Live The Pitch

In the final round of 16 knockout match, Spain defeated Portugal 1-0.  The world # 1 Spain looked the part as they destroyed Portugal in every facet of the game.  The Spanish midfield controlled the flow of the match from the first whistle.

In the opening half neither team could break through to get on the board.  Spain were very patient on the ball and looked content to just not make any mistakes.  Portugal on the other hand sat back and tried to counter the Spanish defense every chance they could.

As the second half began the game started to open up a bit with both teams taking chances going forward.  Portugal had a great chance to take the lead when Carlos Puyol’s clearance off his thigh almost went in for an own goal early in the second half.

David Villa finally got in behind the Portugal defense in the 63rd minute beating Eduardo with a great finish under the crossbar.  Villa was on the end of another great demonstration of combination play from the Spanish midfield.  Xavi Hernandez  controlled the midfield throughout the match and it was his creative flick that put Villa in behind the Portuguese defense.

With Portugal pushing forward late and getting decent opportunities at goal things turned ugly in the 89th minute when Ricardo Costa was shown a straight red card for his blatant elbow to Joan Capdevilla.

Spain did however recieve its first yellow card of the tournament when Xabi Alonso was punished for his late challenge.  One yellow card through 5  is extremely rare.  That shows that their technical ability rarely puts them into situations where a foul is needed.

After their opening loss to Switzerland, Spain has been on great form in their last 3 matches  Look for Spain to make a deep run in the cup if they keep performing at this level.

Group G came to a close today with Brazil and Portugal ending in a 1-1 draw and Ivory Coast defeating North Korea 3-0.  Brazil finished on top of the group with 7 points with Portugal finishing second with 5 points.

Brazil had the majority of possession throughout their match against Portugal but could not break through to get the winner.   Without star midfielder Kaka, Brazil did not show their creativeness in the midfield.  Luis Fabiano had a few decent chances and will need to find the back of the net in knockout stage.

Cristiano Ronaldo was up top alone for Portugal and will need some help if they want to go deep into the tournament.  He did however have a decent match as he caused the Brazilian defense problems all match even though he was consistently double and triple teamed.

Ivory Coast needed help and a ton of goals to get through but the soccer gods didn’t cooperate for them.  Ivory Coast did however finish on a high note as they crushed North Korea 3-0.  Yaya Toure, Romaric, and Soloman Kalou each found the net for Ivory Coast.  Ivory Coast finished with 4 points and North Korea finished with 0.

HAHA just kidding!  That will surely be the headline tomorrow in the North Korean press!  North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will surely not let his people know that his beloved soccer team lost!  After hearing that the North Korean fans in attendance at the game were actually paid Chinese actors you never know what North Koreans will hear.

In the first match of the day New Zealand and Slovakia would end in a 1-1 draw.   New Zealand earned their first ever point in a World Cup match.  Winston Reid scored a brilliant goal for New Zealand in the 93rd minute to earn the point.  Reid found himself open on the back post and elevated above the defense to head it into the net.

Slovakia took the lead in the 50th minute when Robert Vittect headed home a great service as he got in behind the New Zealand defense.  Vittect appeared to be offside after seeing the replay but the linesman was a few yards out of position and could not see the advantage.  Slovakia had held New Zealand to just a few dangerous chances near the goal throughout the match, so to lose points this late in the match was devastating.

In the second match of the day Portugal and Ivory Coast drew 0-0.  Neither team will come away with this result happy as there was never a good flow to the match.  Ivory Coast had more chances but Portugal had their share as well.  Portugal looked like a one man team with Cristiano Ronaldo being the only threat.  Didier Drogba would be used as a second half sub, but failed to get involved like his usual self.

In the late match, Brazil defeated North Korea 2-1.  Brazil dominated from whistle to whistle but failed to break through until the 55th minute when Maicon got in behind the North Korean and his cross beat the goalkeeper at the near post finding the side netting.

North Korean goalkeeper Ri Myung-Guk anticipated the ball coming into the six but the shot would surprise him and beat him near side.

Brazil doubled their lead in the 72nd minute after Robinho played an excellent through ball to a streaking Elano who drilled sent it in with a great first touch shot.

North Korea made things interesting when they caught Brazil sleeping in the 89th minute when Ji Yun-Nam dribbled past two defenders before beating Julio Cesar with a great left footed goal.  It was too little too late in the end for North Korea but they will come away with this result as a huge moral victory.  Yes, Brazil could have easily won by a wider margin if the finished their chances, but North Korea played with a lot of fight and stayed organized throughout the match.

Here is a great video of the goals from today by David Matthews with some great music over at Deadspin.com-Your Culturally Insensitive World Cup Goal Roundup For June 15th