South Africa
Bafana Bafana became the first ever World Cup hosts to fail to make it out of the first group stage but left the tournament with their heads held high after a 2-1 win against France. Sipihwe Tshabalala provided one of the moments of the World Cup with a raking strike into the top corner for a 1-0 lead in the opening game against Mexico. But poor defending meant the Mexicans levelled late on and South Africa's World Cup had taken a turn for the worse. A poor 3-0 defeat to the best team in the group, Uruguay, left Bafana Bafana on the brink. But an excellent first half performance with goals from Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela against France gave the South Africans a 2-0 lead and an outside chance of qualifying. However, even that hope was extinguished when France pulled one back with 20 minutes left.
France
Les Bleus suffered a miserable campaign with a clueless coach and a mutinous squad of players, going out bottom of the group for the second time in the last three World Cups. Despite an appearance in the World Cup Final in 2006, head coach Raymond Domenech has rarely impressed and France were also first round fallers two years ago in Euro 2008. This time, Domenech showed himself up tactically by keeping Florent Malouda on the bench and playing Franck Ribery through the middle with Andre-Pierre Gignac out wide in the dreadful 0-0 draw with Uruguay. Matters got worse in the second match as Domenech infuriated supporters by making like-for-like changes as Mexico strolled away with an easy 2-0 win. In the aftermath, it emerged that Nicolas Anelka had been sent home for insulting Domenech at half time and then the squad went on strike in support of the Chelsea striker. Skipper Patrice Evra was dropped for the final match after a public row with a fitness coach and a hopelessly disjointed French team were two behind by half time against South Africa. France's only goal, a neat move finished by Malouda, reduced arrears and showed what might have been if there had been any semblance of unity in the squad.
11/06 South Africa 1-1 Mexico
11/06 Uruguay 0-0 France
16/06 South Africa 0-3 Uruguay
17/06 Mexico 2-0 France
22/06 Mexico 0-1 Uruguay
22/06 France 1-2 South Africa
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| URUGUAY | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| MEXICO | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| FRANCE | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
GROUP B
Greece
This was a tournament of firsts for Greece - they scored their first goal and won their first points at the fourth attempt having previously played three games in World Cup 1994. But most neutral observers will be glad Otto Rehhagel's men were restricted to three matches in this year's tournament. An utterly terrible performance, devoid of any attacking ideas, actually got off lightly with just a 2-0 defeat against the inventive South Koreans in the first group game. The second match against Nigeria also proved a struggle early on for Greece until Sani Kaita got himself sent off. Greece took control of a World Cup finals match for the first time ever and Dimitrios Salpingidis took the honour of Greece's first ever World Cup finals goal just before half time before Vasileios Torisidis hit a second-half winner. Sadly, in the final match against Argentina, the Greeks returned to type. Even when needing a result to progress, a dour performance submitted weakly to a 2-0 defeat to the South Americans.
Nigeria
The fallout from Nigeria's elimination has been more significant than any other country. The team face expulsion from FIFA if Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan continues to call for the national team to be suspended after another poor finals performance. Of course, it could have all been so different if Aiyegbeni Yakubu had not missed inexplicably inside the six-yard box late on in the final group match against South Korea. And, even before then, the Super Eagles had largely been architects of their own downfall. Having only lost 1-0 to an onslaught from Argentina - in which goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was repeatedly impressive against Lionel Messi - Nigeria took an early lead against Greece and controlled the opening 20 minutes. Then, Sani Kaita got himself stupidly sent off for kicking out and the match swung in Greece's favour, meaning Nigeria needed to beat Korea to qualify.
12/06 South Korea 2-0 Greece
12/06 Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
17/06 Argentina 4-1 South Korea
17/06 Greece 2-1 Nigeria
22/06 Nigeria 2-2 South Korea
22/06 Greece 0-2 Argentina
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| ARGENTINA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
| SOUTH KOREA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| GREECE | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| NIGERIA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
GROUP C
Slovenia
Slovenia somehow botched what looked an almost certain place in the last 16 at half time in their second match against the United States. Having already disposed of Algeria 1-0 thanks to Robert Koren's late goal, Slovenia started the match against the Americans like a steam-train with Valter Birsa in particularly impressive form. Birsa opened the scoring on 13 minutes before Zlatan Ljubijankic added a second just before half time. But the Americans came back in the second period, Landon Donovan reducing arrears almost immediately before Michael Bradley equalised with eight minutes left. Even then, there was still time for the Americans to have a goal harshly ruled out and, having suffered that comeback, the Slovenians put in a timid performance against England to lose 1-0. Still, for a population of little more than 2m, this was an effort to be proud of, and showed great improvement on their first World Cup finals attempt in 2002 when they lost all three games.
Algeria
Algeria were more organised and more disciplined than expected but they carried hardly any goal threat, and were eliminated from their first World Cup finals for 24 years without scoring. In the first match against Slovenia, the Desert Foxes' attempts to stifle the game failed when Robert Koren scored late on. But, in the second match, Algeria were aided by a woeful England performance and earned a famous 0-0 draw. Another creditable 0-0 draw against United States looked likely in the final group game until Landon Donovan struck deep into stoppage time.
12/06 England 1-1 United States
13/06 Algeria 0-1 Slovenia
18/06 Slovenia 2-2 United States
18/06 England 0-0 Algeria
23/06 Slovenia 0-1 England
23/06 United States 1-0 Algeria
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| UNITED STATES | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| ENGLAND | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| SLOVENIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| ALGERIA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
GROUP D
Australia
An ageing Australia squad improved as the group stages progressed but were always facing an uphill struggle after a disastrous opening match in which their best player, Tim Cahill, was harshly sent off. Indeed, the resulting 4-0 defeat to Germany was ultimately what cost the Socceroos given its terminal effect on their goal difference though the Aussies bounced back to earn a 1-1 draw with Ghana. It could have been a victory after Brett Holman's early goal but Harry Kewell's hand ball on the line meant Pim Verbeek's men were down to ten men for a second match in a row and Asamoah Gyan struck home the penalty. Goals from Cahill and Holman in the second half finally gave the Aussies victory - but even this 2-1 success over Serbia was tinged with controversy after Cahill's handball should have given away another penalty.
Serbia
Serbia cried foul play after they were denied a penalty in their final match against Australia after Tim Cahill's handball which, if it had been scored, would have been enough to take the Serbs through to the last 16. It is takes some effort to beat Germany yet still finish bottom of the group but that is exactly what Serbia have managed and the truth is that they had left themselves with too much to do in that last match, falling two goals behind to the Aussies in the second half. Raddy Antic's men had opened with a costly late defeat to Ghana, losing 1-0 to Asamoah Gyan's penalty after a brainless handball by Zdravko Kuzmanovic. And, in the next game, after Miroslav Klose had been sent off and Serbia had taken the lead through Milan Jovanovic, Nemanja Vidic gave away another penalty for handball. Lukas Podolski missed and the Serbians looked in good shape to progress but the loss to Australia dumped them out in bottom place for the second World Cup in a row.
13/06 Serbia 0-1 Ghana
13/06 Germany 4-0 Australia
18/06 Germany 0-1 Serbia
19/06 Ghana 1-1 Australia
23/06 Ghana 0-1 Germany
23/06 Australia 2-1 Serbia
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| GERMANY | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| GHANA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| AUSTRALIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| SERBIA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
GROUP E
Denmark
The Danes can blame the defence for their early exit from this World Cup after they conceded six goals in their three group games. It all started so well for Denmark when they walked off the pitch at half time against Netherlands at 0-0 but, within seconds of the restart, they were 1-0 down after a comical own goal caused by Simon Poulsen's wayward header which went in off Daniel Agger. From that point onwards, the Danes were always heading for defeat and Dirk Kuyt added a second late on for the Dutch. In the second match, matters at the back had not improved and Samuel Eto'o benefited from a sloppy pass by Christian Poulsen to score after 10 minutes. But, in an open match of numerous chances for both teams, the Danes recovered to record ther first ever come-from-behind World Cup finals win through goals from Nicklas Bendtner and Dennis Rommedahl. Predictably, it was the defence which let Denmark down in the all-or-nothing clash with Japan who scored two free-kicks in the first half an hour. Jon Dahl Tomasson belatedly gave Morten Olsen's men some hope but Shinji Okazaki scored a late third for Japan to ensure Denmark were out.
Cameroon
The Indomitable Lions failed to live up to their nickname, becoming the first of the 32 teams to be knocked out of the tournament after defeats to Japan and Denmark before a third loss to Netherlands left them without any points. Cameroon paid the price for taking a cautious approach in their first match against Japan though Keisuke Honda's goal just before half time was against the run of play. Things looked up early in the second match against Denmark when Samuel Eto'o capitalised on a defensive error but Paul Le Guen's men missed a hatful of chances while Nicklas Bendtner and Dennis Rommedahl converted theirs for the Danes. The final group game against Netherlands was effectively a dead rubber, won 2-1 by the Dutch late on through a goal by Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Earlier, Netherlands had taken the lead through Robin van Persie before Eto'o scored a penalty to equaliser midway through the second half. Eto'o was the only player to score for Cameroon in this finals and they have still to go past the group stage of any World Cup since 1990 when they famously reached the Quarter Finals.
14/06 Netherlands 2-0 Denmark
14/06 Japan 1-0 Cameroon
19/06 Netherlands 1-0 Japan
19/06 Cameroon 1-2 Denmark
24/06 Denmark 1-3 Japan
24/06 Cameroon 1-2 Netherlands
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| NETHERLANDS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| JAPAN | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| DENMARK | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| CAMEROON | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
GROUP F
New Zealand
Unbeaten and undaunted, New Zealand's second appearance at a World Cup finals was perhaps this summer's most unlikely success. The All Whites began slowly against Slovakia but a last minute headed equaliser by Winston Reid put a completely different complexion on their campaign. It was not a surprise to see NZ start with a much better tempo in the second match against defending champions Italy and Shane Smeltz stabbed home a free-kick after just seven minutes though replays showed he was offside. Italy were level on 30 minutes and the All Whites braced themselves for a succession of Italian chances in the second half. But heavy pressure never materialised and NZ could have even won the game at the end when Chris Wood put his shot just wide of the post. It was a credit to New Zealand's effort that they remained in with a chance of progress right until the last minute of the group stage but a 0-0 draw against Paraguay, the best team in the group, was not enough.
Italy
Before the tournament began, I wrote on this blog that Italy "would have struggled to have hand-picked a friendlier group" but the Azzurri made a complete mess of their trophy defence against Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia. The warning signs were there against the Paraguayans who took a first-half lead through Antolin Alcaraz before Daniele de Rossi equalised in a much-improved second half performance from Italy. The improvement was not carried through against minnows New Zealand and, although the All Whites' early goal should have been called offside, Italy struggled to make much impression against an organised and committed defence. Even after Vincenzo Iaquinta slotted away a soft penalty on 30 minutes, Italy failed to build up a head of steam and a draw was the deserved result. Marcello Lippi knew that only victory would do in the final group match against Slovakia but the Azzurri's creaking defence could not cope with Robert Vittek who scored a goal in each half for a 2-0 lead. Antonio di Natale pulled a goal back with 10 minutes left but Kamil Kopunek scored on the break to make it 3-1. In stoppage time, Fabio Quagliarella curled a stunning strike into the top corner for 3-2 but defeat had left Italy embarrassingly bottom.
14/06 Italy 1-1 Paraguay
15/06 New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia
20/06 Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay
20/06 Italy 1-1 New Zealand
24/06 Slovakia 3-2 Italy
24/06 Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| PARAGUAY | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| SLOVAKIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| NEW ZEALAND | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| ITALY | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
GROUP G
Ivory Coast
The ultra-cautious approach adopted by Sven Goran Eriksson, as seen by England fans in the past decade, cost the Ivorians a chance of progressing ahead of Portugal. In a dreadful opening match, Portugal looked vulnerable but Eriksson's men settled for a 0-0 draw even after the introduction of the recovering Didier Drogba midway through the second half. The draw was always likely to favour the Portuguese who faced North Korea next while Ivory Coast played Brazil - and the day after the Brazilians had beaten the Ivorians 3-1, Portugal hit seven past the hapless Koreans. This gave Ivory Coast an almighty task of overhauling a goal difference of nine against North Korea and, although they managed an easy 3-0 win through goals from Yaya Toure, Koffi Ndri Romaric and Saloman Kalou, it was never going to be enough. In fact, any victory would have been rendered irrelevant by the 0-0 draw in a tempestuous affair between Brazil and Portugal.
North Korea
The North Koreans naivety on the big stage was exposed for all to see, including the people in Pyongyang, as Portugal smashed six second-half goals past them in a 7-0 win. It had all started relatively well for the Koreans against Brazil in their first match in which they did not disgrace themselves, losing just 2-1. Jong Tae-Se led the line brilliantly, Ji Yun-Nam scored a famous consolation goal in the last minute and the North Korean defence had only been undone earlier by a bit of magic from Brazil right-back Maicon and an Elano goal. The good performance in the first game convinced the Korean authorities to broadcast the second match against Portugal live and the viewers were rewarded with another tight half as Portugal went in just 1-0 up. But the Koreans' defence had begun to open up towards the end of the first period and it completely fell apart in the second half, shipping six further goals as Cristiano Ronaldo hit his first Portugal goal in two years. The clearly shell-shocked Koreans conceded two early goals in their final group match against Ivory Coast, Yaya Toure and Koffi Ndri Romaric making it 2-0 inside 20 minutes - and there should have been more. But the Koreans recovered some composure and defensive solidity displayed against Brazil to concede only once more in the second half. If nothing else, the North Koreans earned a lot of respect for their sense of fair play, picking up just two bookings - both against Portugal - in their three matches.
15/06 Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal
15/06 Brazil 2-1 North Korea
20/06 Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast
21/06 Portugal 7-0 North Korea
25/06 Portugal 0-0 Brazil
25/06 North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| BRAZIL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| PORTUGAL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| IVORY COAST | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| NORTH KOREA | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
GROUP H
Switzerland
The stunning 1-0 win over Spain in their first group match suggested Switzerland could be one of the shock teams of the tournament under the experienced Ottmar Hitzfeld. But that victory over the Euro 2008 winners was based on solid defending and a scrappy goal by Gelson Fernandes, and the Swiss struggled when asked to force the issue themselves. The 1-0 defeat to Chile was bad enough - Mark Gonzalez hit a late winner for the Chileans after the Swiss had Valon Behrami sent off by officious referee Khalil Al Ghamdi who booked nine other players. But the 0-0 stalemate with Honduras was unforgivable when any two-goal victory would have been enough. A campaign that promised much ended up delivering little - that Fernandes strike against Spain was Switzerland's only goal of the tournament.
Honduras
Los Catrachos could not mix it up with the big boys having qualified for their first World Cup finals since 1982, failing the score a single goal. In their first match, the Hondurans were undone by Jean Beausejour's first half goal and there was little sign of a response. In the second game, Honduras faced a Spain side still stinging from that shock defeat to the Swiss and the 2-0 win was the least that the wasteful Spanish deserved. At least in the final group match, Honduras' defence earned their first World Cup 2010 point in a 0-0 draw against Switzerland. But the attack again failed to shine and the front pairing of Carlos Pavon and David Suazo were disappointing.
16/06 Honduras 0-1 Chile
16/06 Spain 0-1 Switzerland
21/06 Chile 1-0 Switzerland
21/06 Spain 2-0 Honduras
25/06 Chile 1-2 Spain
25/06 Switzerland 0-0 Honduras
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| SPAIN | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| CHILE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| SWITZERLAND | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| HONDURAS | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
No comments:
Post a Comment