Big Guns Mis-fire

Both of the teams who appeared in the 2006 World Cup failed to make it past the group stages this time round.  Runners-up France finished bottom of Group A after losing their final game 2-1 to hosts South Africa.  Though Bafana Bafana did not progress to the knockout stages they can be proud of the quality of their performances in this tournament.  Goals from Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela saw them beat the European giants, whose morale issues got the better of them.  It was Thierry Henry’s handball that got France to the World Cup, and after that showing it may have been wiser if the Barcelona man hadn’t bothered.  Mexico and Uruguay progressed, and have mouth-watering ties with Argentina and South Korea, respectively, to look forward to in the next round. 
 
2006 World Cup winners Italy also finished bottom of their group, managing to be worse than the combined might of Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand.  Their final game was a 3-2 thriller against Slovakia, Robert Vittek putting the Eastern Europeans two goals up with one in each half.  There was a mad rush for goals in the final ten minutes, with Antonio Di Natale pulling one back for the Italians, Kamil Kopunek responding for Slovakia, and Fabio Quagliarella scoring what turned out to be a consolation for the Azzurri.  It is not only the first time that the hosts have failed to make it past the opening phase of the tournament, but also the first time that both of the previous cup’s finalists have failed to progress.  That both finished bottom of their group only bodes well for potential upsets once the knockout rounds begin.  
 

England stumble over the line

After a dismal showing against Algeria, hope in the England camp was hard to come by but an improved performance in their final game saw them progress.  Up against minnows Slovenia the inclusion of James Milner and Jermaine Defoe proved crucial, as the winger put in a peach of a cross for the Tottenham striker to volley home, though Samir Handanovic in the Slovenia goal did flap at the ball.  Nonetheless, he made amends with a series of good first half saves, and denied Wayne Rooney a potentially confidence-boosting goal early in the second half.  After Rooney went off with a minor injury England again struggled to create chances, but a measure of hope has been restored. 
 
Thanks to the USA’s late, late goal against Algeria they advanced with England as group winners.  They may yet prove to be a dark horse in this cup.  The dream, or possibly nightmare, tie of England vs. Germany in the last 16 was still on.  All the Germans had to do was beat a Ghana side which has deservedly gained plaudits for being the best African team on show.  It proved difficult for Joachim Löw’s men as they struggled to break down the Black Star’s defence and were exposed in front of their own goal on several occasions.  Ghana showed typical profligacy, spurning all the chances their fine performance produced, and due to a beautiful Mesut Ozil strike lost 1-0.  However, due to Australia doing them a favour in the evening’s other game, beating Serbia 2-1, it was Ghana who joined Germany in the knockout rounds, where they will face the USA. 
 
With Paraguay and Slovakia progressing from group F it was up to the four in group E to fight it out for the chance to face them.  Holland continued their strong start to the cup and advance with a 100% winning record.  Klaas Jan Huntelaar’s late goal beat the disappointing Cameroon, who had equalised though a Samuel Eto’o penalty after Robin Van Persie had opened the scoring.  The other game saw Japan beat Denmark 3-1 thanks to wonderful free kicks from Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo, and so Japan will face Paraguay and Holland will play Slovakia in what is already shaping up as a highly promising second round.