2010 World Cup Second Matches

The second matches are over. More random thoughts and observations:

It is sad indeed to watch the collective dream of a nation disintegrate. Uruguay soundly and decisively defeated South Africa, which will be without the services of their starting keeper Khune when they face France. Without a major miracle, South Africa will become the first host nation to bounce out after the first round. Even if the South Africans do not advance, I hope they play well against France and continue to revel as good hosts. Uruguay adjusted well to both of their opponents but it remains to be seen how they will fare against a top level team firing on all cylinders.

While it took an impulsive and foolish Nigerian red card to bring out the offense in Greece, it was encouraging to see them play attacking soccer. Not the most potent attack but 2 goals in one game is quite a breakthrough for a team that hadn't scored in 4 straight World Cup games. It might seem odd to praise a goalie whose team has allowed three goals but Enyeama has looked like the best keeper so far -- despite his mistake on Greece's second goal. Nigeria remains in the hunt even with no points from two matches.

Argentina seems determined to outscore their opponents. It turns out that on another day Higuain did get a hat trick and the early lead for the golden boot. However, Messi and Tevez were the ones causing all the havoc. There are doubts about Argentina's defense and midfield (why would Maradona leave out Zanetti and Cambiaso?) but with 5 top class strikers, they look like they could outscore anyone. South Korea continues to play positively and look lively but they are perhaps a bit too quick to attack. As much as I like their play, I confess that what I really admire is how seemingly none of their players complain to the ref.

If the French team was in a bad mood after the first match, what kind of mood are they in now? Easily one of the most talented teams in the tournament yet also one of the least inspired. Players blaming the manager and manager blaming the players. It's hard to know which is the chicken and which is the egg but consider the managers' decisions regarding substitutes. Hernandez scores, Barrera secures the penalty and Blanco takes a perfect penalty. What did Gignac and Valbuena manage to do during this match? And why leave Cisse and Henry on the bench? Whoever lines up for France against South Africa, I hope they at least play with some passion.

So far the officiating had been quite good. And then we had the Germany v. Serbia match. While the ref (Alberto Undiano) may have been applying the letter of the law (for the most part though he wasn't entirely consistent doing so), it's never a good outcome when the ref has tremendous influence over the outcome of the match. Sending Klose off changed the game but Germany had its penalty chance. Before the penalty, I thought it was a bad idea to put Podolski on the spot. He was off the entire match. Klose was looking to tie Pele for 4th place on the World Cup all-time scoring list and score his 50th international goal. With the red card suspension, if Germany doesn't make it into the round of 16 (seemingly unthinkable but possible), the Serbia match could be his last World Cup match. That would be a sad way for such a prolific goal scorer to end his World Cup career.

Perhaps the one person happy about the refereeing during the Slovenia v. US match was Alberto Undiano (well, perhaps the Slovenians were happy as well). Everyone stopped talking about Undiano's refereeing once the US match was over. The US doesn't get any style points and they need to stop allowing early goals, but they certainly showed a lot of spirit in coming back from a 2-0 deficit. To come back like that and then score a goal in the 85th minute, only to have it inexplicably taken away is unfortunate indeed. This type of egregious error is part of soccer and FIFA seem to be perfectly content to turn a blind eye to such incidents. It certainly generates buzz but it does leave some teams out in the cold. At least the US can make it through to the next round if they beat Algeria. At least the US is in the World Cup. Ask the Irish about officiating controversies.

The English team seems determined to compete with the French for most underwhelming play. ESPN commentator Alexi Lalas questioned whether this team is really any good ("above average") but this same team won 9 of 10 qualification matches with one of them being a dismantling of Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb. Something is definitely wrong and no one seems to really care. They were resoundingly booed by their fans and deservedly so. Algeria certainly showed enough of a display that the US should take nothing for granted in the final match for both teams. Will the real Wayne Rooney please stand up?

It looks like the Netherlands are putting aside their egos and playing well as a team though they haven't exactly overwhelmed two opponents with far less talent. Nonetheless, six points from two games and passage through to the next round. And they have yet to put Arjen Robben on the pitch. Japan's keeper might have done better with Sneijder's shot though that looked like a world class strike. I think it might have even bent at the last second. I guess Sneijder won't complain about the ball. Japan still looked competitive even when a goal down and I wouldn't rule out their chances against Denmark.

Neither Serbia nor Ghana pressed their advantage against teams with 10 men. Ghana's choice to lay back seemed particularly odd given how easily the Australians had been giving up goals (not only against Germany but they also gave up 3 to the US in a pre-World Cup friendly). In a group where Germany has a +3 goal differential after two matches, you have to wonder if Serbia and Ghana will regret not pressing their advantage. Harry Kewell was off the post when he handled the ball. No guarantee the outcome would have been different but there's a good reason why anyone on the back line is told to hug the post. Australia are now without Cahill or Kewell for their final match.

Denmark and Cameroon decided to leave their defenses at home for the most free-flowing match so far. Soccer is cruel to teams that don't finish and kind to those that do. Spain learned that against Switzerland but they have another day to change their fortunes. Cameroon's near misses end up making them the first team to crash out of the World Cup (and makes the Netherlands the first team to move through). Even though Algeria defeated West Germany in 1982, Cameroon's remarkable run in 1990 really marked the arrival of African soccer on the world stage. It's been 20 years and it's time for Cameroon to write a new chapter in their history. Maybe in 2014.

South American teams have yet to be defeated and Paraguay did more than its part to ensure that this streak remains in tact. Clinical finishing on both goals ensured a comfortable margin of victory. Paraguay feels like the tournament dark horse at this point. ESPN commentators kept talking about questionable defense but Slovakia didn't even have a shot on goal until the 92nd minute. I bet Slovakia really regrets dropping two points against New Zealand in the last minutes of their match especially given the New Zealand result against Italy.

It might seem strange to identify a 1-1 draw as one of the greatest -- perhaps the greatest -- upsets in World Cup history. I had speculated that New Zealand's goal against Slovakia marked their arrival on the world stage. Not so. Ranked 78th according to FIFA, New Zealand ranked 1st in courage and teamwork in their match against Italy. We saw both the ugly and elegant side of Italy. Down 1-0, they resorted to dives and feigned injury. Yet in the second half, with the exception of one incident, they turned to their skilled strike force and played well. Plenty of chances some of which were denied by great goalkeeping from Paston. And in the 81st minute, 18 year old Chris Wood -- who I'll be very interested to see play in the Premier League -- beat 36 year old legendary Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro and missed scoring by a foot. If he had scored, that would have been quite a striking juxtaposition of exuberant youth versus seasoned professional experience. At the end of the match, the Italians realized that they were on the short end of soccer history. I respect their reaction. I am sure they did not imagine trading jerseys with New Zealand players, some of whom are still looking for a professional club. Seeing Cannavaro walk off the pitch with an all-white jersey over his shoulder, right next to the captain's arm band, simply point to the crowd and clap was quite a sight. He must have known that this was one of those magical World Cup moments.

Didier Drogba started for Ivory Coast a mere 15 days after breaking his arm. But he didn't quite seem himself. Or his teammates didn't find him nearly enough. The two times they crossed the ball to him, he scored once and nearly scored on the second occasion. Brazil showed flashes of brilliance once again and Kaka seemed to hitting his stride more easily during this match. Until he was sent off for a second yellow card through a dubious incident. I'm not sure how the ref missed not one but two handballs by Fabiano on his second goal. Ivory Coast resorted to some fairly ugly tackling with studs up on several occasions. Elano looked like he suffered an injury as he limped into the locker room. So much was expected of Ivory Coast which made their rough tactics even harder to watch. South American teams have done very well and African teams have done very poorly.

When I started watching the Portugal v. N. Korea match, I noted the obvious change in approach and tactics by the N. Koreans. I also recall thinking that's a curious choice. They had a great showing against Brazil but they should have shown more respect for Portugal despite Portugal's recent goal scoring challenges. No challenges for goals on this day. I can recall playing in a soccer match when I was a kid where we lost 5-0. It's hard to describe what it feels like to be part of a complete meltdown when the losing side simply falls apart and just stares at the clock begging for the match to end. ESPN commentators mentioned that N. Korea practices at a public gym. What a sad state of affairs. Cristiano Ronaldo's goal was almost comical but you could see the relief on his face. He set up his teammates exceptionally well and they looked genuinely pleased when he scored. The results of that kind of camaraderie and teamwork were impressive indeed but you have to wonder why they don't do this against other teams. And why they felt the need to pile it on an obviously overwhelmed N. Korea.

Chile plays attractive soccer and obviously features several players with great creativity and skill. However, after playing Honduras and 10 man Switzerland, they only have 2 goals. Their goal differential is a respectable +2 but in this group it is entirely possible that goal differential will determine which team goes through to the knockout phase. Chile dominated both of their matches for large stretches of time so they might deeply regret not scoring more goals. And speaking of regret. Switzerland had a golden opportunity to tie the game and strengthen their position in the group. They face Honduras for their last match so they are probably hoping for a victory in their last match but they could easily secured a point against Chile.

I admire the way Honduras played against Spain. But their approach resulted in a predictably dominant performance by Spain. David Villa's two goals were impressive efforts but his penalty miss was inexcusable. Spain sits within this group where goal differential might become critical so they might really miss that penalty goal. At least Villa took shots. Spain must have had over 50 touches in Honduras' penalty area but they kept looking for the perfect pass or perfect goal. As an Arsenal fan, I know all too well the wonderful spectacle of such great soccer without results, which are especially important at the World Cup given the little margin for error. I'm sure Spain assumes that they will beat Chile but they also probably assumed they would beat Switzerland. Honduras has one more chance to win, tie or even simply score a goal. They have good players so I hope they put on a good show for their final match.