Holland 1-0 Japan World Cup 2010 Group E

First off, congratulations for Holland as they have just become the second country after Argentina to successfully qualify to the last 16 of World Cup 2010 with the narrow 1-0 victory over Japan in Durban. OK, one personal note about Durban before I continue on with the match. When I was younger and “stupidier”, upon seeing the word “Durban”, the first and only thing that comes into my mind was male underwear. Before anyone starts to doubt my sexual orientation, it's because I saw that brand of the briefs quite frequently but as I grow up, I got to know that Durban is actually one of the big cities in South Africa. Continuing on with the match, the scoreline seemed so unflattering after fans have expected a continuation of the goal flood from the last few days in the tournament. Nevertheless, this match had its fair share of excitement as well as some interesting talking points.

Looking at both teams, starting off from Holland, in my opinion the most crucial player for the Oranje (the commentator pronounced it as Oran-gee, but I am not sure myself, so I might have to clarify with a Dutchman (or girl)) is Nigel de Jong and not Sneijder and Robben, who was on the bench and served more as Holland's insurance policy of sorts if they find themselves in a tough spot. This is not to take anything away from the Holland no. 10 and 11 (especially the former, the scorer of the winning goal in this match), but it can be argued that the Dutch team would not be so compact, organized, and at ease if de Jong is not present in the “Makelele” role. Perhaps this opinion of mine was formed from the fateful (I am a Madridista) memory about Real Madrid's catastrophic collapse when they unceremoniously sold Makelele to Chelsea in 2004 but still, I believe this Dutch team will not be the same without the Manchester City man. Another point to take note of for this Dutch team is that Robin van Persie seems to be unfit and out of sorts in this match as well as in the Denmark match. It's likely that his injury ravaged season with Arsenal has taken its toll.

As for the Japanese team, their main man is actually not Keisuke Hondas as many fans would be fiercely arguing especially with him scoring the winning goal against Cameroon in their first match in the competition but their indispensable key man was undoubtedly defender Tulio as the Brazilian born was an absolute tower in the Japanese defense thwarting waves after waves of the attack from the Dutch in this match and also Japan's biggest attacking threat through set pieces as well as when Tulio moved up front in the last 10 minutes to become a makeshift striker. Also, he's my personal choice for the man of the match in this match.

The first half started with a possible controversy when at 8th minute Robin van Persie seemed to kick out at Japan's Komano until the Japanese was stretchered off and received some treatments and at 25th minute when van Persie flailed his elbow on Nakazawa. It's difficult to ascertain whether those were intentional, but I'll just include those fr the record in case this debate surfaces tomorrow in the papers.

Holland generally dominated the match with the possession as much as 75% in Oranje's favor, but they were not able to score. In fact, the most precise shot in the first half was Keisuke Honda's free kick in which the ball managed to hit the camera behind the goal.

The second half as usual was eventful and also where the goal was. The Jabulani debate set to be re-ignited again after it has settled in the past few days as at the 52nd minute, Sneijder launched a blistering long range shot to score a super goal in which the Japanese goalkeeper didn't manage to keep out. Replay suggested that the Japanese keeper had anticipated the flight of the ball but the bal might have changed its flight abruptly in flight. In any case, 1-0 for Holland.

Right after the goal, sense of urgency crept into the Japanese side as they tried to be more attacking., and also bringing in Shunsuke Nakamura hoping to exploit his dead ball specialty to score. They also brought on two more strikers Okazaki and Tamada and for the last 10 minutes even employed defnder Tulio as a makeshift striker as mentioned above, but they didn't manage to threat Maarten Stekelenburg's goal at all.

As for the Dutch, their substitutions proved to be interesting with the introductions of Eljero Elia, Klaas jan Huntelaar, and Ibrahim Afellay. Afellay almost made instant impact twice as he almost scored in two occasions. Eljero Elia also further showed why fans have increasingly demanding Bert van Marwijk to play Elia right from the start. Huntelaar also proved one more time that indifferent club performance might not be a reliable yardstick as he almost set up Afellay in one of his two close calls. Huntelaar certainly made more impact than the aforementioned unfit and out of sorts van Persie did throughout the match.

As mentioned, Holland has managed to qualify to the last 16 with 2 wins out of 2 while Japan will now have to win against Denmark if they want to qualify to the last 16 as well and keep Takeshi Okada's brave target of semi-finals alive. How easy or hard Japan's task would depend on the result of the match between Denmark and Cameroon. In any case, all over the Netherlands is sure to be painted orange in celebration of Holland's achievement!

Slovenia 2-2 USA World Cup 2010 Group C

I am still stunned, absolutely stunned. What a soccer drama it was. (To English people out there, I am so sorry, this is USA's night). What a game of soccer I had the privilege to watch all the way from the start to finish. Throughout this World Cup so far, not a single day has passed without records being broken, history being set, basically there's no day without a memorable World Cup moment. From how Slovenia recorded their first ever victory in the World Cup finals, as well as the Greeks winning and scoring for the first time, the South Koreans winning for the first time outside of Asia, and so on and so on and so on. In this soccer match, history was about to happen, as Slovenia was on the brink of their first ever qualification from the Group Stage in the World Cup, but just like the previous match between Germany and Serbia, football has another surprise in store for all of us. Many people including myself were quite skeptical prior to this match, thinking that this match would have been a boring match which is likely to end 1-0 or even 0-0. My gosh how we were totally wrong. We thought this match was about to be consigned to only lurk beneath the shadow of the previous match today and totally forgotten. But this match totally eclipsed the Germany match. It was full of wonderful goals, controversies throughout the match, pure entertainment, heart-stopping moments, basically full of World Cup moments to remember. A family member commented, “It's strange how soccer could make people go crazy...” Well, I didn't answer his question solidly back then, but it's because of matches like this we as soccer fans totally go crazy and let all hell break loose.

As mentioned, this match is simply crucial for both teams. For the Slovenians, a win would make them the second country after Argentina to qualify to the last 16 of the competition, while for the USA, a victory for them will keep their World Cup hopes alive. Slovenia almost made history but in the end they were pegged back and even almost defeated but for a huge controversy while the USA would be regretting how their defense was so porous in the first half.

The first ten minutes of the match turned out to be quite boring as I was about to switch off for a moment when I was suddenly awaken, violently but pleasantly when the Slovenian number 10 V. Birsa scored with a thunderous long range shot. This is history in itself as this was the first long range shot that actually got into the goal perfectly. It seems that Jabulani has been conquered after all those controversy about this “crazy little soccer ball”. 1-0 for Slovenia. The very first controversial referee decision was at the 39th minute when R. Findley of USA was wrongly booked for handball and he will miss the next crucial match against Algeria. The US defense continued to be porous and they conceded one more goal at the 41st minute through Zlatan Ljublianjik from a great defense splitting through ball. 2-0 for Slovenia and interestingly, both of the goals celebration by Slovenian players slightly resembled the Balinese traditional kecak dance.

By half time, it looked like Slovenia was set to follow right behind Argentina to qualify for the last 16 of the competition, but then again, it would take a fool to jump into that conclusion before the final whistle has been blown, let alone at half time. The second half started with a bang at 47th minute when Landon Donovan, US' best and most well known player scored a wonder goal from a tight angle to peg one back for USA and give them a glimmer of hope to get something out of this match or even launching a remarkable comeback from 2 goals down. This match also had its own crazy moments, WWE moments to be precise, maybe it's USA playing, that's why. At 59th minute, Clint Dempsey was seen executing a DDT on a Slovenia defender that left the player on the ground for a while. At the 62nd minute, it was Jozy Altidore's turn to execute an arm bar takedown on Suler but he was countered by the Slovenian defender.

Another controversial moment came at 69th minute when Jozy Altidore burst through the Slovenian penalty box and he was pulled back by Suler. Suler was only given a yellow card when he should have sent off as he was the last man and he prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity. USA tried to attack by substituting defender Oguchi Onyewu for striker Herculez Gomez. Prior to the sub, a few more controversial decisions against the USA by the referee but Slovenian players also started collecting yellow cards. One minute after that at the 81st minute Michael Bradley, the son of the US manager Bob Bradley heroically and dramatically clinched a great equalizer shooting with power from an Altidore flick on. This shook the stadium and stunned Slovenia who thought they have won this match. This also justified Bob Bradley's inclusion of his son when he was heavily criticized for a nepotism selection. The biggest controversy among all the controversies so far was at the 85th minute when the USA got a free kick near the penalty area near the corner flag and Maurice Edu scored for what supposed to be a marvelous winning goal but the Malian referee Coulibaly strangely chalked that totally legitimate goal off. From the replays, it could be seen that there was no foul, nor offside, nor any other infringements, and yet the goal was chalked off. What a moment that sent even me jumping in the air for that goal. But the referee got a decision correct when at the last minute, he didn't give Clint Dempsey a free kick as he simply slipped on the ground.

From this dramatic result, Slovenia didn't manage to become the second country after Argentina to qualify for the last 16 despite being ever so close to that achievement and that USA is still pretty much in the World Cup. Now, the USA have to win against Algeria to ensure their qualifications while for the rest of the possible permutations and combinations, it would totally depend on the result of the upcoming match between England and Algeria and since I don't like mathematics, and mathematics does not like me, I shall leave the mathematics to those who are well versed in the subject. In any case, it was truly a classic match with a complete entertainment package. Congratulations to both teams for this marvelous match!

Germany 0-1 Serbia World Cup 2010 Group D

After all the hype about the flood of goals in this match, we are back to yet another 1-0 victory in this World Cup 2010 which is criticized for its lack of goals. Prior to the match, 19 out of 20 (and the other one was just joking in a silly way) predicted a demolition of Serbia by Germany. Some said 4-0, some 5-0, and some even dared to predict a repeat of the 8-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia in World Cup 2002. The stage was set, the script was set, everything was set for Germany to win big against Serbia and become the second country after Argentina to go through to the last 16 and for Serbia's World Cup run to end abruptly. However, World Cup being World Cup, football being football, it has another script and huge surprise in store for us. This match also had its fair share of a few deja-vus from the recent matches of this World Cup. A player who caught my eye in this match would be Serbia's Milos Krasic who has just recently moved to Juventus. Besides his decent performance on the right wing in this match, his appearance also has a resemblance to the legendary Czech winger Pavel Nedved complete with the flowing whitish blonde hair locks. Since Krasic is also a Juventus player now, is he the new Nedved?

The match didn't start as expected as Germany was surprisingly lackluster in the match right from the start. Also, the referee seemed to be so card happy in this match especially against Germany in which the first 30 minutes resulted in 3 yellow for Germany and 2 for the Serbians. The thing about the German yellow cards is that they resulted from the Serbian players tumbling down onto the pitch despite minimal contact if there was any. A few controversial points if I am being asked. At the 36th minute, Miroslav Klose received his marching orders as he received his second yellow card from the game despite seemingly only lightly touching the Serbian player he fouled. This red card early in the game certainly had a dejavu feeling to yesterday's Greece vs Nigeria game. This sending off certainly robbed Germany of its main and perhaps sole source of goals in this match as well as his height to win headers as the rest of the German attackers such as Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, and Lukas Podolski are all not the tallest players around and it's not likely that they can win tussles whether in the air or on the ground against burly, big, and strong Serbian defenders such as Nemanja Vidic and Neven Subotic. The Greece vs Nigeria dejavu didn't end there as one minute later, Serbia scored through Milan Jovanovic from Milos Krasic's cross which was flicked on by the tall Nikola Zigic. 1-0 for Serbia and Jovanovic was seen celebrating with the Serbian fans in front of the stands. At this point of time, Ballack's figure as a “pseudo-manager” was needed most (just like what I have mentioned in my previous post titled the “Effects of Ballack's Absence on Germany”) to prevent any catastrophic collapse just like what Nigeria experienced last night. Nevertheless, Sami Khedira almost equalized but he hit the post. Had he equalized it would have helped Germany's morale and belief immensely.

In the second half, another dejavu at the 59th minute when Serbia's Vidic did a weird ballet dance and handled the ball in the penalty area, just like how Kusmanovic handled the ball in the penalty area in Serbia's defeat against Ghana in their first match. I know Eastern Europe is renowned for their ballet dancers, but I certainly can't imagine how Vidic would look like in a ballet dress. Jokes aside, Germany got a great chance to equalize but perhaps because Podolski was totally overwhelmed by his new role as Germany's source of goal, he missed the penalty (after missing several chances to score prior to this).

Germany tried to restore some height and some muscleup front by replacing Mesut Ozil with the burly and strong Cacau and also bringing on Marin (a winger) for the tired Muller. At this time, Serbia was still doing what they had been doing throughout the match, falling like flies exposed to insecticide every tme a German player come near them. More yellow cards for German players because of this. At the 76th minute with Germany still trailing, Joachim Low refused to give up and he played his last card by bringing in Mario Gomez for Badstuber, but still to no avail as they were nowhere near threatening the Serbian goal, not with their man deficit and shattered confidence. At the very last minutes, even defender Per Mertesacker was up front helping out the attack to add even more muscle and height in a desperate attempt to equalize but it was not to be and Serbia has made history by inflicting a defeat to Germany which they have not suffered in World Cup Group Stages since 1986. Now, since Germany failed to become the second nation after Argentina to go to the last 16, the Group is now as open as it could be, and it would go down all the way to the last match and all the teams in Group D have everything to play for. Great surprise once again from this World Cup, totally the opposite of what everyone had predicted. What's next in store for all of us from this intriguing but entertaining World Cup!

Greece 2-1 Nigeria World Cup 2010 Group B

In the white-collar world especially, when someone blurts out the word “Nigeria”, the first and perhaps the only thing that comes into most of the people who hear it is the Advance-Fee Fraud (Nigerian 419 scam). For those laypersons out there, it is the infamous scam through e-mail in which it is not the correct occasion for me to explain fully but one thing for sure, it is something really negative about Nigeria. In this match against Greece, it was such a crucial match for Nigeria. Firstly, by beating Greece, they would have condemned Greece to go home early from World Cup 2010 and puts them in a extreme play-off against the recently beaten South Korea to decide who gets into the last 16 of the competition. This is also crucial to shed the country's bad images such as the one mentioned above and thus to project a positive image about the country to the whole world. There's nothing better to convey such message as in a global event as big as the World Cup. As for Greece, they were a side condemned by all corners to be knocked out soon and severely beaten by Nigeria in this match, but fate has another say...

At the start of the match, Nigeria showed the world just that as they simply dominated over Greece thoroughly and Nigeria took the lead in just 15 minutes through Kalu Uche's not so wonderful but effective free kick. They continued to dominate Greece to such an extent that it looked like it would be a massive thrashing in store for Greece. However, just like most of the Greek mythology stories out there, everything which seems glorious and powerful, will only face a really tragic and sadistic end (unless we read the kids version of the mythology, that is). At 32nd minute, for whatever reason it was, the Nigerian player S. Kaita suddenly kicked out a Greek player lightly on the touchline prior to a throw in. The Greek player was only too happy and fall down as if his thigh was shot by a magnum and the ref promptly sent Kaita off so shamefully. In my opinion, it wasn't necessary at all for Kaita to do that no matter what. Never touch an opponent unnecessarily in a football match or you will pay a heavy price and let your team down. Furthermore, it's not as if Nigeria was trailing in frustration, they were thoroughly dominated the match and they were a goal up, and on course to getting more goals scored and of course getting themselves on course to qualify to the last 16.

Greece's manager Otto Rehhagel was too experienced not to let this opportunity to pass by and immediately put Georgios Samaras into the fray in an extremely attacking substitution and it worked wonders. The pathetic Greek team from the first match against South Korea as well as during the first 32 minutes of this match suddenly turned into a group of titans from Olympus. From this moment all the way to the end of the match, all they did was attack attack and attack. Although Vincent Enyeama, the Nigerian goalkeeper was heroic throughout the match, there's only so much to do for one man to carry a whole nation alone, and he duly conceded at the 43rd minute and that's the end of the half.

The second half got Nigeria even worse. In this half, anything that could go wrong, simply go wrong for Nigeria and it started at 53rd minute when one of their strongest defenders Taye Taiwo needed to be substituted as he was injured while Enyeama continued to rescue Nigeria time after time with stunning saves. But he again conceded a goal at the 70th minute. It was such an emotional sight. I really felt for Enyeama. I think he deserves so much more than such a humiliation like this. After this fateful goal, the other 9 players on the pitch seemed to had thrown in the towel and they simply hoped for the match to end sooner or later. To his credit Vincent Enyeama continued to have massive spirits in this game. He continued to have that sense of urgency, the belief that Nigeria could still rescue this game. This was shown when he eagerly requested for the ball from the ballboy so that he could promptly pass the ball for his team mates to score and rescue Nigeria's World Cup campaign. The Greeks were attacking like Barcelona now, such that when Samaras dribbled past a few Nigerian players in Nigeria's penalty box, I thought he was Messi who suddenly grows tall.

It was such a humiliating day for Nigeria now that they are 95% knocked out from the competition unless a mathematical miracle happens in which just like how the commentator put it, I won't go into the details of the complex permutations and combinations, but Nigeria has very little hope of progressing, so little that they are as good as getting knocked out. No matter what, Vincent Enyeama is my choice for the man of the match award! Very well done Enyeama! See you in the UEFA Champions League, you deserve a big move now after two stunning performances against Argentina and now the Titan infused Greece.

As for Greece, congratulations for their first ever win in the World Cup finals, and unlike Nigeria, they might even go through from Group B if things turn out in their favor. If Nigeria and South Korea play out to a draw, and they beat an Argentina side which would surely put out a non full strength side as they have qualified to the last 16, they would turn from a World Cup no hopers to joining Argentina to qualify to the last 16 of the competition. It was such a memorable match... For Vincent Enyeama and for Greece. If I am a Nigerian editor, the headline which I would put up tomorrow would be “1 Stupid Eagle, 9 Ordinary Eagles and 1 Extraordinarily Super Eagle Vincent Enyeama!”

Argentina 4-1 South Korea World Cup 2010 Group B

Vamos! Argentina have just become the first country to go through from the Group Stage of the World Cup 2010 thanks to the impressive victory against the unsurprisingly resolute and hard working South Koreans! This victory was down to the sheer genius of Diego Maradona, the Argentina manager who initiated a match defining, masterstroke substitution to kill off any remaining challenge from the South Koreans! To be fair to the South Koreans, they were resolute and looked like equalizing or even overturning the Argentine until the aforementioned genius masterstroke decision from the legend himself! Maradona is also the first manager who deviated from the cowardice 4-5-1 formation to play the brave and attacking 4-4-2 Diamond formation, which is my personal favorite formation of all. Despite this crushing defeat, the South Koreans is pretty much in he competition and likely to join Argentina to go through from Group B. But how hard it would be depends on the match between Nigeria and Greece very soon from the time of writing.

The first half was utterly dominated by Argentina with plenty of pace from Angel di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain, Jonas Gutierrez, the free role Leo Messi, as well as the hard-working machine like Carlos Tevez who chased for practically for every ball no matter what. Argentina started the match all the way to the highest gear and they really dominated the match, playing the fabled Barcelonaesque football with plenty of pacey and swift dazzling passes on the pitch. Argentina, with their brave formation and attacking style were rewarded soon at the 16th minute when a Messi cross was turned to his own goal by South Korean striker Park Chu-Young. It was a perfect strike from the AS Monaco man, but he scored to the wrong goal. 1-0 to Argentina. At the 20th minute, Walter Samuel needed to be replaced with N. Burdisso, reminiscence to how Philippe Senderos of Suisse needed to be substituted early in the match against Spain. The extent of his injury is not known yet. Argentina domination continued when Higuain scored with a very nice header, the first of many for the night. However, Argentina was totally stunned when a terrible mistake by Martin Demichelis allowed Lee Chung Yong to pull one back right before half time. 2-1.

In the second half, the complexion of the match changed and Argentina were pinned back by South Koreans and the Koreans looked like scoring at anytime as Argentina stuttered, frustrated and started collecting yellow cards for silly reasons. This is despite the commentator stating in the first half that there will be no way back for S. Korea if Argentina is 2-0 up. It was bad as Jonas will also miss the potentially crucial next match against Greece due to a second yellow card in the tournament (if the Koreans managed to hold or defeat Argentina which at that time was a huge possibility). South Korea's goalkeeper Jung Sung Ryong also looked like he won't concede another goal.

However, Maradona showed the world why he's a genius manager when he decided at the 74th minute to replace the out of steam and larely anonymous Tevez in the second half for Sergio Aguero. This is what separates an ordinary manager with a genius manager. An ordinary manager would have brought on Diego Milito in desperation based on his exploits for his club. But, club and country football are two very different things and the fact that Aguero didn't have a good season with Atletico Madrid is irrelevant. One minute later, Aguero made a great run and was greatly involved in the attacking move involving Messi as well with Higuain tapping in after Messi had hit the post. 3-1 for Argentina. At the 80th minute, Aguero was at it again when he assisted Higuain to complete his marvelous hat-trick and utterly destroyed South Korea 4-1. With this, Argentina dominated again and at right after the goal, Higuain came off to be replaced by M. Bolatti the hero against Uruguay in the qualifiers which secured Argentina's qualification into the World Cup for Higuain's well deserved standing ovation. Aguero even managed to almost obtained a well deserved Argentina's 5th goal at the very last minute.

Amazing victory for Argentina, and they have qualified to the last 16 and are on course to even go all the way in the tournament. Now, the aforementioned ban of Jonas Gutierrez is no longer relevant and it is just like he's rested for the now dead rubber match against the Greeks in which Maradona is likely to experiment with his second team with the likes of Martin Palermo for example. For South Korea, this defeat doesn't mean that they won't go through as from their performance between the 45-74th minute, they are more than capable of beating Nigeria and join Argentina to the last 16. Again, how easy it would be for South Korea to go through depends on the upcoming match between Nigeria and Greece. Enjoy!

Spain 0-1 Suisse World Cup 2010 Group H

It was another 1-0 in World Cup 2010. However, it was such a scintillating and a thrilling match. No, not because I am a Swiss, but because I have to admit that I am some sort of an underdog guy. Spain was totally the overwhelming in this competition such that 19 out of 20 people I asked said that they support Spain and the other one supports Brazil. Congratulations to Switzerland for their first ever win against Spain, and to do it in the World Cup finals game, and not in a meaningless friendly, certainly a great achievement and satisfaction to everyone associated with Switzerland. The Spanish team was actually such a great and extraordinary team on paper. I realized this upon glancing at their squad list prior to kick-off. Picture this, a coalition team of players (although only the Spanish players but yeah) from Real Madrid, Barcelona, and bits and pieces here and there from Valencia, Liverpool and a few other clubs. A totally world beating team on paper. The supposedly red hot Spanish knives were looking forward to slice through and totally melt the Swiss chocolate on display. However, little did they know that the Swiss chocolate in front of them is one which is frozen solid and a frozen chocolate not only difficult to be bitten and eaten, but also can be used as a weapon to throw at someone or beat them up using the chocolate (Don't try these at home, just trying to illustrate the Swiss team for tonight using a chocolate analogy).

The 1-0 scoreline again might baffle anyone who did not watch the match. Spain utterly and totally dominated the match and the Swiss team all the way from the first whistle to the final whistle. Their possession at one time amounted to a whopping 77%, surely one of the highest ever in a World Cup or any competitive match ever. However, biting into a frozen solid chocolate is not an easy task. Blame the Jabulani Ball, blame the altitude, blame the heroic Diego Benaglio, the Swiss keeper, blame anything. But Switzerland amazingly held on to the Spanish onslaught. Switzerland scored the winning goal at the 51st minute through Gelson Fernandes capitalizing from a heap of Spanish bodies of Iker Casillas, Puyol, and Pique strewn all over the penalty area. Just like most of the other matches on this World Cup, one goal is all it takes to win a match and this match turned out to be no exception. Spain then made two attacking substitutions by introducing Fernando Torres and Jesus Navas. The former to add some attacking dimension and also some height in the Spanish attakc and squad in general, while Navas was introduced to reinvent the Spanish midfield as the man he replaced, David Silva seemed to have run out of ideas to break the frozen solid and resolute Swiss chocolate. Nobody would have thought of this as somewhere in the first half when Philipe Senderos had to be substituted as he suffered an injury, he walked off so slowly but to be fair to him he was dejected, but nevertheless, it seemed to be a signal from the Swiss that they were more than happy to hold Spain to a goalless draw. If Switzerland had faced Honduras perhaps, Senderos would have walked off at least a bit faster than that.

As time passed, Spain grew ever more frustrated and at the last 5 minutes of the game, they were so dominating and so frustrated and so overwhelmed with sense of urgency by then that every single Spanish player except for Puyol (which he was about to join the attack soon) and goalkeeper Casillas. Still, the frozen Swiss chocolate won't crack. The 5 minutes of injury time was a bit controversial and when it was announced my mind flew back all the way to when Manchester City was defeated by Manchester United back in the Fall in 2009 due to a crazily lengthy of injury time at Old Trafford as well as the FIFA Seeding system for the World Cup play-off in which there was a conspiracy theory brewing about how FIFA is desperate to see the best teams win and be featured in the World Cup all the way to the latter stages. But, Switzerland held firmly despite the fact that during the 5 minutes, every single player barring Casillas was in the Swiss half of the pitch. It was amazing how the Swiss held on mainly thanks to Diego Benaglio's heroic, in which I am a fan of this player since 2009 and I believe he is the man of the match for this one. Congratulations Switzerland for the major upset in this World Cup. To be fair to Spain, this is just the first match, and they should be able to overcome Honduras and Chile to go through to the last 16. Also, history suggests that teams that start slow in the World Cup tend to do well in the competition. Thus, for all Spain's fans including the aforementioned glory hunters, there's still hope for Spain!

Honduras 0-1 Chile World Cup 2010 Group H

To ordinary fans, this match is only a match to be passed by before the much anticipated first match of the much favored Spain in the World Cup 2010 against Switzerland. However, to the fans of those country as well as the other fans who are more well-versed and knowledgeable in football universe, this match is certainly more than a match between two underdogs making up the numbers in Group H. For Honduras, their World Cup campaign is in fact very crucial in reuniting the country since it was divided and chaotic due to the military coup recently in which their president Manuel Zelaya was forcibly ousted. I read a good and interesting article about this and it would do a world of good for Honduras if they are able to do well in this World Cup. Also, this is their first World Cup finals appearance since Spain 82 and they certainly want to show the world the Honduran brand of football. For their opponents Chile, it is 48 years since their victory in the World Cup finals against Yugoslavia and they certainly want to break that unwanted record, and not forgetting the fact that Chile has somehow been forgotten in world football and they certainly want to return Chile to the footballing map.

The only bad thing about this match was of course the fact that the World Cup 2010 “curse” continues in which goals come at a premium and that one goal would likely to kill a game off and there will be no more goals all the way to the end of the match. That was the case for this match. The result went on Chile's favor and thus congratulations for them for winning a match again in the World Cup finals. Despite the scoreline, Chile deserved the victory as they thoroughly dominated the match. From the first minute, it was able to be seen clearly as Honduras was playing a lone ranger 4-5-1 formation while Chile was playing an attacking 4-4-2 formation, taking the initiatives to attack. Also, the gulf of class was also apparent and thus Chile were the victors. The only thing preventing a flurry of goals was as usual, the Jabulani ball in which so many shots ended up over the bar from Chile (there were not that many shots from Honduras) and also to be fair, the heroics of the Honduran goalkeeper in the second half.

Also, this match caught my attention to two Chilean players. They are the right back Isla, who was a striker initially before being converted, and the 22 year old was the one assisting for the winning goal. His marauding runs from the back was a sight to behold. Another player who was simply amazing is the 21 year old Alexis Sanchez. His runs, dribbles, trickery, and pace were simply irresistible and he simply wreak havoc in the Honduran half of the pitch. The big clubs will surely have taken note of those two names, Isla and Alexis Sanchez! Despite playing against Honduras which is not the best team in the World Cup finals, their skills were there to see, totally in control of the game and Chile's attacks were mostly centered on these two players. We will see how they fare next against Switzerland and the favorites Spain.

Portugal 0-0 Ivory Coast World Cup 2010 Group G

The much anticipated Group G matches, which is none other than the proverbial Group of Death of World Cup 2010 have commenced with the start of the Ivory Coast vs Portugal match. This match was also the first truly big game in the Group Stage in the World Cup 2010 so far. The big match atmosphere could be felt (heard to be more precise) from the sheer loudness of the sounds from the much criticized and also equally admired vuvuzelas. This match is crucial for both teams as if they are defeated or even draw this game, it would be an uphill battle for both teams to go through from the Group of Death as they need to overcome Brazil as well as the unknown quantity DPRK (North Korea) in which there's no guarantee that the match with the East Asians to be a walk in the park. Just like all matches in this World Cup barring Germany's match against Australia, goals come at a premium and this match ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw. However, despite the deceptively boring and unspectacular scoreline, this match was filled with its own intrigues as well as not short of various controversies throughout the match.

The Portuguese still have yet to overcome their old problem of shortage of credible goal poaching striker. Even with the recent naturalization of the Sporting Lisbon favorite Liedson, he was almost anonymous throughout the match and threats of scoring only come from Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain and star man of the Portuguese team. The most expensive player in the world was deployed on the right flank, however, unlike the wasted Samuel Eto'o in the Cameroon vs Japan match, Ronaldo was given a license to roam all over the pitch (free role) and thus he was everywhere on the pitch, although mostly on the right and on the middle. Meanwhile, for Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba, who is half fit started on the bench and Salomon Kalou was tasked of deputizing for Drogba alongside the young livewire Gervinho.

At the start of the match, it seemed that Ivory Coast was out to scrutinize and rough-up Cristiano Ronaldo as in the first 20 minutes or so, he was constantly heavily marked and sent tumbled with real pushes and shoves from the Ivorian players which culminated in his altercation with Guy Demel in which both players were booked. Ivory Coast dominated the match more in the first half due to the brilliance of the youngster Gervinho.

Rain started to fall in the second half, marking the first time it rains in a match in World Cup 2010 in Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Both teams still lack the cutting edge, with Ivory Coast especially threatening through Gervinho but nobody to finish his hard work and silky skills. Didier Drogba finally made the much anticipated entry at the 65th minute replacing his deputy Kalou and he was greeted by blows of vuvuzelas from the stands. Strangely, instead of augmenting Ivory Coast's attack by having Drogba to finish the excellent penetrations of Ivory Coast as mentioned above, right after Drogba entered the fray, Ivory Coast was plunged into a plethora of problems as well as the end of controversies.

First, for unknown reasons, Ivory Coast number 9 Tiote spent a long time on the bench seemingly adjusting his boots and also Kolo Toure suffered a bout of cramp and had to be treated with some stretching and some ethyl chloride from the physios. All the while when those things happened, Ivory Coast played with 10 men and it's curious on why the ref would allow the play to continue like that. I think the ref should have made more stoppages for the long treatments and compensate it by adding the lost time as injury time. The injury time was only for 3 minutes, and had the ref made proper stoppages for the cramps and stuff, the injury time could have easily last to up to 6 minutes at least. Also, it seems strange that the referee obliged so much with Portugal's cry baby hand raising requesting for decisions favoring them while leaving Ivory Coast to play with 10 men when their players went down injured for example.

It was also a curious case on why the excellent Gervinho who was pivotal in Ivory Coast's attacks throughout the game was pulled off at the 81st minute, ight after Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly missed his free kick. I feel that had the ball was not Jabulani, Ronaldo would have scored the goal. Perhaps realizing this, Sven Goran Eriksson decided to replace Gervvinho with the defensive player Kader Keita to just try to hold on to the 0-0 scoreline and focus on the next games rather than taking risks going forward and possibly concede a goal and be defeated which would put their World Cup destiny in jeopardy.

The injury time was pulsating as both teams especially Ivory coast tried to score the winning goal. At the last minute of the injury time, there was another referee controversy. Ivory Coast's Ti Ene was down with a cramp, while Ivory Coast got a last minute corner. However, Ivory Coast decided to play with a short corner, and as it happened, the ref blew for full time. Many would argue that the ref should have allowed the attack to end before signaling the full time whistle as Ivory Coast potentially could score a dramatic winning goal there. Perhaps, the ref assumed that Ti Ene was faking his cramps? Who knows, but in my opinion, had he allowed the corner to continue, and especially assuming that Ivory Coast decided to launch a long corner instead, there would be a repeat of an incident long time ago in a past World Cup in which I think Brazil scored from a last minute corner but the ref blew the final whistle as the corner was kicked. Thus, it might have stirred even more controversy and good thing that Ivory Coast decided to play a short corner.

Nevertheless, both teams are safe at the moment and now they have to focus on Brazil and the DPRK and on paper, they have a great chance to progress as they only need to get three more points. But one of them will be knocked out assuming that they all win against the DPRK but Brazil wins all their three matches. But don't underestimate the DPRK as they are more than capable of springing surprises in this World Cup and don't bet against them surviving Group G to go through to the knockout rounds! Beware Ivory Coast and Portugal!

New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia World Cup 2010 Group F

This was the match between the two underdogs in Group F, and it ended all square 1-1. It seems to be a boring scoreline as what we are already or at least are getting used to in this World Cup, but this 1-1 is arguably the first ever amazing result in this World Cup finals. The first half of this match was as usual a very drab affair with both teams being cautious and cagey against each other. The only notable moments in this half are Marek Hamsik and Vladimir Weiss (pron: Vice), two of Slovakia's star players as well as the moments in which Mark Paston, New Zealand's heroic goalkeeper who almost gifted Slovakia a goal by miscuing his long kick from his penalty area. This time, it wasn't Jabulani's fault thankfully and thus won't be added into the growing list of criticisms against the poor ball and also the moment in which Marek Hamsik reminds everyone how good he is when he became the next player who is able to control Jabulani properly when he arrived late just outside of the penalty box from a corner to get a long range shot which was saved. The first half, predictably ended 0-0. Another point to note is Simon Elliott, New Zealand's number 7 who is the pseudo-manager in this team (refer to my article about Ballack's absence for more information).

As usual in this World Cup, a goal would be scored at the start of the second half and this match was no exception. Slovakia managed to score through a headed goal by Robert Vittek although it was a controversial one as two Slovakia players were in an offside position for that goal. Right after this goal all the way to the 90th minute, it was a drab affair with both teams, especially Slovakia trying to score the second goal which would condemn New Zealand not only to defeat but to a knocking out from the competition altogether. It seemed set that Slovakia was to gather all three points. When Vladimir Weiss, the standout performer in the game and the son of their manager also named Vladimir Weiss was taken off at the last minute to earn his standing ovation and also to run down the clock, we could see how he trudged off slowly, taking his time, and every player and staff of Slovakia thinking the game was already wrapped by then. How they were wrong, as long as the final whistle has yet to be blown, it's not over. In the 92nd minute, only a few seconds left to the end, New Zealand's star man Shane Smeltz managed to get a good cross into the Slovakian penalty box and defender W. Reid (who earlier in the match managed to do a great tackle preventing Slovakia from scoring) happened to be there and he heroically headed the ball into the Slovakian net for the equalizer. It was such an electric moment as even I was stunned. When the ball entered, I thought it was going to be chalked off but it didn't. It was a legitimate goal and I was a New Zealander for those few seconds. It was such a heart-stopping World Cup moment. He then celebrated wildly by taking his shirts off and was yellow carded, but he and all New Zealanders couldn't care less about that. New Zealand have made history! Best ever result in the World Cup Finals. This shows that New Zealand can kick soccer balls as well as they can kick rugby balls! Congratulations New Zealand!

My Personal Take on Adidas Jabulani

Adidas Jabulani, the official match ball of World Cup 2010 has been coming under intense scrutiny from all over the footballing universe. From goalkeepers to strikers, from pundits to ordinary armchair fans, basically everyone has had their own say on how the Jabulani ball, besides the vuvuzelas, is ruining the World Cup 2010 experience. Curiously, during the recent African Nations Cup 2010 in Angola, in which the same Jabulani ball was used (albeit in the colors of the Angolan flag), no one complained about the ball. But now, so many are complaining. In any case, I think this is time for me to personally give my 2 cents' worth about this intriguing and quite cool looking match ball. Personally, I have with me one of those much criticized Jabulani ball with me and thus I am able to do a few little experiments with that ball and thus I am able to augment my arguments and general say about the ball.

Firstly, if we have been following the World Cup 2010 matches so far, we would have noticed that the Jabulani ball resembles a rugby ball in terms of its flight. We have seen how direct free-kicks and long range shots have all ended way above the crossbar. The various long range attempts on goal keep on making us reminiscing about rugby ball, only that it is round shaped. This is so different from the Teamgeist match ball used back in World Cup 2006 in which there were so many spectacular long range shots and free kicks able to be scored. (Even that ball was criticized, so it shows that it is not easy at all to please anyone, let alone everyone in the footballing world). Personally, I have yet to test my own Jabulani out on an open field for a kickabout as it would be detrimental to the ball's general conditions. But the World Cup matches are more than substantiating that rugby ball resemblance fact.

Secondly, we have also seen that goalkeepers in the competition are not able to cleanly catch and smother the ball. It seems that the Jabulani's spin is so persistent that even when goalkeepers have managed to catch the ball with their arms, the ball is still spinning in their hands and flies out of their hands and in certain cases (England's Robert Green and Algeria's goalkeeper against Slovenia) resulting in goals being scored. While the rest of the goalkeepers who fumbled the ball due to this as well as whole countries suffer a huge scare each time. As for my own experiment, I have tried spinning the ball and then catching it mid-air, it did show a persistence in spinning, but as far as my little experiment goes, it was not that significant, but in the actual match, it perhaps is, when taking into account grogginess and things like that in the actual match.

Thirdly, the Jabulani ball really knows how to bounce around! When the ball drops from the air, it bounces really high and if left on its own device, it would bounce so many times and it would bounce high as well when headed away by defending players. This would undoubtedly cause the vertical flight of the Jabulani ball to be unpredictable as well, but nevertheless, defending against long balls becomes easier as the ball goes much further when headed away by defending players. Just like how the Japanese players thwarted the Cameroonian useless long balls easily to send the ball deep into the Cameroon half each time in their historic 1-0 victory last night from the time of writing. I have experimented with this by dropping Jabulani alongside another match ball from the same height, and Jabulani really bounces much higher and for so many times. When the other ball has settled on the ground, Jabulani was still bouncing 4-5 times more before settling itself.

Lastly, since long range goals always go way over the bar (except for Cameroon's Stephane Mbia against Japan who managed to hit the goalpost), the only kind of long range goals would be the kind of tame and meek shots just like how Robert Koren scored against Algeria in Slovenia's 1-0 victory.

All of these show that Jabulani has indeed been playing a huge role in the World Cup 2010 so far and thus has been in the center of controversies surrounding the competition. Many would argue that the players have had so many training sessions with the ball by now, as well as the few friendly matches with the ball prior to the competition proper. They would also point out to Germany's massive 4-0 victory against Australia recently. However, we have to realize that the German players, who are mostly from the German Bundesliga have been used with Adidas balls since Bundesliga is the only top league in Europe using Adidas balls while the rest such as Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, and Barclays Premier League are all using Nike balls. Thus, after playing with other balls for so many full seasons, the Adidas balls might be hard to get used to.

Japan 1-0 Cameroon World Cup 2010 Group E

Stand aside Africa, this is Asia's year! Since World Cup 2010 is held in Africa for the first time, the six African teams participating in the World Cup as well as African football in general are under the microscope. Everyone expecting something special from the African teams. But, it is Asia, or more specifically East Asia of all continents which is flourishing really rapidly in the Rainbow Nation. After South Korea had defeated Greece quite comfortably by 2-0 scoreline, now it's Japan's turn to defeat Cameroon, a team which I predicted to do well in this World Cup 1-0, and now Cameroon is in a grave danger of not being able to go through the Group Stage. It was an utterly frustrating night for Cameroon, filled with extremely stupid tactical set-up right from the start of the match, as well as another stupid and irrational tactics when they are trailing all the way to the end of the match. It was Cameroon self-destructed actually, to be fair to the Cameroon players. It was simply frustrating to watch how Cameroon's talented and supposedly great squad was turned to a squad of clowns in front of the gallant samurais.

As all of us have accustomed by now, the first half of this match was just like any first half from the other matches. A very cautious, drab, insomnia-curing, as well as cagey affair. Both teams simply canceled each other almost throughout the first half except for when Cameroon's defenders made a huge and extremely costly mistake in allowing Keisuke Honda to be unmarked and had all the time in the world to score the goal which turned out to be the one separating both teams. To start off the Honda puns which would fill the next day's headlines all over the world, I would love to be the first to declare that Honda car has beaten the indomitable lions in a race to victory! I had a gut feeling prior to the match that if Honda scores the winning goal, there will sure be a plethora of Honda car puns the next day, and it turned out to be just that. Amazing.

When the second half started, I was for one really disgusted and equally baffled by the fact that Paul le Guen did not alter his irrational strategy of the first half when he played Eto'o as a right winger. It was such a waste of a world beating player at the peak of his powers and that his strong point in the game is scoring goals and to lift the teams. This is compounded by the fact that Eto'o is Cameroon's star player and captain who carries the whole nation on his shoulders. It was puzzling that Eto'o was left to rot on the right flank. Also, when they are trailing, Cameroon decided to play the long ball game in search of the equalizer. Smart move against a group of supposedly short and fragile Japanese players? Hell no, with tall and bulky defenders such as Tulio, Yuki Abe, and Nakazawa, their long ball approach was totally redundant and utterly useless. To add to the baffling facts, Cameroon players, including Eto'o who was wasted on the right flank are short and thus playing the long ball against the tall Japanese defenders was a suicidal move to say the least.

Japan clearly did the proverbial parking the bus in front of the goal, and there might have been an invisible bus parked in front of their goal, and one more bus in front of it. Cameroon was totally clueless. No matter how many redundant and useless long balls they launched into the penalty box, the tall Japanese players easily head the ball away. Strange thing? Still no change at all in terms of tactics. Eto'o still being wasted on the right and long ball tactics continued.

Another strange thing was that, maybe the Japanese players were indeed fragile, or was it a time wasting and cunning tactics, but when the Cameroon players come near the Japanese players, they fell down so easily like flies being exposed to insecticide. Totally no way through for Cameroon even though they did hit the bar late on. So unfortunate, but they destroyed themselves in the match.

Cameroon is now totally in danger of being knocked out in the Group Stage as they face Denmark and the Netherlands for their remaining matches. Judging from their ridiculous tactics and their weak play in this match, I don't think they will be able to get anything from Denmark and Netherlands. Goodbye Cameroon... and congratulations to Japan for winning their first ever World Cup game outside of their country and they just need to at least get a point from Denmark and Holland to progress and creep ever closer to Takeshi Okada, their manager's targets of reaching the semi-finals. The manager was laughed at from all over. But now, who dares to laugh at him now? For that matter, who dares to laugh at the East Asians, with North Korea expected to surprise Brazil as well if the Samba boys are not careful in their Group G opening match.

Holland 2-0 Denmark World Cup 2010 Group E

Holland against Denmark, arguably the biggest and most even match in the Group Stage so far. It was played on a sunny Johannesburg afternoon. However, just like what the commentator, who seemed to be shivering as he occasionally seethes throughout the match that even though it's sunny, the match was played at an altitude and that it's winter time in South Africa, unlike summer time in the northern hemisphere. The first half started in a very uneventful way as both teams failed to break the deadlock in the half. The only notable exception in the first half was the fueling of the continuation of the Jabulani debate in which both Holland and Denmark always blast the ball over the bar in long shots and most notably during direct free kicks in which it is almost impossible to get past the opponent's defensive wall and to get it on target at the same time.

Nevertheless, Holland looked the better team in the first half as Holland looked like a very well drilled team even though they had to make do without Arjen Robben who won't feature in this match but they seemed to have no problems getting their acts together besides scoring a goal of course. Their general domination was shown by their 60% share of possession of the ball on the first half. Dirk Kuyt also showed how he has been successfully converted to a good right winger as he sent quite a few decent crosses into the Danish penalty box throughout the first half. Meanwhile, Denmark played the dreaded 4-5-1 formation in which Nicklas Bendtner is the lone ranger up front with no support whatsoever when he does get the ball. Clearly, in the first half at least that Denmark are already focusing on Japan and Cameroon and only play this game to snatch a point against Holland, the strongest team in Group E.

As the second half started, Holland shifted into the high gears as they attacked right off the bat and caught Denmark flat-footed and shocked. A cross into the Danish penalty box was headed by S. Poulsen the Danish full back into his own net. His header was so perfect just like a great targetman, just that he scored at the wrong end of the pitch. An interesting thing to note was how S. Poulsen managed to have the guts to smile after the atrocious own goal. We could imagine how the press in Denmark, a country ranked first in the Free Press Index would roast him in tomorrow's papers.

By the time it was 60th minute, Nicklas Bendtner was withdrawn for a winger Beckmann. It showed that Denmark had thrown in the towel and simply looking forward to the Cameroon match which is the next match and the Japan match, the last one for them in Group E. Thus, they had to save Bendtner for those two matches by bringing him off early. On the other hand, the Dutch looked for the second and killer goal by bringing in the livewire Eljero Elia for the static and rigid van der Vaart, and the Dutch was augmented by the electric pace of his.

Eventually at the 84th minute, after Sneijder had hit the bar a few minutes before, Eljero Elia managed to wriggle through the Danish penalty area, hitting the post before Dirk Kuyt scored a tap-in from the rebound to make it 2-0 and just like how the commentator put it, “Good night Denmark”. At the 87th minute, S. Poulsen managed to make amends for his earlier mistake by saving a certain goal acrobatically. Nevertheless, The Dutch won by two clear goals and are now at the top of Group E. Now, the matches with Cameroon and Japan will be very crucial for Denmark if they are to go through from the group. Another trivia to note is that the record continues for Denmark that until now, they have yet to play out a goalless draw in the World Cup finals.

Serbia 0-1 Ghana World CUp 2010 Group D

This match is the first match in which my prediction was totally spot-on in which I had predicted a 1-0 victory for Ghana against Serbia and turned out that it was really the case. Based on what I have observed in the match itself, this was a match between thesis and anti-thesis. Ghana have extreme pace and great strength as well as being more mobile on the pitch while Serbia was totally a rigid and solid wall at the back with systematic and solid attacking moves when they are attacking.

In the first half, Ghana's goalkeeper was the busier of the two as both teams attack each other in trying to break the deadlock. However, the aforementioned fact of this match being a battle between thesis and anti-thesis inadvertently cancel out each other and thus each team simply absorbs the others' attack. Thus, it was 0-0 at half-time.

The second half saw both teams becoming more intent with Ghana being denied a clear and legitimate penalty call as their player K. Asamoah was fouled quite heavily by two Serbian defenders. In this half, Ghana was the better attacking team as they continued to bombard Serbia's goal but they continued to fail to convert those chances into goals. Both teams tried to inspire changes by making substitutions but still, the deadlock was not to be broken.

The turning point of the match came at around the 73rd minute when the Serbian defender A. Lukovic was sent off as he received his second yellow card of the match. It seemed that the match was to become a carbon copy of the Group C match between Algeria and Slovenia earlier on the day. However, the Serbian manager in my opinion initiated a masterstroke substitution by introducing a defender, Nenad Subotic to replace the sent off defender by sacrificing Milan Jovanovic, an attacker. Thus, their formation became something like a 4-4-1 or 4-3-2 variant instead of trying to keep on attacking with a disoriented 3-4-2 formation for example. Thus, it could be seen that with the sending off, Serbia seemingly was not really affected. In fact, they attacked more and more valiantly and intensely.

At the 82nd minute, Ghana earned a penalty as the Serbian substitute Kusmanovic handled the ball deliberately to break a Ghanaian attack. Asamoah Gyan who had missed many chances in the game finally able to make the score 1-0 as the striker sent the Serbian keeper V. Stojkovic to the wrong way.

The slender 1-0 lead by Ghana proved to be quite precarious as in the last few minutes of the game, especially during the four minutes injury time of the game, Serbia was attacking in a very intense manner and just like how we have seen Liverpool FC when trailing in club football, there was signs of Serbia about to equalize at anytime by then. However, at the very last moments of the game, Asamoah Gyan managed to hit the post at the other end before being substituted with Quincy Owusu-Abeyle to earn his standing ovation from the Ghana fans as well as to run the clock down. Finally, Ghana managed to hold on to their slender lead and becomes the first African team to taste victory in World Cup 2010 and staking their claims to the knockout stages of the competition. While Serbia now needs to regroup swiftly as they tackler Germany next in which if they lose again, they will all be knocked out from the competition.

Algeria 0-1 Slovenia World Cup 2010 Group C

Slovenia managed to make history by notching their first ever win in the World Cup finals at the expense of Algeria. There's not a lot to be taken notes of in this match as this match could have easily been a dour and boring 0-0 draw, save for the occasional chances from both teams as well as Slovenia defense's error which provoked their keeper Samir Handanovic's ire as well as the unnecessary fouls on Algeria's number 9 Ghezzal culminating to his silly sending off which arguably catalyzed Slovenia's victory in this match. It was an unfortunate and a wrong substitution made by Algeria's veteran coach Rabah Saadane. The flashy haired striker's first contribution on the pitch was a silly jersey pulling by the striker and his second yellow card was even sillier as he attempted a very twisted and silly version of Maradona's Hand of God by purposely touching the ball with his hand to just managed to lightly touch it as the ball was so far away from him. Slovenia immediately took advantage of the one man advantage as well as the fact that Algeria was shell-shocked as Robert Koren shortly scored with a rather soft shot which the Algerian keeper failed to catch and smother. That's the winning goal and now Slovenia is at the top of the Group C table.

PS: Robert Koren seemed to have attempted a low and soft shot as throughout the tournament, as well as throughout the Algeria vs Slovenia match, players have been trying to shoot from distance but the ball always flies way over the bar. Maybe it's right that the ball has an effect after all. Also, the ball's supposed “effects” will be scrutinized even more as England's Robert Green made a goalkeeping gaffe which allowed the USA to equalize in their match while Jabulani was made scapegoat.

Argentina 1-0 Nigeria World Cup 2010 Group B

The second opening game for World Cup 2010 Group B was the match between Argentina and Nigeria. The match ended 1-0 to Argentina's favor, but in truth, it was a surprisingly very tight and well-balanced match in which I believe Nigeria was rather unfortunate on not being able to at least equalize. Prior to the match, both teams have had their respective plans laid out. Argentina started with the attacking trident of Higuain, Messi (who was given a free role), and Tevez. While Nigeria started out with Yakubu as their sole attacking lone spear but reinforced as the match wears on especially in the second half. Another interesting point is Juan Sebastian Veron's role in the Argentina squad as well as some players form both sides that attracted attention in the match. Since it is of no secrets by now that I am tipping Argentina to win this year's World Cup, the points which I will be making below are mostly about Argentina, but I will try my best to include things that caught my eyes from the Nigerian team in the match as well.

The match started as a high octane extreme attacking match with both teams attacking liberally, especially Argentina with the aforementioned attacking trident. After just 5 minutes, Argentina immediately scored through a really nice move. A corner kick resulting from Messi's stinging shot which was saved (the first of so many more in the game) was dispatched by Veron and then Gabriel Heinze appeared so suddenly and abruptly into the penalty area such that he was free to head the ball and he did just that to score the first and only goal in the match which turned out to be the winning goal for Argentina. However, unlike Greece in the previous Group B match, Nigeria wasn't really shocked with the early goal and maintained their high-gear approach of the game.

Another point to take note is Jonas Gutierrez. Although a lot of pundits criticized Maradona's decision to bring Jonas on board in favor of other who are supposedly more high profile such as Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso. The fact that he played in England's lower division with Newcastle in the recently concluded club season doesn't mean that he's not a great player. He was brimming with energy and passion in the game and since he played as a right back, he reminds me of Brazil's Maicon. He was practically everywhere on the pitch. When the team attacks, he's right in front ready to receive the ball and when he has the ball, he could be seen crossing to the strikers, but when the opponents launch a swift counterattack, Jonas is suddenly at the back again defending and trying to win back possession. The amazing thing is that he does that while completing the whole 90 minutes without any sign of tiring down and thus needing to be substituted or rested.

Another interesting point, as mentioned in the first paragraph is Veron's role in the squad. This is again the substantiation of the “pseudo-manager” effect which I have explained so many times by now and another bad sign for Germany since they have lost Michael Ballack, the player which has this role in the squad. Veron was the pseudo-manager in the squad, and thus might just be another of Maradona's concealed genius masterstrokes. In the match, whenever possible, it could be seen that Maradona was conveying instructions to Veron, and then in the match itself, Veron could be seen waving his arms, shouting commands to the players and the players seem to react according to the instructions, such as slowing or quickening the tempo of the match. Despite how much Maradona moved around the touchline barking instructions, a pseudo-manager such as Veron is still needed.

The second half started where the first one had left off with both teams continuing to operate on high gears. Argentina continued to dominate possession and the match with Tevez as the embodiment of the team's high octane approach. However, since Argentina failed to score that second and killer goal, Nigeria started to realize this and they immediately made two attacking substitutions with Peter Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins entering the fray. Nigeria's attack turned from a one tipped spear to become a trident with Martins, Yakubu and Odemwingie.

Exchanges of entertaining and heart-stopping counter-attacks ensued between the two teams with Nigeria's Taye Taiwo nearly equalized before injuring himself. Bad sign for Nigeria. But he was substituted with Kalu Uche, another striker, and by this time, about 10-15 minutes from the end of the game, Nigeria operated with four strikers on the pitch now in their quest to find the equalizer, and by now, Argentina started to get pinned back as they continued to fail to get another goal and Nigeria acquiring more and more belief as time passed. Perhaps it was due to the match ball, but Argentina's efforts continued to go over the bar (also observable in other matches). In any case, Nigeria crept closer and closer to scoring a goal.

Maradona seemed to realize the 4 engined Nigerian bombardment as well as his team's failure to score the second goal prompted him to make a defensive substitution after two attacking ones prior to this when he sent Nicolas Burdisso into the fray. Argentina continued to become shakier and shakier but they did manage to get to the Nigerian goal as Higuain was denied a penalty. In the dying minutes of the game, Nigeria continued their resilience and as many as six Nigerian players were committed to the attack at that time.

However, it wasn't enough as Argentina managed to hold on to their slender lead and start the World Cup campaign with a victory. For Nigeria, they have to snatch a victory and a draw at the very least against South Korea and Greece.

Meanwhile, for Argentina, they only have to draw or preferably defeat South Korea and/or Greece to ensure their qualification to the knockout stages. This is a great start for Argentina, and a preferable one as well in my humble opinion. This is so as Argentina managed to get off to a good start by winning their first match, but they don't peak too early just like themselves in 2006 and Spain traditionally in the World Cup.

S. Korea 2-0 Greece World Cup 2010 Group B

It was the opening match for Group B in World Cup 2010 with South Korea facing Greece at the newly built Nelson Mandela bay stadium. Judging from both team's profiles, this match was expected to be a tight and cagey affair with both teams, especially the Greeks employing a defensive and cautious approach, and many including myself had expected this match to end all square with the scoreline of 1-1. Although two goals were indeed scored in the match, it wasn't to be a draw as South Korea snatched a massive 2-0 victory against the Greeks. It was the South Koreans' first victory in the World Cup outside of the Asian continent and also the first time they have won by 2 clear goals in the World Cup. This puts them in a very promising position to also go through from the World Cup Group Stage for the very first time outside of Asia.

Just like what we have seen in 2002, and if that World Cup was controversial (especially for Italians and Spaniards out there), we could even see in 2006 that there's undoubtedly something special in the South Korean squad. They somehow have some kind of winning aura surrounding them. When they play, somehow we know beforehand that they are going to do well in the match, and thus a high chance of getting a victory no matter the opposition. Based on my observation, especially after this victory against Greece, this South Korea team is a very industrious, solid, matured, and they have a really good team chemistry. This group of players almost have some kind of telepathic understanding with one another. Their players such as Park Ji-Sung, Cha Du-Ri, Park Chu-Young just to name three are really skillful and able players. We have seen how at first Jung-Soo scored the first goal with his head and defeating the supposedly bigger and taller Greek defenders. This dispelled the Asian physical inferiority myth. Park Ji-Sung's goal for South Korea's second and killer goal also substantiated the kind of world class player that he is, after leaving two Greek defenders out cold with his dazzling pace and skills as well as leaving the Greek goalkeeper scrambling for nothing more than bits of soil on the ground. The full backs consisting of the striker turned right back Cha Du-Ri and the evergreen Lee Young-Pyo augmenting the South Korean attack perfectly.

In contrast, the Greek team seemed tired, old, and clumsy. A good analogy, especially in conjunction with their style of play would be that they are just like an artillery-worn and crumbling defensive wall. They no longer able to showcase their famed rigid defending which would draw any oppositions into submission such as how they showed the world in their Euro 2004 triumph, let alone showing the world how they were able to win matches by 1-0 scoreline which delivered the Euro trophy as well as shooting them to fame.

The Greeks were leaking goals, and thus it would totally deprived them of their only way to play and win the football game, in which to defend staunchingly until the enemy is worn out and then to score one unexpected goal from either a corner kick or a free kick. Since they were leaking goal, and since they don't really have a plan B, there's no way that Greek could win this game or any football game for that matter. Their lack of a back up plan and ways to get back into the match in general.

Also, if the South Korean players had their way in their barrages towards the Greek goal in the last ten minutes or so, it could have easily been a shameful thrashing by the Koreans. Thus, Greek's World Cup scoring curse continues on as they have yet to find that first goal in the competition.

Now, South Korea is in a great position to go through from Group B as they only need to at least get one more point from the remaining two games, and not to take away anything from Nigeria, but it is attainable to get a point or even more from Nigeria and of course not ruling out an upset against Argentina if they have their way. As for Greece, things look bleak for now unless they are able to overturn their low morale and could formulate a great plan B in time for their remaining two games against Argentina and Nigeria.

South Africa 1-1 Mexico Opening Match of World Cup 2010

The much anticipated World Cup 2010 is finally here to embrace all of us! Before I get to my take on the opening match proper, I'll take time to explain a little about the saying “Out with the old, in with the new”. Before I started to watch the match, I switched on my modern LCD TV, looking forward to watch the opening match between hosts South Africa and Mexico in comfort. However, I looked in horror as the complementary cable TV subscription that I have got cruelly jam the channel that is supposed to broadcast the World Cup matches. What to do? It is complementary after all. But I almost broke down as I was about to miss the World Cup. But then, I remember about the old, decades old small TV that is lying somewhere at the corner of the house, being ignored in favor of the sexier, sleeker LCD TV. Immediately I switched on that TV, praying so hard that it has a good reception, and that it is still working in the first place. Thank God or whoever is up there as the TV does work and it was about the start of the match. Moral of the story? Do not forget the seemingly old and outdated stuff that you have. Those are the very things which would help you immensely when you are faced with massive difficulties, just like what I had experienced. So back to the match, it was the opening match between the hosts South Africa and Mexico. It ended in a 1-1 stalemate in the lively full house Soccer City stadium.

The match started with Mexico attacking so aggressively. Perhaps, just perhaps, it's because of the fact that the Mexican players were wearing their black colored kits, and thus at the start of the match, they were as slick as the oil in the Gulf of Mexico. They really penetrated the South African defense and creating chances early on.

The hosts South Africa on the other hand seemed to be either overwhelmed by the occasion or perhaps they were really overwhelmed by the massive pressure when everyone inside the stadium, as well as the millions or even billions watching at home or elsewhere on TV or anything of that sort are fixed on them. Everyone wants to see how the hosts fare, and how they start their World Cup campaign and to fulfill the very first hurdle in the tournament, which is to avoid becoming the very first World Cup hosts to be knocked out in the Group Stage. I would say the way they started the match is just like how we flunk really badly in video games and/or arcade games when there are so many people looking at the way we play, and to be able to play really well when everyone's gone.

One Mexican player that has taken little time to show the world how talented he really is after such a roller-coaster season in which he was sent on loan to Ipswich from his club Tottenham. The way he waltzed through the pitch dazzling and dizzying the South African defenders, as well as the hairstyle and hairband, caused me to mistake him for Ronaldinho in 2005-06. Guillermo Franco also did quite well as a targetman getting the end of crosses and corner kicks, but they didn't manage to score.

After the first 30 minutes, South Africa increasingly settled into the game, but it was still insufficient as there was simply no way through for them and that their passes were still disarrayed. In the first half, the hosts were really pinned back by the slick and silky skilled Mexicans and the possession at one time was at 61% for Mexico. The half ended with Mexico creating good chances but they failed to take it except for when Carlos Vela managed to score but it was correctly chalked offside. Looking at how both sides shoot the ball way over the bar, it was perhaps safe to say that both teams were saved by the much criticized Jabulani ball in this half. Personally, I have two balls at home. One is the Jabulani, and one is another type. I tested both balls, and realized that Jabulani does bounce and fly around much easier and much further than the other ball.

The second half started where the first one left off, but at the 55th minute, South Africa managed to launch a very swift counter-attacking motion totally against the run of play which culminated in South African Thsabalala scoring a wonderful goal to cap the swift attacking move off. From this moment onwards, Mexico seemed to be so shaken by that swift goal and for a good twenty minutes or so, their play resembles how the gameplay works for the later versions of the PES (Winning Eleven Game). Perhaps it was also because of the deafening and buzzing Vuvuzelas in the stadium, in which a family member in the house complained about the sound, and the Mexicans might have been disturbed as well by the continuing sound. Well, Don't get me wrong, perhaps I am the one being bad in the PES games, but to describe how Mexico played for the period of time, it's just like when you try to make a good through pass to your attacker who is perfectly placed to make a good run to receive the pass, and suddenly, for reasons unknown, the computer's defender jumps like a leopard and stops the ball and thus taking possession to launch a counter-attack. It happens all the time, and that's what happened to Mexico. South Africa even nearly managed to score the second and arguably the killer goal. However, thanks to the fact that South Africa didn't manage to kill the game off, and also thanks to a masterstroke substitution by Mexico's manager Javier Aguirre just after the hosts' goal. Right after the goal, Carlos Vela was substituted with Cuauhtemoc Blanco, a 37 year old Mexican legend.

The move seemed to be puzzling as Blanco looks quite out of shape, and he doesn't move really much, and he looks really tired and unfit. But that's where the masterstroke was. Mexico was in a disarray, and an influential figure was urgently needed to restore order and morale on the pitch, and entered Blanco to do just that. Cameras in the match managed to show how Blanco started to bark instructions to the rest of the players right after he entered the pitch. Everything takes time, and Mexico to calm themselves also needs time. But slowly but surely, they managed to return to their silky and slick play from the first half. Blanco's effects on the Mexican team also substantiates my earlier argument about how a team needs a pseudo-manager to calm and spur the team on when the tough gets going and the going gets tough. (the previous post about Michael Ballack's absence in the German squad). Thus, judging from how Blanco “resurrected” Mexico that dangerously faded away shows how Germany must be fretting over how they are missing that pseudo-manager figure in their squad.

True enough, the revitalization of the Mexicans culminated in an equalizer on the 79th minute. At this time, the Mexicans were still a bit shaky, but they won a corner. Cuauhtemoc Blanco united with Giovani dos Santos in an inter-generation link play from the corner, and the youngster curled a very beautiful pass to the awaiting Rafael Marquez, and largely no thanks to the sparse South African defense in the penalty area, Marquez had all the time in his world to take aim and to slot the ball past Khune, the South African keeper.

The last 10 minutes was also interesting and entertaining as both sides continued to commit to attacking each other to win this game. Mexico further augmented by the Manchester United bound Javier Hernandez while South Africa, perhaps it's because of a sense of urgency and also because of Mexico committing many players in front, managed to get their chances to attack each other, especially South Africa in the dying minutes of the game through Mphela who almost scored the winner but unfortunately hit the post.

The match ended 1-1 and as far as the hosts are concerned, now they have to grab a victory either against France or Uruguay to ensure that they go through to the next round and void the unwanted distinction as the first host nation knocked out from the Group Stage of the World Cup.

Likelihood of an African World Cup 2010 Winner (Part 2/2)

By now, it would be noticed that the host nation South Africa has yet to be featured. Don't worry, it is not that I have forgotten about the hosts themselves amid the hysteria surrounding the star-studded teams. That's not to say the Bafana Bafana is not star-studded though. The South African team is the most locally represented out of the rest of the six African teams in the competition, but they are augmented by a few superstars in the squad such as the 101 capped Aaron Mokoena and 50 capped Steven Pienaar, just to name two of the most known members of the Bafana Bafana. Although many pundits and fans alike have condemned Bafana Bafana to be the very first host country in the World Cup history to be knocked out from the Group Stage, we must not underestimate South Africa as well as the advantages that they are going to have as a host nation.

In the World Cup, or any other huge competitions for that matter, underdogs usually go to overdrive mode while the top teams might churn up a sub-par performance, although it's not so apparent such that the semi-finals consist of four underdogs, but it's still playing a huge role in the competition. Besides, South Africa is coached by an experienced Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and thus he is able to navigate his way through the toughness of the World Cup as he has been there before when he won the 1994 World Cup. Thus, I won't be surprised if South Africa survives the Group Stage or even winning Group A altogether. Besides, Group A is not that tough a group. France huffed and puffed their way through qualification, and many would argue that they avoided failure to qualify to the World Cup no thanks to FIFA's last minute seeding of the play-off teams in the European zone of qualification as well as the infamous Hand of Henry. Uruguay, just like France is not a team at top form and is as shaky as the French. Also, just like the French, they are only in the World Cup no thanks to an offside goal in their own play-off match against Costa Rica. The last participant in Group A, and South Africa's first opponent in the tournament's opening game, Mexico has just survived a total destruction under the ill-fated regime of Sven Goran Eriksson. The trauma won't dissipate that shortly, and also, it is a team pretty much in transition. Thus, it is pertinent to note that South Africa might spring a few surprises in their vuvuzela fuelled campaign on home soil. Also, I dare say that in South Africa's campaign, which I would say that they would at least get to the last 16 or even go to the quarter finals or even the semi finals with a stroke of luck or two, it won't be just all about Aaron Mokoena and Steven Pienaar. There will be other players in the South African squad who would emerge from the shadows to let the whole world notice their talents, and it is likely that these stars will be poached by top European clubs after the World Cup. Whether they will be the El Hadji-Dioufs and the Salif Diaos of this world, it is another thing altogether, but nevertheless, expect a few stars or two from the Bafana Bafana to earn themselves lucrative transfers to top European clubs after the World Cup.

The last team, and the one which I think the most likely African team to go furthest and even win the whole thing is Cameroon. As far as star names is concerned, Cameroon possesses at least one recognizable and proven star name in each position. In goal, they have Carlos Idriss Kameni, a proven reliable goalkeeper in La Liga. In defence, they have the ever reliable Rigobert Song and the solid Sebastian Bassong. In Midfield, they have the commanding and imposing Jean II Makoun. In attack, medals attracting Samuel Eto'o needs no introduction. Also, Cameroon's squad consists of players who are at the peak of their powers (ie. Between the age of 26-30+) and that every single one of them, exept for the youngster Vincent Aboubakar, ply their trades in top European clubs in top European leagues. Their manager, Paul Le Guen is also a recognizable name in world football and also he has been in charge of Cameroon since 2009. Thus, this squad is relatively stable and with the players at the peak of their powers eager to live up their nickname the “Indomitable Lions” will look forward to be indomitable and also to dominate everything and anything standing in their path to glory. Their Group is also a relatively easy group and expect them to beat the shaky Denmark and Japan, and they might even do a Senegal and shock Netherlands as well as the world and top the group. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, expect Cameroon to be this World Cup's Senegal and go all the way to the quarter finals at least and even if they are not able to win the World Cup, I won't rule out Samuel Eto'o collecting yet one more medal even if that medal is the bronze medal. Nevertheless, history would have been made for Africa if that happens. Also, despite everyone claiming that Eto'o has started to dwindle and that they cite Mourinho moving him back to play on the flanks for Inter in the recently concluded club season, I would still say that at 29, Eto'o is still pretty much at the peak of his powers, and he will play really well as a striker for his country and he will score plenty of goals as Cameroon charges for glory!

Likelihood of an African World Cup 2010 Winner (Part 1/2)

One day before the much anticipated and awaited World Cup 2010, the very first World Cup held in Africa. Just like People's Republic of China in 2008 Olympic games, this is the time for South Africa, a country that had a bleak reputation for its notorious Apartheid era, to show to the world just how they have gone from such a bleak era to rapid, harmonious, and stable growth. Same goes to the African continent in general, this is the event to show the world that Africa is on par with the rest of the world. The greatest footballer but not so great predictor Pele had predicted before the turn of the century that the world will be seeing an African Champion right after the aforementioned turn of the century, which is 2002 World Cup. But, a decade into the 21st century, we have yet to see a World champion hailing from a continent other than Europe and South America. Since this World Cup is one which is finally staged in Africa, we might well see the first African team to win the arguably pinnacle of International football. Six African teams, dubbed the “Six-Pack” by pundits all over the world will be vying to be the first nation to win the World Cup as well as to become the first African country(s) to surpass Cameroon's record in 1990 to go beyond the quarter-finals. These teams are (in no particular order for now) Algeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, hosts South Africa, and last but not least Nigeria. These countries have gone a long way in football and a look at their squad would reveal names of players who are so familiar to all of us football fans such as Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o, Carlos Kameni, and many more. It seems that everything has been set in stone for an African country to win the World Cup on African soil. It would be even more romantic than Mourinho's Champions League triumph in his new club's stadium. Assuming that an African country is poised to win the World Cup, which of the six countries are the likeliest to win the competition? It would be analyzed below from the least likely team to win it to the most likely African team to win it.

The first African team, and the one least likely to win the World Cup is Algeria. Starting from the household names, Algeria have the least number of household names in comparison to the other countries. The biggest names in this Algerian squad are Karim Ziani of Wolfsburg and Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda of Portsmouth (the latter on loan from Benfica). That's not to say that players' reputation alone will be the sole factor of a team's success in the World Cup, but on paper, that's the case. While there's no denying that Algeria has done a lot to reach South Africa judging from their amazing qualification campaign in which they had exhausted all tie-breakers in the group with Egypt to determine who qualifies to the World Cup and thus had to play Egypt one more time in a neutral venue (later determined to be Sudan). That was the last thing that both countries want as they had fought cataclysmic battles in the two matches against each other and also marred with extreme crowd troubles. The last match was won by Algeria, again in a very controversial and marred with crowd troubles, although the Egyptians would get their revenge in the African Nations Cup 2010 in Angola when they beat the Algerians 4-0 en route to their triumph in Angola. In any case, Algeria will be in the World Cup, and their group will not be easy. They have been drawn with England, USA, and Slovenia. This group is expected to be a foregone conclusion as England and USA are massive favorites to clinch the 1st and 2nd place respectively to progress to the last 16. Rabah Saadane will have to utilize his tactical prowess and vast footballing experience in order to spring an upset and knock one of the favorites (England or USA) and progress to the next round to go on to win the whole thing. Although they might well go through if they are able to clinch a victory against Slovenia in their opening match and at least grab 1 point from their subsequent encounters with USA and England. Even that is already unlikely, and even if they manage to do the impossible and go through to the last 16, they might well be knocked out against the likes of Germany or Australia or Serbia. Thus, although anything can happen in football, it would be a task too tall to go beyond the quarter finals, let alone winning the World Cup. Well, unless Pele suddenly publicly predicts that Algeria will be the whipping boys of Group C, and they might well win the World Cup!!! (Curse of Pele, infamous and well documented football “curse”)

The second least likely team to win the World Cup is none other than Nigeria. But they have a much bigger chance than Algeria to do so, that's for sure. Their hopes will hinge on players such as Obafemi Martins, Peter Odemwingie, Aiyegbeni Yakubu, and the aging but the ever reliable Kanu. The Super Eagles have not been soaring in world football of late. Missing the last edition of World Cup with frequent changes in management and various other problems such as difficulties in unearthing new Nigerian superstars. Although the Super Eagles might have been experiencing a renaissance of late, clinching the third place in the African Nations Cup 2010, the frequent management changes still go on as the previous manager Shaibu Amodu was sacked despite the third place finish and the Swede Lars Lagerback was appointed in February. Despite having quite a solid squad with a few eyebrow raising names in the squad, the fact that they don't have that “X-Factor” especially in the form of a new prodigy entering the scene as well as an established megastar in the squad, and also compounded by the fact that the manager only has 3 full months before the tournament proper to get to know all the players in the squad as well as trying to acclimatize himself to them, and also imparting his footballing philosophies to his players. There are too many problems in the Nigerian squad for them to win this World Cup. Although Group B is quite an open group with the seemingly erratic Argentina (although I beg to differ), South Korea and Greece. In any case, it is going to be hard with their key player John Obi Mikel injured. In my opinion, it is an open battle for South Korea, Greece, and Nigeria to fight it out to join Argentina to go through to the next round. However, despite what I said earlier about how Nigeria have a bigger chance than Algeria to win this one, but that's purely based on logic and paper analysis. Also, even if they are really more likely to triumph, it would still be too much for them to even match Cameroon 1990's progress to the quarter-finals, let alone winning the World Cup, just like how I concluded for Algeria previously.

Next is Ivory Coast, an African team I would consider to be the England of Africa. Star-studded: check. Overrated: check, Perennial favorites: check, wilting when everyone expects them to shine: check, Sven Goran Eriksson: CHECK! That's Ivory Coast for you. Don't get me started to list the big names that they have, before I could even mash my keyboards, I am already so starstruck that I am stunned! Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure, Aruna Dindane, Salomon Kalou, Gervinho, the list goes on and on and on! Ask any ordinary fans out there about the title of this article, and I believe every single one of them would point out that Ivory Coast is by far the most likely African team to triumph, and they might even suggest that Ivory Coast will certainly win the World Cup 2010! However, from history, their patterns in the past tournament which prompted me to place the “England of Africa” tag on them Ivory Coast will fall short of expectations. If you expect them to win the World Cup, they would fall in the quarter finals, if you expect them to go through comfortably to the last 16, they would be humiliated in the Group Stage. In terms of firepower and star names, Ivory Coast have everything. Just like their nickname, they are like a giant indomitable elephant that will steamroll over anything and everything. But just like the real elephant which loses to small ants, Ivory Coast is also prone to be shocked by teams that they expect to beat comfortably (North Korea for this case). Also, if Lars Lagerback has 3 months before the start of the World Cup, his fellow Swede Sven Goran Eriksson only has less than 2 months to get used to the Ivory Coast squad and for the squad to get used to him and his style. This will certainly further impede the country's chances of finally living up to their expectations and sheer star-studdedness and firepower. One more thing which would impede them is the fact that just like in World Cup 2006, they are once again drawn in the competition's Group of Death with massive favorites Brazil and Portugal (to go through to the next round at least) and the unknown quantity and potential surprise package North Korea. No matter what, it is really hard to see both Brazil and Portugal go through to the next round of the competition. If all of these are still not enough, Ivory Coast still have one more problem, one which many would argue the biggest problem of them all. Didier Drogba , the player expected to be the sole bastion of hope for Ivory Coast to succeed suffered a broken right elbow in the recent warm-up match against Japan. Although he is expected to recover on time and the worst is for him to miss their first match against Portugal, it is enough to kill Ivory Coast's hopes of going through the group. Even if Drogba recovers on time, a player who has just recovered from an injury will not be at 100%, and it would be too much for Drogba, or any player for that matter to carry the weight of a nation on his own. Besides, totally depending on a 32 year old who might be featuring in his last ever World Cup in his career, superstar he might be, to bring the country to World Cup glory is not a good sign. Just like Nigeria and Algeria especially, they would do well to survive the Group Stage, and they are not somewhere in the first two paragraphs only because of the fact that they are in the Group of Death. Too bad Ivory Coast...

Next is Ghana. The Black Stars have enjoyed a meteoric rise to the footballing elites mainly due to their strong exploits in World Cup 2006 and also strong European contingent such as Sulley Ali Muntari, Stephan Appiah, and Michael Essien. Also, their under-20 team (the Black Satellites) have recently just clinched the World Under-20 title. Signs of big things to come for the West African nation? Not so easy. Their players' reputation cannot be undoubted. I would say they are even close to on par with Ivory Coast. But, just like Ivory Coast and Nigeria, Ghana is also feeling the brunt of the “Chelsea World Cup curse” as just like Ivory Coast, Ghana will not be with the player who is carrying the nation's weight on his own, Michael Essien. It is even worse as unlike Ivory Coast, Essien will be missing the whole tournament. Also, just like Ivory Coast, they are in a difficult group with Germany, Australia, and Serbia. This group is as open as it could be, in which in my opinion, any permutations and combinations of those teams can pan out at the end of the three match-days of the group. However, I would say that as much as they are likely to go far in the tournament, Ghana is also likely to fall short in the Group Stage. Why? The main reason is that although many people are still under the illusion of the fluid and great looking Ghana team in 2006, we have to accept that in four years time between two World Cups anything could happen and so much at that. One example would be that Adriano was tipped to be the next best player in the world in 2006, and now Adriano is considered a wasted player trying to rescue his fledgling and shaky career. Just like that, and thus, this Ghana team is now in a transition period between the old guards of 2006 and the new guards mostly consisting of the players featured in the under-20 triumph. Transition periods are never fun, again just ask Arsene Wenger, and thus Ghana is no exception. A glance at the current Ghana squad reveals a seemingly eclectic combination of the old guards and the new boys. However, in the actual fact, the transition from old to new is not that smooth, as there's a gaping gap between the group of old guards and the new boys. The former is a group of aging players with alarming dip in form, especially Stephan Appiah, and even the usually reliable keeper Richard Kingson has been labelled “shaky” in recent times. On the other hand, the new boys from the under-20 team who have just been promoted to the senior squad are too raw and inexperienced to feature at this level. I mean, winning a youth tournament is one thing, but winning a proper senior tournament is another thing altogether. Besides, it is too early to judge the potential of the players as there have been so many players all over the world who have starred in the youth championships, but failed to make the next step to superstardom and they settle to become average and mediocre players instead. Even if they do have the potential to become world beaters, their current ability at this stage will not enable them to excel at the senior level, not so soon. One notable example would be Real Madrid's Royston Drenthe. Thus, this team would need another 4 years at least to get over the transition period properly, then if the players from the under-20 triumphant squad really fulfill their potentials, then Ghana can dream of winning the World Cup in Brazil, but definitely not this year. Just like Ivory Coast, even going through the Group Stage is not a shoe-in. Thus, even Ghana, as one of the favorites are not really favorites and I would not be surprised if they are knocked out early despite all the hype.