 As we near the business end of the FIFA World Cup 2010, the matches are becoming more intense and epic, while keeping even home viewers on the edge of their seats with the on field drama. With the completion of the quarter-finals yesterday, here's a recap of those four games: Quarter-final 1: Brazil vs Netherlands:
Brazil, as usual, entered the World Cup as one of the favourites to go all the way. In the group stages they were impressive with 2 wins and a draw, and in the round of 16 marched past Chile with a convincing 3-0 victory. The Netherlands, though unbeaten up to this stage, were not expected get past the prowess of Brazil. An equalising own goal header by Felipe Melo (later credited to Wesley Sneijder) at the start of the second half, after Robinho had put Brazil ahead in the 10th minute, was the beginning of the end for Brazil. Another goal by Sneijder in the 68th minute, sealed the victory for the Dutch. Brazil with hope fading fast descended into a frenzy of fouls, which led to Melo being red-carded. The Dutch were on the right side of the biggest upset of this world cup. Quarter-final 2: Ghana vs Uruguay: It was a case of so near yet so far for the only African team remaining in the competition. A magnificent Sully Muntari strike from distance on the stroke of half-time put Ghana ahead. Early in the second half Diego Forlan levelled matters with a free kick. The match went into 30 minutes of extra time to break the deadlock, and Ghana would have had the game all but sealed, were it not for a Luis Saurez hand ball right on the goal line in the dying seconds of extra time. The referee had no hesitation in red-carding Saurez, and awarding Ghana the penalty. Asamoah Gyan, the hero in the previous match with a goal in extra time against USA, rushed the penalty and his strike rattled the crossbar. The penalty shoot-out followed there-after, with Uruguay winning 4-2 with one missed penalty from Uruguay, and two Ghana strikes saved by Uruguayan keeper, Fernando Muslera. Quarter-final 3: Argentina vs Germany: Billed to be one of the best matches of the quarter-final, with the genius of Diego Maradona's Argentina against the efficient team players of Joachim Louw's Germany. A Thomas Mueller header from a set piece put the Germans ahead as early as the 3rd minute of the match. From then on it was an upward battle for the Argentinians, who were unable to effectively penetrate the German defence. The score at half-time stood at 1-0 in favour of the Germans. By the end of the second half, Argentina were comprehensively thrashed 4-0, in a game most would have tipped Argentina to win and with a closer margin of victory. Two days of quarter-finals; two South American football heavyweights knocked out of the competition. Quarter-final 4: Spain vs Paraguay: The final match of the quarter-finals to decide Germany's opponent on the 7th at Moses Mabhida Stadium (pictured above), was no less exciting than three other matches completed. The first-half was a tale of missed opportunities and good saves from both sides. The second-half, as with most matches in this year's competition, was were the drama really started. Gerard Pique pulled Oscar Cordozo down in the Spanish box during a Paraguayan cormer kick, resulting in the referee imediately awarding a penalty to Paraguay. A brilliant save from Iker Casillas saw another penalty shot wasted. A minute later, Spain were awarded their own penaly when David Villa was brought down at the other end of the field. Xabi Alonso scored, but the referee ordered a retake because the overzealous Spanish players encrouched into the box before Alonso had taken the strike. Alonso's second effort was promptly saved by an equally brilliant Justo Villar, thus prolonging the stalemate. David Villa, once again came to Spain's rescue, seven minutes from time pouncing on the ball after Andres Iniesta hit the left post. Villa's strike hit the right post, then the left before eventually going in. That concluded the quarter-final matches, with the hugely anticipated semi-finals set for the 6th and 7th, with Netherlands taking on Uruguay in the first match, and Germany taking on Spain in the second.
0 Comments
Being a day away from the start of the biggest sporting event in the world, and after a negative piece on the World Cup earlier, I thought it was time to balance out the scales a bit. Although a few people will still have their negative sentiments about the world cup (while their closeted positive person is waiting to escape), no one can deny the positive feelings and hype in the air. Everyone across all racial, gender and economic classes is getting into the thick of things with the support of our team after a recent spate of successful matches which has certainly boosted confidence levels all round. Hopefully Bafana Bafana can pleasantly surprise all of us with spectacular performances against tougher opposition in the coming games. I, myself not being much of football fan, will catch most of the action on TV, and hopefully one or two at the stadiums.
For all the tourists that have already come, and those yet to arrive, I hope that they experience the warmth and beauty of our country, and are positively infleunced to return again in the future. And finally for the Wolf parting shot - Go Bafana, tear the opposition to shreds... |
 Archives
February 2018
Categories |
RSS Feed
