Half time

Well its not exactly half way through the competition but today is day 11 of World Cup and the its just about completing 2 matches each of the group stages. Germany, Ecuador, England, Argentina, Holland, Portugal and Brazil are through to the Round of 16 with one game to spare.
    I could not possibly see all the games due to work commitments and the 12:30 a.m starts are not convenient on a weekday but following are my comments on the games till now.

9th Jun

Germany 4 : 2 Costa Rica.
    A great start to the World cup but the expected upset did not fructify. Plenty of goals and Paulo Wanchope lived upto his expectations. There was controversy before the start to as Jurgen Klinsmann decided to "rest" star player Michael Ballack. But Germany went through comfortably.

Poland 0 : 2 Ecuador
    So the first day upset lived to its expectation as "lowly" Ecuador beat Poland. As this was a midnight start, I missed the game. Ecuador has defeated Brazil and Argentina in qualifiers at home in Quito, but that was atributed to high altitude that city is present in.

10th June

England 1:0 Paraguay
    David Beckham freekick in the 3rd minute, curled into the box and his Paraguayan counterpart Carlos Gammara headed in a Own Goal. It was otherwise quite a boring game as England seemed happy with the lead and Paraguay did not care to attack in the first half. The English blamed the afternoon start and the heat for their lack lustre performance.

Trinidad & Tobago 0 : 0 Sweden
    An exciting game of one team attacking and the other defending with all their might. In the start of the second half, T & T were reduced to 10 men in the start of the second half. But they defended superbly and major credit should go to the West Ham goalie. Shaka Hislop.  In fact, Stern John of T & T had a late chance on a counter attack, which hit the post.

Argentina 2 : 1 Ivory Coast
    The game of the tournament till now. A late night start but a free flowing attacking football by both the teams which keeps one awake all through the night. ARgentina scored early goals but Ivory coast fought back gallantly with Drogba getting a late goal.

11th June

Serbia & Montenegro 0 : 1 Holland
    An early individual goal by Arjen Robben (although the pass by Robin van Persie set him up perfectly), was the only goal of the game. S & M, after the introduction of Koroman, looked menacing. But Holland looked self -  assured.

Mexico 3 : 1 Iran
    A very intersting match up. It was 1:1 till late in second half. Then the Iranian goalkeeper and defender make a silly passing mistake and the deadlock is broken in the 76th minute and then in the 79th, Zinha heads home a beautiful header to finish it off.

Angola 0 :1 Portugal
    The former colonisers should have creamed through their former colony. In the end, it turned out be a close game. A late start and missed it as not much was expected.

12th June

Australia 3 : 1 Japan
    An early kick -off,hence had see only the repeat telecast. Japan were leading till the 84th minute. But Guus Hiddink's brilliant substitution of bringing on Tim Cahill, gave the Aussies a victory. Cahill scored twice and Aloisi scored the last. 3 goals in six minutes!!!

Italy 2 : 0 Ghana
    Early goals by Italy sealed the fate of Ghana. As mentioned in my predictions, it is very difficult to crack the defence of Italy with Cannavaro, Nesta and Zambarotta. Saw the highlights as it was  a weekday early kick off.

USA 0 : 3 Czech Republic
    The World Ranking 5 team were taught a lesson in football by the No. 2 ranked team. I missed the first half but the second half saw a cracker of a goal by the new Arsenal buy, Tomas Rosicsky. But with Milan Baros and Jan Koeller both injured, Czech have a problem going ahead in the tournament.


13th June

Korea 2 : 1 Togo
    Togo were suppossed to rollover and die , but the lead this game at half time. Korea sneaked 2 goals in the second half to keep their chances alive.

France 0 : 0  Switzerland.
     A much fancied game between two teams expected to go through from the group. But it was a boring draw with France not playing as a team. Henry missed quite a few chances and Zizou was nothing like magician he is known to be. One could see arguements between Gallas, Zidane and Thuram on the pitch.

Brazil 1 : 0 Croatia
    Late night match, so missed it. But apparently it was a very dull game with Ronaldo playing a very sluggish game. The only gae came from Kaka, a strike from just outside the D area. Not a convincing start from the defending champions.


14th June

Tunisia 2 : 2 Saudi Arabia
    Nobody expected this to be a good match. Infact, I did not even care to see the highlights. But considering the 2 teams capabilities, it seems to have been a cracker of a game. Tunisia were leading half time 1:0 and the Saudis fought back to go up 2:1. Then the late equaliser gave both the teams a well deserved point.

Spain 4 : 0 Ukraine
    This was built up to be a tough game between two teams bound to go out of this group to the next round. But with Shevchenko going missing and Ukraine down to ten men due referee error, the Spanish showed what they are capable off. But then this is Spain. They will fizzle out before we know. Their biggest opponent is they themselves. Will this time they prove themrselves wrong?

Germany 1 : 0 Poland
    This was start of the second round of matches in the group stage. I saw the repeat telecast and though it was goaless till the 89th minute, it was exciting.


15th June
   
Ecuador 3 : 0 Costa Rica
    Ecuador are now the surprise second round qualifiers. They have thown out the Poles and now face Germany for their last match to decide who will top the group. Who would have thought of such a scenario. This is football World cup at its best.

England 2 : 0 Trinidad & Tobago
    Till the 84th minute of this game, it was draw. And at that point it looked thats how it will end. Again a Beckham long ball saved the day with Crouch heading it for a goal. Then in the 89th minute Steven Gerrard hit a characteristic goal from outside the penalty area. This game saw the return of Rooney but put in serious doubts England's capabilities to breakdown defences.  For their part, T & T played a very defensive game with no intenetion to attack.  Their best chance was from corner in the first half, which John Terry kicked out just off the goal line.

Sweden 1 : 0 Paraguay
    Could not see the game, but it was a frustrating game with a late goal from Freddie Ljunberg keeping the Swedes alive in the Tournament and the Paraguayans out. If the English beat the Swedes in their last game and T & T defeat Paraguay by a huge margin, then T & T can go through because of goal difference.

16th June

Argentina 6 : 0 Serbia & Montenegro
    The group of death fizzled out. This was a 6:30 p.m start (IST) and hence missed the game.  As the scoreline  suggests, it was one - way traffic. I could only see the highlights, but what skill and team work by Argentina. The second goal constituted 24 passes. The last bit, Riquelme to Saviola who curves the ball to Cambiasso. Cambiasso pushes it ahead to Crespo and runs into the box. Crespo back heels it to Cambiasso who scores, is simply magic.

Holland 2 : 1 Ivory Coast
    Again the opponents of the Ivory Coast go 2 goals up and they fight their way back but fail at the last hurdle. The have to be the most unlucky losers of the first round. They played excellent football but their opposition were just too good.

Mexico 0 : 0 Angola
    Sometimes I am thankful,  did not stay late and watch some games. This had to be one of them. The highlights were boring!!!

17th June

Portugal 2 : 0 Iran
    Deco proved why he is considered to be one of the best attacking midfielder and playmaker in the game. A superb strike of a  moving ball was perfect.

Czech Republic 0 : 2 Ghana

    A 9:00 p.m start I missed because of the stupid cable fellow. The upset I had predicted on a SMS competition came true, with even my Man of the Match prediction (Michael Essien) right! The Czech without their 2 star strikers have a tough task now to qualify.

Italy 0 : 0 USA
    In the end this was a 10 vs 9 men game, with the Uruguaying referee having his say on the game. Though US felt hard done with both their red cards, I felt they were justified. But USA overall had a great game and now the group is wide open.

18th June

Japan 0 : 0 Croatia
    A very dull and slow game which deservedly ended in a draw. Both teams did not know how to score a goal. Srna of Croatia missed a penalty!

Brazil 2: 0  Australia
    If the earlie game had a result, then the start of this game would not have been as it was. Australia just needed a draw so they sat back and let the Brazilians in. It was goaless till half time. Then early in the second half, a brilliant pass by Ronaldinho to Ronaldo who pulled 3 defenders towards him and then passed to Adriano who completed it.  Brazilians looked sluggish and tired. They will have to pick up pace to go through this tournament.

France 1 : 1 Korea
Missed the game, but apart from the surprise result from the Koreans, the game seemsto be have been a dull affair. This has thrown the group open for anybody to go through. France are lucky to face Togo for their last game, so they  might go through, though they do not deserve it. The Korean fans were apparently the star of the show.

19th June

Togo 0 : 2 Switzerland
    As expected, Frei and Barreta gave the Swiss the lead. Togo are the pushovers of the tournament.

Saudi Arabia 0 : 4 Ukraine
    The Spain thrashing hurt the Ukrainese. The way they came back against the Saudis, was magnificient. It was a great team performance and taught the Saudis a thing or two about football.

Spain 3 : 1 Tunisia
    This game proved why football critics are afraid to predict success to Spain. They were trailing till the 71st minute. This shows the mercurial behavior of the Spanish.

Group H Predictions

Teams:
Saudi Arabia
Spain
Ukraine
Tunisia

    Saudi Arabia have gone through the whole qualification without losing a single game. The credit goes to their excellent goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid. But the problem with Saudi's is that they do not have -players with the European experience. So they do well in Asian conditions but their past 2 world cup record has been abysmal.
    Spain, the perennial under-achievers, are again expected to do well. They have the complete array of players in all positions. Though the inspirational Raul is injured for the opning game, the spanish have Fernnado Torres and Luis Garcia. With a midfield of Xavi and Xabi Alonso, defence of Carlos Puyol and Salgado and Iker Casillas between the sticks, one has to rate them as favorites to go all the way. But the biggest problem with Spain has been their internal politics. The Catalan versus Madrid divide has played to their troubles.
    Ukraine were on of the first teams to qualify out of Europe. But they are seen as a one man army. It is that great man Andriy Shevchenko, on whom the team depends. Hence when about a month back, Andriy got injured, the media was writing off the team. But Ukraine have chance. They must definitely beat Saudi and Tunisia.
    Tunisia could be a surprise package. They qualified for the Euro'04, though they did not go any further. But here they are in a weak group. Also, most of their players play in Europe makes them all the more potent.

Predictions: Spain followed by Ukraine.

Group G Predictions

Teams:
France
Korea
Switzerland
Togo

    It is highly unlikely that any of the teams from this group will go all the way. I feel passing the second round stage will  be difficult. France, based on the quality of their players, can do anything. Also media here in India fed by the English Premier League, feel Theiry Henry to be an undoubted star of the cup. But Henry has a record going missing the big games and Championships. With Trezeguet, Zidane, Viera, Riberry, Gallas and Makelele, they have a good set of stars in the field. But they have Jean Alain Boumsong as a defender and Fabian Barthez as the goalkeeper. Their coach, Domenech, seems to be a nut. He looks at stars and planets to select his squad. Who in their right mind would drop Giuly of Barcelona from the 23 man squad.
    Korea, by the virtue of being in a weak group, have chance of qualifying for the second round. With Sung Ji Park, their most famous import to ManU and a successful coach in Dick Advocaat, the Korean can beat any team from their group.
    Switzerland are a young side. Their team revolves around their striker Alexander Frei. They had a 1-1 draw against Italy days before the World cup in a warm up game. But as explained in the Group E Precitions, Italy had bad set of warm up games. Switzerland might get out of the group, by defeating Korea, but won't go any ahead.
    Togo are an absolutely unknown entity. Their only player I have heard of is Adbeyor who plays for Arsenal. Their coach has walked out of the team after the start of the cup because of some dispute. They will find it difficult to get a single point.

Predictions: France followed by Korea.

Group F Predictions

Teams:
Australia
Brazil
Croatia
Japan

Australia, nicknamed “Socceroos”, have qualified by beating the fifth place Uruguay in penalities. They have a good team but the in a team consisting of
Brazil and Croatia, they might find progressing difficult. They have good midfielders with Marco Bresciano, Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell but the
striker role will have to be between Kewell and Viduka. Mark Viduka is an
experienced warhorse, but his age and sluggishness will hamper the Aussies.
They are unlucky to be in a tough group.

What can one say about the Brazilian team. They can put 2 teams in the competition and both would reach the final. The only weakness one can think off is an ageing defence with Cafu and Roberto Carlos and a goalkeeper (Dida) who has not been consistent for his club AC Milan in the last season. But with an attack force of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano, Juninho, Robinho and Julio
Baptista, they are unstoppable. But that is in theory. Thankfully football in
not played on paper and reputations can be destroyed within minutes of a game.

Croatia are the force they were with Suker in the 98 World cup (they won the third place in that tournament), but still have the passion and the skill to be at
the highest level. With Dado Prso as the striker and Niko Kranjcar in the
midfield, they have lot of creative options. But will they survive this tough
group will depend on the character of the team on the match day.

Japan will be exciting with their quick and athletic game. With the Brazilian great Zico as coach, one can expect a some tactical game with lot of skill. But like Australia, they are in a tough group and they will not be able to match their
performance last time at home.

Predictions: Brazil followed by Croatia

Group E Predictions

Teams:
Czech Republic
Italy
Ghana
USA

Czech Republic are according to me the best team on this group. Though Italy are considered to be the favorites of this group, I feel the Azzuris with their off – field trouble and their lack off goals in the warm up games will fall behind the Czech. The Czech are ranked no.2 in the FIFA world rankings and were semi finalists in the Euro ’04, have a very talented side. With Cech in the goal and Rosicky, Nedved and Poborsky in the midfield with Baros and Koeller as the strike force, they have all round capabilities. Their defence is a bit brittle as per evidence seen in their qualifying game against Holland, which saw even Cech make mistakes. Their players are mercurial in nature best typified by Milan Baros. Milan had a great Euro ’04 (he was the top scorer of the competition), but he had an abysmal season following that with Liverpool.
Italy will always be favorites for the cup, but the with match fixing scandals in the Serie A and Juventus likely to be relegated for their involvement, their troubles off the field are more than on the field. In the warm up games, they had a tough time finding goals against weak opposition. Defensively, they are the best with only England having as good a line up as the Azzuri. Infact, despite Zambrotta’s injury, they still look very strong with Nesta and Cannavaro in defence and Buffon in the goal. If Totti is match fit and Luca Toni and Gillardino can combine well, then they can go a long way. They have the aging Vieri and Alexander del Piero as back up in the midfield.
Ghana, another surprise from Africa, are will known for their Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien. But apart from that are unknown elements and could cause an upset with their aggressive style of football. Captain Stephen Appiah and defender Sammy Kuffour are other big names who could on their day be very dangerous.
USA, ranked no. 4 in the rankings, have surprised the world with their rankings. They have a good setup and a decent team. But they still call the game “Soccer”!!!!
Predictions: Czech Republic followed by Ghana (I know it will be Italy, but nothing wrong in being a romantic).

Group D Predictions

Teams:
Angola
Iran
Mexico
Portugal
    This is a very week group with only Portugal as the team that have  a realistic chance of going all the way. Angola, the surprise team from the African group, who nudged out the strong Nigerians, play their first game against Portugal today. This is a battle between a 400 year colony and coloniser. But apart from the emotion associated with the history, the result should be a clinical finish by the all powerful stars of Portugal.
    Iran have Ali Daei, their 37 year captain who is their inspiration but will he be able to match the pace and have the stamina to last the mordern world cup. Ali Karimi, their phenomenol midfielder, plays for Bayern Munich, must be familiar with the conditions. Lot pf Iranian player play for the German Budesliga. So if they can bring their experience and their passion for the game to the fore, they can proceed out of the group. For Iran, football is a means of bigger things than just the game. It is a political statement, a thing which they do against the wishes of their Islamic rulers. The biggest talking point of Iran is whether their controversial President, Ahmedijad be there in Germany to see his country play.
    Mexico are a strong youthful team with a great history behind them. El Tri, as they are called, could be surprise package of this world cup. A team that has been under achievers in the world cup, have a good team. With Marquez and Salcido in defence and Borgetti of Bolton Wanderers and Guillermo Franco of Villarreal as strikers, they have the setup for pulling of results. I was particlularly impressed by Guillermo Franco in the Champions League semi-final between Villarreal and Arsenal, where hough he did not score any goal, he was creating plenty of oppurtunities.
 What can one say about Portugal, they with Holland and Spain are the some the best teams not to win. The squad is filled with talent, skill and experience. They have a great defensive lineup with plenty of Chelsea stars such as Carvalho, Ferreira, Tiago and Nuno Valente from Everton. The midfield of Deco, Maniche, Hugo Viana and Luis Figo have flair and experience. Then they have Cristiano Ronaldo and Pauleta as their goalscorers. On their day, they can beat anybody. They also have the great Brazilian coach Luis Felipe Scolari.

Predictions: Protugal Followe by Iran (I have to support the Asian team over distant Mexico).

Group C Predictions

Teams:
Argentina
Holland
Ivory Coast
Serbia & Montenegro

The group fof death, we have one in all world cups, but this one is extraordinary. All four teams deserve to be in the next round.
    Argentina are , after Brazil, favorites to win the competition. With Roman Riquelme, Carlos Tevez, Hernan Crespo, Lionel Messi, Ayala, Sorin and Gabriel Heinze, they have the talent and the experience in good measure. But  they have to face Ivory Coast in their first game, who were one of he four qualifiers from Africa. All four are debutants.
Ivory coast were finalists in  the January African Nations cup, losing to the host Egypt on penalities. So if the Argentines do not start  on the right note, they might falter like last world cup in the group stages. Last time around they were grouped with arch rivals England. With Messi just recovered from injury and Heinze not having played a game for all most the whole season for ManU, it could get tricky.
    Till last week I had picked Holland to win he cup, because of their strong team, good coach in Marco van Basten and their familiarity with the conditions in Germany. But with injuries against in the friendly against Australia, doubts have been raised on the bench strength. Van Basten has dropped Roy Makaay from Bayern Munich , a prolific scorer, from the 23 man squad. Also the experienced midfielders, Edgar Davids (Totenham Hotspurs) and Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan) were not included. If the Dutch falter, media will crucify van Basten. Atleast for that sake they should make it. I feel if they get out of their group, the momentum will take them all the way.
    Ivory coast have Kolo Toure and Eboue in defence and Didier Drogba as the striker and Didier Zokaro in Midfield. They can cauase an upset are expected to be the Senegal of previous WC who reached the semi - final. But "Elephants" will find it difficult as they are expected to do well and their bench strength and defence are weak.
    Serbia & Montenegro, from the earstwhile Yugoslavia, have plenty of exciting talent and have show good form defeating Austri 6-0 in  warm game. But the group they are in too tough and they might find Argentina and Holland a bit too much.

Predictions:Argentina followed by Holland. But expecting an upset.
   

Group B Predictions

Teams:
England
Paraguay
Trinidad & Tobago
Sweden

This group is about a straight fight between England and Sweden for the first place in the group. The second place team of this group is likely to face Germany in the second round.
    Debutants Trinidad and Tobago are likely to be contenders for the worst team of the competition. Paraguay have the South American pedigree of good attacking football with a fiar share of flair players. But injury to the experienced forward, Jose Cardozo and their lack of depth will hurt them in the competition. Also, compared to Sweden and England, the German conditions will be alien to their players. Their key player will be Roque Santa Cruz, an exciting forward playing for Bayern Munich and their captain Carlos Gamarra in defence.
    Between England and Sweden, the overall feeling in the media is that England will succeed and I concur with them. England, even without Rooney, have a good structure to their team and form. They have one fo the best defensive line up and depth among all the teams. They can go a goal up and afford to defend the rest of the game, though as a strategy it might be fatal.  The feeling from the media reports is that Rooney might be fit but Steven Gerrard might be doubtful for the first game against Paraguay. But that should not be an issue as Stevie G is a big match player and should be required only by June 20, when they face Sweden.
    Sweden are an ageing side capable of beating any team on their day, but consistency might be a problem. Their hopes are tied around the form of 24 year old Juventus stiker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. If he is able to get his rhythm in a game, then the whole Swedish side can build around him and change the complexion of any game. Sweden have the likes of Hendrik Larsson (who will retire after this competition) and 28 year old Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg (who has a nagging injury he is playing with) but as mentioned earlier, they will have to push to the extreme their bodies and spirit.

Predictions: England win all three games, followed by Sweden.

Group A Predictions

Everybody is into it so why should I not indulge myself in giving predictions of the group stages of the World cup.

Group A:

Costa Rica
Ecuador
Germany
Poland

This group from the looks of it a very easy group to decide. Based on talent and experience, Poland and Germany have to go through.
Costa Rica with World ranking 26 had a good qualification round through the CONCACAF division. Costa Rica could be the surprise element from this group. Especially, considering the fact that Germany are under tremendous home pressure and have had many internal problems. There are still rumors of their key player Michael Ballack causing doubt among the media. Costa Rica face Germany in the opening game on June 9th. Could this be the repeat of the upset that occurred on 8^th June 1990 in Italy? That day was the opening game between defending champions Argentina and Cameroon, when the Lions with Roger Milla became a hero.

Germany have Michael Ballack and Bastien Schweinsteiger in their midfield to provide service to the forwards which consists of Klose and Podolski. Their problem is defence, which is very weak with a Jens Lehmann at Goal. Lehmann who had an excellent season with Arsenal in their CL run upto the final has been chosen over the veteran legend Olivier Kahn. Lehmann is a bit of a mystery. He can be spectacular and then make some very stupid errors.

Prediction: Germany followed by Costa Rica.

Friendly Fire

It had to happen. A major injury in a friendly or warm-uo game to ruin the chances of some team. The term "friendly" in football is a misquote. There is no end reward for the players in these games apart from much needed match practice. So there are no two footed tackles  with the intent to dislocate the ankle of the opponents or no elbow on the face in these games. Also players generally don't give their 100%  for the fear injury. But when they are fighting for places in a highly talented side, there is the danger of over doing oneself. Also in the heat of the moment of the game mistempered tackles and fouls do occur regularly.
    That exactly is what  seemed to have happened in the last warm -up game between Holland and Australia. The Dutch have injured three of their key first team players, namely, Philip Cocu, Wesley Sneijder and Giovanni van
Bronckhorst. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with Tim Cahill scoring the rebound of  a Mark Viduka penalty hit the crossbar. Sneijder injury is said to be more serious than other two. I am favoring Holland  to go all the way in this World cup as they are not under too much pressure unlike the hosts, Brazil or Argentina. They have a very very tough group, with any of the 4 capable of beating the other. So this injury has come at a really bad time for the Dutch. Next  week this time Holland will be playing their first game against Serbia and Montenegro. The major worry should be with injury for van Bronckhorst, as per my  knowledge,  Dutch have very good backup players in the midfield  but are a bit short on defence. Van Bronckhorst is a class act as proven by him for FC Barcelona. In Cocu, they will lose an experienced player. He is 35 year old plying his trade for PSV Eindhoven and instrumental in the domination of the club in the Dutch league and their great run in the 2004-05 Champions league season. Wesley Sneijder is a 22 year old dynamic meidfielder from Ajax who is seen as one for the future of Holland.
    Hope they recover soon and are ready to weave their magic next week. But this brings to question the use of these warm up games so close to the real competition. It is a very difficult decision to make for the team administrators and coaches. On one hand they need to see how players from diverse clubs gel together as a team. The pace, co-ordination and attitude of all the players of the team must be in sync with what is expected by the coach. But like mentioned earlier, the fight for the place in the first team might push the players to take unwarranted risks and cause problems for the team as a whole.