Call this football?

No goals in the first-half and nothing really in it apart from two hits on the woodwork; an Andriy Shevchenko header and an Alexander Frei free-kick.

Really this game has been about two teams too scared to lose and you wonder why they bothered to turn up.

The biggest news is probably no yellow cards in the first-half.

No commitment. No desire. Pathetic!

Half-time: (0:0).

As the two teams started the second-half, the one consolation is that one of them would definitely go out.

Almost an hour before the first yellow card.

That's not fair play, I'm afraid that's scared to play.

Ricardo Cabanas should have been sent off, just after the hour, for a double-footed challenge. What nationality is Sepp Blatter?

In the 67th minute, Shevchenko used his hand to bring the ball under control. The referee didn't see it and Pascal Zuberbuhler didn't see the shot either; just wide.

Full Time: (0:0).

Sadly, a very uninspiring ninety minutes. A hopeless presentation of World Cup football with no ambition to win, from either side. No quality, no flair, no imagination; Switzerland just too neutral. About as exciting as watching milk turn to cheese.

The saddest thing for football is that Austria and Switzerland are co-hosting the next European Championships, in 2008.

Unbelievably, as the first-half of extra time ended the Swiss trainer, Köbi Kuhn actually looked pleased with the performance of his side. That's disgraceful.

Goalscorers:
You must be kidding.

The cheese-makers couldn't even score in the penalties. Out and deservedly so.

The 2006 World Cup Finals now gets serious as we enter the knockout phase.

While we all hope for open, attacking football more often than not (for the players) it's about not losing; so expect some penalty shoot-outs.

The Second Round

Football fans now get two games a day from Saturday, 24th June to Tuesday, 27th June.

Saturday, 24th June:

Germany vs Sweden
München -- (17.00)

Germany have home advantage so would expect to win.

The last time Sweden beat Germany was in the Semi-finals of Sweden 1958 (3:1), before losing to Brazil in the Final. The two teams have registered a handful of draws but mostly, Germany tend to win.

The two teams also met the last time West Germany hosted the World Cup Finals, in 1974. West Germany won the Second Round group match (4:2), in Dusseldorf.

Germany also won the quarter-finals match in Italy 1934 (2:1).

Germany to win.

Argentina vs Mexico
Leipzig -- (21.00)

A nice Latin encounter here but expect Argentina to have too much class.

Out of fourteen previous encounters Argentina and Mexico have drawn seven, the last one being the Confederations Cup (1:1 aet) in Hannover, on 25th June 2005. Argentina won the penalty shootout (6:5).

Most of the games were friendlies although they have met in the Copa America before, Mexico winning the 2004 encounter (1:0), in Chiclayo, Peru.

The only time the two teams have met in World Cup history was back in Uruguay 1930; which Argentina won (6:3).

Argentina to win.

Sunday, 25th June

England vs Ecuador
Stuttgart -- (17.00)

Just when England get one striker fit they lose another. England need to win this for Michael Owen.

England and Ecuador haven't met in a competitive match before the 2006 World Cup Finals although they did play a friendly in Quito, which England won (2:0), before England went off to the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico.

If England are firing on all cylinders they should get the result but if they run out of steam in the second-half, it could get messy and England fans will be in for a bumpy ride.

England to cause plenty of panic for all concerned.

Portugal vs Holland
Nürnberg -- (21.00)

This is an interesting one, two teams that promise so much then fail to deliver; until now.

If past history is anything to go on, Portugal will be feeling happy. In nine previous encounters, Portugal have won five and drawn three.

Their last meeting was in Euro 2004; Portugal winning the semi-final match, in Lisbon (2:1).

Portugal and Holland were in the same qualifying group for the 2002 World Cup Finals; Portugal won in Rotterdam (2:0) and drew in Lisbon (1:1).

Portugal to get the edge, maybe on penalties.

Monday, 26th June

Italy vs Australia
Kaiserslautern -- (17.00)

This will be the first time Italy and Australia have met.

While Italy and Italians would expect the Azzuri to get the result here Australia will give it all they've got.

Depends on who gets the red card.

Switzerland vs Ukraine
Köln -- (21.00)

Switzerland haven't played Ukraine before. And to be honest, I know longer know what to expect from Ukraine. Excellent in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup Finals but a disappointment in qualifying for the Second Round once there.

Switzerland to sneak the win, unless the real Ukraine turn up; then Switzerland to be humiliated.

Tuesday, 27th June

Brazil vs Ghana
Dortmund -- (17.00)

The Black Stars have often been called the Brazil of Africa by their fans and it would be nice to see them put on a good show.

When Ghana met Brazil in Rio Preto, for a March 1996 friendly, they got a real lesson in Samba Football; as the home side ran out overwhealming winners (8:2).

The Real Brazil to step up a gear.

Spain vs France
Hannover -- (21.00)

France struggled to get out of their group while Spain had a stroll. When you look at Trezeguet and Henry you think France should be banging the goals in but they don't. While Spain, who like to underachieve, might just believe they can achieve something bigger...... than a one-nil win over Saudi Arabia.

Ok, I know. It was the reserves.

On the past seven encounters, France have won five and drawn one but this is their first meeting in World Cup football.

Spain won the last meeting (2:1), a friendly in Barcelona on 28th March, 2001. While France won the Euro 2000 match in Bruges (2:1) and both preliminary games for Euro 1996.

It looks like France are over the curve and Spain are on the rise.

A classic type of game to go to penalties and test the bottle of the players on the spot.

Spain vs Tunisia in Stuttgart.

Awin for Spain in Stuttgart would see them qualify for the Second Round but Tunisia had other ideas; initially.

Spain started with a succession of short passes around their own half, to let the team get a feel for the ball.

Tunisia Shock Spain

Before the Spaniards could get into their rhythm, Radhi Jaidi slipped in behind Carles Puyol and although three defenders tried to crowd him out of space, he slipped the ball into the path of Jaouhar Mnari's.

When Casillas failed to hold the shot, the FC Nürnberg midfielder followed up to slam the ball into the back of the net and put Tunisia in front.

Despite all their running the final ball just wasn't working for Spain, who were expecting to qualify from the group this evening.

Half-time: (0:1).

Spain came out for the second half looking to get back on level terms as soon as possible; substitute Francesc Fabregas almost doing it with a stunning shot that Boumnijel managed to turn away.

Substitutions were made early by both teams; Spain with no more substitutes available if anything goes wrong in the last 30 minutes.

Typical of Spain's play, Torres had what looked like a good chance to break through on goal, until he tried to beat the same play three times; pretty play but far from effective.

Radhi Jaidi continued to do a good job stopping Spain's raids, until he earned himself a yellow card.

The next attack by Spain resulted in the goal they needed, as Raul was on hand to tap in after Boumnijel palmed the first shot away; into the path of the perennial predator.

Three minutes later, Boumnijel redeemed himself by blocking a Fabregas shot with his foot.

Amazingly, Boumnijel was then caught on the edge of his area as Fernando Torres ran onto a visionary through ball from Fabregas and rounded the Tunisian keeper to angle a shot into the goal before the Tunisian defenders could cut it out.

Spain made the scoreline look more respectable with an injury time penalty, that Torres slotted under the goalkeeper.

Final Score:
Spain 3 - Tunisia 1

Saudi Arabia vs Ukraine in Hamburg.

Ukraine got themselves off to the perfect start in Hamburg, as Andriy Rusol jumped at Maxim Kalinichenko's corner (which perhaps shouldn't have been given) and stabbed the ball into the net with his knee.

Andriy Shevchenko then had a header, from another Kalinichenko corner, saved off the line.

In the 24th minute, Rusol almost scored an own goal as well; at least Olexandr Shovkovskiy was diving, just in case.

Then, just as it seemed the game had gone to sleep, Serhiy Rebrov repaid the trainer for including him in the starting eleven (instead of Ruslan Rotan) by scoring Ukraine's second goal, ten minutes before half-time.

Half-time: (0:2).

Andriy Shevchenko made it three for Ukraine, with a powerful header straight from the re-start; as Ukraine tried to make up the goal difference they lost to Spain in the opening game, in case there's a tie on points.

Just after the hour, Shovkovskiy left the ball to run out of play but substitute Malek Mouath sped in behind him and cut the ball back. Unfortunately, for Saudi Arabia, no-one else was fresh enough to run into the box.

Then, at the other end, Maxim Kalinichenko's left-foot screamer just skimmed off the bar.

After two assists, Maxim Kalinichenko added his name to the growing list of Ukraine goalscorers thanks to an unselfish pass from the captain, Shevchenko; as both players entered the penalty area.

Final Score:
Saudi Arabia 0 - Ukraine 4

After the defeat against Spain, anything less than a win against Saudi Arabia would have been a disgrace, even if Ukraine are World Cup first-timers.

Togo vs Switzerland in Dortmund

In Togo's first game there were doubts whether the Togo trainer would appear for the game and this time speculation arose as to whether the Togo team would take to the field; because of payment discrepancies.

For once, an afternoon kick-off was not unbearably hot and the Dortmund pitch had received some rain before the game.

The first of the day occurred when Kossi Agassa got down well to a shot from Ricardo Cabanas. Kader Mohamed then tested Pascal Zuberbuhler in the sixth minute.

Togo showed strength and determination going forward against Switzerland; giving the Swiss defenders plenty of problems in the first ten minutes.

Then, just after the quarter-hour mark, Tranquillo Barnetta ran into the right side of the Togo area, unmarked, to flick in Ludovic Magnin's cross; for Switzerland's main man for goals, Alexander Frei, to sidefoot in from close range. A great relief for the stadium full of Swiss fans who had watched Togo have the best of the early moves.

Togo again had a golden opportunity to punish Senderos's mistake in the 30th minute. When Togo decide to play, they certainly pose problems for the opposition with their athleticism. A little more finesse with the final ball and they could stake a claim for a place in the Second Round.

Togo were then denied a penalty when Patrick Müller caught Emmanuel Adebayor with his back foot. Maybe the way Adebayor fell let him down; as the Paraguay referee thought it was a dive.

Half-time: (0:1).

Alex Frei scooped the ball over the bar, just before the hour, as Switzerland sought to consolidate their lead against Togo.

Five minutes later, substitute Hakan Yakin brought out the best in Kossi Agassa, as the Togo keeper kept Togo in the game.

Togo continued to push up in search of the equaliser but lacked the fast approach they showed in the first-half.

Togo paid for their lack of urgency when Swiss substitute, Mauro Lustrinelli made to the edge of the area and squared the ball for Tranquillo Barnetta to strike low; inside the far post.

The result knocked Togo out of the 2006 World Cup Finals.

Final Score:
Togo 0 - Switzerland 2

France vs South Korea in Leipzig.

The look on William Gallas' face said it all.

After dominating the game for 80 minutes, France let the game slip from their grasp again; shortly before the final whistle.

In the 9th minute, Thierry Henry scored France's first World Cup Finals goal since 1998 and the French continued to control the game.

Although the South Korea fans kept drumming and chanting throughout the game, their side never seemed to offer much challenge to France; until Eric Abidal was booked.

The French left-back failed to challenge Ki-Hyun Seol before he whipped a cross towards the far post. The cross was headed into the middle of the area by Jae-Jin Cho and Park Ji-Sung just managed to clip the ball between a desperate Barthez and a miserble-looking, William Gallas.

Final Score:
France 1 - South Korea 1

The result leaves France on two points, while South Korea stay on top of the group with four points. France will also be without Eric Abidal and Zinedine Zidane for their final game, against Togo.

Brazil vs Australia in Munich

Australia set out to hold their shape and restrict Brazil's movement by keeping the ball and passing it around; backwards, quite often.

But Brazil started and ended the second half with goals, to qualif for the Second Round, while Australia's poor finishing could cost them a place in the knockout stage if they lose to Croatia.

Two minutes after the break, Ronaldinho passed through the middle to Ronaldo. As three defenders blocked the Real Madrid striker's route to goal, he squared the ball for Adriano to beat his marker and score low, just inside the post.

Brazil made sure of victory as substitutes Robinho and Fred, on for Ronaldo and Adriano, combined to beat a stranded Schwarzer. Fred layed the ball out right to Robinho, whose shot cannoned off the post. With Mark Schwarzer still on the floor, all Fred had to do was run up and tap the ball into an open net.

Final Score:
Brazil 2 - Australia 0

Brazil have qualified for the Second Round.

Australia will qualify if they beat Croatia. If Australia only draw with Croatia, they will need to hope that Japan don't beat Brazil and get a better goal difference.

Of course, if Croatia win the game then they'll go through as long as Japan don't beat Brazil by a larger goal difference.

Japan vs Croatia in Nürnberg

After defeats in the opening game, both Japan and Croatia seemed reluctant to take any early risks and for twenty minutes nothing much seemed to happen.

Then, in the 21st minute, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto conceded a penalty. Darijo Srna stepped forward to take the spot kick for Croatia and watched in disbelief as Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi dived the right way and saved with his left hand.

The penalty seemed to wake both teams up as Niko Kranjcar hit the bar; Mitsuo Ogasawara had a good shot saved; and Ivan Klasnic shot across the face of the goal.

Ten minutes before the break, Hidetoshi Nakata also shot from outside the area and troubled Pletikosa in the Croatian goal. Japan's fans increase the volume of their chanting.

Prso and Klasnic combined to force another Croatian corner, just before half-time but again Dado Prso headed over.

Half-time: (0:0).

Five minutes into the second-half, the ball arrived at the far post but Atsushi Yanagisawa horrendously missed an open goal and skewed the ball back across the goalmouth.

A few minutes later, Niko Kranjcar was a step to slow to properly connect with the left wing cross from Klasnic.

In attempt to get a goal in this game, Croatia went into the last few minutes with four forwards; to no avail.

Final Score:
Japan 0 - Croatia 0

Drama in Kaiserslautern as Three Players Sent Off

The United States started with the will to win and for the first twenty minutes made most of the running and flustered the Italians, but just lacked precision when in front of goal.

Then in the 22nd minute, Italy won a free-kick on the right of the USA penalty area. Alberto Gilardino lost his markers dived to head the ball from Andrea Pirlo, past Kasey Keller.

Five minutes later, Cristian Zaccardo tried to clear an American free-kick and to his disbelief, the ball spun off his boot and into the net. USA had drawn level with Italy.

Daniele De Rossi made things worse for the Italians when, less than a minute after the equaliser, he jumped for a ball with McBride and elbowed the American in the face. The red blood match the card Jorge Larrionda pulled out of his pocket; Italy were down to ten men.

De Rossi also ended Francesco Totti's game when Marcello Lippi was forced to make a tactical substitution and bring on Gennaro Gattuso in midfield.
The numbers were even out when, just before half-time, Pablo Mastroeni slid into Andrea Pirlo with both feet.

Half-time: (1-1).

Then to add even more drama to the game, Eddie Pope was booked for a second time and shown the red card; 10 vs 9 and America play with three at the back.

Bocanegra then headed onto his own bar before Lippi brings on Alessandro Del Piero to try and take advantage of the problems the United States are having at the back with one man less.

The Americans were then totally shocked when McBride's back-heeled goal was ruled offside; correctly.

With less than twenty minutes left to play, Kasey Keller saved from Del Piero as Italy tried desperately to take advantage of the extra man.

As USA moved the ball around, with eight minutes to go, it was hard to believe they were the team with one player less. But they took too long on their build-up, couldn't decide whether to break into the box or focus on defending and allowed the Italians to get back.

Final Score:
Italy 1 - USA 1

Ghana became the first African team to win a game at the 2006 World Cup Finals when they beat the Czech republic in Cologne.

The game couldn't have started better for the West Africans, when a failure in the Czech Republic defence allowed Asamoah Gyan to chest the ball into his stride and fire to the left of the usually reliable Petr Cech; with less than two minutes on the clock.

Ghana continued to pose Czech Republic problems and then there was high drama in the 65th minute.

Tomas Ujfalusi tripped Matthew Amoah in the penalty area and Ghana were awarded a penalty.

Before the kick was taken, two Ghana players ran after the referee to protest that the player should be sent off. Horatio Elizondo sheepishly went over to Ujfalusi and showed him the red card, then turned around and booked Asamoah Gyan for taking the penalty before he was ready.

Gyan took the penalty again, sent Cech the wrong way but the ball cannoned off the post.

Petr Cech played out of skin to keep Ghana from scoring as they continued to push forward seeking the second goal that would wrap up the game.

Eventually, Czech Republic folded to the pressure as the Ghanians split their defence with swift movement on the right, Gyan releasing Sulley Muntari to score with his left foot; with just eight minutes to go.

Richard Kingston made two fine saves in the final seconds of injury time, to keep the deperate Czech Republic from scoring.

Final Score:
Czech Republic 0 - Ghana 2

Deco is Back

Deco was back in the side as Portugal sought out the win needed to qualify for the Second Round.

Iran didn't make life easy for the Portuguese and held out for over an hour. Then Deco struck from outside the D and Cristiano Ronaldo increased Portugal's lead, a quarter of an hour later.

The win means Portugal have qualified for the Second Round.

Mexico need a point against Portugal to be sure of qualification, while a win would put the Mexicans top of the group.

If Mexico lose and Angola beat Iran, the Africans could qualify; if they end up with a better goal differential than Mexico.

Final Score:
Portugal 2 - Iran 0

Mexicans Fire Blanks

Mexico vs Angola
Hannover

In the opening minute, Mexico's Carlos Salcido lofted the ball onto the Angolan net and that was very much a sign of things to come.

In the fourteenth minute, captain Rafael Marquez hit a free-kick against the post otherwise most of the early play was stopped before it could flow, through niggling fouls; twelve in the first thirty two minutes.

Guillermo Franco finally had a good chance to put Mexico ahead, just before the break, but the ball didn't bounce right and it was shuffled away frantically.

Half-time: (0:0).

Ten minutes into the second half, Ricardo rushed off his line to stretch out his arms and stop a Guillermo Franco lob; the Mexican's second attempt was hooked off the line by Luis Delgado.

Angola started to look more accomplished in their build-up but just missed out on the final ball; inches away from Akwa's head, on the hour.

Five minutes later, a mistake by Joao Jamba let in Omar Bravo, only for Mexico to be foiled again by Ricardo.

Ricardo can look rather hopeless as well, especially when he comes out to flap at a cross and falls helplessly to the ground instead of touching the ball.

The Angola trainer then decided to give Akwa a striking partner, when he brought on Pedro Mantorras for Andre Mateus. Mexico followed with their own front-line substitution, bringing on the popular Francisco Fonseca.

Still no goal with fifteen minutes to go.

Then Angola were reduced to ten men, when Andre Macanga received his second yellow card, for needlessly sticking his hand out to stop the ball, with eleven minutes left on the clock.

After earning himself a yellow card for time wasting, João Ricardo went on to make two excellent saves to keep successive Mexican shots out, as the clock ticked down the final seconds.

Final Score:
Mexico 0 - Angola 0

Teams
Mexico: (Captain Rafael Marquez)
1 Oswaldo Sanchez; 3 Carlos Salcido, 4 Rafael Marquez, 5 Ricardo Osorio, 16 Mario Mendez; 6 Gerardo Torrado, 7 Antonio Naelson, 8 Pavel Pardo, 14 Gonzalo Pineda; 19 Omar Bravo, 10 Guillermo Franco.

Angola: (Captain Fabrice Akwa)
1 Pereira João Ricardo; 3 Joao Jamba, 5 Carlos Kali, 20 Manuel Loco, 21 Luis Delgado; 7 Paulo Figueiredo, 8 Andre Macanga, 11 Andre Mateus, 14 Antonio Mendonca, 17 Jose Ze Kalanga; 10 Fabrice Akwa.

Referee:
Shamsul Maidin (Singapore)

Holland Qualify For Second Round

Holland vs Côte d'Ivoire
Stuttgart

Ivory Coast needed to win this game, if they wanted to stay in the tournament.

Ivory Coast should have had a twelfth minute penalty; when Giovanni Van Bronckhorst clearly held Emmanuel Eboue, as he ran with the ball in the Holland area.

Robin Van Persie earned a free-kick on the edge of the area and converted it himself, to put Holland in front on the 23rd minute.

Three minutes later, Arjen Robben made all the running then, after a one-two on the edge of the area, switched play and sent Ruud van Nistelrooy through; for Holland to double their lead.

Ivory Coast didn't drop their heads, as Didier Zokora hit the post with Van der Sar completely beaten.

Bakari Kone brought Ivory Coast back into the game with a great solo run acroos the middle of the pitch, then a switch left into the area to fire a screamer past Van der Sar.

Didier Drogba's second yellow card of the tournamnet means he will miss Ivory Coast's last group game; against Serbia & Montenegro.

Ivory Coast came so close to equalising just before half-time, as Arouna Kone turned on the edge of the area, but shot over the bar.

Half-time: (2:1).

Ivory Coast continued to look for the equaliser after the break, while Holland countered with a midfield reinforcement.

A 77th minute corner, for the Ivory Coast, was saved off the line by Van Persie's chest.

Two minutes later, Didier Drogba turned on the edge of the area but was just muscled out of a scoring chance.

The final minutes were a tense affair but in the end, Argentina and Holland qualified from Group C; while Ivory Coast and Serbia-Montenegro went out.

Holland vs Argentina will decide who tops the group; Holland need to win, while a draw will be enough for Argentina.

Final Score:
Holland 2 - Côte d'Ivoire 1

Goalscorers:
1:0 Robin Van Persie (23)
2:0 Ruud van Nistelrooy (26)
2:1 Bakari Kone (38)

Teams
Holland: (Captain Edwin Van der Sar)
1 Edwin Van der Sar; 4 Joris Mathijsen, 5 Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, 13 Andre Ooijer, 14 Johnny Heitinga; 8 Phillip Cocu, 18 Mark Van Bommel, 20 Wesley Sneijder; 9 Ruud van Nistelrooy, 11 Arjen Robben, 17 Robin Van Persie.

Côte d'Ivoire: (Captain Didier Drogba)
1 Jean-Jacques Tizie; 3 Arthur Boka, 4 Kolo Toure, 12 Abdoulaye Meite; 5 Didier Zokora, 19 Gneri Yaya Toure, 21 Emmanuel Eboue, 22 Ndri Romaric; 9 Arouna Kone, 11 Didier Drogba, 14 Bakari Kone.

Referee:
Oscar Ruiz (Colombia)

Argentina Demolish Serbia & Montenegro

Argentina vs Serbia & Montenegro
Gelsenkirchen

It only took a little over five minutes for Javier Saviola to slip a pass in from the left, for Maxi Rodríguez to put Argentina in front; against Serbia & Montenegro, in Gelsenkirchen.

Substitute Esteban Cambiasso doubled Argentina's lead just after the half-hour, when Hernán Crespo's back-heel to him was the culmination of twenty four passes by Argentina.

Five minutes before half-time, Saviola won the ball off a defender, near the right corner flag, and ran into the area. As his shot was palmed away by Dragoslav Jevric, Maxi Rodríguez was on hand at the far post to slam home his second goal of the game; in off the woodwork.

Half-time: (3:0).

Serbia & Montenegro tried to gain some initiative by bringing on Danijel Ljuboja for Ognjen Koroman, who will miss the next game for picking up two yellow cards, just after half-time.

Riquelme and Sorin continued to Tango, as Argentina totally dominated the game.

Mateja Kezman was getting more and frustrated as the game went on and his two-footed challenge earned him a red card in the 65th minute.

Diego Maradona led the cheering when Lionel Messi finally made his World Cup appearance, fifteen minutes before the end.

With twelve minutes to go, Messi ran the ball into the area, down the left side, and crossed low for Hernán Crespo to score Argentina's fourth goal; at the far post.

Carlos Tevez continued the Argentina rout when he beat two defenders on the left, to calmly roll the ball past Jevric; six minutes from time.

Messi added his name to the scoresheet, as Argentina continued to press forward with short, quick passing moves forward.

This is what World Cup football is all about.

Final Score:
Argentina 6 - Serbia & Montenegro 0

Goalscorers:
1:0 Maxi Rodríguez (6)
2:0 Esteban Cambiasso (31)
3:0 Maxi Rodríguez (41)
4:0 Hernán Crespo (78)
5:0 Carlos Tevez (84)
6:0 Lionel Messi (88)

Teams
Argentina: (Captain Juan Pablo Sorin)
1 Roberto Abbondanzieri; 2 Roberto Ayala, 3 Juan Pablo Sorin, 6 Gabriel Heinze, 21 Nicolas Burdisso; 8 Javier Mascherano, 10 Juan Riquelme, 18 Maxi Rodríguez, 22 Lucho Gonzalez; 7 Javier Saviola, 9 Hernán Crespo.

Serbia & Montenegro: (Captain Savo Milosevic)
1 Dragoslav Jevric; 6 Goran Gavrancic, 15 Milan Dudic, 20 Mladen Krstajic; 4 Igor Duljaj, 7 Ognjen Koroman, 10 Dejan Stankovic, 11 Predrag Djordjevic, 17 Albert Nadj; 8 Mateja Kezman, 9 Savo Milosevic.

Referee:
Roberto Rosetti (Italy)

Sweden Sneak The Win

Sweden vs Paraguay
Berlin

With England already on six points, Sweden's win puts Paraguay out.
The first chance fell to Sweden in the 9th minute, when Kim Kallstrom had his shot pushed around for a corner by Aldo Bobadilla.

Once again, Sweden knocked up a lot of long balls and did a lot of running but had trouble producing anything productive.

Half-time: (0:0).

Just when it looked like Sweden were going to numb the world with another goaless draw, a cross from the right was headed back across the goalmouth, by substitute Marcus Allback, for Fredrik Ljungberg to head past Aldo Bobadilla; two minutes from time.

The Swedish bench celebrated as if they'd just won the World Cup Final, while the Paraquayans knew their World Cup dreams were over.

Sweden now need a point against England to be sure of qualification, or for Trinidad & Tobago to lose or draw against Paraguay.

Final Score:
Sweden 1 - Paraguay 0

Goalscorers:
Fredrik Ljungberg (89)

Teams
Sweden: (Captain Olof Mellberg)
1 Andreas Isaksson; 3 Olof Mellberg, 4 Teddy Lucic, 5 Erik Edman; 6 Tobias Linderoth, 7 Niclas Alexandersson, 9 Fredrik Ljungberg, 16 Kim Kallstrom, 21 Christian Wilhelmsson; 10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 11 Henrik Larsson.

Paraguay: (Captain Carlos Gamarra)
22 Aldo Bobadilla; 2 Jorge Nunez, 4 Carlos Gamarra, 5 Julio Cesar Caceres, 21 Denis Caniza; 6 Carlos Bonet, 10 Roberto Acuna, 13 Carlos Paredes, 16 Cristian Riveros; 9 Roque Santa Cruz, 18 Nelson Valdez

Referee:
Lubos Michel (Slovakia)

England vs Trinidad & Tobago in Nürnberg.

Japan's Toru Kamikawa became the first referee to officiate his second match at the 2006 World Cup Finals; during Poland vs Ecuador he only dished out three yellow cards.

The first chance for England came when Peter Crouch, on the left, pulled the ball back for Frank Lampard in the middle. Shaka Hislop couldn't hold the Chelsea midfielder's shot but Michael Owen wasn't alert enough to the rebound. 5 Minutes gone.

Ten minutes later, the Chelsea pair of Frank Lampard and Joe Cole combined together on the left, before Cole sent in a cross to Peter Crouch at the far post. Crouch slid in to get to the ball before Hislop but his touch rolled wide.

After twenty minutes, with two yellow cards to their credit, Trinidad & Tobago decided to try and push forward and attack the England goal.

England fans sung a chorus of the National Anthem to try and lift their team.
Otherwise, a fairly non-eventful first half-hour; as Wayne Rooney warmed up on the touchline.

If England failed to get out of first gear against Paraguay, they were struggling to knock the lever out of neutral here.

Trinidad & Tobago didn't show the same early energy as they did against Sweden but as the half wore on, they started to feel they could get something out of the game; maybe not just a draw.

Just before half-time, John Terry had to do an overhead-kick to keep Trinidad & Tobago from going into the break one goal up.

Half-time: (0:0).

Finally, the moment all of England had been waiting for, apart form Sir Alex Ferguson (but he's Scottish); Wayne Rooney took a deep breath and entered the cauldron; just before the hour.

The first 'almost' world class move I've seen England put together, so far this tournament, happened in the 77th minute; when Peter Crouch chested the ball down to Wayne Rooney, on his left, who passed straight back. Crouch then flicked the ball into the box for Lampard to shoot; sadly, straight at Hislop.

Finally, with seven minutes left, Beckham's right-wing cross floated onto Peter Crouch's head. As a couple of defenders can testify, you don't have to do much for the goal to go into the net when 'Becks' gets the right spin on the ball.

In the last minute of the game, Steven Gerrard's left foot made the scoreline look respectable; although Stern John would still get a goal ruled out for offside.

Final Score:
England 2 - Trinidad & Tobago 0

Goalscorers:
1:0 Peter Crouch (83)
2:0 Steven Gerrard (90)

And the England Fans could sing with more conviction: "Football's Coming Home!"

Then of course, the national anthem to follow.

Teams
England: (Captain David Beckham)
1 Paul Robinson; 3 Ashley Cole, 5 Rio Ferdinand, 6 John Terry, 15 Jamie Carragher; 4 Steven Gerrard, 7 David Beckham, 8 Frank Lampard, 11 Joe Cole; 10 Michael Owen, 21 Peter Crouch.

Trinidad & Tobago: (Captain Dwight Yorke)
1 Shaka Hislop; 5 Brent Sancho, 6 Dennis Lawrence, 7 Christopher Birchall, 8 Cyd Gray; 9 Aurtis Whitley, 11 Carlos Edwards, 18 Densill Theobald, 19 Dwight Yorke; 14 Stern John, 15 Kenwyne Jones.

Referee:
Toru Kamikawa (Japan)

Ecuador vs Costa Rica in Hamburg.

Ecuador took the lead in the 8th minute when Carlos Tenorio headed in Luis Valencia's cross from the right.

After just 28 minutes, Costa Rica tried to get the offensive edge by bringing on Alvaro Saborio on for Danny Fonseca; knowing that if they didn't get a result here, they would be out, along with Poland.

Half-time: (1:0).

In the 54th minute, Ecuador just about sealed the fate of Costa Rica and Poland, when Edison Mendez flicked the ball into Agustin Delgado. With this goal, Ecuador moved to the top of Group A, above Germany.

Costa Rica's Alvaro Saborio hit the bar just before the final whistle, but against an Ecuador side who have yet to concede a goal, it was like a fly landing on a horse's tail.

Ecuador swished their tail one more time, as Ivan Kaviedes slid in to finish the game and Costa Rica's World Cup dreams.

Final Score:
Ecuador 3 - Costa Rica 0

Goalscorers:
1:0 Carlos Tenorio (8)
2:0 Agustin Delgado (54)
3:0 Ivan Kaviedes (92)

Teams
Ecuador: (Captain Ivan Hurtado)
12 Cristian Mora; 3 Ivan Hurtado, 4 Ulises De la Cruz, 17 Geovanny Espinoza, 18 Neicer Reasco; 8 Edison Mendez, 14 Segundo Castillo, 16 Luis Valencia, 20 Edwin Tenorio; 11 Agustin Delgado, 21 Carlos Tenorio.

Costa Rica: (Captain Luis Marin)
18 Jose Porras; 3 Luis Marin, 4 Michael Umana, 12 Leonardo Gonzalez, 15 Harold Wallace; 6 Danny Fonseca, 8 Mauricio Solis, 10 Walter Centeno, 20 Douglas Sequeira; 9 Paulo Wanchope, 11 Ronald Gomez.

Referee:
Coffi Codjia (Benin)

Super Subs in Goalmouth Drama

Germany vs Poland
Dortmund

Poland kicked-off the second phase of group matches; their World cup destiny to be decided in 90 minutes.

In the first ten minutes, Poland already looked a lot more livelier than they did in the whole ninety against Ecuador.

Both Poland and Germany had good early chances with Jens Lehmann and Artur Boruc getting a feel of the ball from the boots of Zurawski and Klose.

Then in the 20th minute, Germany's best chance was headed wide by Klose as Boruc spread himself in front of the Polish-born, German striker to distract him.
After a frantic first half an hour, Germany tried to hold the ball at the back for a moment to catch their breath and think about their openings.

Five minutes from the break, Lukas Podolski set up Bastian Schweinsteiger in the middle; but the Bayern Munich midfielder scooped the ball high.

Oliver Kahn looked on sternly as Lehmann dropped a corner under pressure, just before the break. Fortunately for Germany, there were no red shirts in position at the far post to take advantage.

Then Germany missed another great chance to snatch the lead as Podolski skuffed wide in front of goal; after an excellently executed move down the left wing, involving a back-heeled one-two for Philip Lahm to get the delivery in.

Half-time: (0:0).

Poland set out their second-half stall to stiffle Germany and not get beat.

After Michael Ballack earned a free-kick, in the 63rd minute, he had to leave the pitch because he claimed he was injured in the challenge. Sobolewski was already on a yellow card and Ballack was probably trying to get him booked again.

The tactic back-fired as the free-kick was ordered to be taken without the German captain, himself on a yellow card. The protest Ballack was making from the touchline could have ended his game as the ball took a double deflection and fell to Klose. Great save from Boruc.

Fifteen minutes from time, Radoslaw Sobolewski did get his second booking, for pulling down Miroslav Klose, and left Poland to hold on with ten men.

With Germany looking serious about trying to win the game and Poland needing to comit themselves, Pawel Janas took off his other player on a yellow card; Pawel Janas.

Ten minutes before the end, Lahm and ballack both came close for Germany; Artur Boruc making an another important save, even if the shot appeared to go straight at him.

The Poland fans started to enjoy themselves, as the last minutes ticked down.

Then drama in the goalmouth as Klose headed onto the bar with his neck; Ballack followed up with his shot hitting the bar; another follow up was blocked; then Ballack was offside as David Odonkor fired the ball into the net.

As Germany pushed forward one final time, Neuville slipped in Odonkor's right wing cross, to send the whole of Germany into euphoria; the game won by Klinsmann's sustitutions.

Germany will go through and Poland drop out of the 2006 World Cup Finals, if Costa Rica don't beat Ecuador tomorrow.

Final Score:
Germany 1 - Poland 0

Goalscorers:
1:0 Oliver Neuville (90)

Teams
Germany: (Captain Michael Ballack)
1 Jens Lehmann; 3 Arne Friedrich, 16 Philip Lahm, 17 Per Mertesacker, 21 Christoph Metzelder; 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger, 8 Torsten Frings, 13 Michael Ballack, 19 Bernd Schneider; 11 Miroslav Klose, 20 Lukas Podolski.

Poland: (Captain Jacek Bak)
1 Artur Boruc; 4 Marcin Baszczynski, 6 Jacek Bak, 14 Michal Zewlakow, 19 Bartosz Bosacki; 7 Radoslaw Sobolewski, 8 Jacek Krzynowek, 15 Ebi Smolarek, 16 Arkadiusz Radomski; 9 Maciej Zurawski, 21 Ireneusz Jelen.

Referee:
Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

The Saudi Prince And His Chequebook

Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia
München

Both captains wore number thirteen for Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, as Munich staged its second World Cup Finals match.

The only positive aspect from the first twenty minutes of this match, was that it could only get better.

In the twenty-third minute, a long free kick bounced off two Saudi players in the penalty area and fell for Tunisia's Zied Jaziri, to scissor kick into the goal.

Other than that, not really a first-half worth wasting too many words on.

Half-time: (1:0).

A Saudi prince waved his flag, as the teams came out for the second half, and looked extremely happy; probably because he wasn't going to be paying out any win bonuses.

Maybe the players saw his grin and wanted to wipe the smile off his face, by forcing him to get his chequebook out after the game.

Twelve minutes later, the Saudi Arabia team were bowing down and kissing the turf; after Yasser Al Kahtani had shaken off two Tunisian defenders, on a run to the near post, and slipped Mohammed Noor's right-wing cross past Ali Boumnijel.

Then five minutes from time, Sami Al Jaber (replacing goalscorer Yasser Al Kahtani) had only been on the pitch two minutes, when he ran into plenty of space on the left and fired acrossAli Boumnijel; to put Saudi Arabia in front.

With relief, the Saudi prince put his wallet back as Radhi Jaidi equalised for Tunisia, in injury-time.

From a drab, dismal, damp squib of a start by two World Cup lightweights we actually had football drama of heavyweight quality at the end.

Final Score:
Tunisia 2 - Saudi Arabia 2

Goalscorers:
1:0 Zied Jaziri (23)
1:1 Yasser Al Kahtani (57)
1:2 Sami Al Jaber (85)
2:2 Radhi Jaidi (93)

Teams
Tunisia: (Captain Riadh Bouazizi/Hatem Trabelsi)
1 Ali Boumnijel; 3 Karim Haggui, 6 Hatem Trabelsi, 15 Radhi Jaidi, 18 David Jemmali; 12 Jaouhar Mnari, 13 Riadh Bouazizi, 14 Adel Chedli, 20 Hamed Namouchi; 5 Zied Jaziri, 9 Yacine Chikhaoui.

Saudi Arabia: (Captain Hussein Sulimani)
21 Mabrouk Zaid; 2 Ahmed Dokhi, 3 Redha Tukar, 4 Hamad Al Montashari, 13 Hussein Sulimani; 6 Omar Al Ghamdi, 8 Mohammed Noor, 14 Saud Khariri, 16 Khaled Aziz, 18 Nawaf Al Temyat; 20 Yasser Al Kahtani.

Referee:
Mark Shield (Australia)

Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé

Spain vs Ukraine
Leipzig

Spain started out with the early attacking moves against Ukraine, in Leipzig; Sergio Ramos making some good runs out of the right back position.

After just twelve minutes Spain's surprise inclusion, Marcos Senna from Villarreal, earned the corner that lead to Spain's first goal; after his blazing shot was tipped over the bar by Olexandr Shovkovskiy.

In the goal-mouth scramble that followed, Xabi Alonso was credited with the touch that sent the ball towards the back of the net.

Four minutes later, Spain had doubled their lead from another set-piece; when the Ukraine wall jumped and Andriy Rusol, who had just been booked, helped David Villa's free-kick past Shovkovskiy.

Ukraine, having warmed up too slow, struggled to get good movement going between the holding midfield players and the front-runners; Shevchenko needing to come deeper himself to get a touch on the ball.

Then a bad defensive header fell to Shevchenko who released Andriy Voronin, three minutes before half-time, but again the team in yellow were flagged for offside.

Half-time: (2:0).

Two minutes after the break, Massimo Busacca, the Swiss referee, dealt a knockout blow to the Ukrainians; by awarding the first penalty of the 2006 World Cup Finals and sending off Vladislav Vashchuk. Fernando Torres had already shot before he fell and didn't really seem to be pulled down.

David Villa stepped up to score Spain's third; although Shovkovskiy dived the right way and maybe just brushed the ball with his finger tips.

With a comfortable lead established, Luis Aragones could afford to make a double substitution early and warm-up Raul.

On the hour, Ukraine's best chance fell to Voronin; who controlled the ball on his thight before releasing a shot just wide of the far post, from the right edge of the area.
Substitute, Serhiy Rebrov also wasted a golden opportunity when right in front of goal, by carelessly shooting over the bar.

Spain weren't prepared to just sit on the three-goal lead as, ten minutes from time, Carles Puyol won the ball deep in his own half; laid the ball off and ran down the left, to head the return into the path of Fernando Torres.

Oleg Blokhin, the Ukraine trainer, just smiled from the bench and shook his head; as if to say: "What can I do here?"

At least Ukraine have Saudi Arabia next.

Final Score:
Spain 4 - Ukraine 0

Teams
Spain: (Captain Iker Casillas)
1 Iker Casillas; 3 Mariano Pernia, 5 Carles Puyol, 15 Sergio Ramos, 22 Ibanez Pablo; 8 Hernandez Xavi, 14 Xabi Alonso, 16 Marcos Senna; 9 Fernando Torres, 11 Luis Garcia, 21 David Villa.

Ukraine: (Captain Andriy Shevchenko)
1 Olexandr Shovkovskiy; 2 Andriy Nesmachniy, 5 Volodymyr Yezerskiy, 6 Andriy Rusol, 17 Vladislav Vashchuk; 4 Anatoliy Tymoschuk, 9 Oleg Gusev, 14 Andriy Gusin, 21 Ruslan Rotan; 7 Andriy Shevchenko, 10 Andriy Voronin.

Referee:
Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)

As it's been announced that Japan's Toru Kamikawa will become the first referee to officiate his second match at the 2006 World Cup Finals, here's a look at the men in black with the whistle.

FIFA Referees From Africa

Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)
A pilot living in Cairo, Essam Abd El Fatah enjoys reading, tennis and of course football.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Australia vs Japan (7 Yellow Cards)

Coffi Codjia (Benin)
A maritime inspector living in Cotonou, Coffi Codjia enjoys cycling, reading and football.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Ecuador vs Costa Rica

FIFA Referees From Asia

Toru Kamikawa (Japan)
A full-time referee living in Ebina City, Toru Kamikawa enjoys reading and cycling.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Poland vs Ecuador (3 Yellow Cards)
England vs Trinidad & Tobago

Shamsul Maidin (Singapore)
A referee department executive living in Singapore, Shamsul Maidin's life is football.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Trinidad & Tobago vs Sweden (1 Red Card, 4 Yellow Cards)

Mark Shield (Australia)
A company director living in Fortitude Valley (Queensland), Mark Shield enjoys squash and fishing.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia

FIFA Referees From Europe

Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
A managing director living in Monte Carasso (Ticino), Massimo Busacca likes skiing and holidays; or is that skiing holidays. He's also reported to be the fastest referee at the 2006 World Cup Finals.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Spain vs Ukraine

Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
A public relations manager living in Oudenaarde, Frank De Bleeckere likes tennis and travelling.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Argentina vs Côte d'Ivoire (5 Yellow Cards)

Valentin Ivanov (Russia)
A teacher, Valentin Ivanov likes music and volleyball.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
France vs Switzerland (8 Yellow Cards)

Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)
A sports assessor, Luis Medina Cantalejo likes music, literature, sports, nature and travelling.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Germany vs Poland

Markus Merk (Germany)
A dentist living in Otterbach, Markus Merk likes long-distance running, cross-country skiing, social work and travelling.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Serbia & Montenegro vs Holland (6 Yellow cards)

Lubos Michel (Slovakia)
A manager living in Presov, Lubos Michel likes history, tennis and reading.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Sweden vs Paraguay

Graham Poll (England)
A full-time referee living in Tring, Graham Poll likes travelling, reading and keeping fit.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
South Korea vs Togo (1 Red Card, 6 Yellow Cards)

Eric Poulat (France)
A computer scientist living in Charlieu, Eric Poulat likes stamp collecting.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
None yet.

Roberto Rosetti (Italy)
A hospital manager living in Torino, Roberto Rosetti likes tennis, movies and books.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Mexico vs Iran (3 Yellow cards)

FIFA Referees From Central America

Benito Archundia (Mexico)
A lawyer and economist living in Tlalnepantla, Benito Archundia likes playing football, video games and reading.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Brazil vs Croatia (4 Yellow Cards)

Marco Rodriguez (Mexico)
A physical education teacher living in Mexico City, Marco Rodriguez likes music, cycling, swimming and reading the bible.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
England vs Paraguay (3 Yellow Cards)

FIFA Referees From South America

Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay)
An electrical engineer living in Ascuncion, Carlos Amarilla likes spending time with his family, listening to music, reading, cinema and sports.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
USA vs Czech Republic (6 Yellow Cards)

Horatio Elizondo (Argentina)
A physical education teacher living in Parada Robles, Horatio Elizondo likes playing golf and writing poems.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Germany vs Costa Rica (1 Yellow Card)

Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)
A clerk living in Montevideo, Jorge Larrionda likes breeding animals; especially dogs and parrots.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Angola vs Portugal (5 Yellow Cards)

Oscar Ruiz (Colombia)
A lawyer living in Villavicencio, Oscar Ruiz music, reading and watching sports on television.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
None yet.

Carlos Simon (Brazil)
A journalist living in Porto Alegre, Carlos Simon likes reading and sports.

Matches refereed at the 2006 World Cup Finals:
Italy vs Ghana (5 Yellow Cards)

World Champions Hang On To The Cracker From Kaka

Brazil vs Croatia
Berlin

Brazil and Croatia walked up the short steps onto the pitch at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, at 8.54pm local time, to a tremendous welcome from their adoring fans and thousands of neutrals who were lucky enough to get tickets to see the World Champions set out to defend their crown; although they had to go through the qualifying campaign like everyone else, apart from the hosts Germany.

Kaka and Ronaldinho gave each other a huge hug as the teams took up their positions.

Ronaldinho's first magical demonstration occurred in the third minute. Croatia didn't fall under his spell and cleared the danger.

In the 15th minute, Stipe Pletikosa was forced to tip over a log-range shot from Roberto Carlos, then get down to save from Ronaldinho when the ensuing corner was taken.

Croatia had their moments down the wings as well, with Dado Prso making good runs down the left. An even first twenty five minutes.

Nico Kovac seemed to suffer a rib injury but returned to the pitch to pull back Kaká on the edge of the area and earn himself a yellow card. Ronaldinho blasted the ball into the wall, won the ball back, jostled with three of four Croatians then tried to get an attack going again on the left, with an extravagant back-heel. Croatia continued to contain the World Champions by spotting the dangers early.

Then Nico Kovac received another barge into the midriff and, after trying to go on yet again, the Croatian captain had to go off.

Then just as Croatia thought they had the first-half's job done they gave the ball away in Brazil's half and struggled to get back as Brazil came forward. Kaká shrugged off two defenders to gain the space needed, then caressed the ball into the back of the net; with the inside of his left foot, from outside the area.

Half-time: (1:0).

Croatia tried to get back on level terms early in the second-half; Dado Prso and Ivan Klasnic both firing warning shots at Dida, in the Brazilian goal.

Croatia upped their offensive strategy after the hour, caught Brazil napping a few more times but wasted their chances by firing straight at Dida.

With Brazil happy to run the time down towards the end, a Croatian fan beat the security and ran across the pitch; Croatian fans lit flares and made themselves heard.

With a little over a minute left on the clock, Niko Kranjcar slipped in between two Brazilian defefenders and headed on to the roof of the net.

Final Score:
Brazil 1 - Croatia 0

Teams
Brazil: (Captain Cafu)
1 Nelson Dida; 2 Cafu, 3 Ferreira Lucio, 4 Juan, 6 Roberto Carlos; 5 Emerson, 8 Kaká, 10 Ronaldinho, 11 Jose Ze Roberto; 7 Adriano, 9 Ronaldo.

Croatia: (Captain Nico Kovac/Igor Tudor)
1 Stipe Pletikosa; 3 Josip Simunic, 4 Robert Kovac, 5 Igor Tudor, 7 Dario Simic; 2 Darijo Srna, 8 Marko Babic, 10 Nico Kovac, 19 Niko Kranjcar; 9 Dado Prso, 17 Ivan Klasnic.

Referee:
Benito Archundia (Mexico)

Deja Vu

France vs Switzerland
Stuttgart

Switzerland, playing in white, kicked-off the match in Stuttgart; between two teams who came through the same qualifying group for the 2006 World Cup Finals.

The two neighbouring countries started with a similar style; making it difficult to play through the middle and generally cancelling each other out.

France did have a couple of early chances though: Sylvain Wiltord's cross from the right a little too high for Thierry Henry to header properly; then a little later, Patrick Vieira miss-hit a chance to volley at the far post when Ricardo Cabanas rushed towards him.

Switzerland's best early chance came in the 24th minute, when Tranquillo Barnetta's clever free-kick swung in over everyone in the middle of the penalty area and landed on the far post with Alexander Frei running in behind the French defenders. Eric Abidal and Claude Makelele closed Alex Frei down as the Swiss front runner tried to cue himself up for the rebound.

Franck Ribery had a great time to capitalise on a Swiss mistake in the 37th minute as he ran into the right side of the area unchallenged. Instead of taking the shot himself, the Olympique Marseille midfielder (maybe suffering from stage fright) rolled the ball back to Henry. It was a sad pass to the Arsenal striker, who hit Senderos' hand; penalty appeal turned down.

A minute or two later, Henry ran onto a visionary long-ball from Zinedine Zidane and instead of shooting or squaring the ball to Patrick Vieira in the middle, tapped the ball to Pascal Zuberbuhler.

Half-time: (0:0).

We had to wait 62 minutes before Switzerland earned their first corner; Abidal flicking the ball off before Alex Frei could get to Barnetta's attempted cross.

Two minutes later, Barthez made a crucial save to keep out substitute Daniel Gygax' attempt to head the ball at the far post, with the side of his face.

Switzerland's last gasp attempt to snatch victory took a while coming as the Russian referee tried to stop the jostling in the penalty area before the 93rd minute free-kick could be taken. When the ball was finally released into the area, Alex Frei tried to fist it in, á la Maradona; earning himself a yellow card in the process.

It might have been another hot day in Stuttgart but we've seen it all before with these two teams; another tight match ending in a draw.

Final Score:
France 0 - Switzerland 0

Teams
France: (Captain Zinedine Zidane)
16 Fabien Barthez; 3 Eric Abidal, 5 William Gallas, 15 Lilian Thuram, 19 Willy Sagnol; 4 Patrick Vieira, 6 Claude Makelele, 10 Zinedine Zidane, 22 Franck Ribery; 11 Sylvain Wiltord, 12 Thierry Henry.

Switzerland: (Captain Johann Vogel)
1 Pascal Zuberbuhler; 3 Ludovic Magnin, 4 Philippe Senderos, 20 Patrick Müller, 23 Philipp Degen; 6 Johann Vogel, 7 Ricardo Cabanas, 8 Raphael Wicky, 16 Tranquillo Barnetta; 9 Alexander Frei, 11 Marco Streller.

Referee:
Valentin Ivanov (Russia)

South Korea To Go

South Korea vs Togo
Frankfurt

While many teams like to keep their starting team a secret, Togo went one better by keeping the trainer a secret. Actually, the trainer kept it a secret from the team. The 'will he, won't he' issue of the Togo trainer was finally resolved at kick-off, as Otto Pfister returned to the team.

The roof of the Frankfurt stadium was closed, to offer better television images to the watching public around the world. Unfortunately for the players and fans in the stadium though, without air-conditioning the place is like a sauna.

The hosts also scored an own-goal before the game kicked off by playing the South Korean national anthem twice.

Togo got their first ever World Cup Finals match underway but it was South Korea who made the first real attack; with Tottenham's full back, Young-Pyo Lee eventually fouled on the left wing.

The midfield passing between the teams, in the first twenty minutes, was rather careless; with long-balls also being over-hit. Nothing to test either goalkeeper, until Eul-Yong Lee's free-kick from the right need two attempts by Kossi Agassa to bring the ball under control.

Togo finally made up for all their bad preparations by taking the lead through Kader Mohamed. Taking the ball on the outside of his right thigh, the Guingamp forward skipped past Young-Chul Kim, glanced up briefly to see the positioning of the Korean goalkeeper and released the ball low to Woon-Jae Lee's right; in off the far post.

Just before half-time, Togo almost doubled their led when Junior Senaya's was tipped over the bar.

Korea had a couple of near chances to get on level terms before the break but Togo's defenders held out. South Korea didn't really show the enthusiasm they did on home soil at the last World Cup Finals in 2002.

Half-time: (0:1)

Togo's Junior Senaya bent down and kissed the Frankfurt turf before the start of the second-half.

First-half goalscorer, Kader Mohamed, forced an early corner at the start of the second-half.

Disaster for Togo as Jean-Paul Abalo, already on a yellow card, is shown a red card then a yellow by a mixed up Graham Poll. Abalo seemed to have lost his footing and then, as he was trying to get back on terms, clipped Ji-Sung Park on the edge of the area.

Chun-Soo Lee curled the free-kick over the wall to bring South Korea level.
Things went from bad to worse for Togo as Ludovic Assemoassa was stretchered off, on the hour; leaving the Africans down to nine men, with South Korea threatening to score.

Togo should have gone ahead after the substitution, when new man Assimiou Toure provided an excellent cross from the right, into the South Korean penalty area. The two Togolese strikers seemed shocked the ball reached them and the opportunity to gain an advantage was lost.

With an extra man on the field, substitute Jung-Hwan Ahn turned the game around; when his curled shot from outside the area couldn't be reached by the Togo goalkeeper.

With ten minutes to go, South Korea were content to pass the ball around; backwards. But they were caught out and Kader Mohamed almost made them pay.

Jae-Jin Cho bowed to the bench, then turned and bowed to the stadium; when he was substituted seven minutes from time.

South Korea had a final free-kick in injury team but the ball was passed short, then backwards; to jeers from the crowd.

Final Score:
South Korea 2 - Togo 1

Teams
South Korea: (Captain Woon-Jae Lee)
1 Woon-Jae Lee; 2 Young-Chul Kim, 4 Jin-Chul Choi, 6 Jin-Kyu Kim, 12 Young-Pyo Lee, 22 Chong-Gug Song; 7 Ji-Sung Park, 13 Eul-Yong Lee, 17 Ho Lee; 14 Chun-Soo Lee, 19 Jae-Jin Cho.

Togo: (Captain Jean-Paul Abalo)
16 Kossi Agassa; 2 Dare Nibombe, 3 Jean-Paul Abalo, 5 Massamasso Tchangai, 19 Ludovic Assemoassa; 10 Mamam Cherif-Toure, 15 Alaixys Romao, 18 Junior Senaya; 4 Emmanuel Adebayor, 7 Moustapha Salifou, 17 Kader Mohamed.

Referee:
Graham Poll (England)

Ghana's Gung Ho Attitude Not Enough

Italy vs Ghana
Hannover

Italy and Ghana, having watched the Czech Republic cruise to a three goal win over the USA earlier, will both know that a draw here will not be enough; although a point against Italy might please Ghana, on their first-time World Cup Finals appearance.

Ghana kicked-off and showed that they could pass the ball around as good as the Italians.

With Francesco Totti sitting in behind Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino, the Italians seemed to have a narrow midfield and that was being taken advantage of by Emmanuel Pappoe.

Then in the twelfth minute, Andrea Pirlo started a move on the right which eventually moved into Toni. Having missed the chance in the middle of the area, Gilardino was in position at the far post to try again for Italy; shooting underneath Richard Kingston, who had narrowed the angle, and hit the outside of the post.

Again for Italy, Luca Toni exploded out of nowhere in the 27th minute, headed the ball past the last Ghana defender, Samuel Kuffour, and lashed a fierce shot onto the bar.

Gung ho Ghana were always quick to reply, even tackling Italian defenders.
Gianluigi Buffon puffed a sigh of relief just before the half-hour, as Asamoah Gyan thundered a shot past his nose and just wide of the post.

Essien was the next for Ghana. Then Pappoe came forward again, but got a little excited and blasted the ball over the Italian bar.

End to end stuff, with Ghana matching the more experience Italians.
Luca Toni's next run down the left earned Italy a crucial corner, five minutes before half-time. Totti surprised everyone in the area by passing it short to Pirlo, on the corner of the penalty area. The AC Milan midfielder moved the ball on a touch, saw everyone in the box was still flat-footed, then unleashed a drive through a crowded penalty area; with the goalkeeper totally unsighted.

Half-time: (1:0).

Ghana started the second-half looking a little vulnerable at the back as a vissionary pass from Totti, in a deep position, released Gilardino; with Toni on his left. Gilardino, who maybe didn't see Toni coming into space, was thwarted by Kingston's feet.

Then a couple of minutes later, Essien forced a flying save from Buffon.
Samuel Kuffour was lucky not to get a red card, with some fifteen minutes to go, for pulling down Vincenzo Iaquinta on the edge of the area; because the flag was up for offside.

After going off on a stretcher Iaquinta returned to make the best of Kuffour's soft back-pass, get into the penalty area ahead of John Mensah and round Richard Kingston; to score Italy's second and make the three points safe.

Ghana had their moments and might feel unlucky not to get a penalty (two 50-50 decisions went against them) but they lost concentration at times and Italy did what we expected really, especially with Ghana forced to push forward.

Final Score:
Italy 2 - Ghana 0

Teams
Italy: (Captain Fabio Cannavaro)
1 Gianluigi Buffon; 2 Cristian Zaccardo, 3 Fabio Grosso, 5 Fabio Cannavaro, 13 Alessandro Nesta; 4 Daniele De Rossi, 10 Francesco Totti, 20 Simone Perrotta, 21 Andrea Pirlo; 9 Luca Toni, 11 Alberto Gilardino.

Ghana: (Captain Stephen Appiah)
22 Richard Kingston; 4 Samuel Kuffour, 5 John Mensah, 6 Emmanuel Pappoe, 15 John Pantsil; 8 Michael Essien, 10 Stephen Appiah, 11 Sulley Muntari, 18 Eric Addo; 3 Asamoah Gyan, 14 Matthew Amoah.

Referee:
Carlos Simon (Brazil)

Bouncing Czechs

USA vs Czech Republic
Gelsenkirchen

The USA might be ranked fifth in the world but just look at who they play against to get those rankings.

Today Team USA played with the big boys and the biggest of them all, head and shoulders above the rest, Jan Koller lost Eddie Pope with a trick run to the front post (as Zdenek Grygera's cross was coming in from the right), then took a couple of steps back and powered his header home, in the 5th minute, past the helpless Kasey Keller.

With the one goal lead, Czech Republic seemed prepared to let the USA have more of the ball; hoping to catch them on the break again.

The first real attack on Petr Cech's goal, in the 28th minute, resulted in Claudio Reyna's well struck shot thumping back off the foot of the post; with the Chelsea goalkeeper clearly beaten.

Ten minutes before half-time, a poor clearance fell to Tomas Rosicky. The Arsenal replacement for Robert Pires looked up briefly, struck the ball cleanly and watched as it flew into Keller's top left corner.

A sprint into the channel, just before half-time, was a stride too far for the just returned from injury, Jan Koller; as he pulled up and rolled over in the US penalty area, with what looked like a strained hamstring.

The injury momentarily silenced the boisterous Czech fans; when they would have preferred to be celebrating a comfortable half-time lead, with their main target man a continued threat on the pitch for the second-half.

Half-time: (0:2)

Bruce Arena made two half-time substitutions to try and change the direction of the game.

The Americans still struggled to get into the game, early in the second-half, although Pavel Nedved did get more physical attention; eventually earning the American captain a booking, on the hour.

Because of the earlier booking, Reyna appeared sloppy when tracking Nedved; allowing the Juventus maestro to turn easily and orchestrate another dangerous attack for the Czech Republic.

Tomas Rosicky so nearly made it three, in the 68th minutes, with a cracking shot onto Kasey Keller's crossbar, from way outside the area. Bruce Aren looked on glumly; perhaps already pondering his battle plans for the next two games against Italy and Ghana.

He would have some relief to see substitute Eddie Johnson show what a threat he can be, with a shot narrowly wide; a block on his next advance; followed by Cech's safe hands cutting out another possible chance.

As Arena stood up to plan his next tactical substitution, Rosicky ran through the middle; looked up once, then twice before lifting the ball cooly over Kasey Keller and into the net.

The strong result by the Czech Republic will be a little overshadowed by the injury to Jan Koller; especially if they get through to the final stages and he hasn't healed.

Final Score:
USA 0 - Czech Republic 3

Teams
USA: (Captain Claudio Reyna)
18 Kasey Keller; 4 Pablo Mastroeni, 6 Steve Cherundolo, 22 Oguchi Onyewu, 23 Eddie Pope; 7 Eddie Lewis, 10 Claudio Reyna, 15 Bobby Convey, 17 DaMarcus Beasley, 21 Landon Donovan; 20 Brian McBride.

Czech Republic: (Captain)
1 Petr Cech; 2 Zdenek Grygera, 6 Marek Jankulovski, 21 Tomas Ujfalusi, 22 David Rozehnal; 4 Tomas Galasek, 8 Karel Poborsky, 10 Tomas Rosicky, 11 Pavel Nedved, 20 Jaroslav Plasil; 9 Jan Koller.

Referee:
Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay)

Our man of The Match:
Tomas Rosicky; two great goals and good interpretation of the play around him.

Soccerooed

Australia vs Japan
Kaiserslautern

Fans in Australia and Japan will be having a late night in front of their television at home. For the rest of us, it's another hot afternoon in Germany.

The first free-kick was awarded to Japan, on the edge of the Australian area, within a minute.
Then on the sixth minute, Australia's Mark Viduka had a double chance as he came in from the left. The angle at the near post was tight and Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was fortunate to keep the threat out, at the second attempt.

Both teams continued to have little half chances; with a sleek back-heeled, one-two from Mark Viduka, almost working for the in-running Marco Bresciano.

Then the Australians were shocked in the 26th minute, when Shunsuke Nakamura crossed high from the right wing. Mark Schwarzer jumped and almost reached out his palm to the ball but seemed to be nudged out of way the by a crouching, Naohiro 'Kamikazee' Takahara.

Guus Hiddink wanted to see the replay on an official's monitor.

Harry Kewell replied at the other end with a shot that just skimmed over the bar.

Bresciano's free-kick, five minutes before the break, curled around the wall and swung in towards the near post. Unfortunately, for the jumping Australians, the ball fell into the side-netting. From the wrong part of the stadium, it might have looked like a goal.

Half-time: (0:1).

The question on everyone's mind was whether this was going to be another one of those afternoon second-halves, where the players are drained of energy due to the heat.

In a strategic sleight of hand, Guus Hiddink introduced Joshua Kennedy for Craig Moore, with thirty minutes left to change the balance of the game.

Straight away, the Dynamo Dresden was involved in a few goal area incidents and earned the 68th minute free-kick for Mark Viduka's grass skimming shot that forced Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi to dive down to the right for another crucial save.

With nothing left to lose, Hiddink played his last card with fifteen minutes to go; risking holes in the middle for more firepower up front. Within two minutes, John Aloisi was in the Egyptian referee's book for the wrong reason though.

With six minutes to go, Australia scored their first ever World Cup Finals goal when Tim Cahill hooked in a loose ball from Lucas Neill's long throw-in on the left.

In the last minutes, neither team was prepared to settle for a draw.

Just before closing time, Tim Cahill again put his name on the score-sheet again after he received a square ball from the right and curled it into the top left-hand corner; to send a slightly overweight Guus Hiddink into something of a kangaroo dance.

There was still energy left in the Australians as a fresh John Aloisi ran the ball into the area; past the back-peddling Yuichi Komano; in front of the incoming Tsuneyasu Miyamoto; to release a shot across the face of Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.

Final Score:
Australia 3 - Japan 1

Teams
Australia: (Captain Mark Viduka)
1 Mark Schwarzer; 2 Lucas Neill, 3 Craig Moore; 5 Jason Culina, 7 Brett Emerton, 13 Vince Grella, 14 Scott Chipperfield, 20 Luke Wilkshire, 23 Marco Bresciano; 9 Mark Viduka, 10 Harry Kewell.

Japan: (Captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto)
23 Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi; 3 Yuichi Komano, 5 Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, 14 Alessandro Santos, 19 Keisuke Tsuboi, 22 Yuji Nakazawa; 7 Hidetoshi Nakata, 10 Shunsuke Nakamura, 15 Takashi Fukunishi; 9 Naohiro Takahara, 13 Atsushi Yanagisawa.

Referee:
Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)

Our Man of The Match:
Tim Cahill; who wrote history for Australia with the Socceroos' first World Cup Finals goal and inspired the team to push on and extend their lead.

Just Onegola

Angola vs Portugal
Köln

Angola's Fabrice Akwa said before the game that he wouldn't sign a contract for a draw against former colonial rulers, Portugal if it was on the table and insists that Angola will be looking to cause what would be considered a major upset, of Senegal vs France proportions, and aim for all three points.

Portugal, determined not to let that happen, attacked from the kick-off, with Pauleta almost scoring on 14 seconds; the ball just going wide of the far post.

In the 4th minute he did get on the scoresheet though, latching onto a cut-back from Luis Figo; who had made the run down the left.

Ze Kalanga and Fabrice Akwa tried to get Angola back into the game, before Portugal opened the floodgates.

On the 25th minute, the Angolan captain tried a spectacular overhead kick from Manuel Loco's right wing cross.

With Portugal not getting the second goal, as expected, Angola started to feel a little more confident.

Cristiano Ronaldo's header onto the bar, from Luis Figo's corner just after the half-hour, reminded the Africans that the threat was still there.

Andre Macanga forced Joao Ricardo to push his fierce drive away for a corner, three minutes from half-time. And soon after, Ronaldo was again frustrated as Alexandre Ricardo saved another first-time shot; after Portugal worked the ball elegantly down the right wing.

Angola could go into the break feeling respectable.

Half-time: (0-1).

After an hour without another goal, some sections of the crowd starting whistling their disapproval.

Maniche tried to fire Teamgeist home in the last minute but it was a futile attempt to double the score, which on their second-half performance they wouldn't have really deserved.

Like England, an early goal was enough for Portugal to get the three points on the board but it's going to need a lot more to convince neutrals that Portugal are World Champion material.

Final Score:
Angola 0 - Portugal 1

Teams
Angola: (Captain Fabrice Akwa/Paulo Figueiredo)
1 Joao Ricardo; 3 Joao Jamba, 5 Carlos Kali, 20 Manuel Loco, 21 Luis Delgado; 7 Paulo Figueiredo, 8 Andre Macanga, 14 Antonio Mendonca, 17 Jose Ze Kalanga; 10 Fabrice Akwa, 11 Andre Mateus.

Portugal: (Captain Luis Figo)
1 Alexandre Ricardo; 5 Fernando Meira, 13 Luis Miguel, 14 Nuno Valente, 16 Ricardo Carvalho; 7 Luis Figo, 8 Armando Petit, 11 Sabrosa Simao, 17 Cristiano Ronaldo, 19 Cardoso Tiago; 9 Pedro Pauleta.

Referee:
Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)

Our Man of The Match:
Luis Figo.

Bravo Mexico

Mexico vs Iran
Nürnberg

Before the kick-off, Oswaldo Sanchez (who had just returned from his father's funeral in Mexico) received flowers from the opposite number one, Ebrahim Mirzapour.

Iran, all in red, kicked off from right to left.

After a nice little cross-field dribble by Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia tested the accuracy of Teamgeist with a long-range shot that only just missed the target.

The first real chance of the game (double chance really) fell to Iran in the 11th and 12th minutes; Sanchez eventually making a good reflex save from a close-range header. Iran looked the better side early on.

After a succession of free-kicks for Mexico, it finally clicked in the 28th minute; Pavel Pardo again taking it, Guillermo Franco flicking it across the goal with his head, for Omar Bravo to tap the ball in and complete the move that's probably been worked out on the training ground plenty of times.

Iran didn't lose focus, kept pushing and were soon rewarded from a corner.

Sanchez probably should have claimed the cross, before the headed ball clattered into him and fell nicely for Yahya Golmohammadi to punish the Mexicans.

A nice even first-half.

Half-time: (1-1).

Mexico made a double substitution at the start of the second-half; something of a Ricardo La Volpe tradition.

Then Jared Borgetti pulled up with what looked like a hamstring strain, five minutes after the re-start, and needed to be replaced; leaving Mexico with no more substitution options for the last forty minutes.

Just before the hour, Mexico might consider themselves not to have had a penalty; when Marquez was nudged to the floor.

Just when it looked like there wouldn't be a breakthrough, Mexico scored two goals in three minutes to put the game out of Iran's reach.

The first came from a poor clearance by the erratic Mirzapour. The ball was headed back towards the area and badly cleared again from a defender to half-time substitute, Antonio Naelson. The Mexican number seven, better known as 'Zinha' passed the ball through for Omar Bravo to run onto, beat the slipping Iranian keeper and send La Volpe into a sideline rapture.

Then the Brazilian-born, 'Zinha' Naelson rose to head home a right-wing cross from Mario Mendez to shatter the Iranians dreams.

As the whistle blows, the Mexican players all run to console a tearful Oswaldo Sanchez; whose proud father is now looking down from the great football stadium in the sky.

Final Score:
Mexico 3 - Iran 1

Teams
Mexico: (Captain Rafael Marquez)
1 Oswaldo Sanchez; 3 Carlos Salcido, 4 Rafael Marquez, 5 Ricardo Osorio, 16 Mario Mendez; 6 Gerardo Torrado, 8 Pavel Pardo, 14 Gonzalo Pineda; 9 Jared Borgetti, 10 Guillermo Franco, 19 Omar Bravo.

Iran: (Captain Ali Daei)
1 Ebrahim Mirzapour; 4 Yahya Golmohammadi, 5 Rahman Rezae, 13 Hossein Kaabi, 20 Mohammad Nosratii; 2 Mehdi Mahdavikia, 6 Javad Nekounam, 8 Ali Karimi, 14 Andranik Teymourian; 9 Vahid Hashemian, 10 Ali Daei.

Referee:
Roberto Rosetti (Italy)

Our Man of The Match:
Omar Bravo.