Japan 0 – 0 Croatia
Brazil 2 – 0 Australia
France 1 – 1 South Korea
After the initial group games, the pressure has been on certain big teams to prove themselves. In today’s matches, the onus was on Brazil to win more convincingly, and on France to… just win, or score a goal at the very least.
Against the open, attacking style of world football’s eternal optimists, the French certainly started in better form than they had shown against the more disciplined Swiss. They still looked pretty mediocre, though, and Henry did little to dispel suggestions that he can’t match his Arsenal form in internationals. More annoying was his ludicrous diving, frequently in situations where his Arsenal persona would have battled hard for a goal.
Even though France controlled the pace for the first 80 minutes, it was telling that they only managed to score once. Meanwhile, the Koreans had only two shots on goal, and scored with one of them. That’s all it takes.
Similarly, Brazil showed a slight improvement, but are still nowhere near the sort of quality their squad list would suggest. Once again, Ronaldo was ineffectual, but was not substituted until the second half… reputation still seems to play a large part in Brazilian team selection. Australia fought hard and often played well, but Kewell’s lack of form reduced their options. Good to hear the Aussie fans reacting loudly to the frequent dives by the Brazilians… it’s a pity the referee didn’t do the same.
Croatia and Japan both needed to get their campaigns back on track, which explains the stalemate. Still, it was entertaining, and it’s a shame that at least one of these teams will be going home next week.