The Great Performers and Entertainers

I didn't update for 2 days because of my exam on Friday. Yes, I know what luck having exams during the World Cup. Fortunately it would all be over by the knock-out rounds.

On the bright side, I did catch the Argentina-S&M match.. and was thouroughly rewarded. 6-0 just showed the masterclass of Argentina, and S&M looked no where near the side which qualified so convincingly at the World Cup. Masterclass by the South Americans indeed!

I truth, it was always going to be easy against 10 man. But Argentina took their chances, and created them too. The pick of my goals was Cambiasso's goal. It was a fantastic team goal, you can count the passes they had before it ended up in the back of the net! Most of the passes were one-touch passes as well. People get the wrong idea of Joga Bonito if they are not avid players of the game. It is not about doing spectacular tricks all the time, it's about great team passing and movement like Argentina has shown. That's Joga Bonito.

Likewise, Ghana had shown flair and freedom in their outing against Czech Republic. And if Petr didn't put the Cech in Czech Republic, the scoreline could have been far more embarrassing. 2-0 didn't justify the match which the Ghanians controlled from start to finish. Their team work was fantastic, and their passing was crisp. The had monster stamina as they attacked and defended as a team. When they lost the ball, there was quickly at least 8 men behind the ball. When they attacked - even with a comfortable lead, there was at least 4 against 3 in favour of the African attackers. The match shouldn't have ended 2-0. The Ghanians were wasteful in their over enthusiasm, getting caught offside on the break too often, and shooting right at Czech keeper Cech.

The one that should have counted was the last goal that would have made it 3-0 was ruled offside. That was not offside! The officials got it dead wrong and lucky for the them, the Ghanians didn't pay for it. Clearly when the ball was passed to Muntari, Pimpong (the man who passed it) had already broken the offside trap. The rules say you cannot pass it behind the last defender - but not if you had already beaten him! The goal should have stood. A 3-0 scoreline would reflect the match more. Though if I were to describe the match, I would say it should have ended 6-0.

Well, one more match from that group later in Italy vs USA. I think Italy would walk away with a victory here. With their new-look lineup of Luca Toni, Gillardino and Iaquinta looking in top form. They are solid as ever at the back, with the name of Nesta first to spring into mind. Although, the Italians are known for screwing up simple matches in big tournaments, I don't see them screwing up this match. I would say it would win big 3-0. Or the American's might find a consolation to end the match 3-1.

Till tomorrow's games. Good luck!

Tomorrow's predictions:
Japan v Croatia... 0-4 (Or a big winning margin like 3-0 at least)
Brazil v Australia.. 1-0 (If they continue to play Ronaldo)
France v South Korea... 1-0 (though its a massive 9.00 for a SK win)