NEW ZEALAND vs SLOVAKIA
NEVER LET DOWN UNTIL THE END. A Slovak team that was outplaying the All Whites the entire match made a serious error by thinking the game was over and the three points were in the bag.
New Zealand should have been called No ZEALand for their play throughout the match. Lacking the physical toughness of their homeland counterparts the rugby All Blacks, they were pushed off the ball far too easily and showed no afterthought with crossed balls and passes.
Much like in basketball, where the team who offensively rebounds stands a far better chance of outlasting the other team, the All Whites lacked an innate sense for the game....until 92:20.
It's not as if Slovakia were stirling either. Their tempo was far too slow, and a perfect example would be a 4-2 breakaway that ended in no shot for the Fighting Jondas. But the lack of defensive might for New Zealand left Vladimir Weiss (the coach's son) open on the wing at the 50' mark...he put in a beautiful cross to the far post and Robert Vittek, who plays for Turkish side Ankaragucu, glanced the ball off his head and into the goal.
As I said above, you can't assume that the match is over...especially if you're only up by a goal. Slovak coach Vladimir Weiss had chosen to sub off several players in the waning minutes. The All Whites capitalized on the new personnel. Driving deep into the box, they were rebuffed, but the rebounding ball landed at the feet of Shane Smeltz, who put in a beautiful cross that found Winston Reid's head...GOAL!
Bye bye two points for Slovakia. That's a hard lesson to learn; the match isn't over until the ref blows the whistle.
Robert Vittek heads in Slovakia's goal
Not so fast!!! Reid equalizes in stoppage...
...and gets a yellow for his service as well!
PORTUGAL vs COTE D'IVOIRE
Portugal were lucky to garner a point from Sven-Goran Erikssons Ivorians. The Elephants' midfield manhandled Cristiano Ronaldo's team, keeping them from the final third. Despite having 55% of the possession (which I find hard to believe), they only had two shots on goal...and one was a screaming rocket in the 11th minute by Cristiano. Just unlucky to hit the post, the former Manchester United winger seemed to deflate after that...and his teams' chances with it. Liedson put a weak header right into the hands of the Ivorian keeper in the second, but besides those two shots...Portugal were poortugal.
The ESPN announcers were on Ronny about his diving, with one saying, "he goes to ground with the slightest touch, really...with a puff of wind." Doing that will come back to bite you in the end and it did in the 20' when Demel really tripped him at the top of the circle and no freekick or card was given...until Ronny and Demel squared up against each other and both were given yellows for that. Cristiano should have been upset about Demel not getting the foul, but when you fall all the time you're not going to get the calls. As captain of the team he should have been a good example for his team and forged on.
After that incident he went straight back to his petulant ways...throwing his arms up at non-calls, giving up on runs when the ball was taken away from him...really not an overall good performance from a person who's country depends upon his brilliance. It's a real shame because he is so fast and ran down so many players, but he didn't have anyone to pass to and he lost possession too many times.
After 18 months...still no goal for the former World Player of the Year.
Not much can be said for the Ivorians either. Playing most of the match without their star talisman Didier Drogba, they couldn't capitalize on the loose midfield for Portugal. Without the play of Portugal's left-back Fabio Coentrao, who in my opinion was the Portugese' best player today, the Elephants could have penetrated the final third much better. His sliding tackles and smart play was fun to watch. Those who have said he isn't as good as Duda...well...today's performance left no duda in my mind that he is better.
Carlos Queiroz replaced Danny with Simao Sabrosa to absolutely no impact at all. Simao, who has publicly claimed over and over that he should have a starting spot...gave no credence to that argument today. His 80+ caps for his home side are impressive, and at times he is brilliant, but not today.
As for Drogba, he shouldn't have been playing to begin with. Eriksson is a moron as a manager (I don't know him personally so he may be a moron in general), so he saw no choice but to put the injured striker in. EVERYONE agreed that a player with a freshly-broken arm (just had surgery last week) should not be on the pitch. It was a real risk and it came to nothing. Drogba had a chance in stoppage time when he juked around Paul Ferreira and slid in for a shot that went wide (none of his compatriots were following him in...). It was scary because Porto defender Bruno Alves was coming over the top of him and could have landed on his exposed arm. That would have been curtains for the EPL top scorer.
A couple of lighthearted moments happened when the telecast showed Drogba breathing a sigh of relief at Cristiano's shot hitting the post...then he followed it up by crossing himself! He and Cristiano also met on the field and hugged...old adversaries in the Prem League (see photos below). I hope Didier told Cristiano how much he missed him!
So what does this 0-0 draw mean? Brazil should pound both of these teams. Who survives to win the second spot will depend upon the score Portugal and Cote d'Ivoire put up against North Korea. The goal differential could make all the difference.
Drogba's cast is checked out by officials before being subbed
Bruno Alves gets some serious air...
Portugal's Man of the Match...Fabio Coentrao (23)
Cristiano outruns the Ivorian defense
Two stars tangling like days of old in the EPL...
And both remembering those great years...
BRAZIL vs NORTH KOREA
The Samba Kings were Sambaless in the first half, showing no spark. The North Koreans had blockaded the goal with their defenders like it was the border with South Korea! Dunga's men couldn't find the space needed to do their dance. Felipe Melo kept taking long distance strikes, which tells me he hadn't watched other matches showing the ball flying high over the net from those lengths. I'm sure his teammates were playing "keep away from Felipe" until the whistle sounded for the half. 0-0 at Halftime.
Knowing that a draw with the Chollima (Winged Horses) would even up the group after Portugal and Cote d'Ivoire drew, there seemed to be a sense of urgency in the second half.
I hate to admit that Robinho (never been a favorite of mine...too petulant) showed the only spunk for the team before the half, a spunk which he hasn't found with former club RM and his current side Manchester City (although he's doing well on loan at Santos). The temperamental one back-heeled, stepped-over, and tricked his way to no avail. When you're ahead that's fine, but not when you are deadlocked with the 109th ranked team in the world! Goals = moving on in the group.The Canarinho were desperate to get things moving in the Second and Kaka showed he's learned something from RM teammate Ronny when he did a bellyflop for Jesus. It was bad acting, but just good enough to fool the ref into awarding a freekick, which Elano sent high into the crowd.
But the Samba Masters weren't done for the night. In the 58' Maicon was running toward the end line in full sprint, with a Chollima right on his heels. He seemed to cross the ball for the on-rushing Brasileiros in the box, and the keeper committed to stop it...the ball took a curious trajectory to the right, instead of the left, and landed in the goal! 1-0 Brasil. Was it a cross or a goal? That's the sixty-nine-thousand dollar question. It looked to me like some poor chicken in Brasil just lost his life to the voodoo priestess. Not Samba ball, but Santeria ball.
Could the Chollima come back from that?
They certainly had the fans in attendance. The announcer noted that "the fans for North Korea are not Korean at all, but hand-picked paid actors from China." The other announcer then added, "paid to watch...that's something that only happens to us!"
They didn't have much to cheer in the 71' when Elano right-footed a perfect shot into the left side of the net on a feed from Robinho. 2-0 Brasil.
The Brasileiros seemed to take the foot off the gas, with a win in hand, and the Chollima made them pay for that attitude. Ji Yun-Nam outmaneuvered two Brazilian defenders and put a perfect shot past Julio Cesar in the 88'. Could they equalize? Their "fans" seemed to think they could. And the deadpan announcer said, "whether they are paid actors or not, they're naturally exuberant."
Dunga's men seemed to put the afterburners on and kept the North Koreans from drawing the match. I'm sure the Elephants and Portuguese were praying for the draw. Curiously, the match ended with barely two minutes of stoppage time, even though there were several substitutions and injuries for both sides...makes a person say, "hmmmmmm."
The Chollima can keep their heads up after their spirited display. They scored a true goal on the best team in the world and only allowed two. I would definitely be happy with that!
Maicon launches a voodoo missile on the North Koreans
Phhewwww! We scored one on the Chollima!
Kaka seems happy with the win, although he's going to have
to make it right with Jesus over that shameful dive!
Ji Yun-Nam pulls one back for the Chollima
"Yeahh China....um...we mean North Korea!!!"
A Lesson in differences
North Korean (Chinese) stoic supporter on left, Brazilian one on the right
BRAZILIAN FANS ARE THE CRAZIEST:
THESE ARE FOR CRL7...
QUEIROZ NOT HAPPY WITH "SPECIAL TREATMENT"
Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz hinted on Tuesday that Ivory Coast star Didier Drogba had benefited from special treatment which allowed him to play with a protective cast on his broken arm.
"It's not up to us to decide if he (Drogba) plays or not, it was up to FIFA.
"In Monday's meeting FIFA said it was up to the referee whose decision they said would be final.
"That seemed a bit odd to us. You have players who can't wear a string bracelet or plaster, yet here is a player who has fractured his arm and who could put our players at risk with his (protective) cast.
"Drogba is an African superstar and we want to know if all the rules will be the same for everyone - he was allowed to play with a cast, perhaps the rules will be changed."
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