World Cupdate

The final day of group play started out with Group G, with the already eliminated North Koreans playing the all but eliminated Ivory Coast, and Brazil and Portugal in a match to determine the group's winner.  North Korea tried to gain some respect, but having already given up a staggering nine goals in two games the odds looked long indeed, even against the Elephants.  Likewise, Ivory Coast had to win by ten goals or so just to have a shot at advancing...but against this porous North Korean defense, it wasn't an entirely impossible task, either.  Ivory Coast went all out with a 3-3-4 attack led by Keita, Gervinho and all-star Didier Drogba, while the North Koreans hunkered down in a 1-4-5 total defense formation with Tae-Se Jong the lone point man...the same starting eleven they've been thrashed with twice before.  With nothing to lose by going on vicious offense, the Elephants stampeded into the North Korean zone early and often.  Toure Yaya smashed a goal in at 14' and Romaric scored again at 20' and the Elephants were on the march across the plain, but North Korea managed to hold off any more goals for the half.  The second half turned into something of a stalemate as the Elephants couldn't get much going.  Some substitutions provided new blood, but it wasn't going to be eight goals' worth.  It was worth one goal by Kalou at 82', but the 3-0 win was too little, too late for the Elephants.

Meanwhile, the day's big match was Portugal versus Brazil, the Shield Select taking on the Cup favorite Canarinhos.  Both teams wanted the win to avoid meeting Group H leader Chile in the next round, and as a result Brazil went with a powerful 3-3-4 offensive battle plan, the Samba Kings looked to dance with Nilmar, Baptista, and Luis Fabiano leading their eleven.  Portugal was without star Deco, resorting to Ronaldo and Danny powering their 1-1-4-4 attack so repeating their 7 goal performance against North Korea wasn't going to be easy.  The two squads showed healthy professional respect for one another's abilities early on, probing and taking each other's measure.  This of course immediately led to both sides turning this into a ground war and the bookings started flying as both sides started looking for cracks in the armor.  A scoreless halftime didn't improve either team's scorched earth mentality either.  Brazil shifted to a 1-3-2-4 setup at halftime with Fabiano at point. However, with the first half thick with yellow cards and both sides looking to advance, neither side could afford a red right now, so the second half began to wind down into a defensive slog.  A few more defensive subs to take those in yellow trouble out, and the game collapsed into trench warfare.  The crowd, expecting footy and not a dance recital, let the boo-birds fly during stoppage.  Still, this chess match saw Brazil and Portugal advance without too much damage.

That left Group H in the late games in an almost identical position:  Leaders Chile and Spain playing to win the group, and the Swiss looking to advance against the all but eliminated Honduras.  The Swiss looked to neutralize Los Catrachos with a flexible 2-4-4 lineup featuring Nkufo and Derdiyok up front, while Honduras also led a 2-4-4 into battle with strikers Palacios and Suazo.  Honduras tried to look dangerous early on, but there was no shaking the Swiss out of their workman-like defense and counter strategy.  The problem is the Swiss couldn't execute much either and both squads settled into a pattern of solid approaches and horrible finishes, but that only favored Honduras as they launched break after break only to get walled off.  Meanwhile the Swiss would stake out territory and advance slowly, only to get swarmed by the Catrachos.  Blessedly the half ended without anything actually happening.  The second half began the opposite of the first, with the Swiss on the attack and Honduras strolling down on the counters only to flub the finish.  More skirmishing continued with the Swiss pushing up and Honduras rolling in behind them but neither team could find an opening.  Honduras put one in at 85' but it was patently offsides, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw, Honduras held scoreless for all three matches.

The main event was Chile and Spain, La Roja versus La Furia Roja, and another match-up of mirror formations:  Chile's 3-3-4 had Gonzalez, Sanchez and Beausejour anchoring in the center, while Spain went with Iniesta, David Villa and Torres in the middle of the striker line.  But it was Chile that fell completely to pieces in the first half, getting nailed early with three yellows in the first 20 minutes.  When they backed off, Spain went all in on the attack and David Villa came up with a goal from a mile out on a terrible clear attempt by Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo at 24'.  Spain continued to press and La Roja cracked completely at 37' as Ineista beat Bravo a second time, and this caused Chile's Marco Estrada to pick up his second card about a millisecond later, leaving Chile down 2 goals and a man short in the space of 20 minutes.  Chile limped off the field all but broken, the second half a mere formality.  But in the second half La Roja sub Rodrigo Millar came out caliente and burned the stunned Spaniards early at 48', and suddenly we had a match on our hands.  Chile pushed with all they had, but being a man down kept them from being able to drive home the dagger.  Meanwhile, Spain was rocked back on their heels but quickly recovered to use their man advantage to slow the pace of the half down and held on for the 2-1 win to take the group.  Chile now must face the unenviable task of Brazil in the next round, while Spain will face Portugal in a battle of the neighbors...and that wraps up a memorable group play phase.  Tomorrow, the real finals begin with the Round of 16!