mindless ramblings

Group C
The games here didn’t matter in terms of qualification, and the Netherlands vs Argentina matchup was understandably cautious. The Netherlands rested 5 players who had yellow cards but nevertheless looked good without those players. Juan Román Riquelme was in the center of things as usual and his passes were a constant threat to the Dutch side. In the end, no goals were scored and Argentina top the group thanks to their superior goal difference. No complaints from either side about the performance, both teams have sufficient quality to make a serious run for the title and we’ll see come July 9th if they actually do.

Despite having nothing but pride to play for, the Ivory Coast fought back from being two goals down to win their final group game against the now-defunct Serbia & Montenegro. Some abysmal defending from the Ivorians let S&M ahead with 2 early goals. Despite the setback, a ridiculous handball allowed the Ivorians to reduce the deficit to a single goal. The Ivorians got another boost when Albert Nađ got sent off for a second yellow card. Their continued pressure paid off with the equalizer in the 67th minute. The Ivorians were now circling like sharks smelling blood and they got their break with another handball by Milan Dudić in the 86th minute. The penalty was duly converted and the Ivorians hung on for the victory.

Group D
Angola needed to win to maintain any chance of qualifying for the next round, but despite that it was Iran that came out attacking. The game remained scoreless until the 60th minute, when Flávio headed home Angola’s first ever World Cup goal. Mendonça could have made it 2-0 for the Angolans, but his shot went wide. Iran made the Angolans pay for that miss when they equalized through Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh’s header from a corner. That was the final score, and the Angolans really had a good chance at making it, better luck next time!

Despite resting 3 key players, Portugal started strongly against the Mexicans and opened the scoring in 6th minute with Maniche putting a Simão cross beyond the Mexican keeper. Portugal extended their lead with a penalty conversion by Simão in the 24th minute after a handball by Mexican captain Rafael Márquez. The Mexicans were finally shocked into action and they got a goal back 5 minutes later by way of some poor defending and a well placed header into the bottom right corner by Francisco Fonseca. The Mexicans had a golden opportunity to equalize with a penalty awarded in their favour but Omar Bravo sent the ball flying over the crossbar. The Mexicans started to become frustrated, and Luis Ernesto Pérez got himself sent off for a second yellow card soon after. In the end the Mexicans qualified, but if Angola had hung on to their lead, they would have been booking their tickets home.