World Cupdate

Group F action kicked off with Slovakia and Paraguay.  The South Americans have dominated this tournament as a whole so far and those wins have come at the expense of European squads for the most part, but a pair of 1-1 draws in the opener have left this group wide open.  Paraguay's modified 1-2-3-4 wedge with Lucas Ramon Barrios at the tip of the spear for the Albirroja versus the Repre's 1-3-2-4 with Jan Kozak at the front made for a solid match, but it was Paraguay's Vera who scored first at 27' off a brilliant assist from Barrios.  The Slovaks just didn't have any answers in the first half, and in the second they held off Paraguay's pressure and created a few opportunities, but it wasn't enough.  Eventually Cristian Riveros was able to get behind Slovakia's defense and put home the exclamation point at 86', and Paraguay won the match easily 2-0 as they controlled that game for all 90 minutes and took 5 solid shots to Slovakia's one in a workman-like match.

That meant Italy needed the win here against New Zealand to keep up with Paraguay.  Of the big six European squads, Italy, Germany, France, England, Spain, and the Netherlands, only the Dutch are playing well with two solid wins.  Still, the Azzurri opened strong with a 2-4-4 attack lead by Gilardino and Iaquinta, and the All-Whites played a defensive 1-5-4 formation with Shane Smeltz at point.  But an early free kick for New Zealand turned into a stunner as Smeltz melted behind the Italian D (somehow avoiding an offsides flag) and popped one in the back of the net at 7', and suddenly the defending 2006 World Cup champs were in serious danger of being sent home by New Zealand.  Italy poured on the pressure to equalize and that turned into a penalty kick by Iaquinta and a goal at 29'.  The second half was just sheer willpower by the All-Whites as despite Italy dominating in every offensive stat, they refused to give in to the Italian attack.  New Zealand had 2 shots to over a dozen for the Azzurri, and Italy had 14 corners to none for New Zealand, but in the end the only stat that mattered was one goal to one goal in one of the best matches of the Cup.

That brought us to Brazil versus Ivory Coast, and the Canarinhos were ready to make sure that nothing like New Zealand's draw happened as they struck out hard and early on a 2-4-4 attack formation with Robinho and Luis Fabiano up front, while Ivory Coast floated back on a 1-2-3-4 with 2 wide plan and their star, Didier Drogba, looking to be a hero again at point.  However, unlike the New Zealand game, the first half was slow and subdued, the only action coming when Fabiano boomed one in at 25'.  Ivory Coast and Drogba did go on the counter a number of times, picking up a number of brilliant crosses that gave him some solid shots, but the Brazilian defense was up to the job.  The second half, Brazil showed why they are the most feared team in the sport right now and they shifted into Samba King style, ripping the Elephants open with a second Fabiano goal at 50' and Kaka finding Elano at 62', and suddenly this match was over.  Drogba did get his goal at 79' on sheer willpower, but it was far too little and too late, and Brazil rolled to win 3-1, but not before Kaka picked up a red card on a really terrible call.  That may give Portugal a slight hope next week, but not by much.

In off-field news, both England and France are facing various player mutinies as there's a very good chance that neither team may advance to the round of 16.  With Italy, Spain, and Germany shocked in the first two matches as well, Europe's best hope remains the Dutch...and nobody expected to see Slovenia, the Swiss, and possibly even Serbia in the hunt too.