Neither Here Nor There

Moments after Clint Dempsey’s effort was turned away, Kevin-Prince Boateng robbed Ricardo Clark of possession in the center circle, took off in an exhilarating run, and shot a low ball past Tim Howard for Ghana’s first 2010 WC goal from open play.

Perhaps Team USA had been lulled into complacency by watching their opponents’ rather easy-going style in their previous matches.  Perhaps they put too much store in the fact that Ghana’s 4-points had come from 2 penalties.  No question that the Black Stars’ crisp, forceful, organized start took them by surprise.  Kingson, who in earlier games had sometimes looked flustered and uneasy in goal, displayed polish and poise against the Americans.  He had less to deal with; Howard was the busier keeper.  More worrisome for those face-painted in stars & stripes was the ominous deja vú of watching the USA repeat their pattern of ceding early in the game.  Would’ve been nice to see them ahead for a while, or even at least, instead of chasing the game once again.

By the 2nd half, the USA calmed down and set about testing the opposition, looking for exploitable cracks in the Black Stars’ defense.  Their perseverance paid off on 62 minutes when Dempsey was brought down in the box and the USA was awarded a penalty.  Landon Donovan converted from the spot, evening the score on 62 minutes.  Great ball, well-struck… but seemed to me the Americans were a bit lucky with the call.  It wasn’t the best tackle, but I thought Mensah got the ball before the man.  Could’ve gone either way.

The half ended 1 – 1, pushing the match into overtime.  Unfortunately for the USA, OT was deja vú all over again.  Barely had they returned to the pitch, when Bocanegra tried to knock Gyan off a high ball coming down the middle.  Gyan weathered the blow, kept his balance, then took off, outstripping the American defense and beating Howard just as Boateng had done.  That the USA had gone down to Ghana in the knockouts in 2006 just added to the feeling of “been here, done that.”  Defeated by a nation smaller than Oregon, not once but twice… kinda makes the American Soccer Powers-that-Be think.  At least, we hope so.

Huzzah, USA, for getting the largest American soccer-viewing audience for a single match ever.   Ghana, good on you for the win and for progressing — and thanks for proving me right in my WC prediction that of all the African competitors, the Black Stars were the ones to back.

Off the post for the Korean Republic — so close!  Heartbeats later, a way too deep ball had Forlán backtracking like crazy to collect it, then returning it with a perfectly placed cross, dead between the Korean back line and keeper.  The keeper came out for it, but succeeded only in leaving the goal untended as master-striker Luis Suárez connected with Forlán’s low-and-center ball and sent it sweetly into the far corner of the net.  Korea threatening, Uruguay ahead, and the match only 10 minutes old.

There was controversy here and there (like that missed handball in front of the Korean goal near the end of the 1st half), but mostly it was the predominant WC-style football we’ve been seeing – shots screaming over the top of the net, wayward passes, over-hit crosses, and a scoreline that didn’t seem to equate with the energy the players were expending on the pitch.

Korea came out stronger in the 2nd half, though they didn’t show real belief in themselves until a momentary lapse in Uruguay’s concentration resulted in Lee Chung Yong heading the ball into the net to equalize.  Game on, with 20 minutes of regulation time still to go and both teams in attack mode.

They carried the fight end-to-end with wonderful pace.  Silver-platter chances were snubbed, mostly due to uncompromising midfield tackles, until late in the game.  A curling ball from a Uruguay corner fell to Suárez.  Miraculously finding space for his shot in the crowded box, the star-striker powered the ball into the net and racked up 2 for the game.  The keeper had no chance.

The Taeguk Warriors did have a chance to even the score, though.  Astonishingly, they flubbed it.  In a rare moment of back-line disorganization, Diego Lugano played Korea on-side.  The attempt on goal squirreled through the keeper’s arms and rolled toward the corner of Uruguay’s net — but so slowly, the defenders had time to recover, overtake it, and get it away.

In 1930, Uruguay had the double-honor of hosting the first-ever World Cup and hoisting the first-ever World Cup trophy.  After excluding themselves for the next two cups, Uruguay returned to the WC fold in 1950 and again lifted the cup, this time by beating Brazil 2 – 1.

Since then, Uruguayan players have carried the weight of their history with them every time they’ve stepped out on a WC pitch.  It’s been a lot to bear, but this time out they’ve cast their burden aside.  In their first single-elimination round, they were strong, determined and quick to exploit South Korea’s weakness at the back.  Korea may have been the better team on the day.  Certainly they played the prettier football, but it’s not always about the “beautiful” game.  Sometimes it’s about digging in and grinding out a result despite wind, weather and an appallingly lousy pitch.  Well done, Uruguay, and well won.

The Swiss certainly had their share of set pieces, due to late tackles by the Hondurans.  Too bad they couldn’t convert them.  They needed 2 goals to go on in the competition.  They had their chances to score, but didn’t.  Honduras held on and held the Swiss back.

The relatively ordinary, as-expected run of play implies that the weird start to the tournament was just that — weird.  One has to bow to the wisdom of the WC organizers who long ago decided that the competition must begin with a group stage that guaratees every team 3 games.  Sometimes newbies and long shot countries hit the big stage and shine for an electric 90 minutes, only to fade next time out.  Sometimes the big guns totally misfire in their first match, then reload and start finding the target.

Honduras beat nobody and tied Switzerland.  No suprises there.  Switzerland gave us a jaw-dropping opener by beating Spain, lost to Chile — barely — in their tense 2nd match, then finished up with the aforementioned tie.  It’s almost as if by finding their bearings, they lost their edge.

Though the other 2 teams in the group (Portugal and Brazil) seemed by far the more likely to progress, Cote d’Ivoire clearly wasn’t resigned to relegation.  Their lively start produced 3 opportunities in the first 12 minutes of the game and culminated in Yaya Toure scoring a minute later.

His spectacular goal was fuel to their fire.  With furious pace and fierce, attacking football, the “Elephants” (as they are apparently known) went at the North Koreans again in the 18th minute; the shot was denied by the post.  By 20 minutes in, the score was an astonishing 2 – 0.

For a little while there, it seemed the Ivory Coast might somehow pull it off, might win with a large enough goal differential to upset the favorites and advance to the next stage.  They were going for it.  Never say die, never surrender.

North Korea didn’t have a convincing reply to the Ivorians’ game, but they did endeavor to plug up their defensive holes enough to avoid another embarrassing glut of goals at their expense.  (They’d gone down to Portugal 7 – 0.)  Despite their efforts, the final score was one to make Kim Jong Il blush.  Solomon Kalou found the net 82 minutes in, a cracker of a goal that had the home-continent crowd vuvuzela-ing to high heaven.  The Elephants nearly nabbed a 4th as well, only to have it ruled offside.

This was the football I’d hoped to see from Cote d’Ivoire all along.  The broken arm suffered by their captain and star striker Didier Drogba just days before the start of the competition had to undercut their confidence and undermine their game plan.  Yet, they rallied, holding Portugal to a draw, scoring — if not winning — against Brazil, and essentially creaming North Korea.

The Ivory Coast showed the world what heart and belief (and considerable skill) can achieve, against the odds and against the champions.  They’re going home early.  I hope they get a hero’s welcome.

Portugal sat back for the 1st half, evidently content with their one win and massive goal differential.  Though Brazil was sitting pretty at the top of the Group G table, they looked the more likely to score.  The 2nd half started better, with Portugal creating several chances and Cesar with a brace of excellent saves in the first quarter of an hour, but the improvement was marginal.

Highlight of the match, for me, was a tremendous run up the right from Christiano Ronaldo that required decisive action from the left-back.  The defender’s tackle only served to drive the ball across the pitch to an unmarked Miereles making his run up the left.  Cesar stopped Miereles’ shot with an instinct-save that glanced off his forearm, then striker and keeper collided.  When Cesar stayed  down, play stopped, help arrived, and behind-the-touchline cameras gave us a crystal clear view of his seriously bandaged back.

I’d heard Brazil’s keeper had a back problem coming into the tournament, but there was something about that view, his undeniable discomfort, the swarming physios and the ice packs that brought it home for me.  He isn’t my favorite, but I’ll freely admit that Cesar is one of the best, maybe the best goalkeeper in the world.  I’m constantly marvelling at the big man’s incredible agility and strength.  After checking out that taping job holding his torso together, I kinda have to marvel that he’s able to play with such ease, grace and power, when he’s got to be playing in pain.

As for the remaining minutes of the game… hey.  If Portugal and Brazil can’t be bothered to show up, I can’t be bothered to comment.