Toothless England fail to Chew Dry Algerian Couscous

Yes, I said to everyone that this was going to be a horrible match, but I expected it to be a lot rougher.

0-0, an Algeria playing the trademark excellent defence that has gotten them this far, and an England relying on over-overpaid egos refusing to gel as a team and create respectable offensive opportunities.

Is it Capello's Catenaccio? 

The England team lacks clear tempo change. The total 5 minutes they managed to accelerate last game they looked dangerous. Otherwise, the brilliant England in qualifiaction is a shadow of itself, playing Italian style maybe, which consists of feigning uselessnes for first two matches of a World Cup before turning on the style after near-death-group escape? Sounds Italian enough, a bit more diving and emotions and England can do well in that department.....

Is it lack of defecation?


England Constipated? Too much pudding and bitter?

It's been nearly a decade of this... in retrospect the best England team was under Sven Goran Eriksson. Overpaid? Unmotivated because they can drive off in their Ferrari's to their expensive Villas and trophy wives? What is the matter with England? Certainly its psychological, as both the US and Algeria caused them excessive problems

Is it the ball?

No.

In the words of Lars Lagerback, "yes the ball is lighter and faster, but both teams are using it so never mind"... the English team is looking neither lighter nor faster, so no.


Is it Algeria and the US?

Yes and no. As I said a million times, the MEDIUM teams are getting very good. Algeria plays a particular brand of defensive football that has been bringing them success for two years, and it is build on players from the English, Scottish, German and French league who know how to defend. Their three best players, Belhadj, Yebda and Bougherra al play in the British isles, and are stars with their teams.

The Americans are a very combative, competitive team. They thrive as underdogs, and when they feel victims of some or other conspiracy, much like Algeria (not today but normally).

If the US has had trouble with these two, then watch out for a gelled, organized and nothing-to-lose Slovenia!

Is it the Media Pressure? 

Yes! The hype and negativity of the English press is certainly ruining the team atmosphere. The criticism of Heskey for instance is in his head when he is trying to use that one opportunity on goal that the uncreative English midfield is providing him with. The English problem is not with defence, which comes from konwledge of the game and tactics, but offence which comes from self-esteem and a positive initiative-seeking atmosphere.

June 14th in Review

Vuvuzelas are Hell’s Trumpet

After Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday the damned Vuvuzela is driving me nuts!

The defening 90 minutes of noise in South Africa are called by the blasted Vuvuzela, a simple horn that South African fans blow in a trance like disconcerting noise. This instrument is causing people all over the world in front of their TV sets to get nervous and uncomfortable, and might be the reason that the games so far have been rather low scoring... they might be hampering the player’s ability to concentrate and adding to the nervosity. If the tournament organizers wanted to do something interesting, they should have introduced Vuvuzelas with different chords to different supporters, instead it sounds like clouds of millions of mosquitos buzzing over each stadium.

Holland’s Engine takes 60 minutes to start then sputters past an organized Denmark

Holland looked the worst team during the first half, suffering from the absence of Robben, and alligned in a very defensive position. Van Persie had a day to forget missing several easy shots, and Sneijder looked tired.

Denmark on the other hand came out all guns firing, and looked the better team in the first half, with Ajax veteran Denis Rommedahl providing extensive action. The Danish wingplay was excellent and Bendtner should have scored a formidable cross he received. The Danish defenders Kjaer and Agger were superb, and the left back Simon Busk Poulsen managed to shut down the Dutch right side and contribute to his attack.

The Dutch pick up the pace after halftime and unfortunatelly for his otherwise great performance Simon Busk Poulsen headed of the back of Agger into his own net for the openning goal. That was the incentive the Dutch needed, and when Dutch coach van Marwijk introduced Elijro Elia the young attacker introduced a level of energy that caught both teams by surprise, dribbling and darting towards goal. His hard work was rewarded as he hit the post after a great run and Kuijt had a tap in for the second goal.

The Dutch have work to do if they are to advance in this World Cup. The Danish are far from out of it. Cameroon and Japan beware of the Herrings!

Japan Fail to Stun a Sleeping Cameroon even with a Goal

Paul Le Guen really had a bad day. He left many of Cameroon’s best and most experienced players on the bench in favour of young European born players like Matip, Choupo Moting and played two players out of position. He tried to convert Eto’o into a midfielder, something that has already not worked on multiple occassions, and played Webo in a central striking role, another tested recipe for failure while playing defensive midfielder M’Bia as a right back. In other words he took Japan for granted.

Needless to say this backfired, as a sleepy and uncreative Cameroon found themselves frequently attacked by an organized Japanese team who managed to score a goal from the rising star Keisuke Honda, who performed very well in the Champions League with CSKA Moscow this season. 

What this Japanese team had was the best organized, and rather tall defence that was ever fielded by a Japan. Until Emana came on in the second half, Cameroon never really looked to seriously threaten the Japanese penalty area.

Cameroon’s chances in this World Cup took a serious blow today, as both remaining group opponents are tougher. Japan will  be hoping after picking up their first win of the tournament.

Impressive Paraguay Force Azurri into a Draw

A clockwork Paraguayan defence held the World Champions to a 1-1 draw today, As usual Italy fans will be criticizing the underperfomance of their team. This is just conservative short sightedness. Italy played well, but Paraguay are a good team who had no trouble qualifying for the World Cup from South America. They have a long history of great defenders and this team is no different. Paraguay showed the potential to advance far. The Cape rain downpour didn’t help the game, but overall it was one of the better matches of the tournament so far.

June 14th Player Scores

(All on a 1-10 scale)

1330h

Holland v Denmark

HOLLAND

COACH: Bert van Madwijk – A very limited set up choosing a cautious defensive approach, but good introduction of subs. His team looked like losing in the first half at certain points. 5.0

1.Maarten Stekelenburg – Made a great couple of saves against, especially a shot from clubmate Martin Jorgensen at the end of the first half. Did enough but was not excessivelly tested. 6.0

2.Gregory van der Wiel – Looked dangerous up front and relativelly solid on the right defense. The fact that the Danish had an easier time on the right is largely his making. 7.0

3.John Heitinga  - Did relativelly well, but was not very present, Bendtner trouble him once or twice. 6.0

4.Joris Mathijsen – Solid and confident, although was sometimes troubled by Danes. 6.5

5.Giovanni van Bronckhorst – Supported the attack but was a bit slow on the defence conceding enough space to make the Danes look dangerous in the first half. The captain was rather active though and put some good crosses into the Danish box. 6.5

6.Mark van Bommel – Had 2 good runs and passes, but never really managed to get momentum into the Dutch team. Lost several midfield battles. 6.0

7.Dirk Kuyt – As hard working as always. Scored the second goal when he switched to striker and was often cleverly dangerous on the right. 7.5

8.Nigel de Jong  - A good game from the Manchester City midfielder. He stopped a lot of Danish movement in the middle, and started off good offensive movement from the Dutch. 7.5

9.Robin van Persie – A poor game.  Most of his shots were off goal, a lot more is expected of the Dutch and Arsenal star. The world is hoping he picks up his form. 4.0

10.Wesley Sneijder – A poor game. Looked tired and undynamic. Hasn’t played this badly for nearly a year, and lost many balls running forward. Only good point was his distribution and the fact he drew a lot of the Dutch attention. 5.5

23.Rafael van der Vaart – Looked dangerous running into the box once or twice, although losing some points for moments of selfishness. 6.5

SUBS:

17.Eljero Elia – on for van der Vaart in the 68th minute and IMMEDITALEY made a wonderfull dribbling move on the left wing causing danger in the Danish box, and followed with another great dribble minutes later. Finally he hit the post and caused the goal that Dirk Kuijt knocked in. 8.0

20.Ibrahim Afellay – on for van Persie in the 77th minute and created immediate danger in combining with Elia. Looked moderatelly dangerous, and saw his goal opportunity brilliantly saved by Simon Busk Poulsen. Needs to bring more dynamism off the bench. 6.5

14.Demy de Zeeuw – came on for Nigel de Jong in the 88th minute, and didn’t get enough action to merit a score.

DENMARK

COACH: Morten Olsen – the veteran really did it again, making a Denmark set up give the Dutch a run for their three points. He should have been rewarded, but his substitutions weakened the team. Nevertheless his approach to the game, and pre=-tournament preparation of the team was clearly better. Luck was not on his side 7.0

1.Thomas Sorensen – Present and as good as normally. Sorensen made a grrat save in the 58th minute against van der Vaart. Could have done more on Kuijt’s goal 7.2

2.Christian Poulsen – Organized the Danes well in the first half, creating a real battle for the ball around the middle line. 7.0

3.Simon Kjaer – Great defensive performance, and dangerous in the air on offensive freekicks. Lost his head against Sneijder once and picked up a deserved yellow. Dissapeared late in the game. 7.5

4.Daniel Agger – Solid at the back, unfortunatelly knocked the ball in n the own goal with his back. Dissapeared lay in the game. 7.5

6.Lars Jacobsen – A mediocre game, really suffered when Elijerio Elia came in. 5.0

10.Martin Jorgensen – Dangerous today, could have given Denmark the lead twice in the first half. 7.0

11.Nicklas Bendtner – Looked dangerous, and should have scored. 7.0

12.Thomas Kahlenberg – Dangerous sometimes, but dissapeared and was subbed. Had a good long shot. 6.6

15.Simon Busk Poulsen – Scored and unfortunate own goal that bounced off of Daniel Agger’s back. Otherise he had some outstanding defensive performances against Kuijt, Sneijder and Van Persie while supporting the attack. If not for the own goal would have been a candidate for man of the match. Saved Affelay’s shot with a bycicle kick. 8.0

19.Dennis Rommedahl – Porobaly Denmark’s most dangerous player, running wide and into the central channels from the right wing, crossing dangerously into the box and shooting powerfully at Stecklenburg’s goal. 8.0

20.Thomas Enevoldsen – made some good runs, but faded out and was subbed off. 5.0

SUBS:

8.Jesper Gronkjaer – on for Ennevoldsen in the 56th minute – Had one opportunity on goal, but is getting old and brought little to the Danish offense. 5.0

17.Mikkel Beckmann – on for Bendtner in the 62nd minute ran but little else  4.5

21.Christian Eriksen – on in the ‘73rd minute for Thomas Kahlenberg. Looked out of his league today. Tried to dribble through center and lost the ball twice. 4.0

1600h

JAPAN

COACH – Takeshi Okada took little risks, even kept experienced midfielder Nakamura on the bench, but he has done good pre-season preparations in instilling his team with a  bit of belief and ambition at least. He was overly cautious, going on the defence too early in the 60th minute, and for this he really could have paid the price. He and Japan got a bit lucky in that respect. 6,5.

2.Yuki Abe – Did an excellent piece of work holding the midfield, even when Emana finally came on. His pressure as far as the Cameroon defensive midfield line really disconcerted their attacks and broke their concentration. 8,5.

3.Yuichi Komano – Performed very solidly defensivelly and kept his head against the rapidity of Eto’o 7,0

4.Marcus Tulio Tanaka – provided Japan with the vital presence in defence, often supporting the holding role of the midfield. Jumping with the Cameroonians was no easy achievement. 8,5

5.Yuto Nagatomo - Really suffered under Choupo-Moting’s attacks and almost cost Japan a goal. 5.5

7.Yasuhito Endo – Quiet, more effective in a midfield holding position after the goal, in which he even managed to launch several counter-attacks. 7,0

8.Daisuke Matsui – wastefull at first, but provided 4 sublime crosses, especially the asist to Honda with what was the best cross of the tournament so far. 8,5.

16.Yoshito Okubo – besides Honda his effort in attack was truly tenacious, and although he was wastefull he physically stayed in the game for the 90 minutes, even when moved into the defensive line towards the end. 8,0

17.Makoto Hasebe-really organized the Japanese midfield and kept the center-circle battle going. Had a dangerous shot. 7.5.

18.Keisuke Honda-This was an apetizer of his talents. He was dangerous on three ocassions, and his run to the far post allowed for the goal, which he finished cooly. He could have scored a second time. 8,5.

21.Eiji Kawashima- A great perfomance in goal, but he was rather vulnerable in direct physical challenges from the Cameroonians. His save on the deflected Emana ball in the final minuted earned him to be considered for Man of the Match 8,5

22.Yuji Nakazawa-A superb defensive performance. No Japanese defender has been so solid in a World Cup yet 9,0

SUBS:

9.Shinji Okazaki – on for Mastui in the 69th minute, he filled his defensive roll and chased the faster Cameroonians into the corner on several occassions. Good entrance 7,0

12.Kisho Yano- on for Okubo in the 81st minute, he remained quite anonymous and fell vulnerable to Emana’s dribbling. 6,0

20.Junichi Inamoto-on in the 88th minute played to little for a score.

CAMEROON

COACH: Paul le Guen – Really miserable exclusion of Cameroon’s veteran’s from the starting line-up. The Songs, Idrissou, and especially Emana would have made all the difference today.  Playing Eto’o so far back hasn’t worked in the past, and didn’t work today. Emana coming on proved his mistake,  he fielded a bad combination of inexperience with lack of determination. terrible preparation and squad building. The worst element which he has to take 70% blame for is that Cameroon are not a team, but a useless collection of individuals. 2,0

2.Benoit Assou-Ekotto -  a good addition to the team, he should have been tried as a left winger. His crosses belonged to the little amount of dangerous situations that Cameroon caused. 7,0

3.Nicolas Julio N'Koulou – played solidly in the back, but left Honda unmarked at the far post for a goal. 6,5

5.Sebastien Bassong-played solidly and stopped the Japanese attacks into the box well. 7,0

9.Samuel Eto'o – magnificient dribble in the 49th minute that set up a shot Choup-Moting should have put away. Did absolutelly nothing else besides because he was called back into a midfield position in which he gets lost. Cameroonians will blame him unfairly though because of the expectations. 6,0.

11.Jean Makoun-his poor form for Cameroon is unexplainable. Was anonymous and managed to win the defensive battles, but was very very poor going forward.  Makoun should be performing a lot better, but perhaps its his poor club season shining through 2,0

13.Eric Maxim Choupo Moting – interesting bursts of speed from the young untested attacker. Was something of a shock selection from Le Guen, and he should have scored Cameroon’s best opportunity which Eto’o created for him. Useless in the air. 4,0

15.Pierre Webo-this sometimes great forward should have been running on the left wing today, he gets lost as a central forward. 2,0.

16.Souleymanou Hamidou-better than Kameni, did everything he needed to do when tested by Japan, althoug there was not that much work. I think he should retain his position in goal. 6,0

18.Eyong Enoh-brightest member of the Cameroonese midfield, he shot dangerously once, and won many defensive battles against Japan. Still... more is expected. 6,5.

19.Stephane M'Bia- played out of position at right back, he shot dangerously, stopped the Cameroonians, but doesn’t know how to defend there, and effectivelly his positioning problems resulted in Japan having a left-wing avenue to goal. He should have been playing Makoun’s position 6,5.

21.Joel Matip-great in the Bundesliga, drafted by le Guen anonymous and useless offensivelly and fine defensivelly. Too young and inexperienced to start 2,5

SUBS:

8.Geremi – on for Makoun in the ‘75th minute, impossible to judge why he didn’t play, as his strength and crosses brought a greater degree of danger than the starters. 6,0

10.Emana-he should have started, his power and dribbling caused half an hour of danger when he came on for Matip in the 63rd minute, and one of his shots almost found their way in. He should have started 7,0.

17.Mohamadou Idrissou-came on for Choupo Moting in the 75th, had the ball robbed from him, but it is non-understandable why this tall, experienced forward didn’t play up front from the start. 6,0

2030h

ITALY

COACH: Marcelo Lippi –  The old wolf managed to 1) neutralize the Paraguayan attack as the game progressed 2) prepare the team better for the first game than Italy is normally prepared and 3) improve the effectiveness of the Italian attack against a tough defense as the game progessed. 7,5

1.Gianluigi Buffon – did nothing wrong, and had to make a save, was injured. 5,0

3.Domenico Criscito – played fairly, but was a bit lost in the physical battles with Vera. In effect was anonymous for parts of the game. 6,0

4.Giorgio Chiellini – despite a poor season was solid today, stopping the Paraguayan attack effectivelly. Brought little otherwise.  7,0

5.Fabio Cannavaro – fantastic second half, was NOT at fault for the Paraguayan goal, he shut down the skilled movements of Valdez, Cardozo, Barrios and Santa Cruz effortlessly, and was a danger going foward. 9,0

6.Daniele De Rossi – dominated the center of the pitch, created play with sublime passing making Pirlo’s absence go unoticed and scored Italy’s equalizer. Was partly responsible for Alcaraz’s goal but he should have never been the one forced to mark the tall defender. 8,5

7.Simone Pepe – criticized as the week point of Italy’s team, he was dangerous at least 4 times. A bit sellfish on the shooting, he managed to make the right wing better than the left. 7,0

9.Vincenzo Iaquinta – did not get much service, created Italy’s most dangerous opportunity with a right wing run, not enough movement though. 7,0

11.Alberto Gilardino – did not get much service, moved in the box but not well enough. 6,5

15.Claudio Marchisio- tried, but was a bit physically outclassed by the strong Paraguayan midfield and defence, which led to his substitution for the more agressive Camoranesi. 6,5

19.Gianluca Zambrotta- brought little to the game except defensivelly. His forward ventures were non-dangerous. 6,0

22.Riccardo Montolivo-was dangerous on ocassion and distributed the ball forward well from time to time. Still did not make up for his selection over Cassano, Totti or Delpiero. 7,5

SUBS:

10.Antonio Di Natale – On for Gilardno at 72nd missed a couple of passes, moved badly and performed badly. Still doesn’t look like the Di Natale that scored 29 goals for Udinese this season. 6,0

12.Federico Marchetti – On for Buffon at halftime looked very mature, very well placed, and this compared with his amazing season with Calgiari is promising an outstanding career for this young goalkeeper. Brough safety and certainty to Italy backline. 7,5.

16.Mauro Camoranesi – On for Marchisio ’59 nearly got himself sent off with harsh challenges after picking up a yellow. Managed to deal out damage to the agressive Uruguayan midfield with little kicks and hits, but somehow forgot about the ball. 6,0

PARAGUAY

COACH: Gerardo Martino – Martino has turned Paraguay into a clockwork defensive and attacking unit. His team moves fluidly, defends well, is not as good as Italy going forward but that is due to a lack of offensive midfield talent. His team look very dangerous from set pieces and very prepared for the tournament. 8,0

1.Justo Villar – safe on a couple of difficult shots, flapped at the corner that De Rossi scored due to his lack of height. He should avoid going out for crosses he can’t handle, otherwise secure, agile, with excellent reflexes, just like the Villar South American fans know and love. 7,5

3.Claudio Morel – Agressive and tough on the left wingback role. Shut down Iaquinta and created many counterattacking opportunities. Worked hard in defence. 7,5

6.Carlos Bonet – Did not get forward enough to put in his great crosses. He did however limit the input of Pepe on the right defence. 6,5.

13.Enrique Vera – Must have run 10 km today, tireless going forward and back, linking the defence and attack. He could be a key man for Paraguay this tournament, as he did a bit of everything important today destructivelly and constructivelly. 8,0

14.Paulo Da Silva – defended very well in the air, except failing to make sure de Rossi was marked. 7,5

15.Victor Caceres – could have been sent off in the first minute for a violent tackle on Montolivo. Otherwise broke up all of Italy’s attacks through the center. Recuperated the ball countless times, like a Paraguayan Gatusso. 8,0

16.Christian Riveros – failed to perform his role, defensivelly brought something, but otherwise remained invisible for much of the game. 6,0

17.Aureliano Torres – missed two good opportunities, and was not great going forward. Defensivelly he managed to limit the midfield input into attack until was subbed. 7,0

18.Nelson Valdez – had the hard challenge of creating for Paraguay, and managed to create a lot of half-dangerous situations in the first half. Was subbed after running himself into a stupor, should have done more but will still contribute to Group E. 7,0

19.Lucas Barrios – Cannavaro and Chiellini were too much for him, although everyone was expecting him to score. Never really got to the ball enough due to lack of service. 6,5

21.Antolin Alcaraz – scored the gpa; with a brilliant header and was incredible in defence. 8,5

SUBS:

7.Oscar Cardozo – came on for Lucas Barrios at ’76 but his injury was clear. He got little service and failed to show his generous skills. 6,5

9.Roque Santa Cruz – came on for Nelson Valdez at ’68 and worked little to get the ball. 5,0

11.Jonathan Santana – came on for Torres at ’60 and added a lot of value to the defence, while failing to service the forwards due to mounting Italian pressure. 7,0

June 13th in Review

Algeria and Slovenia Almost Bore Each Other to Death But Slovenians Seize the Day

Two featherweight Sumo wrestlers evaluated each other for the better part of two halves until Slovene midfield schemer Robert Koren forced the hotheaded Algerian goalkeeper Chaouchi to immitate Robert Green for entertainment. His well placed but relativelly weak, shot-pass saw Chaouchi (badly) mimick the England keeper's already-famous mistake of the night before and try to scoop it from the side before it rolled into the Algerian goal.

Meanwhile, for what looked like a World Cup of Red Carded attackers saw important Algerian forward Ghazzal sent of for a late tackle and handball.

Slovenian goalkeeper looked very solid except for one lapse of concentration due to having reached his boredom capacity. The teams were very similiar, but the Slovenes were the slightly cleaner, calmer team and this worked.

This slow pace, and lack of precision of this match left me worried about the quality of football during this World Cup.....  None of the performances except South Korea a bit had been really solid. I was certain the next one would be much more 

Slovenia now leads the Group with Enlgand and USA. Their surprises and luck just keep on piling up! Or is it hard work and a great coach?

Serbians Lose Head While Being Tamed By Ghana

A revolution happened today, going almost unnoticed. An African team managed to apply European-style defensive football and control an actual European team, and a good one with several key advantages at that, and not only stop them but look more dangerous and score a winner.

Ghana harrassed and limited the impact of the Serbian offense, an attack that had managed to make Serbia one of the best teams in European qualifying. The Ghanaians had already used this approach to get to the Final of the African Nations Cup in January, but at the World Cup the worry was that the absence of Michael Essien would hamper their chances of defense. 

I expected this game to very very entertaining, but because of the anti-football it ended up being a closed 1-0 affair. Interesting but slow until the end of the game.

Now its not a lie that many Africans from all over the continent are uniting in their support of the Black Stars as the best candidate to actually achieve something this World Cup. Outstanding defensive performances from  Ghana's backline especially Vorsah, Mensah and Sarpei meant that Annan could link the offense with defense and Kwadweh Asamoah created frequent danger to the Serbian defense. Krasic, Jovanovic, and Zigic were frustrated many times and thrown off balance by close marking and only Zigic's height ever really looked dangerous.

The Serbians, expecting to be a surprise team of this championship eventually lost their head. First Lukovic lost his mind and got a just second yellow for holding back Annan a second time. Then in a moment of insanity the talented Kuzmanovic used his hands to clear a great cross into the penalty box, and despite his attempted cover up the Ghanaians were awarded a very deserved penalty.

By that time Ghana had been on the attack for the better part of fifteen minutes, and the penalty as completely in the run of play.

Gyan Asamoah calmly powered the ball in, and Ghana continued to defend even more solidly.

Knowing Ghana, I consider them the only team capable of maintaing their current ru of form for this World Cup. But their real test will be Germany.

Finally a Performance: 4 Star Germany Teach Australian Rugby Team Modern Football

Young and inexperienced, but ferocious, fasts and technically skilled. This generation of Germans is capable of doing a lot more than just changing the image of German anti-football.

With fast runs, quick passes and interesting technique the likes of Thomas Mueller, who was unknown until the beginning of last season when he broke into Bayern's first team, or Sami Khedira, who was only three years ago a fringe player with struggling Stuttgart outclassed a physical and defensive Australian side 4-0.

Pim Verbeek, the Dutch coach of Australia, line up basically 9 defensive players, omitting most of Austalia's attacking talent, probably with the hopes of containing Germany. The plan backfired hopelessly, as the Aussies proved incapable of keeping up with the speed of Ozil, Mueller, or Podolski who ran through the middle and channels constantly creating danger to the Australians.

Rudby team sounds mean perhaps, but the Aussies can do a lot better if they try and play up to their strengths of combining physique with good attacking play. The likes of Harry Kewell and Mark Bresciano were left on the bench for strong, physical players with Verbeek hoping to break the young German team physically. 

Podolski hammered, Mueller placed, Klose headed and Cacau finished. 4 goals and it could have been more.

Worse than the four goals though, was the red card to Australia's most important player Tim Cahill of Everton, who got a straight red for tackling Schweinsteiger from behind.. Another victim of the relaxes refereeing in the Premiership comparing to other leagues, Cahill is used to not even getting fouls whistled when lunging at a player from behind with two legs, here he was covered in Red by the Mexican referee, and rightly so. 

Australia are bottom of the group without their most effective player, Germany have established themselves as favourites to do impressive things this World Cup.

And perhaps for the first time in the history of German football, the results are as important as the entertaining and fast playing style. Too early to say, but lets hope so.

The Ball is it a Problem?

Buffon, Casillas, Pirlo and other have expressed concern that the experimental ball produced by Adidas will make goalkeeping nearly impossible and passing very difficult.

Stars whining? Well I am looking for an explanation to why so many direct freekicks have been off target, most except for Gourcuff's against Uruguay on June 11th and why so many headed balls sail over the cross bar (like most of Serbia's shots today). This is unusual for these capable teams. Germany's performance however was slightly reassuring, especially after Klose scored with his head. Let's wait and see.

Ghana is a New Breed of "Small" Team

An African team that can defend as well as attack? Perhaps. Either their Serbian coach knew exactly how to dismantle the Serbian team, or he knows even more. Anyways, if this is the case Ghana will certainly have what it takes to go far in this tournament.

Unlike Previous 2 World Cups Refereeing Standard Excellent So Far


Excellent performances from the referees so far. The red cards, penalties, and offsides have been exceptional this World Cup. FIFA really made an effort to select the refereeing teams early, gather them ahead of the cup, and prepare them for an excellent job this tournament. 


It seems to have worked. Off course the biggest test will be Brazil, Italy, and Portugal for any referee but the signs are very optimistic so far.

June 12th in Review

Korea holds a kimchi making class

The Greek team was reduced to garlicky cold cabbage by an organized and effective Korea.

The Korean national team, worked, ran created. Be warned, Korea looked very good indeed as they beat Greece 2-0 with a margin that could have been greater. Park Ji Sung's goal as he stole the ball and scored against a very error-prone Kyrgiakos-less Greek defence. Otto Rehhagel looked weak today, as he deployed a defensive team against the weakest opponents in his group and lost big.

 Still, Argentina and Nigeria today looked the two best teams in the Group.

Argentina flares then fizzles against organized Nigeria.

Argentina was lucky to earn a 1-0 win over an impressive Nigerian team. Lagerback was obviously the best of the two coaches after the Argentine had trashed talked him all week in press conferences. Playing Jonas Guttierez in right defense was dangerously exploited by Nigeria who looked like restoring the parity or even winning for parts of the match.

Messi was tired, but played brilliantly for flashes of it, Tevez was fine, Veron looked out of sorts.

Maradona looks to have made selection mistakes that will cost his team later in the tournament, if Nigeria play as they did today they will qualify out of the group. Vincent Enyeama was deservedly man of the match with several exceptional saves.

Americans nearly beat mild England and a Robert Green flapper


A hard working American side earned a 1-1 draw due to a Clint Dempsey shot that Robert Green flappered into the English net, continuing a long tradition of English goalkeeper mistakes. Otherwise Wayne Rooney looked dormant, Frank Lampard present for about 10 minutes of the game and Shaun Wright Philipps, Glen Johnson and Stevie Gerrard created much danger to the Americans but a brilliant Tim Howard stopped all except the first effort.

Tim Howard deservedly received man of the match.