South Korea 2 – 1 Togo
France 0 – 0 Switzerland
Brazil 1 – 0 Croatia
On days like this, I’m always glad I have the multitasking ability which allows me to play guitar, drink beer and read the paper while watching football. Without those small mercies, I’d probably go insane… or perhaps even (gasp!) turn the TV off.
The Korea/Togo match was easily the most watchable, at least during the second half, although I missed out on any excitement by having to record it and watch it after the other two matches, by which time I knew the score. All of the pressure was on South Korea, who reached the semi-finals on their home turf in 2002, yet had never won a World Cup match elsewhere. A win against Togo (lucky qualifiers with a dysfunctional coaching setup) was vital, if only to deflect the inevitable journalistic reminders of the favourable refereeing decisions against Spain in 2002 and of course the Hiddink effect.
When Togo took the lead after 31 minutes, the Koreans were visibly shocked and didn’t start to look comfortable until the second half. Nonetheless, the goal was against the run of play and Togo always looked overstretched, despite an attractive attacking style. By the 50-minute mark, the Koreans had started to play with some of the speed and creativity they showed in 2002, and Abalo’s dismissal simply gave them even more space to push towards the (seemingly inevitable) victory.
And then the day went downhill.
After their dazzling tournament successes of 1998 and 2000, France seemed to be returning to that second tier of countries (I mentioned them yesterday) who have world-class credentials but never match the consistency of Brazil or Germany. On this form, they’re not even in the second tier. Switzerland weren’t exactly swift on the attack and seemed to accept the 0-0 scoreline rather too readily, but at least they were solid and organised. France were simply diabolical. As a huge fan of Zinedine Zidane, I found it particularly depressing to watch him trying in vain to get something out of the match, single-handedly taking on the Swiss defence and berating his players for their apathy. He deserves better than that in his last World Cup.
As for Brazil… well, England can take some encouragement from that performance. Faced with the solid, defensively efficient Croatia, Brazil played exactly like England did against Paraguay. Like Joe Cole, Ronaldinho did his best, displaying a few flashes of brilliance, but the two main strikers just weren’t up to the job. Adriano looked tired and clumsy, while Ronaldo was terrible. Former Brazil/Milan striker Leonardo has been a regular guest in the BBC studio, and his embarrassment at his compatriot’s lazy, uninterested attitude was obvious. With the introduction of Ivica Olic to partner the tireless Dado Prso, Croatia looked far more lively and deserved a goal, but this Croatia team lacks the fire and passion of their 1998 squad.
I thought it was the equivalent of them (Brazil) giving the other team a sporting chance by starting the game with ten men.
Ten men and one overfed baby hippo!