A Disappointing Day
Till Abolo was sent off in the 53rd minute, Togo competed well versus South Korea. They had even scored one courtesy Mohammed Kader in the first half. It looked like Togo might sneak a famous victory. Then, there was the red card. Moments later, South Korea equalled via Chun-Soo Lee. From there, South Korea dominated. Togo looked tired and slow in the second half regardless of the 10 men factor. The South Koreans weren’t impressive in the match though. There were many shots way off target and the team could very well struggle against Switzerland.
Switzerland vs France 0-0
The goal jinx for France continues. They had several chances but failed to score. Even Switzerland had chances and they could have easily won with a little luck. For France, the big question is - are they missing Cisse? I failed to understand why Giully should not be in the French squad having seen him closely over the last two years. France shouldn’t have problems qualifying for round 2 but you never know!
Every one seems disappointed that Brazil did not score more than one. This shows how huge the expectations from them are this time around. Brazil did dominate possession and apart from not scoring more than the 1 excellent goal via Kaka, they did not do much wrong attack wise. The defense wasn’t half as strong. For example, the Brazilian defense could easily have been penetrated in the first half when Tudor was left unmarked. Croatia impressed as they usually do with another committed performance. They will be favourites to reach round 2 when they face Australia in the Group F decider.
Over all, all the matches disappointed in their own rights. Not a lot missed if you didn’t watch the action.
Today’s Predictions
From yesterday, I predicted only 1 match correctly. The fun is in the predicting though!
Spain 1 Ukraine 0
With Shevchenko not playing, Spain are favourites. A win here is necessary lest things are left till late and problems occur when Spain faces Saudi Arabia.
Tunisia 0 Saudi Arabia 1
This match should show how much Saudi Arabia have really improved, if they have. Tunisia isn’t a strong side and if Saudi Arabia wants to challenge for round two, they first have to win versus Tunisia before they square off in the possible group decider versus Ukraine.
Germany 2 Poland 0
Poland weren’t impressive at all when they faced Ecuador losing 2-0. Germans should have it easy today delighting a lot of German fans out there.
Tags: Brazil, Croatia, FIFA World Cup 2006, France Football, South Korean football, Switzerland, Togo Football.
