![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Wow! Things have become really busy at the World Cup, and several giants have already seen the door. Just one more day of group play to come, and then the round of 16 starts up on Saturday. Good times ahead, at least for a mostly neutral watcher.
June 23, 2010
England, which played so sluggishly last week, was in a must-win position, and they came through - barely. Slovenia had the lead in the group and played a mostly defensive game, content perhaps with a tie. England had several terrific scoring chances and if they were the tiniest bit more lucky, the score could well have been 3-0. But as it was, they only scored once on a lovely cross that Defoe volleyed into the net. England removed Rooney after 79 minutes, perhaps worried his frustration would boil over into a card that would cause him to miss the next game. After he left, his impact on the game was immediately apparent - he may not have been scoring goals but he had certainly been working and setting up opportunities. Without him, England went into a largely defensive shell, content to run out the clock. But their failure to score a second goal would prove significant.
That's because the U.S. and Algeria were playing at the same time, in a back and forth battle that had failed to produce any goals thanks to some stubborn goalkeeping. A tie would have left both teams out of the next round, a fact which perhaps influenced the play in the England-Slovenia game. But wouldn't you know: that game ended and moments later, the U.S. finally scored when one last attack was blocked by the Algerian goaltender, only to have the rebound come straight to the onrushing Donovan. Goal!!!! And with that, the US qualified #1 in the group, which means they'll play #2 from group D. And that leaves England to face #1 from Group D - I wonder who that might be?
In the later set of games, Ghana faced off with Germany, while Australia faced Serbia. Australia had the slimmest of chances, needing to win and then some help in the other game. They did what they could by winning an entertaining match that could well have gone the other way. But they were ultimately eliminated by the dreaded goal differential.
Ghana looked somewhat out of its depth against Germany. Even though Ghana had more shots (17-13), Germany led in virtually every other offensive statistic. Germany was missing a little bit of sparkle near the goal area though, perhaps because Klose was side-lined because of the yellow cards he had been given in the 2nd game. After a scoreless first half, tension was rising before Germany scored its all important goal. In their case, one was enough to top the group, meaning they will face England. Ghana earned second place in the group on goal differential and will face the US.
June 24, 2010
Japan scored on two brilliant free kicks in the first half, plus another lovely goal in the dying minutes for a dominating win against Denmark. It's the first time they've ever scored 3 goals in a game, and the first time they've ever qualified for the round of 16 on foreign soil. Denmark just didn't look very threatening, even though they had a significant edge in time of possession.
Neither Netherlands nor Cameroon had anything to play for here, since one was in and the other was out. But both teams fielded their top players and played a solid, thoroughly entertaining game. Netherlands won 2-1 to go through with a perfect record, but Cameroon made them work for it.
Over in Group F though, for the longest time it really didn't look like anyone was all that interested in moving on. Paraguay and New Zealand faced off in a game that made dishwater look positively brilliant. Paraguay only needed a tie and the Kiwis didn't have much offensive firepower, so there were very few scoring opportunities to talk about in a scoreless draw. Paraguay won the group, continuing the South American domination of this World Cup, but who really knows how good they are.
Italy played Slovakia as though they were in asleep, before finally waking up in the last 15 minutes when they were down 2-0. This led to one of the most exciting closing minutes I've ever seen in a match, with Italy fighting back for their first goal, then scoring what looked like a tying goal only to have it called back as offside. Slovakia then scored again to go ahead 3-1 but the Italians still fought back to close the game to 3-2. Now if only the could have played that way for the rest of the tournament! As it was, too little, too late and the defending champions are out.
June 23, 2010
England, which played so sluggishly last week, was in a must-win position, and they came through - barely. Slovenia had the lead in the group and played a mostly defensive game, content perhaps with a tie. England had several terrific scoring chances and if they were the tiniest bit more lucky, the score could well have been 3-0. But as it was, they only scored once on a lovely cross that Defoe volleyed into the net. England removed Rooney after 79 minutes, perhaps worried his frustration would boil over into a card that would cause him to miss the next game. After he left, his impact on the game was immediately apparent - he may not have been scoring goals but he had certainly been working and setting up opportunities. Without him, England went into a largely defensive shell, content to run out the clock. But their failure to score a second goal would prove significant.
That's because the U.S. and Algeria were playing at the same time, in a back and forth battle that had failed to produce any goals thanks to some stubborn goalkeeping. A tie would have left both teams out of the next round, a fact which perhaps influenced the play in the England-Slovenia game. But wouldn't you know: that game ended and moments later, the U.S. finally scored when one last attack was blocked by the Algerian goaltender, only to have the rebound come straight to the onrushing Donovan. Goal!!!! And with that, the US qualified #1 in the group, which means they'll play #2 from group D. And that leaves England to face #1 from Group D - I wonder who that might be?
In the later set of games, Ghana faced off with Germany, while Australia faced Serbia. Australia had the slimmest of chances, needing to win and then some help in the other game. They did what they could by winning an entertaining match that could well have gone the other way. But they were ultimately eliminated by the dreaded goal differential.
Ghana looked somewhat out of its depth against Germany. Even though Ghana had more shots (17-13), Germany led in virtually every other offensive statistic. Germany was missing a little bit of sparkle near the goal area though, perhaps because Klose was side-lined because of the yellow cards he had been given in the 2nd game. After a scoreless first half, tension was rising before Germany scored its all important goal. In their case, one was enough to top the group, meaning they will face England. Ghana earned second place in the group on goal differential and will face the US.
June 24, 2010
Japan scored on two brilliant free kicks in the first half, plus another lovely goal in the dying minutes for a dominating win against Denmark. It's the first time they've ever scored 3 goals in a game, and the first time they've ever qualified for the round of 16 on foreign soil. Denmark just didn't look very threatening, even though they had a significant edge in time of possession.
Neither Netherlands nor Cameroon had anything to play for here, since one was in and the other was out. But both teams fielded their top players and played a solid, thoroughly entertaining game. Netherlands won 2-1 to go through with a perfect record, but Cameroon made them work for it.
Over in Group F though, for the longest time it really didn't look like anyone was all that interested in moving on. Paraguay and New Zealand faced off in a game that made dishwater look positively brilliant. Paraguay only needed a tie and the Kiwis didn't have much offensive firepower, so there were very few scoring opportunities to talk about in a scoreless draw. Paraguay won the group, continuing the South American domination of this World Cup, but who really knows how good they are.
Italy played Slovakia as though they were in asleep, before finally waking up in the last 15 minutes when they were down 2-0. This led to one of the most exciting closing minutes I've ever seen in a match, with Italy fighting back for their first goal, then scoring what looked like a tying goal only to have it called back as offside. Slovakia then scored again to go ahead 3-1 but the Italians still fought back to close the game to 3-2. Now if only the could have played that way for the rest of the tournament! As it was, too little, too late and the defending champions are out.
| Group C Standings | ||||||
| Team (FIFA rank) | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| U.S. (14) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| England (8) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Slovenia (25) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Algeria (30) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Group D Standings | ||||||
| Team (FIFA rank) | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Germany (6) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Ghana (32) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Australia (20) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Serbia (15) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Group E Standings | ||||||
| Team (FIFA rank) | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Netherlands (4) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| Japan (45) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Denmark (36) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Cameroon (19) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Group F Standings | ||||||
| Team (FIFA rank) | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Paraguay (31) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Slovakia (34) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| New Zealand (78) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Italy (5) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
