World Cup: Brazil & France to meet

Brazil beat Ghana 3-0 to book a place in the quarter-finals againest France yesterday. Brazil took just 5 mins to get the lead. A well-weighted pass from Kaka allowed Ronaldo to sprint clear of Ghana's defence. He then gave a trademark step-over that left Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson (who had a very good game) helpless on the ground, ran on and slid in the goal. It was his 15th goal in the history of the World Cup, making the Brazil marksman the most prolific scorer in the 76-year history of the tournament. Then came the second goal! Cafu raced down the right to break the offside trap and his low centre across the box was turned in off his knee by Adriano in the 45th min. When I first saw it, Adriano looked clearly offside. On replay, it was even clearer! He was off but the referee (& linesman) will always give this sort of decision to the Brazilians. The Ghanaians were very angry and with good reason. In the 83rd min, Ricardinho played a clever ball over the top of Ghana's backline and Ze Roberto beat the advancing Kingson, shepherding the ball into an empty net. But by then , the game was already over. Again, I must say that the referee helped Brazil a lot. Not for the first time in this World Cup, remember the 25-9 foul count Brazil had againest Australia! Such is the name 'Brazil', the referees just refuse to give fouls againest them. There were at least 2 incidents in the game that Brazilians player deserved (but did not get) yellow cards. If they were Ghanaian players, I believe the referee will have no problems with the cards, yellow or red! And that is why they will have a good chance of winning the whole thing. The name 'Brazil'!

France came from behind to beat Spain 3-1. A 28th min penalty from David Villa had given Spain the lead but just 4 mins later, Frank Ribery picked up the ball just inside the Spanish half, played a one-two with Patrick Vieira before rounding Iker Casillas and slipping the ball home. With the match headed for extra time, Vieira got his head to a Zinedine Zidane free-kick at the back post in the 83rd min. The header took a wicked deflection off Sergio Ramos and ended up in the back of Casillas’ net. 2-1 to France! Spain then pushed for an equaliser, and Zidane took advantage. He got a misplaced pass from Cesc Fabregas, turned past Carles Puyol and then steer a shot beyond Casillas once again. Once again Spain flattered to deceive in a World Cup! They have played very well but for some reason just couldn't win a major tournament. Luis Aragones started both Raul and Fabregas for a more attacking line-up but the changes didn't work. Especially for the change of Fabregas. He was preferred to Marcos Senna, but without Senna, Spain was lacking a ball-winner to contend with Vieira in the middle. I think the coach got that one wrong. As for France, they seem to be playing better and better. Vieira is very good these last 2 games and as long as they have Zidane, they can win againest anyone! But againest Brazil, the referee is going to be pro-Brazil again, so they will have their hands full.

World Cup: 10 men Italy in!

An injury-time penalty from substitute Francesco Totti took ten-man Italy past Australia 1-0 amd into the last 8 of the World Cup. Italy had been reduced to ten men following Marco Materazzi's red card in the 50th min. I disagree with the red. Yes, it's a foul but there was another Italian defender beside the Aussie attacker, so it shouldn't be a straight red! But the referee gave the red and Italy was down to 10. Australia really should have done better. Playing againest 10, they did not really create any clear-cut chances and Italy showed why they are such a legendary defensive team. Then in the 93rd min, Fabio Grosso cut into the box from the left and then went down under a Lucas Neill challenge just seconds before the final whistle. I don't know why people are complaining, it's a clear penalty what. Neill should never have went to ground but he did! What you expect Grosso to do? Jump over the defender? Sad to lose to a penalty in the 93rd min but it's a good decision. Italy also deserve to win as they were strong and very determined. They will meet Ukraine in the next round.

Ukraine beat Switzerland on penalties after a goalless draw. Andriy Shevchenko's header came off the crossbar in the 20th min, while Alexander Frei smashed a free-kick against the woodwork 3 mins later. And that's it! There's nothing else to report in the game. Ukraine beat the Swiss 3-0 in the shoot-out; Marco Streller, Tranquillo Barnetta and Ricardo Cabanas all miss their penalties for the Swiss. Yes, they miss their first 3 penalties! The Swiss are out even though they have not conceded a single goal in the 4 games they have played. This must be some record but when you miss 3 straight penalties...you deserve to go. Good luck to Ukraine againest Italy, they will need it!

World Cup: Beckham special put England through

A second-half free-kick from captain David Beckham proved enough to secure a 1-0 victory for England over Ecuador. In the 60th min, Beckham produced a superb delivery which had keeper Cristian Mora scrambling across his goal just to get a fingertip to the ball. But it wasn't enough as the ball went into the net. A good win but England still have the same problem of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in midfield. Those 2 can't play together. Only in the second-half when Eriksson move Gerrard to the left did England look dangerous. I suggest that Lampard be dropped. Lampard missed a lot of chances yesterday and looked very out of sorts. But without Deco, England must ready like their chances againest Portugal.

Portugal progressed to a quarter-final against England after eliminating Holland 1-0. The goal came in the 23rd min. Deco crossed dangerously from the right for Pauleta, who dropped a first-time ball back to Maniche. The midfielder made space for himself and hammer a right-footed drive into the top corner. But the game will be remembered for the 4 red cards, 2 for each team. Portugal will be very worried as one of the players sent off is Deco. Their best player in the World Cup. Bad luck for Portugal but even worse for Holland as they have played well in the World Cup. One wonders if things would have being different if Ruud van Nistelrooy started.

World Cup: No-Balls referee help Germany

Germany beat 10-men Sweden 2-0 to enter the last eight, thanks in part to a no-balls referee. Germany started the game very well, going ahead in just the 4th min. Michael Ballack found Miroslav Klose near the box. Klose smartly turned his marker but saw the ball pushed away from his feet by Andreas Isaksson. The ball fell to Lukas Podolski who made no mistake. Then on 12th min, Podolski finished smartly after Miroslav Klose's pass. Then came the referee. Sweden's Teddy Lucic was shown a yellow card already when he pull back Klose near the half-way line. Referee gave the freekick, Lucic walked away. Then 3 Germany players surround the referee and the next thing to know, the referee Carlos Simon called Lucic back and sent him off for a second booking in the 35 minutes. The commentor on television called it possibly the worst decision in the World Cup. WHAT DO YOU MEAN POSSIBLY? Easily the worst decision. A stupid referee made a stupid decision due to stupid pressure from the Germans players. He wasn't going to book Lucic, why he suddenly change his mind? By the time Henrik Larsson missed a second-half penalty, the game was over already. Thanks to a no-balls referee!

Germany will meet Argentina in the last 8. Maxi Rodriguez's wonderful volley in the 98th minute Saturday gave Argentina a 2-1 victory over Mexico in extra time and put Argentina into the final eight. Rafael Marquez put Mexico ahead in the sixth minute after getting on the end of a Mario Mendez free-kick. The lead lasted 4 mins. Hernan Crespo equalizing in the 10th min, forcing home a corner which Mexico couldn't clear. Everything was even till fulltime. Then 8 mins into extra time, Rodriguez brilliantly teed himself up after chesting a cross-field pass and unleashed a left-foot volley into the top corner. Game over! Mexico played above themselves yesterday, threatening to cause the 2006 World Cup's first major upset. But came out just short, Argentina will meet Germany.

World Cup: Referee sent Ukraine to the last 16

Ukraine booked a spot in the Round of 16 after they recorded a 1-0 win over Tunisia. And that will have to thank referee Carlos Amarilla. He sent Zied Jaziri off for a second yellow card on the stroke of half-time in a decision that left the Tunisians (and me) stunned. Then in the 70th min, the ref awarded a penalty to Ukraine after Andriy Shevchenko tripped himself. Shevchenko did not miss from the penalty. I won't say that the referee had a bad game but he got most of the big decision wrong. Tunisia were unlucky and Ukraine were. In football, sometimes that's all you need.

Spain made it 3 wins out 3 when they beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 with their reserves. Jose Antonio Reyes fired in a free-kick from the left-hand side, and Juanito rose six yards out to head Spain ahead from the 36th min. A classic goal. A comfortable win for Spain and they will face France in the second round. Saudi Arabia played well in this World Cup and did a lot to wipe out that 8-0 thrashing they suffered againest Germany in Korea.

Goals from Philippe Senderos and Alexandr Frei clinched a 2-0 win for Switzerland over Korea to secure top spot for Switerland. The Swiss were pumped up for this game. How pumped? When Hakan Yakin delivered an inch-perfect cross from a free kick in the 23rd min, centre-back Senderos thumped his header into the back of the net. Amid the celebrations, the gritty young scorer did not even notice that streams of blood were pouring down his face after colliding in mid-air with Choi Jin-Cheul. That's how pumped they were! Frei found the target when he sprung the Korean offside trap and rounded Lee Woon-Jae to poke home in the 77th min. The result means that the last Asian hope is gone and the Koreans will be be disappointed after reaching the semis in the last World Cup. It will also encourage those people who wondered about the refs who helped them. The Swiss are in to face Ukraine but they will have to do it without Senderos who was injured in the game.

Joining Switerland in the second round is France. Second-half goals from Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry secured a 2-0 victory over Togo. Playing without Zidane, his replacement Frank Ribery ran at the Togo defence and passed to Patrick Vieira. The replacement French captain celebrated his 30th birthday by spinning around and firing a right-footed shot into the corner in the 55th min. Vieira then flicked on a header on to Henry in the 61st min, Henry produced a deft first touch and fired a low right foot shot into the net. Fench coach Raymond Domenech made several changes including the most important one, starting David Trezeguet. Trezeguet made a huge difference, not least of which is that Henry finally have someone alongside him and that made Henry much happier. But France will need to play much better as they will Spain the the second round. Togo are out and Goodbye, Good Riddance!

World Cup: Ghana carry African hopes into second round

Ghana clinched a place in the last 16 after beating USA 2-1. Haminu Dramani gave Ghana the lead after he robbed Claudio Reyna of the ball and delievered a cool finish past Kasey Keller in the 22nd min. Clint Dempsey's first-time shot made it 1-1 in the 43rd min. This was after some great work by DaMarcus Beasley on the left. Determined running and a good low cross gave Dempsey the chance, and he made no mistake. Then referee Markus Merk gave a controversial penalty to Ghana in injury time of the first half. I don't agree with the decision but the Americans have only themselves to blame. Carlos Bocanegra could have just knock the ball out of touch on the left, but instead he hook the ball back infield. WHY??? It was the 46th min and you have just scored! Just knock it out! But no, he hit it infield and the ref gave the penalty. Stephen Appiah made no mistake. From there, the Americans tried to hit back. Brian McBride sent a diving header against the post for the USA after good work by Bobby Convey. The USA is out, a disappointing World Cup after being in the quarters the last time, while Ghana through to face Brazil.

Italy won a convincing 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic. Substitute Marco Materazzi scored the opening goal with a powerful header from Francesco Totti's corner in the 26th min. He jumped over the defence, and I tell you it was some leap. Wow! The man should be a high jumper. The Czech's hopes was then ended when Jan Polak was sent off for a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time. Filippo Inzaghi then scored in the 87th min when he broke clear and rounded Petr Cech. Inzaghi must thank his lucky stars because this was after he missed a sitter earlier. Andrea Pirlo made a run into the Czech's box, the ball fell to Inzaghi, who MISSED from the 6 yard box. It was as bad as the one missed by Kewell againest Brazil. Still, Italy is through and with this form, they will fear no one. The Czechs are out and it was mainly down to the fact that they lost Jan Kollor in the first game. With Nedved gone after this World Cup, I wonder if the Czech will still be a force in world football.

The Italians will face Australia in the second round. Australia and Croatia drew 2-2. Darijo Srna's precise free-kick gave Croatia an early lead in the 3rd min. Australia drew level through Craig Moore's penalty after Stjepan Tomas handled a cross. Why in the world did he handled that cross? A question no one can answer because there can be no good answer. Just plain stupid. Croatia got the lead back in the 56th min, when Nico Kovac's drive somehow got past Zeljko Kalac. Easily the worst goalkeeping mistake thus far in the World Cup. Then in the 79th min, John Aloisi flick on Marco Bresciano's in-swinging cross and Harry Kewell slam it home. Harry Kewell was offside. I'm willing to bet that only Australian fan will aruge with that. On replay he was clearly offside, but even the Croatians players didn't complained as the Australians did deserved the draw. Still, I don't think they will beat Italy unless they show a vast improvement in the next game.

Brazil thrashed Japan 4-1. Keiji Tamada gave Japan a shock lead in the 33rd min but goals from Ronaldo (45 & 81 min), Juninho Pernambucano (53 min) and Gilberto (59 min) gave Brazil the easy win. The fact that Ronaldo scored is great news for Brazil but I'm not convince that they will win the World Cup. They just have too many weakness, especially in midfield. They will face Ghana in the next round and if I'm the Ghanaian coach, I will tell Appiah and Essien to have a good old go at that midfield. Japan are out, nothing surprising as they were always underdogs in this group. They played some good football but have no strikers. Better luck next time!

World Cup:Portugal beat Mexico to face Holland in the second round

Portugal beat Mexico 2-1, making it three wins out of three. Portugal rested Cristiano Ronaldo, Costinha, Deco, Nuno Valente and Pauleta (all on yellow cards) but still went 2 up within 25 mins. Simao Sabrosa (very good game yesterday) raced towards goal and squared for Maniche to blast home from around the penalty spot. Then Mexico captain Rafael Marquez, for some unknown reason, handled Luis Figo's corner. Credit to the ref because I didn't see it the first time, but on replay its' a very clear handball. Jose Fonseca made it 2-1 in the 29th min,
flicking a header from a corner. From there, Mexico poured forward...and missed a penalty. Omar Bravo missed a kick in the 57th min and then, 4 mins later Luis Perez got a second yellow card for diving. Mexico can conisder themselve unlucky for losing as they played better yesterday, though helped by the fact that Portugal was only playing at half-pace. Still, I doubt the Mexicans can go very far. Their next game is againest Argentina.

Angola scored their first-ever goal at a World Cup finals but it wasn't enough as Angola drew 1-1 with Iran. Flavio headed home Ze Kalanga's cross on 60th mins but Iran drew level when Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh rose unmarked to convert Mehdi Mahdavikia's corner in the 75th min. The game was pretty even but after Iran got the goal, the Iranians were the better side and the Angolans were lucky to escape with a draw. Both sides are out, but they played well and did show the world what they can do. Good job!

Ivory Coast beat Serbia and Montenegro 3-2, coming from 2 goals down. Early strikes from Nikola Zigic and Sasa Ilic put the Serbians in front, but Ivory Coast showed great spirit by coming back with goals from Aruna Dindane(2) and Bonaventure Kalou, tough they were greatly helped by Albert Nadj's 45th min dismissal. Good World Cup for Ivory Coast even though they're out. If they were in a different group, maybe it would have been something.

As expected, Argentina drew 0-0 with the Netherlands in a match which both sides were more interested in not having injuries than winning. Carlos Tevez had a good game though and both sides are playing well. Interesting to see how Mexico & Portugal will cope will them.

World Cup: England againest Ecuador, Sweden faces Germany

A 90th min header from Henrik Larsson earned Sweden a 2-2 draw with England, ensuring that both countries go on to the second round. Joe Cole scored in the 33th min to give England the lead, Marcus Allbäck hit back in the 50th min, and then Steven Gerrard looks to have won it for England when he scored in the 84th. Then Larsson scored to give Sweden the deserved point. Earlier in the game, Sweden hit the woodwork and twice had shots cleared off the line as England very vulnerable from set-pieces. England will be happy as they will avoid Germany in the second round. However Micheal Owen was stretchered off in the first min with what looked like a serious knee injury. His World Cup looks to be over. Which leave England with the same old problem...no strikers!

Germany finish top of their group wih a 3-0 win againest Ecuador. Ecuador made 5 changes in their team, including captain Ivan Hurtado and striker Agustin Delgado. And they paid for it as Miroslav Klose (4th & 44th) and Lukas Podolski (57th), gave Germany a easy win. I personally want to see how well Germany will play againest Sweden as thus far, I don't think they have truly been tested yet. Germany will be favorite but don't be surprise if they lose.

Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup campaign ended with a defeat 0-2 by Paraguay. An own goal from defender Brent Sancho and then Nelson Cuevas scored in the 86th min after a neat one-two. T&T missed a hatful of chances, nothing too clear-cut but they did have chances...and missed them all. Still, they will leave with their heads held high as they played very well in the 3 games.

Bartosz Bosacki scored 2 goals to give Poland a 2-1 win over Costa Rica. Costa Rica actually took the lead through a free-kick from Ronald Gomez which went through the wall. But Bosacki put Poland back on top, which was fair as Poland did played better. It also wasn't a rough game, so how did Singapore referee Shamsul Maidin managed to book 10 players by the end of the match is something beyond me.

World Cup: Spain come from behind to win

Switzerland scored a 2-0 win over troubled Togo to end Togo's World Cup dreams. Goals from Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta gave Switerland a well deserved win. They are now in a good position, though they will need a result againest the Koreans. As for the Sparrowhawks, I hope France beat them bad in the last game. I mean they threaten to boycott the game hours before kick-off over unpaid bonuses, BOYCOTT A WORLD CUP MATCH! Goodbye, good riddence and hopefully France will give you a deserved send-off!

Ukraine outclassed Saudi Arabia 4-0 to get thir World Cup back on track. Andriy Rusol, Serhiy Rebrov, Andriy Shevchenko and Maksym Kalinichenko all scored a goal to give Ukraine a convincing win as the Saudi's defence disappeared for large periods of the game. Not only was the defence missing, the keeper was crap as well! The second goal from Rebrov was extremely embrassing. The shot came from 35 metres and the keeper slipped! Yes, he slip and watch as the ball flew over him into the net. Everytime Ukraine crossed the ball from wide, they looked like scoring. Ukraine could and should have won by more than 4. They now faced Tunisia needing just a draw to go to the second round. As for the Saudis...they next face Spain. They lost to Ukraine by 4, and Ukraine lost to Spain by 4 in the first game. You do the maths!

Spain came from behind to book their ticket for the second round of the World Cup with a 3-1 win over Tunisia. Jawer Mnari gave the Tunisians a shock 8th min lead but Raul came off the bench to poke the ball into the net in the 71st min. A shot from Cesc Fabregas forced a rebound from the keeper and Raul was there for the poke-in. Fernando Torres then struck two goals for Spain. The first in the 75th min after an assist from Fábregas, and the second from the penalty spot in the 90th min. Tunisia played well but was really no match for Spain. Even when they were leading, Spain had all of the play and the only surprise was that they managed to hold on the lead for so long. Luis Aragones put on 3 substitutes, Fabregas, Raul and Joaquin, and all 3 played a part in the goals. Fabregas really should be starting and Joaquin gave Spain some much need width when he came on. Raul should start from the bench again as Villa and Torres are playing well together. Not as convincing as in their first game but Spain are still one of the teams to beat.

World Cup: France in danger, Brazil safe

Brazil labored to another unconvincing victory, beating Australia 2-0. Adriano scored the first goal in the 49th min with a left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area, then substitute Fred tapped in a rebound in the 89th min. The rebound was from a shot by Robinho which hit the post. Robinho came on for the ineffective Ronaldo. Ronaldo had a better game yesterday than againest Croatia but was still way short of his performance in Japan 4 years ago. Brazil on the whole was disappointing, having 4 attackers on the field seems to unbalance them and Australia looks dangerous whenever they go forward. Harry Kewell had the miss of the World Cup when he hit the ball high and wide with the goal begging. Still the Aussie have a good chance to enter the second round.

The other 2 teams in the group, Croatia and Japan, drew 0-0. Croatia, yet to score at the World Cup, had the best chance when Tsuneyasu Miyamoto brought down Dado Prso in the area. Darijo Srna's penalty was saved by Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi. The Japanese keeper was again a one man wall for Japan, pulling off a couple of good saves. But the Japanese strikers were terrible! Yanagisawa had a chance almost as good as Kewell, but sliced the ball out when it seem a certain goal. Luck was again not with the Croatians with the penalty saved and a shot that came off the crossbar. They now must beat the Aussie to have a chance.

In the last game of the day, South Korea came from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw with France. Thierry Henry gave France an early lead, coolly finishing off a deflected shot by Sylvain Wiltord in the 9th min. But with 10 minutes to go Park Ji-sung bundled home a goal. France should have won the game. Patrick Vieira looked to have scored from a header but the keeper saved it. It was not given but on replay, the ball looked to have cross the line! Also Zinedine Zidane put Henry though on goal in the 85th min, but Henry's shot was easily saved. France is in real danger now as they will need to beat Togo and they need to beat them BIG! But without Zidane, who pick up a harsh yellow card in the final mins of the game. South Korea was really lucky and they know it. But this is soccer, so a good result for them.

World Cup: Bloody Americans stay alive, Ghana record stunning win

Americans their first-ever World Cup point in Europe with a 1-1 draw with Italy yesterday. In a match that saw 3 players sent off, Brian McBride bled badly from a vicious elbow and needed 3 stitches. But the Americans gave as good as they got with 2 players sent off. Alberto Gilardino opened the scoring when he got behind the American defence and headed Andrea Pirlo's free kick past Kasey Keller in the 22nd min. The Americans tied the score in the 27th min when Italian defender Cristian Zaccardo knocked Bobby Convey's free kick into the net. Clear mistake by the defender as he had time and space to clear but somehow sliced it into his own net. Then came the red cards! First it was Italy's Daniele De Rossi,in the 28th min. You know, the elbow that split McBride's left cheek. After playing with a man advantage for 17 minutes, it was the Americans who saw red. Midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was off in the 45th minute for a stupid tackle on Pirlo. There was no need to do it! Pirlo was not in a dangerous position and it was the 45th min! Then it took just two minutes of the second half for defender Eddie Pope to get his second yellow card of the game for a tackle from behind againest Gilardino. Againest 9 men, the Italians sent on 3 forwards, but could not get the deciding goal. Which was a fair result as the Americans defended strongly and had a few chances themselves. Keller was very good, making a pair of point-blank stops on Alessandro Del Piero in the final 20 minutes of the match.

Portugal got to the second round for the first time in 40 years with a 2-0 win over Iran. I know, I'm just as surprise as you are! With the players they had, they never even got to the second round for 40 years? Deco scored with a powerful first-time shot from outside the penalty area in the 63rd minute. Blame the ball! The stupid ball who everyone had complained about, curl right after being hit by Deco. Then it went left before curling right again into the net. Stupid! Cristiano Ronaldo made a penalty kick 10 minutes from the end after Luis Figo earned it with a canny play. You know, wait for the defender to slide then fall over him. Penalty!

The result of the day however was the win of Ghana over the Czech Republic. Asamoah Gyan fired Ghana ahead after just 70 seconds, finishing superbly after Tomas Ujfalusi fail to cut out a cross. A cross that was nothing! It was his and the defender just totally missed it. Then in the 65th min, Ujfalusi brought down Matthew Amoah. Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo pointed to the penalty spot, but gave a red card as he was the last defender. The penalty hit the post, giving the Czech a lifeline. But it was not to be as Sulley Muntari rounded off a fine move in the end, catching the Czechs upfield. Ghana's midfield was strong again but this time so was the defence. They made some changes in defence and it worked! For the Czech, Jan Kollor didn't played after the injury in the first game. And boy did they miss him! They are in real danger as their final game is againest the Italians. This win really open the group as all 4 teams (USA, Italy, Ghana, Czech) all have a chance to go on to the second round.

World Cup: Argentina 6 Serbia & Montenegro 0...'Nuff Said

Argentina gave a fearsome show of attacking strength yesterday as they swept rivals Serbia and Montenegro 6-0. In a performance that will sent shivers down every other team in the World Cup, goals from Maxi Rodriguez (6th & 41th mins), Esteban Cambiasso (31st min), then came the red card of Mateja Kezman in the second half. Hernan Crespo hit Argentina's fourth in the 78th minute, substitutes Carlos Tevez (84') and Lionel Messi (88') completed the scoring in the final ten minutes. That's right, 6 goals and 5 goal scorers. That how well the whole team played. With this performance they have played themselves to become the team to beat. Simply marvellous! And this is not againest some make-up-the-numbers team, the Serbs have one of the better defence in the World Cup. The goal by Cambiasso was especially good because it came after 23 passes! Yes, 23 passes! The best team performance so far! As for the Serbs...the Group of Death has claim them. They're out.

Followed closely by Ivory Coast. They were beaten 2-1 by Holland in a hard-fought encounter. Robin Van Persie ran at the Ivorians and got a freekick just outside the box. He then pick himself up and drilled a unstoppable shot past the keeper. Now, my father say that the keeper should have saved it because its' so near to him, but the shot was so powerful that I could hardly see it. No chance for the keeper! Following the 23rd min opener, Van Nistelrooy doubled the Dutch lead four minutes later after a good pass from Arjen Robben. Yes, ROBBEN actually passed the ball! The Ivorians hit back through a spectacular Bakary Kone effort after winning the ball in midfield. The Ivorians are out after 2 good performance, hey this is the Group of Death! In a weaker group they would have went on to the second round but the Dutch have some work to do. I mean the second half was played in the Dutch half only. Van Bommel looked very bad in midfield and Robben still have the same problem of NOT PASSING THE BALL! They will have to play better to have a chance againest Argentina.

10 men Angola drew 0-0 with Mexico after a great performance from keeper Joao Ricardo. Andre Macanga was shown a second yellow card in the 79th min after handling the ball but by then, Angola has shown enough spirit to deserve a point. Fair result.

World Cup: England defeat brave T&T

England overcame a brave and gutsy Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 to book their place in the second round. Goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard in the last seven minutes gave England the win. A pin-point cross from David Beckham gave Crouch a easy chance to head England ahead. Then Beckham pass it to Gerrard who drilled it past Shaka Hislop in the 91th min. However, the biggest news was that Wayne Rooney made his first appearance at the World Cup as a second-half substitute. He looks ok, fast and always asking for the ball but I must wonder why Eriksson took a chance on him on this match. It wasn't a must win game and T&T only really have one clear chance to score late in the first half. Even a 0-0 draw should suit England quite well. Beckham took over from his last game, meaning he was the best English player on the field.
Having said that, England must improve on their finishing. Crouch and Frank Lampard missed a hatful of chances and I'm still not conviced Lampard and Gerrard can play together in the middle. Still with Rooney returning and the 2-0 win, England will be very happy with yesterday result. T&T will also be happy with their performance. They were brave, strong and worked their ass off. Chris Birchall was especially good in the middle of the park, giving Lampard and Gerrard fits for a good part of the match.

Ecuador beat Costa Rica 3-0 to get to the second round of the World Cup for the every first time. Carlos Tenorio scored his second goal of the tournament, heading in a cross after just eight minutes. Veteran striker Agustin Delgado then got his second of the tournament when he smashed in a goal from a tight angle early in the second half. A goal the Costa Rican keeper should have saved. Substitute Ivan Kaviedes wrapped up the scoring with a powerful shot in stoppage time. A good thing to note is that all 3 goals came from the right wing and Edison Mendez was very good yesterday. Ecuador looks good going toward and must fancy their chances againest Germany defence.

Fredrik Ljungberg scored with a header in the 89th min to give Sweden a 1-0 win over Paraguay. The win put the Swedes in pole position to move into the second round. Substitute Johan Elmander, who only came on three minutes earlier, set up the goal when he swung a pass from 25 yards out on the right side toward Marcus Allback on the left. Allback in turn headed a pass from the top-left corner of the 6-yard box to a charging Ljungberg on the opposite side of the goal. Ljungberg jumped and powerfully headed the ball down to the far side to win it. However it's not all good news, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was replaced at halftime due to an injury.

World Cup: Day of the late, late goals

An 93th min header from Radhi Jaidi rescued a point for Tunisia as they drew 2-2 with Saudi Arabia. Tunisia had a good first half that resulted in Zied Jaziri's lucky 23rd-minute goal. A Saudi defender headed a cross out of the box but the ball hit another Saudi player, and then the ball bounced to Jaziri who made no mistake. The Saudis fought back in the second half. They drew level through Yasser Al Kahtani's fine near-post finish in the 57th minute after a flowing move down the right wing. And then they thought they had taken all three points when substitute Sami Al Jaber completed another sweeping move with a cool finish six minutes from time. A Saudi defender headed the ball out of their own box, a player picked it up ran at Tunisia in midfield, passed it to a striker who then pass it out wide to Al Jader who scored. A move that went from one end of the field to the other in about 5 seconds. Beautiful! It should be the winning goal but wasn't because of Jaidi. Both sides look good attacking but the defence of both is poor. The Saudi especially was very weak whenever a high ball was pumped in while the Tunisians defender looked slow compared to the fleet-footed Saudis. Both sides still have a chance to progress but will need to work on their defence if they want to go far.

Spain made a dream start to their campaign with a 4-0 victory over Ukraine. In a brave decision, the coach actually left Raul on the bench. Everyone (including me) thought that the out-of-form striker was too important to be left on the beach. The coach didn't think so and was rewarded when his 2 strikers scored 3 of the 4 goals. Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso headed a 13th minute opener off a cross before David Villa doubled the advantage in the 17th min. The freekick took a deflection off the wall that wrong footed the keeper who had no chance. Vladyslav Vashchuk was then showed a red card just two minutes into the second half after conceding a penalty for a challenge on Fernando Torres. Bad decision ref! Ok, he did pulled Torres but it was only a slight pull. It happen all the time! Villa tucked away the spot-kick and then Torres completed the scoring with a half-volley in the 91th min. Shevchenko, who suffered a knee injury while playing for AC Milan a month ago was plainly unfit. I know Ukraine needs him but he couldn't sprint, so maybe Ukraine will need to work on his fitness again.

In the last game of the night, Germany beat Poland 1-0 with another injury time goal. Oliver Neuville scored in 91st min. This is despite Radaslow Sobolewski being sent off for the Poles in the 75th min. The Poles are almost out and deserve to be so, especially if they can't score againest the Germans paper-thin defence. Germany are through to the next round, contiuning the streak of the host nation always going to the second round of the World Cup. A streak that has lasted over 70 years!

World Cup: Over-rated France, Brazil & lucky Koreans

France and Switerland laboured to a 0-0 draw this morning. France had most of the ball but the best chances went to the Swiss. Alexander Frei fluff an easy chance from 3 metres after a freekick hitted the post in the first half and substitute Daniel Gygax really should have scored in the second. He directly his point-blank header straight at Barthez, giving the former Man Utd clown the chance to saved the shot. Ok, I give you it was a good save but Gygax really should have buried the header. France weren't impressive. However, Zidane had a good game especially in the first half. But the strikers were terrible. Henry was a headless chicken most of the time and Ribery, well let just say that if he is the new Zizou then France's future is in big trouble. The guy misplaced passes, over-dribbled and generally made bad choices whenever he got the ball. I can't believe the coach left it till the 70th plus minutes to change him. However, he did put on Saha and Dhorasoo and the duo was good.

South Korea beat 10-man Togo 2-1. Togo's Mohamed Kader scored in the first half after beautifully controlling the ball with his thigh and running clear of the Koreans defence. Then the game changed when Jean-Paul Abalo was sent off for a foul on Park Ji-Sung in the 53th min. Lee Chun-Soo's free-kick from that foul drew South Korea level. Now I know some people will say that it was a good free-kick but the keeper should have saved that. I mean it was just above his head when it went in. Korean substitute Ahn Jung-Hwan scored the second for the Koreans, breaking the hearts of brave Togo. Still, they looked strong and if they played the same way, they might go through to the second second.

A first-half strike from Kaka gives Brazil a 1-0 victory over Croatia but the best player on the field was Brazilian keeper Dida. So people, do you now believe me when I say the Brazilians are over-rated?

World Cup:USA outclassed

Czech Republic started their World Cup 06 campaign by destroying the USA 3-0. Tomas Rosicky scored twice. Arsenal's fan rejoice, seems that Wenger found another gem here. However, Jan Kollor went out at the end of the first half and it does not look good. Still, the Czech should go through because they just gave the Americans a football lesson yesterday. Fifa, change your ranking system! What is the Americans doing rank 5th in the world. Crazy!

Australia beat Japan 3-1 with 3 goals in the last 10 mins. The Japanese keeper, Kawaguchi, came for a ball he has no business going for and Australia even the score in the 85th min. From there, the floodgates opened. I always thought the Japanese keeper was weak, but for 84 minutes he prove me wrong. He was great...then he made the stupid mistake and Japan lost. Why did he go for the long throw-in when the whole Japanese defence was in front of him is something only he can answer. Pity, because he was a one-man wall for a good part of the game.

Also, Italy beat Ghana 2-0. Pirlo and Iaquinta gave the Italians something to cheer about with a good win.

Group of Death looks good!

A Arjen Robben strike helped the Netherlands defeat Serbia and Montenegro 1-0, though what the Serb defence was thinking trying to play the offside trap against Robben (you know the guy who can run down the line in a blink of an eye) is something only the coach can answer. Still both sides have chances and the group is living up to its name as the Group of Death as all four teams looked good.
Mexico scored twice in the final 20 minutes to defeat Iran 3-1. Helped by a change in tactics at half-time, the Mexicans won but I still can't see why people say they are the darkhorse of the competition. I mean forget winning, they'll be lucky to get past the second round.
Angola lost 0-1 to Portugal after a Pauleta goal in a surprising match. Surprising because no one was sent off! Figo was great and showed that though old, he still have what it takes to perform at the highest stage.

2nd day of World Cup

England beat Paraguay 1-0 though an own goal in the early mins. As expected, newspapers are shouting doom and gloom for England chances already but they are overacting. Paul Robinson was never really tested in the game and the defence looked like a solid outfit (unlike say Germany). Having said that, there are a few problems they'll have to fix. I still say that Gerrard and Lampard can't play together, take one of them out and put Hargreaves in the middle for defensive duties. Also Peter Crouch had a lot of problems with the Paraguay's defence yesterday, so you have to wonder how well he'll do againest Italy. Of course, the only other striker in the England team is 17 year old, never played in the EPL, Theo Walcott. So Crouch is safe, but Eriksson will have to do something about Gerrard and Lampard.

In other news, Trinidad and Tobago drew 0-0 with Sweden. Yes, that's right. The team everyone on television say will be thrashed 3, 4-0 has drawn with Sweden. Don't know what Leo Beenhakker did, but it worked. His players were gre..., ok not great, but they worked hard. So hard that our very own Singapore referee, Shamsul Maidin, sent of the the first player in this World Cup, T&T's Avery John. But Sweden is a vastly better side than they showed yesterday and the sole point is proably all T&T will get in this World Cup.

Argentina beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in the last game of the day. Didn't watch the game, so not much to say but Saviola and Crespo put Argentina 2-0 ahead before Drogba pulled one back for CIV.

World Cup STARTS!

Ok, the World Cup is here and Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2. Not a bad game, unlike most starting games. Germany looks good going forward and Klose looks deadly, but Klinsmann better work on that defence. If Costa Rica can hit them for two, just imagine what Brazil, England or Holland will do.

Singapore 'IDOL'

After an hour of painful listening, I believe we must deduct the pay of these Singapore Idol judges. I mean, these 7 girls are the best u can come up with? They were truly fucking bad! Terrible!

Idol judges

But the judges were the ones to put these "no voice, no looks, no hope" candidates through to the piano shows wor. So the judges either had no taste, no foresight, or no power?

Been more than a year since we registered on blogger, time for a new look. Gonna anyhow humtum one of the other templates, just for a change ;)

Ken "The Master" Lim

Yesterday, was the first day of the new Singapore Idol and the great Ken Lim was truly in form. After a performance from a wannabe (whose name I already fortotten), the Master came up with, "No voice, no looks, no hope." NOW, THAT'S FORM. Simon Cowell, who needs him when Singapore got Ken "The Master" Lim!!!