Yesterdays fixtures featured the current and previous World Champions in action, Brazil & France, here are my thoughts on the days action.

South Korea vs Togo (Match Report)
Togo looked quite impressive here, as have all the african teams so far, however the South Koreans showed their experience once Togo went down to 10 men. The opening goal of the game was taken expertly by Kader, who impressed all game, however I was not too impressed by Adebayor, who I’ve never really seen do much at Arsenal. Before Togo were reduced to 10 men they were by far the better side with South Korea appearing toothless in attack, however when Abalo received his marching orders for two yellow cards (the first of which seemed a little harsh) it turned to one way traffic. Both of the Korean goals were beautiful strikes, with Ahn Jung-Hwan’s strike to make it 2-1 the pick of the bunch. Overall, I was impressed by the Togolese, and they were unlucky to be reduced to 10 men, South Korea showed their experience once this happened, however they looked poor in the opening half.

France vs Switzerland (Match Report)
This was bar far the worst game of the tournament with the French still looking poor on the world stage. Thierry Henry was played as a lone striker, which I don’t think really works as he often was left unsupported, meaning he struggled to really test Zuberbuehler, the Swiss keeper. At times the Swiss could have scored, they hit the post in the first half from a fantastic free kick, and in the second half Barthez had to make some last gasp saves, the French defence at times looked completely unorganised, and Lillian Thuram was not at the top of his game. A good result for the Swiss, but France will have to improve significantly if they want to win the group.

Brazil vs Croatia (Match Report)
Brazil here looked off form, and at times the Croats could have equalised, the Brazillians, especially Ronaldo, looked off form, with Ronaldinho also not looking his best. Kaká’s well taken goal was the only real highlight of the game, and looking at how Ronaldo was playing, you have to wonder if he is only in the squad to get the 3 goals he needs to beat Gerd Mullers record. Defensively cracks seemed to appear in the Brazillian defence, which could be worrying when they play sides with better strike forces in the latter stages. However Brazil, like England, will take the three points on offer, and hope to improve as the tournament goes on, the Croats still have a chance of qualifying, if they can beat both Australia & Japan.

The Czechs and the Italians started their tournaments yesterday, and both teams looked impressive in their opening matches, here are my thoughts on the days games:

Australia vs Japan (Match Report)
Australian manager Guus Hiddinck made fantastic use of his substutes here (make sure you take notes Sven) with both scorers coming on as second half substitutes. The Australians looked good going forward, and with players like Cahill, Viduka & Kewell this is to be expected, the goal they conceded although controversial, was correct in my opinion, as I felt that Schwarzer had come to try and get the ball, and been nudged out of the way by a push from one of his own players on the Japanese attacker, the Japanese will struggle to qualify now, while Australia have every chance, just needing to beat Croatia to take 2nd spot.

USA vs Czech Republic (Match Report)
The Czechs played by far the best football of any team so far here, with some beautiful passing and movement, and with Tomas Rosicky, a dangerous playmaker. Jan Kollers opener was a stunning header, and I’m sure the Czechs will miss him in latter stages of the tournament, but with Nedved and Rosicky, and Baros when fit, they still have an impressive attacking lineup. Defensively they looked strong, although had Reyna’s shot gone in rather than rebounded off the post at 1-0, it could have been a different story, and Petr Cech only had one major save to make.

Italy vs Ghana (Match Report)
The Italians also looked good last night, especially going forward, although at times Ghanaians had chances to score. Toni and Gilardinho created several chances, and it will be interesting to see if Iaquinta will get a starting spot in their next match after his well taken goal, capitalising on a mistake from Kufour to round the goalkeeper and slot home the Italians second.

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.

Three games were played today, with two of the possible favourites playing, England and Argentina.

England vs Paraguay (Match Report)
After a perfect start for England, a 4th minute own goal by Paraguayan captain Gammara, they at times showed some quality, especially Joe Cole, and the Paraguayan defence struggled to cope with Peter Crouch. Overall however, England failed to dominate, and at times were lucky the Paraguayans couldn’t break through the defence, although serveral holes appeared from time to time. Early on it was obvious that the English would try and play a crossing game, however crosses from Beckham and Cole very made it to their intended targets, and I was quite disappointed with the quality of the crossed balls. This aside, it was an important win, and the first time in over 20 years England have got off to a winning start at a major international tournament.

Trinidad & Tobago vs Sweden (Match Report)
Trinidad & Tobago pulled off what should be one of the results of the world cup here, with a resolute defensive performance against Sweden, especially after playing virtually the whole of the second half with 10 men after Avery John was sent off, rightly IMO. Sweden looked tidy in midfield and defence, however they severely lacked any punch upfront, however they did make Shaka Hislop make some impressive saves in the T&T goal. In fact, substitute Cornell Glen nearly stole all 3 points when he crashed a shot against the crossbar, however I feel that this would have been a tad undeserved. In summary, as an England fan this is an excellent result, as a victory against Trinidad would guarantee us a second round place, and as a result, the Trinidadians fully deserved the point they earned.

Argentina vs Ivory Coast (Match Report)
The first match of the “Group of Death”, and I have to say that both teams showed what they were made of. In the first half, the Argentines showed why they are rightly considered as one of the favourites to take the title in a months time, with some brilliant passing, and taking two well taken goals, especially Saviola’s to make it 2-0, with Riquelme showing why he is wearing Maradona’s no 10 jersey with some quality build up play. Ivory Coast however refused to bow down, and they showed why they should not be written off with some neat moves of their own, and in the second half Didier Drogba rightly got them a goal, however resolute defending from the Argentines prevented them from equalising.

Looking at the performances of England & Argentina today, I can seewhy Argentina are one of the favourites, however I was less than impressed by England’s performance, but hopefully with a win under our belts we can improve for our next game, against Trinidad & Tobago on thursday.

So, the World Cup has started, and with the day’s action over, I shall review todays results.

Germany vs Costa Rica (Match Report)
Aside from the Germans impressive starting and ending goals, I have to say that they looked pretty ordinary, and their defence was dire at times. Lahm’s opening strike was a beauty, as was Frings goal, both showing why goalkeepers will hate the new ball, but it bodes well for players like Lampard and Gerrard. The two Costa Rican goals were executed beautifully, however the german defence was lacking on both occasions, and they were nearly undone several more times. Podolski looked like an adequate replacement for Ballack, although how Klinsmann will accomodate his star man in their next match vs Poland is an interesting quandary. At times Costa Rica looked pretty good, but they were unable to cope with balls played into the box at times, and Klose exploited this fact twice. In conclusion, I thought it was an excellent start to the World Cup, and although the Germans look good attacking, their defence will struggle.

Poland vs Ecuador (Match Report)
Another great result for Ecuador, following on from their win vs Croatia in the last World Cup, Poland performed dreadfully IMO, failing to really deliver any final balls, and at times players seemed to be tackling each other. Both goals were taken well by the Ecuadorians who again have shown that they should not be considered lightly, especially as at times they showed some impressive defensive qualities.

Overall I don’t think we have seen a side that is capable of winning the tournament, and judging by the poles performance my predictions of them reaching the knockout stages could be far fetched, making the Costa Rica vs Ecuador match very important.