Wednesday, June 16, 2010

1ST ROUND OF MATCHES ENTERS FINAL DAY

As the first round of matches of the FIFA WORLD CUP,SOUTH AFRICA 2010 enters the final day,I review the games so far and try to evaluate if the teams have played up to the anticipated levels.
SOUTH AFRICA 1-1 MEXICO
A typical first game of the competition. Mexico started well and pushed forward through Dos Santos and slowly the host nation got into the game and fought hard to earn a draw after a second half which went their way.Two players worth mentioning in that game are Dos Santos and Tshabalaba.
URUGUAY 0-0 FRANCE
One game France showed us they do not have much to offer in this WC.Uruguay's Forlan gave a solid performance but did not get all the needed support for Suarez,we must say we expected much more from the Ajax man.Evra did all in his capacity to drive his team forward on a day Arsenal's Diaby was present in the midfield but sadly with an almost absent Gourcuff except for those far wide shots.Maybe someone lied to him that the Jabulani would go right into the net when you shoot from any distance and angle even without precision.
KOREA REPUBLIC 2-0 GREECE
What J.S Park put up in this game is the kind of performance you expect from the big players in a team.He drove the team forward and two good goals assured them maximum points in a game where Greece struggled throughout to find their balance.
ARGENTINA 1-0 NIGERIA
This has grown into a rivalry since 2005 when these two teams mate at the Under-21 level in holland,but Argentina have remained at the advantaged end of the rivalry.Even in 2002 WC,Argentina only managed a 1-0 win against Nigeria and if you recall,Ike Shoronmu put up a goal keeping clinic that day.Lionel Messi was allowed his runs forward but denied registering himself on the score sheet by the magnificent form of Enyeama;great for indeed.While the Nigerian side kept their cool with only a few attacks in that game,Gabriel Heinze's goal seperated both sides.
ENGLAND 1-1 USA
Soccer fans all over the world stayed glued to their TV sets to see their favorite premiership stars bring glamour to the WC. But yet again,the English team did not play to their full potential and this made the tactically disciplined USA side pull a draw,no thanks to a Robert Green error.This was a game where the midfield battle was stiff and Glen Johnson the only full back allowed to stretch forward many times.England sincerely missed Barry and the surprise inclusion of Miner in the starting 11 did not help matters.
ALGERIA 0-1 SLOVENIA
An uneventful match which saw another goal keeping error enough to secure vital 3 points for Slovenia.Algeria had a good game with Ziani doing good work from central to mostly attacking midfield.


I will be back to discuss other matches at the end of today's games.

We expect so much from a team that I say will give a solid performance.Brazil had a good start yesterday,although most people expected more than that from them.Worthy of note was Maicon's super strike. And today,Spain enters into the world cup..Indeed,the world cup has begun.

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