Day 15
North Korea 0-3 Cote D’Ivoire
An interesting match, with North Korea playing only for pride, but Cote D’Ivoire hungry to make up a nine-goal deficit to have a shot at overtaking Portugal. And in the early going, it looked like the Cote D’Ivoire might just do it. Yaya Toure made good on the insistent Ivoiran pressure, curling in a low strike in the 14th minute. North Korea’s defence quickly fell to pieces, and Romaric nodded home off the crossbar after 20 minutes. North Korea fought back with an oh-so-close free kick from Hong Yong Jo, but the half belonged to Cote D’Ivoire, who came close to widening the gap through Gervinho. Things slowed down in the second half, with the Cote D’Ivoire frustrated going forward: Didier Drogba’s two missed headers a sign that the task was always too much for the Ivorians. A headed goal from Solomon Kalou in the 82nd minute was mere consolation as Les Elephants wind up in a disappointing third place.
Portugal 0-0 Brazil
This looked like the match of the group stage when it was first announced, but with little at stake it ultimately disappointed. Brazil had the better of a testy first half – the teams split seven yellow cards before the break – but couldn’t solve Portugal’s defensive arrangement. The game opened up in the second half as Cristiano Ronaldo ran through the Brazilians in the 65th minute, and the ball taken off his feet was nearly turned in by Raul Meireles. But a need for Ronaldo to avoid getting a yellow card, which would rule him out of the round of 16, tempered his play throughout. In the end, there was more spite than samba in this match, with both teams eventually happy to play out a draw, but eager to give each other a good kicking in the process.
Switzerland 0-0 Honduras
Both teams entered this match needing to take charge to capitalize on their remaining chances of advancing, but a dour first half didn’t show it. The defensive Swiss had the best of the opening 45, but couldn’t find their feet in front of goal, as both Tranquillo Barnetta and Blaise Nkufo blew golden chances. The game opened up in the second half, but the football gods were against it: Switzerland’s all-time leading scorer Alexander Frei ballooned a shot from fifteen yards out, and Honduras saw David Suazo and Frankie Welcome fail to put away point-blank efforts. At the final whistle, the exhausted and frustrated Swiss could only collapse on the pitch and rue their missed chance to advance after such a glorious start to the campaign.
Chile 1-2 Spain
The two favourites from Group H got off to a spiky start to a match that both were looking to win, with early yellow cards setting the tone. The breakthrough for Spain came in the 24th minute, when Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo sprinted out of his area to dispossess Fernando Torres. The ball fell to David Villa, and, true to form, Villa lofted it over the prostrate keeper from 40 yards. It was Spain’s half from then on, as Andres Iniesta increased the lead thirteen minutes later. The strike was a double blow for Chile, who lost Marco Estrada to a needless red card just as Iniesta scored. Chile would reinvent their approach for the second half, and got back into the match with a wildly deflected shot that found the net in the 47th minute. But it was all too little, too late. Spain would see out the match, and claim top spot. Chile’s efforts earned them second place and a spot in the next round.
James Doyle writes for Some Canadian Guys Writing About Soccer, which takes a passionate (and often irreverent) look at the Canadian soccer scene, major international tournaments and all sorts of odds and ends related to the beautiful game.
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