World Cup Germany 2006 Update 2

The first round of group games are over and the field is now set for an upset or two. Things have not really been topsy-turvy like the last few world cups. No big upsets, no heart-breaking loses for star studded teams or any on-field dramas being staged as of yet. The games seem to be panning out according to the form book - with the odd exception of Poland who were expected to beat Ecudor but wound up at the losing end of a 2-0 scoreline against the Sount Americans.

After the last eight games that I had noted on earlier, the USA got thimped by the Czech Republic (making their first World Cup entry seperate from Slovakia where the countries were known as Czechoslovakia), in which new Arsenal recruit Tomas Rosicky scored a long range beauty. Italy then beat a strong Ghana team, who really impressed me with their tireless work and talent on the field. Another sort of shock was Australia's 3-1 victory over Japan, who I had fancied to join Brazil in the second round, but going on this they may have to exit earlier than expected. Everton midfielder Darren Cahill, was the hero for the Aussies, scoring two goals. And what of Brazil - the team of the land of beautiful women and ugly footballers (a dog can lose it's appetite when it sees Ronaldinho) struggled against Croatia. I can say this, the Brazillians were lucky that the Croatian players had bad aim on that particular day.

In the last two games played in the first round of group matches, Spain finally seem to have gotten what they previously packed - a good start.....make that a tremendous start, beating the Ukraine 4-0. David Villa had a brace in this match where Ukrainian star striker Andryi Shevechenko was ineffective. And finally Tunisia and Saudi Arabia played out a good 2-2 draw. Neither are expected to proceed much in the cup but I always have had a soft spot for the Saudi Arabian team.



Song for the day - "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" - TERRI CLARK