World Cup 2006: Day 11
Wow! What a last game yesterday!! Let's start with France v South Korea since I missed that game yesterday. The French came out with an impressive first half display against the hapless Koreans, and Thierry Henry gave them a deserved early lead in the 8th minute. Patrick Vieira should have made it 2-0 when his header seemed to cross the goalline. However, the referee blew for an infringement and the goal was disallowed. Even though they only managed the one goal, France dominated the game thoroughly and Korea barely created a noteworthy chance. The second half, though, was a different story. Dick Advocaat made some tactical and personnel changes for the Koreans, including the introduction of talismanic striker Ahn Jung Hwan, and the Koreans seemed to grow in confidence as the second half wore on. The French were still mostly in control but seemed to take their foot off the pedal just a little bit. With 10 minutes remaining, catastrophe struck the French and a sweet Korean move down the right hand side led to a header across the box from Cho Jae Jin, and Park Ji Sung stole in at the far post to draw Korea level!!! An absolute shocker for the French who seemed destined for the win for the most part of the game. In the end, though, they were fortunate to leave with a point as the Koreans pressed hard for the winning goal in the dying minutes of the game, and came close through Ahn. 1-1 it ended and the French now have a massive task ahead of them if they want to make it to the second round. They have to thrash Togo and hope for other results to go their way! Unbelievable!
The first game today was Switzerland v Togo and most people had labeled this as one of the more boring matches of this tournament. Contrary to expectations, the two nations served up one of the most entertaining first halves of the competition so far. Togo came out very strongly, although the Swiss took the lead when Alexander Frei finished off a neat cross from the right. Togo's star striker Emmanuel Adebayor then had two excellent shouts for a penalty turned down by the referee, and his fellow countrymen missed a host of great chances to draw level. The Swiss keeper also made a number of terrific stops to keep the scoreline in favor of his team. In the second half, the hardworking Togolese began to tire visibly, and the Swiss slowly gained the upper hand. They finished the game off when Tranquillo Barnetta rifled home a superb shot from the edge of the box to make it 2-0. Hard luck for the Togolese, especially since the game could have gone their way had they got either of their penalty claims awarded by the referee. Perhaps, the refs were siding a little bit with the more established teams, especially considering the refereeing in the USA v Italy game as well!
Next, it was Ukraine v Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had pulled off a surprising draw in their first game with Tunisia, and I expected them to come out with energy to try to get something out of this game. However, what transpired was a totally dominant performance from a Ukrainian side that looked completely transformed from their first game thrashing at the hands of Spain! The Ukrainians scored as early as the 4th minute and then bulged the net at constant intervals. This one ending 4-0 in their favor, and never really was a contest! The only remarkable fact was Ukraine captain and new Chelsea recruit Andriy Shevchenko finally got his first ever World Cup goal! I feel there will be more to come from him.
The final match of the day saw Spain take on Tunisia in the last game of the second round of group games. Tunisia badly needed at least a point from this game after missing out on all 3 points against the Saudis, and came out in a defensive 4-5-1 formation. Spain retained the same XI that comprehensively beat Ukraine in their first match. Shockingly, Tunisia took the lead in just the 8th minute when Mnari bundled his own rebound past Spain keeper Iker Casillas! Spain had been caught napping at the back, and Tunisia scored! Unsurprisingly, the Africans then set out their stall to protect their lead for the rest of the game. Always a dangerous tactic, and especially so when there are 80 minutes remaining on the clock and you are playing against a good team like Spain. However, the Tunisians were very organized and hardworking and managed to stay ahead going into halftime. Spain dominated possession, as expected, and even created a few good chances but were just unable to score. After halftime, Spain coach Luis Aragones brought on subs Raul, Cesc Fabregas and Joaquin, and the introduction of these three players improved Spain's play tremendously. 18 year old Fabregas was particularly impressive playing in the center of midfield, and he was at the heart of all of Spain's dangerous attacks. It took the Spanish till the 70th minute to break through, when Raul bundled the ball over after the Tunisian keeper had palmed away Fabregas' low drive. Just 5 minutes later, Fernando Torres took advantage of some very dodgy positioning from the Tunisian keeper Boumnijel to tuck home Spain's second goal! Tunisia now had to chase the game, and left all kinds of space open at the back for Torres and Raul, who created chances at will now. Torres won a late penalty in the 90th minute and picked himself up to score the spotkick that sealed Spain's comeback win. 3-1 it ended, with Spain particularly impressive in the second half. Fernando Torres is now the leading goalscorer in the tournament!!
The absolutely critical Round 3 of the group stages begins tomorrow with the key matches of the day being Germany v Ecuador and Sweden v England! Woohoo! The knockout stages are almost here and the excitement is building up!!!
The first game today was Switzerland v Togo and most people had labeled this as one of the more boring matches of this tournament. Contrary to expectations, the two nations served up one of the most entertaining first halves of the competition so far. Togo came out very strongly, although the Swiss took the lead when Alexander Frei finished off a neat cross from the right. Togo's star striker Emmanuel Adebayor then had two excellent shouts for a penalty turned down by the referee, and his fellow countrymen missed a host of great chances to draw level. The Swiss keeper also made a number of terrific stops to keep the scoreline in favor of his team. In the second half, the hardworking Togolese began to tire visibly, and the Swiss slowly gained the upper hand. They finished the game off when Tranquillo Barnetta rifled home a superb shot from the edge of the box to make it 2-0. Hard luck for the Togolese, especially since the game could have gone their way had they got either of their penalty claims awarded by the referee. Perhaps, the refs were siding a little bit with the more established teams, especially considering the refereeing in the USA v Italy game as well!
Next, it was Ukraine v Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had pulled off a surprising draw in their first game with Tunisia, and I expected them to come out with energy to try to get something out of this game. However, what transpired was a totally dominant performance from a Ukrainian side that looked completely transformed from their first game thrashing at the hands of Spain! The Ukrainians scored as early as the 4th minute and then bulged the net at constant intervals. This one ending 4-0 in their favor, and never really was a contest! The only remarkable fact was Ukraine captain and new Chelsea recruit Andriy Shevchenko finally got his first ever World Cup goal! I feel there will be more to come from him.
The final match of the day saw Spain take on Tunisia in the last game of the second round of group games. Tunisia badly needed at least a point from this game after missing out on all 3 points against the Saudis, and came out in a defensive 4-5-1 formation. Spain retained the same XI that comprehensively beat Ukraine in their first match. Shockingly, Tunisia took the lead in just the 8th minute when Mnari bundled his own rebound past Spain keeper Iker Casillas! Spain had been caught napping at the back, and Tunisia scored! Unsurprisingly, the Africans then set out their stall to protect their lead for the rest of the game. Always a dangerous tactic, and especially so when there are 80 minutes remaining on the clock and you are playing against a good team like Spain. However, the Tunisians were very organized and hardworking and managed to stay ahead going into halftime. Spain dominated possession, as expected, and even created a few good chances but were just unable to score. After halftime, Spain coach Luis Aragones brought on subs Raul, Cesc Fabregas and Joaquin, and the introduction of these three players improved Spain's play tremendously. 18 year old Fabregas was particularly impressive playing in the center of midfield, and he was at the heart of all of Spain's dangerous attacks. It took the Spanish till the 70th minute to break through, when Raul bundled the ball over after the Tunisian keeper had palmed away Fabregas' low drive. Just 5 minutes later, Fernando Torres took advantage of some very dodgy positioning from the Tunisian keeper Boumnijel to tuck home Spain's second goal! Tunisia now had to chase the game, and left all kinds of space open at the back for Torres and Raul, who created chances at will now. Torres won a late penalty in the 90th minute and picked himself up to score the spotkick that sealed Spain's comeback win. 3-1 it ended, with Spain particularly impressive in the second half. Fernando Torres is now the leading goalscorer in the tournament!!
The absolutely critical Round 3 of the group stages begins tomorrow with the key matches of the day being Germany v Ecuador and Sweden v England! Woohoo! The knockout stages are almost here and the excitement is building up!!!
posted by Manoj at
2:05 PM
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