Well, with 8 games gone at the end of today, we are now exactly 1/8th of the way through the world cup, and I have to say it has been a pretty good tournament so far, however I think it is still yet to sparkle fully.
Serbia & Montenegro vs Netherlands (Match Report)
This match featured the other two teams in the “Group of Death”, and although at times it showed promise, it was not the greatest of games, with the Dutch taking most of the possession, but failing to completely capitalise on it. Arjen Robbens goal was well taken, and I was surprised he didn’t fall when his shirt was tugged by Gavrancic, but he stayed on his feet and finished nicely. Aside from this though, the dutch only made the serb keeper sweat twice, with Robben trying, and mostly failing to hit the target, and Van Nistelrooy looking very rusty at times. The serbs did provide some entertainment, with Savo Milosevic having a good chance but unfortunately for him Kezman got in his way, other than they they played very defensively, relying on Kezman’s pace to create chances, which rarely happened. Overall though both teams showed what they are made of, and the rest of the fixtures in the group will still be interesting.
Mexico vs Iran (Match Report)
This was the first match from Group D, and it was quite entertaining, with the Mexicans peppering Iranian keeper Mirazpour’s area with crosses, and rightly taking all three points with two late goals. Rafael Marquez showed why he is one of the best players in Europe with a fantastic performance, he played all over the pitch, and even when they were 3-1 up he was still helping out the attack. The Iranians showed that they would be no pushovers, especially when Golmohammadi equalised, however other than their goal, they rarely troubled the Mexican keeper.
Angola vs Portugal (Match Report)
This game, a meeting between the colonialists and their colony offered a chance of some sparks, however these didn’t really appear, and aside from the early moments where Portugal looked like they were about to get a cricket score it was a very ordinary game. With Pauleta nearly scoring inside the first 15 seconds, and then putting Portugal in the lead on 4 minutes after some fantastic build up play from Luis Figo it looked like it would be a rout, however Angola rallied and at times they made Portuguese keeper Ricardo make some excellent saves. Portugal had some nice build up play at times, however I felt that Simao did not look at his best compared to some of his Champions League form, and Ronaldo’s show of petulance at being substituted could be a bad sign. Overall it was a relatively good match, and Angola showed they were not merely here to provide shooting practise, Portugal will look to try and get some more goals in their next match against Iran.