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England RISE one place in FIFA rankings

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FIFA LogoFIFA have released their latest world rankings and it’s a bit of a surprise that England, despite their abysmal showing in the World Cup, have risen one place to seventh.

Yesterday FIFA announced the rankings of the 32 teams that competed in South Africa and England were placed 12th so quite how they’ve managed to climb UP the overall rankings is a mystery – but then, the FIFA way of ranking teams has always been a mystery to me, even when I’ve read up on how they do it!

Less surprising is Spain’s new ranking as the best team in the world – they are World and European champions, that’s a no-brainer! Holland have risen to second place, pushing Brazil down to third in the table, their lowest ranking in quite some time.

New Zealand have deservedly risen the most places – 24 places to 54th – after remaining the only unbeaten side in the World Cup. Uruguay rose 10 places to sixth following their fantastic campaign, while deposed world champions Italy dropped six places and out of the top 10 to 11th.

Here’s the revised top ten:

  1. Spain
  2. Holland
  3. Brazil
  4. Germany
  5. Argentina
  6. Uruguay
  7. England
  8. Portugal
  9. Egypt
  10. Chile

World Cup Highlights: The Quarter Finals

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Suarez saves UruguayWhat was being dubbed the South American World Cup due to the success of sides from that area was quickly rewritten the European World Cup by the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. At the same time, my predictions for the quarter finals were shown up to be so much rubbish.

Four South American sides – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – reached the quarter finals but only one remains. Uruguay overcame Ghana in dramatic circumstances, but Argentina were blitzed by the Germans, Brazil were outplayed by the Dutch and Paraguay were undone, like so many before them, by David Villa and Spain.

I must start with the Paraguay versus Ghana game and, of course, Luis Suarez. So much has been written and said about Suarez’s hand ball to deny Ghana what would have been a winning goal in the dying seconds, did he cheat, is he a hero, should he receive further punishment than the one game he’ll get for the red card?

With the game at 1-1 with only seconds left in extra time, Ghana launched one last attack. Stephen Appiah’s effort was blocked legally by Suarez’s thigh, but the follow up effort from Adiyiah he was forced to keep out with his hands. The referee had no choice but to blow for the penalty and issue a red card.

So did Suarez cheat? Yes, clearly he did. He denied Ghana the winning goal with his hands.

But he was punished with the red card and Ghana were given the chance to win the game again with a penalty. That they missed, Gyan putting it just over the bar, is not Suarez’s fault. You can understand Ghana’s reaction, frustration must be high after they went on to lose the penalty shoot out, but to aim that frustration and anger at Suarez is wrong.

We all would have done the same. Whether through choice or simple reaction, we all would have done the same. Quite simply, he took one for the team and it worked.

Is he a hero? To any Uruguayan, yes he is. To some neutrals (including me) yes he is. To Ghana, of course not. I remember Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bringing down Newcastle’s Rob Lee as he swept past him, clean through on goal. Had he gone on and scored, that season’s title battle would perhaps have gone Newcastle’s way. Solskjaer was rightly sent off, Newcastle fans were up in arms but to Manchester United fans he is remembered as much for that as he is his Champions League winning goal in 1999. Sometimes, this is how heroes are made.

That there have been calls for Fifa to extend his ban – and they apparently did consider it before ruling it out – is ridiculous. The circumstances and timing of his offence have made this a much bigger story than it would have been had he committed his crime halfway through the first half, for example.

You cannot alter punishments for circumstance in football. Suarez and Uruguay received theirs during the game, there is no law, precedent or reason to take it further.

We all feel sorry for Ghana, bidding to be the first African nation to make it to the semi finals, indeed, they will have been many people’s preferred winner. But they aren’t and that is not down to Suarez. Uruguay won the penalty shoot out 4-2. Let’s move on.

Germany’s young side continue to impress and no-one would have been expecting the lesson they gave Maradona’s Argentina. For the third time in this World Cup they scored four goals as Argentina’s defensive weaknesses were ruthlessly exploited. What is more surprising is their lack of potency going forward. Lionel Messi was a virtual bystander as Germany’s defence coped just fine with him, Higuain and Tevez.

For me, this was the shock of the semi finals – not that Germany won, but that they won so easily. Inspired by Schweinsteiger, they tore through Argentina, scoring Thomas Muller after just three minutes. Miroslav Klose got two as he moved closer to winning the Golden Boot and within one goal of Ronaldo’s all time World Cup finals record of 15 goals. Full back Friedrich bagged the other.

For a period in the second half it looked like Argentina might find a way back into the game as they found possession easier to come by, but Klose scored on 67 minutes to end their hopes. Germany reasserted control and Maradona was left clutching in vain at his rosemary beads as his World Cup dreams were torn apart.

One blow for Germany is that Thomas Muller picked up a second yellow card of the tournament and will miss the semis. Muller has been outstanding and they will miss him.

Brazil’s exit came at the hands of the Dutch as their famously dodgy defence, seemingly repaired by Dunga, returned at just the wrong time.

Brazil actually took the lead in the 10th minute with a goal that England fans would recognise more than Brazil’s would. Julio Cesar punted the ball forward, Melo passed it on, splitting the Dutch central defence and Robinho ran to slot coolly past Stekelenburg. Route One all the way!

Despite Holland’s attempts to get back into the game, Dunga’s new Brazil stood firm, restricting the Dutch to just a few efforts. They could have had more goals themselves were it not for the Dutch keeper, saving well from Kaka and Maicon. Quite what happened in the Brazilian dressing room at half time, I don’t know, but that defensive solidity all but vanished in the second half.

A nightmare mix up between Cesar and Melo following a Sneijder free kick saw them collide with the ball bouncing off the defender’s head and into the back of the net. The Dutch were back in it and their new found unity paid dividends as they one again punctured the Brazilian defence.

Robben’s corner was flicked on by Kuyt for the highly impressive Sneijder to head home what turned out to be the winning goal. Holland have always been undermined by internal rifts but at this World Cup they have played as a team with a common goal – winning it. On this evidence, they just might.

Pre-tournament favourites Spain continue to progress despite playing well below the standards they set in winning the European Championships in 2008. They struggled to open up a stubborn and well drilled Portuguese defence in the previous round and in Paraguay they faced the same problem.

However, Paraguay, who made six changes from the team that beat Japan on penalties, were determined to offer more going forward than the Portuguese and the plan almost worked.

The game itself was not the thriller the other three ties were, but did include moments of high drama. On 57 minutes Paraguay were awarded a penalty when Pique brought down Cardozo. Iker Casillas in the Spanish goal was up to the task, however, saving his ideally heighted penalty.

Less than three minutes later Spain were awarded a penalty when Villa was fouled in the Paraguayan box. Xabi Alonso scored easily but the referee ordered a retake as Spanish players encroached into the area. Villar saved Alonso’s second effort and the match remained 0-0 with 30 minutes left.

Spain’s patience is becoming legendary. They just don’t panic, they continue to play their own unique game of passing and moving. So far it has been well rewarded and they must thank their talisman David Villa. He was on hand again to rescue his side and end Paraguay’s hopes.

The goal itself was dramatic, as his effort hit one post, rolled along the goal line, hit the other before ending up in the back of the net.

Should Spain win this World Cup they should honour Villa somehow – without him, they’d have been out a long time ago. But they continue to improve by small steps with each match. Torres, incidentally, doesn’t…

The semi finals look like this:

  • Argentina v Germany
  • Uruguay v Spain

I will, of course, post a preview with predictions tomorrow, but if you’re a betting man, I’d go with the opposite! We could have a Germany Holland final, however – that would be interesting…

PREVIEW: World Cup Quarter Finals

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The serious business, assuming it has all been a right laugh up to now, starts today with the World Cup quarter finals. The best eight teams in the world are on show over the next two days and there’s no doubt that those involved deserve to be there.

World Cup Quarter Finals

Gratuitous

Holland v Brazil

History tells us this should be a fantastic match to watch, pitting Dutch Total Football against Brazilian flair and explosiveness. This tournament tells a different story, however. Both sides are here to win and they have gone about it in a manner which doesn’t fit their reputations.

Defensively sound, prepared to fight, happy to sacrifice flair for victory if they need to. That’s not to say this will be a backs to the wall, all hands on deck dogfight though. They both boast skilful players capable of brilliance and they have both shown they can mix their new-found pragmatic approach with their more recognisable traditions of attacking football when they so choose.

In Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie the Dutch have both the vision and the firepower to destroy any side. The Brazilians, with Luis Fabiano, Kaka and Robinho have much the same. That both have built a solid defensive foundation behind them is to their credit, rather than a slur on their respective histories.

Head to Head: In World Cups it’s one win a piece and a draw, which Brazil won on penalties in 1998. Overall it’s 3-2 to Brazil and four draws over nine games.

Prediction: Brazil’s experience to see them squeeze past the Dutch into the semi finals by one goal. 2-1.

Uruguay v Ghana

The South American influence on this World Cup cannot be ignored and Uruguay themselves should not be dismissed either, especially after earning one of the easiest routes to at least the semi finals. Disappointingly, Ghana are the only African side left in the competition despite hope that this would be an African World Cup.

The Black Stars have made it through with grit and determination, a sharp contrast to Uruguay’s skilful, quick-passing, goal scoring exploits. I’ve been mightily impressed with them, especially Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez. Ghana have Asamoah Gyan, of course, who, with three goals to his name already, represents the focal point of all the Africans do and you simply cannot discount the threat he brings.

That said, the former two time world champions from Uruguay should be just that bit more wily than their opponents who looking to make their mark on the world stage by becoming the first African nation to make the last eight of a World Cup.

Head to Head: There is none. They’ve never met before at senior level!

Prediction: I just get the feeling the Black Stars will have trouble getting hold of the ball in this one and Uruguay’s strike force will continue to be potent. 2-0.

Argentina v Germany

Insanity versus Pragmatism. Irresistible Force versus Immovable Object. Whatever you want to call this one, it’s an intriguing match up as Maradona’s talent packed squad meets Loew’s well drilled unit. It is unfair to suggest that Germany don’t have talent themselves or that Argentina don’t know how to defend, however.

Lucas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Mesut Ozil – all more than capable of providing the Germans with a victory here. Walter Samuel, Gabriel Heinze, Javier Mascherano – all more than capable of stopping them.

Nevertheless, the focus will be on Lionel Messi, should he play, and what magic he can conjure up for himself and his team mates.

This really should be the tie of the round and you’d be a fool to miss it.

Head to Head: At the World Cup Germany lead (and the English will love the irony…) 5-1, Argentina’s only victory the 1986 World Cup final. A good one to win though, eh.

Prediction: Tight. Probably tight. But cracking to watch. 1-0 to Argentina.

Paraguay v Spain

The fourth team from South America to make the quarter finals is, I’m sorry to say, the weakest and in Spain they have one of the three strongest teams in the competition to try and overcome.

That said, Spain have yet to hit the heights they did in the 2008 European Championships, have yet to quite click. They are still one of the best around and have recovered well from that stalemate with Switzerland at the start of the competition.

Paraguay, on the other hand, are playing at their peak, defensively sound and doing just enough so far, including a creditable draw with Italy. A 0-0 draw against Japan – in which Japan were the major attackers – ended in victory via penalties so they have mental strength to go with their defensive capabilities.

But let’s face it, they won’t be able to live with Spain and don’t have the firepower to trouble them. Torres may be way off the pace for Spain but Villa is on fire, more than ably supported by the Xavi / Iniesta combination.

Head to Head: Spain lead 1-0 in both World Cup competition and overall, the only other two games ended 0-0. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen…

Prediction: Spain are slowly but surely getting their act together, but showed against Portugal that they can be blunted, something Paraguay do so well. 2-0 Spain, too much firepower.

World Cup Highlights: Day Eighteen

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Arjen RobbenThe functional Dutch brushed past Slovakia, surviving a late period of pressure to set up a quarter final match against Brazil, who themselves made it through, pushed all the way by a talented Chile side that just lacked a cutting edge.

Holland were uninspiring on the whole, but in Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder they have players capable of doing the unexpected and it was those two that got the goals.

Robben, back from injury for his first World Cup start, scored after 18 minutes, taking Sneijder’s pass directly at the Slovakian defence before firing home from 25 yards. While you might think that would have sparked a wave of Total Football from the Dutch you’d be wrong. They instead seemed to withdraw into themselves, restricting Slovakia’s goal threat to next to nothing but offering little themselves going forward.

One interesting stat I picked up from @OptaJoe on Twitter was that Robben has scored with his first shot on target 100% of the time at this year’s World Cup. Brazil had better take note.

It took right up to the 84th minute for Holland to grab their second through the irrepressible Sneijder. Having missed a fairly easy chance earlier in the game, he made up for it by tapping home a Dirk Kuyt pull back into an empty net.

Slovakia never gave up and a late period of pressure saw Dutch keeper Stekelenburg save well from Miroslav Stoch before he brought down Slovakia’s star player of this tournament, Vittek, conceding a penalty in the 94th minute. Vittek duly converted and the referee immediately blew the whistle to make a it a bitter sweet moment for the Slovaks.

The Brazil v Chile match was a far more entertaining affair. The 3-0 scoreline doesn’t flatter the Brazilians but it does a disservice to the Chileans who brought out the best in their opponents.

Chile were missing Estrada, Ponce and Medel through suspension and perhaps with them this would have been a closer affair in terms of scoreline, though I doubt it would have affected the result. Brazil are really coming into their own as the competition progresses and this was underlined around the half hour mark when they scored two in quick succession.

Juan grabbed the first, heading a bullet past Bravo from a Maicon corner, before on fire Luis Fabiano passed the ball into an empty net after the best bit of passing in the game exposed the Chilean defence ruthlessly.

Robinho cut in from the wing, squared the ball to Kaka who dissected the defence with a perfect through ball for Fabiano to collect, round Bravo and tap home.

Robinho himself rounded off the scoring, curling a lovely shot round the keeper after a run from deep in midfield by Ramires had Chile on the back foot.

Brazil really are starting to look ominous and that flair that many believe has been missing under Dunga is beginning to emerge. Coupled with Brazil’s new found defensive resilience it’s a potent combination.

The quarter final between Holland and the Brazilians looks fantastic on paper – but how often have we been disappointed in this World Cup so far? I give you Brazil v Portugal as a case in point. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

World Cup Highlights: Day Fifteen

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Perhaps the most anticipated game of the group stages when the World Cup fixtures were announced was Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal versus Kaka’s Brazil.

Unfortunately for us fans, both teams were virtually guaranteed of making the last 16 and they played like it. What could have been the match of the tournament turned out to be the worst one so far.

Portugal played for the point they needed to qualify, happy to give the majority of the possession to Brazil. The Brazilians were unable to fashion many chances of note, the best falling to Nilmar which was superbly saved by Eduardo.

It could all have been different had Brazil’s Juan been sent off for a blatant handball that prevented Ronaldo racing through on goal. There was no doubt it should have been a red card, yet the referee inexplicably brandished a yellow.

Portugal are a hard team to beat and haven’t conceded a goal thus far. They will face neighbours Spain in the next round and won’t be able to just sit back. Let’s hope that game is a better spectacle than this.

Brazil take on Chile in what could also be a classic as they finished second in Group H following a 2-1 defeat to Spain last night. The European champions are still not at their best but in David Villa, fit again Andres Iniesta and the unflappable Xabier Alonso they had enough quality to overcome their South American opponents.

Two goals in the first half from Villa and Iniesta. The first came from a moment of madness from Chilean keeper Bravo. He raced from his goal to clear an over hit ball from Pique but only succeeded in hitting it to Villa, who guided the ball back over the stranded keeper and into the net from 40 yards.

Spain’s passing talents were on display as Iniesta shared one-twos with Torres and Villa before the sliding the ball past Bravo for Spain’s second goal.

And yet Chile themselves were showing similar characteristics but lacked the same cutting edge. They also lacked discipline and the good work they were putting in was ruined when Estrada received a second yellow card, albeit for what appeared to be an accidental trip, and Chile were reduced to 10 men.

They should really have seen it coming, as they had already picked up two yellow cards and lost Carrizo and Medel for the last 16. Both sides went through however, as Switzerland, needing a 2-0 victory over lowly Honduras, wasted their opportunity, lacking any invention or attacking prowess.

The victory over Spain in their opening game may have taken its toll, but they should have had enough to overcome Honduras. Alas, Hitzfeld’s side failed and go out rather more meekly than they should have done.

The other game of the day, a dead rubber between the Ivory Coast and North Korea saw the Africans regain some pride with a 3-0 victory. Goals from Yaya Toure, Romaric and Kalou were not enough to spark the miracle the Ivory Coast needed to qualify – a nine goal swing in their favour!

Here we go into the knockout stages and the tournament proper begins. There is no point in playing defensively now, it’s win or bust and we should see a much improved World Cup for it.

World Cup Highlights: Day Nine & Ten

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All Whites draw with ItalyTwo remarkably different days in South Africa in terms of excitement but the group standings of some teams remains precarious.

Day Nine was not the most interesting day we’ve had so far. The Dutch kept up their 100% record with a relatively comfortable but unexciting 1-0 victory over Japan. It wasn’t a dull game and Japan were tactically sound and stubborn in defence, keeping their more illustrious opposition at bay right up the the 52nd minute when midfielder Wesley Sneijder fired in from just outside the box.

The football was more solid rather than thrilling but chances were created all through the match by both sides. Japan couldn’t find an equaliser though and, thanks to Denmark’s defeat of Cameroon later in the day, the Dutch are now through to the second round.

Before that Ghana played out a disappointing 1-1 draw with Australia, despite playing against 10 men for over an hour. It was the Socceroos that took the lead, Ghana keeper spilling a 30 yard free kick into the patch of Holman who tapped home.

Given Australia’s 4-0 hammering at the hands of Germany and Ghana’s victory over Serbia in the first group games, this wasn’t what was expected at all.

The African’s were given the chance to get back in the game and back on top when Mensah his a powerful shot that the recalled Harry Kewell could only block with his arm on the goal line. There was only one decision to make and Kewell was given his red card, protests ignored by the referee and rightly so.

Impressive striker Gyan scored the penalty. Ghana pressed on for a winner yet slowly ran out of ideas and Australia could have grabbed a winner themselves despite their numerical disadvantage through Chipperfield, Wilkshire and Kennedy. A point was all either side could get though – Ghana will be disappointed, Australia pleased.

Back to Group E and the best game of the day by far. Cameroon needed to win to have hope of progressing in the World Cup and took the lead through Eto’o, restored to a central role after his disappointing performance on the right in the first game.

Eto’o was fed by Webo following a disastrous square pass from Poulsen on the edge of his own area. This was a much improved Cameroon and it didn’t look like Denmark had much of an answer to their powerful opponents.

Experience tells, though, and the Danes got themselves back into the match through Arsenal striker Nicolas Bendtner. Veteran Dennis Rommedahl crossed low and Bendtner tapped in from six yards with 33 minutes gone.

The second half was end to end as both sides pushed for a winner, but once again it was experience that told, Rommedahl finding some pace from somewhere, racing past his defender and slotting coolly into the Cameroon goal on 62 minutes. The final half an hour saw chances for both sides, more for Cameroon as they applied pressure, but the Danes held on, kept their hopes alive and sent the Dutch through to the next round.

Day Ten was much better, with more attractive football and one shock result. The most anticipated clash of the day was the evening match between Brazil and the Ivory Coast, though the earlier games between Paraguay and Slovakia and Italy and New Zealand did not disappoint.

Paraguay were effective and entertaining in their defeat of the defensive Slovakians, winning 2-0 in the end, though it could have been more. Enrique Vera gave the South Americans the lead with a brilliant curling effort from the outside of his boot when under serious pressure from a Slovakian defender.

Wonderful passing and fluid movement from Paraguay’s 4-3-3 formation meant they could attack freely and Slovakia, not looking like they were up for this match, defended for much of the first half.

It was a surprise that Paraguay only grabbed their second of the game with 4 minutes to go through Riveros, hitting home from the edge of the box. It was nothing more than they deserved. Slovakia were dreadful but Paraguay are starting to look dangerous.

Italy versus New Zealand was supposed to be a formality. The current world champions against the 2000-1 outsiders. No contest, right? Wrong.

New Zealand took a shock lead through Smeltz after just seven minutes, the striker scoring his 20th goal in 37 matches for his country. Italy were stung into action – not all of it sporting – as they realised what had just happened.

The Azzurri complained of non-existent fouls frequently, though the referee ignored most. He couldn’t ignore defender Tommy Smith’s man-handling of De Rossi in the box around the half hour mark. Though the Italian went down fairly easily it was a legitimate penalty which Iaquinta banged home for the equaliser.

Italy continued to pour forward in the second half but the All Whites stood firm and could have snatched a late, late winner through Chris Wood but his shot went agonisingly just past the wrong side of the post. New Zealand keeper Paston was in impressive form and kept Italy out to ensure one of the most shocking results in World Cup history as the game ended 1-1.

Italy are desperately missing the creative influence of Andrea Pirlo and now must beat Slovakia to avoid going out in the first round.

And so to Brazil versus the Ivory Coast, the artists against the powerhouses. Four goals, a sending off and a lot of play acting made this a must watch game, yet Brazil were not at their best and the Africans were surprisingly defensive in their approach. It was not the anticipated classic, but there was enough incident to keep us all interested.

The first half offered little in the way of excitement but Luis Fabiano’s opener was a real highlight. A beautiful one-two with AC Milan’s Kaka allowed the striker to finish high and hard into the net from a tight angle to give the Brazilians the lead, which they took into half time.

The second half was much, much better for entertainment value. After just five minutes Fabiano was at it again as he flicked the ball over one defender, jinked past another and finished neatly for his and Brazil’s second goal of the match. Suspicion of handball in the build up didn’t receive any protests from the Ivory Coast and the goal stood.

Growing in confidence, the Brazilians upped the pace as the half wore on yet there was a disappointingly high amount of play acting from them which they really didn’t need to do. It came back to bite them before the match finished, but not before they scored a third and Didier Drogba grabbed a consolation with 10 minutes to go.

While Kaka should have scored with the best chance of the match instead of shooting straight at the keeper, he did set up Elano just a few moments later, worming his way round a couple of defenders to set Elano up for his second goal of the tournament.

With 10 minutes to go Drogba did pull one back, heading home Yaya Touré’s cross for the African’s consolation.

There was still time for Kaka to tarnish a much improved performance by picking up two yellow cards in quick succession, the first deserved for pushing Touré, the second totally undeserved as Keita ran into the little midfielder only to go down clutching his face in the most blatant act of deception. Sadly it worked, and Kaka was sent off. Presumably Brazil will appeal and hopefully successfully, but you can’t help thinking it was justice for Brazil’s own play acting.

Nevertheless, Brazil are through to the second round and while not displaying the flair for which they are famous, they are starting to show signs of becoming a dominant force in this World Cup.

Incidentally, Italy’s second draw of the tournament again puts England’s position into perspective. Admittedly, Italy have played far, far better than England so far yet they are in exactly the same position. There is no reason to abandon hope just yet…that will come Wednesday with a defeat.

Spain shock puts England draw into perspective

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Robert Green's howlerSwitzerland’s defeat of Spain, France and Italy’s respective draws and the, if we’re honest, unconvincing victories for Brazil and Holland should offer up some hope to England supporters despairing at the draw with the USA.

Only Germany have struck fear into the hearts of the other 31 teams in the World Cup. The rest of the so-called favourites have done little to cause sleepless nights, for England or anyone.

Fabio Capello’s men did not put in a brilliant performance but nor were they as bad as the British media, prone to overreaction, portrayed. They had chances to win the match and would have done anyway had it not been for Robert Green’s much talked about misfortune.

I would even go so far as to say that England’s performance was better than that of France and Italy and while Spain enjoyed a huge amount of possession and had more shots than any other team so far in the tournament it meant little – England have a point, they do not.

This is not to suggest that if England faced any of the aforementioned teams they would win, but they would certainly have a very good chance, howlers aside.

There’s a long way to go in this World Cup, let’s not be too downbeat. Every side has played their first game now and England are sitting far prettier than most.

World Cup Highlights: Day Five

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Winston ReidThe excitement built throughout the day as we all prepared for five time world champions Brazil to finally take their bow on the South African stage. To wet our appetites we had the thrilling prospect of New Zealand versus Slovakia and the Ivory Coast versus Portugal.

Do you detect a hint of sarcasm in that opening paragraph? You may be right.

Such has been the disappointment of the World Cup so far, it was hard to envisage the first match of the day offering much to the viewer. In terms of quality of football that proved to be the case. But the World Cup is not just about skill, it is about fairy tales and and we got our first here.

New Zealand, who don’t even have a professional league at home, put in a performance far above their ability. They stifled the much fancied Slovakians throughout the first half and for five minutes of the second until the inevitable happened.

A cross from Sestak was headed in by Vittek on 50 minutes as New Zealand’s defence suffered their first real lapse in concentration. You might have expected New Zealand to crumble at this point but far from it. They continued in the manner in which they began, defending solidly and pushing forward when they got the opportunity.

Their patience and perseverance was rewarded in the most dramatic style. In the third minute of stoppage time former Mansfield striker Meltz delivered an inch perfect cross for defender Reid to head home the equaliser and give New Zealand their first ever point in the World Cup finals.

It really was fairy tale stuff for the All Whites and gave us our first real happy moment of these finals. It will in all likelihood be New Zealand’s only point of the finals as they face Italy next then Paraguay, but that won’t detract from the joy of this result.

The potentially mouthwatering clash between the Ivory Coast and Portugal was up next, offering Real Madrid’s £80 million man Ronaldo and Chelsea’s leading scorer Didier Drogba the chance to stamp their class on the tournament.

How disappointing, then, that the game ended goalless. Drogba, in all fairness, started on the bench thanks to his broken arm, but Ronaldo started and a shot from all of 30 yards early in the first half tempted us to believe this might be a cracker.

Having completely fluffed a 40 yard free kick a few minutes earlier, Ronaldo tried to make amends from open play, turning and shooting only to his bullet-like shot hit the post and go wide. That, sadly for us, was as close as either side came to scoring throughout the match.

Drogba, on for Kalou in the 65th minute, did have one chance late in the game but he had to stretch and only succeeded in dragging the ball across the box rather than at the goal. Unfortunately for the Ivory Coast, no-one was on hand to tap it in.

That meant we hung all our hopes for goals on the talented Brazilians. Surely, with all their talent, they would make short work of the mysterious North Koreans.

As it happens, North Korea surprised us with some really resilient football, holding the Brazilians at 0-0 for 55 minutes. It’s fair to say that Brazil were not firing on all cylinders, much like every other team so far, but you can’t ignore the fact that North Korea surprised more than a few people.

It was Maicon who got the breakthrough for the South Americans, scoring with a beauty from an impossible angle to settle his sides nerves. It had been a bit all over the place previously but the goal allowed them to settle and begin passing the ball around much better.

Unsurprisingly then, a second goal came from Elano, supplied with a beautiful pass from Manchester City want-away Robinho.

North Korea, however, were not done and a performance that deserved a goal duly got one. Kim Jong-Hun scored with just a minute of normal time remaining to remind the Brazilians that they’d been in a real match here. It’s a shame there wasn’t more time left, as you got the sense there could have been a real upset given 10 more minutes.

Let’s be clear here though. Brazil have some wonderful players and dominated possession throughout. But they lack the real artistry, invention and explosive goal threat that the likes of Rivaldo, Romario and Ronaldo have previously given.

In short, this Brazil team is beatable.

2010 World Cup not a classic…so far

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The damning verdict coming out of the World Cup in South Africa on world football is that standards have dropped a;armingly.

Ok, that might be taking things too far but this tournament is far from taking my breath away. There is a reluctance to attack, most teams preferring to ensure they don’t concede. You would expect, then, defences to be well drilled and perform to the highest standards. But no. With the unsurprising exception of the Germans, defences have been weak.

Especially in the goalkeeping department with the tournament ball, the Jabulani, taking most of the blame. Hang on, though. Has anyone seen it really move in the air? I haven’t. It’s looked like a perfectly normal football to me.

So why this reliance on defence when the majority of teams boast a wealth of attacking riches? You could argue that nerves and fear of losing your opening game is contributing to the lack of goalmouth action so far and that certainly plays its part. It does not, however, excuse the lack of quality.

There seems to be a real lack of urgency, a real lack of interest in making an early statement (or just interest if you look at Greece). All apart from Germany, the only team to come out with the intention of shoving their name right back in the faces of the watching press and public.

This is football’s showpiece and the chance for every country to show what they can do – and if they can do little, to show what they can stop the opposition doing. Neither has been the case so far and it’s desperately disappointing.

I don’t expect things to carry on as they are. With that opening game out of the way, I’m sure each team will be able to relax a little bit (or step up their game through fear of very real failure) and begin to express themselves as they can.

As it stands though, South Africa will not go down as a classic and could be the worst since Italia 90 as John Cross of the Daily Mirror said via Twitter (about five minutes after I started writing this article in fact!):

“The games have been generally disappointing so far in #worldcup. Worst since Italia 90?”

We have yet to see tournament favourites Spain, constant threat Brazil and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, of course, but on what we’ve seen so far I’m not getting my hopes up. I think only Spain will endeavour to match the attacking mindset of Germany. Portugal have Ronaldo, yes, but are still relatively defensive and even the great Brazil have had a rod of defensive steel rammed down their spine by coach Dunga.

At this rate, we could be looking at the second round or even the quarter finals before things really begin to hot up.

Cursed: World Cup injury jinx strikes

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Rio Ferdinand

CURSED

According to Pini Zahavi, Rio Ferdinand’s agent, the England captain believes he is cursed following his knee ligament injury which has ruled him out of the World Cup in South Africa.

Rio isn’t the only big name star missing out this year as the World Cup curse struck hard on the first day of preparations. Of course, Germany captain Michael Ballack was ruled out before the season was over when he got injured in a challenge with Portsmouth’s Kevin Prince-Boateng in the FA Cup final.

On the same day Ferdinand had his dreams shattered Didier Drogba suffered a suspected broken bone in his elbow and may miss the tournament and Italy’s Andreas Pirlo suffered a calf injury that could rule him out until at least June 2oth.

There were scares for the USA’s Jozy Altidore (ankle), Brazil’s Julio Cesar (back) and Michel Bastos (ankle) and England keeper David James (knee). Oh, and we’ve just heard Matty Upson has a temperature!

Interestingly, Gareth Barry looks to be recovering fine so far and while he won’t be risked for England’s opener against the US on June 12th, he could feature thereafter.

However, with a rash of concerns after just a couple of days of the teams being in South Africa, all the coaches must be concerned about the next six days.

I do wonder what’s causing all this but a look back to previous tournaments shows it to be fairly standard, especially for England. Kevin Keegan missed the 1982 World Cup with a back injury, Bryan Robson was injured in the second game of both the 1986 and 1990 tournaments and, of course, the metatarsal injury suffered by Beckham in 2002 which made him ineffective during the World Cup.

The loss of Ferdinand and Drogba will be massive blows to England and the Ivory Coast respectively though and should not be taken lightly. Both teams will be devastated, not just the individuals, and recovering from that for the start of the tournament will be a tough task and a test for coaches Capello and Eriksson.

As an Englishman I am gutted for Rio and the team. I can only hope that whoever steps in is up to the task.

EDIT (10.58 BST): John Obi-Mikel now out. Chelsea players dropping like flies.

EDIT (15.48 BST): Arjen Robben now looking doubtful with leg injury. Chelsea jinx?