It was a day of angst, glory and frustration at the World Cup as another refereeing controversy reared up, Portugal showed their class, and Spain were left to rue missed chances. The soap operas spiraled on as well, as tensions deepened in the England camp and some French players are reported tonight to be “boycotting” tomorrow’s must-win game against hosts South Africa.
Portugal roared past North Korea 7-0 at Cape Town this morning, and the game was just as lopsided as the scoreline suggests. Chile edged Switzerland 1-0 at Port Elizabeth Stadium in a match gamed by what can only be described as a refereeing fiasco. And in the late kickoff at Ellis Park, Spain outplayed Honduras, but were forced to settle for a slimmer 2-0 advantage than they might have liked.
David Villa scored both goals and missed a penalty for the European champs on a night that should have been a coronation. Instead, it may well turn out to be another game chewed over after the fact. Spain won right enough, but left so many chances on the table — and seemed so disjointed by the end — that there have to be real concerns going into the final day of Group H play.
Spain now must beat group leaders Chile. Even a victory doesn’t simply solve their problems because a whole can of worms opens up in a group that could see three teams on six points — or three teams on three points — and goal difference coming into play.
Villa led the charge tonight, starting off the European champs with a wonder goal in the 17th minute that seemed to signal a Spanish rout. Taking on three Honduran defenders from the flank, Villa slid around Osman Chavez to snap the ball past a helpless Noel Valladares. Spain promptly followed that up with a flurry of chances and a demonstration of dominance so comprehensive that the question was not if Spain would add to its total, but when.
That the second goal was a longer time in coming than any Spanish fan will feel comfortable with is the issue. Fernando Torres had another poor outing, looking less than fully match-fit and hardly sharp. Sergio Ramos did everything but score, pushing the ball wide on both sides and over the net. It wasn’t until Xavi found Jesus Navas out wide in the 55th that Villa could double his tally. This time, the ball found him at the top of the box, and Villa’s shot ricocheted off the supremely unlucky Chavez for the goal.
Shortly thereafter, Emilio Izaguirre, who had an awful night out for the Hondurans, fouled Jesus Navas in the area, giving Villa an attempt from the spot. He missed the entire net, side-footing his attempt wide right.
And that would be that, as Spain mysteriously took its foot off the gas. Honduras was never a serious threat to Iker Casillas’ net, but what was troubling was Spain’s reversion to a timid, overpassing style that saw several players simply decline to shoot.
The net result: another unimpressive display for a team many think can challenge for the title. On the evidence of their last two games, this is a team not yet in full form, only showing brief glimpses of brilliance. They can sure pass a team to death — and that team can well turn out to be themselves.
Portugal did not set a record for most the lopsided win at the World Cup (three teams have won by nine goals) but North Korea will surely not forget this encounter for a long time. Seven goals were slammed past them, the sixth an insouciant circus trick by Cristiano Ronaldo, as the Koreans were exposed early and often.
Credit North Korea for playing the Portuguese straight up, even after it was obvious they could not hope to contain them. After a tournament littered with negative football, it was refreshing to see a team try to win the game. It was also a good reminder of why most other head coaches are unlikely to be as daring as our men from Pyongyang.
Six different players found the net for Portugal, some with spectacular strikes (Raul Meireles, Hugo Almeida), some with routine taps (Tiago, Simao, Liedson) and one with a ball that crept up onto his neck, that he then flipped like a seal to his foot and into the back of the net. That would be Mr. Ronaldo, who pulled the strings on an impressive Portuguese return to form following their draw against Cote d’Ivoire.
The result eliminated North Korea from this year’s World Cup, likely condemning them to an overall last place finish with their huge negative goal difference of -8.
People love to hate referees. After all, it’s almost too easy for fans to excuse the failures of their teams by blaming the man in the middle. But referees do make mistakes. Sometimes, they make mistakes so spectacularly that you begin to doubt their very credentials.
This World Cup — after a strong start, mind you — has seen the officiating go south. Brazil’s Kaka was sent off Sunday after a shameful bit of playacting, and Australia’s Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell sure have their grievances. A certain Malian ref was dropped from the event after he removed a perfectly good goal for the Americans. Spanish ref Alberto Undiano kneecapped Germany by sending off Miroslav Klose against Serbia, then handed out another nine cards for good measure.
But today, Saudi ref Khalil Al Ghamdi beat them all, taking the booby prize with a clueless, destructive performance. He’ll be remembered for tossing Switzerland’s Valon Behrami for reasons that appeared to mystify even his Chilean opponents, then presiding over a game that devolved into fiasco.
Ten cards later, Chile won a match that was almost impossible to play, snapping Switzerland’s long shutout streak, and illustrating how dangerous it can be to put untested officials into big games. Mark Gonzalez scored the first goal allowed by a Swiss side at the Cup since Spain’s 3-0 win at Washington, DC in 1994.
As a result of Al Ghamdi’s nervous whistle, the game is almost impossible to describe. It had no flow, no character, and saw players nervously looking around every time a whistle went.
The best illustration may be this: at one point, Chile’s Esteban Paredes was whistled for a foul, apparently for being on the field. You could see his Swiss counterpart Reto Ziegler turn to the confused striker and say: “I don’t know, either.”
Soccer types often say that “the ref lost control” after matches such as this. That euphemism is insufficient today, for this referee never had control in the first place. The chaos he wrought will be harshly felt, as both teams now head into critical games with men suspended. Behrami joins Chile’s Matias Fernandez and Carlos Carmona on the outs for their final group stage games.
Perhaps it was only fitting that this performance came on a day when a dismissive FIFA gave lip service to the world’s media after criticism of the dreadful refereeing in this tournament. Today’s show will add just more voices to the growing call for greater transparency in the game.
TOMORROW
Simultaneous kickoffs begin today to foil any attempts to “arrange” results. Mexico vs. Uruguay and France vs. South Africa finish up Group A with both matches kicking off at 10:00 a.m. EDT; Group B wraps up with Nigeria vs. South Korea and Greece vs. Argentina at 2:30 p.m. EDT
MUST-SEE TV
Quite a lot: Get two TVs, and settle in to watch “As the World Revolves Around France,” and that team’s quest to self-destruct utterly. Both France and South Africa need to win, score an absurd number of goals, and pray that Mexico and Uruguay haven’t figured out that they both go through with a draw (trust us, they have). But don’t tune in for the match, tune in for the drama. Thrill to the expressions of Raymond Domenech! Gasp at the foul-mouthed Patrice Evra! Wonder who’ll walk off the field! Yes, this is what the World Cup is about: untrammeled, uncoachable narcissists. Then watch as FIFA tries to explain to the South Africans that, despite their heroic victory over France, they are out of the Cup. Could be fun stuff.
The late games are a bit more straight-up: Argentina will take first place with a result against Greece. Everyone else has a combo of options, with South Korea and Nigeria basically playing a win-or-go-home game. The Greeks can get through if they beat the Argentines and the Koreans lose. In other words: Both these games matter, and everyone — even Argentina — will be playing to win.
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