(Sometimes) even the Germans miss penalties
In six penalty shoot-outs in their history, the “Panzers” have only missed two, scoring 25 out of 27!Uli Stielike was the only German player to miss a penalty in a World Cup − semi-final shootout in 1982 against France.
Uli Hoeness missed a penalty kick in the 1976 European Championship for West Germany against Czechoslovakia.
Today, Lukas Podolsky gained his entry to this “elite club” by missing his penalty kick in the 60th minute, sending a weak shot to the left of Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, at the same time also missing to score a highly deserved equalizer for the Germans.
Spanish referee Alberto Undiano is a complete clown! - a true joker who handed out NINE yellow cards!
Miroslav Klose was sent off the field for running after Dejan Stankovic on the halfway line and missing a truly honest attempt to get his leg around the ball. His move ended up to be a clear foul, but like his first booking (he was booked in the 12th minute for a foul − which was an accidental tangle of legs − on Jovanovic), was nowhere close to a yellow card. Milan Jovanovic scored a minute later.
The Germans had a tougher game than they did against Australia on Sunday against a defensively well accomplished Serbian side that desperately was in need of points after loosing against Ghana in their opener. Even a draw against the Germans did not seem to be enough for them.
Sami Khedira, in stoppage time of the first half, hit the bar for Germany. Jovanovic (67. min) hit the post for Serbia.
Taking off Mesut Ozil, who was playing really well, was a strange Joachim Löw move and Germany, to be honest, did not have any fluency after that. Cacau, who came in for Ozil, was desperate and useless.
Stankovic’s ‘kick’ − in the 90+2 minute − to the bottom of a German player’s foot looked like a penalty.
10-men Germany finished the game with 51% possession over the Serbians (49%).
A sensational result (1-0) for the Serbian team at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, even if it was basically the result of a terrible refereeing decision, leaves Group D wide open. If Serbia beats Australia and Ghana either wins, or draws against the Australians, Germany will need to beat Ghana in the last Group match to avoid elimination in the first round −- for the first time in 72 years!
The Germans truly did not deserve to loose the game.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Day 7 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup - Mexico stun France
La Albiceleste, thanks to one of the best performances in this World Cup so far, beat South Korea 4-1 in the Soccer City Stadium of Johannesburg with Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain scoring a hat-trick and Lionel Messi setting up three of the four goals for the Argentinians in moments of magic.
The South Koreans, after beating Greece with a speedy and determined performance in their first game, seemed to be "chasing shadows" against the stylish team of legend Diego Armando Maradona, which advanced to first place in Group B (three points ahead of South Korea and Greece).
In the other game of Group B, lucky Greece beat sloppy Nigeria 2:1 at the Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein, ending the Super Eagles' hopes to advance to the second stage of the Cup. Nigeria took the lead through Kali Uche's curling free-kick and things looked quite promising until the 33rd minute when 'moron' Sani Kaita was sent off with a straight red card for giving Greece's Vassilis Torosidis a horse kick in the thigh after the ball had rolled out of play.
Dimitrios Salpingidis leveled the score just before halftime. Nigeria spurned a great opportunity to take the lead in the second half but Greece dominated the most part of the second 45 minutes. Alexandros Tziolis took a shot to be blocked by Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. The magical Jabulani fell just short in front of Vasileios Torosidis who "poked-in" the second Greek goal in the 71st minute.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Vincent Enyeama who made numerous heroic blocks throughout the game.
... AND, VIVA MEXICO !!! ... Raymond Domenech's Les Bleus performed so miserably against a superb team of Mexico that they failed to get a single shot on target in the second half at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. From the French player's body language one could read disinterest and selfishness. What a shame for the 1998 World Champions and 2006 Runners-Up.
Domenech's decision to bring in Andre-Pierre Gignac and Mathieu Valbuena in the second half - but keeping world-class striker and France's top goal striker of all time, Thierry Henry, on the bench for 90 minutes was the "Cherry on Top". The French "stars" totally lack the picture of being a 'team' in the first place.
Thumbs up for Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre who put together a sparkling Mexican 'team' mixing youngsters with experienced ones.
Javier Hernandez (the Little Pea), shortly after coming on for Efrain Juarez, did not miss his chance to show the world what he is capable of doing for Manchester United next season. And after Eric Abidal put down Pablo Barrera in the box causing a penalty kick, he opened the way for 37 year old Cuauhtemoc Blanco to be the first Mexican striker to score in three different world cups with a perfectly placed and precise shot into the lower left corner of the net.
Uruguay and Mexico are now first and second in Group A with France and South Africa being on the brink of elimination.
Day 7 of the 2010 World Cup ended with Greece earning a first-ever World Cup victory, Mexico beating France for the first time ever, and Gonzalo Higuain scoring this World Cup's first (and probably only) hat-trick.
The South Koreans, after beating Greece with a speedy and determined performance in their first game, seemed to be "chasing shadows" against the stylish team of legend Diego Armando Maradona, which advanced to first place in Group B (three points ahead of South Korea and Greece).
In the other game of Group B, lucky Greece beat sloppy Nigeria 2:1 at the Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein, ending the Super Eagles' hopes to advance to the second stage of the Cup. Nigeria took the lead through Kali Uche's curling free-kick and things looked quite promising until the 33rd minute when 'moron' Sani Kaita was sent off with a straight red card for giving Greece's Vassilis Torosidis a horse kick in the thigh after the ball had rolled out of play.
Dimitrios Salpingidis leveled the score just before halftime. Nigeria spurned a great opportunity to take the lead in the second half but Greece dominated the most part of the second 45 minutes. Alexandros Tziolis took a shot to be blocked by Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. The magical Jabulani fell just short in front of Vasileios Torosidis who "poked-in" the second Greek goal in the 71st minute.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Vincent Enyeama who made numerous heroic blocks throughout the game.
... AND, VIVA MEXICO !!! ... Raymond Domenech's Les Bleus performed so miserably against a superb team of Mexico that they failed to get a single shot on target in the second half at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. From the French player's body language one could read disinterest and selfishness. What a shame for the 1998 World Champions and 2006 Runners-Up.
Domenech's decision to bring in Andre-Pierre Gignac and Mathieu Valbuena in the second half - but keeping world-class striker and France's top goal striker of all time, Thierry Henry, on the bench for 90 minutes was the "Cherry on Top". The French "stars" totally lack the picture of being a 'team' in the first place.
Thumbs up for Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre who put together a sparkling Mexican 'team' mixing youngsters with experienced ones.
Javier Hernandez (the Little Pea), shortly after coming on for Efrain Juarez, did not miss his chance to show the world what he is capable of doing for Manchester United next season. And after Eric Abidal put down Pablo Barrera in the box causing a penalty kick, he opened the way for 37 year old Cuauhtemoc Blanco to be the first Mexican striker to score in three different world cups with a perfectly placed and precise shot into the lower left corner of the net.
Uruguay and Mexico are now first and second in Group A with France and South Africa being on the brink of elimination.
Day 7 of the 2010 World Cup ended with Greece earning a first-ever World Cup victory, Mexico beating France for the first time ever, and Gonzalo Higuain scoring this World Cup's first (and probably only) hat-trick.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
"Hopp Suisse' TOP Spain !?
A significant last minute cross by Shane Smeltz and a strong header by Winston Reid on day 5 made history for New Zealand as they tied Slovakia (1-1) at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in the City of Rustenburg. Slovakia found their first ever World Cup goal in the 50th minute through Robert Vittek's header.
Ivory Coast - Portugal: 0-0 was the final score in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at Port Elizabeth. In a tactical battle in which both sides almost looked nervous to secure 2nd place in Group G behind Brazil, "The Elephants" created the better chances. Portugal looked dangerous at times, and a draw seemed to be a fair result. Cristiano Ronaldo almost gave his side an early advantage. Didier Drogba had the best chance of the game in added time.
Brazil worked hard up until the second half to secure a 2-1 win over North Korea at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. It took the five-time World Champions 55 minutes to break the resistance of the North Korean defense with a superb shot by Maicon. Brazil's second goal came from Elano, who slid the ball beyond the North Korean goalkeepers reach. Ji Yun Nam, after a strong burst through the Brazilian defense, fired the ball past Julio Cesar in the 89th minute to add some excitement to the final minutes of the game, which Brazil dominated. Korea DPR's "defense mechanism" looked very impressive.
Chile secured a first World Cup win in forty-eight years with a late first-half goal by Jean Beausejour, ending a 13-game "no-win run" since defeating Yugoslavia to finish third as hosts in 1962. Honduras - Chile: 0-1 read the score at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. Chile could have been a couple of goals ahead by half time. Honduras barely came close throughout the game.
"Top!" Spaniards struggle to get-through a well organized Suisse team. Gelson Fernandes strikes a loose ball into an open goal in the 52nd minute ... Switzerland 1 : Spain 0
Switzerland have caused the biggest "shock" of the 2010 FIFA World Cup over "favorites" Spain in their Group H encounter in the Durban Stadium. This was the second loss for Spain in 49 matches (the other stunning loss - 0-2 - was against the USA in the semi-final of the 2009 Confederations Cup). The Spaniards spend most of the time passing the ball in midfield, not creating too many serious chances. Xabi Alonso struck the bar with a "low-held" thunder-ball from 25-yards, but the Swiss almost doubled their lead soon after, with Eren Derdiyok beating two Spanish defenders before nicely "rolling" the ball onto the post.
Diego Forlan ended Bafana Bafana's 12 game unbeaten run scoring 2 in Uruguay’s 3-0 victory over the World Cup hosts at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane/Pretoria. South Africa ended the match with ten men when goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was sent off and caused a penalty. Bafana had a hard time going forward and seemed unorganized in midfield. Uruguay deserved their win.
Ivory Coast - Portugal: 0-0 was the final score in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at Port Elizabeth. In a tactical battle in which both sides almost looked nervous to secure 2nd place in Group G behind Brazil, "The Elephants" created the better chances. Portugal looked dangerous at times, and a draw seemed to be a fair result. Cristiano Ronaldo almost gave his side an early advantage. Didier Drogba had the best chance of the game in added time.
Brazil worked hard up until the second half to secure a 2-1 win over North Korea at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. It took the five-time World Champions 55 minutes to break the resistance of the North Korean defense with a superb shot by Maicon. Brazil's second goal came from Elano, who slid the ball beyond the North Korean goalkeepers reach. Ji Yun Nam, after a strong burst through the Brazilian defense, fired the ball past Julio Cesar in the 89th minute to add some excitement to the final minutes of the game, which Brazil dominated. Korea DPR's "defense mechanism" looked very impressive.
Chile secured a first World Cup win in forty-eight years with a late first-half goal by Jean Beausejour, ending a 13-game "no-win run" since defeating Yugoslavia to finish third as hosts in 1962. Honduras - Chile: 0-1 read the score at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. Chile could have been a couple of goals ahead by half time. Honduras barely came close throughout the game.
"Top!" Spaniards struggle to get-through a well organized Suisse team. Gelson Fernandes strikes a loose ball into an open goal in the 52nd minute ... Switzerland 1 : Spain 0
Switzerland have caused the biggest "shock" of the 2010 FIFA World Cup over "favorites" Spain in their Group H encounter in the Durban Stadium. This was the second loss for Spain in 49 matches (the other stunning loss - 0-2 - was against the USA in the semi-final of the 2009 Confederations Cup). The Spaniards spend most of the time passing the ball in midfield, not creating too many serious chances. Xabi Alonso struck the bar with a "low-held" thunder-ball from 25-yards, but the Swiss almost doubled their lead soon after, with Eren Derdiyok beating two Spanish defenders before nicely "rolling" the ball onto the post.
Diego Forlan ended Bafana Bafana's 12 game unbeaten run scoring 2 in Uruguay’s 3-0 victory over the World Cup hosts at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane/Pretoria. South Africa ended the match with ten men when goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was sent off and caused a penalty. Bafana had a hard time going forward and seemed unorganized in midfield. Uruguay deserved their win.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Looking forward to Day 5 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
With 11 games played in this World Cup thanks to 3 perfect demonstrations we now have a new test question for U-8 youth goalkeepers on "how not to goalkeep":
a-) England goalkeeper Robert Green (England vs. USA)
b-) Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchin (Algeria vs. Slovenia)
c-) Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar (Italy vs. Paraguay)
d-) all of the above
* * *
A superb header from Gabriel Heinze and some real brilliance from Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who constantly kept Lionel Messi from putting the ball into the net, saw Argentina beat Nigeria only 1-0 - despite their dominance throughout the match at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The Nigerians showed to much respect to Messi and his teammates and being disappointed of conceding an early goal ‘forced’ the Super Eagles to ‘sit back’ for some time.
A determined and impressive South Korea beating a bad defending Greece 2-0 in Port Elizabeth was a sign that the S. Koreans actually are a serious side to qualify for the knock-out stages in Group B.
A disastrous mistake by England goalkeeper Robert Green enables the USA to share the points thanks to a 1-1 draw at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. England, in general, were the better side, but could not overcome a solid US defense in the second half - especially AC Milan central defender Oguchi Onyewu, who, by the way had not played a 90-minute game for seven months. Instead of starting with a ‘holding midfielder’, Fabio Capello relied on Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard - two attacking midfielders who lack defensive and ‘organizing’ play. Picking two players of similar talent did not seem to be a wise choice. Also taking-off ‘half asleep’ James Milner and replacing him with Sean Wright-Phillips (he had no significant impact) instead of Joe Cole who is great in unlocking tight defenses was another mistake in my opinion. England should be fine to advance to Stage 2.
The Socceroos never had a slight chance against the so far ‘best looking team' in the World Cup – Germany – at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Sending off Tim Cahill with a straight red card was apparently a ‘harsh’ decision by the referee, however, it would not have made a difference … the Germans simply did what they wanted (4-0)! They had fun and totally enjoyed their play.
Ghana became the first African team of the 2010 World Cup to win a match by practically ‘forcing’ the Serbians back in midfield at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Thswane/Pretoria. Aleksandar Lukovic’s unnecessary second yellow card and Zdravko Kuzmanovic’s stupid handball in the penalty box awarded the Black Stars with a 1-0 win. Serbia will face Germany in their second appearance and can not afford to lose. Good luck Nemanja Vidic!
The Danish side has the doubtful ‘honor’ of scoring the first own goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup playing the 'Oranje' at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. An own goal by Simon Poulsen and a tap-in by Dirk Kuyt provided a deserved 2-0 win for the Dutch team.
Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein/Mangaung saw counter-attacking Japan beat Cameroon 1-0 in so far the worst game but most surprising result of the tournament. This was the first win for Japan on foreign soil in a World Cup match. With the Netherlands being a favorite in Group E, it remains to be seen what the later consequences of this loss will be for Cameroon.
Italy vs. Paraguay (1-1) – an unenthusiastic encounter until the 39th minute when Paraguay scored off of a free kick, heading the ball past Gianluigi Buffon to take the lead … with Paraguay not registering another shot on goal after taking the lead, Ginliugi Buffon suffering from a hamstring injury, and Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar demonstrating a great model on “how not to goalkeep” the ball when trying to punch it out on a corner, the defending World Cup Champions – the Azzurri – despite dominating most of the game and controlling the ball, could not really create serious chances.
a-) England goalkeeper Robert Green (England vs. USA)
b-) Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchin (Algeria vs. Slovenia)
c-) Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar (Italy vs. Paraguay)
d-) all of the above
* * *
A superb header from Gabriel Heinze and some real brilliance from Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who constantly kept Lionel Messi from putting the ball into the net, saw Argentina beat Nigeria only 1-0 - despite their dominance throughout the match at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The Nigerians showed to much respect to Messi and his teammates and being disappointed of conceding an early goal ‘forced’ the Super Eagles to ‘sit back’ for some time.
A determined and impressive South Korea beating a bad defending Greece 2-0 in Port Elizabeth was a sign that the S. Koreans actually are a serious side to qualify for the knock-out stages in Group B.
A disastrous mistake by England goalkeeper Robert Green enables the USA to share the points thanks to a 1-1 draw at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. England, in general, were the better side, but could not overcome a solid US defense in the second half - especially AC Milan central defender Oguchi Onyewu, who, by the way had not played a 90-minute game for seven months. Instead of starting with a ‘holding midfielder’, Fabio Capello relied on Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard - two attacking midfielders who lack defensive and ‘organizing’ play. Picking two players of similar talent did not seem to be a wise choice. Also taking-off ‘half asleep’ James Milner and replacing him with Sean Wright-Phillips (he had no significant impact) instead of Joe Cole who is great in unlocking tight defenses was another mistake in my opinion. England should be fine to advance to Stage 2.
The Socceroos never had a slight chance against the so far ‘best looking team' in the World Cup – Germany – at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Sending off Tim Cahill with a straight red card was apparently a ‘harsh’ decision by the referee, however, it would not have made a difference … the Germans simply did what they wanted (4-0)! They had fun and totally enjoyed their play.
Ghana became the first African team of the 2010 World Cup to win a match by practically ‘forcing’ the Serbians back in midfield at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Thswane/Pretoria. Aleksandar Lukovic’s unnecessary second yellow card and Zdravko Kuzmanovic’s stupid handball in the penalty box awarded the Black Stars with a 1-0 win. Serbia will face Germany in their second appearance and can not afford to lose. Good luck Nemanja Vidic!
The Danish side has the doubtful ‘honor’ of scoring the first own goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup playing the 'Oranje' at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. An own goal by Simon Poulsen and a tap-in by Dirk Kuyt provided a deserved 2-0 win for the Dutch team.
Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein/Mangaung saw counter-attacking Japan beat Cameroon 1-0 in so far the worst game but most surprising result of the tournament. This was the first win for Japan on foreign soil in a World Cup match. With the Netherlands being a favorite in Group E, it remains to be seen what the later consequences of this loss will be for Cameroon.
Italy vs. Paraguay (1-1) – an unenthusiastic encounter until the 39th minute when Paraguay scored off of a free kick, heading the ball past Gianluigi Buffon to take the lead … with Paraguay not registering another shot on goal after taking the lead, Ginliugi Buffon suffering from a hamstring injury, and Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar demonstrating a great model on “how not to goalkeep” the ball when trying to punch it out on a corner, the defending World Cup Champions – the Azzurri – despite dominating most of the game and controlling the ball, could not really create serious chances.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Group A left with "Must Win" remaining encounters
"Bafana Bafana" not only finished the opening match of the "Copa Mundial Sudafrica 2010" at Soccer City against Mexico with a favorable result, but "The Boys" also got a favorable result from the second game at the Cape Town Stadium where 'defensive' Uruguay played "unpleasant Raymond Domenech"'s French team. It seems like the second games in Group A, which is one of the toughest groups in the tournament, will be a "football fiesta."
Mexico, looking very sharp, are my favorite team to top Group A, if Mr. Domenech keeps on going on with the same starting 11 - keeping Thierry Henry and Florent Malouda on the bench for the most part of the game, then substituting them with Nicolas Anelka and Yoann Gourkuff respectively and moving Franck Riberry towards center midfield! ... Excuse me? - However, not to underestimate are the solid performances of the South African and Uruguayan teams.
***
Goal of the day: Siphiwe Tshabalala's terrific strike!
***
Why Carlos Vela's disallowed goal actually was offside:
When watching the replay, you can see South African player Steven Pienaar positioned on the goal line. When South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune ran off his line to try and intercept the corner kick, he left Pienaar as the last defender in front of the goal.
The FIFA offside rule reads that a player is offside if he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent (with the last opponent typically being the goalkeeper).
In the case of the 2010 World Cup opening game, however, the goalkeeper was not there behind the defense. But the moment Vela passed Khune in the middle of the box, he was offside, regardless of Pienaar's position at the post.
Congratulations to Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov and his assistant for making this intelligent call!
Mexico, looking very sharp, are my favorite team to top Group A, if Mr. Domenech keeps on going on with the same starting 11 - keeping Thierry Henry and Florent Malouda on the bench for the most part of the game, then substituting them with Nicolas Anelka and Yoann Gourkuff respectively and moving Franck Riberry towards center midfield! ... Excuse me? - However, not to underestimate are the solid performances of the South African and Uruguayan teams.
***
Goal of the day: Siphiwe Tshabalala's terrific strike!
***
Why Carlos Vela's disallowed goal actually was offside:
When watching the replay, you can see South African player Steven Pienaar positioned on the goal line. When South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune ran off his line to try and intercept the corner kick, he left Pienaar as the last defender in front of the goal.
The FIFA offside rule reads that a player is offside if he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent (with the last opponent typically being the goalkeeper).
In the case of the 2010 World Cup opening game, however, the goalkeeper was not there behind the defense. But the moment Vela passed Khune in the middle of the box, he was offside, regardless of Pienaar's position at the post.
Congratulations to Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov and his assistant for making this intelligent call!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Futbol Mundial 2010 - Kick-off this Friday!
The biggest sporting event on the planet, the FIFA World Cup (2010) is about to kick-off on Friday, June 11th with the host nation South Africa and Mexico playing the opener. The event promises to be a real footballing feast with some of the biggest names like Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, and Kaka getting the headlines, as well as new names who will change the course of this competition.
We will of course all miss a lot of big names whose teams could not make it through the qualifiers like Andrei Arshavin, Peter Cech, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thomas Vermaelen, Edin Dzeko and Arda Turan.
And as we will be through with the knockout stage (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/calendar.html) in the tournament on June 25th, the real "World Cup" will begin on June 26th with only the top sixteen teams left.
Enthusiasm for the "19th edition" is perhaps greatest in host nation South Africa, which is the first African country in World Cup history to host the event. The city of Johannesburg will host the World Cup final in it's impressive 95,000 capacity "Soccer City Stadium." In addition to South Africa, six African countries - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria - qualified for this year's World Cup.
Italy enters as the defending Champion, with Spain, the last European Champion, and five-time former World Cup Champion Brazil considered to be early favorites to win the title. But the tournament seems to be wide open with other usual "suspects" from Europe and South America being joined by some serious challengers from Africa.
At this point my personal favorites are Brazil, Argentina, The Netherlands and Spain. And I believe that Brazil and The Netherlands will be the last two to stand.
Stay tuned!
We will of course all miss a lot of big names whose teams could not make it through the qualifiers like Andrei Arshavin, Peter Cech, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thomas Vermaelen, Edin Dzeko and Arda Turan.
And as we will be through with the knockout stage (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/calendar.html) in the tournament on June 25th, the real "World Cup" will begin on June 26th with only the top sixteen teams left.
Enthusiasm for the "19th edition" is perhaps greatest in host nation South Africa, which is the first African country in World Cup history to host the event. The city of Johannesburg will host the World Cup final in it's impressive 95,000 capacity "Soccer City Stadium." In addition to South Africa, six African countries - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria - qualified for this year's World Cup.
Italy enters as the defending Champion, with Spain, the last European Champion, and five-time former World Cup Champion Brazil considered to be early favorites to win the title. But the tournament seems to be wide open with other usual "suspects" from Europe and South America being joined by some serious challengers from Africa.
At this point my personal favorites are Brazil, Argentina, The Netherlands and Spain. And I believe that Brazil and The Netherlands will be the last two to stand.
Stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
