World Cup Day 10- 20/06/10

So, we have had another interesting and contraversial day at the World Cup. But today was also a day of as many stories off the pitch as on it. There seems to be crisis in the England and France squads, with Wayne Rooney apologising for his outburst after England's dismal 0-0 draw with Algeria and Fabio Capello stating that he will quit if England don't make it past the group stages. More was happening in the French camp though. It had been known for a while that there had been unrest among the squad, which escallated when Nicolas Anelka was expelled from the squad after a spat with Raymond Domenech. This lead to a revolt from the French players, who refused to train. This is disasterous, not only for the French team, who are now almost certain not to qualify from group A, but for French football in general, particularly after the resignation of FFF managing director Jean-Louis Valentin. Serves them right for cheating their way to the world cup. This would never have happened with Ireland, I mean they never have dressing room bust ups or players getting kicked out of the squad.

On the field, the action was almost as exciting. Paraguay greatly increased their chances of making it through to the last 16 with a fine 2-0 win over Slovakia. They opened the scoring after 27 minutes through a great finish by Vera, before securing victory 4 minutes from time thanks to a goal from Riveros, who slammed it home into the corner brilliently from 18 yards. Elsewhere in the group, New Zealand pulled off one of the greatest results in their history with a 1-1 draw with holders Italy. The Kiwis took the lead after just 6 minutes when Italy again failed to deal with a ball into the box and Shane Smeltz tapped home. There was a hint of offside, the only question being whether or not Winston Reid flicked the ball on. From what I can see, there was no flick on, but others believe an Italy defender may have got the last touch; in both cases Smeltz is onside. From then on, it was all Italy, and they were rewarded after almost half an hour when Tommy Smith navely pulled down Daniele De Rossi in the box and Vincenzo Iaquinta slotted home the resultant penalty. Italy continued to press, but New Zealand defended magnificently, with captain Ryan Nelson giving a man of the match performance, Tommy Smith recovering from conceding a penalty to play brilliently and goalkeeper Mark Paston pulled off a string of great saves. The days results mean Paraguay are in poll position for qualification on 4 points, with New Zealand and Italy both on two and Slovakia on 1. Paraguay now just need a point against New Zealand to secure qualification, though a defeat may still mean qualification if Slovakia and Italy draw. As for the World champions, a draw for them would put them through if Paraguay beat New Zealand. However, a draw in that match could potentially see New Zealand go through on goals scored.

The other game of the day was in group G between Brazil and the Ivory Coast. The game was much more exciting than the previous Ivory Coast match against Portugal, and Brazil started to show the sort of form which won them the 2002 World Cup. They took the lead after 25 minutes when Luis Fabiano smashed home a superb through ball from Kaka. His second goal was even better when, 7 minutes after half time, he scored the goal of the world cup so far. He controlled the ball with 3 Ivory Coast players around him, flicked the ball over one, then over the next, before chesting it down and volleying it into the corner. Brazil added a third 20 minutes from time, with Elano slotting home Kaka's cutback, before Didier Drogba headed a consolation from Yaya Toure's cross. The drama wasn't over yet though, as a disgraceful display of cheating from Abdelkader Keita earned Kaka a second yellow card. The Ivorian accidentally ran into Kaka, whose arm hit his chest, yet he went down clutching his face. It means Kaka will miss Brazils final group game against Portugal, but it won't make much difference as this win means they will definitely progress to the last 16.

My Predictions for World Cup Day 11- 21/06/10

Portugal 1-0 North Korea
It was a poor display from Portugal against Ivory Coast, but North Korea probably won't provide such a stern test. It still won't be an easy win though, as the Asian side really pushed Brazil, but I can see the Portugese just edging this one.

Chile 0-2 Switzerland
The Swiss will be brimming with confidence following their 1-0 win over Spain, while Chile will still be relishing their 1-0 victory over Honduras. Switzerland were very much defensive against the Spaniards, which is understandable given their pedigree, but Chile really don't have the same kind of quality to pose many problems to Switzerland, who should win this comfortably.

Spain 3-0 Honduras
Spain are reeling from their shock 1-0 defeat against Switzerland, but Honduras don't have anything like the kind of quality that the Swiss do. Whether Honduras go for the same open style of play they did against Chile or go more defensive against a much better team remains to be seen, but whichever happens, Spain should have the quality to dispose of them comfortably.