South Africa 2010 World Cup Blog

Messi shirtless at the beach

wcsa10 — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:02:21 +0000

Leo Messi goes shirtless at the beach in Rio de Janeiro after a disappointing World Cup for the Argentina superstar. At least his Italian girlfriend is pretty hot.

Spain destroys Germany

wcsa10 — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:29:15 +0000

Spain join the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup Final after completely destroying a lost German side.

From the start of the game, the Spanish side took control of the ball and provided almost all the action while Germany could only defend and play the long ball. It looked nothing like the German side that faced Argentina and England. Puyol scored on a set piece, in what seemed like the least likely way the Spaniards were going to score.

Holland overpower Uruguay

wcsa10 — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:40:29 +0000

Holland will be in the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals!

A 3-2 win over Uruguay assures the Netherlands of a place in the finals of the World Cup thanks to goals by Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder and Arje Robben.

Uruguay might have just won this game if they had a couple of their suspended players, but it was too much to ask of Forlan and company to hold back the Dutch offense.

Paul the Octopus picks Spain

wcsa10 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:28:50 +0000

Paul the Octopus picks Spain beating Germany

So long Germany, do not doubt the magic octopus that is making millions of euro in online betting.

Spain in semifinals after win

wcsa10 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:24:49 +0000

Spain reached the semifinals for only the second time in history after another brilliant goal by former Valencia striker David Villa.

Paraguay as expected, played a an extremely defensive game that relied on counterattacking and Spain didn’t break the deadlock in the scoreboard until the 83rd minute with brilliant play by Iniesta, Pedro and Villa.

Villa is now the tournament’s top scorer, with 5 goals in as many games.

Argentina blitzkreiged by Germans

wcsa10 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:20:41 +0000

Tears in Buenos Aires, parties all over Germany after the 4-0 beatdown. Argentina dominated possession but a poor tactical approach by Diego Maradona meant that the Germans were always comfortable on the pitch and they left no doubt about which was the better team

Guess we won’t see Maradona run naked down the streets!

Luis Suarez saves Uruguay with a handball

wcsa10 — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:27:04 +0000

The best play of the game was a forward using a handball on the line to deny a goal, and getting expelled for it. Amazing.

It was very amazing, and very bizarre. The penalty kick, which should be automatic for a striker like Asamoah Gyan (who had already made 2 at that point).

But he missed. It hit the crossbar when the goal would have mattered the most. It would have put Ghana in its first semifinal ever. Heck, it would have but ANY African nation in its first semifinal ever. In a World Cup being played in Africa no less. But he missed. And you don’t deserve to win when you don’t take advantage of an easy opportunity.

Ghana lost in penalty kicks. Luis Suarez is a hero for Uruguay. Diego Forlan’s great game will be lost in all the chaos. And now, Uruguay must get ready to face the Netherlands without Luis Suarez, without Fucile (who put in a magnificent performance) and without their captain Diego Lugano that injured his knee.

Brazil falls way short again

wcsa10 — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:22:04 +0000

For the second World Cup in a row Brazil fails to reach the semi finals of the tournament with Dunga’s team being booted by a resilient Dutch side.

Brazil, the favorites to win the tournament almost every year, outplayed the Netherlands in the first half and took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room thanks to a brilliant one touch strike by Robinho. They deserved to be winning with great play, specially by Kaka and the entire defense.

The second half was a complete turnaround for Holland where they dominated the Brazilians and consistently turned to Robben on the right hand side to mount their attacks. Robben was handcuffed however, with two Brazilians always marking his left foot. Robben didn’t manage to get a single whiff on goal as he constantly had his shots blocked the guys marking his cuts towards the center. Still the Dutch did not quit and saw their efforts rewarded with a fluke goal by Sneijder on a cross (it was officially awarded to Felipe Melo as an own goal).

Kuyt got more involved after the first goal, when Brazil was forced to open up and the Liverpool man saw more touches and between him and Sneijder the Dutch attack seemed a lot more menacing. The second Dutch goal came off a set piece, a rarity against a Brazilian defense. Kuyt flicked it on to Sneijder who headed in it.

Brazil ended up playing with 10 men after a bonehead tackle by Felipe Melo and the rest is history.
Dunga, Felipe Melo and Julio Cesar must be disappointed.
Heitinga’s mistake will be forgotten for now but the Dutch advance with several ineligible players.

Julio Cesar and Felipe Melo suck

wcsa10 — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:18:40 +0000

A ~~bad~~ horrible day by Felipe Melo and Julio Cesar give the Netherlands a huge win in the first World Cup quarter final matchup.

Great games by Kaka and Robinho were eclipsed by amazing performances by Arje Robben and Wesley Sneijder.

Florentino Perez must feel like an idiot for selling them on the cheap when they were at Real Madrid.

In a related note, there is now a surplus of huge World Cup trophy replicas on the market

Brazil vs Holland; Uruguay vs Ghana

wcsa10 — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:23:04 +0000

The World Cup quarterfinals start today.

A Brazil side with doubts in their midfield lineup face Holland who will be guided by the magic of Robben. The late game features Uruguay against Ghana.

May the best teams win.