World Cup Day 16 results: Yanks go home! (as a directive in a chant)

Day Sixteen

prediction: Uruguay 2-1 South Korea - "we should see some fast, attacking football"

result: Uruguay 2-1 South Korea

Well, that's nice to get one completely right for a change. Uruguay sat back a bit too much in the second half and were punished for it, but generally this was a lively, very watchable match. After conceding the tying goal, Uruguay went back into attack mode and deserved to win. Suarez's second was a piece of perfection:

World Cup Day 16: The knock-out stages are finally here

Well, folks, we're into the knock-out stages. This is where it gets exciting, while actually the games tend to get a little more conservative. There won't be a 7-0 blow-out, is all I'm saying.

The first round, aka the Round of 16, has a few interesting match-ups. The draw is now separated into four groupings, each group sending a semi-finalist. It makes sense visually, so I've included a picture rather than trying to describe it all.

World Cup Day 12: France crash, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico impress

Day Twelve... how do you say "ouch" in French? *

prediction: France 1-0 South Africa

result: France 1-2 South Africa

Wrong result, half-wrong score. Well, we have our first big casualty, but is anyone surprised? I really thought France would have enough talent to overcome their chaos, but France never looked good all tournament. Well done to South Africa for getting the win. A win and a draw are nothing to be ashamed of, even if they are the first host to not get through the group stage.

Domenech the muppet started Djibril Cisse and Gignac up front... Cisse was good five years ago and plays in the Greek league; Gignac has never impressed outside of France and has only scored against the Faroe Islands and Austria.

prediction: Mexico 1-1 Uruguay

result: Mexico 0-1 Uruguay

Wrong result, half-wrong score. Mexico should have equalized after Uruguay went ahead. The first half of this was the most attractive bit of football I've seen so far: end-to-end stuff, both teams playing to win, getting chances, stringing passes together. The second half cooled down as Uruguay looked to defend their lead.

prediction: Greece 0-2 Argentina

result: Greece 0-2 Argentina (link to match report pending)

Argentina worked hard to break down a resolute Greek side that could have gone through with a draw. Maybe not the best plan against Argentina, especially given how weak their central defenders looked at times.

prediction: Nigeria 1-2 South Korea

result: Nigeria 2-2 South Korea
Nigerian striker Yakubu missed a sitter from 4 yards out. Really, probably the easiest goal he ever could have scored. He redeemed himself from the penalty spot shortly after, but still...

* According to Babel Fish, it's "aïe".

World Cup Day Six results, Day Seven picks and results

Because I can, and because I went a sad 2 and 7 on my

predictions over the past three days, and because

Nina is away for the weekend.

I was wrong, wrong, wrong. My prediction record is hanging in tatters.

Day Six results

Chile 1-0 Honduras

me: Chile 1-1 Honduras. Wrong result, half-wrong score. Chile attacked with style. I really expected more from Honduras this World Cup. A good win marred by a horrible dive by Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez. Shame.

Spain 0-1 Switzerland

me: Wrong result, wrong score. I could be forgiven for getting this one wrong. Never underestimate a great coach (Ottmar Hitzfeld). See my match report on what happened.

Uruguay 3-0 South Africa

me: Uruguay 1-1 South Africa. Wrong result, wrong score. I should have heeded my own words: "I suspect the Uruguayans have too much quality for the South Africans". A blatant dive for a penalty, but Uruguay looked like winning. The first Forlan goal wasn't as spectacular as everyone says (it was deflected, ferchrissakes), but it was still pretty nice. Uruguay look in good position in what was the most difficult group to predict.

Day Seven predictions and results (lucky I emailed them to a friend so I remember them)

Argentina 4-1 South Korea

me: Argentina 2-1 South Korea. Right result, half-wrong score. Argentina put on the show we expected from Spain. How much of this is Maradona and how much is the skill of the players? Your guess is as good as mine, but I am starting to hope they fail so the Maradona era comes to a crashing end. He's an annoying man.

Nigeria 1-2 Greece

me: Nigeria 1-0 Greece. Wrong result, wrong score. Another victory marred by some playacting. Nigerian midfielder Sani Keita, in a fit of anger kicked out at Torosidis, who went down like he'd been stabbed in the leg. If there was contact it was minimal. Stupid, stupid move by Keita, one that likely cost his team a chance at progressing.

France 0-2 Mexico

me: France 1-1 Mexico. Wrong result, wrong score. Will this be the second time in a decade that the French fail to score at the World Cup? Well done to Mexico, who played with intent, passion and flair. France looked good in the first half but couldn't break down Mexico's backline. Abidal had no business taking down the Mexican player for the penalty; he was never going to threaten a goal.

My predictions thus far

I started well, highlighted by a ballsy call on the 1-1 draw between England and the US which put me at 4 and 1 after Day Two. Day Three gave me another two correct, for a 6 and 2 record. Day Four left me at a respectable 7 and 4. Then came the fall.

Days Five, Six and Seven were not kind to me. A sad 2 and 7, with my only positives the easy Brazil and Argentine victories. I thought for sure I was safe picking Spain... bah.

So I'm 9 and 11 on the tournament so far. And it's only going to get harder. At least I've got my FHM jogo bonito girl up top.

World Cup Day Two: predictions, results and such

England keeper Robert Green having a better game than yesterday

Day Two predictions:

South Korea 1-0 Greece

Argentina 3-0 Nigeria

England 1-1 USA

I just inadvertently saw the result for the SK-Greece game (2-0 win for the Reds*), so I'm pretty good so far today.

UPDATE: I had a good prediction day. 3 for 3 on results, with that big 1-1 draw.

Results

South Korea 2-0 Greece

me: South Korea win 1-0 Greece. Right result, half-wrong score. The Greeks didn't play as negatively as I thought, and the Koreans showed more flair than I thought. Two really nice goals were the difference.

Argentina 1-0 Nigeria

me: Argentina win 3-0 Nigeria. Right result, half-wrong score. Again the keeper thwarted my high score prediction, turning away more than a few really good shots that would have hit the corners. Argentina played very well, but Nigeria managed to weather the storm and looked dangerous themselves, just missing the final touch. Maradona didn't do anything too crazy yet.

England 1-1 USA

me: England 1-1 USA. Right result, right score! Some poor defending left Gerrard wide open to score for England, then a gaffe led to the US goal. A decent game in which the Americans were outplayed but held firm at the back. England were typically frustrating.

Tidbits

Want to know the nickname of all the national teams? Good ol' Wikipedia has a great list with translations and everything. Most are simply based on the colour of the shirts (Les Bleus, the Azzurri, etc). My favourite right now? North Korea are Thousand-mile Horse. The list may be a bit suspect: Greece are listed as The Pirate Ship.

* That's South Korea in case anyone couldn't guess. Greece play in blue and white.