your daily recap

[rone]

Ghana 2 - USA 1: A tough and well played game on both sides.  The US got a bum call on the first-half injury time penalty kick that made it 2-1, and suffered some bad luck when Draman stole the ball from Reyna as Reyna's cleats got stuck in the ground (and it looked like Draman's knee knocked Reyna's a bit, but it really wasn't a foul), then ran it straight in for a goal.  There was also that great McBride strike that banged off the post.  Still, the US finished dead last in shots on goal, behind mighty Trinidad & Tobago.  Part of that would be due to the terrible draw they got, but it's mostly a reflection of the lack of creativity up front; Donovan was supposed to be the US's world-class guy, but his development seems to have leveled out.  We'll have to see what happens in `10.

Italy 2 - Czechia 0: The Czechs were pressing early on, then gave up a goal on a corner kick where, unconscionably, nobody was covering either post.  In first-half injury time, Polak got himself ejected on a second yellow card, making his team's comeback that much more difficult.  The Italians added a very late goal on a counterattack breakaway where it was two forward on the goalkeeper, and Cech almost managed to snag the ball anyway.

Croatia 2 - Australia 2: I missed the first half of the game.  It was very entertaining, and Croatia shouldn't've tried to hang onto a 2-1 lead knowing that a tie would eliminate them.  A Croat was ejected on a double yellow late, then two minutes after that an Aussie suffered the same fate.  Then another Croat got his second yellow, but the ref lost track and didn't pull out the red for him.  Once the game ended, he gave the ref more guff (immediately after an Aussie had given the ref a hug) and the ref gave him a third yellow and then the red, thus setting a record for most yellow cards received in a game.  The Aussies' prize is a date with Italy in the next round.

Brazil 4 - Japan 1: Japan actually scored first.  Ronaldo managed to tie in first-half injury time, and the second half was all Brazil.  Brazil gets to face a Ghana that will miss their world-class midfielder Essien.

Comments

[blarglefiend.livejournal.com]

Was impressed to hear that Japan got a goal against Brazil -- that's something Australia simply couldn't manage.

The first half of Australia v Croatia was pretty good value too. There's a lot of talk in the press here at present downplaying Italy. I wouldn't rate our chances as high as 50%, but I would have to say that there is some meaningful chance of making the quarter-finals.

Which would be nice.

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

They just said on BBC radio that Reyna and McBride have both retired from international football.

I find myself wondering if there could be a coaching problem with the US? They clearly have some fit and talented players, and were difficult to break down, but they seemed to struggle going forward. Apparently this is what Guus Hiddink found when he took over Australia, so he concentrated on adding a bit of guile and unpredictability to their attacks... Apparently he's about to take over the Russian team, but the US could do a lot worse than offering him a contract.

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

I forgot to say that Japan-Brazil reminded me a little of Scotland-Brazil in '82. On that occasion, Brazil looked dominant but were just cruising until Scotland had the temerity to open the scoring. Then they woke up and dished out a 4-1 hammering.