Saturday – June 19th, 2010 Netherlands vs. Japan review In a game like this, you’d think it was clear cut, but as we’ve seen in this World Cup, there are no easy matches. A red card, a fluke goal, some smart and efficient play and all of a sudden you have an upset! Though the [...]

The Group E second match between the Netherlands and Japan seemed to be one of the most promising World Cup weekend matches. Instead, what viewers had in store for them was a rather lackluster first half and a decent, yet not good enough, second half. The Orange team had beaten Denmark 2-0 in their debut [...]

While I wasn’t considering France as true contenders to win this year’s World Cup, I (and the majority of fans, I believe) was counting on them going through this group stage. Yesterday’s 2-o loss to Mexico leaves France virtually out of the World Cup. If Mexico and Uruguay play to a draw in their match [...]

Friday – June 18th, 2010   Germany vs. Serbia review Germany and Serbia (if you count Serbia & Montenegro and Yugoslavia) are old rivals. They know each other very well and dislike each other. So if you are afraid of physical contact, then this is probably not the game to watch. And so, as scripted, the [...]

The nature of soccer makes officiating particularly important, and a poor refereeing performance can take the match out of players’ hands. Or rather, off their feet.

Thursday – June 17th, 2010 Argentina vs. South Korea review An interesting game between the Group B leaders. Argentina started the game better by controlling the midfield and penetratingthe box a couple of times with a few shots wide, meanwhile Korea was having extreme difficulty getting anything going past their backfield. Argentina’s attack paid off [...]

Wednesday – June 16th, 2010 Honduras vs. Chile Review This game had a good, fast pace to it, much to the style of both teams and good for the viewers. Chile owned the outside with 62% ball possession and had numerous chances in the box.

As I write these lines, each and every team in the World Cup has played their initial game. We have seen some surprises and even shocking results (calling all Spaniards), some teams have played as we thought they would and some haven’t, either positively or negatively. It is important to stress out that fans should [...]