Denmark..... finally a team that can WIN a match!! :D

FULL TIME - Match #27 (GROUP F) -

FULL TIME - Match #28 (GROUP F) -




A proud day for New Zealand. The Kiwis should be really happy.

The WC 2006 reigning Champions, on the other hand, are toothless. Disappointing show by Italy.

Would've loved to see Zealand steal all 3 points in that match. They were sooo close in the end.

FULL TIME - Match #29 (GROUP G) -



This was more like the Brazil we know. Some fantastic passing and pacing, plus perfect timing and co-ordination between Robinho, Kaka & Luis Fabiano resulted in the first 2 goals. Kaka had a hand in all 3, and he was really shining in this match. Drogba got one back for Ivory Coast but it was always a case of doing a little too much till the end.

The last 10 minutes got a bit sour though. Plenty of tackles were resulting in free kicks for either side, and the Ivory Coast players might be thinking Brazil were resorting to time wasting tactics. A very unsavory spat between them and Kaka resulted in him getting yellow carded twice and the subsequent Red Card to Kaka meant Brazil had to fight out the last 6-7 minutes with 10 men.

Ivory Coast kept pushing, but Brazil held their nerves and the Ivory Coast attacks at bay to take the fighting win.

Brazil are yet to strike their top form. They looked ominous in the front today, certainly much better than their first match, but their defending still leaves a lot to be desired. Conceding goals in both matches should be a worry for Dunga, their coach and former captain/defender. They need to keep improving.

And might I add...




http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p...vuzela-gys.jpg

That second goal was completely dubious, and the ref saw it as well but let it slide. Don't know if you got the images, but we certainly did.

Ok- will come out of the closet as a chelsea fan-for the best personal reasons in the world x
But my heart belongs to wolves :)

Dubious and unexpected. The referee was letting a lot of things slide, until he got really trigger-happy in the final few minutes. Kaka getting that two yellows/red card for a tap on the chest? Poor refereeing.

But nothing is to be taken from Brazil's show. They were clearly the better team on view, and those attacking moves were at times breathtaking. They need to spruce up their defenses though, which look pretty shoddy except for Gilberto Silva in the middle.

Fabiano admits the handball goal!

It's really frustrating to see how the referees already started to ruining this tournament.

At first disallowing a clear & winning goal of USA against Slovenia.
Then Red card against Klose (Germany).
And latest...allowing a handball goal! I saw the replay where it seems like the referee was asking (with a smiling face) Fabiano whether that was handball or not!?! How funny! Later the way Kaka sent off through an act of drama from Kader Keita (IC) was outrageous, though this sorts incident happened before in earlier world cups.

FIFA should take this things seriously & try to take all the necessary means to prevent them happening again in coming stages. In a neutral point of view I think teams like Germany & Netherlands are usually the masters of creating of & taking advantages from this sorta dirty shows in the field. If FIFA failed to deal with the above cases soon, then there will be a threat of happening things like these again & again in later stages. Who knows..may be next time the chaos will go further & take in a form of riot (like the way Kaka-Keita drama looked like at the beginning)?

Its RAINING GOALS in Cape Town, folks!!! :D

FULL TIME - Match #30 (GROUP G) -



What a super match for Portugal!

The heavens opened with their blessings of goals as SIX of them came in the second half - 3 in the space of merely seven minutes of each other, and the other 3 in the space of the final 9 minutes!

Korea were totally and utterly destroyed. Fantastic football by Portugal.

FULL TIME - Match #31 (GROUP H) -




This result makes it easier for Spain in this group. They still need to win tonight against Honduras though.

And i didn't catch a single second of it. :(

LIFE STINKS!!!!

I watched every moment of it. Nah nah nah nah nah...:p

everytime i came back into the office they had scored again :mad:

They were quite fantastic. The Koreans simply had no answer to them, and no clue as to what was going on.

Relentless, attacks after attacks, goals after goals. Wheeeee!! :D

Superbbbbbbbbbb football magic by David Villa!!!

SPAIN 1 - 0!

Oh dear,I wouldn't want to be in those North Korean players shoes when they get home ...

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...15team1650.jpg

Halftime score reads 1 - 0 to Spain.

It could easily have been 4-0 or even 5-0, if Torres had converted all those chances he got in front of the Honduran goal. One of Villa's shots also hit the top bar of the goal in the first 5 minutes.

Torres looks to be struggling for form, while Villa is yet to hit his peak. The goal by him, however, was a sublime example of the immense talent and skills of the man.

Spain look pretty menacing tonight. Hoping for some more goals in the second half. I am thinking 3 - 0 to Spain.

2 - 0 Spain in the 50th minute!

Its DAVID VILLA again!!

FULL TIME - Match #32 (GROUP H) -




That scoreline could so easily have been a lot more dominating. Of all people, you just don't expect David Villa to miss a Penalty Kick!! And more so, when he was on the verge of completing his hattrick through this PK shot!

Plenty of other chances, some superb crosses and passes by the Spanish went to waste as they squandered at least half a dozen chances to score. It could have been another high scoring win like Portugal's earlier in the day, but in the end Spain have to be content with 2 - 0. At least they got a win under their belt.

The refereeing again was shoddy. At least 2 Penalty Kick calls in the first half went unheeded, and so did plenty of hard tackles. These referees need a long training lesson in proper and sound refereeing...maybe FIFA can arrange one of those once the WC is over.

Halfway point of WC 2010 at the end of this match. 32 matches gone, 32 left. It will be critical from tomorrow as each team has 1 match left. More analysis of each group and the teams' chances tomorrow, because I am off to bed right now.

Good football from the Spanish tonight,that's how a team should react from a disappointing opening game.

Assuming Switzerland beat Honduras in their final game the Spanish will have to beat the impressive looking Chile. Thats no gimme

Group A -

Uruguay looks very impressive. Their match against Mexico should be an absolute knocker. Expect at least 2-3 goals in that one.
Mexico would be going for the win too, no less. Their win would put France out for sure, because of the Goal Difference.
France would want Uruguay to win (because they haven't conceded any goals yet), and by at least a margin of 3 - 0, which would make their task of a scoreline of at least 2 - 0 in their must-win match against South Africa.
Easier said than done.
South Africa would want to go out with a bang in front of their home fans, and judging by the football France has displayed so far, I wouldn't be TOO optimistic about their chances.


Group B -

Argentina should win against Greece. No problems there.
The big match here would be Nigeria vs South Korea.
Goal Difference should play a vital role in this group too.
If Nigeria scores the win by at least a 2 goal margin, and Argentina beats Greece, Nigeria can still sneak in.
Don't think South Korea would be giving in so easily though.


Group C -

Slovenia look hot.
England look toothless.
English fans would be clamoring for the win here, and the demand for Joe Cole in the playing 11 with Rooney as the lone striker can become a reality in this game.
The big question is, can England still strike after that? They have to, because if they lose its bye-bye WC.
USA's win over Algeria should tighten the noose around England's neck.


Group D -

The shock defeat of Germany has thrown this group wide open too.
Serbia has a chance of qualifying, if they beat Australia even by a 1 - 0 margin.
Ghana - Germany will be the big match here. Expect some real fireworks in this one.


Group E -

The Netherlands have already qualified for the Round of 16. They should win against Cameroon, given the form they have displayed so far.
But it would be dangerous to take Cameroon easily. Even if they are out of the WC, they might wanna go out with a real bang.
The big match in this one is Japan - Denmark. Whoever wins goes into the next Round, loser goes home.


Group F -

Italy SHOULD fancy their chances against lowly Slovakia. The problem is, with the poor football they have shown so far, you would still doubt them to take the win in their last match. Do I have to mention it is a must-win situation for the Azurri?
Paraguay look good. They should win over New Zealand.
But what if the result goes the other way in this match? If NZL win, it could be bye-bye Italy.


Group G -

THE match of the final stages of the first Round - Brazil vs Portugal.
Both teams look intense and scoring heavily in their previous matches (Brazil has 5 goals so far and Portugal thumped 7 in their match yesterday), so this one should be a real mouth-watering cracker!
Ideally one would expect Brazil to sneak the win here, but Portugal wouldn't want that. Ivory Coast would have fancied their chances in this group with a Brazil win, but now with that huge Goal Difference which Portugal carries, it should be safe to assume that the two heavyweights of this group will pass into the next Round, regardless of the result of their cracker of a match.


Group H -

Spain vs Chile will be the decider in this one, I feel.
There could be a situation here where all 3 teams - Spain, Chile & Switzerland - could end up with 6 points each, and GD will play the pivotal role of choosing the final 2.
Switzerland would win against Honduras, so Spain goes into their final match with a must-win situation. Chile would be a real tough nut to crack. Interestingly poised, this group.


Its great to see at least 4-5 groups with chances wide open for at least 3 teams, if not all 4.

Just imagine the prospect coming along - what if Italy and France are knocked out of the WC in the First Round itself? The 2006 Champions and the Finalists both out?!

Though I am slightly more inclined towards Italy to sneak into the next Round. France's WC 2010 road however, looks like it should end in the first round itself. Too bad for the Les Bleus.

Here we go, folks. The final part of Group A kicks off in 4 minutes.

If you are an ardent France fan, pray to the gods that the Mexico - Uruguay encounter doesn't end in a draw. And pray for the win.

Here's hoping they go for the draw just to knock them out.

Boooooooo to France!!

:p

Deport her already!! :D



Looks like the gods are on your side, gorgeous...because its

1 - 0 to SOUTH AFRICA in the 20th MINUTE!!!

My throat hurts from screaming.... in my bf's face. :p


That red card was completely undeserving though. Poor Gourcuff. The refs are a bit trigger happy this year.

Indeed. I thought he was gonna card Cisse for his lifted foot but instead it was Gourcuff, and it was straight RED! Maybe it deserved a Yellow at the most, but a Red? Come on!

And guess what?!

SOUTH AFRICA 2 - 0 in the 37th MIN!!!


To Hellfire's bf - don't worry. She will continue her screaming till the match is over. :D

HALFTIME WHISTLE -


Uruguay - 1

Mexico - 0




France - 0

South Africa - 2


Just when you thought French football couldn't hit a more all-time low with the players' revolt midway through the WC, and Domenech making as many as SIX changes to the starting line-up including a new Captain, they trail by 2 goals and have been reduced to 10 men in a match they must win to entertain any hopes of staying alive.

Again, Domenech started without Henry. Don't know what's going on between player & coach there. Cisse came in as the lone striker.

Straight Red Card for Yoann Gourcuff meant the Les Bleus have been reduced to 10 men for the remainder of the match. As if that wasn't enough, South Africa pounded in 2 goals in spectacular style propelled by the loudest vuvuzelas you will ever get to hear in any match in South Africa so far.

Still hoping for that elusive miracle, France fans? Forget it. France is going out of the WC, and their football right now is in complete shambles.


I hope that Mexico gets an equaliser soon and fights out a draw against Uruguay, and both qualify for the next stage. Easily the two best teams on show in Group A.

Mwahahaha!

FULL TIME - Match #33 (GROUP A) -





FULL TIME - Match #34 (GROUP A) -




Uruguay & Mexico go through to the Round of 16 - Mexico on basis of better Goal Difference over South Africa, who despite this win and level on points with Mexico, have been eliminated.

France & South Africa are knocked out of the WC, with France finishing on the bottom of the Group A table. Many congratulations to South Africa for winning the match.

As for the Les Bleus, the less said the better. I can almost hear Hellfire's screams of sheer delight from halfway across the world over here!! :D

Check the first two posts of this thread for the latest Updates, folks.

And onward we go into the final 2 matches of Group B, folks. Kickoff in 3 minutes.

Argentina looks safe. It will be a toss-up between the other 3.

HALFTIME WHISTLE -


Greece - 0

Argentina - 0




Nigeria - 1

South Korea - 1


Both matches are intriguingly poised. If the final result is the same as this, South Korea would qualify, just ahead of Greece in terms of Goals scored. Argentina look to be safely through.

But I have a feeling there is a twist ahead. Let's see what the next 45 minutes reveal for both games.

FULL TIME - Match #35 (GROUP B) -





FULL TIME - Match #36 (GROUP B) -



Well, as I said, Argentina go on top of Group B with full 9 points from their 3 wins. Greece stand eliminated.

The fantastic match between Nigeria and South Korea ends in a thrilling 2 - 2 draw, which means even with their best efforts, Nigeria are knocked out. South Korea hang on and edge past Greece to be 2nd in Group B, and so advance into the Round of 16 behind Argentina.


The Round of 16 will see Argentina taking on Mexico, while South Korea will face Uruguay.

Good night, everyone.

Argentina v Mexico should be a tasty encounter, looking forward to that one.


Next up, England v Slovenia. I start work tomorrow just at kick off time, I think its probably for the best I cant watch it.

Australia are in a pickle, need to win tonight, but still we are not likely to make it through to the final 16.

So tonight Australia V Serbia, why the hell does it have to be on so late! 4:30am EST Australia, same as the game against Germany. Why couldn't the organiser schedule the games for countries on the other side of the world at more suitable times??? Bastards.

So I might sit through the two games before and hopefully see both England and U.S.A get beaten.

Ok, so my yankee sis in law has been promised diamonds if USA go through and England don't. She is already deciding whether she wants pink ones or the old style white! :rolleyes:

And here we go, folks. Group C to be decided in 5 minutes' time.

Need I say that if both matches end as draws it won't help England one bit?

An USA win will really make English fans' hairs stand on end. ;)

And if you are one of them, pray for an Algeria win. Don't forget to pray for your win too.

...that is, if Slovenia decides to relent.