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.
Showing posts with label new Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new Zealand. Show all posts
24/06/2010
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
15/06/2010
Day Five: 15/6/2010
North Korea battle well against Brazil!
Some info on the ages of goalscorers:
Oldest scorer: 33 years, 7 months, 26 days – JI Yun Nam (North Korea) against Brazil
Youngest scorer: 20 years, 9 months, 0 days – Thomas MUELLER (Germany) against Australia
Mean age: 27.5
Mode age: 29 (5 players)
Range: 13
Interestingly, nobody has scored more than one goal yet. Let's hope that changes soon! Tomorrow: info on the times the goals were scored during the game.
So today we had New Zealand verses Slovakia (two teams lucky that there's only one good team in their group – Italy – so they have a chance of going through). This game resulted in a draw, and New Zealand defender Winston REID made the best use of injury time to score a goal in the 93rd minute. Reid is the second-youngest goalscorer, aged 21. Between him and the next-youngest is a gap of about three years. Slovakia's Robert VITTEK, who plays his football in Turkey, had scored in the 50th minute. He's 28 – which fits the goalscorer profile better!
Next up was the Ivory Coast, playing Portugal. You'd think Portugal would win, but like many other supposedly-good teams this tournament, they failed to impress, only getting a 0-0 draw with the African side. There were three yellow cards in this game, including one for Christiano RONALDO, who's well known for his diving – and his winking!
Finally, the North Koreans won the hearts of the world as they played against Brazil. Brazil will always be one of the best teams, having never failed to qualify for a world cup, and won it five times as well, most recently in 1998. They scored two goals and gained a yellow card in a clean game, but North Korea managed to hold back Brazil for the entirety of the first half, and Korean defender JI Yun-Nam, the oldest scorer in the World Cup so far, got a last minute goal to show just how good their team are. I may not approve of the country's government, but I care for the players. I was especially moved by JONG Tae-Se's passion.
Goals per game: Mean- 1.571, Median – 1.5, Mode – 1,2, Range - 4
Cards per game: Mean – 3.643, Median – 3, Mode – 2,3,6, Range – 6
Games seem to be getting cleaner, and the goals more interesting. Tomorrow is the sixth day of the tournament. Group H round off the first matches, and South Africa play Uruguay in their second games.
Some info on the ages of goalscorers:
Oldest scorer: 33 years, 7 months, 26 days – JI Yun Nam (North Korea) against Brazil
Youngest scorer: 20 years, 9 months, 0 days – Thomas MUELLER (Germany) against Australia
Mean age: 27.5
Mode age: 29 (5 players)
Range: 13
Interestingly, nobody has scored more than one goal yet. Let's hope that changes soon! Tomorrow: info on the times the goals were scored during the game.
So today we had New Zealand verses Slovakia (two teams lucky that there's only one good team in their group – Italy – so they have a chance of going through). This game resulted in a draw, and New Zealand defender Winston REID made the best use of injury time to score a goal in the 93rd minute. Reid is the second-youngest goalscorer, aged 21. Between him and the next-youngest is a gap of about three years. Slovakia's Robert VITTEK, who plays his football in Turkey, had scored in the 50th minute. He's 28 – which fits the goalscorer profile better!
Next up was the Ivory Coast, playing Portugal. You'd think Portugal would win, but like many other supposedly-good teams this tournament, they failed to impress, only getting a 0-0 draw with the African side. There were three yellow cards in this game, including one for Christiano RONALDO, who's well known for his diving – and his winking!
Finally, the North Koreans won the hearts of the world as they played against Brazil. Brazil will always be one of the best teams, having never failed to qualify for a world cup, and won it five times as well, most recently in 1998. They scored two goals and gained a yellow card in a clean game, but North Korea managed to hold back Brazil for the entirety of the first half, and Korean defender JI Yun-Nam, the oldest scorer in the World Cup so far, got a last minute goal to show just how good their team are. I may not approve of the country's government, but I care for the players. I was especially moved by JONG Tae-Se's passion.
Goals per game: Mean- 1.571, Median – 1.5, Mode – 1,2, Range - 4
Cards per game: Mean – 3.643, Median – 3, Mode – 2,3,6, Range – 6
Games seem to be getting cleaner, and the goals more interesting. Tomorrow is the sixth day of the tournament. Group H round off the first matches, and South Africa play Uruguay in their second games.
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