17:00.009-04:00

After 15 days and 48 games, group play is over as Groups G and H finished today. Now we're down to single elimination games, with extra time and penalty kicks if necessary. In other words, now the real fun begins.

Attached below are the final Group G and H standings:

Group G

Group H

Group G's finish was fairly predictable with everyone remaining in their places. Even if Portugal had lost, there was no way Ivory Coast was scoring enough goals to make up the goal differential imbalance. Chile advancing from Group H is surprising though. Switzerland really dropped the ball drawing with Honduras which is good news for Chile. Even if Switzerland had won by 1 goal though, Chile would have taken the tiebreaker given they only lost by one.

Brazil and Chile will now play in the Round of 16, with the winner to face the winner of Netherlands/Slovakia. Spain and Portugal will meet with the winner facing the winner of Paraguay/Japan.

Below is the final knockout round bracket:

On first glance, for the sake of competitive balance, thank you Netherlands and Brazil for winning your groups and adding some talent to the top of the bracket. The bottom half is still weighted with more quality teams, but it is not as one-sided as initially feared.

USA or Uruguay have excellent opportunities to get through to the semifinals. Neither one is probably deserving of the run, but if they can beat their Round of 16 opponents, one of them will be there.

I don't see how anyone but Netherlands or Brazil plays in the final in the top half of the bracket. Whichever semifinal opponent the winner of that game has will be a far easier task than their quarterfinal game.

Mexico, Argentina, England and Germany might be having their worst nightmare right now. That is a nightmarish section for the teams involved and it will be a grueling to win 2 games back-to-back.

3 games in the Round of 16 jump out to me as being must-see contests. Brazil/Chile pits two powerful offences together and both teams know each other very well from playing together in CONMEBOL. Germany/England is one of the fiercest soccer rivalries in the world. Neither team particularly likes the other and they've been trading shots back and forth since the tournament began. Germany is the better team, but with injury concerns for Germany, England is actually the oddsmakers favourite. The third is Spain/Portugal for obvious reasons. The neighbours are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the world and its a shame they have to meet so early, although it was always assumed that Spain would be playing either Portugal or Brazil in this game.

Not so Ridiculously Early Knockout Round Prediction

Disclaimer: This is based on personal opinion right now as I haven't yet considered these matchups. My game preview predictions might vary as I look more in-depth at the matchups.

Like I said, this could change but a couple observations:

7 of 8 group winners moving on from the Round of 16. Not a knock against the second-place teams, I just don't see many that could realistically defeat their opponent.
Argentina will be the one to escape that dreadful bottom section of the bracket.
3 of the 4 semifinal teams are South American. All 5 South American teams are in the Round of 16, four of them having won their group. They are the class of the tournament so far and this reflects that.
Argentina wins the tournament. They have issues on defence and in goal, but there offence is explosive and Lionel Messi has taken over this tournament, similar to how Maradona did in 1986 the last time Argentina won.

Game 48 Recap: Honduras 0-0 Switzerland

2010-06-25T16:45:00.003-04:00

HONDURAS 0-0 SWITZERLAND

Switzerland squandered a golden opportunity to advance to the knockout round with a letdown against Honduras. The Swiss were the better team throughout but suffered lapses on defence and struggled to create chances leading to the 0-0 draw. With Spain's win, Switzerland finds itself in third place in Group H, and heading home before the Round of 16.

Honduras never stood a realistic chance of advancing from this group and can take some promise from this result so that they can build their program and hopefully return to the World Cup in 2014.

Slow start to the game as both teams were patient and attempted to feel out their opponents. The Swiss got the most of the few opportunities in the first half, starting in the 11th minute. Gokhan Inler got the ball on a Swiss attack but his shot from the top of the area bounced harmlessly wide.

Eren Derdiyok and Blaise Nkufo both had opportunities to head home high crosses into the box but failed to get quality touches on them, with all going wide. The first half ended with neither side coming close to getting the opening goal.

Honduras was the aggressor at the start of the second half and nearly got their first goal of the tournament courtesy of David Suazo. Edgar Alvarez did a nice job in the corner of beating his marker and his cross found Suazo directly in front. Suazo connected with a header but deflected wide of the far post from 6 yards out. It was a great chance for Honduras and they should have found themselves with a 1-0 lead.

Honduras again found themselves near a goal late in the second half. With Switzerland pushing increasingly further up field to find the winner, Honduras picked up a counter-attack which turned into a 2-on-1. Suazo drew the defender towards him before passing the ball off to Alvarez but his shot was stopped by a brilliant Diego Benaglio save to preserve the draw.

Both sides had a chance to score in injury time, with Stephan Lichtsteiner firing a free kick high, and on a Honduras corner that shot across the face of goal but missed a touch. The game ended at 0-0, ending the tournament for both teams.

Man of the Match honours went to Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares, who made a few key saves for his team to keep them in the game.

Notes

Gelson Fernandes picked up the lone yellow card for Switzerland. Honduras yellow cards were issued to Osman Chavez, Hendry Thomas, Wilson Palacios and Suazo. Swiss subs were Hakan Yakin, Alexander Frei and Xherdan Shaqiri, replacing Fernandes, Nkufo and Benjamin Huggel. Honduran subs were Walter Martinez, George Welcome and Danilo Turcios, replacing Ramon Nunez, Jerry Palacios and Suazo.

Game 47 Recap: Spain 2-1 Chile

2010-06-25T16:24:00.003-04:00

SPAIN 2-1 CHILE

Spain showed their best performance of the tournament, while Chile dodged a huge bullet with the result in the Switzerland-Honduras game, and both of these teams will advance to the knockout round as a result.

Spain came in to the game knowing that anything less than a win could eliminate them. They took a comfortable 2-0 halftime lead, where they also found themselves up a man on Chile, and cruised to victory in the second half. For Chile, they avoided becoming the first ever 6-point team to fail to advance from group play, as Switzerland could not get the win against Honduras in the other Group H game today.

Both teams were on fire coming out of the gate. Spain got an opportunity on a long ball to Torres which caught the Chilean defence napping. The ball played long from inside the Spanish half sailed through the defence and nearly found Torres in the penalty area before Chile finally cleared the ball away.

Chile then got their offence going with a pair of chances. Some nice passing around the penalty area led to a Mark Gonzalez shooting chance inside the penalty area. The final pass to Gonzalez was slightly off though and Gonzalez had no chance to direct the ball towards goal. Alexis Sanchez later tried to chip the ball over Iker Casillas who was off his line, and the ball nearly went in before Casillas was able to punch it away.

It was not all good for Chile in the first half though as they picked up 3 yellow cards in a span of 5 minutes which would become a factor in the game.

The first Spanish goal came from David Villa, from a whopping 40 yards away from goal. A Spanish counter-attack led to a long through ball for Fernando Torres. Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo came way out of the penalty area to clear the ball but his tackle sent the ball straight to Villa, who one-timed the ball perfectly over the defence and into the open Chilean net.

The second goal for Spain came minutes later, and was the turning point of the match for multiple reasons. Villa had the ball in the corner and passed it out to the top of the penalty area for Andres Iniesta. Iniesta made a beautiful touch shot into the far corner to get the insurance goal for Spain. Earlier on the play though, Fernando Torres went down at the top of the penalty area. The referee played the advantage for Spain, but issued a yellow card to Marco Estrada for the challenge on Torres. Estrada had already picked up a yellow card earlier in the game and was sent off, reducing Chile to 10 men. Replay showed that Estrada barely made an incidental clip on Torres, and it did not warrant a yellow card.

Inexplicably, Chile was the stronger team for the first 10 minutes after the halftime break, and was able to cut the Spanish lead to 1 early on. Rodrigo Millar got possession from 22 yards out and his shot towards goal took a huge deflection off of Gerard Pique, and arced into the opposite corner of the goal leaving Casillas helpless to make the save.

The game slowed down for the rest of the second half though as Chile could not muster any offence down a man, and Spain was content to hold on to possession and the lead as they went through with the win.

Spain and Chile go through to the knockout round as they both have 6 points, while Switzerland is stuck at 4. Spain wins the tiebreaker over Chile and wins the group. Spain will now have a marquee matchup against neighbour Portugal on Tuesday in Cape Town. Chile will face continental rival Brazil in their next game, Monday in Johannesburg.

Man of the Match honours went to Iniesta, for his goal and his playmaking abilities which created multiple Spanish scoring chances.

Notes

Spain still have yet to pick up any cards in this tournament. Waldo Ponce and Gary Medel picked up yellow cards to go with the 2 cards for Estrada. All 3 players will miss their next game due to an accumulation of cards. Spanish subs were Cesc Fabregas and Javier Martinez, replacing Torres and Xabi Alonso. Chilean subs were Millar, Esteban Paredes and Fabian Orellana, replacing Gonzalez, Jorge Valdivia and Sanchez.

Game 48 Starting Lineups

2010-06-25T13:38:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Honduras and Switzerland:

Honduras (4-4-2)

New formation and widespread changes for Honduras. There was a feeling of discontent in the Honduran camp about playing time for some players. Interesting to see a lot of new faces in the lineup as a result.

Goalkeeper-Noel Valladares (#18)
Left Back-Maynor Figueroa (#3)
Left-Centre Back-Victor Bernardez (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Osman Chavez (#2)
Right Back-Mauricio Sabillon (#16)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Hendry Thomas (#6)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Wilson Palacios (#8)
Left Midfield-Ramon Nunez (#7)
Right Midfield-Edgar Alvarez (#17)
Left-Centre Forward-David Suazo (#11)
Right-Centre Forward-Jerry Palacios (#10)

Switzerland (4-4-2)

Not too many changes. Frei is out while Derdiyok is in and Barnetta starts for the suspended Behrami.

Goalkeeper-Diego Benaglio (#1)
Left Back-Reto Ziegler (#17)
Left-Centre Back-Stephane Grichting (#13)
Right-Centre Back-Steve von Bergen (#5)
Right Back-Stephan Lichtsteiner (#2)
Left Midfield-Gelson Fernandes (#16)
Left-Centre Midfield-Gokhan Inler (#8)
Right-Centre Midfield-Benjamin Huggel (#6)
Right Midfield-Tranquillo Barnetta (#7)
Left-Centre Forward-Blaise Nkufo (#10)
Right-Centre Forward-Eren Derdiyok (#19)

Game 47 Starting Lineups

2010-06-25T13:33:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Spain and Chile:

Spain (4-3-3)

Another formation switch, as they'll play a 4-3-3. Only change is that Iniesta returns replacing Jesus Navas.

Goalkeeper-Iker Casillas (#1)
Left Back-Joan Capdevila (#11)
Left-Centre Back-Carles Puyol (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Gerard Pique (#3)
Right Back-Sergio Ramos (#15)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Sergio Busquets (#16)
Left Midfield-Xabi Alonso (#14)
Right Midfield-Xavi (#8)
Left Forward-David Villa (#7)
Centre Forward-Fernando Torres (#9)
Right Forward-Andres Iniesta (#6)

Chile (4-3-3)

3 personnel changes as Carmona and Fernandez are suspended, while Suazo is now on the bench. Mark Gonzalez, Estrada and Valdivia are their replacements.

Goalkeeper-Claudio Bravo (#1)
Left Back-Gonzalo Jara (#18)
Left-Centre Back-Waldo Ponce (#3)
Right-Centre Back-Gary Medel (#17)
Right Back-Mauricio Isla (#4)
Left Midfield-Mark Gonzalez (#11)
Centre Midfield-Marco Estrada (#13)
Right Midfield-Arturo Vidal (#8)
Left Forward-Jean Beausejour (#15)
Centre Forward-Jorge Valdivia (#10)
Right Forward-Alexis Sanchez (#7)

Game 48 Preview: Honduras vs. Switzerland

2010-06-25T13:07:00.005-04:00

Game 48 Preview: Honduras vs. Switzerland

Date: June 25, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

Team Profiles

Honduras

World Ranking: 38th
Coach: Reinaldo Rueda
Captain: Amado Guevara
Finals Appearance: 2nd
Best Finals Finish: Group Stage (1982)

Switzerland

World Ranking: 24th
Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld
Captain: Alexander Frei
Finals Appearance: 9th
Best Finals Finish: Quarterfinals (1934,1938,1954)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Honduras: 10-6-2, GF: 32 GA: 18
Switzerland: 6-1-3, GF: 18 GA: 8

Previous Games

Honduras:

June 16th-Chile def. Honduras 1-0
June 21st-Spain def. Honduras 2-0

Switzerland:

June 16th-Switzerland def. Spain 1-0
June 21st-Chile def. Switzerland 1-0

Rosters

Honduras

Switzerland

Background

Switzerland's shocking upset of Spain earlier in group play will be the main reason this team advances if they can beat Honduras. There are many possibilities for how Group H is going to play out today but very few involve Switzerland not advancing if they win this game. Honduras also has a chance to advance but they need a lot of things to go their way. More importantly, they need to find a way to get some offence going.

Switzerland is a big team and plays organized soccer. They're also a nightmare for opposing offences trying to break through the Swiss defence. Neither of those factors plays in to Honduras' game. Honduras is going to have to find a way to not only break down the Swiss defence, but prevent Switzerland from getting chances of their own.

The Swiss should have only one focus in this game and that is winning. They can afford to scoreboard-watch today and see what is happening in the Spain-Chile game. A win will almost certainly get them through and they're up against their easy opponent so far. Anything less than a win is unacceptable in this match and look for the Swiss to be aggressive from the start.

Injuries

Honduras: None
Switzerland: Philippe Senderos (Questionable-Leg)

Discipline

Honduras: Wilson Palacios (Yellow), Danilo Turcios (Yellow), Emilio Izaguirre (Yellow)
Switzerland: Diego Benaglio (Yellow), Gokhan Inler (Yellow), Blaise Nkufo (Yellow), Stephane Grichting (Yellow), Reto Ziegler (Yellow), Tranquillo Barnetta (Yellow), Hakan Yakin (Yellow), Valon Behrami (Red-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)

Honduras will win if:

They can use their speed to break through the Swiss defence. The Swiss defenders are big do not move terribly well. The Hondurans need to hit them with counter-attacks and fast breaks and try and stretch out the Swiss defensive line, so that they can opportunities on goal.

Switzerland will win if:

They can control possession and flood the penalty area with players to create scoring opportunities. The Swiss will have a distinct height advantage, and Honduras will be playing a defensive game. If they can guys near the goal for crosses, they can create opportunities from long range.

Prediction

Honduras has done nothing to show they're capable of winning this game, while the Swiss have everything to play for. Switzerland picks up the win to advance to the Round of 16.

Switzerland 2-0 Honduras

Game 47 Preview: Spain vs. Chile

2010-06-25T12:27:00.005-04:00

Game 47 Preview: Spain vs. Chile

Date: June 25, 2010
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Spain 6-0-1
Last Meeting: 2008 Friendly-Spain def. Chile 3-0

Team Profiles

Spain

World Ranking: 2nd
Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Captain: Iker Casillas
Finals Appearance: 13th
Best Finals Finish: Fourth Place (1950)

Chile

World Ranking: 18th
Coach: Marcelo Bielsa
Captain: Claudio Bravo
Finals Appearance: 8th
Best Finals Finish: Third Place (1962)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Spain: 10-0-0, GF: 28 GA: 5
Chile: 10-5-3, GF: 32 GA: 22

Previous Games

Spain:

June 16th-Switzerland def. Spain 1-0
June 21st-Spain def. Honduras 2-0

Chile:

June 16th-Chile def. Honduras 1-0
June 21st-Chile def. Switzerland 1-0

Rosters

Spain

Chile

Background

This is the last real marquee matchup of the group stages and there is plenty riding on the outcome. Spain likely needs a win in order to advance as Switzerland is expected to beat Honduras. If Spain does win though, Chile could become the first team in World Cup history to fail to advance out of the group stages with 6 points.

Spain is the European champion and the 2nd-ranked team in the world coming in, but they have not played like they are capable of in this tournament. They were stunned by Switzerland in their opener and while they beat Honduras, it was not the convincing victory many were expecting.

Chile tops the group right now with 6 points in 2 games, but unless they can manage a draw against Spain in this game, they could realistically not make the Round of 16. If that ends up being the case, Chile can point to the fact that they managed just 2 goals in 2 games as the culprit.

These are two offensive-minded teams with everything to play for as opposed to Brazil-Portugal earlier today, and that will hopefully lead to an entertaining final match of group play.

Injuries

Spain: None
Chile: None

Discipline

Spain: None
Chile: Waldo Ponce (Yellow), Humberto Suazo (Yellow), Gary Medel (Yellow), Jorge Valdivia (Yellow), Carlos Carmona (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME), Matias Fernandez (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)

Spain will win if:

Fernando Torres can find his game. With the exception of David Villa against Honduras, Spain's offence has been poor all tournament. They need Liverpool striker Fernando Torres to start creating some opportunities, and to hit the net with his shots. Villa is not effective as a lone striker. If Torres gets his game going, Spain's offence improves greatly. If he can't, Spain could very well drop out of the tournament after this game.

Chile will win if:

They make defence their priority in this game. Chile is not a defensive team. They run an all-out attacking style of play that most fans love. But Spain's defence has to be concerning to a Chilean team that is without 2 of its starters due to suspension. They'll get their chances on goal, but with a draw being good enough to give them first place, expect a more defensive minded Chile side.

Prediction

I like Chile as a team, they bring energy to a game and their offence is fun to watch when it's on form. That's why it will be so sad to see them leave this tournament. I think Spain wins this game, as does Switzerland and the goal differential tiebreaker will not be in Chile's favour.

Spain 2-1 Chile

Game 46 Recap: Ivory Coast 3-0 North Korea

2010-06-25T12:07:00.005-04:00

IVORY COAST 3-0 NORTH KOREA

No surprises in this game as Ivory Coast was all over North Korea from the start of the game and while they had tons of chances, and scored three times, they could not possibly make up the 9-goal differential required to have an opportunity to advance from this group. North Korea exits the tournament with 3 losses and 12 goals allowed, a disappointing result, especially after their opening game against Brazil.

From the get-go, this game was all Ivory Coast, as the North Korean goal might as well have been a shooting gallery in the first half. Kader Keita nearly scored just 2 minutes in off a through ball but his shot was turned away by the North Korean goalkeeper.

Gervinho followed that up with a run towards goal on the left side but his cross could not find an Ivorian player despite flashing directly across the goal. Ivory Coast appeared to score around the 10th minute when Didier Drogba headed home across but the offside flag was up. Gervinho then got another opportunity as he corralled the ball at the top of the area but his shot was saved.

Ivory Coast finally opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Yaya Toure took a pass just outside the penalty area and with a great touch on goal, curled it inside the far post past the diving North Koren keeper.

Romaric nearly made it 2-0 a few minutes later when his shot from outside took a strange bounce to elude the goalkeeper but not the post. Romaric picked up the 2nd Ivorian goal minutes later though. Didier Drogba collected the ball and fired it at the goal but it came off the underside of the crossbar. Romaric was able to get his head on the rebound and direct it towards goal before the North Koreans could recover.

Ivory Coast appeared certain to score again before half after a Gervinho strike against the crossbar and Keita just narrowly missing his shot from outside. The halftime score would stay at 2-0 though.

Ivory Coast seemed to fall off a bit in the second half conceding some opportunities to North Korea. The best opportunity came in the 80th minute when Hong Yong-Jo found the ball on his feet in close to the Ivorian goal but he could need beat Boubacar Barry and the ball eventually went out for a goal kick.

Ivory Coast promptly counter-attacked off of the Hong chance and found their 3rd and final goal of the game. Arthur Boka crossed the ball in to the box from way out and Salomon Kalou was able to get a touch on it to direct it in to the net.

Ivory Coast will be upset to not advance from group play but that was always going to be a difficult outcome in this group. This victory will provide a bit of redemption for them though. North Korea did well just to qualify for the finals, but would certainly have liked to perform better than they did in their final 2 games.

Notes

No yellow cards issued in what was a clean game in most respects. The lone North Korean substitute was Choe Kum Chol, replacing Mun In Guk. Ivorian subs were Kalou, Aruna Dindane and Seydou Doumbia, replacing Keita, Gervinho and Romaric.

Game 45 Recap: Brazil 0-0 Portugal

2010-06-25T11:54:00.004-04:00

BRAZIL 0-0 PORTUGAL

As is frequently the case when two high-profile teams meet, the result is unable to match expectations. That was certainly the case in this match as Brazil and Portugal, two characteristically exciting teams for spectators could not find a goal in 90 minutes, battling to a 0-0 draw. The result was a far cry from their last match, when these teams combined for 8 goals in a 6-2 Brazil victory.

The most important aspect of the result is that each team gets a point, and both are advancing to the Round of 16, Brazil in 1st and Portugal in 2nd. Ivory Coast finds itself on the outside looking in in the Group of Detah, after their 3-1 loss to Brazil earlier in group play.

Brazil looked dangerous early in the match but could not manage a quality opportunity until around the 35th minute. Nilmar broke through in the penalty area and chipped the ball towards goal but Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo was able to deflect the ball towards the goalpost. Luis Fabiano had an opportunity from a similar spot but he put his shot wide.

The first half story was of discipline though, as the referee issued 7 yellow cards in the firts 45 minutes. That detracted from the play of the game as both sides looked to avoid any further hard challenges, lest they be sent off and miss their Round of 16 game.

Portugal was able to crawl back and get a pair of opportunities in the second half, both courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo broke through on the left flank and walked in on goal but elected to try and pass the ball across the face of goal instead of shoot. Julio Cesar appeared to be cheating towards the pass and Ronaldo likely could have got the goal had he shot. Instead it resulted in a corner kick.

Ronaldo did another great job of breaking through the Brazilian defence on the right side, before finally being tackled by Lucio. The ball squirted straight to Raul Meireles in the penalty area but his shot was deflected just wide of goal by Cesar. That was the last quality scoring chance of the game for either team.

Not the most exciting game as yellow cards dominated the first half and both teams shut things down a bit in the second half, not wanting to concede a goal. Ronaldo picked up Man of the Match honours for creating some scoring chances for Portugal in a game that lacked many opportunities on goal.

Brazil will play again Monday in Johannesburg against the second-place team in Group H, while Portugal plays Tuesday against the Group H winner in Cape Town. Group H is wide open still and both teams will watch this afternoon's games with interest as European champion Spain is likely to face one of the two teams.

Notes

Yellow cards were issued to Juan, Felipe Melo and Luis Fabiano for Brazil. Portugal players getting yellow cards were Duda, Pepe, Tiago and Fabio Coentrao. Brazilian subs were Josue, Ramires and Grafite, replacing Melo, Fabiano and Julio Baptista. Portuguese subs were Simao, Pedro Mendes and Miguel Veloso, replacing Duda, Pepe, and Meireles.

Game 45 Starting Lineups

2010-06-25T09:04:00.008-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Brazil and Portugal:

Brazil (4-3-3)

More of an attacking formation for Brazil in this game. Three changes as Kaka, Elano and Robinho are out, being replaced by Dani Alves, Julio Baptista and Nilmar.

Goalkeeper-Julio Cesar (#1)
Left Back-Michel Bastos (#6)
Left-Centre Back-Juan (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Lucio (#3)
Right Back-Maicon (#2)
Centre Defensive Midfield -Gilberto Silva (#8)
Left-Centre Midfield-Felipe Melo (#5)
Right-Centre Midfield-Dani Alves (#13)
Left-Centre Forward-Luis Fabiano (#9)
Centre Forward-Julio Baptista (#19)
Right-Centre Forward-Nilmar (#21)

Portugal (4-5-1)

Defensive formation for Portugal as they employ Ronaldo as the lone striker. Three changes as Danny, Duda and Ricardo Costa are in for Miguel, Tiago and Hugo Almeida.

Goalkeeper-Eduardo (#1)
Left Back-Duda (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Bruno Alves (#2)
Right-Centre Back-Ricardo Carvalho (#6)
Right Back-Ricardo Costa (#21)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Pepe (#15)
Left Midfield-Fabio Coentrao (#23)
Left-Centre Midfield-Raul Meireles (#16)
Right-Centre Midfield-Tiago (#19)
Right Midfield-Danny (#10)
Centre Forward-Cristiano Ronaldo (#7)

Game 46 Starting Lineups

2010-06-25T09:04:00.006-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Ivory Coast and North Korea:

Ivory Coast (4-3-3)

Four changes for the Ivory Coast. Tiene, Demel, Kalou and Dindane are out while Boka, Keita, Gervinho and Romaric are in.

Goalkeeper-Boubacar Barry (#1)
Left Back-Arthur Boka (#3)
Left-Centre Back-Didier Zokora (#5)
Right-Centre Back-Kolo Toure (#4)
Right Back-Emmanuel Eboue (#21)
Left-Centre Midfield-Ismael Tiote (#9)
Centre Midfield-Yaya Toure (#19)
Right-Centre Midfield-Romaric (#13)
Left Forward-Gervinho (#10)
Centre Forward-Didier Drogba (#11)
Right Forward-Kader Keita (#18)

North Korea (5-4-1)

Their coach said he'd go with his same roster despite the Portugal loss and they have. No personnel changes in their lineup.

Goalkeeper-Ri Myong-Guk (#1)
Left Back-Ri Kwang-Chon (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Ji Yun-Nam (#8)
Centre Back-Ri Jun-Il (#3)
Right-Centre Back-Pak Chol-Jin (#13)
Right Back-Cha Jong-Hyok (#2)
Left Midfield-Mun In-Guk (#11)
Left-Centre Midfield-Pak Nam-Chol (#4)
Right-Centre Midfield-An Yong-Hak (#17)
Right Midfield-Hong Yong-Jo (#10)
Centre Forward-Jong Tae-Se (#9)

Game 46 Preview: Ivory Coast vs. North Korea

2010-06-24T22:56:00.008-04:00

Game 46 Preview: Ivory Coast vs. North Korea

Date: June 25, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

Team Profiles

Ivory Coast

World Ranking: 27th
Coach: Sven-Göran Eriksson
Captain: Didier Drogba
Finals Appearance: 2nd
Best Finals Finish: Group Stage (2006)

North Korea

World Ranking: 105th
Coach: Kim Jong-Hun
Captain: Hong Yong-Jo
Finals Appearance: 2nd
Best Finals Finish: Quarterfinals (1966)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Ivory Coast: 8-0-4, GF: 29 GA: 6
North Korea: 8-2-6, GF: 20 GA: 7

Previous Games

Ivory Coast:

June 15th-Ivory Coast tied Portugal 0-0
June 20th-Brazil def. Ivory Coast 3-1

North Korea:

June 15th-Brazil def. North Korea 2-1
June 21st-Portugal def. North Korea 7-0

Rosters

Ivory Coast

North Korea

Background

Ivory Coast comes in to their final game mathematically able to advance but realistically out. The African side needs a win, a Portugal loss, and they need to probably win by 8 or 9 goals in the process. North Korea might just be happy that their tournament is coming to end, after a 7-0 loss to Portugal in their last game.

The Ivorians are a team capable of pouring goals on a hurry but the task in front of them is likely too much for them to handle. Look for them to go with a 3 or 4 forward formation regardless, as they do everything they can to pick up the big victory.

No one knows what state of mind North Korea will be in after last game. They showed incredible heart in their 1-goal loss to Brazil, but a 7-0 loss is not something to recover from easily. Coach Kim Jong-Hun has stated that the team has recovered from the defeat but if Ivory Coast comes out with an early goal or two, don't be surprised if they fold.

Injuries

Ivory Coast: Didier Drogba (Probable-Arm)
North Korea: None

Discipline

Ivory Coast: Didier Zokora (Yellow), Ismael Tiote (Yellow), Siaka Tiene (Yellow), Guy Demel (Yellow), Kader Keita (Yellow)
North Korea: Hong Yong-Jo (Yellow), Pak Chol-Jin (Yellow)

Ivory Coast will win if:

They go out and attack with everything they have. They need to do so anyway if they want any chance of advancing from this group. If they go out and overwhelm the North Koreans, they'll start to pile on goals and pick up the easy victory.

North Korea will win if:

Forget it. This team can't top their performance against Brazil where they had very little in the way of offensive pressure. They can minimize the damage Ivory Coast causes, but they won't be able to win this game.

Prediction

Ivory Coast has the motivation and the talent to win this game big. North Korea is heading home regardless. No surprises as to who wins in this game.

Ivory Coast 3-0 North Korea

Game 45 Preview: Brazil vs. Portugal

2010-06-24T22:30:00.005-04:00

Game 45 Preview: Brazil vs. Portugal

Date: June 25, 2010
Time: 10:00 am EST
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Career Head-to-Head Record (W-L-D): Brazil 12-4-2
Last Meeting: 2008 Friendly-Brazil def. Portugal 6-2

Team Profiles

Brazil

World Ranking: 1st
Coach: Dunga
Captain: Lúcio
Finals Appearance: 19th
Best Finals Finish: Champions (1958,1962,1970,1994,2002)

Portugal

World Ranking: 3rd
Coach: Carlos Queiroz
Captain: Cristiano Ronaldo
Finals Appearance: 5th
Best Finals Finish: Third Place (1966)

Qualifying Record (W-L-D)

Brazil: 9-2-7, GF: 33 GA: 11
Portugal: 7-1-4, GF: 19 GA: 5

Previous Games

Brazil:

June 15th-Brazil def. North Korea 2-1
June 20th-Brazil def. Ivory Coast 3-1

Portugal:

June 15th-Portugal tied Ivory Coast 0-0
June 21st-Portugal def. North Korea 7-0

Rosters

Brazil

Portugal

Background

From a standpoint of world ranking, this is the biggest game of the group stages, as top ranked Brazil takes on 3rd-ranked Portugal in Durban. The only reason the game is lacking the prestige that it might have is that it is the third game for these teams and both sides are predictably all but through already. Had this been the opener or 2nd game, this ticket could have been hotter than the final or the home opener.

Brazil will have to compete in this game missing a pair of key components in their midfield. Kaka is out due to a 1-game suspension, and fellow centre midfielder Elano is likely out due to injury although that is not yet confirmed. Brazil has insane depth at all positions but going up against a team featuring Cristian Ronaldo without your first-choice central midfielders is not something that one would expect to yield promising results.

Portugal finally buried the notion that they are off their game with their 7-0 thrashing of North Korea. But they still need to show that they can win against a quality opponent before the knockout round. There's no higher quality opponent in the world for them and even though Brazil is through and Portugal is all but through as well, this game should be an exciting one.

Injuries

Brazil: Elano (Doubtful-Calf)
Portugal: Deco (Doubtful-Hip)

Discipline

Brazil: Ramires (Yellow), Kaka (Double Yellow-SUSPENDED FOR 1 GAME)
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo (Yellow), Pedro Mendes (Yellow), Hugo Almeida (Yellow)

Brazil will win if:

They can replace Kaka and Elano. Brazil has depth but they aren't up against a scrub team in this game. Portugal is one of the world's best and Cristiano Ronaldo has to be salivating at the idea that neither of Brazil's starting central midfielders will be out there. Dani Alves is one likely replacement and the other is unknown, but if they can't play to the level of Kaka and Elano, Brazil will struggle to win this game.

Portugal will win if:

They play with the same offensive strategy that they did against North Korea. They showed no fear in that game, as they were able to attack at will with little concern for a counter-attack. That is a great attitude to have against a team like Brazil. Brazil are always the aggressors. They do not like teams pushing back against them, as we saw most recently in the 2009 Confederations Cup final against the U.S. Their defence will be exposed, but they need to attack Brazil in order to win.

Prediction

These are both powerful teams who are at or approaching the top of their game. Brazil has more talent on the field but I wonder how much their chemistry will be affected by Kaka and Elano being on the bench. Either side could win this game honestly, but I'm going to go with the draw, as these teams are too even to differentiate between.

Brazil 1-1 Portugal

Group/Knockout Round Analysis-June 24, 2010

2010-06-24T22:17:00.005-04:00

Groups E and F finished today with another powerhouse heading home before the knockout round. Here's the final group tables and the updated knockout round bracket.

Group E

Group F

Netherlands won comfortably while Japan surprisingly destroyed Denmark, and both advance to the knockout round.

Paraguay did what they needed to do getting the draw to advance. The shock result though was Slovakia beating a hapless Italian team which was frankly terrible this tournament. Paraguay and Slovakia go through as a result.

Netherlands will play Slovakia Monday in Durban, while Paraguay faces Japan Tuesday in Pretoria. I've attached the updated knockout round bracket below. The bracket is getting one-sided, with most of the powerhouses congregating in the bottom half. Keep in mind that if Spain win tomorrow, the bottom half of the bracket will be completed with Spain and either Brazil or Portugal. If one of the teams on the top half can get hot at the right moment, we could have a Cinderella team playing in the semifinals or final.

Game 44 Recap: Netherlands 2-1 Cameroon

2010-06-24T17:29:00.003-04:00

NETHERLANDS 2-1 CAMEROON

What was supposed to be a meaningless game in group play turned in to one of the most exciting of the tournaments, as both teams fought back and forth until the final whistle. Netherlands picked up the victory and go in to the knockout round with a perfect record, while Cameroon is heading home with 0 points, but the quality performance they were looking for as they played with the Dutch for the entire match.

The game saw the end of the tournament for Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o, arguably the best African player in the world, and also saw the start of the tournament for Dutch star Arjen Robben. Robben, injured in a pre-tournament game saw action as a substitute for the first time, and will feature heavily in the Dutch offence going forward as they look for their first ever World Cup.

The opening 30 minutes was all Netherlands, as they dominated the chances in that time. Robin van Persie found himself on the end of a pair of long balls but could not finish off either, the first being wrapped up by the goalkeeper and the second being fired harmlessly straight at the waiting goalie.

Rafael van der Vaart had an opportunity to score on a free kick but their was no weight behind the shot, while Dirk Kuyt got a free shot in the box but fired the ball high and wide.

The Dutch finally picked up the first goal of the game on a beautiful piece of passing. Kuyt carried the ball in to the Cameroon end before dumping it off to van Persie. van Persie executed a smart give-and-go with van der Vaart which got him the ball free on goal and he tucked the ball through the goalie's legs for van Persie's first goal of the tournament.

Cameroon picked up their offence near the end of the first half but could not manage a goal, and it was the Netherlands who came out the aggressor in the second half. The game slowed for a while as Netherlands controlled possession and flow of the game. The first quality scoring chance belonged to Cameroon, as Eto'o weaved his way through 4 or 5 Dutch defenders before getting a shot off which resulted in a corner kick.

Cameroon picked up the pressure after that and it resulted in a deserved equalizing goal. van der Vaart was guilty of a handball in the penalty area off of a free kick, which gave Cameroon a penalty kick. Eto'o took the kick and made no mistake burying it in the left corner past a diving Stekelenburg. Stekelenburg guessed right but had no chance to save a brilliant shot by Eto'o.

The game appeared to be destined for a draw until the 83rd minute, when Netherlands finally broke through. An Arjen Robben strike rang off the post and shot across the face of goal to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who put the ball away in the open net to give Netherlands the win.

van Persie was named Man of the Match. after getting the opening goal and being the main source of Dutch offence for much of the game.

Cameroon heads home without a point, a disappointing finish for a team expected to carry the flag for the continent of Africa. Netherlands wins the group and will face Slovakia Monday in Durban.

Notes

Dutch yellow cards went to Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Kuyt and van der Vaart, while Cameroon yellow cards went to Nicolas Nkoulou and Stephane Mbia. Dutch subs were Huntelaar, Eljero Elia and Robben, replacing van Persie, Kuyt and van der Vaart. Cameroon subs were Vincent Aboubakar, Mohamadou Idrissou and Rigobert Song, replacing Gaetan Bong, Eric Choupo Moting and Nkoulou.

Game 43 Recap: Japan 3-1 Denmark

2010-06-24T17:02:00.006-04:00

JAPAN 3-1 DENMARK

Thomas Sorensen may be having nightmares about Japanese free kicks when he goes to bed tonight. The Danish goalkeeper surrendered 2 goals on straight free kicks, and nearly gave up another on the way to a 3-1 Japan win. In a game where they only needed a draw, Japan blew the Danes away with their movement and ball possession, and advance to the Round of 16. Denmark, ravaged by injury throughout the tournament heads home, after a disappointing performance in which they were expected to advance along with Netherlands.

The game was back and forth in the opening 15 minutes as both sides had opportunities to score early on. Denmark had a noticeable size advantage around the goal but could not work it to their advantage at any point.

Japan got the first scoring chance in the 13th minute on a sweeping cross into the box. None of the Japanese players were picked up by the defence and what appeared like a simple catch for Sorensen became an acrobatic save as a Japanese player got a touch on the ball. Japan followed that up immediately with a run down the right side but Makoto Hasebe fired the ball wide.

Denmark responded immediately with Jon Dahl Tomasson getting a partial breakaway but he tried to put a bit too much touch on the ball and sent the ball just wide.

The first goal of the game came from Japan, on a free kick by Keisuke Honda. Honda laid a beautiful ball in from 25 yards out, lofting it over the wall and a diving Sorensen, and in to the far corner.

The second Japanese goal came 12 minutes later, off of yet another free kick. Honda appeared poised to take it and Denmark set up their wall on the assumption that he would. The kick was taken by Yasuhito Endo however, and he curled the ball beautifully around the wall and in to the opposite corner that Honda scored in. 2 free kicks, 2 goals for Japan.

In the second half, Japan nearly went up 3-0 on yet another free kick. This one came from way out and Endo skied the ball on a high arc which appeared as if it would sail over the head of Sorensen and in for a third goal. Sorensen was barely able to reach back and tip the ball into the goalpost.

Denmark picked the pace up in the second half, playing with just 3 defenders for much of the game as they needed to win in order to advance. Tomasson picked up a chance on a free shot from the outside of the 6-yard box but he mishit the ball and Japan cleared it away.

Denmark appeared poised to get back in to the game just after though when Daniel Agger was taken down by Hasebe in the penalty area for a penalty kick. Tomasson took the penalty and fired it straight at the diving Eiji Kawashima, but the ball rebounded back to Tomasson and he flicked it into the back of the net for the Danish goal.

Before Denmark could get any momentum though, Japan shut the door on them. Denmark ran a risk by playing so few defenders and it finally came back to bite them near full time. Honda navigated his way through the Danish defence and drew Sorensen towards him before tapping the ball over to Shinji Okazaki for the easy goal.

With the win, Japan secured second place in Group E and will take on Paraguay in the Round of 16, Tuesday in Pretoria. Denmark heads home, and with a relatively young roster, will be looking to return in 2014.

Honda deservedly got Man of the Match honours, as he scored one goal and set up another, and was the catalyst for Japan offensively all game.

Notes

Yellow cards for Japan went to Yuto Nagatomo and Endo. Danish yellow cards went to Christian Poulsen, Nicklas Bendtner and Per Kroldrup. Japanese subs were Okazaki, Yasuyuki Konno and Junichi Inamoto, replacing Daisuke Matsui, Yoshito Okubo and Endo. Danish subs were Jakob Poulsen, Soren Larsen and Christian Eriksen, replacing Martin Jorgensen, Kroldrup and Thomas Kahlenberg.

Game 44 Starting Lineups

2010-06-24T13:41:00.005-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Netherlands and Cameroon:

Netherlands (4-2-4)

Very surprising as the Dutch are going with their starters. Only change is Khalid Boulahrouz in at right back for Gregory van der Wiel.

Goalkeeper-Maarten Stekelenburg (#1)
Left Back-Giovanni van Bronckhorst (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Joris Mathijsen (#4)
Right-Centre Back-John Heitinga (#3)
Right Back-Khalid Boulahrouz (#12)
Left-Centre Midfield-Nigel de Jong (#8)
Right-Centre Midfield-Mark van Bommel (#6)
Left Forward-Rafael Van der Vaart (#23)
Centre Forward-Wesley Sneijder (#10)
Right Forward-Dirk Kuyt (#7)
Striker-Robin van Persie (#9)

Cameroon (4-4-2)

Several changes for Cameroon as they look to get some points in their final tournament game.

Goalkeeper-Souleymanou Hamidou (#16)
Left Back-Benoit Assou-Ekotto (#2)
Left-Centre Back-Nicolas Nkoulou (#3)
Right-Centre Back-Stephane Mbia (#19)
Right Back-Geremi (#8)
Left Midfield-Gaetan Bong (#12)
Left-Centre Midfield-Landry Nguemo (#7)
Right-Centre Midfield-Alexandre Song (#6)
Right Midfield-Jean Makoun (#11)
Left-Centre Forward-Eric Choupo-Moting (#13)
Right-Centre Forward-Samuel Eto'o (#9)

Game 43 Starting Lineups

2010-06-24T13:37:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Japan and Denmark:

Japan (4-5-1)

Same lineup as the last game but alignment in the back has been rearranged.

Goalkeeper-Eiji Kawashima (#21)
Left Back-Yuto Nagatomo (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Marcus Tulio Tanaka (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Yuji Nakazawa (#22)
Right Back-Yuichi Komano (#3)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Yuki Abe (#2)
Left Midfield-Yoshito Okubo (#16)
Left-Centre Midfield-Yasuhito Endo (#7)
Right-Centre Midfield-Daisuke Matsui (#8)
Right Midfield-Makoto Hasebe (#17)
Centre Forward-Keisuke Honda (#18)

Denmark (4-3-3)

Two changes for Denmark as Kroldrup is in for the suspended Kjaer and Kahlenberg is in for Gronkjaer.

Goalkeeper-Thomas Sorensen (#1)
Left Back-Simon Poulsen (#15)
Left-Centre Back-Per Kroldrup (#13)
Right-Centre Back-Daniel Agger (#4)
Right Back-Lars Jacobsen (#6)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Christian Poulsen (#2)
Left-Centre Midfield-Thomas Kahlenberg (#12)
Right-Centre Midfield-Martin Jorgensen (#10)
Left Forward-Dennis Rommedahl (#19)
Centre Forward-Jon Dahl Tomasson (#9)
Right Forward-Nicklas Bendtner (#11)

Game 42 Recap: New Zealand 0-0 Paraguay

2010-06-24T12:25:00.003-04:00

NEW ZEALAND 0-0 PARAGUAY

In a stark contrast to the other Group F match going on today, this was a dull affair where neither side managed any quality scoring opportunities on their way to a scoreless draw. For Paraguay, it was enough to hand them first place in the group with the Italy loss. For New Zealand, their tournament ends with 3 draws in 3 games, a decent result based on pre-tournament expectations but they'll be disappointed, knowing that a single goal in this game would have given them first place in this group.

The story for New Zealand in this tournament was about shots on goal. They came in to this game with just 3 shots on goal in their first 2 matches, and managed no shots on goal in this one. That they managed 2 goals is remarkable in this tournament, but that's a clear sign as to why they will not be advancing from Group F.

Paraguay dominated possession and offence in this match, but couldn't create any decent scoring opportunities. Furious New Zealand defending is partly to blame for that, but Paraguay also didn't extend themselves offensively like they have in previous matches. This is likely due to the pregame situation, in which Paraguay knew a draw would all but certainly give them first place in the group.

By securing first place, Paraguay will now face the second place team from Group E in Pretoria on Tuesday. That will almost certainly be the winner of the Japan-Denmark game later today. New Zealand heads home winless but also without having lost a game, something the Kiwis can take pride in.

Roque Santa Cruz picked up Man of the Match honours in a game lacking in any high-quality performance.

Notes

Ryan Nelsen picked up the only yellow card for New Zealand, while Roque Santa Cruz and Victor Caceres got yellow cards for Paraguay. Caceres will miss Paraguay's next game as that was his second yellow of the tournament. New Zealand subs were Chris Wood and Jeremy Brockie, replacing Rory Fallon and Chris Killen. Paraguayan subs were Lucas Barrios and Edgar Benitez, replacing Oscar Cardozo and Nelson Valdez.

Game 41 Recap: Slovakia 3-2 Italy

2010-06-24T12:04:00.003-04:00

SLOVAKIA 3-2 ITALY

Italy finally found the fire they were lacking in earlier games in this one. Too bad it took a 2-0 deficit in a must-win game for them to find it. For the first time in 44 years, both the defending champion and finalist will not take part in the knockout round, as Italy's loss today eliminates them, and they join fellow powerhouse France in the list of casualties. For Slovakia, their first World Cup win as an independent nation was enough to send them through to the Round of 16.

Italy had been flat in their first two matches and came out soft in this game as well. Slovakia threatened early on when a Marek Hamsik volley from the top of the area went just wide of the goal.

Just when Italy appeared to be gaining some momentum, Slovakia found the opening goal on a critical error by the Italian defence. Daniele De Rossi gave the ball away to Juraj Kucka in the centre of the field. Kucka promptly played the ball forward to Robert Vittek who put the ball past Federico Marchetti and inside the far post.

The Slovakian goal took the wind out of Italy's sails as they went into halftime down a goal. Italy appeared to tie early in the second half but in the save of the tournament, defender Martin Skrtel made a brilliant save with his knee on the goalline, to rob Vincenzo Iaquinta of the equalizer. That save re-energized Slovakia and led to the second goal.

A Hamsik corner kick was played clear by the Italian defence but went straight back to Hamsik. Hamsik played the ball in low and no one was able to mark Vittek, who beat the nearest Italian to the ball and got a touch on it to deflect the ball past Marchetti.

Give credit to Italy, as the second Vittek goal finally gave them some life that they'd been lacking throughout the tournament. Italy responded with a nice series of passes in the offensive end which led to an Iaquinta shot which was saved by Jan Mucha but the ball rebounded to Antonio Di Natale who buried the ball in the open net. Bizarre incident after the play as Mucha and Fabio Quagliarella got tangled up in the net after. Mucha appeared to be trying to dig the ball out of the net in frustration, while Quagliarella wanted to run the ball up to centre field to start the game again. They collided and became entangled in the netting. Both received yellow cards for the incident.

Italy appeared to tie the game on a Quagliarella goal but he was ruled offside. Despite the Italian pressure, it was a Kamil Kopunek goal in the 89th minute that appeared to bury Italy. In his first touch after coming on as a substitute, Kopunek made a run through the defence to catch up to a throw-in that was going seemingly nowhere, and flicked the ball over Marchetti for an excellent goal.

But Italy was not done yet. Just a minute in to injury time, Quagliarella took the ball outside the penalty area and made a deft chip from way out to fly over Mucha and under the crossbar.

Italy nearly picked up the improbable tie in the 5th minute of injury time but Simone Pepe put his shot wide of the goal. That would be the final play of the match.

Robert Vittek picked up Man of the Match honours in one of the most exciting games of the tournament. Vittek now has 3 goals on the tournament, and is tied in the scoring lead with Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain.

Slovakia will now play Monday in Durban against the Group E winner. Barring a shock result later today, their opponent will be the Netherlands. Italy goes home in disappointment, failing to even advance to the knockout round as defending champions.

Notes

Slovakian yellow cards went to Mucha, Peter Pekarik, Zdenko Strba and Vittek. Strba will miss Slovakia's Round of 16 game as a result. Italian yellow cards went to Giorgio Chiellini, Fabio Cannavaro, Pepe, and Quagliarella. Slovakian subs were Kopunek, Stanislav Sestak and Martin Petras, replacing Strba, Vittek and Erik Jendrisek. Italian subs were Quagliarella, Christian Maggio and Andrea Pirlo, replacing Gennaro Gattuso, Domenico Criscito and Riccardo Montolivo.

Game 41 Starting Lineups

2010-06-24T09:05:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for Italy and Slovakia:

Italy (4-5-1)

Back to a 4-5-1 formation although it can transition to a 4-3-3. Gilardino and Marchisio are out while Gattuso and Di Natale are in.

Goalkeeper-Federico Marchetti (#12)
Left Back-Domenico Criscito (#3)
Left-Centre Back-Giorgio Chiellini (#4)
Right-Centre Back-Fabio Cannavaro (#5)
Right Back-Gianluca Zambrotta (#19)
Centre Defensive Midfield-Daniele De Rossi (#6)
Left Midfield-Antonio Di Natale (#10)
Left-Centre Midfield-Riccardo Montolivo (#22)
Right-Centre Midfield-Simone Pepe (#7)
Centre Forward-Vincenzo Iaquinta (#9)

Slovakia (4-5-1)

Slovakia staying with their 4-5-1. Widespread changes up front though as coach Vladimir Weiss is looking to inject some life into the offence.

Goalkeeper-Jan Mucha (#1)
Left Back-Radoslav Zabavnik (#5)
Left-Centre Back-Jan Durica (#16)
Right-Centre Back-Martin Skrtel (#3)
Right Back-Peter Pekarik (#2)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Juraj Kucka (#19)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Zdenko Strba (#6)
Left Midfield-Miroslav Stoch (#15)
Right Midfield-Marek Hamsik (#17)
Centre Attacking Midfield-Robert Vittek (#11)
Centre Forward-Erik Jendrisek (#18)

Game 42 Starting Lineups

2010-06-24T08:57:00.003-04:00

Here are the starting lineups for New Zealand and Paraguay:

New Zealand (3-4-3)

Gutsy formation switch as they move to a 3-4-3. No personnel changes from last game.

Goalkeeper-Mark Paston (#1)
Left Back-Tommy Smith (#19)
Centre Back-Ryan Nelsen (#6)
Right Back-Winston Reid (#4)
Left-Centre Defensive Midfield-Ivan Vicelich (#5)
Right-Centre Defensive Midfield-Simon Elliott (#7)
Left Midfield-Tony Lochhead (#3)
Right Midfield-Leo Bertos (#11)
Left Forward-Shane Smeltz (#9)
Centre Forward-Rory Fallon (#14)
Right Forward-Chris Killen (#10)

Paraguay (4-3-3)

Three personnel changes for Paraguay. Alcaraz, Bonet and Barrios are out while Cardozo, Caniza and Julio Cesar Caceres are in.

Goalkeeper-Justo Villar (#1)
Left Back-Claudio Morel (#3)
Left-Centre Back-Paulo Da Silva (#14)
Right-Centre Back-Julio Cesar Caceres (#5)
Right Back-Denis Caniza (#4)
Left-Centre Midfield-Enrique Vera (#13)
Centre Midfield-Victor Caceres (#15)
Right-Centre Midfield-Cristian Riveros (#16)
Left-Centre Forward-Nelson Valdez (#18)
Right-Centre Forward-Roque Santa Cruz (#9)
Striker-Oscar Cardozo (#7)