Tag Archives : world cup 2010

We just can’t help ourselves can we? We all compare the present day to yesteryear. Comparing everything from the price of a train ticket to the number of mojos in a 10p mix-up. But sometimes it just gets a bit silly. Now the world’s media are comparing a Dutch team that never won the anything, to a Dutch team that hasn’t won anything. [Read more...]

The big news filtering through from Durban this evening is that Fernando Torres has been dropped by Del Bosque in favour of Barcelona striker Pedro Rodriguez. The manager had been backing Torres publicly all week, but you’d expect nothing else in the build-up to such a big game. 22 year old Pedrito is starting only his seventh game in Spain’s colours, and has one international goal to his name. For Germany, the influential Thomas Muller misses out through suspension, and Piotr Trochowski comes in for his first start this tournament. Freidrich and Khedira have both shaken off knocks to make the starting eleven. Fabregas is fit to take his place on the bench for Spain. [Read more...]

Uruguay:- If you had money on these to get to the last four you were either shrewd or barking. But here they are, and they are one step away from a place in the World Cup final. Uruguay’s main problem going in to this one is not the Dutch, but the injuries and suspensions they are carrying from the semi-final. If captain Diego Lugano doesn’t make it though, it may not be a huge problem for the South Americans. He has looked unsure at the back on more than one occassion this tournament and whilst he is a big figure in terms of morale, there is a like for like replacement available in the experienced Andres Scotti. It will be a concern for coach Oscar Tabarez however, that three of his first choice eleven may be unavailable. Suarez may have literally saved the day against Ghana, but his sacrificial lamb status will be to the detriment of the Uruguayans. [Read more...]

Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo and Spain’s Xavi Alonso have both just failed to put the ball in the net from 12 yards, after infringements in the box. Alonso had to take his twice, and slotted home the first, but the whole sequence of play sums up the standard of play throughout this tournament. [Read more...]

First of all I would like to make it clear that I too was shocked just at how bad England played in South Africa. There were too many players who just didn’t turn up and it will frustrate me further when I see these players performing miracles for their club this coming season. The jury is out as to why they performed as they did, and it would seem that not even a bad decision by the officials against Germany will [Read more..]