You must wonder how it is to watch a World Cup in Brazil. Businesses close early, people wear yellow (sometimes in very ugly tones) to work or school, and the country stops for two hours, during the Brazilian matches.
Slovakian fans were stoked
Today started with a match from group F, between two countries most people believe will get eliminated in the group stage. New Zealand returned to the World Cup after 28 years to face Slovakia, a debutant in the competition (not counting the Czechoslovakian years), in sunny Rustenburg.
New Zealand began the game well, dominating the first 15 minutes while Slovakia couldn’t manage to get more than three passes right. Chris Killen produced the first few chances, with a kick out of bounds and a header before the clock reached 5 minutes.
After that initial effort, Slovakian coach Vladimir Weiss managed to correct his team, so that they dominated the ball possession. Yet, they couldn’t get past New Zealand’s well posted defense. Marek Hamsik, Stanislav Sestak and the coach’s son, Vlad the 3rd, created some opportunities, especially on the right side of the pitch. The best chance came from an error by goalie Mark Paston, which Sestak didn’t take.
Vittek puts the Slovaks in front
But Winston Reid's equalizer stunned the Europeans in extra time!
The second half started with a change in Slovakian strategy, they were marking in their opponent’s half, inducing errors and keeping the ball longer. A good play by Sestak and Weiss in the right side was capped by the head of Robert Vittek. Later, a replay showed he was offside, making this possibly the first serious error by a referee in the World Cup.
Slovakia dominated until the 76th minute when some changes by the New Zealand coach made his team more offensive, playing them all up front in the last 10 minutes. Their effort was rewarded with an equalizer in the 93rd minute. A header from the defender Winston Reid left group F unexpectedly tight, as the All Whites first ever World Cup point includes them in a four way tie.
FIFA chose Vittek as the man of the match. I picked Sestak, as he was the most dangerous man for Slovakia all game. The match surely wasn’t a great one, keeping the Paraguayan and Italians hopes for first place in the group within reach.
Didier was late and empty handed
Less than one hour later Ivory Coast had a date with Portugal in Port Elizabeth. Both teams considered this match vital to their fate, since everybody seems to consider it will be hard to beat Brazil and easy to get a win over the North Koreans. Ivory Coast showed great tactical obedience, keeping the ball away from Portugal and marking strongly in their half. Ronaldo had a great chance in the 20th minute, with a kick that reached the post. When the Ivorians took the ball, they switched to the attack very quickly, with Gervinho leading the forward pack in the absence of Drogba.
The second half continued at the same pace, with both teams not opening up much space, and only a few chances at goal. Portugal wasted a good opportunity in the 50th minute from a free kick. Drogba came to the pitch with the rain,on 65 minutes. But from that moment on, both teams became even more careful, without many clear shots.
Ivorians give Ronaldo the thumbs down
Portugal had the best chances at goal, but Ivory Coast really impressed with the quality of their defensive system. Drogba had only one chance, in the 91st minute, when he appeared unmarked and moved into the box, only to misplay the ball to the middle, with no one there.
Cristiano Ronaldo was FIFA’s man of the match, a poor choice, as his only nice play was the kick off the post in the first half. Gervinho and even Tiene got my attention throughout the match.
A bad day at the office
The other match of the group was highly anticipated: Brazil’s debut against North Korea at Ellis Park Stadium, in Johannesburg, where it was intensely cold. Any information about the North Koreans would have been welcome, their’s being the most closed country in the world, Brazilian reporters failed in the attempt to find any journalists or supporters born in North Korea, as citizens are usually not allowed to travel.
North Korea’s star Jong Tae Se was emotional during the anthem, a touching image in their first game in a World Cup since 1966. Coach Kim Jong Hun’s tactics were clever, keeping five guys in the middle to leave no space for the Brazilians, who created many chances but never really bothered goalie Ri Myong Guk. The game had so few chances from either squad that the first corner didn’t come until the 30th minute. When the Seleção did come close to scoring, the North Koreans countered with some very dangerous replies.
Happiness is scoring a goal against Brazil
Brazil became nervous with the uneventful situation. Without creativity in the middle on a bad day for Kaká, it was left to Maicon or Michel Bastos to show off, and the former capped a very nice move to score the first goal. After the goal, the Brazilian players looked more relaxed. Then,Robinho made a wonderful pass, giving Elano the second Brazilian goal.
After that Brazil had a few chances, perhaps relaxing too much. North Korea were allowed some opportunities, scoring a goal in the end, on a kick by Ji Yun-Nam, which was highly celebrated by his teammates.
Expectations for the match were very high but Brazil didn’t delivered enough goals or good football. Maicon was appointed as the man of the match, the best choice of the day by FIFA and the voters on their website.
Previous Entries in WFC’s World Cup Diary
Match Day 1: South Africa v Mexico, France v Uruguay
Match Day 2: South Korea v Greece, Argentina v Nigeria, England v USA
Match day 3: Slovenia v Algeria, Ghana v Serbia, Germany v Australia
Match Day 4: Netherlands v Denmark, Japan v Cameroon, Italy v Paraguay
The Slovakians really disappointed me today – I had expected much more from them. The goal that they conceded at the end, although good from a Kiwi point of view, was terribly defended. It had been on the cards, though, as they had failed to deal with several high balls in. Martin Skrtel will want to forget that match in a hurry.
Posted by Matt Dalton | 15 June, 2010, 22:38