Live The Pitch

The lone African country remaining in the 2010 FIFA World cup, Ghana, fell 4-2 in penalty kicks to Uruguay.  The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and stayed scoreless throughout the overtime periods.  Ghana were the better team for the majority of the match, but both nations had great chances at goal to win the game in regulation and in the overtime periods.

Ghana took the lead in the 45th minute when Sulley Muntari’s shot from 30 yards out dipped and danced its way past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.  It was a great finish by Muntari, as he struck it perfectly allowing the controversial Adidas Jubalani to move like crazy.

Diego Forlan took things into his own hands as he tied the match in the 55th minute with a free kick from 20 yards out.  Forlan hit it perfectly and surprised goalkeeper Richard Kingson, as the ball dipped just underneath the crossbar.

After back and forth action the game ended 1-1.  Both teams looked exhausted at the start of overtime until Ghana took over showing their athleticism.  Ghana had numerous chances to get the winner but the Uruguayan back line stayed tight.

The drama began in the 120th minute when Ghana were awarded a free kick at the corner of the 18 yard box.  After a goal line clearance fromm the Uruguayan defense, Asamoah Gyan’s second attempt looked headed for the net, but Luis Suarez intentionally used his hands to stop it to earn a straight red card.

Gyan stepped up with the game on the line and hit the crossbar to end the match.  Gyan had Muslera beat to the left side but couldn’t keep the ball down.  Uruguay were given life when they thought all was lost.

In the shootout Gyan would come back and hit his penalty in the upper 90 to make up for his miss, but it wasn’t enough as Muslera came up huge with 2 great saves in the shootout to lead Uruguay to a 4-2 win.

This is a heartbreaking way for any team to lose but Ghana should be extremely proud of their run.  They were the youngest team in this years tournament and will be major contenders four years from now in Brazil.

Here are the full highlights at ESPN.com-Uruguay earns first WCup semifinal spot in 40 years after ousting Ghana

With fair play always at the forefront of any FIFA competition, today’s Group A games were played simultaneously. We had Mexico and Uruguay on one channel and France and South Africa on another.For those of us who want to take in every minute of World Cup action as possible it’s a hectic time. Just as the teams on the field I am constantly trying to get updates from each game to see how group play will end up.

A goal from Luis Suarez allowed Uruguay to win Group A and they will play the runner-up of Group B when the knockout stage games begin June 26. In the other game South Africa Beat a disgruntled French squad 2-1. Both South Africa and Mexico were tied with four points, but Mexico advanced on goal differential to play the winner of Group B.

For the French they stayed true to form by getting a red card in the 25th minute and playing the rest of the game down a man. Then when the match was over French coach Raymond Domenech continued to give South African coach Carlos Parreira a tongue lashing, further embarrassing his country. Just get on the first flight back France and shut the hell up! I for one have heard enough out of this joke of a national soccer team.

In the first match of the day Chile defeated Honduras 1-0.  Chile  found the back of the net in the 34th minute when Jean Beausejour deflected the ball into the goal. Mauricio Isla served a driven ball into the box from the right flank that Beausejour fought to get in.  Chile were by far the better squad and earned the victory.

The first monumental upset of the FIFA World Cup occurred in the second match of the day.  Current FIFA #1 Spain, were defeated by Switzerland 1-0 in their group opener.

In the 52nd minute Eren Derdiyok found himself through to goal when he collided with Spanish defender Gerard Pique and goalkeeper Iker Casillas causing the ball to bounce around the penalty area. After deflecting off several people Gelson Fernandes found the ball and put it into a wide open net.

Spain dominated the match in all aspects, but were unable to break through the strong Swiss back line.  Switzerland plays with a very defensive strategy as they did not concede a goal in group play at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.  This is only the second defeat in the past 48 matches for Spain.  No team has ever won the FIFA World Cup after losing their opening match of the tournament.

In the final match of the day Diego Forlan had a great  performance scoring two goals in Uruguay’s 3-0 romp of hosts South Africa.  Forlan found the net first in the 24th minute when his strike deflected of a defender and dipped under the crossbar beating goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.

South Africa’s World Cup dreams may have all been crushed in the 80th minute when Khune was red carded for tripping Luis Suarez inside his penalty box.  Forlan stepped up and crushed home a perfectly placed penalty into the upper left corner.  Uruguay added icing on the cake in extra time when Alvaro Pereira  found himself wide open on the back post to tap in the cross from the right side.

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 16th