The Group Stage of the World Cup has ended and we have some surprising and some not so surprising results in front of us. Here’s a lowdown of each group, followed by a look at the star performers and under-performers till now at SA2010 :
Group A
Oh boy. A blogger’s delight. The drama surrounding France’s capitulation certainly made up for the lack of goals during the first week of the competition. Les Bleus suffered from terrible blues, losing 2 of their 3 matches. South Africa battled hard but lacked that X-factor which often separates the average sides from he good ones. The two most deserving sides in Uruguay and Mexico went through.
Group B
Argentina had a horrible WC qualification campaign but showed no signs of poor form once the real deal started. Nigeria underperformed and South Korea were the better side when compared to the other remaining team – Greece. No real surprises.
Group C
In what was probably the easiest group on paper, both England and USA made heavy weather of progression. The Three Lions looked more like a bunch of scared kittens while USA rode their luck, but both came through eventually. Apropos to Slovenia though, who were in it till the dying moments, quite literally.
Group D
By far the most unpredictable group. A young German side met stiff competition from Ghana and Serbia. Australia were expected to be more of a threat, but their ageing side were not up to it. Again, the two strongest sides in Germany and Ghana made it.
Group E
A real shocker. Defending champs Italy looked woeful. No creativity, no impetus, no organization, and most surprising of all, a leaky defence. They clearly missed Pirlo. Unfancied New Zealand remained unbeaten throughout, drawing all their 3 matches, but winning hearts. Paraguay looked the best in the group and made it to the next round along with a talented Slovakian outfit.
Group F
Holland had a straightforward if not comfortable run. Cameroon failed to turn up. Denmark were expected to progress, but Japan stole their thunder with a spirited showing. Easily the best Asian side on view.
Group G
The ‘Group of Death’ didn’t turn out to be all that deadly after all. Brazil finished on top, as expected. Portugal didn’t concede a goal but aside from the North Korea game, looked nothing special. Ivory Coast were a big disappointment and they would be hurt to miss out to a Portugal side considered their equal. North Korea tried their best but their inexperience on the big stage showed eventually.
Group H (updated till before the last two games)
Before the tourney started, I had expected Chile to be the team to watch out for, and they proved me right. Excellent wins over Honduras and Switzerland ensures progression irrespective of the result against Spain, who were stunned by Swiss early on. Still expect Spain to go through, but mark my words, they won’t win the World Cup.
Now, for the hits and misses so far J
The Dudes
Diego Forlan : The Uruguayan striker has been simply sensational, being the best forward on view thus far, and that too by a distance. Pace, power, movement, accuracy, vision – you name it, he has it. France, South Africa and Mexico will vouch for it.
Mesut Ozil : The 20 year old playmaker has been a relevation. Tremendous off the ball movement, fantastic vision and a mean shot makes this German one to watch out for.
Lionel Messi : This was supposed to be Messi’s WC. And so far, he looks like he’s ready to make it his own. He hasn’t scored yet, but his performances have been to say the least, imperious.
The Duds
Wayne Rooney: Roobish. Absolute roobish. Looks like a long season with Manchester United has jaded Wayne Rooney. Gone is the fight, the hunger, the dynamism, the passion. He almost looks disinterested in the proceedings around him.
Franck Ribery: The ‘Jewel of French football’ looked an uncut diamond all along as France stuttered and stumbled on their way to humiliation. Hard to believe this is the man who had the likes of Chelsea, Man Utd, Real Madrid and Barcelona lining up for him 2 months back.
Giorgio Chiellini: Just the fact that an Italian defender is listed here tells you about the tournament he has had. Slow, inattentive and seemingly lost describe his WC outings. No wonder Juventus suffered so much this season.
And now, for the team of the tournament so far, in a 4-2-3-1 formation:
-----------------------------------------------Forlan (Uru)------------------------------------------------------
Messi ( Arg)--------------------------------Ozil (Ger)----------------------------------------Sanchez (Chi)
--------------------------------Mereiles (Por)--------------Marquez (Mex)--------------------------------
Salcido (Mex)-----------------Terry (Eng)---------------Lugano (Uru)-------------------Maicon (Bra)
------------------------------------------------Paston ( Nzl)-----------------------------------------------------
0 comments:
Post a Comment