The CDB Awards: South Africa 2010

So, the greatest show on Earth has closed its curtains for another four years (at least until the first qualification match for Brazil 2014 is played in about 13 months’ time) and it’s time to have a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of South Africa 2010 in the CDB Awards.

Best Match

For me, the most exciting match we saw over the competition was one of the most controversial games – Uruguay’s quarter-final win over Ghana could not be matched for sheer emotional drama. We were treated to some fluent attacking football by both sides, particularly by Uruguay, but Sulley Muntari’s long-range swerver just before half-time stole the initiative for the last remaining African side. Diego Forlan scored a great free-kick to equalise and both sides kept going for it, coming up pretty much on a par with each other and tiring a little. Extra time arrived and it got desperate by the end, with Ghana throwing a couple of kitchen sinks into the Uruguay box right at the death before the Hand of God 2: Hand Harder scandal. Luis Suarez’ instinctive block to deny a last-gasp winner spawned a ludicrously overblown furore, demonising the player for doing what any player (the Ghanaians included) would have done in his situation, and Asamoah Gyan’s failure to convert the penalty with the last kick of regulation play was a great shame, but you cannot deny the spectacle of it. Sebastian Abreu’s inappropriate but wonderfully ballsy chipped penalty to seal the win was the icing of the cake.

Runners-up: Slovenia 2-2 USA, Slovakia 3-2 Italy, Germany 4-1 England, Argentina 0-4 Germany, Uruguay 2-3 Germany

Best Individual Performance

Bastian Schweinsteiger’s unstoppable performance at the heart of Germany’s dismemberment of Argentina was a real highlight. It was a display of total dominance, with tough tackling that never became thuggery, sharp passing to start counterattacking moves, and involvement in two of the goals. His free-kick cross for Thomas Mueller’s opener and effortless slipping away from Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore to supply Arne Friedrich were excellent. His performance only gets better when you consider that just one year ago, Schweinsteiger was an underachieving winger for club and country. Louis van Gaal has done wonders with him over the past season at Bayern Munich and no-one will have been prouder than him as Schweinsteiger announced himself as one of the world’s leading central midfielders.

Runners-up: Mesut Oezil (Germany 4-0 Australia), Diego Forlan (South Africa 0-3 Uruguay), Ryan Nelsen (Italy 1-1 New Zealand), Jean Beausejour (Chile 1-0 Switzerland), Thomas Mueller (Germany 4-1 England), Xabi Alonso (Germany 0-1 Spain)

The “Looks Like An Alien Sent From Outer Space To Play Just Off The Main Striker” Award

Mesut Oezil.

Best Hair

Honduras didn’t stand out for much in this tournament but fringe player (geddit?) Walter Martinez sported a breathtakingly silly dreadlock affair with the tips coloured alternately red and yellow. Stupendous effort.

Worst Individual Performance

I have never seen one player perform so badly and stay on the pitch the full ninety minutes as Wayne Rooney did for England against Algeria. He looked exhausted, uninterested and cripplingly short of ideas, and you could tell how angry he was with his outing by his outburst to the cameras at the end berating the fans for booing the team.

Runners-up: Abdelkader Ghezzal (Algeria 0-1 Slovenia), Sidney Govou (France 0-2 Mexico), John Terry (Germany 4-1 England), Felipe Melo (Netherlands 2-1 Brazil), Mark van Bommel (Netherlands 0-1 Spain)

Best Team Performance

Tough one to call, but I’m going for Spain’s slow-burning victory over Germany in the semi-final. They only won 1-0 and it was only through a Carles Puyol header from a corner, but what was so notable was the total cohesion and patience as they breezed past what had previously been the best team of the whole competition. Before the game there was reason to believe that Germany might neutralise Spain with their determined pressing all over the pitch but it turned out to be the eventual champions who took the German midfield out of the game, constantly hounding the defenders to force long balls forward, which just completely nullified Schweinsteiger, Oezil, and Sami Khedira. The scoreline suggested a close game, but it really wasn’t at all. Contrast Portgual’s 7-0 victory over North Korea where Carlos Queiroz’s side were no better than average at any stage.

Runners-up: Uruguay (vs. South Africa), New Zealand (vs. Italy), Germany (vs. Argentina)

Most Inspiring Team

Look no further than New Zealand – who would have predicted before the tournament kicked off that the All Whites would be the only team to leave South Africa with an unbeaten record? Ricki Herbert’s lower-leaguers and amateur bank clerks played with more pride than anyone else and you couldn’t help but wish they could have found that elusive goal against Paraguay which would have taken them through as group winners. Their backs-to-the-wall defensive performance to earn a draw with the holders Italy will live long in the memory.

Breakout Star of the Tournament

Turned out to be Bayern’s Thomas Mueller, the 20-year-old right-sided forward who came out of nowhere to sneak the Golden Boot with five goals and three assists. Displayed incredible poacher’s instincts to always arrive in the box at exactly the right time with lethal finishing to boot. Surely the natural successor to Miroslav Klose and now established as a world star.

Worst Team Performance

England’s dire 0-0 with Algeria wins on match alone, but France’s limp capitulation to Mexico takes the crown for its aftermath as well as the ninety minutes themselves. Literally nobody had a good game for France, utterly devoid of any desire and looking desperate to be eliminated just to get away from the clownish Raymond Domenech. Nicolas Anelka’s foul-mouthed tirade to the manager at half-time sparked a few days of hilarious self-destruction that brought such shame on everyone involved that President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to personally conduct an investigation into the team’s performance.

Runners-up: Greece (vs. South Korea), England (vs. USA), Algeria (vs. Slovenia), Slovakia (vs. Paraguay), Switzerland (vs. Honduras), Honduras (vs. Switzerland), England (vs. Germany)

Team of the Tournament

Playing 4-2-3-1 as nearly all the successful teams did.

Iker Casillas (Spain); Philipp Lahm (Germany), Gerard Pique (Spain), Diego Lugano (Uruguay), Jorge Fucile (Uruguay); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Sergio Busquets (Spain); Thomas Mueller (Germany), Andres Iniesta (Spain), David Villa (Spain); Diego Forlan (Uruguay)

Best Overall Player

Forlan for me was the only man to play really well in all seven games, leading his team to a fantastic fourth place finish with intelligence and flair. Never once did he dive or complain to the referee either, just got on with the job in hand. By all accounts the nicest man at the World Cup, too, always taking time to sign autographs or talk to journalists and fans.

Player Most Likely To Have Earned A Big Money Transfer

Most people will remember Luis Suarez for the handball against Ghana but don’t forget his three well-taken goals, including an absolute pearl against South Korea, his searing pace and constant willingness to get in the box and shoot. Considering his fifty-plus goals for Ajax last season, expect plenty of rumour regarding his destination in the next few weeks.

Runners-up: Mesut Oezil (Germany), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana)

Goal of the Tournament

Look no further than Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s straight-as-an-arrow rocket blast against Uruguay in the semi-final. After several keepers had been caught out by the late movement of the Jabulani ball, Fernando Muslera could not complain about this one. From the moment it left his boot, it never deviated and struck perfectly off the inside of the far post and in.

Runners-up: Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa, vs. Mexico), David Villa (Spain, vs. Honduras), Fabio Quagliarella (Italy, vs. Slovakia), Keisuke Honda (Japan, vs. Denmark), David Villa (Spain, vs. Chile), Andres Iniesta (Spain, vs. Chile), Carlos Tevez (Argentina, vs. Mexic0), Miroslav Klose (Germany, vs. Argentina)

Alternative Team Of The Tournament

This is a team of players who might not have gone all the way in the tournament but still stood out as great without really getting all the praise they may have deserved. In many ways every bit as good as those who made the main team of the tournament. Also playing 4-2-3-1.

Samir Handanovic (Slovenia); John Pantsil (Ghana), Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand), Yuji Nakazawa (Japan), Carlos Salcido (Mexico); Anthony Annan (Ghana), Diego Perez (Uruguay); Landon Donovan (USA), Yasuhitu Endo (Japan), Jean Beausejour (Chile); Nelson Haedo Valdez (Paraguay)

Day 21: Wish You Were Here

The quarter-finals start tomorrow – good news for those of you who, like me, are suffering from withdrawal. While we wait for proceedings to begin again, though, I thought I’d take a look at those teams who will take no further part in South Africa 2010, having been eliminated already, and also one or two teams who didn’t qualify, whom it would have been nice to see involved in the tournament.

On the whole it’s hard to argue that the teams that failed to get out of their groups deserved to play any further part, but there are, I think, one or two notable exceptions to that statement. One side who I wish had been able to go further was the Ivory Coast. They’ll be looking at that shoddy opening match against a Portugal side who were there for the taking, and wondering how they let it finish 0-0. The last kick of the game, a conservative short corner rather than a cross into the box for someone to get a head on, is a moment that summed up a curious mentality going into that game that they realistically had to win to make sure of qualification, and so it proved. It’s something of a tragedy that probably the most talented African side the world has ever seen has been hamstrung by consecutive terrible draws at this World Cup and the last. Four years ago, they were dropped into a vicious Group of Death containing Argentina, the Netherlands, and what was then Serbia & Montenegro, an even more tricky group than they had this time around. Even if they’d qualified this summer they would have probably faced Spain. When you look at a side containing Kolo and Yaya Toure, Gervinho, Didier Zokora, you think they should be able to do well, but then you see Didier Drogba and you see a player who has such immense talent that with a slightly kinder draw he could have made history for African football. At 32, he has surely now missed his chance to make that impression on the biggest stage of all.

In a very different way it was also a great shame to see New Zealand eliminated. I think everyone took a shine to the All-Whites – written off before the tournament for being a squad comprised of lower league and amateur players, and dreaming of leaving the tournament with a point or even just a goal, they showed incredible determination and pride to bow out unbeaten, having held on for an historic draw with the world champions Italy, who they then finished above in the group standings. Their captain, Ryan Nelsen, had an immense tournament, marshalling the less experienced players like Tommy Smith and Winston Reid who also distinguished themselves against top class opposition. Reid’s last-minute equaliser in the first match against Slovakia to secure the Kiwis’ first ever World Cup point was a moment that will stick in my memory for a long time. Goalkeeper Mark Paston, coming in to the tournament second choice but playing due to Glenn Moss’ suspension, overcame a slightly nervy first game to deliver two assured performances against Italy and Paraguay, and up front young Chris Wood made a really good impression coming off the bench twice and was mere inches from scoring against Italy. It would have been wonderful to have seen them in the knockout stages.

The other team I’m sorry to have seen go was Chile. Their efforts in a losing cause against Brazil a few days ago were not as impressive as their group games, but they really were a breath of fresh air in the first phase. Marcelo Bielsa’s unwavering commitment to attacking football was delightful, and his truly original 3-3-1-3 formation was very effective. The players showed real flexibility in being able to get forward from any position or drop back when others did the same, and if only their star striker Humberto Suazo had been fitter they might have had more finishing prowess to put the icing on a fantastically entertaining cake. Alexis Sanchez seemed to draw all the plaudits from commentators and pundits but for my money the real emerging star for Chile was left winger Jean Beausejour, unoriginally nicknamed “The Frenchman” by his teammates. He showed pace, creativity, a willingness to cross whenever possible and the ability to pull it off most of the time. His goal secured the opening victory over Honduras and he was the most productive of the attacking quartet.

But what of the teams that might have, or maybe should have, been here? An obvious question is how would the Republic of Ireland have fared had they got through their controversial play-off with France? The answer, probably, is not hugely well, but let’s face it, they probably would have done better than the French. Ignoring the changes to group seedings which would have happened if France had not been present, you can’t imagine the likes of Glenn Whelan and Shane Long posing too much of a threat to Uruguay and Meixco, but the qualification alone would have been a significant achievement for Giovanni Trapattoni’s side, one that they would surely have appreciated more than the self-destructive French.

As for a team that really could have made a significant impact on the tournament but didn’t make it, look no further than African champions Egypt. The team that has won the past three Africa Cup of Nations finished inseparable with Algeria in the qualifying group requiring a one-off tie-breaker hosted in the neutral Sudan. Egypt-Algeria has always been a really spicy grudge match so it’s perhaps understandable that Egypt came out second best on the day, despite being unquestionably the best team from their continent, but I would really have liked to have seen how they fared against the rest of the world. I’m sure they would have put up a better fight than Algeria, who looked unpenetrative up front and disorganised at the back. Their squad is comprised of seriously talented players – Essam Al Hadary is by some distance the best African keeper. Ahmed El Mohammadi is an up-and-coming player who can play all along the right flank – at 22, he already has 38 caps and is moving to Sunderland this summer on a loan deal from ENPPI in Egypt. Amr Zaki and Standard Liege’s Emad Motaeb between them have 60 goals in 118 international games. And then there’s Mohammed Abou Trika, behind perhaps only Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Michael Essien as Africa’s greatest player. It really is a great shame that they haven’t been here to contest the World Cup.

Still, they didn’t make it, and in the end it’s their own fault that they’re not. For those that did qualify, though, the action starts again tomorrow. I predict a win for Uruguay tomorrow over Ghana, but I really don’t know which way the Netherlands vs Brazil will go. My gut feeling is changing constantly, but I’ll listen to my head and say Brazil.

Day 18: Juan Thing Led To Another…

Netherlands 2 – 1 Slovakia

Brazil 3 – 0 Chile

Not, I think it’s fair to say, the most exciting day of the World Cup so far, but I suppose we can all breathe a sigh of relief that nothing went disastrously wrong, anyway.

The Netherlands reached the quarter-finals with a routine victory over Slovakia that suggested that they are still yet to move into top gear. They dominated posession without ever seeking to really kill their opponents off, even with a relatively early lead through Arjen Robben. It was a great goal from the returning winger, sprinting to get on the end of a slightly overhit through ball as if to assure everyone that his hamstring is completely fine now, rounding the defender, and slotting a low shot into the bottom corner of the net. In real time, the goal looked slightly strange, the shot being quite a slow one that I automatically assumed would be saved, but replays showed that it was placed perfectly so as to evade the hand of Jan Mucha. It was quite easy in the end for Robben, whose return has balanced the Dutch side better, quashing my initial worries that moving Dirk Kuyt to the left would create the same cutting-inside problems as there were with Rafael van der Vaart there.

The game remained at 1-0 for a long period, with the Dutch clearly in control but seemingly reluctant to expend two much energy against such lowly opposition, a little arrogant but in the end it proved to be justified. Slovakia were unable to muster many threatening attacks on goal, despite young wingers Vladimir Weiss (Jr., Jr.) and Miroslav Stoch looking peppy and potentially useful outlets. As such it was quite a flat, boring game with no sense that anything of any great importance was going to happen after the first goal. Holland wrapped it up with five minutes to go when Mucha came out to try to stop the oncoming Dirk Kuyt, who evaded and found himself in loads of space. His patience in setting himself for the pull-back to Wesley Sneijder was impressive, and Sneijder atoned for an earlier miss by making no mistakes this time. That killed the game completely and manager Vladimir Weiss (Jr.) took the opportunity to give two squad players a few minutes as subs just to say they had played in a World Cup, which I thought was good of him, even though one of them, Marek Sapara, was a player I’d hoped to have seen more of. Then, out of nowhere, Slovakia got a penalty with the last kick of the game when sub Martin Jakubko made a rather pathetic dive over goalkeeper Stekelenburg, and Robert Vittek converted it to make himself joint top scorer again. Most of the Slovakians have only really had one good game, but Vittek’s done well throughout and his four goals in four games reflect that.

In the other second round match today everyone’s second favourite team, Chile, were comfortably overcome by Brazil. Again it was a slightly disappointing match despite having a few goals, with Chile attacking gamely as they were always going to do but suffering from the same symptoms as they have done all tournament, being unable to find consistent finishing to complete their attacking barrages. This was exacerbated by some terrific Brazilian defending, led chiefly by the man of the match Juan, who was constantly getting in the way and was rewarded by scoring the first goal, a strong header from Maicon’s corner. Only a few minutes later the game looked dead and buried as Luis Fabiano passed into an empty net. Going in two-nil down at half-time, Marcelo Bielsa threw any last semblance of caution to the wind by making two substitutions that essentially left Chile with only two at the back, later falling to just one, although obviously part of Chile’s tactics is that the midfield players can all drop back reasonably effectively. It didn’t make much difference, though, as Brazil continued to do an excellent impression of a brick wall.

In fact, both teams could easily have had a penalty, but missed out by two extremes – first, Lucio performed such an elaborate dive that the genuine foul he suffered was overlooked, and later, Alexis Sanchez refused to go down under a challenge in favour of trying to get a shot away, which came to nothing. There was no question of refereeing mistakes, though, as Howard Webb and his assistants had a competent game in a match with little serious incident. If you were watching ITV, though, you would be forgiven for thinking that the English officials had brought peace to the Middle East with their performance. I don’t want to get into a rant that non-British-based readers won’t understand a word of, but suffice to say that even by his own hideously low standards, Clive Tyldesley had a mind-numbingly bad game.

So now the two teams have set up a quarter-final against each other in a few days’ time, and it could be a really interesting game. From what I can see, the Netherlands are perhaps the best-equipped team to beat Brazil left in the tournament, able to match their formation man-for-man and with Arjen Robben running at Michel Bastos on the Dutch right and Dirk Kuyt maybe being able to match Maicon’s work-rate on the other flank. Bert van Marwijk will obviously have to make sure his side fire on all cylinders for that match, though, as anything less will not be enough.

Man of the Day: Juan was absolutely imperious at the heart of the Brazilian defense.

Tomorrow, I fancy Paraguay to overcome Japan in a hard-fought game, maybe on penalties, and Spain to dispatch Portugal in the Iberian derby.

Day 17: FIFAk’s Sake!

Germany 4 – 1 England

Argentina 3 – 1 Mexico

And thus concludes a thoroughly embarrassing day for FIFA and a thoroughly depressing day for me personally. Please bear with me, dear readers, as I am feeling quite sick today, and not only because of the England performance.

Let’s get one thing out of the way straight away: Frank Lampard’s brilliant lob should not have been disallowed. Yes, technology could have corrected the mistake almost immediately. Yes, it was an absolute howler for the officials and a huge egg on FIFA’s face. But let’s not let that overshadow the fact that England were absolutely abysmal apart from the 54-second period between Matthew Upson’s headed goal and “Lampsgate” (copyright: The Sun). I have never been a professional defender but it was really obvious to me that England’s positioning was all wrong, accounting for all the four German goals.

Culprit numero uno was Terry, who was playing like his first name was Hans-Dieter rather than John. He ran around chasing the ball like an exuberant puppy with absolutely no sense of organisation, and Upson followed him like the nerdy kid peering over the popular kid’s shoulder. With Gareth Barry further forward than a holding player should be because of the 4-4-2 formation, Mesut Oezil was constantly given acres of space in which to frolic like, well, an exuberant puppy. The difference is that Oezil is supposed to be that puppy. Terry is not. Elsewhere on the pitch, James Milner seemed to try but made little impact down the right, Jermain Defoe touched the ball little, and Wayne Rooney looked no less burnt out than he has done all tournament. Steven Gerrard showed signs of trying to lift the team single-handedly like he (used to) do for Liverpool, but after a few second-half long shots came to naught he faded as well. The only player to actually have a decent game was David James, despite conceding four. The goals were the fault of defensive mistakes and James prevented a couple of good chances from adding to them.

When trying to determine exactly what went wrong this summer for England, my first thought is to look primarily at the players. Whatever mistakes Fabio Capello has made (I’ll discuss those in a moment), this is a group of players who, by and large, have been part of the England setup over the past six to eight years, through three stewardships of two very different styles. They have consistently been unable to gel into a fluent team and have performed, for many years, several levels short of their club form. This is partly explainable by the fact that at club level they are surrounded by players of different nationalities, who have different mentalities and approaches to the game. However they must take responsibility for poor performances at big tournaments. Looking forward now to the future, England should take a leaf out of the German book and phase through a younger team sooner rather than later, one less burdened by years of failure. Terry in particular is one player who I don’t think should play for England again, but Upson, James, King, Heskey, Wright-Phillips, and maybe even the likes of Gerrard and Ferdinand should all be phased out. Now is the time for Joe Hart, Adam Johnson, Theo Walcott, and Jack Rodwell to be brought in alongside Milner and Rooney.

It’s hard to say whether Capello is the right person to do that or not. I like him, I think he’s the best manager England have had in a long time, and should have the experience and the knowledge to make a new England side work. He has made some serious errors in this tournament, though, of that there can be no doubt. For one thing, this World Cup should be remembered as the one that consigned the traditional 4-4-2 formation to history. Playing 4-4-2 throughout the competition, England were exposed as too flat and predictable. In the modern game at least one holding midfielder playing much deeper than Gareth Barry is required, and most good teams now operate with two deep-lying central players in a 4-2-3-1 that gives greater flexibility. Barry was too far forward to pick up attacking midfielders like Oezil and Messi, and Frank Lampard was too deep to trouble holding players like Schweinsteiger and Gilberto Silva.

Capello’s substitutions were also poor at the World Cup, particularly today. Emile Heskey has his uses but he is clearly not an out-and-out goalscorer. If you have Jermain Defoe on the pitch rather than the bench to come on as a sub to stretch the game, then you can’t replace him with Heskey when you need to score three goals to get back into the game. In the squad, Peter Crouch was a more obvious replacement. In theory, Darren Bent should have been backing up Defoe.

I hope Capello’s forthcoming meeting with the FA to decide his future involves him convincing them that he is willing to adapt his tactics to better suit the challenges of modern international football. If he can’t overcome his stubbornness, then he should be removed from his post. I hope that it doesn’t come to that, but one way or another a change is required. If he does go, then I hope somebody intelligent, thoughtful and tactically modern can be found to replace him, and that the FA avoids the temptation to knee-jerkingly appoint an Englishman on principal, because not many English managers fit that description (I’d probably settle for Woy Hodgson, but I can’t think of anyone else. The worst case scenario would be ‘Arry Bloody Redknapp).

I must of course take a moment to comment on Germany, who thoroughly deserved their win, playing well and doing exactly what was required to exploit England’s weaknesses. Another four goals wouldn’t really have flattered them. Oezil had another excellent game – I really, really like him – and so did Thomas Mueller, who pulled the trigger twice halfway through the second half with two powerful shots, and Lukas Podolski. They did again look vulnerable at the back, just less so than England.

They will be much more tested by Argentina, who weren’t at their best but did do enough to beat Mexico in their second round match. They were sent on their way, though, by an even worse incident than the Lampard disallowed goal. When Lionel Messi, who was a little more subdued this evening, flicked a pass through to Carlos Tevez who scored, Tevez was clearly offside, with not even a single player ahead of him. Disallowing the goal was bad enough but when the man operating the stadium’s big screen oopsied and replayed the decision, clearly showing everyone inside the stadium that the officials had made the wrong call. The Mexicans knew and duly surrounded the referee, the assistant who flagged the offside knew and looked hugely guilty and upset at his mistake, and the referee knew but also knew that by the letter of the law, having already given the goal, he could not reverse the decision. And so everyone played on having discovered, like the TV viewers, that the goal should not have stood within about thirty seconds of its occurence. Sepp Blatter blathers on about technology eliminating the human nature of refereeing mistakes and taking away from the authority of the officials, but when we all know almost instantly that decisions are clearly wrong it degrades the referee’s authority even more severely. The technology exists, it’s quick, and yes, there would be some difficulties in deciding and fine-tuning exactly when and how often the technology could be applied, but it’s a bog that FIFA absolutely needs to weigh into for the good of the game.

There was no doubt about the second goal, though, as Ricardo Osorio made a catastrophically bad error passing the ball straight to Gonzalo Higuain who took full advantage. From then on Mexico did not look like seriously getting back into the game, and Tevez’s second goal in the second half was magnificent, a ferocious shot from the edge of the area. Javier Hernandez pulled one back with a really good goal, completely bypassing Martin Demichelis, who still looks like a major weakness for this Argentina side, and firing home with venom. The Mexicans just didn’t put together a strong enough push to capitalise on that lifeline, though, despite the best efforts of half-time sub Pablo Barrera, who looks a real player, and will be left to wonder what might have been if they’d had a more clinical target man and less of a shafting by Lady Luck.

Germany-Argentina will now be a fascinating quarter-final, which should produce plenty of goals. Both sides are weak in defense but posess two of the tournament’s best performers so far in Oezil and Messi. I wouldn’t want to call it.

Man of the Day: Sepp Blatter. (all right, Mesut Oezil.)

Tomorrow, I can’t imagine lightning striking twice with this Slovakia side and the Netherlands should blow them away with Arjen Robben now fit and looking in dangerous form, but Brazil-Chile could go either way. The suspensions will probably take their toll in the end. Brazil to win.

Day 15: Chile Lose Cool But Swiss Avoid Further Conflict

Portugal 0 – 0 Brazil

North Korea 0 – 3 Ivory Coast

Chile 1 – 2 Spain

Switzerland 0 – 0 Honduras

Well, in the end, the tables in Groups G and H turned out in much the same order as was generally expected, but there were some surprises on the final day of group stage action at South Africa 2010.

Portugal and Brazil kicked us off with a pretty dire stalemate, both teams happy to settle for what they’d got and showing very little flair or attacking interest. Brazil continued their streak as the least exciting South American side in the tournament, and there were more yellow cards than goalmouth incidents, getting to the extent in the first half as little feuds started to spring up between certain players that Felipe Melo had to be dragged off by Dunga just before half-time to avoid picking up a second booking. With Brazil missing Elano and Kaka, there was bound to be a slight reduction in flair, with the two replacements Dani Alves and Julio Baptista naturally more physically powerful players than technically gifted, but even with a nine-goal cushion separating them from the Ivory Coast, Portugal dared not attempt to go for the win that would have seen them top the group. Certainly this game suffered from the Ivorians’ failure to beat Portugal when Carlos Quieroz’s side were so utterly abject in the group opener, because that would have seen Portugal needing to attack. Instead what was talked up before the tournament as one of the most exciting games turned out to be a real disappointment.

There was little point in turning over to watch North Korea and the Ivory Coast, either, because while that game did at least produce some goals as the Ivorians won 3-0, everything they did hinged on a Brazilian victory. North Korea, who I’d hoped might be determined enough to leave with at least a point to really compete, just didn’t really show up, and their defense looked as frail as it had a few days ago. Sven’s boys bombed forward essentially at will and probably should have scored more than they did. Their second was great to watch – not for its scorer Romaric’s simple header but for the volley that ricocheted off the crossbar to set it up. Didier Drogba took the ball in mid-air with a sublime controlling touch before swivelling and rifling it powerfully against the bar. It was a moment of star quality that raised predictable “what if?” questions about what might have been had he been fully fit to face Portugal. It’s a shame for Drogba that his World Cup career will now almost certainly be over after two consecutive groups of death. He has his critics and he’s certainly prone to disappointing acts of petulance and dishonesty on the pitch, but he’s an astonishing player and a great humanitarian who does lots of work for his several charities, so I feel sorry he hasn’t had more of a chance of shine on the biggest stage of all.

No such injustices in Group H, where the two most exciting teams to watch managed to qualify (scoring some incredible goals in the process), and the closest rivals to Greece’s dullest-team-in-world-football title, Switzerland, were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw with Honduras that put them out. I didn’t watch much of that game but I saw enough to know that the Swiss were again limited in attack (with Eren Derdiyok yet again missing one or two pretty easy chances) and that they should have lost, with a Walter Martinez goal ruled out for offside that looked on to me, and Georgie Welcome missing a golden chance right at the end of the game from very close in. Oh well, I don’t think anyone will really miss either team.

Chile 1 – 2 Spain was a slightly strange game in that Chile were the dominant side in the first half yet still went in at half-time two goals down. Both Spanish goals were contenders for goal of the tournament, the first a simply perfect sort-of golf drive of a shot by David Villa pouncing on a goal left open by Chile captain Claudio Bravo’s mad dash out of the area to rob Fernando Torres. That sort of shot looks easy but would usually be missed, but Villa executed it perfectly to take him joint top of the Golden Boot standings. The second was scored after the referee, Marco Rodriguez (a.k.a. Dracula), played advantage to a foul by Marco Estrada. Spain took full advantage with some gorgeous interplay between Villa and Andres Iniesta, who calmly placed his shot from the edge of the area precisely past the gloves of Bravo. I can’t decide which one I enjoyed more, but they were both absolutely beautiful. The foul in question led to the predictable culmination of a period of Chilean indiscipline, as Estrada was shown his second yellow card. The trip looked accidental but Estrada should have received his second booking a few minutes earlier when he hacked down Iniesta, so it rather evened out, but Rodriguez the referee really did have quite a poor game. Thanks to his distinctive appearance I do remember him from previous internationals and every time I’ve seen him he’s been too quick to hand out cards, and doesn’t even get them right that often. I hope he doesn’t take charge of many more matches in this tournament.

To Chile’s credit they kept going despite the obvious setbacks and opened up the game again with a goal just after the restart. Rodrigo Millar, who had only just come on at half-time, took a shot from the edge of the D that took a severe deflection off Gerard Pique past Iker Casillas. However Spain’s numerical advantage started to show and the game slowed down as both teams realised that this result was working out for both of them. Chile were beaten but did play reasonably well apart from the bookings, which earnt three important players suspensions for their second round meeting with Brazil, which could be a real cracker. I wouldn’t discount them from winning that by any means. Spain had another good game, with Pique impressing at the back and Iniesta and Villa running the show up front. Torres had another off day again, though, and was hauled off just a few minutes into the second period for Cesc Fabregas. He looked some way short of form and fitness and I hope he can recover to play a bigger part in this World Cup, because when both are fit and firing his partnership with Villa is the best in the world. Spain now go on to meet Portugal and they should win that game. Their midfield in particular stands out as being several levels above the likes of Raul Meireles and Tiago.

Man of the Day: David Villa had another great game, getting into some great positions and showing a really quick brain in some of his link-up play. His goal really was superb, as well.

Tomorrow the knockout stages begin! It’s getting serious now, and I think we will be seeing a win for Uruguay over South Korea, and I’ll go for an extra-time victory for the USA over Ghana.

Day 14: I Told You They Were Pasta Their Best

Slovakia 3 – 2 Italy

Paraguay 0 – 0 New Zealand

Denmark 1 – 3 Japan

Cameroon 1 – 2 Denmark

Six groups have now been resolved as the first phase of South Africa 2010 nears its conclusion, and there was a big shock in store as the reigning champions Italy were dethroned by a Slovakia side who looked reborn after two indifferent previous games. Looks like I picked the wrong game to focus on in Paraguay-New Zealand.

I did have both games on in front of me but paid most attention to the 0-0 draw that secured Paraguay’s place at the top of the table, even after Robert Vittek scored the unlikely opener, running onto a delightful pass from Juraj Kucka after Daniele de Rossi gave away posession poorly, because from that moment on it became apparent that the only next goal that could change the shape of the table would be a New Zealand one. So I kept watching, and while the goals kept flying in at both ends on the other screen, the All Whites (today in all black) and Paraguay played out a pretty dull stalemate. Paraguay were quite a way below the levels of their previous performances. Oscar Cardozo, so prolific for Benfica this season, was neither as dynamic, energetic or effective as Lucas Barrios, who was really missed and came on as a sub too late to lift the rest of the tam. Nelson Haedo Valdez put in a shift but couldn’t get any joy and it was little surprise to see him taken off as well. They did what they had to do, though, and took the draw, certainly giving New Zealand far fewer chances than the Azzuri did a few days ago. They’ll need to rediscover that energy in the knockout stages, though.

From what I did see of the Italy defeat it looked like a real classic, though – when Vittek joined Gonzalo Higuain as the tournament’s top scorer in the second half taking advantage of a moment of indecision by Giorgio Chiellini, it seemed impossible that even Italy, who so often squeeze through through sheer force of will, would be able to recover but they came close. Fabio Quagliarella, brought on at half-time with Christian Maggio as Marcello Lippi sought to correct a poor first half, had a shot sensationally cleared just off the line by Martin Skrtel, and later was involved in a strange incident literally inside the Slovakian goal when Antonio di Natale pulled one back with ten minutes to go. Quagliarella tussled with goalkeeper Jan Mucha to pick the ball out of the net and when Kucka intervened both men ended up on the floor, Quagliarella claiming to have been hit in the face. There was little time to dwell on it, though, as soon after, Italy conceded a really soft goal, allowing substitute Kamil Kopunek to run unchecked into the path of a simple throw-in and slot easily past Federico Marchetti. Quagliarella went on to score a good goal in injury time, but Simone Pepe wasn’t able to convert a far-post chance that would have equalised and spared Italian blushes.

For Italy this will be a real kick in the teeth despite low expectations coming into this tournament. On paper they really should have got out of this group, but the ageing elements of the squad were shown up today. Fabio Cannavaro in particular finished his exceptional international career with a shocking game today, lucky to have avoided a second booking for a lunge on Marek Hamsik, and Gianluca Zambrotta and Gennaro Gattuso hauled off at half-time. Cesare Prandelli, who will now take over from Lippi, will need to do some serious spring cleaning to rejuvenate this side, many of whom are sure to be in for a savaging by the Italian press.

In Group F, however, things went pretty much to plan for the top seeds as the Netherlands confirmed top spot with a relatively painless 2-1 win over Cameroon, who leave with nothing after a really poor World Cup. Robin van Persie finally opened his account for the competition with a decent finish from a wide-ish angle and, although Samuel Eto’o equalised from the penalty spot, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put a straightforward rebound from the returning Arjen Robben’s post-rattling shot to take the points and book a meeting with Slovakia in the next round, which is more appetising than manager Bert van Marwijk could have expected, even accounting for the massive boost that Slovakia will feel having vanquished the holders.

I was more focused on Japan’s impressive victory over a limp Denmark, however, in what was essentially the first straight knockout match of this tournament. In the early stages Japan looked content to play on the counter, as a draw would have suited them, but Denmark had few ideas up front, with Jon Dahl Tomasson particularly having a poor game. The game really came alive when Keisuke Honda netted the first absolute belter of a free-kick of this tournament, following Park Chu-Young’s more measured effort two days ago, from a huge distance out. He was helped by Thomas Sorensen, who made the first mistake of a really bad game by positioning himself badly in relation to his defensive wall, and consequently being stranded when the ball flew past him. It was a spectacular strike, though, take nothing away from it. What was incredible was that the next free-kick was even better, Yasuhito Endo producing a very David Beckham-like curler from a slightly shorter range that again Sorensen prepared badly for, placing the shortest member of the wall on the edge which made it easier for Endo. By that stage Japan looked totally dominant and the result was really a foregone conclusion from then on. It was evident that Denmark just didn’t have any ideas of how to break down a very solid Japanese defense, resorting to aimless long balls in search of Nicklas Bendtner that led to nothing.

In the second half Honda really took control of the game, causing constant trouble for Lars Jacobsen and Daniel Agger as he drifted in and out of the inside left position, and he made the third with a powerful run, keeping hold of the ball magnificently with great strength and ball control before laying it on a plate for the substitute Shinji Okazaki. This came after Denmark had pulled one back with a penalty, given slightly softly for a foul on Daniel Agger, who immediately gave the ball to Tomasson, who had showed exactly why he hadn’t scored in his past fourteen internationals, having been stuck one behind the all-time Danish goalscoring record. He did his best to avoid equalling that record, his average penalty being saved by Eiji Kawashima and nearly fluffing the rebound from a tiny distance, but luckily for him it did just trickle in. The two teams had been about equal in their previous two games but on this evidence it is impossible to argue with Japan’s qualficiation, which is their first appearance in the knockout stages not on home soil, a fine achievement for a nation that will surely grow larger as a footballing power in the coming years.

Man of the Day: Keisuke Honda really ran the show for Japan today, although Yuji Nakazawa was also brilliant at centre-back and Daisuke Matsui was an industrious, creative influence in the midfield. Robert Vittek must also get a mention for his fine example of a good poacher’s performance, but I’m sticking with Honda, who really caught the eye with a performance hinting at greater quality.

Tomorrow will probably begin with a Brazilian win over Portugal, alongside what I suspect will be a draw between North Korea and the Ivory Coast. The real fun happens in the evening, in a Group H with plenty of permutations. I don’t really see Switzerland scoring many against Honduras, and I’m going to plump for a draw there, with Spain to beat Chile and secure qualification. See you tomorrow.

Day 11: I Wouldn’t Tell The Dear Leader If I Were You…

Portugal 7 – 0 North Korea

Chile 1 – 0 Switzerland

Spain 2 – 0 Honduras

The second phase of group matches came to a close tonight with things looking pretty clear in one group and wide open in another, although nobody has actually confirmed qualification yet in either case. Unfortunately all three games turned out to be mostly one-sided affairs, too.

This was most evident in the opening game, the final lunchtime kick-off where Portugal broke North Korea’s willpower to create a pretty depressing seven-goal rout. Watching the first twenty-five minutes, you wouldn’t have seen it coming, with the North Koreans having the better of the earlier stages, every bit as resistant in defense as they were against Brazil but now with some added adventure, getting forward with more purpose than the Portuguese. The captain Hong Yong-Jo was particularly prominent, getting involved with most of the North Korean play in the final third where star striker Jong Tae-Se was less visible, unable to get the better of Ricardo Carvalho and Bruno Alves. As soon as the first goal went in, though, a simple finish by Raul Meireles from an incisive Tiago pass, their determination was visibly weakened, and this only got worse in the second half. They had been lucky to hang on to 1-0 at half-time but it only took Simao five minutes to extend the lead, and then the underdogs were completely lost. Probably feeling a little beaten down by the driving rain and plentiful Portuguese support, their dogged determination and organisation in defense simply melted away as tiredness crept in quite quickly. The goals became easier and easier to come by for Portugal, particularly using the avenue of Fabio Coentrao hurtling up from left-back, who had a very good game, making mincemeat of Cha Jong-Hyok.

Portugal haven’t confirmed their qualification but now are clear favourites to get through, because the Ivory Coast will realistically need to at least match this scoreline on Friday and hope that Brazil, who are already through and will be able to rest a few players, do a similar job on Portugal. The latter isn’t that unlikely, actually – Portugal just aren’t all that, especially in midfield, and this result should not be taken out of proportion – but it’s tough to see the Ivorians producing such a concerted, focused battering ram of an attacking performance. They, perhaps above all other teams here at the tournament (except perhaps England), are the most prone to producing attacking displays that do the job but are not truly representative of their potential power. North Korea are out but I think we can safely say that this result will not go down well at home and they will be under pressure to get at least a point in the last game, so I have trouble imagining the Ivory Coast scoring a great many. Their fate seems sealed.

There were fewer goals in the second match but it was far more compelling viewing than Portugal’s victory – Chile eventually secured a 1-0 victory over Switzerland, who, with ten men for most of the game following Valon Behrami’s entirely preventable red card for a raised arm in the face, parked the bus for as long as possible and nearly got away with it too. There was only ever going to be one winner but it took a long time to get there, with Chile not quite being able to take full advantage of their total dominance. Returning striker Humberto Suazo looked short of match fitness and sharpness and was duly hauled off at half-time. Alexis Sanchez was again impressive with his pace and trickery but also showed the same lack of a killer touch as he had against Honduras, save the effort that he had rightly disallowed for offside. The standout attacker was Jean Beausejour, who put in several testing crosses from the left but that nobody was able to pick up on properly. The breakthrough came with about fifteen minutes to go when Esteban Paredes, the substitute striker who went on to miss two great and pretty easy chances to take the game beyond doubt, whipped in a lovely cross from the byline and CSKA Moscow winger Mark Gonzalez headed it well at an angle that prevented Stephan Lichtsteiner from blocking it lest he end up handling the ball. Chile definitely deserved to win but will be worried with the quality of their finishing. Chances may not come quite so easily against Spain in the final game.

A lot was taken away from the game by its frustratingly over-officious referee, Khalil Al Ghamdi, who set the tone by booking Suazo in the first minute and blew his whistle for pretty much any contact whatsoever. He ended up issuing nine yellow cards and a red, some of which, shall we say, were more deserved than others. Despite his clear desire to take full control of the game, Al Ghamdi seemed to be losing it as on more than one occasion the game threatened to descend into a brawl as Swiss and Chilean players clashed preparing for set pieces. It wasn’t easy on the eye, that’s for sure. Switzerland, for their part, weren’t great, even accounting for Behrami’s dismissal. The defense did well, with Diego Benaglio looking assured in goal and Stephane Grichting putting everything into his performance, but the midfield struggled to stop Chile’s dominance of posession in just the situation where Gokhan Inler should have been at his best. Blaise N’kufo, hero in the Spain victory, just couldn’t get anything done alone up front (poor captain Alexander Frei, just returned from injury, was withdrawn after the red card) and was most involved in the game when trying to defend set pieces. They have to give Honduras as big a thwacking as possible on Friday to maximise their chances of qualification but I just don’t see that many goals in them. They’re a 1-0 side built for exactly the situation that Spain put them in, and I think they could struggle to do the task required of them against the Hondurans.

Speaking of Honduras, they’ll be pretty chuffed to only have lost 2-0 having been outclassed in every department by a much more confident Spain, and particularly David Villa. The Barcelona forward showed his class by scoring unquestionably the goal of the tournament so far, beating two men as he ran in from the left flank and using the defender’s incoming tackle to slide down and power the ball past the grasp of Noel Valladares. He doubled his tally just a few minutes into the second half with another great shot, albeit one that took a crucial slight deflection on its way in from just outside the area. He seemed in such potent form that it was quite a shock to see him put the ball comfortably wide from the penalty spot after the impressive Jesus Navas was brought down in the area, having sent the keeper the wrong way.

Spain as a whole were very good, although still short of top form. The introduction of Navas from the start gave them a little more flexibility with greater crossing ability. Fernando Torres, the main target for such crosses through the middle, was a bit off-colour, though, obviously not yet at full match fitness following his injury, but Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos did well. Xavi got himself into great positions and passed well as usual but should have been more willing to shoot when it was one. One chance towards the end of the second half could have been taken if he’d had the drive to hit first time the return pass from Navas on the edge of the area.

Honduras just weren’t able to cope with Spain and never looked like equalising, although half-time substitute Georgie Welcome kept running and running as if he alone believed otherwise. Sergio Mendoza had a torrid time at right-back, given the unwanted task of keeping a lid on Villa, and the midfield just weren’t able to hold on to the ball for any length of time. Switzerland should be more to their liking, though, and it must be said that forward Walter Martinez has my favourite hairdo of the tournament (I’m sure that thought will comfort them after such a comprehensive loss).

Man of the Day: It has to be Villa, though he’s run close by Fabio Coentrao and Jean Beausejour. He underlined his status as the deadliest striker in the world with his stunning first goal and did my fantasy football team a world of good too.

Tomorrow, Groups A and B come to a close. Group A will be a close one but I have a feeling Uruguay will sneak a win over Mexico, and France’s remarkable spiral of self-destruction that saw them refuse to train yesterday will almost certainly end in a hilarious loss to the hosts South Africa. I think that’s what everyone would like to see happen, anyway. In Group B it should be straightforward for South Korea and Argentina, who should not have problems beating Nigeria and Greece respectively. I’ll probably be watching Mexico-Uruguay and Greece-Argentina but may switch games if it looks worth my while. See you then.

Day 10: Everything Turned Out All White

Slovakia 0 – 2 Paraguay

Italy 1 – 1 New Zealand

Brazil 3 – 1 Ivory Coast

It was a day to remember at the World Cup as we saw the most surprising, inspiring result so far in the tournament, as well as an impressive showing from a dark horse and some refereeing controversy.

I’ll start, as ever, with the lunchtime kick-off (only one more of those left!) and Paraguay’s routine win over Slovakia. A win was always expected Gerardo Martino’s side but it’s fair to say that we were hoping for a bit more from Slovakia and their captain Marek Hamsik in particular, their best player who was disappointing against New Zealand and completely anonymous today. Paraguay took full advantage of an off-colour Slovakian performance to comfortably record a victory that puts them in pole position to qualify (and on this form they’ll be glad to have earnt a two point cushion before facing New Zealand themselves), this time moving to the formation I was hoping to see them play with three up front, Roque Santa Cruz returning to the starting lineup. There were worries that they might not have enough width but that really wasn’t a problem at all. Nelson Haedo Valdez, in a performance that reminded me more than a little of Carlos Tevez, put in a brilliant all-action shift on the left of the forward three giving support to the full-back Claudio Morel. Neither Santa Cruz nor Lucas Barrios really took up the same role on the right flank but Slovakia were poor enough not to offer Carlos Bonet any significant resistance on his trips up from right-back. Ironically for a strikeforce that a) has been so lauded pre-tournament and b) has done quite a lot to justify that so far this tournament, none of them have scored yet, with midfielder Enrique Vera popping up to snatch the first goal in great style, latching on to a wonderful pass by Barrios to flick the ball confidently into the corner while being tackled by a Slovakian defender. For me that was the goal of the tournament so far. Cristian Riveros sealed the victory with a powerful shot, although had Oscar Cardozo and Vera not got in each other’s way just before one of them might have scored instead.

Paraguay have started really strongly, as good as Argentina I would argue, though obviously in a different way. They are solid, athletic, with clever passing and a really energetic frontline who should cause any team in this World Cup problems. Valdez in particular has been a real star.

Things may yet get more complicated for them, though, because their final group game will be against a team who will believe they can do anything – New Zealand, who made today the greatest day in their footballing history by bravely and exceptionally holding on to a 1-1 draw against holders Italy. They shocked the reigning champions by taking the lead after just six minutes, although the debate will rumble on about whether Shane Smeltz was offside when he poked it past Federico Marchetti. I was worried that their will might break when Tommy Smith conceded a soft penalty by holding Daniele De Rossi’s shirt and Vincenzo Iaquinta calmly converted the spot-kick, but they clung on until half-time and during the second half produced one of the most resilient, determined defensive performances I’ve seen in a long time. Inspired by the magnificent captain Ryan Nelsen, they blocked every shot, intercepted every pass, won every header to emerge unscathed from a barrage of Italian pressure. They might even have won it if the thoroughly impressive substitute, young Chris Wood from West Brom, had had just a little more luck when he did really well to power past two defenders and get a shot away. It was only a matter of inches away from restoring their lead.

Ricki Herbert has clearly done a fantastic job motivating this group of players, some of whom, like today’s late substitute Andy Barron, are semi-professionals who had to ask for special leave from their day jobs to play at the World Cup. They have nothing to lose and have channeled that into two performances full of pride, and now they have as good a chance as anyone to make it to the second round. Not even a spot of disappointingly blatant cheating by some Italian players when it came to feigning injury from inocuous challenges (mentioning no names, Domenico Criscito) could stop them. Italy didn’t play all that badly, either – they constantly pressed and changed their formation to keep asking questions of the All Whites. It was just that New Zealand handled everything they threw at them. There are problems for Italy going into their decider with Slovakia, though – Alberto Gilardino looked lost again today and doesn’t look like scoring any time soon, and Claudio Marchisio, supposedly one of the great hopes of this new-look younger Italian side, also had another very poor game. Marcello Lippi may be tempted to bring back an old hand or two into the starting lineup to try to ensure qualification.

The most anticipated game of the day came this evening as Brazil met the Ivory Coast. Sadly, it turned out to be both a one-sided and quite dull game, despite the scoreline. For most of the first half Brazil were unadventurous and uninteresting but too solid for the Ivorians to get anywhere, the returning and obviously below-match-fitness Dider Drogba forlorn and isolated up front, and then out of nowhere they fought their way through and Luis Fabiano hit an unstoppable shot from an improbable angle to give them the lead. It was a very impressive strike indeed, as was his second five minutes into the second half – pity it should have been disallowed for not one but two handballs as he forced his way into a shooting position. There was a laughable image that followed as the referee simply asked Fabiano if he had handled the ball. No prizes for guessing the answer, and that was that.

If it wasn’t already, the game looked totally dead and buried when Kaka suddenly remembered he was a good footballer and made a great run out wide before cutting the ball back right into the path of Elano who made it 3-0, but soon after the Galatasaray midfielder was taken off injured, having been caught painfully right on the shin bone. No word yet on if he’ll be back, but Dunga, who’s always been a big fan of Elano despite his struggles for consistent good form at club level in recent years, will have his fingers crossed. That will be especially true with Kaka suspended for the final group game against Portugal. Yes, Kaka got sent off this evening, given a ludicrous second yellow by the referee who had no view at all of the incident where Kaka simply put his arm out to ward Kader Keita off, it bumped into the Ivorian’s chest and then Keita shamefully crumpled to the floor clutching his face and screaming in “agony”. The Ivory Coast, seeing their teammate on the floor, appealed, then started a stupid scuffle with the Brazilians as they tried to remonstrate with Kaka, and the referee, who had been looking the other way and therefore could not fairly give a card for the matter (which of course was nowhere near a booking anyway), judged by their reaction and showed the Real Madrid man his second yellow. It was disgraceful refereeing, and astonishingly we are now at nine red cards in just ten days.

Man of the Day: Honourable mention to Nelson Haedo Valdez but the best player today was Ryan Nelsen, who was always one step ahead of Italy and who marshalled a less experienced defence to a stirring result. I can’t help but also give shoutouts to Mark Paston, Winston Reid, Tommy Smith, Simon Elliott, Leo Bertos and Ivan Vicelich – it really was an oustanding performance all over the pitch for the All Whites.

Tomorrow, an iffy Portugal may just struggle against North Korea but will probably depressingly scrape it 1-0 or some such, Chile should beat Switzerland and I fancy Spain to regain some confidence by giving Honduras a mighty battering, and then that’ll be that for round two of the group stage!

Day 6: Forlan of Hope and Glory

Honduras 0 – 1 Chile

Spain 0 – 1 Switzerland

South Africa 0 – 3 Uruguay

An intriguing day at the World Cup has ended on something of a sad note as the hosts’ hopes of making the second round took a body blow, but as always we’ll start with the first game, where we finally got a look at Chile, a side I’ve been waiting with some anticipation to see in action, and I was not disappointed. Given most of the posession by a Honduras side trying to play on the break, Chile took advantage although they failed to convert a number of chances, much like Argentina and Mexico already in this tournament. However they will be delighted with their performance, especially with super striker Humberto Suazo still to return from injury. When he is ready to play, Jorge Valdivia can drop back to his preferred playmaker role and Matias Fernandez can move to the left, and that should see them an even stronger side than we saw today. Alexis Sanchez was the main star for Chile, causing constant problems for the Honduran defenders although if anything he could have been a little less selfish – one a couple of occasions, Sanchez tried to dribble too long or shoot when it wasn’t really on. He also threw himself to the ground a few times looking for free kicks where none were deserved. Remind you of anyone? No wonder Real Madrid are sniffing around.

Honduras, though, don’t look like having any sort of impact on this group at all, even when they get their own Suazo striker, David, back. They didn’t show any spark at all and surely cannot hope to dig out the sort of result that Switzerland managed this afternoon, stunning everyone (certainly me) with a dogged, hard-fought 1-0 upset over favourites Spain. It’s hard to say they really deserved it: the goal came from their only serious attack of the whole game and was bundled over the line by Blaise N’Kufo only after the Spanish defence fell completely asleep, having been duped by the Swiss’ total lack of enterprise into forgetting they were actually playing football rather than watching it. They did defend much better, though, tucking in really narrow so that Spain were constantly forced to pass the ball out wide, which is not how they prefer to play. David Villa was totally isolated on his own up front and Fernando Torres too was successfully crowded out after his arrival. Andres Iniesta on the left seemed very reluctant to try and cross the ball, which was the only option he really had, but even if he had tried Villa in particular is not really an aerial threat. If I were Vicente del Bosque I would have been very tempted to put Fernando Llorente up front, the tall Athletic Bilbao striker who would have given them that option. Villa’s scoring record for Spain is unquestioned but he clearly was having no impact on the game at all and you feel that had Silva been on the left, Jesus Navas on the right, and Torres and Llorente through the middle, Spain would have stood a better chance of breaking down the Swiss rearguard.

As it is they now face a battle to get out of their group. They must hope that Chile do not suffer the same fate against Switzerland, though tactically that side should face similar problems, and then to get a positive result against the South Americans in the final group game. It is a bonus that Spain’s next match is against Honduras, where a morale-boosting thumping could well be on the cards. In many ways this is the real test for Spain – the mental barrier of the World Cup apparently still remains but the Honduras game represents an opportunity to get over that barrier right in front of our eyes and send out a message that they are still the best side in the world. I’m still optimistic for Spain’s chances but they will need to build up momentum to get out of this group, and score plenty of goals while doing it if they want to finish top and avoid a meeting with Brazil in the second round.

With the first round of group games over, the second set of matches started in more promising fashion in terms of style and intent, as Uruguay were clearly more determined to get a win having avoided defeat in their first game. The gap in class between them and South Africa was clear as day, Diego Forlan in particular turning in an assured, confident performance pulling the strings in a slightly unfamiliar role behind the two main strikers. Far from being intimidated by the atmosphere in Pretoria, where the noise particularly during the South African national anthem as the entire stadium bellowed out at incredible volume, Uruguay seemed to shine under pressure. Several players upped their game from the underwhelming France stalemate, Luis Suarez in particular showing up with more threat and purpose than he had against Les Bleus despite not getting in the goals. The sending off of goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was a heartbreaking moment but the referee, Massimo Busacca, got the decision spot on, Suarez having been onside as the ball was played through and the keeper unable to avoid bringing him down. Forlan again showed incredible calm and mental strength to hit such a brilliant penalty having had to wait for many minutes as Bafana Bafana scrambled to bring their substitute keeper onto the pitch.

This result means South Africa face an uphill struggle to qualify for the second round. They were always going to be up against it but after the opening match there was a feeling that they could run it closer than people expected. They’re not down and out just yet, though, as to bet against Raymond Domenech’s France making a hash of things would be a brave bet indeed. I hope the local fans stick by their team, as it was such a sad sight seeing so many of them trudge out of the stadium after the second goal went in.

Man of the Day: Diego Forlan. He completely ran the show against South Africa and showed his talent and adaptability by taking to the role behind the main strikers like a duck to water.

Tomorrow, Argentina meet South Korea in what could be a really fascinating game – I’m going to go for a draw there, Greece will probably grind out a 0-1 defeat to Nigeria, and France face Mexico in a decisive Group A game where I would expect Mexico to emerge on top.

Day 5: Ki-we didn’t see that coming…

New Zealand 1 – 1 Slovakia

Ivory Coast 0 – 0 Portugal

Brazil 2 – 1 North Korea

Due to outside circumstances I wasn’t able to devote my complete attention to all the games today but luckily there were only a handful of important moments rather than entire games of tension and excitement. New Zealand versus Slovakia encompassed this completely. The first half wasn’t much of a spectacle but that played right into the Kiwis’ hands. They started solidly and determinedly, not giving much away to the Slovakians who enjoyed the majority of posession. Slovakia seemed a little low on ideas. Captain Marek Hamsik tried his hardest and Vittek took his chance well to open the scoring but they would have been flattered by a 1-0 win and so justice was done in dramatic fashion as, in the 93rd minute, right-back and former Danish under-21 international Winston Reid ran up to the opposition box to head home and secure the Kiwis’ first ever World Cup point. That was a great moment to watch as the New Zealand players went nuts.

But crikey, Ivory Coast – Portugal. That was dull as dishwater. We probably should have seen it coming – of course neither team wanted to lose that game and were always going to play cautiously, but I suppose I assumed that both sides’ being loaded with attack-minded players would override that. Bloody Ronaldo’s early long range shot that rattled the crossbar was probably the best chance of the match although by my reckoning the Ivorian forwards were more impressive, giving some hope if they have to start without Drogba again in the big game next up against Brazil. He didn’t seem to have much more to offer when he did eventually make it on, either. A just result all told, neither team deserved to get more than a point out of that, and seeing as both sides clearly would have taken 0-0 before the game, it leaves you wondering exactly why they bothered playing it at all.

Speaking of Brazil, we all expected them to beat North Korea in the final game tonight but it certainly wasn’t supposed to be quite so close. The Koreans went into half time at 0-0 having admirably kept the samba stars at bay, their five-man defensive line standing firm against admittedly a Brazil team somewhat lacking in inspiration, and once or twice nearly got star striker Jong Tae-se through on goal. When Maicon put Dunga’s team into the lead 10 minutes into the second half with a tight-angled strike that swerved in enough to raise questions over whether he really meant it, you did feel that it was inevitable, and there were understandable worries that it would cause a landslide as the Koreans’ work came to naught, but to their credit they kept going and even after they conceded a second (Elano’s fabulous one-touch finish one of the best goals so far this tournament)  you couldn’t help but smile when they grabbed a late consolation. The delight on Ji Yun-Nam’s face was a joy to see, doing justice to the one North Korean fan’s poster saying “forget politics for 90 minutes”. I certainly did.

Man of the Day: Robinho’s second half against North Korea saw him express himself very well and he threaded through a pinpoint pass of real class for Elano’s second goal. Probably the standout performance for me today.

Tomorrow, Honduras should lose to Chile, my picks Spain should get a good result against an average Switzerland, and then the hosts South Africa face Uruguay in what might be a tight game. My feeling is another draw.

World Cup Guide: Group H Preview

GROUP H

SPAIN

FIFA World Ranking: 2

Team Colours: Red shirts with yellow trim, blue shorts with yellow trim, red socks. Away kit is dark blue shirts with red and yellow trim, dark blue shorts with red and yellow trim, dark blue socks.

Manager: Vicente del Bosque came out of semi-retirement, having not coached since leaving Besiktas in 2005, to take charge of Spain following their Euro 2008 triumph and has carried on in much the same way that his predecessor, Luis Aragones, left off, relying on one-touch passing through midfield, and has had plenty of success. Del Bosque is best known for his four year stint at the helm of Real Madrid between 1999 and 2003, during which he won the Intercontinental Cup and twice won La Liga and the Champions League.

Form: Scary. Spain have won all but one game under del Bosque (the one loss being to the USA in the Confederations Cup semi last summer), including a 100% record in a qualifying group which included tricky sides like Turkey and Bosnia & Herzegovina. In the last few months they have comfortably beaten Argentina and France in friendlies, and more recently they’ve swept their warmup matches, beating Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and most impressively, Poland by six goals to no reply. At the moment Spain are something of a machine.

Captain: Goalkeeper Iker Casillas is right up there with Buffon and Julio Cesar squabbling over who gets to be called the best keeper in the world, and the 29-year-old, who has made nearly 400 appearances for Real Madrid, is an inspirational figure between the sticks, regularly pulling off saves that he has no right to make. Will forever be idolised in Spain for being the captain that broke their 44-year duck to lead La Seleccion to triumph at Euro 2008.

Key Man: It seems frankly rude to pick just one out of the Spanish line-up, but even in such mighty company, David Villa strikes out. The Barcelona-bound striker is simply the most impressive forward in the world game right now, terrorising defences all over the world with his searing pace, clinical finishing and, for Spain, his perfect understanding with Fernando Torres, who, you may have heard, is also a bit talented. He can drop deep to aid in the build-up play from around the midfield or drift wide only to cut back inside to devastating effect.

Man to Watch: The only reason why Sevilla winger Jesus Navas only has six caps to his name is a serious anxiety problem that forced him to retire from international football before making a single appearance soon after he emerged in the Spanish game, but last year he resolved to overcome his condition and force his way into the squad for South Africa. Spanish fans will be delighted – Navas has enjoyed his best season yet for the Andalucian side, maturing into a more effective, destructive player than ever before. His pace with and without the ball really has to be seen to be believed. Expect to see Navas come off the bench to run at tired left-backs down the right flank and cause havoc in the opposition box.

Prediction: There are a couple of injury worries over two-parts-of-the-same-player midfield passing robots Xavi and Andres Iniesta but they should be fit to play, but the Spanish need not worry all that much anyway – they have by far the deepest squad in the tournament, particularly in midfield, where world-class talents Cesc Fabregas, Juan Manuel Mata, Jesus Navas and Sergio Busquets will probably all be on the bench. The only barrier to Spain bulldozing their way to what could be the most beautiful World Cup win ever is the mental hurdle of the World Cup – obviously they got the monkey off their back by winning the Euros, but the biggest tournament of all is another kettle of fish,if you pardon my mixing of zoological metaphors. That said, I can’t look past Spain to win this year. Their probable final clash with Brazil should be a belter, as well.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Iker Casillas, captain (Real Madrid)

12. Victor Valdes (Barcelona)

23. Pepe Reina (Liverpool)

Defenders

2. Raul Albiol (Real Madrid)

3. Gerard Pique (Barcelona)

4. Carlos Marchena (Valencia)

5. Carles Puyol (Barcelona)

11. Joan Capdevila (Villarreal)

15. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

17. Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid)

Midfielders

6. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

8. Xavi (Barcelona)

10. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

13. Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia)

14. Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

16. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona)

20. Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao)

21. David Silva (Valencia)

22. Jesus Navas (Sevilla)

Forwards

7. David Villa (Barcelona)

9. Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

18. Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona)

19. Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao)

SWITZERLAND

FIFA World Ranking: 24

Team Colours: Red shirts with white trim, white shorts, red socks. Away kit is the inverse.

Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld’s CV commands respect – one of only three men to win the Champions League with two different clubs (Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich), he’s won the Bundesliga seven times and the Intercontinental Cup twice. He’s more than familiar with Swiss football having played there for nine years and managed three Swiss clubs before going on to achieve so much in Germany, where he was named the greatest Bundesliga coach of all time as well as Bayern Munich’s best ever coach. Not bad.

Form: Switzerland started qualifying very slowly – a 1-1 draw with Israel was followed by an embarrassing loss to Luxembourg – but picked themselves up to finish top of their group ahead of Greece, including a five-game winning streak. Their warmup games haven’t been much good, though – they lost against Uruguay and a distinctly average Costa Rica side, but picked up enough to draw 1-1 with Italy on Saturday.

Captain: FC Basel striker Alexander Frei is his country’s all-time leading goalscorer and certainly one of the most capable players in the Swiss squad. He scores hatfuls of goals wherever he goes – including 48 in 100 games for Rennes, 31 in 69 for Borussia Dortmund and now 15 in 19 for his hometown club which he returned to last summer. With 40 in 73 internationals, Frei is very much the focal point of the Swiss attack and will want to make up for Euro 2008, where he was taken off injured during the first match and never featured again in the tournament.

Key Man: Udinese defensive midfielder Gokhan Inler has long been linked with a move a big Premier League club, and if Switzerland do well you can be sure those rumours will resurface. Sitting in the centre of the Swiss engine room, Inler’s tough, dominating approach governs his team’s play, and if he can be shut out of the game, opponents will find a much less cohesive unit in their way.

Man to Watch: Known amusingly as “Forrest Gump” for the way he’s constantly running, Lazio right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner should be an energetic presence for Switzerland. After ignoring interesting from Paris Saint-Germain and Everton following his performances at Euro 2008, Lichtsteiner has formed a potent partnership with Serbian man to watch Aleksandar Kolarov at Lazio and can be deployed further forward at right midfield if required.

Prediction: Switzerland are plenty willing but, Frei aside, lack attacking potency. If anything happens to their captain I can’t see where the goals are going to come from and they should be too rigid to trouble the likes of Spain and Chile in this group. An early exit for Hitzfeld’s boys beckons.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg)

12. Marco Wolfli (Young Boys)

21. Johnny Leoni (FC Zurich)

Midfielders

2. Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lazio)

3. Ludovic Magnin (FC Zurich)

4. Philippe Senderos (Fulham)

5. Steve von Bergen (Hertha Berlin)

13. Stephane Grichting (Auxerre)

17. Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria)

22. Mario Eggimann (Hannover 96)

Midfielders

6. Benjamin Huggel (FC Basel)

7. Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen)

8. Gokhan Inler (Udinese)

11. Valon Behrami (West Ham United)

14. Marco Padalino (Sampdoria)

15. Hakan Yakin (Luzern)

16. Gelson Fernandes (Saint Etienne)

20. Pirmin Schwegler (Eintracht Frankfurt)

23. Xherdan Shaqiri (FC Basel)

Forwards

9. Alexander Frei, captain (FC Basel)

10. Blaise Nkufo (Seattle Sounders)

18. Albert Bunjaku (Nurnberg)

19. Eren Derdiyok (Bayer Leverkusen)

HONDURAS

FIFA World Ranking: 38

Team Colours: White shirts with blue trim and a short horizontal stripe across the chest in various shades of  blue, white shorts, white socks. Away kit is blue shirts with both lighter and darker blue trim and the same stripe, blue shorts, blue socks.

Manager: Colombian Reinaldo Rueda’s first management job saw him lead the Colombian Under-20s to third place in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, and soon after he was promoted to the main job for qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, where he picked up a team in disarray and steered them to a mid-table finish in South America. Since taking the reins at Honduras in early 2007 he has won great popularity by returning Honduras to the tournament they last participated in in 1982.

Form: Honduras surprisingly came top of their third round qualifying group ahead of Mexico, as well as Jamaica and Canada, before edging out Costa Rica on goal difference to reach South Africa automatically, and condemning Costa Rica to a playoff with Uruguay that they went on to lose. They never really set the world alight, though, and would have missed out on the trip to South Africa if the USA had not come from behind to snatch a draw with the Costa Ricans. Their warmups could have gone a lot better – losses to Venezuela and Romania and draws with Belarus and Azerbaijan aren’t good enough to signal that this team will be competitive this summer.

Captain: Attacking midfielder Amado Guevara is Honduras’ most capped player of all time, having won 135 caps over 16 years in the international side. He spent a few years in the MLS with the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC but now plies his trade in the Honduran league with Motagua. The crowning moment of his career so far was being named MVP in the Copa America in 2001, a tournament which Honduras only entered a day before it started when Argentina pulled out, and he led them to a shock semifinal finish that year – I doubt he’s dreaming that far ahead in South Africa though.

Key Man: Look no further than evergreen striker Carlos Pavon, according to a poll, the most popular footballer in the world. The 36-year-old journeyman, who’s played for 14 different teams, some of them two or three times, has nabbed 57 goals in exactly 100 international games and remains Honduras’ main man up front. Currently still banging them in for Real Espana in Honduras, his first club whom he has played for in five separate spells, Pavon will be keen to take this last chance on the world stage.

Man to Watch: Keep an eye out for Pavon’s understudy, the magnificently named Georgie Welcome, another Motagua player who scored an incredible goal for Honduras in a friendly against Latvia in November.

Prediction: Despite a couple of very good players – Tottenham’s Wilson Palacios is another, more well-known face who can cause problems for any team – Honduras look pretty limited and results recently have been far from encouraging. A lack of high-level know-how throughout the team will be a stumbling block when it comes to overcoming canny sides like Switzerland and Chile, and though they have the potential to manage it, it would be an upset if Honduras won a game here.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Ricardo Canales (Motagua)

18. Noel Valladares (Olimpia)

22. Donis Escober (Olimpia)

Defenders

2. Osman Chavez (Platense)

3. Maynor Figueroa (Wigan)

4. Johnny Palacios (Olimpia)

5. Victor Bernardez (Anderlecht)

14. Oscar Boniek Garcia (Olimpia)

16. Mauricio Sabillon (Hangzhou Nabel Greentown)

21. Emilio Izaguirre (Motagua)

23. Sergio Mendoza (Motagua)

Midfielders

6. Hendry Thomas (Wigan)

7. Ramon Nunez (Olimpia)

8. Wilson Palacios (Tottenham)

10. Julio Cesar de Leon (Torino)

13. Roger Espinosa (Kansas City Wizards)

17. Edgar Alvarez (Bari)

19. Danilo Turcios (Olimpia)

20. Amada Guevara, captain (Motagua)

Forwards

9. Carlos Pavon (Real Espana)

11. David Suazo (Inter)

12. Georgie Welcome (Motagua)

15. Walter Martinez (Marathon)

CHILE

FIFA World Ranking: 18

Team Colours: Red shirts with white trim, blue shorts, white socks. Away kit is white shirts with blue trim, white shorts, blue socks.

Manager: Marcelo Bielsa’s last appearance at the World Cup, as coach of Argentina in 2002, did not go so well, with his native side being knocked out of the Group of Death, but he was surprisingly allowed to continue until he resigned in 2004. He didn’t take another job until Chile came calling in 2007 and has been busy turning them into a seriously good side since then. Fans are currently campaigning for him to renew his contract, which ends after the World Cup, so he must be doing something right.

Form: The youngest South American side at the finals romped to second in the South American qualifying group, clinching their plane tickets with a game to spare thanks to an entertaining 4-2 defeat of Colombia. They scored more than half of their points away from home and were the second highest scorers in the group, playing a strange 3-3-1-3 formation and winning with style and resolve. A 1-0 loss to Mexico aside, their friendlies have gone well, with wins over Trinidad & Tobago, Zambia, Northern Ireland and Israel, the latter two being played on the same day by two separate Chilean XIs, as Bielsa tested out every one of his 23-man squad plus a few extra players to make up the numbers. There’s strength in depth in this side.

Captain: Claudio Bravo, who plays in goal for Spanish second divison side Real Sociedad, has recently returned from an injury that ended his league season in February, shortly after he scored his first career goal with a free kick. He has captained the side ever since legendary striker Marcelo Salas retired from internationals in 2007. Chile will be hoping he has no lingering fitness worries as they don’t really have an adequate backup in his position.

Key Man: Definitely Monterrey striker Humberto Suazo, a brilliant forward man who topped the South American goal charts in qualifying with ten goals, and has spent the past few months on loan at Real Zaragoza. A prolific scorer in the Chilean leagues with a strike rate in the region of two in three, it’s a wonder the 29-year-old hasn’t been snapped up by a European side yet, but he may well get his chance with a good showing in South Africa.

Man to Watch: Sitting in behind Suazo and the strikers will be Sporting CP’s Matias Fernandez. The former Villarreal man is brilliantly creative with a magical dribble and is a serious dangerman for Chile, whose three forwards will either feed off him to get in a scoring position or draw the defenders away from him and allow him to pop up at the last minute to tuck the ball away. Only 24 years old, Fernandez could become a big star as a result of the exposure here.

Prediction: Chile were excellent in qualifying and look ready to impress people in South Africa. They’ll score plenty of goals and their unusual formation should create problems for the European sides who only really play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 these days. I don’t think they’ll have any trouble coming second in this group and might even give Spain a scare, and if anyone can beat Brazil in the second round, it’s them.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Claudio Bravo, captain (Real Sociedad)

12. Miguel Pinto (Universidad de Chile)

23. Luis Marin (Union Espanola)

Defenders

2. Ismael Fuentes (Universidad Catolica)

3. Waldo Ponce (Universidad Catolica)

4. Mauricio Isla (Udinese)

5. Pablo Contreras (PAOK)

17. Gary Medel (Boca Juniors)

18. Gonzalo Jara (West Brom)

Midfielders

6. Carlos Carmona (Lazio)

8. Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen)

10. Jorge Valdivia (Al-Ain)

13. Marco Estrada (Montpellier)

14. Matias Fernandez (Sporting CP)

19. Gonzalo Fierro (Flamengo)

20. Rodrigo Millar (Colo-Colo)

21. Rodrigo Tello (Besiktas)

Forwards

7. Alexis Sanchez (Udinese)

9. Humberto Suazo (Monterrey)

11. Mark Gonzalez (CSKA Moscow)

15. Jean Beausejour (America)

16. Fabian Orellana (Xerez)

22. Esteban Paredes (Colo-Colo)

World Cup Guide: Group F Preview

GROUP F

ITALY

FIFA World Ranking: 5

Team Colours: Blue shirts with white trim and a strange and complex darker blue pattern on the front, blue shorts with white trim, blue socks with white trim. Away kit is white shirts with blue and gold trim, white shorts with blue trim, white socks. Both kits have a snazzy Italian flag on the front of the waistband.

Manager: Marcello Lippi is one of the managers who commands the most respect on the world stage. The only coach to have won both the Champions League and the World Cup, he was named by the Times as one of the top 50 managers of all time. He returned to the Italian job (heh heh) after two years out having led them to victory in Germany four years ago, following Roberto Donadoni’s uninspiring reign culminating in a quarter-final exit in Euro 2008. In Lippi’s book Il Gioco delle Idee: Pensieri e Passioni da Bordo Campo (A Game of Ideas: Thoughts and Passions from the Sidelines), he discussed his managerial philosophies, including primarily the importance of team spirit and unity, and picking players who have good relations with each other and can work together effectively, saying “the best team does not necessarily include the best players”.

Form: Unbeaten Italy finished comfortably top of their group, six points ahead of the Republic of Ireland, though they did not particularly dazzle. Pragmatism and efficiency were the watchwords with attacking verve a little lacking. Recent friendly results have been underwhelming, too, with Cameroon holding them 0-0, Switzerland hanging on for a 1-1 draw and Mexico beating the Azzuri in Brussels. Italian fans, however, are optimistic.

Captain: At 36, and heading to Al-Ahli Dubai at the end of this tournament, centre-back Fabio Cannavaro is entering the final phase of his career. Originally he intended to retire from international duty at the end of Euro 2008 but when a last-minute injury kept him out of that competition he resolved to come back and lead his country’s defence of the World Cup, but while his class and experience remain, there have been signs this season that he may be a fading force physically, having been part of a leaky Juventus defence which was at times seriously exposed as the Old Lady finished a disappointing 7th in Serie A.

Key Man: The obvious choice would be Gianluigi Buffon, still only 32, but, from what I can see, far more important is midfielder Daniele De Rossi, the heir apparent to Francesco Totti’s captain’s armband at Roma. The all-action central midfielder is an excellent well-rounded player with a great physical presence, plenty of skill and an iron will. I’ve not been his biggest fan since he introduced himself to me with an ugly elbow against the USA that earned him a red card, and that wasn’t really an isolated incident (playing next to Gennaro Gattuso must have rubbed off on him), but it’s impossible not to respect this hugely gifted player. At 26, De Rossi is reaching the peak of his powers and, surrounded by the ageing, fading Gattuso, Pirlo and Camoranesi, he needs to be the man running the show if Italy are to go far.

Man to Watch: He’ll start on the bench behind Alberto Gilardino, but 25-year-old Sampdoria striker Giampaolo Pazzini is definitely one to keep an eye on. After four slightly frustrating years at Fiorentina, Pazzini has found a new lease of life with the resurgent Sampdoria where in two years and 56 games he’s already scored 30 goals, drawing the attentions of several Champions League clubs. Strong and imposing, he has combined to great effect with omitted troublemaker Antonio Cassano at club level and could prove a similar foil for the similarly creative Antonio Di Natale if given the chance by Lippi.

Prediction: I’m not quite sure what to think about Italy. On paper they look impressive but their form over the last year has been less than that, and their older generation is definitely fading. They should definitely be solid enough to top their group but when it comes to the knockout stages I think they could be vulnerable to an upset by a team with enough pace and dynamism in midfield. My head says they’ll be out in the quarters at the hands of the Spanish – my gut is making noises about Denmark in the second round.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

12. Federico Marchetti (Cagliari)

14. Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli)

Defenders

2. Christian Maggio (Napoli)

3. Domenico Criscito (Genoa)

4. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

5. Fabio Cannavaro, captain (Al-Ahli Dubai)

13. Salvatore Bochetti (Genoa)

19. Gianluca Zambrotta (A.C. Milan)

23. Leonardo Bonucci (Bari)

Midfielders

6. Daniele De Rossi (Roma)

7. Simone Pepe (Udinese)

8. Gennaro Gattuso (A.C. Milan)

15. Claudio Marchisio (Juventus)

16. Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus)

17. Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria)

21. Andrea Pirlo (A.C. Milan)

22. Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina)

Forwards

9. Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus)

10. Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)

11. Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina)

18. Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli)

20. Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria)

PARAGUAY

FIFA World Ranking: 31

Team Colours: Red shirts with white vertical stripes and trim, blue shorts with white trim, blue socks with white trim. Away kit is white shirts with blue and red trim, white shorts with blue and red trim, white socks with blue trim.

Manager: Nominated by fans of Newell’s Old Boys in his native Argentina as the club’s greatest ever player, Gerardo Martino nonetheless only made one appearance in the blue and white of his national side. Since retiring from playing in 1996, Martino has spent several short spells managing several clubs in the Argentinian and Paraguayan leagues, leading to his appointment as Paraguay manager in early 2007. Since then he has presided ably over Paraguay’s most successful qualification since the current South American system was introduced.

Form: For the first time in the current CONMEBOL qualification system, Paraguay broke the 30 point barrier to finish third on 33 points behind only Brazil and Chile, and tied with Chile for the most wins (10). They sealed their trip to South Africa by beating Argentina, prompting the President to declare a national holiday in celebration. Their recent friendlies have been a mixed bag, dominating posession but unable to prevent a defeat by the Republic of Ireland, earning a hard-fought draw with the Ivory Coast, and then dispatching Greece 2-0 in their most recent game.

Captain: Described by the BBC’s South American football correspondent Tim Vickery as “the Paraguayan Nobby Stiles”, 35-year-old centre-back Denis Caniza is the only Paraguayan footballer to be selected for four World Cup squads, having appeared first at France 98. He was voted captain by his international teammates so enjoys their total respect, although he does have to be described as “captain when he plays” for the amount of games that he has a habit of missing through niggling injuries and suspensions.

Key Man: With Manchester City’s Roque Santa Cruz injured for most of the qualification campaign it was Benfica’s Oscar Cardozo who stepped up to lead the line for Paraguay, and he did so ably, partnered with Nelson Haedo Valdez and between them the two scored 11 goals. Cardozo, though, will be the main threat up front, having scored a monstrous 38 goals in all competitions for Benfica this season. He has a frightening goals-to-games ratio of nearly 2 in 3 for his club. Primarily a left-footed player, Cardozo is tall and strong and has an explosive long-range shot.

Man to Watch: Paraguayan fans are less than thrilled that Argentinian-born Lucas Barrios is playing for Paraguay these days, but politics aside, the Borussia Dortmund striker is an exciting prospect. He’s already scored 3 goals in 3 games for his adopted country, having moved to Dortmund off the back of a mind-blowing 49 goals in 53 games for Chilean side Colo-Colo. Due to Paraguay’s embarrassment of riches up front he may start on the bench but you can be sure that he will get some playing time this summer and if given a chance in the box, he’ll almost certainly take it.

Prediction: Paraguay look very strong this year, boasting an experienced side with lots of attacking firepower to juggle around, and should have no trouble qualifying for the second round. I wouldn’t rule out them getting a result against Italy, either, but I suspect they will probably come second and thus face the Netherlands in the round of sixteen. That should be a fascinating match but my money would be on the Dutch there, whose similarly varied attacking talent should expose their main weakness, goalkeeper Justo Villar who is a little short and vulnerable in the air. This should definitely be their strongest showing yet, though.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Justo Villar (Valladolid)

12. Diego Barreto (Cerro Porteno)

22. Aldo Bobadilla (Independiente Medellin)

Defenders

2. Dario Veron (Pumas)

3. Claudio Morel (Boca Juniors)

4. Denis Caniza, captain (Leon)

5. Julio Cesar Caceres (Atletico Mineiro)

6. Carlos Bonet (Olimpia)

14. Paulo da Silva (Sunderland)

17. Aureliano Torres (San Lorenzo)

21. Antolin Alcaraz (Wigan)

Midfielders

8. Edgar Barreto (Atalanta)

11. Jonathan Santana (Wolfsburg)

13. Enrique Vera (Atlas)

15. Victor Caceres (Libertad)

16. Cristian Riveros (Sunderland)

20. Nestor Ortigoza (Argentinos Juniors)

Forwards

7. Oscar Cardozo (Benfica)

9. Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City)

10. Edgar Benitez (Pachuca)

18. Nelson Haedo Valdez (Borussia Dortmund)

19. Lucas Barrios (Borussia Dortmund)

23. Rodolfo Gamarra (Libertad)

NEW ZEALAND

FIFA World Ranking: 78

Team Colours: White shirts with black trim, white shorts, white socks with black trim. Away kit is the inverse.

Manager: 49-year-old Ricki Herbert is a veteran of New Zealand’s only previous appearance at the World Cup (Spain 1982) and currently manages not just the All Whites (the irony of a team with that nickname coming to South Africa is not lost on anyone) but also Wellington Phoenix, the New Zealand representative in the Australian A-League. He was also the first Kiwi to play in England, having made 45 appearances for Wolves between 1984 and 1986. His achievement in bringing New Zealand to South Africa has earned him plenty of popularity with the fans.

Form: As expected, New Zealand had no trouble in winning the Oceanian qualifying section, where their closest rivals were New Caledonia, but faced a tougher test in the shape of Bahrain in the playoff with the fifth-placed Asian team. In a hard-fought tie, the first leg away in Bahrain finished 0-0 before Rory Fallon scored the winner on home soil with a headed goal on the stroke of half time, and goalkeeper Mark Paston made a heroic penalty save early in the second half to seal the success. They’ve put in some determined performances in the build-up friendlies, which did include losses to Australia and Slovenia, but also a surprise 1-0 win against strong-looking Serbia.

Captain: Reliable Blackburn central defender and captain Ryan Nelsen is one of the most capable players in the New Zealand line-up, and has been a revelation in recent years for the Lancashire club after they picked him up on a free transfer from MLS side D.C. United. He will need to be an absolute rock for the Kiwis if they are to spring any surprises in South Africa.

Key Man: Voted New Zealand Footballer of the Year in 2007 ahead of Nelsen and then-Celtic forward Chris Killen, forward Shane Smeltz became the first footballer to play for admirable fans’ club AFC Wimbledon to win an international cap. He’s scored 16 goals in 30 games for the All Whites, including the only goal in the recent friendly victory over Serbia, and the German-born striker, now playing for Gold Coast United, should start up front for the Kiwis.

Man to Watch: Highly-rated West Brom striker Chris Wood has been prolific for the Baggie’s youth and reserve sides and at just 17 years old last year became only the fifth New Zealander to play in the Premier League. Now 18, and with a long-term professional contract with the side now returning to the top division, the youngest member of the Kiwi squad will be on the lookout for his first international goal, and could be a secret weapon for Herbert.

Prediction: It’s going to be tough for this New Zealand side but they are not incapable of surprising people. They will be largely unknown to their opponents and have nothing to lose, but realistically they would be delighted to get more than a point in this group. Italy and Paraguay should make short work of them.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Mark Paston (Wellington Phoenix)

12. Glen Moss (Melbourne Victory)

23. James Bannatyne (Team Wellington)

Defenders

2. Ben Sigmund (Wellington Phoenix)

3. Tony Lochhead (Wellington Phoenix)

4. Winston Reid (FC Midtjylland)

5. Ivan Vicelich (Auckland City)

6. Ryan Nelsen, captain (Blackburn Rovers)

18. Andrew Boyens (New York Red Bulls)

19. Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town)

Midfielders

7. Simon Elliott (unattached)

8. Tim Brown (Wellington Phoenix)

11. Leo Bertos (Wellington Phoenix)

13. Andy Barron (Team Wellington)

15. Michael McGlinchey (Motherwell)

16. Aaron Clapham (Canterbury United)

17. David Mulligan (unattached)

21. Jeremy Christie (FC Tampa Bay)

22. Jeremy Brockie (Newcastle Jets)

Forwards

9. Shane Smeltz (Gold Coast United)

10. Chris Killen (Middlesbrough)

14. Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle)

20. Chris Wood (West Brom)

SLOVAKIA

FIFA World Ranking: 34

Team Colours: Blue shirts with white trim, blue shorts with white trim, blue socks. Away kit is the inverse.

Manager: Vladimir Weiss’ father, Vladimir Weiss, represented Czechoslovakia at international level, Weiss himself played for both Czechoslovakia and Slovakia, and his son, Vladimir Weiss, is in the Slovakia squad for the World Cup. You got all that? Good. The middle Vladimir was a reasonably successful footballer in the Slovakian leagues and has managed Saturn in Moscow and Artmedia Bratislava, closer to home, thrice, even leading them into the Champions League group stages in 2005-06.

Form: Slovakia surprised many by topping qualification group 3 ahead of Poland, the Czech Republic and fellow surprise qualifiers Slovenia, who beat Weiss’ side home and away to make top spot far from a done deal. Automatic qualification was secured eventually by a 1-0 win in Poland, coming after other impressive away wins in Prague and Belfast. They lost 1-0 to Norway in a friendly in March but more recently drew with Cameroon and thumped Costa Rica 3-0 to put themselves in decent nick ahead of the tournament opener against New Zealand.

Captain: 22-year-old Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik is one of the hottest properties in European football. He’s an attacking central midfielder who can also play on the left if required with exceptional vision and passing and an eye for goal, too, with 30 goals for his club and 8 for the national side in 30 appearances. He is very much the leading light for Slovakia and is a good tip for the player most likely to make a big-money move on the back of his World Cup performance.

Key Man: Bochum striker Stanislav Sestak is the main man going forward for Slovakia, with a goal every three games to his name in national colours. His two late goals in quick succession turned a 1-0 loss at home to Poland into a vital victory early in the qualifying campaign and he will be relied upon for similar heroics this summer. The 5’11″ striker scored six in qualifying and can also play on the right wing.

Man to Watch: Alongside the much-hyped Hamsik will be his creative midfield partner, Ankaragucu’s January signing Marek Sapara, who twice won the Norwegian league title with former club Rosenborg. Sapara has not been a regular in the Slovakian side since his debut in 2005, but is a solid, determined player with a clever dribble and wide range of passing. If Hamsik makes the headlines chances are Sapara will be just behind him keeping things going in midfield.

Prediction: Slovakia will be confident following their qualifying group win but for my money they look a little less well-rounded than Slovenia, who they edged out in that group. With Hamsik and Sestak they should have some attacking potency but against the Italian and Paraguayan strikeforces I think their defence will buckle. A gallant third in the group.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Jan Mucha (Legia Warsaw)

12. Dusan Pernis (Dundee United)

23. Dusan Kuciak (Vaslui)

Defenders

2. Peter Pekarik (Wolfsburg)

3. Martin Skrtel (Liverpool)

4. Marek Cech (West Brom)

5. Radoslav Zabavnik (Mainz)

16. Jan Durica (Lokomotiv Moscow)

21. Kornel Salata (Slovan Bratislava)

22. Martin Petras (Cesena)

Midfielders

6. Zdeno Strba (Xanthi)

7. Vladimir Weiss (Manchester City)

8. Jan Kozak (Timisoara)

10. Marek Sapara (Ankaragucu)

15. Miroslav Stoch (Chelsea)

17. Marek Hamsik, captain (Napoli)

19. Juraj Kucka (Sparta Prague)

20. Kamil Kopunek (Spartak Trnava)

Forwards

9. Stanislav Sestak (Bochum)

11. Robert Vittek (Lille)

13. Filip Holosko (Besiktas)

14. Martin Jakubko (Saturn)

18. Erik Jendrisek (Schalke)

Il Gioco delle Idee: Pensieri e Passioni da Bordo Campo (A Game of Ideas: Thoughts and Passions from the Sidelines)Fo