World Cup Day Five results, and more!

Doesn't really deserve an exclamation mark, sorry.

Results

Slovakia 1-1 New Zealand

me: Slovakia 2-0 New Zealand. Wrong result, wrong score. Boo. New Zealand scored in the 93rd minute to get the point. Not surprisingly, this apparently wasn't a great match. I'm not even going to bother watching highlights.

Portugal 0-0 Cote d'Ivoire

me: Portugal 1-0 Cote d'Ivoire. Wrong result, half-wrong score. Portugal looked annoyed, Ronaldo called foul after foul against the Ivorians, and there were very few real scoring attempts. Note to Portugal: lofting high balls to Liedson, your sole striker who stands at 5'9", is maybe not the best tactic. The Ivorians played well, creating some chances, and if they play this well against Brazil, they could get a result.

Brazil 2-1 North Korea

me: Brazil 3-0 North Korea. Right result, wrong score. Well done to the North Koreans. I'm so impressed I'm starting a new series called North Korea at the World Cup. They held the Brazilians at bay for the first half, only to be undone by a stunning goal from Maicon and then a wonderful pass from Robinho to Elano, who passed beautifully into the net (goal on that linked clip). Disappointing for the Brazilians, who were expected to win handily, though as anyone who has studied this North Korean team will tell you, the South Americans should have expected a tight defensive performance.

Tidbits

I really don't like Ronaldo. As my friend so eloquently wrote: "Can someone please punch Cristiano Ronaldo in the face? I'll pay money." He really just inspires the worst in some fans. He whines, he complains, and he plays like he deserves to get what he wants. He wasn't even the best player on the pitch this morning; that honour goes to Gervinho, who caused problem after problem for the Portuguese. This is him and his hair, for your enjoyment:

North Korea at the World Cup

So little is known about this North Korean team. Here's what I found out in a few short minutes in the depths of the internet:

1. They qualified with relative ease in the Asian Football Confederation, which has a bizarre multi-multi-stage process. Here are their results:

First qualifying stage: Mongolia 2-9 North Korea.

In the first group stage they went 3-3-0 (W-D-L), with 4 goals for and 0 goals against. They drew 0-0 twice against South Korea, beat Jordan twice and beat and drew Turkmenistan.

In the second group stage they qualified above Saudi Arabia (on goal differential) and Iran, with a 3-3-2 record and 7 goals for and 5 against.

2. Their squad is relatively young: only thee players are over 30.

3. All except three play their football in North Korea. Two play in Japan and one in Russia.

4. Their star striker, Jong Tae-Se, has been called the North Korean Wayne Rooney. Yowzah. Eight of his international goals came in two matches, against Mongolia and Macau, so his strike return of 15 in 22 isn't quite as impressive as at first glance. He has scored against Japan, South Korea, Iran, and in NK's last three matches, against Taiwan, Greece and Nigeria. Watch this clip of one of his goals.

5. According to ESPNSoccernet, they play extremely defensively. Great.

World Cup Days Four and Five: results, Kim Jong-Il, and predictions for tomorrow

Day Four Results
Netherlands 2-0 Denmark
me: Netherlands 2-0 Denmark. Right result, right score. In our early game, the Dutch needed an own goal to get into the match before a late Kuyt goal settled things. Robben is injured and didn't make an appearance, the Danes were well organized and threatened at times though they never really tested Stekelenburg in the Dutch goal. It wasn't a convincing performance from the Dutch, and they'll have to kick it up a notch before the knock-out rounds.

Japan 1-0 Cameroon
me: Japan 0-1 Cameroon. Wrong result, wrong score. Full credit to the hard-working Japanese. They played the Cameroon forwards off the pitch. Star striker Samuel Eto'o barely saw the ball, though I would argue he was played out of position on the right. At times it looked like there was only one player in the Cameroon midfield, probably a function of a poorly organized 4-3-3. This result means Denmark have to step it up against both these teams if they want to go through.

Italy 1-1 Paraguay
me: Italy 1-0 Paraguay. Wrong result, half-wrong score. Paraguay defended well and except for one goalkeeper error may have won this. They looked a threat going forward at times (though only had the one shot on net) and will be happy with the point. Italy, again, disappointed. They always look like they think they shouldn't have to work very hard to win. Their squad lacks creativity, and it showed as they struggled to break Paraguay down. Di Natale should start (he was the leading scorer in Italy's Serie A this season), and they really need Pirlo in the midfield directing traffic. Newcomer Riccardo Montolivo did well and De Rossi was as impressive as usual, but they missed some creativity.

Day Five predictions

Slovakia beat New Zealand 2-0.

No one is getting up for this early match. Slovakia may surprise if neither Italy nor Paraguay take control of Group F.

Portugal beat Cote d'Ivoire 1-0.

Cote d'Ivoire are no pushovers, and this could easily be a draw or a win for them, but Portugal have too much quality, and a stellar defensive record, to not get out of this group.

Brazil beat North Korea 3-0.

Will this be the easiest result to call the whole tournament? NK are such an unknown entity that it would almost be fun to predict a result for them. Sorry, Kim, not this time. Better luck at the ol' nuclear intimidation thing.

Did you know...

that North Korea featured at World Cup 1966, and made it to the quarter-finals? The World Cup finals only had 16 teams then; they were drawn in a tough group with the Soviets, Italy and Chile. They beat Italy 1-0 to make it through the group stage, Italy having lost to the Soviets earlier. They lost 5-3 to Eusebio's Portugal in the first knock-out, with Eusebio scoring 4 to bring Portugal back from 3-0 down. Nothing to be ashamed of. So, underestimate this Korean team at your peril, Brazil.

Feel like showing your support with a vintage 1966 North Korea shirt? Look no further than The Old Fashioned Football Shirt company, or TOFFS.*

Italy are old. Or bored with the group stage already.

That's the rumour heading into the tourney. And they showed it today, for the first half anyway. That or they're so cocky they don't think they should have to run. This, of course, is an overstatement. Simone Pepe was everywhere today, De Rossi cleaned up in the middle, Montolivo roamed the midfield, and Iaquinta switched flanks seemingly for fun.

But at times they stood around, happy to let someone else do the running. Against a fast attacking side they could be exposed.

*Thanks to Chris LaRoche, Korean expert, for the tip.

World Cup Day Four: predictions, and a new segment, Did you know?

The Italians are known for their style of play known as the catenaccio,
or door-bolt. You can guess what that implies.

My predictions

Netherlands 2-0 Denmark
The Dutch have all the attacking talent they could dream of (though apparently Robin van Persie is now hurt... again...). Robben will take shots from everywhere. Kuyt will work really hard. Babel will dribble into trouble and lose the ball. For the first time in years the Dutch don't have a solid keeper, though their defensive frailties are nothing new. The Danes will be organized and will be a threat on the counter and on set pieces.

Japan 0-1 Cameroon
Cameroon are the highest ranked African team at the tournament, with a good keeper, solid defence, a strong midfield and scoring talent. They haven't impressed much lately, struggling to qualify and losing to eventual winners Egypt in the quarters at the Africa Cup of Nations. Japan aren't as strong as they were in 2002, when they lost in the Round of 16 to Turkey. They've also lost their last four matches, all friendlies.

Italy 1-0 Paraguay

Italy don't have much in the way of creativity in their squad right now, and they're getting old, but they are talented, hardworking and organized, and have just enough to get through an easy group. Paraquay impressed in qualification, including wins over Brazil and Argentina. Star striker Roque Santa Cruz struggled with injury this year, and his striking partner Salavador Cabañas will miss the tournament after being shot in the head in a Mexican nightclub.

Did you know...

In this segment I'll bring to your attention an interesting or little-known fact about the World Cup, the teams, or the players. In today's segment, keeping to the theme of footballers and guns, we take a look at the unfortunate Andrés Escobar.


In the 1994 World Cup held in the US, in a group-stage match against the US, Colombian defender Escobar deflected a cross into his own net. Colombia lost the game 2-1 and were eliminated. Escobar was shot and killed ten days later in Colombia, purportedly because his own-goal led to huge gambling losses for some Colombian drug lords or gambling syndicates (the same thing?).

He was known as the Gentleman of Football and his funeral was attended by 120,000 people.

World Cup Day Three: results, Germany's youth and the reffing so far

Asamoah Gyan scores the pivotal penalty against Serbia

Day Three Results

Slovenia 1-0 Algeria
me: Slovenia 2-0 Algeria. Right result, half-wrong score. I have no idea how this game went and I don't know any of the players on either team*, just had a hunch. Puts Slovenia in good stead and puts some pressure on the US to beat them.

Serbia 0-1 Ghana
me: Serbia 1-0 Ghana. Wrong result, wrong score. This is the first game I've got totally wrong. Ghana showed more organization at the back and invention going forward than I thought. Serbia had a great chance to make it 1-0, and then Ghana were correctly awarded a penalty that they buried. This throws my group predictions for a loop, as I had Serbia going through. Now they have to get a win against Australia and a result against Germany and hope things go their way.

Germany 4-0 Australia
me: Germany 2-1 Australia. Right result, wrong score. Our first blow-out of WC2010. Germany dominated start to finish all over the pitch. They passed the ball well, used space intelligently, took their chances, and look to be a force this tournament. Nice to see Podolski and Klose score; both players have struggled this year for their clubs. Other than one or two players, Australia just don't have the quality. With Cahill getting the red card (horrible call, by the way), Australia's chances of progressing have taken a nose dive.

Also, what's scary about Germany is that they've got such young talent. Muller (who I had no time for in the Champions League final but who just scored a nice goal) is only 20, and kept Klose and Luca Toni out of the Bayern squad. Ozil (see below) is 21, their starting keeper Neuer is 24, captain Philip Lahm is, amazingly, only 26, Mertesacker in defence is 25, Gomez is 24, Khedira 23, Schweinsteiger is 25. If they do well here one can only imagine how long this core group can play together.

Young player of the tournament

Early days, but Mezut Ozil of Germany looks the business. He could have scored twice in the first half, and looks like a creative force. The bigger European clubs will be knocking on Werder Bremen's door this summer if they aren't already.

Reffing so far

So the straight red against Everton's Tim Cahill gave us the first reffing controversy of the tournament. It was a foul, maybe a yellow, but certainly not a red. Australia have every right to feel aggrieved; after the dubious penalty given against them in 2006 to give the Italians a late, late victory, they might start to feel like someone is working against them.

Other than that, I think the reffing has been very good. The other red cards have been for two yellows, and both that I saw looked deserved.

Blown coverage

And if you were wondering why there aren't ads during the games, see this shit coverage by Britain's ITV: missed Gerrard goal.


* After checking the squad lists, I do know a couple of Algerian players: Belhadj had a good year for Portsmouth; Bougherra plays for the Rangers in Scotland but I think I've only heard of him through playing Football Manager.

World Cup Day Three: predictions and surprises

South Korea beat Italy in 2002. Will there be surprises this time?

My predictions: (I swear I haven't seen the early results)

Slovenia beat Algeria 2-0

Serbia beat Ghana 1-0

Germany beat Australia 2-1

I'm really hoping Slovenia pick it up a notch and make Group C interesting. If they win this morning and take a point off the US and England they could have a chance of going through. Craig Forrest, ex-Canadian keeper and Sportsnet commentator has even picked them above the US. I think it's a pretty long shot.

Serbia are my dark horse picks to do well, but only if they get out of the group; both Ghana and Australia will challenge them for second in Group D. Germany should win. This game between Serbia and Ghana could determine the group.

Surprises

There are always surprises at big tournaments. In 2002 South Korea made it to the semis (on some questionable reffing calls), in 2006 the Ukraine made it to the quarters. In 1998 Nigeria and Paraguay made it through the group stage ahead of Spain and Croatia made it to the semis.

I haven't picked any. Serbia or Mexico could go to the semis, and Spain could get knocked out in the Round of 16 by Portugal or Cote d'Ivoire. All three scenarios are possible. Also look for an African team to do better than I've predicted (which is: only one team out of the groups, and then eliminated in the Round of 16).

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.

Drink your way to the World Cup final!

Will England's Newcastle Brown Ale make it to the semis?
Or will Serbian brew Jelen beat them in the Round of 16 first?

The good folks over at Slashfood have developed a World Cup bracket substituting beer for teams. Here's a taste:

With the World Cup in full swing (games started early this morning), we wanted to hop on the soccer bandwagon Slashfood-style -- and that means a little something to drink, of course... In this case, we chose beers from around the world. Thirty-two countries, 32 different beers -- one for each country represented in the games -- all hand picked by our beer guru, Josh Bernstein.

Starting next Wednesday, Slashfood is starting it's own little tournament -- the Slashfood 2010 World Cup Beer Bracket. That morning, we'll open up the polls on Facebook and Twitter to see which beer you think should make it to the finals.

After the jump, get a head start on your picks with an in depth look at all 32 beers well be using for the tourney. Don't forget, the first round picks two winners from each group. A total of 16 beers will advance.

Algeria: Tango Though Islamic tradition forbids alcohol, beer has taken a foothold in this North African nation. The most popular tipple is the light Tango lager.

Argentina: Quilmes Cristal This light, pale-golden lager dominates the country's beer scene.

Australia: Foster's Hoist a hefty can of this Aussie lager when cheering on the footballers from Down Under.

Brazil: Skol Though the caipirinha is Brazil's national drink, the country's most common beer is this clear, bubbly thirst-quenching pilsener. .

Some of their selections are iffy (Foster's, really?), but kudos for finding and knowing about beers from North Korea and Cote d'Ivoire. Now just to track down which are available in BC:

BC Liquor stores
Private liquor stores in BC (where you'll pay more)

The Spanish Cruzcampo isn't available at BC Liquor stores, so I'm substituting Estrella Damm, a nice light lager from Barcelona. Good drinking to you all, and may the best beer win.

Day One: results, thoughts, extras

South Africa's Siphiwe Tshabalala celebrates after
scoring the opening goal of the tournament.

Today's results

South Africa 1-1 Mexico

me: 1-3 Mexico win. Wrong result, half-wrong score. I did predict the flow of the game, but SA's keeper was brilliant in the first half to keep the Mexicans off the scoresheet. Good result for the hosts but they shouldn't have conceded the goal so easily.

France 0-0 Uruguay

me: 1-1 draw. Right result, wrong score. France continued with their difficulty in finding the net while Uruguay defended well and showed some flashes of attacking verve. France coach Raymond Domenech is a muppet; my boy D-Day expounds upon this at soccriligious.

Other interesting tidbits

The boys over at The Daily Gumboot have started the World Cup with a heated war of words. Who will win this scintillating tete-a-kopf? Tune in to find out. My money's on John, but Kurt has some tricks up his sleeve.

The vuvuzelas? I stopped hearing them after 5 minutes. They almost drove my girlfriend nuts.

Interested in picking a team to support based on their jerseys? See the (nearly) full range of kit on display here. (North Korea is missing.) I like Spain's.

Check out this interesting post on the freedom and development of the 32 competing nations:

The World Cup, global inequality and global community

The depth of suffering and oppression still prevalent in Africa—and in many other places around the world—can be glimpsed by taking a statistical look at the 32 participating countries’ political institutions and economic status.

That's Day One, folks. Thanks for tuning in.

World Cup 2010 in South Africa... yes, I'm going to blog about it

So, I've decided to blog about the World Cup, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to add much, but I've been posting so much on Facebook that I thought I would spare you all the constant stream of thoughts and images and stories and gather them all here instead.

I'm in a couple of pools, two for group and knock-out stage predictions and one for players and points. I've gone with really safe picks, which is lazy and will never happen. There will be a dark horse that makes it to the quarters or semis, and one of the big teams will get knocked out early, I just couldn't commit to those teams.

I've picked Brazil to win, beating Spain in the final, and Fernando Torres to be the top scorer. See? Very safe. My dark horse candidate (that I didn't pick) is Serbia. I think they'll come out of the real Group of Death, and they could beat England (or the US) in the first round. They would then face Mexico, Nigeria, France, Uruguay or Greece in the quarters, no-one too intimidating there.

I've also decided to predict the outcome of every match. It's easier than it looks if you aren't too worried about a dismal success rate. Go on, pick a day and try it.

Day One predictions:

South Africa 1-3 Mexico

France 1-1 Uruguay

Mexico will press constantly, and their attack will be too much for the hosts. France won't be able to score very much this tournament, and Uruguay are better than people think.

The SA-Mex game is already over but I got my hands on a PVR and I'm watching the game now. So far it's pretty exciting. South Africa are holding their own, but Mexico look dangerous. The celebrated vuvuzelas (plastic horns) are creating a constant, extremely loud buzzing in the stadium; it must be getting on the nerves of the Mexicans.

So, there ya have it. I'll try to keep my posts short and pointed, with a broad rather than narrow focus, such as where to watch in your neighbourhood (in Vancouver) but also what the South African experience might mean for Brazil in 2014 and why the Dutch won't win (hint: it's not for lack of scoring).

Sit back, watch some games, and enjoy the beautiful game.