The first games of the knockout round were set today as Groups A and B wrapped up play.
With today’s results, Argentina will face Mexico in the Round of 16, while Uruguay will face South Korea.
History of the rudest kind was made today as South Africa became the first host nation ever to exit the World Cup in the group stage. Despite getting what might be their best-ever result — a 2-1 victory over former champions France — the Bafana Bafana were left high and dry after failing to make up a five-goal swing. Uruguay beat Mexico 1-0 in the concurrent match, a result that let both those teams to advance.
In the afternoon, a panicky South Korea held off Nigeria to get a 2-2 draw that took them through. Argentina walked to a 2-0 win over Greece, and finished atop Group B with a perfect record. It marked the first time South Korea had escaped the first round outside its own country.
For South Africa, the day was bittersweet: they beat one of the European greats in a match that saw them display flashes of brilliance and some real firepower up front. But after drawing with Mexico and stumbling against Uruguay, three goals and four points was not enough.
When the dust settles and folks look back on the Bafana Bafana’s campaign they will come to two conclusions: First, South Africa did itself proud, performing far better than expected and handling the high-pressure admirably. Second, their lack of international pedigree ultimately cost them dearly. Those two late goals against Uruguay — one a penalty the other in stoppage —created a mountain they could not overcome.
That France had dissolved into farce before the match even kicked off should not dampen today’s achievement. Yes, the French side that showed up on the field today was a hodgepodge, without several big names, including captain Patrice Evra, after the team committed a memorable act of self-immolation. After a row that resulted in striker Nicolas Anelka being sent home, the team imploded, and several players refused to play this afternoon for the national side.
The coup de grace came when Yoann Gourcuff was tossed in the first half by Colombian ref Oscar Ruiz for a blatant elbow. Gourcuff, in a very French bit of irony, is the man who Anelka was raging about, and some will wonder if the Chelsea man had a point.
Bafana Bafana got up early, getting on the board thanks to a mistake by Hugo Lloris that allowed Bongani Kuhmalo to head one home. Katiengo Mphela then doubled to total after France was reduced to ten men, latching onto a cross by Tsepo Masilela before the break. But when Mphela failed to convert a gilt-edged chance early in the second half you sensed that South Africa’s hopes of advancing were gone. Florent Malouda’s 70th minute goal simply confirmed that fact without denying the home team a coveted victory.
The French aren’t going to get much credit tonight, but allow them this: they didn’t fade in the second half. The 10 men who wore the France jersey can return home with at least some small pride. Very small.
France’s disgrace isn’t over. Even French president Nicolas Sarkozky has gotten into the act, calling Anelka’s tirade “unacceptable,” and ordering his sports minister to hold an inquest into the whole team. Just four years after taking France to a World Cup final, the radioactive manager Raymond Domenech tonight finds himself unemployable.
And don’t think France’s collapse makes the Irish feel any better. After the handball that denied them their place on the world stage, their federation is counting the lost money, and their fans are surely saying: “We were cheated, for this?”
Uruguay and Mexico could have played to what cynics call an “arranged draw,” given that a tie would have assured both nations passage regardless of what happened in the other match. To their credit, neither team bit and played out a mostly entertaining match decided by a late first-half goal from Luis Suarez.
Driven perhaps by a desire to avoid playing mighty Argentina, the South Americans played a more organized and positive brand of football in the first half, finally breaking through when Diego Forlan sprung Edinson Cavani down the far flank. His sublime cross past Oscar Perez’s goalmouth found Suarez at the back post. It was a lightning strike that instantly dissuaded Javier Aguirre’s men of the notion that they might be able to take the foot off the pedal with 45 to go.
Martin Demichelis got the first in the 77th when he headed a corner from Lionel Messi onto his own teammate, got the rebound, and slammed it past Alexandros Tzorvas, who was helpfully sitting on the ground. Messi set up the second with a brilliant, mazy run that cut across the top of the area to find the 36-year old Martin Palermo, who whipped it home.
In a break from practice, the Greeks did try and win the game, sending Giorgos Samaras off on frequently useless errands up top, while kicking the heck out of any man in blue walking by. Uzbek ref Ravshan Irmatov took a lenient view of this practice, in turn sending Diego Maradona into spasm on the sideline.
The bottom line: A colorless, predictable match that continues what seems like an inexorable Argentine march towards the final. Their match against Mexico promises to be far more compelling.
In Durban, a wholly undeserving Nigeria almost snuck into the next round against a South Korean side that seemed to regress to the bad old disorganized days. Believe it or not, Nigeria — which failed to win a game — came in with a chance. Truth be told, if it had not been for flagrant profligacy, they would be facing Uruguay in the next round.
They will be talking about how Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Obafemi Martins both managed to miss open corners in the final minutes. Yakubu’s miss was a remarkable exhibition of losing one’s cool in front of goal: he stabbed the ball wide from no more than three yards in incomprehensible fashion. Martins, at least, was on the run when he flashed his chance past the far post, but a striker of his quality would expect to finish that kind of opening.
Those misses meant the Koreans had done just enough. The Nigerians actually led off virtually their first attack of the night, Kala Uche finishing in the 12th minute, but a more polished, patient South Korean side did not get rattled on this occasion.
When Lee Jung-Soo met a perfect free kick cross from Lee Chung-Yong in the 38th minute it was 1-1 and a wonderful free kick from Park Chu-Young put the Asians ahead in the opening stages of the second half. But from there to the finish we saw the old South Korea emerge, the one to prone to mistakes and the one that adopts a too-defensive posture. This on a night when they had been at their best when taking the game to the fragile Super Eagles.
Chances came and went, Nigeria getting level on Yakubu’s penalty kick with 21 minutes remaining the match tilted toward the Africans.
r so it seemed. When Nigeria failed to cash in they became the third of the six continental qualifiers to be eliminated. Now only Algeria, Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana are left and none of them are certain to last past Friday.
TOMORROW
Big games kick off at 10am EDT with the USA vs. Algeria from Pretoria and England vs. Slovenia at Port Elizabeth. Action continues at 230pm EDT with Australia vs. Serbia at Nelspruit and Ghana vs. Germany from Soccer City. Away from your TV? All the action is available via Twitter at @championsonfox and @fsctv.
MUST-SEE TV
They’re all must-see. All eight teams need to win to put themselves in the best positions, so we expect four wide-open games. Obviously, of greatest interest to American audiences is the USA-Algeria game, and we have a preview of the game up on the front page. England vs. Slovenia will certainly be nervous watching for fans in London, but we expect the English to get the job done. The late games are tougher to call as both are fairly straight-up. Germany will be without Miroslav Klose, but Ghana doesn’t have Michael Essien, so perhaps it’s a wash. And the Aussies get Tim Cahill back but will be without Harry Kewell. They’ll need everything they’ve got against Dejan Stankovic and Nemanja Vidic’s side.
Bottom line: Get two TVs, dust off the Barcalounger, maybe strap on the Foam Dome. Watch some soccer.
