Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Uruguay dampen South African enthusiasm with 3-0 win

Uruguay pull off an impressive win to make sure they have a chance to progress out of the group stages, they only await the result of the Mexico - France game which will play tomorrow.

June 16, 2010 - 06045755 date 16 06 2010 Copyright imago BPI Diego Forlan of Uruguay Celebrates Scoring The Opening Goal Against South Africa PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxFRAxNEDxESPxSWExPOLxCHNxJPN Tshwane Pretoria men Football World Cup National team international match Single Action shot Vdig xmk 2010 vertical Highlight premiumd Football optimistic.
South Africa - Uruguay


A game where Uruguay finally showed their firepower with a fantastic Diego Forlan accompanied by Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez up front. Forlan started the scoring with a rocket which was deflected by a South African defender, the shot screamed right under the bar, lightly grazing the bottom as Uruguay celebrated the lead. Then, South Africa goalie Khune was sent off because he clipped Luis Suarez in the area, Carlos Pareira takes off Pienaar and puts on reserve keeper Josephs who can't deal with Forlan's rocket penalty kick.

The game was over, Uruguay had a man advantage along with two goals, and then in the final minute of extra time, the cherry on top was Pereira's well worked goal. Luis Suarez provides a perfect chip/cross over Josephs who flailed at it leaving Pereira all alone to scramble it into the net. A 3-0 win which shows that while Uruguay played defensively against France, they can also score goals.

Swiss upset Spain 1-0 as Chile dominate with same score-line

Two matches which have truly begun to liven up this tournament, while they both only contained one goal, it was full of attacking play and good football.

June 16, 2010 - Durban, SUEDAFRIKA - epa02205336 Switzerland  s Geldon Fern  ndes celebrates after scoring against Spain during the FIFA World Cup 2010 group H preliminary round match between Spain and Switzerland at the Durban stadium in Durban, South Africa, 16 June 2010.
Spain - Switzerland


It started well for Spain, they dominated the first half's possession well, creating few but extremely good chances. Pique had the best in the 24th, Iniesta plays the ball which splits the Swiss defence as Pique turns a defender and hits it at the keeper from a 1 on 1 situation. Pique should've put Spain in front, but at the time it didn't seem that important because of the possession skewed towards Spain, almost 70-30. Switzerland were great in defence as they bunkered in against the powerful Spanish side, reminiscent of the Inter Milan Barcelona Champions League games.

In the second half began much like the first, Spain continued to dominate possession and chances with Benaglio often tipping the all just enough so that a Spanish player didn't reach it. Switzerland then scored against the run of play, a swift counter-attack against a Spanish defence full of holes allowed some lucky bounces to occur, giving Fernandes one of the greatest tap-ins he will ever score. A truly priceless goal which put the European champions in a tough situation, forced to grab at least one.

Spain tried to continue with their patient play, building slowly with heavy pressure when they didn't have the ball. The Swiss were invigorated thanks to the goal, they tried to break quickly with the ball, and they continued to defend with almost 6 in the box at all times. Benaglio continued to rescue the Swiss from David Villa's constant attacks, then Del Bosque took off David Silva and Busquets for Fernando Torres and Jesus Navas, providing two fresh attacking options.

Spain continued their offensive pushing, Iniesta's curling shot flashed wide of the post with Benaglio rooted to the spot, and Torres wasted a chance with the goal right in front of him, he couldn't control the ball as he eventually lashed a shot high and wide. Then Xabi Alonso from outside the box whipped a laser right onto the bottom of the crossbar, his thunderous drive bouncing back out with the whole goal still shaking. Navas was also determined to score as he almost had a goal after cutting in from the right, but Benaglio was solid, and the entire Swiss team were determined to grab this historic win.

Switzerland continued to counter-attack well, hitting the inside of the post on one opportunity with Derdiyok, and if they grabbed a second goal, it would be all over for Spain. In the end, Spain were just unable to grab the necessary goals for the win, and while they did come close, it highlighted a couple of weaknesses in their team and tactics. Switzerland on the other hand grab probably one of the greatest wins in their history as they top their group along with Chile.


June 16, 2010 - South Africa - Football - Honduras v Chile FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 - Group H - Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa - 16/6/10..Jean Beausejour (L) scores Chile's first goal.
Honduras - Chile


Chile were one of the teams I wanted to see most, throughout South American qualification they played an extremely attacking 3-3-1-3, they didn't play like that against Honduras, but they played a very attacking 4-3-3. Chile dominated the match with their incessant pressing, with the goal of winning the ball in the opponents half, creating plenty of chances and eventually scoring with a well crafted opportunity. A strange tap in was what won the match for Chile, the full-back received a through ball as he threaded it across the goal for Beausejour who's defender hit it into him for the goal.

Chile created so many opportunities with the brilliant Alexis Sanchez on the right, but they were unable to score any more. Honduras on the other hand were quick but not able to create anything solid, Alvarez was their shining light, his blinding speed won them free kicks and created a couple of opportunities, but overall, this was Chile's match which ended 1-0 for them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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