Worst. Day. Yet. - Day 15 Round-Up

So, the final day of group games left us with a sense of 'loss', I guess...

The penultimate group to play were Group G, with a game between North Korea and Ivory Coast, and a mouth-watering tie between Brazil and Portugal. It was going to be a good game... No it wasn't. It was a 0-0, bore draw, and I nearly slit my wrists. It was poor. The game between North Korea and Ivory Coast was the best of the lot. Yaya Toure put the ball in the Korean net after 14 minutes, with Romaric doubling the lead after 20 minutes. Salomon Kalou put a goal in with 10 minutes to go, to finish the game 3-0, but it wasn't enough for the Ivory Coast, and Brazil went through as group winners, with Portugal runners-up. To watch the 'highlights' of the Brazil-Portugal game, click here, and for the North Korea-Ivory Coast game, click here.

So after that debacle, we expected a treat from Group H to really top off the group stages. We had Chile vs. Spain, and Switzlerand vs. Honduras, with a goal from both Chile and Switzlerand knocking European champions Spain out the tournament. It was all poised so nicely. We had another bore draw from Switzlerland and Honduras, and it meant everything was down to the other game. Spain took the lead through a stunning goal from David Villa - the best of the tournament so far, in my opinion. Andres Iniesta then doubled the lead, and then sent Spain through. Chile pulled one back through Rodrigo Millar, but it wasn't enough, but it did still however send both teams through - Spain as winners, and Chile as runners-up. To see the highlights of the Chile vs. Spain game, click here, and for the Switzerland vs. Honduras game, click here.

Knockout Games
Brazil vs. Chile
Spain vs. Portugal

The Controversial Couple - Day 10 Round-Up

A bit of an odd one, if I'm honest. It was a bit of a scary day, if you were a player, and a good day, if you're a ref who likes the colour red.

Today began with Slovakia vs. Paraguay. It was probably one of the best games of the tournament - it was attacking, it was quick, and it was very entertaining. Paraguay took the lead in the 27th minute through a beautiful goal from Enrique Vera, who curled the ball into the bottom corner of the net with the inside of his boot. It continued the period of play where everything was Paraguay. There weren't many more shots, just some very skillful football, but Carlos Riveros finished the game off with 4 minutes to go, with a brilliant strike from the edge of the box. The game finished 2-0, and if you want to watch the highlights, click here.

Next for us were the delights of Italy vs. New Zealand. Now this game would normally have Italy written all over it, but after their poor performance in the first game, and New Zealand's renewed efforts, it was gonna be close. And it was. Having gone ahead through a Shane Smeltz goal in the seventh minute, New Zealand lost their attacking abilities, and became very defensive. This allowed Italy to fight back, and the world champions converted a penalty in the 29th minute, after Daniele De Rossi was hauled down in the box. The game finished that way, but only after Chris Wood very nearly gave New Zealand an unlikely win over the reigning world champions. To watch the highlights, click here.

Brazil vs. Ivory Coast topped things off tonight, and it was a brilliant, brilliant spectacle. Luis Fabiano kicked things off with a beautiful goal for Brazil in the 25th minute - chipped, kicked, flicked and struck his way into the net. It stayed like that till half time, until Fabiano scored again, with a lovely little effort into the net. Elano picked up goal number 3 in the 62nd minute, and all looked lost for the Ivory Coast. That was, until, Didier Drogba stuck one in the back of the net with 10 minutes to go, but Brazilian coach Dunga shut up shop, and stopped everything from passing. Kaka picked up two yellows, to equal a red, after a shocking and blatant dive and feint from Abdelkader Keita, who ran into Kaka's shoulder, and went down clutching his face. Appalling, and I hope FIFA look into it. But anyway, 3-1 was enough to secure Brazil's place in the second round, and if you want to watch the highlights, you can find them here.

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...

Group G - Cote d'Ivoire

Officially known as Cote d'Ivoire, I've decided to go by the English translation of Ivory Coast, mainly because of ease of being able to say it!

If they were in any other group, they'd be walking through. But Brazil and Portugal? Gonna be tough. Look to have an amazingly strong team as well this time around. Just a shame. Hope they can pull off a big shock.

Capital City: Yamoussoukro
Captain: Didier Drogba
Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson
Star Man: Aruna Dindane - after a successful season at Portsmouth, theres plenty of interest from across Europe for the big striker. But can he pull off some decent appearances, with Drogba and Kalou in the squad too?
Group Games: Portugal (15th June); Brazil (20th June); Korea DPR (25th June)
Adam's Prediction: If only they were in another group.... Can see them losing to both Brazil and Portugal. 3rd in Group G.

Full Squad:
Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren, Belgium), Aristides Zogbo (Maccabi Netanya, Israel), Daniel Yeboah (Asec, Ivory Coast) 

Defenders: Souleymane Bamba (Hibernian, Scotland), Arthur Boka (VB Stuttgart, Germany), Benjamin Brou Angoua (Valenciennes, France), Guy Demel (Hamburg SV, Germany), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal, England), Steve Gohouri (Wigan Athletic, England), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes, France), Kolo Toure (Manchester City, England) 

Midfielders: Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso(Monaco, France), Abdelkader Keita (Galatasaray, Turkey), Emmanuel Kone (International Curtea Arges, Romania), Gervinho (Lille, France), Koffi N'Dri Romaric (Sevilla, Spain), Cheik Ismael Tiote (Twente Enschede, Holland), Yaya Toure (Barcelona, Spain), Didier Zokora (Sevilla, Spain) 

Forwards: Aruna Dindane (Lekhwiya, Qatar), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, England), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea, England), Bakary Kone (Olympique Marseille, France)