I secretly (not anymore secretly) wonder if the dull scoring keeps up, if the referees won't start calling softer fouls and even penalties in an effort to step up the pace.



I think you sent your rain clouds over by me as well, it's been raining quite a bit here lately!

good win - NOT

sorry it may sound like a stupid question but are you from slovenia originally ?

Isn't it true that this (Brazil NK) is only the second game to have more than 2 goals scored? Dang!

Talking about Brazil, out of all the big nations they had the easiest opener imo. And they really struggled to get thatwin and could have easily lost the 3 points yesterday. I wonder how they'll handle Portugal and the Ivory Cost, especially the African team, I was so hoping for a draw yesterday as that could have easily lead to Brazil not even making it out of their goup... Oh well

....and Kaka was like his own shadow. BTW, I missed "Dinho style passes" which could have helped a lot, IMO.

Well, I do agree partially - but IMO Brazil played just as much as they needed to take the 3 points. Never in the whole 90 minutes I had a feeling North Korea is getting dangerous and jepardizes their win.

Call me crazy...but I think Portugal are the weakest team in that group. CIV nearly had their number a couple of times. Portugal are some lacking in ideas, and flair. They actually think having CR9 automatically translates to attacking prowess?? They really need to improve. Brazil will eat them up.

And after yesteday's showing you have to rethink terming DPR as the weakest team there. They're an awesome team, and they played so fluently. People are gonna crib about them being defensive, but it was excellent defensive football. They weren't resorting to crappy, cynical fouls or anything. Close down space-win the ball-pass it Djong Tsae. Totally love the way the two Koreas are playing. The only thing is their mental level. Playing their kind of game requires razor sharp concentration for the whole game. One lapse from a player and the whole wall collapses.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say DPR/CIV and Brazil will qualify. Portugal to be knocked out.

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, Jack. DPRK surprised me too, in a good way. Everyone expected them to be knockovers and they were anything but that.

EDIT: Just saw the Sky tg24 sport report. If I understood the medical terminology correct, Buffon's got a slipped disc in his back - one of the discs between vertebrae is protruding and pressing against nerves. I've had that happen and can tell you that it's VERY painful. It's also not one of those things that goes away in a couple of days. Again, assuming my understanding is correct, we may well be seeing a lot of Marchetti.

They also said that Lippi has decided not to continue with the ineffective 4-3-3 and that he'll go with a 4-4-2 with (thankfully) Di Natale starting.

Did you forget Germany 4-0 Australia?

A nice full stadium for Honduras-Chile. Chile with the early cotnrol of th egame -- couple of corners and free kicks so far. Alexis Sanches very lively.

Yeah. That was the first game to have more than 2 goals. Yesterday's was the second.

Cahill sending off against Germany. It was a yellow at worst.

SECOND game

Germany - Australia was the first game that ONE team scored more 2 goals.
South Africa and Mexico allready had 2 goals togther

FT Honduras 0-1 Chile.

First half at least was entertaining (didn't see the second). Alexis Sanchez of Udinese looked quite good.

Lineups out for Spain-Switzerland. Torres not in the starting XI.

Honduras did really fight second half, I saw second half but not the first. It was a tight game
and Honduras were working their @sses of!

Svennis, Ivory Coast coach brings up a meeting about the ball, Jabulani. link


And Heizne's goal agianst Nigeria should been disallowed link

Is Iniesta part salmon or something? Stay on your feet FFS.

+1 for making my person giggle.

Spain with high posession but no goals

Here's hoping it stays that way

Villa, fool

torres would have buried that

Switzerland will be hard to break...

According to Gazzetta, Buffon has a herniated disc in his back. They're not totally excluding his return to the squad but say it won't be in the very near term. link

Well, I didn't see that one coming.

WOW, switzerland is impressiv
Edit: nice haircut torres

That was so unlucky.

So who on the Spanish squad was to blame for the goal? (Won't see this one til later).

I am a surprised fish - but Ottmar is a very very good coach so it's not a huge shock that Switzerland are so organized.

Puyol then Casillas. Puyol went to the ball and got caught out of position, then Casillas just threw his body at the player and missed the ball leaving an open goal. Comedy.

Well if history is any indication of the future, Spain is done. Only 8% of the teams to lose opening round go through, and NO team has won the cup after losing the opening round!

Way to go Swiss!

i'm so glad one of the big teams got beat.

none of them (besides Germany) seem to care that their at the World Cup. all of them up til now have gotten lucky with a draw/win.

hopefully this will wake the tournament up.

They did it!

Great 2nd half, a match like this was sorely needed.

Congrats to the Swiss.

One things for sure, the bad teams are nowhere near as bad as we'd expected.

Wow. What a surprise.

Well done to Switzerland!

Totally did not expect this result.

or maybe the good teams aren't as good as we expected

Exactly. This is the first time in many years all 32 teams are to be taken seriously. Hence - no Saudi Arabia

And as for the Swiss team, congrats to Herr Ottmar, he still is a master brain.
I'm just worried how the team will play when they have to win; against Chile and Honduras.

Exactly.

This is the most even tournament I've seen - with the gulf between big teams and small teams far smaller than I'd expected at all. The Brazils, Englands, Spains etc have not lived up to their billing at all, and smaller teams like NK and the Swiss have surprisingly shone.

Maybe that's why it's been a fairly tepid world cup - big teams underperforming while smaller ones show they're not half bad.

tbh the game still wasn't exactly terrific, but it was a wonderful defensive display from the Swiss who did exactly what Greece did in 2004 - played to their own strengths and to hell with trying to take a better team on at their own game.

Yes, in the battle between coaches was won brilliantly by Hitzfeld.

I don't think Switzerland deserved to win/Spain deserved to lose...

Edit: this was probably the most entertaining WC game so far, IMO.

Last night's match edges that one for me.

That game was good, even though once Brazil went up 2-0 you knew it was game over to NK. but this one kept me on the edge of my seat for 95 minutes. I couldn't believe Spain were going to lose and expected them to finally snatch a draw!

Spain dominated Switzerland in terms of ball possession and shots on goal and they STILL lost. You can't do that and expect to win a WC.

It is very interesting how people here comment Brazilian, Spanish, French or Italian players play like they don't care.

I'm a bit stunned by the lack of understanding to them, as well as our lack of courage.

Understanding because it does not always come to the point when a Cannavaro or Iniesta has to show wether he cares or not. Do you honestly belive even one of the players at WC does not care? I don't think so, everyone who's here cares. Only problem is that the season was too long and players who actually deserve to be named best or to shine do not have the strenght to hold on after 40 or 50 and more games played throughout the season with club and nation. I think FIFA and UEFA should truly think of a reformed system, because the triple tournament system with domestic cup and league plus european competition is just too much.

Courage because we have always to bash the teams we initially support. If someone likes Spain, it's not bad to say "dammit they did most of their job right, but they lacked a bit of luck"...but no - mostly we say "XY was crap" or "they don't care" or "they deserved to loose" - I really don't think it's neccesary.

Indeed, along with Chile-Honduras. Because Chile and Spain really played. Hope Uruguay and SAR show us the same now.

I enjoyed what I saw of Chile-Honduras (look forward to the second half on replay).

Crossing fins for Uruguay. I like them too.

Cavani-Forlan-Suarez

Should be perfect.

Yet another reason I will laugh when people say we lack the technical ability to do anything. Determination, work rate and discipline are far more important.

A little bird (fish?) just told me that his person wants to take Nesta's shirt off. Preferably sweaty, I assume.