Clinical Germany versus classy Italy

The most recent match between Germany and Italy (in March) saw the Italians thrashing the Germans 4-1 in a pre-World Cup friendly. In the immediate aftermath of the match, German media and ex-footballers were calling for the sacking of manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

However today, the Germans made it against all odds to kick out Argentina on penalties and will meet the impressive Italy in the first semi finals on Tuesday. Tonight, Klinsmann is a national hero.

Germany has never beaten Italy in the World Cup and the last time they met at this stage (in 1970), Italy defeated the then West Germany 4-3 in extra time. Tuesday's match will be their first World Cup meeting since the 1982 final which Italy won 3-1.

So will it be different this time? The German are playing good football, carrying on their tradition of doing well in tournaments and inexplicably has the good luck in winning penalties.

As for the Italians, they are no pushovers. They are in a 23-match unbeaten run just now and today they totally dismantled Ukraine 3-0.

The Italians have sound defenders and compact midfield. They were missing the first choice central defender Nesta (injury) and his replacement Materazzi (suspension) but their fourth choice Andrea Barzagli did very well alongside captain Cannavaro. They were ably supported by Grosso and Zambrotta, who scored the first goal. And behind them, Buffon stood firm.

I thought both Pirlo and Gattuso had a superb game in the middle of the park. They will surely give the Germans a tough fight.

As for Ukraine, they were hopeless. They ended their World Cup just as they started it against Spain – outplayed, outfoxed and thrashed.

BBC pundit and ex-Celtic manager Martin O’Neil said Ukraine played as though they had a plane ready and waiting to take them back home.

In the second half, they did improve a little but Italy was simply too good for them.

I did not watch the first quarter final between Germany and Argentina as I had to be in London to attend a students’ journalism award ceremony. By the time I reached Sheffield, the match was over. So I missed it all – all the drama, the penalties, Lehmann’s heroics and the handbags and all.

However I was kept up to date by the wife and friends over the phone on the match. When Argentina scored first, I thought they will maintain pressure to win but I suppose with the loud and strong crowd support for the hosts, it was inevitable that they will strike back.

I did manage to catch the match highlights later on and thought Germany was good and clinical. They had progressed well as the tournament goes and have. Their defence, long criticized for being slow, stood firm today and what a goal from Klose, who incidentally has five goals now and looks likely to be the golden boots winner.

As I mentioned earlier, the Germans are showing a true tournament form (as usual), do very well when it comes to penalties, and have been lifted by the outstanding home support. Few thought they had any chance of doing well but here they are, just a game away from the finals.

Before the tournament began, I felt Argentina will do well and they started the tournament with such fire and entertainment value.

Sadly however, even with so many talented players on the team – along with the many so-called new Maradona’s on display – their journey comes to an end at this stage.

Naturally Jose Pekerman has quit as team manager and I was quite puzzled by his decision to take off Riquelme in the 72nd minute. Soon Germany leveled and Argentina had no flair to take the lead again.

And they must be ashamed to be such sore losers, picking a fight with the German bench, showing utter lack of professionalism.

Lack of Unpredictability

(Guest blogger Sri Shanker Krishnan tells us why this World Cup has become so unpredictable)

The second round of the World Cup competition is complete and the usual suspects have all safely negotiated their paths onto the next stage. Six out of the eight remaining teams are winners of the competition and all the so-called smaller teams have been taken care of.

This World Cup will certainly go down as one of the finest in the history of the competition. For me personally, the benchmark are the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, both held in Mexico. I can recite almost all the players names from the 1970 Brazil team and who can forget Maradona’s exploits in 1986? In fact the years 1970 and 1986 only bring wonderful memories of the World Cup competition for me and nothing else! One of the reasons for the huge popularity of the World Cup is the surprise element – the giant killing act, an audacious piece of skill to finish off a game, brilliant solo goals, etc. The competition is littered with many giant killing acts since its inception.

North Korea beating Italy in 1966, Cameroon beating Argentina in 1982, Senegal beating France in 2002, are some of the more memorable ones. This is what it is all about – the romance of the World Cup! This brings me to the one aspect of the current tournament that has let me down immensely. If there is one complaint I have about Germany 2006, then, this is it. Apart from Ghana beating the Czechs 2-0, all the other results have pretty much gone as expected. Never mind the upsets, there is very little unpredictability even in the style of play, particularly from the more fancied teams. I have yet to see real flashes of individual brilliance, the kind that can change the nature of a game in a split second or commanding individual performances ala Maradona in 1986.

The Brazilian team of 1970 and 1982 are prime examples of this. You never know what to expect from these two teams, there is always a possibility of someone producing an outrageous piece of skill or a commanding performance. Speaking of commanding performances, for me Maradona single handedly (pun intended!) taking Argentina to the cup in 1986 stands out as the most outstanding and influential performance in the history of the World Cup. Pele was surrounded by a wonderfully gifted bunch of players in the 1970 team compared to Maradona.

The closest I have seen to brilliance is the Argentinian team, who have performed with aplomb both as a team and some fine individual performances from players such as Riquelme, Rodriguez, Messi and Saviola. Ghana has been refreshing with their direct attacking style of play and it was lack of international experience that let them down against the Brazilians. Ronaldo’s opening goal against the Ghanaians was a real eye candy! The shuffle of the feet to beat the goal keeper, that itself was worth the ticket money! Then the Brazilians decided to go one better over the Argentines by stringing together 25 passes to score their 3rd goal in the same game. Sadly such outrageous pieces of play have been lacking somewhat in this tournament. Where are the famous step-overs, flicks and trickery? Maybe the pressure of having to win has got into the players? Or is it the coaches who pressure the players to play safe?

The English, Swiss, Ukrainians and Italians have been the major culprits for me. Collectively these so called top teams are guilty of putting many people to sleep simultaneously! Fortunately the Swiss are already out of the tournament. One of the remaining three will be definitely going home soon with the Italians and Ukranians facing each other in the quarter finals. Coming back to the topic, I think apart from the pressure of winning, there are several other reasons as well for the lack of unpredictability.

One of the key reasons is that the game has become very much global now, with almost all the teams having players playing in leagues all over the world, particularly in the major European leagues. This automatically provides teams with greater exposure and experience meaning no more huge rugby score lines! Other than that, players have become familiar with each other having played or faced each other in league matches, meaning greater wariness amongst themselves. Huge expectations and demands are also inhibiting individualism and gung-ho approach. Even the African teams, re-known for out and out attacking play and outrageous displays of individual skills, have become more cagey now as more and more African players start plying their careers in European leagues.

This brings me to the final theory – the European influence. Today more than ever, we see so many South American, African and Asian players plying their trade in European leagues. Naturally the European tendency for discipline, organization and methodical approach has rubbed off on these players while diminishing their natural flair and prowess for exhibitionism.

However all is not lost. Causes for optimism were found in the Brazil v Ghana and France v Spain matches. Ronaldo and Zidane produced fine individual displays and some fine dribbling, back flicks and sharp passing were seen. Jurgen Klinsman has promised that his German team will continue with their swashbuckling (by German standards at least) style. Jose Pekerman has said that his Argentina team cannot play defensively. With the French team also showing improvement and promise of more flair to come, we may yet see some unpredictable results and displays.

The only ones who have been unpredictable so far are the referees – almost all of them have displayed a liking for controversy, intentionally or otherwise. Speak of individualism – this World Cup has probably produced the most number of controversial referees and questionable decisions. Probably the refs have decided to take the limelight seeing that none of the players seem to do anything about it.

Finally, with the quarter final round fast approaching, dare we hope for an individual or a team to go out there and produce a totally unpredictable result? There are more than enough capable individuals out there, so come on gentlemen, seize the day! I remain optimistic.

(Sri Shanker Krishnan is desperate for his Brazil team to start showing the world how the game should be played)

The fun begins now

Forget early rounds - this is where heroes are made, says Gabriele Marcotti from the Sports Illustrated magazine.

He adds that fans of teams which stuttered in the early stages need not be too worried (England fans take note!) as the competition's early phases are largely irrelevant. There are lots of examples in the World Cup to show how the eventual winner had actually come through bad early rounds. Marcotti goes to the extent to say that it's entirely possible to wake up halfway through the tournament and win it all.

He adds: “Whoever wins will be anointed a genius. The winning players will become household names, their fame will far surpass their ability or contribution. And the losers will be chastised as incompetents, as cowards as men of little worth.”

Read his full article here.

Sven, bad football and legacy

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson today said he wouldn’t mind playing bad football if that means winning the World Cup.

He said: “To win the World Cup, I am prepared to do whatever. If that means to play bad football all the way, okay, come on, who cares?”

His last remark is very telling. He is right. Who cares if at the end of the day England do win the World Cup, after 40 years? Surely the England fans will be in delirium with the victory that they are not going to talk about the manner the victory came about, or about how they played in the earlier matches.

The only ones to talk about it immediately will be the non-England fans. But then again, who cares about them?

Maybe in the future, people might talk about the boring England team which won the 2006 World Cup, but hey, who cares about that when your country’s name is etched in the famous trophy. These detractors are just jealous, the England fans will say.

Anyway Sven is adamant that he knows what he is doing, all in the effort to ensure England wins. He roars: “Don't tell me I don't know what to do. I know exactly what to do."

Who are we to question him then although we are perplexed by his team selection so far, making small tinkerings here and there, but then again, who cares, as long as his team is winning.

Sven stressed his attitude with examples as well. He pointed out that Ghana, Ivory Coast, Holland and Spain all played wonderful football but were still kicked out of the tournament.

So against Portugal this Saturday, Sven is again prepared to play bad to win this quarter finals. And at the rate his players are playing, they might just put the Portuguese players to sleep and then score a goal to win. Who cares right?

But one thing that Sven has overlooked is that people are talking about Ghana, Ivory Coast, Holland and Spain with admiration for the way they played, even when they looked to be on the way out. These teams have won the hearts of the neutrals. Many football fans were sad to see these teams going home.

However, for England, one more defeat will come with a chorus of ‘I told you so’ remarks with everyone giving their two cents worth of how they went wrong. The fingers will be pointed at Sven and I bet you no one will be sad to see them dumped out.

It takes so little for the England fans to turn around and start lambasting their team, especially in the face of a bad defeat. At least for this, Sven must ensure his team wins the tournament.

The record breaking Ronaldo

So much for a player said to be tubby and unfit. Media pundits were lambasting him for being overweight and me included had questioned his lack of mobility in Brazil’s first game against Croatia.

In the second match against Australia, he once again looked rather heavy with his first touches being almost comical. I had said that he deserved to be dropped.

But then Ronaldo has come into this World Cup as his country’s modern day World Cup talisman. He has always performed well whenever he pulled in the yellow jersey of Brazil – the exception being the fateful night in Paris in 1998 when he looked totally absent-minded in a match that was won by France.

Ronaldo was an unused squad member in the1994 tournament. Even then he had a high reputation as a goal poacher. The 1998 World Cup was supposed to be his World Cup. He scored four goals before a mysterious illness robbed him of his usual game in the final.

Then came the 2002 World Cup and this was definitely his tournament. He scored eight goals and silenced all doubters who said he would not be able to perform at the highest level as he was just returning from serious injuries. More importantly he laid the ghost of the 1998 final by scoring two in this one to win the World Cup for Brazil for a record fifth time.

Ronaldo was again injured and lacked match fitness coming into the World Cup this year and once again there were murmurs if he could play to his own high standards. The first two games somehow vindicated these doubting armchair critics – including me

But then, hey, we are talking about Ronaldo. In the third game against Japan, suddenly there were some signs of the old predator who struck fear in the opposite defence. Still most of us were unconvinced as he continued to lack the old speed and trickery.

He went on to score two goals against the Asian team. The first saw him surpass the great Pele as Brazil’s highest World Cup scorer with 13 goals. Then he scored a second beauty – this time it saw him equaling Gerd Muller’s record of 14 goals.

On Tuesday, the so-called unfit and fat Ronaldo inscribed his name into football's history books by scoring a record-breaking 15th World Cup goal against Ghana. Now he is the one with the record. And he scored that record-breaking goal in a trademark manner, with the step-overs and sudden burst of speed and all.

Not bad, I think, for a star who is supposed to be in the spotlight for his weight and lack of fitness. I have always liked Ronaldo and am happy for him for his amazing goal-scoring record but still think he didn’t look as sharp as he should!

Come on now, I am sure many will still agree with me that he does look flabby, still has a bad first touch and looks disoriented at times.

But then, to score three goals in World Cup matches with all these going against him, and in the process breaking the record, is not a small matter.

And he wants more. He says: "More, more and more. I want to keep scoring, as I still have much left to give.”

I just can’t help thinking if he could have broken the record much sooner in this World Cup if he had been fitter, or on the number of goals he will go on to accumulate in the coming matches.

While we ponder on this, here is a list of the goals which Ronaldo had scored in the World Cups since 1998, and still counting.

Round of Sixteen round up

(The World Cup moves into the crucial stage now. Guest blogger Raam Shanker gives us a brief round up of all the games played so far in the knockout stage.)

Author’s note: I have not covered the Switzerland-Ukraine and Italy-Australia games, as I was not able to see them. Please accept my humble apologies.

Piquant Podolski Fires Germans Into The Last Eight

Two sensational goals by the heavily criticized Lucas Podolski saw Germany make mince-meat of a Swedish side that came back twice from behind to salvage a draw against England, a few days back! If youth and inexperience were mistaken for incompetence and mediocrity, please reserve the analogies to the English team alone as the sensational Germans blended youthful flair, sophistication and the aspirations of a nation into yet another match winning performance, to gatecrash into the quarterfinals.

They took on the punters, wizards, traditionalists and the practitioners of the old school and proved them wrong by defying all odds in the game against Sweden at Leipzig, which will be the last game of the tournament to be played there. Managed by a young coach Klinsmann, performances like this may spell the renaissance of German football and what better place to start than home! However their captain Ballack failed to find the net, despite numerous efforts and even lost his cool towards the end. The highlight of the game was the beautiful synchronization between Klose and Podolski up front and their seamless integration with the rest of the field.

Truly Deutschland Uber Alles!

Elsewhere…

It Takes Two To Tango As Argentina Devour The Mexican Tortilla Wrap

The odds were certainly against Mexico going into this game against Argentina, but a peach of a goal by captain Rafael Marquez saw them take the lead from a set piece. Any other team would have crumbled but not the Argentines for they came right back, firing on all cylinders with Crespo equalizing within minutes. The remainder of the ninety minutes was end-to-end and action packed, but no more goals meant we would play for another half an hour. A goal made in heaven, eight minutes into extra time was enough to see the Argentines through and reinforce their position as joint favorites, much to the delight of Jose Peckerman and the legendary Diego Maradona.

As the irony of life would have it, they now face the not-so-gracious hosts who have been unbeaten in this tournament so far. Will the German Blitzkrieg decimate the Argentines or the will the Argentines take the lead as they show the Germans how to Tango? All will be known in a few days from now!

Coincidence, That Lions Belong To The Cat Family?

The Three Lions played like three frightened cats against classy Ecuador, as mediocrity prevailed. Being an ardent supporter, even I was yawning much to the surprise of my gracious host, Kabilan. Long balls and lost chances; doesn’t get simpler than this, does it? And then a record tumbled. David Beckham scored out of a free kick and became the first Englishman to score in three different World Cups. His two earlier strikes were against Colombia in 1998 and the match-winning spot-kick against Argentina in 2002, when he redeemed himself after taking stick for England’s defeat to Argentina in 1998.

Records Will Tumble, When You Shove, Push and Head-Butt!

The clash between Holland and Portugal would have been a classic, except for the fact that the players showed no class. Instead they behaved like a bunch of juvenile delinquents and class dropouts pushing, shoving and head-butting their way into the record books. This game saw a record eighteen yellow cards and four red cards being shown. The ones to leave the party early were, Costinha of Portugal, followed by Boulahrouz of Holland, then Deco of Portugal and his Barca teammate Gio of Holland. Phew, truly everything is fair in love and war! The only high point of the game came from Maniche, who netted the early winner for Portugal. I really don’t want to take the names of all the players who entered into the referee’s book and the record book, as I don’t have the patience, to be honest!

Spain One and France Won; Brazil Still Unstoppable!

If experience is the best teacher, I am sure the young Spanish team would have learnt the lesson of its life, on the biggest stage in the world. The veteran French stormed into the quarterfinals to meet reigning champions Brazil with strikes from Ribery, Vieira and Zizou! The Spaniards took a lead through a penalty by David Villa but France was quick to respond and Ribery equalized in style, taking them on par into the break. Back from the break, it was push, push and push for both sides. In a contest of hard-earned experience versus youthful fervor, it was a matter of time before we would see the triumphant.

Zidane opting out of retirement must have been a blessing in disguise as he showed his class in a set piece that was converted by the former Arsenal skipper, Patrick Vieira. Deep into injury time, Zizou again proved why he is what he is as he drove the final nail on the Spanish coffin by blasting the third goal after leaving Puyol stranded. It was like Les Bleus were back with a vengeance and they face their old nemesis! This should take us back in time eight years where Zidane rocketed into stardom with two wonderful headers and Petit pouched a third, crowning themselves Champions of The World. By the way, today’s game extended France’s unbeaten streak to I think twenty-four games on a trot!

This time though, Ronaldo looks in good shape and seems to be in great form and scored as early as the fifth minute against minions Ghana. From there Brazil showed the stuff champions are made of, Sambaing their way into the quarterfinals with further strikes from Adriano off Cafu’s cross and Ze Roberto after leaving the opponent goalkeeper in tatters. Brazil, though have not met a competitive team of reputed quality and still it remains to be seen if they can keep the momentum going. I must say though that Ronaldo silenced most critics, me included.

Now the draw looks invigorating and I only hope we see positive attacking football and not the tame game that Ukraine and Switzerland played out for the heck of it.

The Draw for Quarterfinals:

Germany v Argentina
England v Portugal
Italy v Ukraine
Brazil v France

A few questions however need to be answered;

• Will we see the return of Trezeguet, as Henry was not effective in solitude?
• How will Brazil handle the pressure of being reminded of that fateful night in Paris?
• Will England for Queen’s sake start playing the way they played the first half against Sweden, at least…?
• Will England and Sven redeem themselves by outplaying Portugal or will the ghosts of Lisbon, 2004 come back to haunt them?
• Will German Blitzkreig prevail over Argentine Tango?
• How far can Shevchenko take Ukraine as he lines up to face his former Milan mates?

(Raam Shanker is still hoping that his team England will win the World Cup)

Perennial underachievers fail again.

So what is new with Spain? Haven’t they been like this forever? They have always failed when it mattered in major tournaments. I am not sulking here but I really thought they would go far this year and their 3-1 defeat to France today was a major disappointment for me.

They started the tournament in a superb form and hit rock bottom against a French team which seemed to have found their own good form finally.

I thought the Spanish midfield trio of Xabi Alonso, Fabregas and Xavi were totally overshadowed by France’s Zidane and Vieira. The two French midfielders were more composed and imposing in the middle of the park. And they were ably assisted by the youngster Frank Ribery and veteran Claude Makalele.

As time progressed, you could see the French team gaining confidence and despite being a goal down, they showed some character to come from behind and win easily, I should say.

So at the end, we have a Spanish team which has never beaten France and that unwanted record continues for them, and they again lived up to their reputation as underachievers. In their favour however stands the fact that this is a young team who should do better in the coming years.

As for France, they gave a majestic performance today to win this game and set up a quarter finals meeting with Brazil. They have shown tremendous improvement in their game. I was especially impressed with Ribery who came under fire for missing chances in the earlier matches. Today he took his goal beautifully to announce his arrival at the big stage.

French maestro Zidane, playing his last few matches before retiring, again impressed us with his wonder show. He capped an excellent night with a beautiful goal.

Just one sore point from me as far as the French team is concerned. Actually it doesn’t involve the whole team but one individual player – Thierry Henry and the way he fell holding his face in the 82nd minute after a clash with Puyol.

To start with, I didn’t think the tumble warranted a foul and a yellow card for Puyol. And more importantly, the ensuing free kick resulted in a goal from France. They led from then on and with Spain trying to push forward, saw an opening through Zidane to finish off the game in the 90th minute.

My point is that a player of Henry’s stature need not have done that to win a free kick and a card for a fellow player.

It is no surprise that Brazil won

Are we surprised by the Brazil victory over Ghana? I am not and am sure many other football fans too thought this game was a foregone conclusion even before the ball was kicked.

In the end Brazil scored three times, with Ronaldo now officially the leading World Cup scorer with 15 goals. He just took five minutes to latch on to Kaka's through ball and rounding Ghana’s keeper Richard Kingson to slot home.

Adriano tapped in Cafu's cross and Ze Roberto ran through to wrap it up while Ghana's Asamoah Gyan was sent off.

Again, Brazil was unimpressive but did just enough to win. This was by no means a comfortable win for them as Ghana had many chance to score, only to fumble it at the end.

However other teams can take note on how the Africans managed to breach the Brazilian defence time and again. They did it so frequently that you just wanted them to score a goal for their temerity in running rings around Juan and Lucio.

In the last quarter of the match, Brazil gave us a short peep show of what they are truly capable of. First there was this exquisite through pass from substitute Ricardinho which found Ze Roberto who flicked it past Kingson, ran round him and rolled into an empty net.

Then in quick successions Ronaldo, Cafu and Juan – following some sublime passes - had their shots saved by Kingson

The 3-0 scoreline suggests an easy win for Brazil but it was anything but that. And then again, Brazil has been winning their games in this World Cup without hitting top gear. They have now scored seven goals in two games and they do look like they are slowly getting into top form – at least Ronaldo is.

Next comes France and we will see how Brazil handles that test on Saturday.

Lack of ambition, enterprise and entertainment

Switzerland and Ukraine came into this second round tie with a game plan – to defend stoutly, have all the players behind the ball and not to unnecessarily throw players forward. As such, throughout the game we saw the ball being played in the middle of the field and whatever attacks from either team, came from long shots or set pieces.

The forwards for both the teams were anchored in the midfield area and none made any runs into the penalty area of the opponent at any time of the match. On either side of the half, both the teams struck the post from long distance shots and that’s about it. There were no offsides in the normal time – that explains a lot - and thus it was not surprising that the game went into extra time without seeing any goals.

At the end of 90 minutes, this is what timesonline wrote in its game tracker: Please let somebody score, anybody. Just to put an end to this turgid monstrosity of a game.

And the same sad tale continued in the extra period as well. We saw so much of the ball being played from one defence to another. Neither teams showed any ambition to win the game with a piece of magical play. Not a single stroke of genius from a special player in the pitch.

You would think that Ukraine would surely know all about the Swiss defence – after all the Swiss had not let in a goal in their group matches – and have some game plans accordingly. Unfortunately not and they looked as though they were only relying on Shevchenko to win them the game.

Sadly it doesn’t work that way and after another dull extra period, the match went to penalties – the first in the series of the World Cup.

After both teams continued their shyness in front of the goal by missing their opening penalties, Ukraine took the lead in the second penalty, consolidated their lead by scoring the third and won the game with the fourth. The Swiss hit the post with their second and wasted the third.

Finally after a long, long hour of uninspiring football, Ukraine get into the quarter finals to meet Italy.

Its game over for the Aussies

What a game! Australia came so close to make history but at the end it was the Italians who managed to sneak into the quarter-finals, and how hard they had to work for that.

There were three phases in this match. In the first phase, contested in the first 45 minutes, it was an evenly played game, with perhaps the Italians having a slight edge. They controlled the game better at this phase; they threatened to score and as usual defended as they always do.

Then came the second phase of the match which was enhanced by the sending off of Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the 50th minute. I didn’t think the offence warranted a straight red card for Materazzi but still the Italians were down to 10 men.

Thus began the most crucial period of the match as the Australians saw more of the ball and created more chances while the Italians showed their mastery in defending and yet proving that they can be dangerous in counter attacks.

This is the phase which finally revealed the true limitations of the Australians who had had a reasonably good run in the tournament. In the group stage, their win against Japan came after a ferocious fightback, against Brazil, they did show some glimmer of their potential but still came out losing and finally against Croatia, they were in the back foot and were fortunate to win with a last gasp goal.

In all these three matches, they did not exactly set the world on fire with their performance. No doubt they are a hardworking team and a team with good players and many of my friends thought they will show their credentials and make the world take note of their football. I disagreed with that and after today I am more than ever convinced that they are still a few years and few players away from joining the big boys.

Playing against a 10-man Italy, Australia time and again could not find that killer instinct to finish off the game. They simply did not have the calibre, knowhow and guile to end Italy’s challenge. All they did were trying all day to play that crucial final ball to their strikers to score.

That didn’t happen against the masters of defending. Despite being a man down, Italy showed us how to play a defensive game. They soaked up all the pressure, allowed the Australians to keep coming at them and then still found pockets of space for lightning attacks. And where their defenders failed, they had an outstanding goalkeeper who kept the Australians at bay.

And then we come to the final phase of the game – the introduction of Francesco Totti in the 75th minute. This player then started orchestrating the Italian counter attacks and they very nearly went close to score a few times.

The fourth official indicated that three extra minutes were to be played and after that if it remained goalless, we would be going into extra time. The big question was could the 10-man Italians manage to play another 30 minutes.

The climax of this third phase then came when the match clock was showing 92 minutes and 53 seconds. The Italians who had managed to keep their slyness and divings in their pockets all the while finally plucked out one which eventually won them the match – a blatant penalty.

I thought the referee fell for the dive and just as Totti successfully dispatched his beautifully taken penalty into the net, the game was over.

Australians go home now, desperately kicking themselves for being naïve in not killing off the game when they could. As for the Italians, they will now attempt to bury the ghost of 2002 World Cup by progressing even further than the quarter-finals.

Sea of red anger rises in S Korea

What you see above are thousands and thousands of South Korean football fans. They had gathered in Seoul to watch a live TV broadcast of the World Cup group match between South Korea and Switzerland on a giant screen on June 14.

This was an important game for the Koreans. If they had won, they could have progressed to the second round stage, and play Ukraine tonight. However they failed to live up to the expectations of their fans, losing 2-0 to Switzerland.

Some of these fans accepted the defeat gracefully while there were also others who blamed everyone but their team for the defeat. Some has even taken the matter to FIFA – by blaming poor refereeing for their defeat.

It seems more than 4.2 million South Koreans flooded the official World Cup site with emails in an organized protest. Luckily for FIFA, it caught the email attack in time and blocked all incoming emails from South Korea.

Cards aplenty as Portugal dump Holland

Before the kick-off, this match had the potential to be one outstanding game between two in-form teams. Both teams had players who could win the game with a moment of magic.
In one corner you had exceptional players like Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Mark Van Bommel. At the Portugal corner there were, among others, football legend Figo, Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo.

And then in the middle we had a Russian referee - Valentin Ivanov, who had so much influence in the game that he single-handedly spoilt it. He dished out 16 yellow cards, four red cards and failed miserably to stamp his authority in at least three tussles between the players, let alone the match.

I must say that he majestically failed to control the game and turned it into a farce. In fact his first yellow card came out of his pocket in the second minute and by the eighth minute, the Dutch had two players on yellow.

In between, we had a superb goal from Maniche in the 23rd minute which proved to be the winning goal for Portugal. Their prize for that is a quarter finals meeting with England next Saturday.

Portugal defender Francisco Costinha was the first player to be ordered out, right at the stroke of halftime. At that point it looked as though that was the second stroke of bad luck for the Portuguese as their winger Ronaldo limped out injured earlier in the game. We didn’t know what was to come in the second half courtesy of the referee.

The Dutch then started the second half as expected, passing the ball swiftly around, trying to catch the 10-men Portugal short. Sometimes they tried too hard, to the extent of falling down for the simplest contact (read: diving). The Portuguese players too got into the act by doing their part to make this a really stormy affair.

All this while, our referee tried his best to keep the match in a fairplay mode by dishing out the yellow cards. The second red card for the night came in the 62nd minute for a Dutch player, then 16 minutes later Deco was sent off after getting his second yellow for time wasting.

Then 11 yellow cards later, we had the final sending off of the night with Dutch player Giovanni van Bronckhorst taking the walk.

This was a record breaking game as far as the disciplinary aspects are concerned – the 16 yellow cards equaled the worst record set in the last World Cup while the four red cards are a new record.

I hope no other game in this World Cup will be as badly officiated as this.

At the end, it was a wasted chance for us to see some good football being played by two countries that are capable of playing such football.

As for the game itself, I thought Portugal coach Scolari (pix)deployed better tactics than his Dutch counterpart van Basten. His team selection, and the players he brought in after injury to Ronaldo and the red cards, was perfect in choking the Dutch game. It is also a record breaking night for him for no other coach has managed a team to win 11 straight games in the World Cup. He achieved the first seven with Brazil in 2002 and the feat now continues with Portugal.

Boring , boring England limp into q/finals

This may upset a few England fans but England do not look like they can win the World Cup. They are not exactly putting out a tremendous, credible, or even entertaining performance. In fact, against Ecuador today, they conspired to play such a boring game.

I agree that captain David Beckham somehow answered his critics by scoring a long-overdue goal – a well struck free kick – and had shown some promising runs in the flank, but apart from that, neither he nor his teammates managed to tear apart a team which had struggled to win matches away from their home.

I, like many other watching fans, were waiting for England to get into a higher gear and start showing some World Cup credentials. We waited and waited and that change of pace never came.

Mind you, they were playing in a city where Porsche is made but England never played the part to look that classy, instead they resembled more of a meshed, second hand two-wheeler.

And this creaky England could have paid big if Ecuador had taken their limited chances well.

Sven Goran Eriksson started a team with a totally different formation. I thought Michael Carrick played well as a holding midfielder and Wayne Rooney was all running for every ball, without any real threat.

Some of the other senior players were seem to be taking things lightly too. I understand that Joe Cole had scored a great goal in the last match but that doesn’t mean he can underestimate the opponents by trying so many tricks and flicks that just didn’t work. And given the number of shots he had had, when will Frank Lampard finally score?

The central defenders – John Terry and Rio Ferdinand – still look shaky and do not inspire confidence at all. Twice in the first half they had gone to sleep, only to be saved by poor finishing and some tremendous defending from Ashley Cole.

Many England fans will say that what is important is the win which has taken England into the quarter finals stage. Again I agree, but no strong team left in the competition will be overly worried about this misfiring England team.

In the end Sven has lived yet another day to try his tinkering with the team but I am afraid he will be caught out real soon, and I mean real soon.

Video: For those who missed Brazil v Japan

Check out all the goals in this entertaining match. Look out for Brazil's fourth - and Ronaldo's second - goal as that was the record equalising goal for the striker. He is now tied with German bullet Gerd Muller with 14 World Cup goals. Ronaldo's first goal on the night saw him overtaking Pele as Brazil's top World Cup goal scorer.

Beleaguered Beckham vows to deliver

Today evening, David Beckham will lead his troops against Ecuador to fight for a place in the quarter finals. On paper, England should win. In reality however, Ecuador is not an easy pushover.

England will be looking up to senior players like Beckham to provide the goods today. As it is he has come under severe criticism in the British media for his performances in the group stages. British media commentators have singled out Beckham for England’s poor play so far in the World Cup.

Some point out that his work rate is inadequate while others question his leadership qualities, especially when England is directionless and under pressure from the opponents (as in the Swedish match). One even labeled him as more of a con than an icon.

Statistically, in the Sweden game, Beckham, playing in the right side of midfield, made just eight successful forward passes. In the second half, he made two – one of which didn’t make the halfway line.

As mentioned by a British media pundit, in the 90 minutes, Beckham made no tackles, had no shots, no dribbles and made two crosses. And he was at fault for the first Swedish goal for not picking up his man at the corner.

Yet despite this, he was never a candidate for substitution. England could have had better penetration through the right flank with the introduction of fresh-legged Aaron Lennon but Sven Goran Erikkson persevered with his captain.

Many would have noticed that Sven is not one to substitute his captain. Even in the Trinidad and Tobago game when he brought on Lennon to play in the right wing, it was not to replace Beckham but Jamie Carragher, who was playing as a right back. Where did he move Beckham then? Yup, to the right back position.

There were also reports of a training ground bust-up between Beckham and Steven Gerrard over the former’s penchant of kicking the ball up, thus by-passing the midfield. Interestingly while both the players have been quiet about this report, the FA had denied it.

Many pundits see Sven’s special relationship with Beckham as the reason for the coach still playing the midfielder no matter how badly he plays. Naturally both Sven and Beckham denied this special relationship.

Beckham has also reacted angrily to the negative reports about his game. He pointed out that he was man-marked by at least two players in the earlier matches but promised to raise his game as well as his teammates in defeating Ecuador today.

And above all, he still insists that he can lead England to win the World Cup this year. We will know how far they can go by watching their performance against Ecuador.

Argentina see off Mexico in a wonder goal

Phew! What a game. Mexico matched Argentina right to the end of extra time but sadly they will have to head home after falling to a super goal from Maxi Rodriguez in the 97th minute. He took a pass off his chest and volleyed it into the top of the net and it was an excellent goal to settle an excellent match.

That wonder goal (left) deflated the Mexican hearts and finally for the first time in the night we saw the talented Argentineans freely passing the ball with skill and trickery, coming close on various times to breach the Mexican defence.

This was exemplified in the 114th minute when Lionel Messi, Pablo Aimar and Carlos Tevez started playing short, beautiful passes and ran rings around the Mexican defence. On that occasion they almost got Messi free towards goal but unfortunately he lost his footing at the vital moment for the Mexicans to clear the ball away.

To their credit, the Mexicans stood firm and even launched an attack or two of their own after going behind at the extra time. They however started the game very well, going ahead in the fifth minute when Rafael Marquez got on the end of a Mario Mendez free-kick.

It did not take Argentina long to equalize as just five minutes later Jared Borgetti headed into his own net under pressure from Hernan Crespo. Crespo was credited with the goal but I thought it was an own goal.

Then the game turned into an end-to-end action with both teams having enough goal-scoring chances.

I thought the introduction of Messi and Tevez in the 75th minute swung the game in the Argentinean favour. Now we saw them passing the ball with more directness and speed into the Mexican half. Still the normal time ended 1-1.

Twice in the normal time Messi and Tevez went very close to score and right in the end of normal time, Messi did put one in the net, only to be ruled off side. The referee got it wrong there.

Argentina started brightly in the extra time and took the lead they richly deserved in the 97th minute through that superb goal. They then continued to control the game and won comfortably in the end.

I feel sorry for Mexico as they have to be the losers here. They played their part in one of the best matches of the tournament.

As for Argentina, this match showed that they can also grind out results when needed. This victory was very different from the stylish wins they accomplished in the first round. But still they managed to play their beautiful game today and most importantly they won.

They now head towards Berlin to play home nation Germany in the quarter finals. That will be an entertaining and close match no doubt, but you do get the feeling that Argentina still has something left in the locker to go further in the tournament. Let’s see how it goes on June 30.

Swedes swept away by Germans

Goodbye Sweden and in all honesty, they deserved to go out of the World Cup at this stage. They were soundly beaten by a German side which was better in all departments.

Two goals by Lukas Podolski in the opening 12 minutes were sufficient to kill off the Swedes, who had a man sent off in the 34th minute, and they had their keeper to thank for keeping the score down. In all, the Germans had about 20 shots on goal, including hitting the posts twice.

No one more than Michael Ballack was responsible for the onslaughts. The German captain totally took over the midfield, and orchestrated every German move. And I am surprised that he didn’t score a goal through one of his many long range shots. For me, without doubt, he was the man-of-the-match.

Up front, Podolski and Miroslav Klose linked well, creating many chances for each other. Their link up play for the second goal was just an example.

However again, a weakness in the German defence is quite apparent. Sweden could not make use of it but I think other teams – like Argentina whom they play in the quarter-finals – will.

As for the Swedes, I think their best performance at the World Cup has come in the second half against England when they scored two goals to draw level. I am disappointed with their strikers, especially Zlatan Ibrahimovic who came into the finals with such high reputation.

They could have done something in the game today when they were awarded a penalty in the second half but Henrik Larsson ballooned his kick – and that summed up their day. Everything was out of sorts for them today. Their players looked so average, their tactics very normal and their overall performance pathetic.

I disagree with the referee for the second yellow card which resulted in the Swedish player given the marching orders but even with 11 men and with the penalty scored, I still think Sweden would have lost this match.

The show starts to get better now

The second stage of the World Cup starts today and this is where the big boys will start to show their credentials, for the right to be at the Berlin stadium on July 9. I don’t see any major shock results or upsets, except for one game maybe. Still, it will be good to see the big guns fighting it out for the quarter finals stage. Here are my predictions for the second round:

June 24

• Germany v Sweden
  The host nation did well in the group stage to win all three matches to get into the second round. The Swedes however had a stuttering start which resulted in two draws and one win but they showed promise in their final game against England. I think the Germans, buoyed by a good home support and excellent play so far, will win this one.
• Argentina v Mexico
  I don’t see an upset here. This game will go according to the form book. The Argentineans showcased excellent football at the World Cup and should continue to do so to win this game comfortably.

June 25

• England v Ecuador
  There could be a major upset here. England has yet to get into top gear and could face a massive task in coping with the fast and forceful Ecuadorians. Set-piece frailties could prove costly for England and even if they win, it will be a hard-earned one goal victory.
• Portugal v Netherlands
  I predict this to be a highly entertaining game. Both teams are having a good run at the World Cup and both have flair and entertainment value in their game. This will be a close one but I think in Arjen Robben, the Dutch have a speedy winner.

June 26

• Italy v Australia
  This is a game which pits patience against brawl. Italy, for all their technical superiority, will have a tough time playing against the robust Aussies. Still, I think they have too much class and guile to win this match. This is where the Australian dream will end.
• Switzerland v Ukraine
  This can go either way. Ukraine had a bad start to this tournament but then went on to win the other two matches and can only grow stronger as a result. As for the Swiss, they play well for an unglamorous side but can they continue to do it against Ukraine? I don’t think so.

June 27

• Brazil v Ghana
  This could be the game of the round. Both sides play attractive football, attacking at every opportunity. Brazil, despite winning all their group matches, is only beginning to show their magical form. This will continue against the African outsiders who may cause some trouble, but nothing grave. At the end, it will be a good win for the defending champions.
• Spain v France
  Spain is progressing well in the tournament. Their players are finally showing their talents at the world stage. They play good football and should not have any problems in dispatching off France. On the other hand, the 1998 champions are playing uninspiring football, with their strikers failing to find the way to the goal. I think Spain will win this match. They are just too classy for the French.

The 16 teams in numbers:

• 6 of the 7 World Cup champions
• 8 seeded teams from this year’s tournament
• 10 teams are from Europe, 3 from South America, 1 from CONCAF, 1 from Africa and 1 from Oceania
• 4 teams advancing for the first time - Australia Ecuador, Ghana, and Ukraine
• 2 teams that lost their first match in group play - Ukraine and Ghana
• 1 team that kept a clean sheet in group play - Switzerland
• 3 teams that scored 8 goals - Spain, Argentina, and Germany
• 1 team with 12 yellow cards in group play - Ghana, second only to Tunisia’s 14
• 2 teams with 4 yellow cards in group play, the least of any teams tournament - England and Germany

Mindless passing and dour play

Poor South Korea! Semi-finalist in the last World Cup, this year they are out of the tournament in the first round itself. They did have the chance to proceed further. All they had to do was win their final game against Switzerland. They failed to do this, losing 2-0 and the result in the other group match meant it’s an early flight home for the Koreans.

Switzerland topped the group and will now play Ukraine in the second round match. They will be joined in the second round by France, who managed to win their final match against Togo in a totally uninspiring manner.

The French went into the game knowing that they had to win by two goals or more. They laboured hard in the first half, missing so many chances and then suddenly found the net twice in the second half. They had luck with them too as Koreans were doing them a favour by playing poorly to lose to the Swiss.

At the end, a French team which had no flair, no imagination and just 90 minutes away from being kicked out of the World Cup managed to sneak into the second round to meet the impressive Spain.

Earlier in the day, we witnessed one of the most boring matches of the tournament – Ukraine v Tunisia. Entering into the game, Ukraine needed a draw while the Africans a win to proceed further. This should, by right, offer an entertaining game. Sadly not. We had mindless passing and dour play and Ukraine won the game on a dubious penalty. I clearly thought Shevchenko tripped on his feet to fall in the Tunisian D-box, the referee thought he was pushed. Anyway, he scored from the spot and out went Tunisia.

At the same time, Spain was entertaining Saudi Arabia to cement their top spot in the group. A confident Spain fielded an entirely different team to the one which won the first two matches comfortably and in style. This ‘reserve’ team did not rout the Saudis but still managed to win 1-0.

Their price is a second round tie against France. Looking at the French game, the Spaniards must be confident of further progression.

The different sets of fans

Below is an English fan. He is one of about 14 arrested by the Cologne riot police just before England’s group match against Sweden on Tuesday. In the riot, at least 16 German police officers were hurt.

And these are Swedish fans. They obviously enjoy the message which the football authorities want to send out – that the game can conquer all, and its all about loving humanity.

So you decide which sets of supporters you want to support your team.

The great Pele speaks

In an interview with FIFA’s official website, the great Pele talked about the ongoing World Cup and gave his frank assessment on the tournament, players who caught his eyes and the teams living up to expectations.

He said he was very impressed with Ivory Coast – although they are out of the tournament - and Argentina, and that he reckons Brazil had done the task of qualifying to the next round without any problems. He added that France has disappointed him.

And sadly, he said, not one player has really set the tournament on fire as yet, though he added that Philipp Lahm (the Germany full-back) and Argentinean midfielder Javier Mascherano have done well.

Read the full interview here.

Super Ronaldo weighs in to equal record

Brazil 4 - Ronaldo (45)(80), Juninho Pernambucano (52) ,Gilberto (58)
Japan 1 - Tamada (33)

It was a special day for Ronaldo. He scored two goals to equal Germany’s Gerd Muller as the highest scorer at the World Cup. Both have now scored 14 goals.

Before the match against Japan, Ronaldo was tied with his country’s football legend Pele with 12 goals. Then at the stroke of halftime he scored Brazil’s first of the night and became the highest World Cup scorer of his country.

By then actually Japan had taken a surprise lead, but you somehow knew that Japan was never going to cause an upset.

Brazil turned up the tempo in the second half, fully controlling the match and looked like scoring every time they came close to the Japanese goal. The second arrived soon through a Juninho Pernambucano screamer in the 52nd minute. Then the leftback Gilberto scored a beauty on 58th minute before Ronaldo wrapping it up with his record equaling goal in the 80th minute.

And what a goal it was! Ronaldo exchanged the ball with Juan, took a deft first touch and slotted the ball in the low right end of the goal, and he didn’t even look at the goalie when he shot.

This was a better performance from Ronaldo but he still looks heavy. In fact his lack of mobility caused him at least two other goals. And he is not going to have the same freedom given by the Japanese against Ghana in the second round.

Brazil too as a team seems to be improving as well. I think they are getting into the second round with full of confidence and who knows, with more games under his belt, Ronaldo might just go on to overtake Muller’s record.


Kewell puts Aussie in Round Two

Harry Kewell scored an important goal for Australia to put them through to the second round after a grueling 2-2 draw with Croatia. However the Liverpool striker must consider himself lucky as TV replays showed that he was clearly offside when he scored that goal.

For Australia, it has been a wonderful World Cup so far. This is their second appearance after 1974 and the first time they are progressing further than the first round.

Their next opponent is Italy and as I mentioned earlier, Italy is difficult to beat and I don’t see Australia, despite all the hardwork, achieve that.

Joy for Ghana, despair for Czech Rep

Czech Republic came into the World Cup as a dark horse. Their ruthless performance against the USA (3-0) underlined the fact that they could be a team to look out for in the tournament. They looked destined to join Italy from this group in the second round.

Then things took a wrong turn for the Czechs – they lost to a very good Ghana team (2-0) in the second match. That result meant today’s final game against Italy was one which Czech Rep had to win to proceed further.

Unfortunately, they failed to raise their game at all and crashed out 2-0 to the Italians who topped the group.

And who is in second spot? Yes, it’s the first-timers from Africa, Ghana. Many thought that they were out of their depth at the World Cup after that sound defeat to the Italians in the first game (2-0). But full credit to them, they gave an excellent performance against Czech Rep to defeat them 2-0 in the second match.

So coming into the final day of group matches, all they needed to do was win over the USA and hope that the Italians at least hold Czech Rep to a draw.

The results at the end went in their favour for they beat the USA 2-1, winning the match through a soft penalty, and at the other game Czech Rep capitulated to a well-organised Italy.

So what went wrong for the Czechs? They have had a bad World Cup. They came into the tournament with striker Milan Baros injured and he was out of the first two matches, although he played today. Then in the very first game, their main striker Jan Koller limped out injured and did not make it to the field today.

So this team was without its two main strikers throughout its group matches. And today, they also had their central defender Tomas Ujfalusi out suspended. And if you thought that was it, they were a man down in the 46th minute when defender Jan Polak was red-carded. By then, they were already a goal down.

To reorganize the team, the Czechs then took out wide attacking player Karel Probosky and relied heavily on Tomas Rosicky, Pavel Nedved, and the unfit Milan Baros to win the game.

They never had that chance against the Italians. I thought Fabio Cannavaro and Gennaro Gattuso were brilliant for the Italians today. However Francesco Totti was pitiful. His team-mates had to carry him for the full 90 minutes. He is obviously unfit and deserves to be dropped.

And as for Ghana, they played just well to edge out the Americans, winning 2-1, but disappointingly for them, they will be without their star midfielder Michael Essien in their second round game against Brazil.

So, at the end, one ranked outsider from Africa has disposed a form team from Europe and will join the technically superior Italy into the second stage. As I see it, I think Italy will progress further as they do look like a team difficult to beat – they play Australia in round two. Mind you, they have now gone unbeaten for 21 games in all competitions since October 2004. And they are still undefeated in normal time at the World Cup since 1986!

Poor Michael, but England can still do well

What a bad year it has been for Michael Owen. Just until recently he was the darling of English football. He was the numero uno striker of the country.

Then late last year his troubles began. He was sidelined by an injury and played only a handful of games for his club Newcastle. He only made a come back towards the end of the season and Sven Goran Eriksson picked up for the World Cup based on his past success.

The World Cup started badly for this former wonderboy. He had bad games against both Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago. In both games he was substituted on the hour mark.

He then claimed that he was not getting a proper service from his team-mates for him to be on fire. Thus the team changed its game plan for Owen in the Sweden game and partnered him with the fit-again Wayne Rooney.

Sadly, Owen’s bad luck continued as he was struck down by a cruciate knee ligament injury in the 76th second into the game.

Now, more ominously for England, they are rather thin in their strike force. Peter Crouch, who started the World Cup as the third choice striker, now looks set to be top choice with Rooney in the coming games.

Once again, Sven’s selection of players will come into criticism. His only other recognised striker is the untested Theo Walcott.

In the days to come we will know more how England will put out their team against tougher opponents.

It is easy to say that Sven should not have overly relied on the injured Owen and Rooney but it is too late to change anything there.

What he can still do is let players like Steven Gerrard and even Joe Cole to operate with freedom to attack, and start the game with Rooney and Crouch, instead of what is being reported now that it may be just Rooney in front.

The England team can learn a lesson or two from Argentina, whose players, especially the midfielders, tend to inter-change their positions throughout the match. The advantage of this is great – your opponent would not know who to mark when and this gives greater flexibility for the team to attack.

So even without Owen, all is not lost for England as they can still progress further.

As for Owen, well, he is adamant of returning to Germany to pick up his World Cup winner’s medal on July 9. I reckon he should stop kidding and just concentrate on recovering from his latest injury.

Another English multi-starrer fails to impress as Stuttgart beckons

(Guest blogger Raam Shanker came out wondering after the England-Sweden match on how the 38-year-old record in favour of the Swedes was still standing.)

Odeon is a place where they show movies, and this game of football between European giants England and Sweden was nothing less than a blockbuster for it had almost all the ingredients; comedy, drama, action, horror, suspense and tragedy. Of course not to forget, England’s Second-Half-Syndrome, as I like to call it, was back to haunt them (you can take it as the horror element) as they went 38 years and counting without a win against Sweden.

The tragic part in the game was, Rooney and Owen’s reunion being ended abruptly as Owen was stretchered off after twisting his right knee in the very first minute. There was enough and more drama with chances going amiss and personal confrontations involving Hargreaves, Ljunberg, Carragher, Lucic, Allback and Joe Cole albeit at different stages of the game, to name a few. Action, yes plenty of it at the goal mouth with four goals coming from Cole, Allback, Gerrard and Larsson in that order. Suspense was there right from the word go and the questions being asked from England’s point of view were:

• Germany or Ecuador?
• End of 38-year drought or a win at last against Sweden?

As ever, the answers were out there, and it will be Ecuador at Stuttgart and England could not end the drought! For a Swede, the only and all-important question was

• Second round or home?

Answer was second round, but they had to take it with a pinch of salt as they face the hosts Germany!

However the suspense mounted as England took an early lead, courtesy of Joe Cole’s humdinger, which curled, dipped and dipped till it went in! England led by this lone goal at half time and so it was time to relax in the second half, business as usual.

The complacency cost them dear, as Ferdinand went to sleep, resulting in a corner, which an unmarked Allback converted despite Ashley Cole’ heroics at the line. More drama later on as Rooney made way for Gerrard and the frustration was evident in Rooney’s expression and body language. Well as Rooney sat ruing Gerrard justified his entry with a magnificent header that gave England the lead again. The joy though was short lived as a comedy of errors resulted in Larsson equalizing for Sweden in the last minute of regular time. An eventless three minutes later, the referee decided to call it a day ending the game with a share of spoils for both the teams.

Here are a few things that caught my eye:

England piled on most of their attacks from the left with Joe and Ashley Cole creating the chances. I felt that Joe Cole was a little too desperate to prove a point. England also were not keen on attacking from the middle, as they went on beating around the pitch despite players being free in central midfield. Beckham was like a showpiece, taken out only for set pieces and put back into the showcase. Anyone watching football for the first time would have bet his last penny insisting that Crouch is a midfielder. Rooney hardly got a touch of the ball in the second half. Lampard’s out-of-the-box heroics are yet to yield results and it looks as if he is finding it difficult to get to grips with this ball’s behaviour.

I ponder again:

• Will we see the sensationally selected Theo Walcott in action?
• Owen – is it end of the road for him in this World Cup?
• If England fail to win this time, will they blame it on injuries?

(Raam Shanker is an England fan , hoping that they will win the World Cup this year)

Ole, Ole, Ole, Ola, Argentina

Argentina 0
Netherlands 0

You know what is scary about Argentina? It is the fact that their players look so comfortable with the ball. They can interchange positions and still continue to do a proper job. And most importantly, they have fun while playing. You don’t see them complaining, raving or ranting. Neither do they play dirty to win one over their opponents.

And one player who encompassed all of these qualities today was Lionel Messi. He started the game against Netherlands and soon he was running the show for the South Americans. In the 70 minutes he was on the pitch, he did all that was requested from him, and even more. The only thing he did not do was to score. He showed such skills that belied his age (18).

Now to the match itself. The problem was that both these teams have qualified to the second round. Both had played exceptionally well in their previous two games, more so Argentina than Netherlands. And today’s game was just to determine who will top the group. Argentina needed just a draw as a superior goal difference was enough to see them above the Dutch.

In such circumstances, both teams put out a team without some of their big names – Argentina rested four players, including Saviola, Crespo and Sorin, while Netherlands sat out five, including their most effective player so far Arjen Robben.

Thus the order of the day was not to lose for either of the team, but both of them showed positive attitudes in trying to score goals. I thought Netherlands missed their star players more than the Argentineans. Mind you, in the place of rested players the South Americans had other ‘lesser’ players like Messi and Tevez in the starting eleven. And later in game we even saw Pablo Aimar making his debut in the tournament.

The game ended in a nil-nil draw but both teams showed us that they have that something extra which they can bring about as and when needed.

In the second round, Argentina will play Mexico and I don’t foresee them having much trouble on Saturday, especially when their big guns come back into the team.

As for Netherlands, they will have a tougher draw, playing against Portugal on Sunday. With Robben on their side, the Dutch do look unbeatable but then again the Portuguese are also playing well, winning their top-of –group match against Mexico 2-1 earlier today without five of their regular players.


Coasting for a win

Ivory Coast 3
Serbia & Montenegro 2

The best game of the day has to be Ivory Coast against Serbia and Montenegro. Both these teams have only pride to play for but I wanted so much for Ivory Coast to win this game. They had come to the tournament as ranked outsiders and in the two games against Argentina and Netherlands, they played good attacking football even when they were down.

Led by example by their captain Didier Drogba, these Africans showed us what an entertaining and hard working side they are. Today they were without their captain who was suspended and had gone behind by two goals in the first 20 minutes. They again showed us what they are capable of by coming from behind to win this game by 3-2.

Sadly their participation in the World Cup has come to an end but I think this African team will go far in years to come.

Feast for the senses

(On a day when Argentina plays Holland in their last group match, guest blogger Sri Shanker Krishnan reminds us the skills and flair of this team)

What a great team performance! So much flair, imagination and technique. Yes, I am enthusing about Argentina’s performance against Serbia & Montenegro (S&M). It has been quite a while since I had witnessed such wonderful football.

Argentina were one of the favorites before the tournament started and they have definitely lived up to the billing! S&M may have lost one of their key defenders before the match, got one player sent off during the game but I think all these were of no consequence – believe me, these would have had no impact on the match and the score. As an all time classic match it had everything, from breathtaking movements, wonder goals to high tempo drama and action. Definitely more than your money’s worth! The game itself started at such a high tempo with the Argentinians showing their intent from the onset. They were relentlessly committed to attacking football.

But this did not mean they had neglected their defensive duties. On the contrary, the defenders and defensive midfielders worked tirelessly in preventing the opponents from building any attacks that it made it look as though the S&M players could not mount any offensive moves. The high up field defending tactics employed by the Argentines worked wonderfully as they kept pressing the S&M players in their own half most of the time. This is not an easy tactic to execute as it takes players of top caliber, technique, fitness and high discipline to make it happen.

Everyone needs to play his part to perfection where all the players must back track and defend when the ball is lost, starting from the strikers. This is not easy to do at such a high level of competition. Special praise must be given to the two midfielders, Cambiasso and Mascherano. Both these guys were practically all over the pitch. As Maradona had said, Mascherano is a ‘monster’ of a player.

And then there was the 2nd goal. 24 passes, constant movement, opponent doesn’t touch the ball, clever back heel and goal. Enough said! Moving the ball around so effortlessly at such pace, it was simply joyful watching this Argentine team. A sight for sore eyes, indeed! Apart from the above two players, the rest also deserve 10 out of 10 for their performance. The introduction of Tevez and Messi in the 2nd half was simply adding fuel to the fire! The two provided more flair and quality to the team. Imagine having Tevez, Messi and Aimar on your substitutes’ bench!

Personally I am a keen Brazil fan but I certainly appreciate good, beautiful football. It is rather unfortunate that the Brazilians performance has been a major let down. I hope after seeing their arch rivals and neighbours, they will be inspired to do the same if not better. Mark my word, this Argentine team will go far and Mascherano, Messi (pix) and Tevez are going to be the next international superstars. One if not more will probably end up at West London soon, with you know who! For now, I take my hats off to the Argentines for giving someone like me so much pleasure. It was certainly a feast for all the senses! There is hope yet for winning in style and not at any cost….Carry on, Argentina!

(As he mentioned, Sri Shanker Krishnan is a Brazil fan, hoping that his team will start playing as they should)

AND in case you missed THAT second goal, here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Germany tops group but don’t be fooled

(Guest blogger Roshan Jason regrets racing back from a trip overseas to watch the Ecuador v Germany game)

If you’re going on about how Germany is one the favorites to carry the cup, I do hope you DON’T put your money where your mouth is. This is simply because the Germans – although a decent side – were made to look like Cup contenders by an Ecuadorian side which didn’t field half of their regulars and their top-poachers. They also rested their key central defender.

If you watched the Ecuadorians against Poland (2-0) and Costa Rica (3-0) – both of which I did – you’d know that the South Americans were so much better in those games and were more effective because they were actually playing football.

Against Germany they didn’t come to the pitch to win, draw (as that’s all they would have needed to remain top) or even play. Come on, let’s be real… if the Ecuadorians really wanted to top the group, they would have packed the defense and midfield and they would have been a lot more robust in their challenges to ensure they kept the Germans at bay.

Any right-minded footballer will agree that the game ended before it began. The results were more than expected. The Ecuadorians were saving themselves.

Perhaps they didn’t want to disappoint the German Chancellor – who was present at the game – by beating or holding the Deutchlanders.

For someone like me, who likes watching a good football match - no matter who’s playing - that Ecuadorian display was very disappointing and frustrating. I was not entertained. They have just done a disservice to themselves and blown all the credits they received after the first two performances.

Back to the German team: they’re good but they have flaws. Klose scores but he doesn’t create his own goals. Podolski’s not in the club form of a year or two ago. And don’t forget the defense leaked two against Costa Rica and they were lucky not to concede against Poland.

When they play Sweden in the next round, Ballack and his team will be given the worse time they’ve had so far in the World Cup. I’m quite sure we’ll see the true Germany then. A good attacking team, with a solid midfield but a team that will be undone by a dodgy defense and a couple of strikers, who have the goods but don’t deliver all the time.

(Roshan Jason hopes the second round brings about more beautiful game from the teams.)

38 years and still waiting

England 2 – Joe Cole (34) Steven Gerrard (85)
Sweden 2 – Marcus Allback (51) Henrik Larsson (90)

It has been 38 years since England last beat Sweden in any competition. Today they came mighty close but a surprisingly leaky defence meant a 2-2 draw and the wait to beat Sweden continues.

Apparently England has been training all week long to play a passing game to suit Michael Owen. With Wayne Rooney starting in front with him, the idea was to play through the younger striker for the veteran to start scoring goals. Thus in this new scheme of things Peter Crouch was dispensed.

However all the well laid plans came to a naught in the opening 60 seconds when Owen came crushing down holding his knee in agony. In came Crouch and in all credit, England stuck to their training ground routine in playing short, neat passes.

I saw England at its best in this tournament in the first 45 minutes and to stamp their new mentality, they went in front through a beautiful goal from Joe Cole in the 34th minute. They ended the half time in a high.

I watched this game in a cinema with some mates and about 15 England fans. Everyone in the cinema thought England will come back in the second half to play more decent football and finally beat that unwanted record.

But the team that came out firing in all cylinders was Sweden. They pushed England defenders into making silly errors. Their dead balls caused major problems for the England back four. And they finally drew level through a neat flick by Marcus Allback in the 51st minute.

Then a sustained pressure by the Swedes saw England keeper Paul Robinson beaten three times, but he was saved by the cross bar twice and once by Steven Gerrard, who had come in as a substitute, on the line.

Gerrard then went on to put England in front again in the 85th minute. Again, the England players thought they had wrapped up the game after all the pressure from Sweden.

However the last word went to the Swedes who again scored in the midst of a static England defence in the 90th minute.

At the end it was a good game – with four goals - for the neutrals. England top their group and now will meet Ecuador in the second round stage on Sunday while Sweden will play Germany on Saturday.

England will be happy to play the South Americans but they better not underestimate them. Ecuador lost to Germany 3-0 earlier today but they played without five regular players.

There are still some tweaks to be made for England before that Sunday meeting. Today, most of their play came in the left through Ashley Cole and Joe Cole. David Beckham on the right was a forlorn figure. I think they will have to mix and match their passing through both flanks.

But more importantly, the defenders will have to stay awake throughout the game.

• Memorable moment in the match: A very petulant Rooney raving and ranting after he was substituted.
• Passing of the game: Halfway in the second half, England players tried to play possessive football. They kept a string of some 20-odd passes, reminding everyone that they too can do what the Argentinians did. However unlike the Argentinians, England lost possession in their 21st pass and nearly resulted in Sweden scoring.

In the other meaningless Group B match, Paraguay defeated Trinidad and Tobago 2-0.

German machine keeps rolling

Germany 3 – Miroslav Klose (4), (44), Lukas Podolski (57)
Ecuador 0

I am impressed with Germany. They are playing well. Their strikers are on fire. And their under-fire defence is showing some stability.

Today they ended their group matches with an easy 3-0 win over Ecuador. And along the way, Miroslav Klose becomes the leading goal-scorer with four goals.

Their performances in the three games so far have heightened the hopes of their fans who want their team to win the trophy in their home soil.

In the other Group A match today, Poland beat Costa Rica 2-1, but this result means nothing to either of the team.

Different ways of supporting your team

There is an article posted in the official World Cup website which gives us a list of how football fans support their team. It includes some guy dressed up as a ball to sweet girls blowing kisses.

The article says:

"A full-scale multi-coloured ‘battle’ is being waged in the streets and the stands, with fans from around the world showing no shortage of inventiveness and flair when it comes to supporting their heroes."

Have a read of the article here.

Barber and the World Cup ball

This is the new match ball developed by Adidas to be used at the World Cup. It is called ‘Teamgeist’ and has just 14 panels, with fewer seams. This makes the surface smoother than conventional footballs which have a 26 or 32 panel hexagon-based pattern.



And this is a barber in India who is misrepresenting his customers: