CM10: The Red Fury

[shantanu_rooney]

Wow!!! Spain v England thats going to be a mouth watering clash. Torres and Villa have been in great form so far. Hopefully they can continue their form.

 

[m_vaughan]

Results

25-06-2010

Group G: Australia (Culina 65) 1-0 Ghana
Group H: North Korea (Chong 87) 1-1 USA (Dempsey 16)
Group H: England (Rooney 29, Barry 57) 2-3 Cameroon (Eto'o 5, Douala 35, Idrissou 73)


Standings

Group A:

Group B:

Group C:

Group D:

Group E:

Group F:

Group G:

Group H:

Round of 16 Fixtures

 

[m_vaughan]

Results

26-06-2010

Round of 16: Brazil (Fabiano 11, 19, 53, 60, 81, Kaka 26, 34, 66, 70) 9-1 Switzerland (Barnetta 44)
Round of 16: South Africa 0-2 Portugal (Pepe 30, Maniche 72)


27-06-2010

Round of 16: Germany (Mertesacker 30, Podolski 57) 2-0 Japan
Round of 16: Ivory Coast (Gervinho 82) 1-3 (aet) Netherlands (Seedorf 34, Robben 110, Van Persie 117)


28-06-2010

Round of 16: Italy (Cossu 3, Pepe 17) 2-0 Australia
Round of 16: Uruguay (Luis Suarez 29, 43, 69) 3-2 Mexico (Castillo 12, Iturriaga 76)


29-06-2010

Round of 16: Cameroon 0-1 Greece (Salpigidis 83)

 

[treva]

9-1! Bloody hell, must be up there with the biggest World Cup wins of all-time.

 

[hedger_14]

And 5 goals for Fabiano and 4 for Kaka.

 

[m_vaughan]

Spain knock out England to reach quarter finals

A goal each from Valencia's two Davids, Villa and Silva, were enough for European Champions Spain to see off the challenge of England and qualify for the last eight stage of the competition.

Once again Vicente del Bosque fielded the same starting eleven as he had in all of the three group stage games. England manager Fabio Capello opted to play Gareth Barry in midfield with the underperforming Frank Lampard having to make way.

The Italian's stance nearly paid off early on when Barry crossed from the left for Michael Owen but the striker volleyed narrowly wide.

Barry then headed a Steven Gerrard corner wide before Wayne Rooney was cynically fouled when he would have been clean through on goal by Real Madrid's Raul Albiol.

But the early England promise quickly evaporated as Spain found their passing rhythm and, at times, toyed with their opponents.

Villa and Fernando Torres who plays for English club Liverpool, who have scored seven goals between them in this competition, were constantly causing problems to the England defence and even the so-called world class duo of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry were having trouble dealing with the situation.

Villa forced two good saves out of England keeper David James while Torres' header off Santi Cazorla's cross went just inches above the goal.

However after about 38 minutes were played in the first half, Cazorla, who was almost unstoppable down Spain's right flank, provided another inch-perfect cross right till the far post where an unmarked David Silva rushed in to head home.

After the break Silva nearly turned provider for Cazorla but the Villarreal man's shot was cleared off the line by Terry. Spain once again showed how easily they could switch their play from one side to another. There was a regality about the Spanish midfield, with Xavi and Marcos Senna stroking the ball around with ease.

15 minutes since the restart and Spain found their second goal, effectively sealing their passage to the quarterfinals. Villa rose above Joleon Lescott, who had replaced the disappointing Ferdinand at half-time, to power home a header from Xavi's diagonal free-kick.

For England, Joe Cole had a chance to reduce the arrears late on from Lampard's superb through-ball when the winger went round Iker Casillas but saw his shot cleared off the line by Gerard Pique.

In a fractious final few minutes out of keeping with the rest of the match, Gerrard's arguments with the referee earned him a second booking and the subsequent marching orders.

The referee soon blew the whistle which confirmed Spain's entry into the last eight stage of the competition, for the first time since 2002. England on the other hand would be heading back home after another disappointing World Cup performance in which they managed just one win in four games.

Spain (Silva 38, Villa 60) 2-0 England

m_vaughan added 19 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Really surprised to Brazil defeat Swiss 9-1. Thats must have made them the favourites by a huge margin to win the World Cup. But Spain have shown their class by defeating England.

 

[m_vaughan]

Results

02-07-2010

Quarter-final: Germany (Mertesacker 44, Mario Gomez 71, Podolski 75) 3-4 Portugal (Meira 22, 59, 90+1, Liedson 50)
Quarter-final: Netherlands 0-1 Brazil (Ronaldinho 26)


03-07-2010

Quarter-final: Greece (Soiledis 63) 1-1 (4:5 pens) Italy (Bonucci 68)

 

[m_vaughan]

Classy Spain march on to semis

Spain thrashed Uruguay 4-0 at the Nelson Mandela stadium to progress to last four stage of the World Cup for the first time since 1950.

Andres Iniesta gave La Furia Roja the early lead before Diego Lugano's own goal doubled it and Fernando Torres' brace then completed the rout although they will be without the services of David Villa in the semi-final against Portugal after the Valencia striker was sent off having been booked twice.

For the first time in this competition, Vicente del Bosque altered his starting lineup starting Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso instead of David Silva, who scored in the last round against England, and Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez.

Spain took the lead after just nine minutes had passed in the game. Former Villarreal goalkeeper Sebastian Viera was stranded when Santi Cazorla slid the ball across goal to give Iniesta a simple finish. Although questions can be raised against the Uruguayan defence and especially their right back Maxi Pereira for allowing the Barcelona man to making an uninterrupted run into the box.

And if that start was not bad enough center back Diego Lugano soon doubled it for his opponents after he poked the ball into the back of his net after Cazorla had put it another dangerous ball in from the right.

Spain could have added further to the lead as Villa shot wide, while Capdevila and Torres forced saves out of the keeper.

But in the final five minutes of that first half the former Atletico Madrid striker unleashed a ferocious strike from outside the box that perfectly found the top right corner passed a flying and helpless Viera.

Uruguay who had not had a single shot on Iker Casillas' goal in the first half nearly caught the Real Madrid man by surprise soon after the restart when Diego Forlan got the better off Raul Albiol before unleashing a low strike across the face but Casillas' fingertips got enough on the ball to parry it away for a corner.

Forlan then had another chance although from a tight angle which probably was why the ball in the end sailed above the Spain goal.

But despite that short spell of inspiration from the South Americans, Spain continued to be control the general play. Villa had a shot blocked by Viera when through on goal but, in the process, seemed to have been pulled down by Getafe's Juan Albin.

There was little protest from Spain and they worked another opportunity which saw Villa fail to get enough power on a header he angled straight at Viera.

Substitute Cesc Fabregas, who plies his trade in England but is another product of Barcelona's La Masia, had a glorious opportunity to impress his manager when he was fed in a wonderful ball by Xabi Alonso but for some reason the former decided to aim for the near post thereby allowing Viera to make the save.

There was however only just one team in this game and they completed the rout in the 86th minute when Torres headed home from close range to bag his second of the game and his sixth of the tournament, just one behind leading goalscorer, Kaka.

Spain (Iniesta 9, Lugano og 21, Torres 40, 86) 4-0 Uruguay

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Spain look in form and Spain v Brazil would be a fitting final for the World Cup. Sad to see Germany lose to Portugal. The Semis are going be very exciting. KIU

 

[m_vaughan]

Magnificent Xavi powers Spain to the World Cup final

Xavi Hernandez' brace helped Spain come back from a goal down to beat Portugal 3-1 in the first semi final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Capetown.

Cristiano Ronaldo's first half strike had given Portugal the lead, but two wonderful goals from Barcelona's Xavi in the space of just two minutes turned the game around, before Alvaro Negredo sealed it by netting Spain's third goal to confirm their first ever FIFA World Cup final appearance.

Xavi was one of two players Vicente del Bosque had apparently rested in the quarterfinal against Uruguay. Both he and David Silva, the other player who saw his team thrash the South Americans 4-0 from the bench were back for what was Spain's second ever appearance in a World Cup semi-final, with the last one dating all the way back to 1950. The place of the suspended David Villa was taken by Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo.

For Portugal, Jorge Andrade stepped in for the injured Fernando Meira, who scored that sensational hat-trick in the quarterfinal win over Germany, while Costina was preferred in midfield to Miguel Veloso.

Carlos Quieroz' men started off well enough, with Ricardo Quaresma (twice) and Ronaldo bringing saves out of Iker Casillas in the opening nine minutes.

Negredo had the first opportunity for Spain in the 16th minute when he brought a fine one-handed save out of Eduardo before Cazorla hit the post from the edge of the box much to the dismay of the Furia Roja fans who were seated right behind Portugal's goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who won La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid this year, broke the deadlock in the 38th minute as he burst between two opponents, outfoxed Gerard Pique with a stepover and then drilled a low left-footed shot into the far corner of the net.

Ronaldo soon had another shot from distance saved by a flying Casillas before Liedson forced another save out of the Real Madrid stopper as questions once again started to be raised about Spain bottling it up in the crucial stage of a major competition.

Even in the second half, Spain looked to be suffering under this pressure making wayward passes and losing possession to their opponents. They desperately needed someone to step up and guide them through this, and fortunately for them in Xavi they had just the man for the job.

After Portugal had squandered two more chances since the restart, Spain won a freekick 30 yards out of the Portuguese goal. The expected thing to do here was to float the ball in for someone to head home, but Xavi blasted the ball in straight into the top right corner and just inches away from the fingertips of Eduardo who also ended up injuring himself against the post.

That goal was just the boost the Spanish needed and just two minutes later they took the lead once again through Xavi as the Barcelona man picked up Sergio Ramos' pass 20 yards before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner. Two fantastic goals from the man many believe is a like a machine to completely swing the game in Spain's favour.

And with the confidence now flowing strongly in the team, Spain sealed their passage into the final when Negredo scored low under Eduardo, who should have done better.

Celebrations began in the Spanish camp when the final whistle was blown while the Portuguese players were left to rue all their missed chances as they now had to settle for a 3/4th place game, against the losing side of the other semi-final between Brazil and Italy tomorrow.

Spain (Xavi 64, 66, Negredo 82) 3-1 Portugal (Ronaldo 38)

 

[m_vaughan]

Results

07-07-2010

Semi Final: Italy (Cossu 49, Pepe 81, Pepe 86) 3-1 Brazil (Kaka 65)



10-07-2010

Third Place Playoff: Brazil (Luis Fabiano 4, Diego 52) 2-1 Portugal (Joao Moutinho 39)

 

[JBlues08]

Italy and Spain in the final is going to be interesting.

 

[hedger_14]

Should be a good final. Hopefully Spain wins.

 

[m_vaughan]

Spain beat Italy to clinch maiden World Cup

Fernando Torres was the hero for Spain tonight, firing the nation to their first ever World Cup glory against Italy in Johannesburg.

The former Atletico Madrid star gave La Furia Roja the lead in the 12th minute but Antonio Di Natale equalised in the second half to take the game into extra time where Torres struck again in the 107th minute to win it for Spain.

Heavyweights in European football who produce a constant stream of individual talents and dominate the club scene, Spain always struggled in the international stage. But under the leadership of Iker Casillas, this new generation of players have shrugged off their chokers tag by winning the European Championships in 2008 and now the biggest prize in football, the FIFA World Cup.

The final was rightfully their toughest test in this tournament as defending champions Italy fought valiantly right till the end, and it required a fantastic strike from Torres to clinch the game and the tournament in front of nearly 76,000 fans at Soccer City.

David Villa returned to the starting lineup having missed the semi-final against Portugal because of suspension as Del Bosque had his preferred first eleven available for the biggest game of them all.

Italy manager Marcello Lippi kept an unchanged starting lineup from the one that beat Brazil 3-1 in the other semi-final which meant a continued run for tournament sensation Simone Pepe, who bagged a late and match winning brace in that game.

Spanish nerves began to show early on as the Italians were gifted two decent opportunities early on in the game. Sergio Ramos lost his bearings and gifted a pass straight to Luca Toni, whose poor touch let him down as he sped past Raul Albiol, and the opportunity had gone. Then Daniele de Rossi was teed up on the edge of the area by Pepe after taking the ball off Xavi, but the Roma man could not get purchase on his shot.

Spain started to move through the gears after their reprieve, never looking back after they were let off the hook. Their opening chance came after a Xavi pass had split the Italian defence to find David Silva on the left. When the cross came over, Fabio Cannavaro sliced towards his own goal and Gianluigi Buffon athletically tipped around the post.

The post came to Buffon's rescue when Torres climbed above Cannavaro to meet Ramos' centre, but the striker was not made to wait long for his goal. Just moments later Xavi played the ball beyond Gianluca Zambrotta. The full-back was favourite to clear but Torres used pace and muscle to get around him and slot below the diving Buffon's legs before celebrating his goal by sucking his thumb.

It could have got worse for Italy had David Silva not volleyed over wildly when found at the far post by Santi Cazorla. The scoreline stood at 1-0 at the break.

Italy came out stronger in the second half though. Lippi brought in Alberto Aquilani in the place of Gaetano D'Agostino while Andrea Dossena replaced Zambrotta at left back - both moves adding a fair bit of pace to his side.

Aquilani nearly made an impact when he volleyed a shot in from the edge of the box after being found unmarked by Di Natale's ball in from the left, but the former Roma midfielder could only manage to rattle the post before Gerard Pique cleared from the rebound.

It was his ex-team mate at the capital club, Daniele de Rossi, who created the equalising goal in the 71st minute. The defensive midfielder did beautifully to win possession back from Silva before launching a ball towards Di Natale, who for his part did well to remain onside before timing a perfect run. The Udinese man then won the one-on-one battle with Casillas by wrong footing the Real Madrid stopper by going for the near post.

Italy nearly sealed what would have been an incredible comeback when substitute Alberto Gilardino ran past Albiol and Pique but was denied a proper shot on goal by Casillas who spread his body to cover the angle and forcing the Italian to shoot on the wrong side of the post.

The game then went into extra time but the game was getting stuck in midfield as tired legs began to tell. Gilardino had a headed attempt just before half time in extra time but once again went wide of the goal.

The the decisive moment arrived two minutes after the restart. Jesus Navas who had been just brought on, took advantage of the tired Dossena but cutting him twice before looping a cross in towards goal. Both men in the box, Torres and Alvaro Negredo, on for Villa, were well marked but the latter jumped to deflect the ball in the former path. Despite having Cannavaro all over him, Paolo de Ceglie coming in with a tackle and Buffon in a pretty good position to make the save, Torres lifted the ball before turning and unleashing a ferocious strike that smashed into the Italy goal from a very tight angle.

It was the sort of goal that fully deserved to be a World Cup winner, and as it turned out, it was. Spain held on for the remaining 13 minutes or so, before wild celebrations sparked the Soccer City stadium.

Italy (Di Natale 71) 1-2 (aet) Spain (Torres 12, 107)