The knockout phase begins today, I would post, but my brother has provided an excellent preview of his own.

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.