Africa win!
The USA played Ghana in the second match of the day. Ghana got an early lead just squeaking into the net, but gave away a penalty in the second half that brought the USA level.
After 90 minutes the score was level, and the game fell into extra time. Ghana scored quickly in the first half of extra time, and kept the Americans away. It was incredible how Tim Howard, in total desperation, came up to help his team. But in the end Ghana won for Africa, and America's love-affair with soccer has ended for another World Cup.
I am disappointed by the American's loss, but am hopeful for tomorrow. England play Germany, and we have to represent Group C heading towards the final. USA – on our side now?
It seems the number of goals per game is increasing dramatically as we enter the knockout stages.
Predictions: England, obviously, and Argentina.
Goals per game: Mean - 2.14, Median - 2, Mode - 2, Range - 7
Cards per game: Mean - 4, Median - 4, Mode - 5, Range - 10
26/06/2010
Formula 1 Race Nine: Qualifying
Yes, I'm expanding! I'm no longer just focusing on the World Cup (although of course I will for the next couple of weeks until it has ended), and moving into other sports, such as Formula 1.
Today was the qualifying for the ninth race of the Formula 1 season: the European Grand Prix, in Valencia. It's the second race to take place in Spain.
The top qualifiers were the Red Bulls, with Sebastian Vettel taking his fourth pole position. Along with his team mate Mark Webber, he's the best qualifier of the year – both have an average qualifying position of second place. However, Vettel comes ahead of Webber thanks to never dropping below third in qualifying.
As expected, the worst qualifiers are the six in the new teams. Worst is Indian Karun Chandhok, followed by his team mate Bruno Senna. The final four positions have almost always been shared between these two, DiGrassi and Timo Glock – DiGrassi qualified before his teammate for the first time today. Glock is the only one to have pulled out of the final four positions, once under his own steam and once – in the Malaysian grand prix – thanks to mistakes by some of the top runners, when he got into Q2.
Looking into the race tomorrow, who will win? A lot of F1 depends on qualifying, and the rest – especially in tracks where it's hard to overtake – depends on luck. Well, Webber is the only driver to have always had points. Rosberg, Massa, Kubica, Hamilton, Button and Alonso have each missed out on points only once. Alonso is looking for a home win, while Maclaren are looking for another 1-2 to cement their lead.
At the other end of the table, several drivers have retired in almost all races. Trulli, Senna, Kobayashi, Glock and De La Rosa have each had problems in six races. But it's half way through the season, so cars have been improved.
Will we see points for any of the new teams? Perhaps. They need to work hard to be able to survive and make it into a second year of Formula 1. This sport is far too risky to make winner predictions, but I will say that Algesuari will come around 11th. He's very consistent in his performance, and has never retired.
Today was the qualifying for the ninth race of the Formula 1 season: the European Grand Prix, in Valencia. It's the second race to take place in Spain.
The top qualifiers were the Red Bulls, with Sebastian Vettel taking his fourth pole position. Along with his team mate Mark Webber, he's the best qualifier of the year – both have an average qualifying position of second place. However, Vettel comes ahead of Webber thanks to never dropping below third in qualifying.
As expected, the worst qualifiers are the six in the new teams. Worst is Indian Karun Chandhok, followed by his team mate Bruno Senna. The final four positions have almost always been shared between these two, DiGrassi and Timo Glock – DiGrassi qualified before his teammate for the first time today. Glock is the only one to have pulled out of the final four positions, once under his own steam and once – in the Malaysian grand prix – thanks to mistakes by some of the top runners, when he got into Q2.
Looking into the race tomorrow, who will win? A lot of F1 depends on qualifying, and the rest – especially in tracks where it's hard to overtake – depends on luck. Well, Webber is the only driver to have always had points. Rosberg, Massa, Kubica, Hamilton, Button and Alonso have each missed out on points only once. Alonso is looking for a home win, while Maclaren are looking for another 1-2 to cement their lead.
At the other end of the table, several drivers have retired in almost all races. Trulli, Senna, Kobayashi, Glock and De La Rosa have each had problems in six races. But it's half way through the season, so cars have been improved.
Will we see points for any of the new teams? Perhaps. They need to work hard to be able to survive and make it into a second year of Formula 1. This sport is far too risky to make winner predictions, but I will say that Algesuari will come around 11th. He's very consistent in his performance, and has never retired.
Day Sixteen part one: 26/6/2010
Uruguay's dry spell is over
Uruguay played South Korea in the first match of the day. It was raining all through the match, and coming down harder in the second half. The South Americans began well with an early goal, and were unfortunate to not be given a penalty from a Korean handball. Korea took the second-half by storm, however, and had the majority of the possession throughout the match. They eventually got a goal back, destroying Uruguay's clean sheet for the first time in the competition. Uruguay went 337 minutes without any team scoring against them.
Then Uruguay had a fantastically lucky goal that almost hit the post, giving Suarez his third goal in the competition, which puts him well into the Adidas golden boot competition. ITV and FIFA both agree it's one of the best goals so far. After holding on for 13 more minutes, the South Koreans were put out of the World Cup after a fantastic final 16 game.
Later: USA vs Ghana.
As evidenced by the change of title, I'm now branching out into other sports. Also to come: Formula 1 race 9 qualifying.
Uruguay played South Korea in the first match of the day. It was raining all through the match, and coming down harder in the second half. The South Americans began well with an early goal, and were unfortunate to not be given a penalty from a Korean handball. Korea took the second-half by storm, however, and had the majority of the possession throughout the match. They eventually got a goal back, destroying Uruguay's clean sheet for the first time in the competition. Uruguay went 337 minutes without any team scoring against them.
Then Uruguay had a fantastically lucky goal that almost hit the post, giving Suarez his third goal in the competition, which puts him well into the Adidas golden boot competition. ITV and FIFA both agree it's one of the best goals so far. After holding on for 13 more minutes, the South Koreans were put out of the World Cup after a fantastic final 16 game.
Later: USA vs Ghana.
As evidenced by the change of title, I'm now branching out into other sports. Also to come: Formula 1 race 9 qualifying.
Day Sixteen Preview: 26/6/2010
We have every qualifying continent but Europe represented today! Who will win? I predicted yesterday that Uruguay and USA will win. Do the stats bear this out?
Uruguay/South Korea
Ranked 16 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, Uruguay are far ahead of South Korea, who are only 47 – the worst-ranked team in the finals. Point one to Uruguay.
In their five confrontations, there was one draw, and Uruguay won the other four matches – most recently in 2007. Point two to Uruguay.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, Uruguay have only qualified twice, not making it out of the group stages in 2002, and failing to qualify in 1994, 1998 and 2006. South Korea, however, qualified for all five Cups, coming fourth in 2002, but mostly staying in the group stages. Point three to South Korea.
Comparing group performance just at this World Cup, Uruguay have a 2-1-0 record, while South Korea have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to Uruguay.
This suggests the South Americans will win.
USA/Ghana
Ranking: USA are 14, while Ghana are 32 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. Point one to USA.
In their only confrontation, at the 2006 World Cup, the USA were defeated 3-1 by Ghana. Point two to Ghana.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, the USA qualified each time, making it to the quarter-finals in 2002 and the final 16 in 1994. Ghana have only qualified in 2006 and 2010, but have made it to the final 16 each time. Point three, just about, to the USA.
By performance at this World Cup, USA have a 1-2-0 record, while Ghana have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to USA.
This suggests the USA will win.
Will my predictions bear out, or will the weight of Africa's support spur Ghana to victory? No teams have any extra disadvantages from disqualified players, so it's all down to the skill of the players.
Uruguay/South Korea
Ranked 16 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, Uruguay are far ahead of South Korea, who are only 47 – the worst-ranked team in the finals. Point one to Uruguay.
In their five confrontations, there was one draw, and Uruguay won the other four matches – most recently in 2007. Point two to Uruguay.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, Uruguay have only qualified twice, not making it out of the group stages in 2002, and failing to qualify in 1994, 1998 and 2006. South Korea, however, qualified for all five Cups, coming fourth in 2002, but mostly staying in the group stages. Point three to South Korea.
Comparing group performance just at this World Cup, Uruguay have a 2-1-0 record, while South Korea have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to Uruguay.
This suggests the South Americans will win.
USA/Ghana
Ranking: USA are 14, while Ghana are 32 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. Point one to USA.
In their only confrontation, at the 2006 World Cup, the USA were defeated 3-1 by Ghana. Point two to Ghana.
In the World Cups 1994-2010, the USA qualified each time, making it to the quarter-finals in 2002 and the final 16 in 1994. Ghana have only qualified in 2006 and 2010, but have made it to the final 16 each time. Point three, just about, to the USA.
By performance at this World Cup, USA have a 1-2-0 record, while Ghana have a 1-1-1 record. Point four to USA.
This suggests the USA will win.
Will my predictions bear out, or will the weight of Africa's support spur Ghana to victory? No teams have any extra disadvantages from disqualified players, so it's all down to the skill of the players.
The Final Sixteen: Continental Drift
Let's look at the continental composition of the final 16 for the last few World Cups 1998-2010:
This year, the number of European teams has been significantly reduced to six: Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, England and newcomers Slovakia. This is thanks to the elimination of Italy and France, as well as the poor performance of Sweden and Croatia, amongst others.
We also see the two Asian sides of Japan and South Korea qualifying just as they did in 2002 on home turf. However, the biggest surprise is that the South American teams are rebuilding their strength: Brazil and Argentina are through as expected, but also Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Ghana are the one African team to make it, having also qualified last year, and the USA and Mexico are the other sides.
There is still a dominance from Europe and South America that suggests the World Cup will not be travelling to a new continent just yet.
| Continent | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 |
| Africa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Asia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Australasia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Europe | 10 | 9 | 10 | 6 |
| North/Central America | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| South America | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
This year, the number of European teams has been significantly reduced to six: Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, England and newcomers Slovakia. This is thanks to the elimination of Italy and France, as well as the poor performance of Sweden and Croatia, amongst others.
We also see the two Asian sides of Japan and South Korea qualifying just as they did in 2002 on home turf. However, the biggest surprise is that the South American teams are rebuilding their strength: Brazil and Argentina are through as expected, but also Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Ghana are the one African team to make it, having also qualified last year, and the USA and Mexico are the other sides.
There is still a dominance from Europe and South America that suggests the World Cup will not be travelling to a new continent just yet.
The Final Sixteen: Odds
The number of teams in the World Cup has been split in two. Already, two World Cup winners are out: France and Italy. We are left with Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, Argentina and England as teams who have lifted the trophy (although Germany won as West Germany).
Unusually, few European teams have made it through; this year it is truly an international competition. Here are the teams and the different odds for each of them to win in order of FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings (from British betting agencies bet365.com, Ladbrookes and William Hill respectively on 25/6/2010 at 21:50*):
1-Brazil. They have won the cup 5 times already (2002, 1994, 1970, 1962 and 1958), and are the only team to have never missed a cup. (7-2, 7-2, 10-3) [Top in each place]
2-Spain. The highest-ranked team to have never won a World Cup. Also the cleanest-playing team in the cup. They won Euro 2008. (4-1, 5-1, 4-1) [Ladbrookes less sure of Spain]
3-Portugal. The betting companies rank Portugal lower than FIFA. Portugal were defeated by Greece in the final of Euro 2004, and face Spain next. (25-1, 22-1, 22-1)
4-Netherlands. The only team to have won all their matches so far. And they play in orange! Came 4th in 1998. (7-1, 6-1, 7-1) [Under 'Holland']
6-Germany. As Italy are out, Germany come next. They've won the cup several times as West Germany, and came close in previous years. But can they beat England? (11-1, 10-1, 12-1)
7-Argentina. They used to be good in World Cups and are led by Diego Maradona. But are they good enough? They came second in the 2007 Copa America. (9-2, 9-2, 9-2)
8-England. They last won in 1966, but have Fabio Capello at the helm. Will they be able to defeat their German rivals? (10-1, 10-1, 10-1)
14-USA. With so many teams above them out, the USA have a good chance. Their country is solidly behind them. (40-1, 33-1, 40-1) [But not the betting companies]
16-Uruguay. They hosted the first World Cup, but have done poorly in more-recent cups. Can they change things? (16-1, 16-1, 18-1)
17-Mexico. They made it to the last 16 in the last four World Cups. Their best result is the quarter-finals. (66-1, 66-1, 66-1) [Nobody really thinks they'll do it]
18-Chile. They scraped through after Spain, and they have a player called Isla, which is my name! But will that be enough? (40-1, 40-1, 66-1) [William Hill is doubtful]
31-Paraguay. It's a long way down the list to the next team. They're one of several South-American teams still around. (40-1, 28-1, 40-1)
32-Ghana. They're the only African team left in it. Will this be the first African team to win a World Cup? They're playing USA next! (50-1, 40-1, 50-1)
34-Slovakia. Their first ever World Cup! They've only been a team since 1993, and now they're in the last 16! (200-1, 80-1, 125-1) [The bets are against them, but they have a good ranking]
45-Japan. They have a lower ranking than Scotland, but they made it to the final 16. The last time was on home turf. (80-1, 80-1, 80-1)
47-Korean Republic (South Korea). A surprising good team in 2002. But was that just home support? (100-1, 50-1, 80-1) [bet365 has them second-last]
Who do you think will win? Luck has a lot to do with it, but so does skill. I hope England will win, but it's all down to Germany!
*Please note- I do not at all condone gambling. Bet at your own risk. You will probably lose your money! I linked to the tournament winner bets where possible to save you searching.
Unusually, few European teams have made it through; this year it is truly an international competition. Here are the teams and the different odds for each of them to win in order of FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings (from British betting agencies bet365.com, Ladbrookes and William Hill respectively on 25/6/2010 at 21:50*):
1-Brazil. They have won the cup 5 times already (2002, 1994, 1970, 1962 and 1958), and are the only team to have never missed a cup. (7-2, 7-2, 10-3) [Top in each place]
2-Spain. The highest-ranked team to have never won a World Cup. Also the cleanest-playing team in the cup. They won Euro 2008. (4-1, 5-1, 4-1) [Ladbrookes less sure of Spain]
3-Portugal. The betting companies rank Portugal lower than FIFA. Portugal were defeated by Greece in the final of Euro 2004, and face Spain next. (25-1, 22-1, 22-1)
4-Netherlands. The only team to have won all their matches so far. And they play in orange! Came 4th in 1998. (7-1, 6-1, 7-1) [Under 'Holland']
6-Germany. As Italy are out, Germany come next. They've won the cup several times as West Germany, and came close in previous years. But can they beat England? (11-1, 10-1, 12-1)
7-Argentina. They used to be good in World Cups and are led by Diego Maradona. But are they good enough? They came second in the 2007 Copa America. (9-2, 9-2, 9-2)
8-England. They last won in 1966, but have Fabio Capello at the helm. Will they be able to defeat their German rivals? (10-1, 10-1, 10-1)
14-USA. With so many teams above them out, the USA have a good chance. Their country is solidly behind them. (40-1, 33-1, 40-1) [But not the betting companies]
16-Uruguay. They hosted the first World Cup, but have done poorly in more-recent cups. Can they change things? (16-1, 16-1, 18-1)
17-Mexico. They made it to the last 16 in the last four World Cups. Their best result is the quarter-finals. (66-1, 66-1, 66-1) [Nobody really thinks they'll do it]
18-Chile. They scraped through after Spain, and they have a player called Isla, which is my name! But will that be enough? (40-1, 40-1, 66-1) [William Hill is doubtful]
31-Paraguay. It's a long way down the list to the next team. They're one of several South-American teams still around. (40-1, 28-1, 40-1)
32-Ghana. They're the only African team left in it. Will this be the first African team to win a World Cup? They're playing USA next! (50-1, 40-1, 50-1)
34-Slovakia. Their first ever World Cup! They've only been a team since 1993, and now they're in the last 16! (200-1, 80-1, 125-1) [The bets are against them, but they have a good ranking]
45-Japan. They have a lower ranking than Scotland, but they made it to the final 16. The last time was on home turf. (80-1, 80-1, 80-1)
47-Korean Republic (South Korea). A surprising good team in 2002. But was that just home support? (100-1, 50-1, 80-1) [bet365 has them second-last]
Who do you think will win? Luck has a lot to do with it, but so does skill. I hope England will win, but it's all down to Germany!
*Please note- I do not at all condone gambling. Bet at your own risk. You will probably lose your money! I linked to the tournament winner bets where possible to save you searching.
25/06/2010
Day Fifteen: 25/6/2010
Sven's team win as Chile boil
Well, a disappointing day for Ivory Coast, who played a great match against North Korea but were let down by a draw between Brazil and Portugal, keeping them out of the final sixteen. They were relying on Brazil defeating (and destroying) Portugal, while they did the same to North Korea. You have to be inspired by the North Korean goalkeeper R Myong Guk, who played on to the end of the game despite injuries to his hand and thigh.
This was the first clean game of the World Cup; referee Alberto UNDIANO, who previously had a terrible match with Germany and Serbia, had a change of form. By contrast, seven yellow cards were given out in the game between Brazil and Portugal, which was played poorly by both sides.
So for group G, my predictions come through, but I was glad that I chose to watch Ivory Coast/North Korea rather than Brazil/Portugal.
Interestingly, the Americans seem to be getting deep into this tournament. They're really passionate about their team this year. I think it's because of that 1-1 draw originally and Robert Green's mess-up. 11Points even did a live blog for the first time, following that USA-Algeria game that ended so spectacularly. I think now they understand why the rest of us love football. The sport has always had a minor follow there. The question is: will it increase?
Again, I think 11points puts it succinctly: the people might love it, but the TV networks won't because it doesn't allow for them to take time out in the middle of a half for commercial breaks. What can I say? TOUGH! ITV has managed for years. But at any rate, I think Americans will get behind their national team rather than the league teams. American teams don't often participate in international competitions, so it's fantastic to see the World Cup uniting the USA.
The second pair of games was group H's finale. I had correctly predicted Spain and Chile would go through. All Spain had to do was win to guarantee survival, or draw if the other game turned in Honduras's favour. With the dominance of South America, and the loss of several European teams, it was vital to stay in.
Honduras didn't have much of a chance, though. Losing today means they're the first team to go out of a World Cup without points or goals since Saudi Arabia and China in 2002. (Source: FIFA.com. Someone tell me where all this stupid info comes from!)
The first half went well, as Spain scored two goals, meaning Chile no longer have a goalless tournament. Worse was to come for the South Americans, as Chile gained four yellow cards – two to the same player, and two to players who will also miss out on the next match.
Spain went into the second half feeling like they had already won against 10-man Chile, but were soundly shaken by substitute Millar's goal. However, they can be comforted by the fact that the last player to score against Chile in a World Cup was Brazil's Ronaldo back in 1998 in the final 16, which Brazil won 4-1. At the end of the half, they found themselves kicking around the ball and maintaining the score, just relaxing and keeping things away from Chile.
Thanks to Spain's victory, they will now play European neighbours and rivals Portugal in the final 16. They are only the third team in World Cup history to win their group having lost their opening game – the other two are West Germany (1982) and Mexico (1994).
Chile have never won their group in the World Cup. In 1998 they had 0-3-0 and got through. The most they have managed is two wins – in 1930, 1962 and this year. Only three teams have lost the group stages despite winning two matches: Chile (1930), Yugoslavia (1950) and Algeria (1982) although in the first two cases only the group winners went through.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.1, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range - 10
Tomorrow, Uruguay play South Korea and the USA play Ghana. My predictions are on Uruguay and USA to win. So far I've had 86% correct predictions (only Italy and Serbia have failed me so far) but don't use me to bet with! From tomorrow, I will be posting statistics before the games about previous clashes between the teams.
Well, a disappointing day for Ivory Coast, who played a great match against North Korea but were let down by a draw between Brazil and Portugal, keeping them out of the final sixteen. They were relying on Brazil defeating (and destroying) Portugal, while they did the same to North Korea. You have to be inspired by the North Korean goalkeeper R Myong Guk, who played on to the end of the game despite injuries to his hand and thigh.
This was the first clean game of the World Cup; referee Alberto UNDIANO, who previously had a terrible match with Germany and Serbia, had a change of form. By contrast, seven yellow cards were given out in the game between Brazil and Portugal, which was played poorly by both sides.
So for group G, my predictions come through, but I was glad that I chose to watch Ivory Coast/North Korea rather than Brazil/Portugal.
Interestingly, the Americans seem to be getting deep into this tournament. They're really passionate about their team this year. I think it's because of that 1-1 draw originally and Robert Green's mess-up. 11Points even did a live blog for the first time, following that USA-Algeria game that ended so spectacularly. I think now they understand why the rest of us love football. The sport has always had a minor follow there. The question is: will it increase?
Again, I think 11points puts it succinctly: the people might love it, but the TV networks won't because it doesn't allow for them to take time out in the middle of a half for commercial breaks. What can I say? TOUGH! ITV has managed for years. But at any rate, I think Americans will get behind their national team rather than the league teams. American teams don't often participate in international competitions, so it's fantastic to see the World Cup uniting the USA.
The second pair of games was group H's finale. I had correctly predicted Spain and Chile would go through. All Spain had to do was win to guarantee survival, or draw if the other game turned in Honduras's favour. With the dominance of South America, and the loss of several European teams, it was vital to stay in.
Honduras didn't have much of a chance, though. Losing today means they're the first team to go out of a World Cup without points or goals since Saudi Arabia and China in 2002. (Source: FIFA.com. Someone tell me where all this stupid info comes from!)
The first half went well, as Spain scored two goals, meaning Chile no longer have a goalless tournament. Worse was to come for the South Americans, as Chile gained four yellow cards – two to the same player, and two to players who will also miss out on the next match.
Spain went into the second half feeling like they had already won against 10-man Chile, but were soundly shaken by substitute Millar's goal. However, they can be comforted by the fact that the last player to score against Chile in a World Cup was Brazil's Ronaldo back in 1998 in the final 16, which Brazil won 4-1. At the end of the half, they found themselves kicking around the ball and maintaining the score, just relaxing and keeping things away from Chile.
Thanks to Spain's victory, they will now play European neighbours and rivals Portugal in the final 16. They are only the third team in World Cup history to win their group having lost their opening game – the other two are West Germany (1982) and Mexico (1994).
Chile have never won their group in the World Cup. In 1998 they had 0-3-0 and got through. The most they have managed is two wins – in 1930, 1962 and this year. Only three teams have lost the group stages despite winning two matches: Chile (1930), Yugoslavia (1950) and Algeria (1982) although in the first two cases only the group winners went through.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.1, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range - 10
Tomorrow, Uruguay play South Korea and the USA play Ghana. My predictions are on Uruguay and USA to win. So far I've had 86% correct predictions (only Italy and Serbia have failed me so far) but don't use me to bet with! From tomorrow, I will be posting statistics before the games about previous clashes between the teams.
Group Stages Analysis
The first stage of the World Cup is over.
This is the perfect time to do an analysis of all 32 teams before the knockout stages affect the statistics.
The cleanest team of the World Cup so far is Spain, having not had any cards.
The roughest team is Chile with 12 cards – all yellow, including one player who received two yellow cards in the same game. Even if you consider red cards to be worth twice as much as yellows, they still come last. Ironically, they played their last game against Spain! This is an average of four cards per game.
The teams who scored the most goals are Portugal and Argentina, with seven goals each, although all of Portugal's came in the match against North Korea, whereas Argentina's were spread out over several games.
The worst-scoring teams are Algeria and Honduras, who didn't manage a single World Cup goal.
The worst-scoring teams to make it through to the knockout stages are Ghana and England, with two goals each.
There are two teams who have managed clean sheets: Uruguay and Portugal. With a record like that, their qualification is not surprising.
The worst goalkeeping record goes (unsurprisingly) to North Korea, with twelve goals scored against them.
The worst goalkeeping record for a qualifying team is South Korea, who had six goals scored against them – one an own goal.
In terms of wins, draws, and losses, the best record is 3-0-0 to Argentina and Netherlands.
The worst team is Cameroon with 0-0-3.
The worst record for a qualifying team is 1-1-1 for several teams: Mexico, South Korea, Ghana and Slovakia.
So far, all but five of the FIFA referees assigned to the Word Cup have led a game: Joel AGULIAR of El Salvador, Martin HANSSON of Sweden, Subkhiddin MOHD SALLEH of Malaysia, Peter O LEARY of New Zealand and Martin VAZQUEZ of Uruguay have not refereed a game, although they have been fourth officials.
The nicest referee – with one card given out in total (although he's only controlled one game) – is New Zealand's Michael HESTER.
The nastiest referee is Khalil AL GHAMDI, with an average of eight cards per game including one red card.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the referees have made bad decisions. It's up to FIFA to decide, having watched the matches, which referee is best to supervise the final match. The ITV commentators claim that Howard WEBB (ENG) has been the best referee so far, but of course if England make it to the final, he won't be able to referee the game.
This is the perfect time to do an analysis of all 32 teams before the knockout stages affect the statistics.
The cleanest team of the World Cup so far is Spain, having not had any cards.
The roughest team is Chile with 12 cards – all yellow, including one player who received two yellow cards in the same game. Even if you consider red cards to be worth twice as much as yellows, they still come last. Ironically, they played their last game against Spain! This is an average of four cards per game.
The teams who scored the most goals are Portugal and Argentina, with seven goals each, although all of Portugal's came in the match against North Korea, whereas Argentina's were spread out over several games.
The worst-scoring teams are Algeria and Honduras, who didn't manage a single World Cup goal.
The worst-scoring teams to make it through to the knockout stages are Ghana and England, with two goals each.
There are two teams who have managed clean sheets: Uruguay and Portugal. With a record like that, their qualification is not surprising.
The worst goalkeeping record goes (unsurprisingly) to North Korea, with twelve goals scored against them.
The worst goalkeeping record for a qualifying team is South Korea, who had six goals scored against them – one an own goal.
In terms of wins, draws, and losses, the best record is 3-0-0 to Argentina and Netherlands.
The worst team is Cameroon with 0-0-3.
The worst record for a qualifying team is 1-1-1 for several teams: Mexico, South Korea, Ghana and Slovakia.
So far, all but five of the FIFA referees assigned to the Word Cup have led a game: Joel AGULIAR of El Salvador, Martin HANSSON of Sweden, Subkhiddin MOHD SALLEH of Malaysia, Peter O LEARY of New Zealand and Martin VAZQUEZ of Uruguay have not refereed a game, although they have been fourth officials.
The nicest referee – with one card given out in total (although he's only controlled one game) – is New Zealand's Michael HESTER.
The nastiest referee is Khalil AL GHAMDI, with an average of eight cards per game including one red card.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the referees have made bad decisions. It's up to FIFA to decide, having watched the matches, which referee is best to supervise the final match. The ITV commentators claim that Howard WEBB (ENG) has been the best referee so far, but of course if England make it to the final, he won't be able to referee the game.
24/06/2010
Day Fourteen: 24/6/2010
The champions are out!
Everyone was surprised today. I would have thought Italy would have played better, as England did yesterday. But they did not, and lost to a team that have never been in a World Cup before: Slovakia!
“As things stand now, reigning world champions Italy would join 2006 runners-up France in failing to progress from the group stage. This would be a FIFA World Cup first. Never before have the two finalists from the previous tournament been knocked out in the group stage the following World Cup. This even includes years in which the runner-up did not qualify.” - Fifa.com in Paraguay vs New Zealand matchcast (emphasis mine).
Interestingly, Paraguay lost their last three matches when the score was 0-0 at half time. This time, they have drawn against opponents New Zealand, but their previous good results put them through to the next round. New Zealand have had three straight group-stage draws now. The last time this happened in a World Cup was in France, 1998, with Belgium and Chile.
During the Italy/Slovakia game, one of the ITV commentators said this: “Kopunek never has to kick another football in his life again. He can bore his grandchildren forever." This was after Slovakia had gone 3-1 up. He had scored in an unmarked goal - something a lot of other players have failed to do this year. While the final score was eventually 3-2, this was still a game for the Slovaks to be proud of.
My predictions only came half-true in group F thanks to Italy's poor performance.
Next up, Netherlands – already through – took on Cameroon – who were already out, so I only watched the Japanese game. If the Netherlands had lost, Japan might have been able to go first in their group, but that wasn't the case. Japan took the lead in their game with two fantastic goals from free kicks, and although Denmark got one goal back, they were unable to emulate Italy as Japan got a third goal. It's the first time Japan have gone into the last 16 from the group stages away from home. So in this group, my predictions proved correct.
We now have quite a few players competing for the Adidas golden boot; top scorers are: Argentina's Higuain, Slovakia's Vittek (3 each) and Elano (Brazil), Honda (Japan), Villa (Spain), Fabiano (Brazil), Gyan (Ghana), Donovan (USA), Lee Jung Soo (South Korea) and Forlan (Argentina) with two goals each and the chance to increase that score. Nigeria's Uche and Australia's Holman also have two goals each.
The current qualifiers are from the following continents: South America (Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay), North America (Mexico, USA), Europe (England, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia), Asia (South Korea, Japan), Africa (Ghana). So the only unrepresented continent is Australasia, whose two teams are already out of the competition.
Now there is no chance that the world champions will win this year, so the World Cup is open to everyone who has the will and ability to go for it.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.16, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range - 9
Predictions for tomorrow: Brazil are already through, and I think Portugal will also win as they have too-big a goal difference against Ivory Coast. Then Spain and Chile will go through from group H.
Everyone was surprised today. I would have thought Italy would have played better, as England did yesterday. But they did not, and lost to a team that have never been in a World Cup before: Slovakia!
“As things stand now, reigning world champions Italy would join 2006 runners-up France in failing to progress from the group stage. This would be a FIFA World Cup first. Never before have the two finalists from the previous tournament been knocked out in the group stage the following World Cup. This even includes years in which the runner-up did not qualify.” - Fifa.com in Paraguay vs New Zealand matchcast (emphasis mine).
Interestingly, Paraguay lost their last three matches when the score was 0-0 at half time. This time, they have drawn against opponents New Zealand, but their previous good results put them through to the next round. New Zealand have had three straight group-stage draws now. The last time this happened in a World Cup was in France, 1998, with Belgium and Chile.
During the Italy/Slovakia game, one of the ITV commentators said this: “Kopunek never has to kick another football in his life again. He can bore his grandchildren forever." This was after Slovakia had gone 3-1 up. He had scored in an unmarked goal - something a lot of other players have failed to do this year. While the final score was eventually 3-2, this was still a game for the Slovaks to be proud of.
My predictions only came half-true in group F thanks to Italy's poor performance.
Next up, Netherlands – already through – took on Cameroon – who were already out, so I only watched the Japanese game. If the Netherlands had lost, Japan might have been able to go first in their group, but that wasn't the case. Japan took the lead in their game with two fantastic goals from free kicks, and although Denmark got one goal back, they were unable to emulate Italy as Japan got a third goal. It's the first time Japan have gone into the last 16 from the group stages away from home. So in this group, my predictions proved correct.
We now have quite a few players competing for the Adidas golden boot; top scorers are: Argentina's Higuain, Slovakia's Vittek (3 each) and Elano (Brazil), Honda (Japan), Villa (Spain), Fabiano (Brazil), Gyan (Ghana), Donovan (USA), Lee Jung Soo (South Korea) and Forlan (Argentina) with two goals each and the chance to increase that score. Nigeria's Uche and Australia's Holman also have two goals each.
The current qualifiers are from the following continents: South America (Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay), North America (Mexico, USA), Europe (England, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia), Asia (South Korea, Japan), Africa (Ghana). So the only unrepresented continent is Australasia, whose two teams are already out of the competition.
Now there is no chance that the world champions will win this year, so the World Cup is open to everyone who has the will and ability to go for it.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.16, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range - 9
Predictions for tomorrow: Brazil are already through, and I think Portugal will also win as they have too-big a goal difference against Ivory Coast. Then Spain and Chile will go through from group H.
23/06/2010
Day Thirteen part two: 23/6/2010
Predictions fail
Here are the goal time statistics:
Earliest Goal – 4 minutes, Stephen Gerrard for England against USA
Latest Goal – 95 minutes, Pereira for Uruguay against South Africa
Latest first goal – 92 minutes, Donovan for USA against Algeria
Mean – 51.7 minutes, Median – 52 (UQ - 73, LQ – 29)
So most goals seem to be scored in the middle of the game, around the start of the second half.
A fantastic pair of games to start the day off, with England playing Slovenia and the USA taking on Algeria. Somehow, England beat Slovenia 1-0, holding them off for a long time and unfortunately not scoring again, but preventing Slovenia from getting themselves a goal back. That guaranteed England's entry into the final 16, but Slovenia's future was uncertain. At the end of the match, the USA were still in a 0-0 tie with Algeria, but a fantastic goal in the 92nd minute from Donovan got the USA through, and left the Slovenians out of their first World Cup. This confirmed my first two predictions from yesterday's post.
England qualified after scoring only two goals in the competition – one against the US, and one against Slovenia, and this makes them so far the lowest-scoring team to qualify. Incidentally, this is the first time in over 40 years that England have ended the first half 1-0 against a European side and gone on to win (previously they had draws with Sweden in 2006 and 2002, and Ireland in 1990, and a loss against West Germany in 1970).
Next, Germany took on Ghana while Serbia played Australia. I predicted that Germany and Serbia would go through. For the first time in a World Cup, two brothers played against each other – German Jermome BOATENG took on his brother Kevin-Prince Boateng – their father is Ghanese, mother German. Kevin-Prince even played for Germany in the youth teams before choosing to play for his father's country. There's even a second Boateng on the Ghanan side – Derek - but he doesn't seem to be a relation.
In the end, Germany came first to nobody's surprise. Second was Ghana, thanks to their goal difference. So my prediction was not entirely correct. Germany will go through to face England – a great rivalry fuelled originally by the World Wars, and latterly by England's World Cup victory in 1966. In the history of England-Germany matches, they have played 27 times, with England winning 12 matches, Germany winning 10 and taking the two penalty shoot-outs that resulted in competition. There have been three friendly draws. England will hope to win outright, as Germany are unbeaten at penalties. Ghana face the mighty USA, and are probably going to be the only African team to qualify. Even if Ivory Coast beat North Korea and Portugal lose to Brazil (very likely), they will have to get an incredible score (and Portugal will have to lose by a lot of goals).
Goals per game: Mean – 2.08, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.93, Median – 4, Mode – 2,5, Range - 9
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands (playing failed Cameroon) and Japan from group E, Paraguay and (hopefully) Italy from group F. Paraguay is the only team to have won a game in this group, and as the Cup holders, Italy have a great incentive to continue.
Here are the goal time statistics:
Earliest Goal – 4 minutes, Stephen Gerrard for England against USA
Latest Goal – 95 minutes, Pereira for Uruguay against South Africa
Latest first goal – 92 minutes, Donovan for USA against Algeria
Mean – 51.7 minutes, Median – 52 (UQ - 73, LQ – 29)
So most goals seem to be scored in the middle of the game, around the start of the second half.
A fantastic pair of games to start the day off, with England playing Slovenia and the USA taking on Algeria. Somehow, England beat Slovenia 1-0, holding them off for a long time and unfortunately not scoring again, but preventing Slovenia from getting themselves a goal back. That guaranteed England's entry into the final 16, but Slovenia's future was uncertain. At the end of the match, the USA were still in a 0-0 tie with Algeria, but a fantastic goal in the 92nd minute from Donovan got the USA through, and left the Slovenians out of their first World Cup. This confirmed my first two predictions from yesterday's post.
England qualified after scoring only two goals in the competition – one against the US, and one against Slovenia, and this makes them so far the lowest-scoring team to qualify. Incidentally, this is the first time in over 40 years that England have ended the first half 1-0 against a European side and gone on to win (previously they had draws with Sweden in 2006 and 2002, and Ireland in 1990, and a loss against West Germany in 1970).
Next, Germany took on Ghana while Serbia played Australia. I predicted that Germany and Serbia would go through. For the first time in a World Cup, two brothers played against each other – German Jermome BOATENG took on his brother Kevin-Prince Boateng – their father is Ghanese, mother German. Kevin-Prince even played for Germany in the youth teams before choosing to play for his father's country. There's even a second Boateng on the Ghanan side – Derek - but he doesn't seem to be a relation.
In the end, Germany came first to nobody's surprise. Second was Ghana, thanks to their goal difference. So my prediction was not entirely correct. Germany will go through to face England – a great rivalry fuelled originally by the World Wars, and latterly by England's World Cup victory in 1966. In the history of England-Germany matches, they have played 27 times, with England winning 12 matches, Germany winning 10 and taking the two penalty shoot-outs that resulted in competition. There have been three friendly draws. England will hope to win outright, as Germany are unbeaten at penalties. Ghana face the mighty USA, and are probably going to be the only African team to qualify. Even if Ivory Coast beat North Korea and Portugal lose to Brazil (very likely), they will have to get an incredible score (and Portugal will have to lose by a lot of goals).
Goals per game: Mean – 2.08, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.93, Median – 4, Mode – 2,5, Range - 9
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands (playing failed Cameroon) and Japan from group E, Paraguay and (hopefully) Italy from group F. Paraguay is the only team to have won a game in this group, and as the Cup holders, Italy have a great incentive to continue.
Day Thirteen part one: 23/6/2010
England, USA, do it!
I was hoping for that victory and it came! I went through the games thinking my predictions would fall flat, but at the last minute the USA scored and also made it through. Now we both go through. I suspect Germany will be first in their group, with Serbia second. Looking forward to Germany against England.
ENGLAND!!!!
I was hoping for that victory and it came! I went through the games thinking my predictions would fall flat, but at the last minute the USA scored and also made it through. Now we both go through. I suspect Germany will be first in their group, with Serbia second. Looking forward to Germany against England.
ENGLAND!!!!
22/06/2010
Day Twelve: 22/6/2010
France fail as Argentina shine
Here's some goalscorer age stats:
The youngest goalscorer is unchanged from last time: Germany's Mueller, aged only 20. The oldest goalscorer is Mexico's Blanco, who scored a penalty against France aged 37. The mean age of a scorer is 27.2, and the median is 27.5, with a lower quartile of 25 and an upper quartile of 29, suggesting most goalscorers are in their late 20s. Indeed, the age with the most goalscorers is 29.
A fantastic game for South Africa, but disappointingly they failed to get through to the next round of the World Cup as Uruguay only won 1-0 against Mexico - goal difference was the deciding factor. France have shown themselves to be a terrible team – they went through more than 338 minutes of World Cup matches without scoring a single goal – which is two-and-a-half matches from this year's cup, and one-and-a-half matches from last year's cup. So Mexico go through on goal difference (+1) as second in their group.
The referee of the France-South Africa game did not do a fantastic job – the first goal was off the shoulder of South African KHUMALO, and the red card against GOURCUFF that brought France down to 10 men was probably undeserved. There has been a lot of bad refereeing in this tournament so far, but let's hope we have a few good refs to choose from to take the Final.
France head home to face a government enquiry into the mess they've ended up in. The only two previous times they have failed to get into the knockout stages – 1966 and 2002 – they were in Uruguay's group each time, and failed to get more than a single point. South Africa are already at home, so there's no long distance to travel for their players, but they put on a great final performance.
Argentina played Greece as South Korea took on Nigeria in the second pair of games today. There was fantastic play in the South Korea/Nigeria game that kept the other two teams guessing as to who would go through. After missing an easy goal in the second half, Yukubu then scored a penalty his team earned to get them on level terms again with the Asian side. All the players were flagging by the end, and struggling to keep going.
Despite a terrible lack of possession for Greece, they held Argentina off their first goal for 77 minutes before DEMICHELIS finally scored to bring the South American side in the lead. They eventually won 2-0 with some fantastic play. To nobody's surprise, Argentina successfully qualified winners of group B to play against Mexico. South Korea go on to face Uruguay.
Predictions for tomorrow: England and USA to qualify from group C, Germany and Serbia to qualify from group D. I would say Germany and Ghana if they weren't playing each other, and I expect Germany to win this game, and Serbia to beat Australia.
We have two South American, one mid-American and one Asian side through to the next round of the World Cup so far. If my predictions prove correct, then three European and one North American side will join them.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.14, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.92, Median – 4, Mode – 2,3, Range – 9
It seems goals are increasing, and the roughness of the games is decreasing.
Here's some goalscorer age stats:
The youngest goalscorer is unchanged from last time: Germany's Mueller, aged only 20. The oldest goalscorer is Mexico's Blanco, who scored a penalty against France aged 37. The mean age of a scorer is 27.2, and the median is 27.5, with a lower quartile of 25 and an upper quartile of 29, suggesting most goalscorers are in their late 20s. Indeed, the age with the most goalscorers is 29.
A fantastic game for South Africa, but disappointingly they failed to get through to the next round of the World Cup as Uruguay only won 1-0 against Mexico - goal difference was the deciding factor. France have shown themselves to be a terrible team – they went through more than 338 minutes of World Cup matches without scoring a single goal – which is two-and-a-half matches from this year's cup, and one-and-a-half matches from last year's cup. So Mexico go through on goal difference (+1) as second in their group.
The referee of the France-South Africa game did not do a fantastic job – the first goal was off the shoulder of South African KHUMALO, and the red card against GOURCUFF that brought France down to 10 men was probably undeserved. There has been a lot of bad refereeing in this tournament so far, but let's hope we have a few good refs to choose from to take the Final.
France head home to face a government enquiry into the mess they've ended up in. The only two previous times they have failed to get into the knockout stages – 1966 and 2002 – they were in Uruguay's group each time, and failed to get more than a single point. South Africa are already at home, so there's no long distance to travel for their players, but they put on a great final performance.
Argentina played Greece as South Korea took on Nigeria in the second pair of games today. There was fantastic play in the South Korea/Nigeria game that kept the other two teams guessing as to who would go through. After missing an easy goal in the second half, Yukubu then scored a penalty his team earned to get them on level terms again with the Asian side. All the players were flagging by the end, and struggling to keep going.
Despite a terrible lack of possession for Greece, they held Argentina off their first goal for 77 minutes before DEMICHELIS finally scored to bring the South American side in the lead. They eventually won 2-0 with some fantastic play. To nobody's surprise, Argentina successfully qualified winners of group B to play against Mexico. South Korea go on to face Uruguay.
Predictions for tomorrow: England and USA to qualify from group C, Germany and Serbia to qualify from group D. I would say Germany and Ghana if they weren't playing each other, and I expect Germany to win this game, and Serbia to beat Australia.
We have two South American, one mid-American and one Asian side through to the next round of the World Cup so far. If my predictions prove correct, then three European and one North American side will join them.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.14, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.92, Median – 4, Mode – 2,3, Range – 9
It seems goals are increasing, and the roughness of the games is decreasing.
21/06/2010
Day Eleven: 21/6/2010
Portugal leave North Korea behind again as Spain keep a clean game
Here's how the cards and goals are spread over the positions:
Total goals: 67, Total cards: 130 (some players got more than one)
The first game of the day was North Korea against Portugal. At first, the brave Asian side held their ground, but Portugal showed that their draw against Ivory Coast was a fluke as they scored one goal in the first half. In the second half, North Korea fell to pieces as Portugal got six more goals for the top-scoring game of the tournament. Last time these teams met was in the second round of the 1966 World Cup, where North Korea went 3-0 up and then lost 5-3 thanks to the incredible Eusebio! He scored 4 goals in that game, and went on to become the top scorer in the cup. [It was England who won, though :D]
Afterwards, Chile won their second game 1-0, giving them six points. This puts Chile at the top of their group thanks to Switzerland's previous win and Spain's loss. It's likely this group will be determined by goal difference if Switzerland beat Honduras and Spain beat Chile. So it's up to the teams to make sure they score as many goals as possible! This game has been the roughest so far of the tournament, with 10 cards including a straight red to Switzerland! Saudi-Arabian referee AL GHAMDI Khalil has previously refereed the game between France and Mexico, where six yellow cards were given out. It seems from his record that he does often give out a lot of cards, and he's a teacher in 'normal life', so feel sorry for his students! World Referee.com gives him the worst refereeing performance of the tournament so far! He also gave Chile a goal that was clearly offside.
Finally, Spain took on Honduras. After a defeat to Switzerland despite being the better team, they had to do well, and succeeded, winning 2-0. Both goals were scored by David VILLA, which also puts him in contention for the Adidas golden boot. Spain also managed another clean game, getting no cards once again. This means that Spain is the only team in the tournament that has not received any cards!
Goals per game: Mean – 2.09, Median – 3, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 4.06, Median – 4, Mode – 3,5, Range - 9
Here's how the cards and goals are spread over the positions:
| Position | Goals scored | Number of card earners |
| Goalkeeper | 0 | 3 |
| Defender | 9 | 48 |
| Midfielder | 24 | 45 |
| Striker | 35 | 21 |
Total goals: 67, Total cards: 130 (some players got more than one)
The first game of the day was North Korea against Portugal. At first, the brave Asian side held their ground, but Portugal showed that their draw against Ivory Coast was a fluke as they scored one goal in the first half. In the second half, North Korea fell to pieces as Portugal got six more goals for the top-scoring game of the tournament. Last time these teams met was in the second round of the 1966 World Cup, where North Korea went 3-0 up and then lost 5-3 thanks to the incredible Eusebio! He scored 4 goals in that game, and went on to become the top scorer in the cup. [It was England who won, though :D]
Afterwards, Chile won their second game 1-0, giving them six points. This puts Chile at the top of their group thanks to Switzerland's previous win and Spain's loss. It's likely this group will be determined by goal difference if Switzerland beat Honduras and Spain beat Chile. So it's up to the teams to make sure they score as many goals as possible! This game has been the roughest so far of the tournament, with 10 cards including a straight red to Switzerland! Saudi-Arabian referee AL GHAMDI Khalil has previously refereed the game between France and Mexico, where six yellow cards were given out. It seems from his record that he does often give out a lot of cards, and he's a teacher in 'normal life', so feel sorry for his students! World Referee.com gives him the worst refereeing performance of the tournament so far! He also gave Chile a goal that was clearly offside.
Finally, Spain took on Honduras. After a defeat to Switzerland despite being the better team, they had to do well, and succeeded, winning 2-0. Both goals were scored by David VILLA, which also puts him in contention for the Adidas golden boot. Spain also managed another clean game, getting no cards once again. This means that Spain is the only team in the tournament that has not received any cards!
Goals per game: Mean – 2.09, Median – 3, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 4.06, Median – 4, Mode – 3,5, Range - 9
20/06/2010
Day Ten: 20/6/2010
Italy continue to be bad, Brazil give no surprises
A shocking game from reigning world champions Italy, who have once again only drawn with supposedly-inferior opponents. New Zealand are the second-lowest FIFA/Coca-Cola ranked team in this World Cup, so what does that say about the Italians? The last time the reigning champions failed to win their first two matches in a World Cup was France back in 2002.
First, the card stats. There have been:
4 red cards
5 double-yellows to a single player in the same game
8 players have received two yellow cards in separate group-stages games
85 players have only had one yellow card
The two teams with the least cards given are North Korea and Spain, having not had any, although both teams are yet to play their second group stage matches.
The roughest team so far is Serbia, who have received 8 cards so far including one player sent off with two yellow cards against Ghana. This is partly because of their participation in the nine-card game.
The first game played today was Paraguay against Slovakia. Paraguay held Italy to a 1-1 draw in their first game, which is a mixture of good Paraguayan and bad Italian football. Slovakia lost 2-0, and also had three yellow cards, having previously drawn with New Zealand. If Italy beat Slovakia they will qualify, but if they draw then Paraguay have to beat New Zealand to go through. If Slovakia (somehow) beats Italy, they will qualify provided Paraguay lose. So this group is (surprisingly) anyone's game.
After Italy's disappointing draw with New Zealand, you can only assume that they're not going to retain the cup. A lot of supposedly-good teams this year are failing to do well. France and England have done especially poorly, and after a fantastic start, Germany have also fallen behind. However, Argentina and Brazil are doing well, and we've yet to hear from Portugal.
The big news is that France's star player Nicolas ANELKA has been sent home, and the entire French squad has disputed this decision, and thus refused to train. It remains to be seen how well they will fare against South Africa.
Brazil had another good match against Ivory Coast, winning 3-1. It's Brazil's second victory this World Cup, and continues their fantastic record. Ivory Coast is team led by ex-England coach Sven Goran-Ericcson, who led England to the quarter-finals of the last two World Cups. He may not have been able to beat Brazil, but bringing Portugal to a 1-1 draw is fantastic!
Goals per game: Mean - 1.97, Median - 2, Mode - 2, Range - 5
Cards per game: Mean - 3.93, Median - 4, Mode - 3,5, Range - 8
A shocking game from reigning world champions Italy, who have once again only drawn with supposedly-inferior opponents. New Zealand are the second-lowest FIFA/Coca-Cola ranked team in this World Cup, so what does that say about the Italians? The last time the reigning champions failed to win their first two matches in a World Cup was France back in 2002.
First, the card stats. There have been:
4 red cards
5 double-yellows to a single player in the same game
8 players have received two yellow cards in separate group-stages games
85 players have only had one yellow card
The two teams with the least cards given are North Korea and Spain, having not had any, although both teams are yet to play their second group stage matches.
The roughest team so far is Serbia, who have received 8 cards so far including one player sent off with two yellow cards against Ghana. This is partly because of their participation in the nine-card game.
The first game played today was Paraguay against Slovakia. Paraguay held Italy to a 1-1 draw in their first game, which is a mixture of good Paraguayan and bad Italian football. Slovakia lost 2-0, and also had three yellow cards, having previously drawn with New Zealand. If Italy beat Slovakia they will qualify, but if they draw then Paraguay have to beat New Zealand to go through. If Slovakia (somehow) beats Italy, they will qualify provided Paraguay lose. So this group is (surprisingly) anyone's game.
After Italy's disappointing draw with New Zealand, you can only assume that they're not going to retain the cup. A lot of supposedly-good teams this year are failing to do well. France and England have done especially poorly, and after a fantastic start, Germany have also fallen behind. However, Argentina and Brazil are doing well, and we've yet to hear from Portugal.
The big news is that France's star player Nicolas ANELKA has been sent home, and the entire French squad has disputed this decision, and thus refused to train. It remains to be seen how well they will fare against South Africa.
Brazil had another good match against Ivory Coast, winning 3-1. It's Brazil's second victory this World Cup, and continues their fantastic record. Ivory Coast is team led by ex-England coach Sven Goran-Ericcson, who led England to the quarter-finals of the last two World Cups. He may not have been able to beat Brazil, but bringing Portugal to a 1-1 draw is fantastic!
Goals per game: Mean - 1.97, Median - 2, Mode - 2, Range - 5
Cards per game: Mean - 3.93, Median - 4, Mode - 3,5, Range - 8
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