Bored Bored Bored - Day 5 Round-Up

I think the title sums up the day - boring. Every. Single. Game.

We began with New Zealand vs. Slovakia, and you could tell why it was made the lunchtime kick-off. It's like asking if you want a Netto own burger, or a piece of New York steak. This was the burger of Group F. It was quite a slow-paced game, with very few shots on target - 3 each, I believe. Robert Vittek gave Slovakia the lead in the 50th minute, and with seconds remaining in stoppage time, Winston Reid popped up to equalise for New Zealand, and earn them their first ever World Cup point. Quite a special moment really. To watch the highlight, click here.

Next up was the first game in Group G - Ivory Coast vs. Portugal. It was meant to be one of the highlights of the group stages - emphasis on the 'meant to be'... What a shocker. Absolutely appalling. I watched the game, and actually fell asleep in the 50th minute. It was that dull. The best bit of the game was Ronaldo's flick, cutback and shot that struck the post. That was the lot. Ronny even attempted to get players booked at every opportunity to spruce things up a bit - thanks Ronny, but you're still a knob. For the shortest highlights in WC history (it has to be...), click here.

Finally, we had Brazil vs. North Korea. Now, with Brazil ranked number one in the world, and with the North Koreans ranked 105th, we expected an absolute rout. How far from the truth we were. Brazil couldn't put a chain of passes together in the first half thanks to Korea DPR's zonal marking, which worked brilliantly. It meant they went in at 0-0, but once the break was over, it was game over. Maicon scored a freak cross/goal that beat the keeper at the near post, and Elano finished the game after 72 minutes with a great goal. Ji Yun-Nam scored late on for the North Koreans, but it was too little, too late, and the game finished 2-1. To see the highlights, click here.

We're now all hoping for a better day tomorrow, seeing as most viewers fossilised during the games today...