The Flippant Focus turns to Group F

On the face of it World Champions Italy had a group as easy as Englands for the first stage of the 2010 World Cup. It turned out to be a fairly fickle face as the Azzuri tried to rely on the same team that had taken them to glory in Germany just four years earlier. It’s fair to say they got slapped.

It looked like Paraguay and Slovakia would be fighting out for second place as average teams lacking in stars but with sets of solid qualification results. New Zealand would undoubtedly be the whipping boys of the group and possibly the whole damn show given their lack of World Cup experience, lack of recognisable names and lack of sturdy opposition in qualifying. Then again, perhaps the lack of pressure from a rugby mad public would give the All Whites the freedom they need to play expansive, sexy football and crumble the stubborn defences before them to dust.

Started pretty slowly, like most of the first round of games no one imposed themselves out of fear that defeat would make a journey into the second round trickier. Perhaps someone should have pointed out that a win would have made the potential for progress easier. Both games were 1-1, although both had noteworthy moments. Italy celebrated their equaliser against Paraguay like they’d won the bloody trophy while New Zealand provided a healthy dose of drama by scoring in the 93^rd minute. In the negative column Buffon disappeared with a mysterious injury at half time and from then on the Italian experience would only go downhill.

Within seven minutes of the second game they were a goal down against New Zealand. Sure they offered a bit of pressure but not much end result, bar a dodgy penalty which gave them a point and they almost lost that after a last gasp effort from Chris Wood swished slightly wide. The Kiwis had certainly come to play. Unfortunately the Slovakians hadn’t so the South Americans continued their continents run of good form by cantering to a 2-0 win. Given the amount of chances they had it was only selfishness that didn’t increase the margin. As it stood going into the final round any of the four could go through and any of the four could still go out.

And despite two efficient displays people were still writing New Zealand off, writing that the Paraguayans would easily pick up the required three points to top the group. It actually turned out to be an unspectacular 0-0 so the final points of interest were that the All Whites wore their rugger colleagues all black kit and that just one sneaky goal would have seen them through. Fortunately the other game was a bit feistier, although Italy still took plenty of time to get the motor running. The Slovakians had decided to give it a go from the outset which obviously confused Lippi’s side a little. The game went end to end towards the end with the Eastern Europeans 2-0 up and heading through. Di Natale pulled one back on 81’ before some embarrassing defending from 2006’s best defence restored the two goal lead on 89' before Quagliarella halved the deficit with a delicate strike on 92'. Cracking stuff.

But it wasn’t to be for the previously mighty Italians, bottom of an easy group there would be tears before bedtime and no mistaking. A lot of people said it tainted the memory of their victory in Germany and even sought to question their credentials in winning that tournament. Although the teams were largely the same and Lippi had returned as manager I felt they were two very distinct efforts. Whatever went down between Materazzi and Zidane in Berlin the Azzuri were the best team back then by combining organisation and creativity. This time around they certainly missed Buffon and Pirlo who embodied those qualities respectively. But they were too old and came up against some surprisingly solid teams.

Kudos to Paraguay for showing the tiny bit of invention necessary too finish top and Slovakia for finding some fight in the final game. Much respect to New Zealand for ending up unbeaten. Special mention also to Howard Webb for keeping control of a tense finale to Italy v Solvakia, no doubt there’ll be more mention of that man later on.

The Easy Escape from Group E

Hello, It has taken a while to get around to reviewing Group E. This is not entirely, but mostly because I personally found this group incredibly uninspiring. You have the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon. One team to walk it and a battle between three average teams to progress? maybe - just maybe.

In qualifying the Netherlands won their group without dropping a point - and looked pretty damn good in the process. People may be unsure about backing them to go far as they have regularly underachieved, however they would surely have no problem at all getting through this group.

Perhaps it was harsh of me to write off Denmark immediately as an average team. They finished top of their qualifying group ahead of Portugal and have one or two quality players. Yet, Portugal looked poor in qualifying and one or two players does not make a team.

Japan seem to be perennial qualifiers now and always work very hard as a team. In qualifying however they only managed a second place finish behind Australia - ahead of the lofty nations of Bahrain, Qatar and Uzbekistan. The competition wasn't great, but they are there and will always be hard to beat.

Cameroon are one team that I thought may cause some upset. They smashed through their qualifying group and look like a powerful side with a few very talented members of the team. Samuel Etoo especially is one player who could grace any side at this World Cup.

Well it started somewhat predictably with Netherlands seeing off Denmark with ease - a 2-0 and pretty comprehensive victory. However, the other opening game in group E really raised the eyebrows. Japan and  Cameroon stood toe to toe for the majority of the game with neither the power of Cameroon or the industry of Japan winning out. However the only goal of the game just before half time won it for Japan and got their World Cup alive and kicking.

Another decent performance from Japan saw them battle well with Netherlands and they were unlucky not to get something from the game. A commanding performance from Wesley Sneijder saw the Dutch home. The other game posed a lot of interest as both teams needed to perform after registering defeats in their first game. It looked like Cameroon had finally woken up after a poor performance in the first game when they took the lead in the 10th minute. However to give Denmark credit they worked hard and kept themselves in the game - they equalised before half time and then they were the team to get the decisive goal and take the points. Cameroon were out after just two games.

The final round of games looked a straight case of a battle for second between Japan and Denmark. Cameroon may play for pride but it didn't seem likely that they would raise their game against Holland. Well they did raise their game, but they were not quite enough to trouble the Netherlands ultimately and this led to a 2 -1 defeat. second place then would be decided elsewhere...

Everything would point at Japan vs Denmark being one of the tightest games in history, with two teams both equally desperate to progress to the second round. Though Japan clearly had not thought about it this way and entertained as they used their attacking ability and excellent tactical game to break through the Danish defence and take a 2 - 0 lead within 30 minutes. The Danes did come out fighting in the second half - but it was too late and they went down 3-1 to a spirited Japanese team.

Well, The Dutch were predictably strong and would be a tough team to play in the competition. However, they would face much tougher tests than the ones in this group. Japan were fresh and interesting - they seemed to play without fear and were one entertaining team in this World Cup. In Keisuke Honda a star player had emerged to take centre stage. Hopefully they would continue to perform.

A Delicate Dissection of Group D

It always seems pretty easy to refer to Group D in any particular tournament as the Group of Death. At World Cup South Africa 2010 it felt pretty appropriate to start thinking that way.

At first glance there's the mighty Germans. Triple World Champions and Often Semi Finalists they have a habit of winning that pisses all non-Germans off. The other Europeans, Serbia, were certainly talked up as something of a dark horse. With strong defenders like Vidic, powerful attackers such as Pantelic and a solid qualification record they were a team with a fierce shot. Step forward Nenad Milijas. The Australians tend to have a jolly good go at most sports and tend to be pretty good at most of them. After a good showing in 2006 boded well, players like Cahill, Schwarzer and Emerton had all demonstrated a special style in the Premiership, although the continued presence of Harry Kewell in the squad was somewhat mysterious to this Liverpool fan. Finally Ghana had been finalists in January's Africa Cup of Nations by building a team around youth and a solid midfield. Even without the awesome Essien that made them a threat.

So it began, as these things often do, with a pretty poor game. Ghana and Serbia stumbled to a 1-0, the Europeans literally handing the Africans a penalty in the last five minutes, obviously pretty embarrassed by what they'd be upto for the rest of the game. Then the Germans got the party started. Despite a team largely consisting of little known young 'uns and being coached by the dad off of the OC they knocked four past the Aussies without reply. No doubt the sending off of Cahill didn't help but this was, for my money, the best game of the tournament thus far. An ominous attacking display was led by Mezsut Ozil, a skillful young playmaker conspicuous by his absence from the pre tournament Nike campaign.

The next round evened things up a bit. This time the harsh red card went against the Germans and although they still created chances with ten men the solidity of Serbia was enough. Another red card in the other game should have given Ghana an opening but at that point it felt like they could only score penalties. At least the aforementioned Kewell wiggled his way into a match report, albeit by ending his World Cup career with the handball that led to the penalty that led to the equaliser.

So the group did get rather tense in the final round of games as any of the four still had a chance of qualifying and thus a chance of going out. Fortunately Ghana and Germany put on a display that didn't warrant a 1-0 scoreline. As chances came and went at both ends it was the peskily efficient Germans who snatched it, that man Ozil popped up with a pretty awesome strike. The other two were a bit more feisty than creative, as befitted their reputations, the tension was more palpable and it was a match of two halves. Serbia were better in the first but failed to score and then Australia came up trumps in the second with a couple of goals that put them in touching distance of the last 16. A late Pantelic goal swung the pendulum back but despite a tense end the Serbians couldn't get an equaliser that would have put them through.

So in the end Germany and Ghana went through but given that everyone had won at least one game the standings were as tight as I said they would be. Justice was probably just about done, all four teams had managed to demonstrate some very distinct positives and negative qualities. Serbia had shown a lack of imagination but generally been very hard to break down while the Aussies showed their age defensively but then they did come out fighting when the chips were down. Ghana had failed to press home advantages when offered them but had played some good football and constantly created chances. Meanwhile the Germans had managed to look massively talented and then quite vulnerable when not looking massively talented. No doubt England would subdue their game and then blow them away with their superior experience in the next round.

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

The Complete Catastrophe of Group C

Oh dear, Oh dear - I can't believe it had to happen this way - it was supposed to be oh so easy - an impressive qualifying campaign - beatable teams in the group and then a last gasp goal by the U.S of A...

and Slovenia don't even make it into the last 16.

So then, what else happened in Group C...

The draw of England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia was greeted by the headlines 'easy' in the English press and, while this is obviously disrespectful of the other teams' abilities - and you should never write a team off, England did look strong, very strong favorites.

Coming into the competition then - England qualified after one of their most successful campaigns ever - making it to South Africa with two games to spare. They even looked impressive in the majority of games, especially the home and away victories over Croatia. In fact they were the highest scorers in World Cup qualifying - so there would be fire power and mots of it when they took to the pitch.

USA were England's stiffest competition - a stubborn if not sensational side they always seem to qualify for the tournament in recent years. They put in a very impressive performance at the Confederations Cup last year, beating European Champions Spain on course to an unfortunate defeat to Brazil in the final.

Slovenia looked a decent team in qualifying and were well up for their first World Cup tournament. They qualified through a play off win against Russia - a team with more than a few stars and a very competent manager at the time - so Slovenia would not be phased by the the big teams waiting in South Africa.

Algeria were perhaps the weakest team in the group, with few players known to the wider world. My own allegiance was tested by the appearance of Wolves midfielder Adlene Guedioura in their squad - more of a player for their future though I feel. Algeria would be encouraged by the tournament taking place on African soil however, and also the way they had qualified - by denying their arch rivals Egypt a place in the finals.

OK - so what did happen I hear you ask, because you have obviously been waiting to find out from this very page...

Well, England started very strongly - for the entire first 10 minutes of the World Cup they were unbeatable trojans - destined to go on and hold the trophy aloft - no-one would come near them. Unfortunately, they would never again reach anywhere near that promise in the other 350 minutes or so that they played at the tournament.

When Steven Gerrard put the ball into the back of the net so early against the USA it was looking so rosey. To be fair, though they looked shakey at the back at times and weren't attacking with the verve they are capable of, it did look like England would see out this game. Then something very Bizarre happened - Robert Green - Fabio Capello's Number 1 choice keeper no less - appears to throw the ball into his own net! Now, any reasoning/excuses about the ball, the pitch, tae altitude - forget them now - a professional footballer should not lose concentration in that way.


Elsewhere in the first round of games Slovenia defeated Algeria 1 - 0 in another uninspiring game that featured a goalkeeping error. So, Slovenia were surprisingly in the driving seat as we went into game 2, but England had played their toughest apponenets in the group and should fear nothing from what remained...

Well, USA came back from 2 goals down to draw 2-2 with Slovenia and England produced a pitiful performance in a goalless draw with Algeria. Calls of unrest in the camp, and team choice crticism followed but it still remained wide open as we entered the final games in the group.

England produced a slightly better display in their final game in Group C. They attacked and pressured Slovenia and a few lively displays - most notably Jermain Defoe with the only goal of the game - spurred them to victory. They still didn't take all of the chances that came their way, and could have been caught on the break once or twice. They would need to improve if they were to do damage at the tournament, but they were through and looking good to top the group as USA and Algeria were drawing 0-0 as the England game ended.

Until...deep into injury time up stepped Landon Donovan for the USA to fire the Americans ahead of Slovenia and England and into top place in the group. Thus meaning that England would not play the second placed group D team, but the first - most likely to be old rivals Germany. A massive game that should happen much later in a tournament than the second round.

England could have had a potential Semi-final with the winners of Uruguay and South Korea. Instead they would need to get past Germany with the thought that Argentina would most likely be waiting in the next game! Reasons to panic? Damn right there was.

A Ballsy Yet Bashful Breakdown of Group B

And on to the second group, featuring Greece, South Korea, Nigeria and Argentina. A solid group filled with the potential for shocks, goals and the great unknown.

Greece had provided one of the greatest shocks in footballing history by winning Euro 2004 although they did it with an super defensive tactical style. By sticking with Otto Rehhagel, the ancient architect of that victory they certainly suggested a stubborn wilyness but I wasn't alone in hoping lightning couldn't strike twice for a journeyman like Angelos Charisteas. South Korea had achieved some similarly spectacular results on home soil in 2002, albeit fading at the semi final stage. That run was based on the shrewdness of Guus Hiddink, a few dodgy decisions and a team that worked incredibly hard. That last factor was the only thing they could definitely rely on in sweet SA and was typified by the efforts of the legendary Park Ji Sung.

The disappointment looked liked it might come from South America. With the craziest coach in the land who had led them through a sticky qualification by utilising a shedload of players and taking a hammering in Bolivia only brave could have backed Maradona to repeat his playing success on the sidelines, even with an amazing Messi dictating play. Nigeria have a population of 150 million but have yet to translate those numbers into footballing success, barring a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Legends like Jay-Jay Okacha had fallen when the going got tough in previous tournaments, perhaps players like the mighty Martins might lift the Super Eagles up where they belong. This was a group where anyone might sneak points from anyone but only with plenty of grunting.

Unfortunately Nigeria again failed to live up to promise. So much so that President Goodluck Jonathan threatened to withdraw them from international competition for two years to sort their heads out. Lars Lagerback had obviously instilled some organisation in the defence and the attack still threatened but individual mistakes cost, and the World Cup is where they started paying. In goal Enyeama pulled off some special saves that earned him a man of the match award against Greece but it was a howler against Greece that added evidence to the Jabulauni inquest. Whilst cruising against the insipid Grecians a split second of madness from Kaita also helped snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. And after fighting back against the South Koreans Yakubu missed a chance Wayne Rooney would've scored that cost them dear in the final reckoning.

Fortunately the exciting Argentina turned up and played some of the best football of the group stages. They scored goals, survived aggressive marking tactics and allowed a cheeky bearded chappy to gesticulate wildly on the bench. Veron made Sir Alex look an idiot but then Messi just wasn't quite there,despite a flash or two he was either hustled out, too tired or not really that good. But then everybody else had done plenty so there would be a chance to for the young man to try again against a fragile Mexico defence in the last 16.

It turned out to be a fight between two of the noughties most unexpected success stories for second place. In a win for hard graft over hard tackles the Koreans edged it by a point, mainly thanks to their only convincing display, a opening 2-0 victory and the Greeks failing to grind out a point in their final game. Frankly neither were overly convincing, second spot was the Nigerians for the taking and it was another case of quite near and still so far for an African team.

The Amazing and Agonising Account of Group A

And it begins...

African hosts, Super light footballs, high altitude conditions, ticketing issues. Have I missed any of the controversies that went down ahead of the World Cup? Well there were plenty and it would take plenty of space for me to discuss them here - but if you want a bit of banter on these issues then do share your views and comment as I will be pleased to get back to you on them.

...But for now to Group A and South Africa, France, Mexico and Uruguay. An interesting group made up of stronger teams than the hosts would have liked and leaving them a difficult task to make it into the last 16.

South Africa then entered the competition without a recognised goal scorer after deciding that record holding striker Benni McCarthy was not deserving of a place. Their team also looked to lack strength in depth - with only a handful of players that ply their trade at the highest level.
Mexico looked like a dangerous attacking side that could put some excellent moves together that would tear through opposition defences. However, as seen in a warm up game against England they tended to lack in the finish and were very vulnerable at the back.
France were lucky to have qualified at all after a disputable goal against Ireland (I say disputable - it was downright cheating). However, now that Henry's handball had got them into the finals - they surely had the stars to rally and produce on the big stage.
Uruguay have some fire power in attack with Forlan and Suarez who have both been in great form this season. Though with few other star players their chances of going far seemed to be in doubt.

Well the first game was greeted by the expected raptures from home fans as they enjoyed seeing their team open the World Cup. Both teams seemed to struggle with expectations, but a wonder goal arrived from South Africa's Tshabalala. This looked like it had made the fans dreams come true until Mexico took advantage of poor defending and struck an equalizer through Rafael Marquez.

Unfortunately hind sight has shown me that the second game was prophetic of the tournament as a whole. To give them their due Uruguay did a good job to stifle the attacking threat of France, but it is a shame that teams seem more scared to lose than they are willing to gamble on a win. For France's part, the emergence of stories about their rifts in the camp seemed to be taking its toll on team performances.

The rest of the group games followed suit for France with them getting thoroughly outplayed by Mexico - who beat them 2- 0 with France looking particularly ineffective up front. Despite which the manager's seeming rift with Thierry Henry left the legend languishing on the bench. France then were beaten by South Africa in their final game - where they were simply out done for passion. I make this statement now - France = worst team of the World Cup - discuss.

South Africa's win against France gave them an outside chance of reaching the last 16 despite their thrashing by Uruguay in the second game. Uruguay had seemed to open up and play more against a perceived weaker opposition and this allowed their two star strikers into the game to cause a lot of damage. Unfortunately for South Africa, Mexico's defence held up stronger that theirs against the Uruguay attack and despite a 1-0 defeat in the final game it was Mexico who progressed on goal difference.

Final Thought:  

France - Disgraceful Attitude, South Africa - Unlucky to have a difficult group, Mexico - promising but suspect in defence, Uruguay - Classy in attack and well organised

And it's a hello from me...

You have stumbled across a blog that promises plenty of feisty debate. You are quite the lucky one. You will notice the question mark in the title. We love football but rest assured that that love is not quite as unconditional as that of young Pele. The feast we've just devoured from South Africa is a perfect case in point. Given the vicous reaction of the press to the performance of the Netherlands it appears that the ugly side of the game reared its ugly head in front of millions of innocent children.

But we'll get to that final in due course, there's still plenty of potentially controversial thoughts to be offered on the earlier rounds in the coming days. As Richard has pointed out these thoughts will come thick and fast. We'll disappear off on random tangents while trying to pull it back to The (allegedly) Best League in the World. Believe that whatever your opinions be we love feedback, arguments and suggestions but equally be warned that our responses will be suitably sharp.

Meanwhile a quick introduction to the second rambler...

Jo

Last season I went to games at the New Den, Molineux, Griffin Park, Craven Cottage and Wembley for a Play Off final. I'm a Liverpool fan. I've only been to Anfield once in my life, for a game we lost to Sunderland. That might give some people ammunition to attack with, rest assured you'll come up against defences sturdier than John Terry.

My greatest footballing adventure was a trip to Portugal for Euro 2004. Seven games in six stadium in three sunny cities including the joy that was England v Croatia at the Estadio da Luz and then the oddness of watching Svens Men get knocked out in a cinema under the Jose Alvalade. Cracking stuff.

Greatest night was THAT night in Istanbul. Which I watched in Aberystwyth. I did have to do a shot of Black Sambuca for every goal we scored. It was pretty ace. Next season I'm most excited about not knowing what's going to happen with Liverpool. It's very much up in the air.

Hello and Welcome

This is the inaugural post for 'The Beautiful Game?' and you are lucky enough to be reading it. Whether you are a long suffering friend of Richard and/or Jo, or your search for attractive sports stars has has taken you wildly off course, I hope you will enjoy reading what we have to write. Without further-ado We welcome you into our e-home and shall make a couple of short introductions before we push on with the good stuff.

The Beautiful Game?

The intention with this blog is to debate the wonderful, frustrating and downright sexy world of Association Football (or Soccer if you will/must).
Initially we are offering up our own post mortem on the international festival of football that was World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Then when the new season hits we will bring you a (roughly) weekly dose of our insights into what has gone down in and around the game. Being England based we will unashamedly be prioritising discussion of the Premier League, however at times we will delve into hot topics elsewhere and try to bring our own brand of rhetoric to the table.
So to put it short this will be the outlet of two people's mad ramblings about a game - and those two people are:

Richard

A life long Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, my main focus in this blog is to lay down a record of my teams exploits while the good times roll (because it surely can't last for ever).
The best player I saw at the Molineux last year - other than the entire Wolves team of course - was Carlos Tevez. Absolute dynamite in a Manchester City team that just ripped through the Wolves defence. I would not have bet against them at that point in the season last year and they will surely be a force this time out.
I have an innate hatred for the big teams - such as the Sky 4 - and I'm sure this prejudice will come out in my blogs.
I live in Birmingham and manage to get to a fair number of games; so I'll be looking forward to giving the full picture that you don't often get on highlights programmes.
This season I am mostly looking forward to the big derbies between Wolves and West Brom. A game that deserves to be played in the best league in the world.