mindless ramblings

Group G
France needed to win by at least 2 goals to guarantee their place in the next round and they did just that as they beat Togo 2-0. Well finished goals by Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry put the game beyond doubt. The French must be so relieved to finally make it after so much uncertainty surrounding their performances so far. I thought they played much better without Zinedine Zidane. Zidane doesn’t really fit into the current setup. Players like Franck Ribéry and Henry enjoy playing faster, flowing football and Zidane isn’t really that kind of player. Nevertheless he will be back for the next game and whether he can inspire the French to the quarter finals remains to be seen. The Togolese leave the tournament with 3 losses but being first-timers, any experience is better than none.

The Koreans couldn’t capitalize on their previous draw against the French and prove that their amazing semi final run 4 years was no fluke. The Koreans never really got into the game, and the Swiss battled their way to a well deserved victory and the next round. No Asian teams made it past the group stage this time (unless you count the Aussies, who are now in the AFC), definitely a disappointment for those who thought things would only get better from Korea/Japan 2002.

Group H
Spain continued their run of victories as they beat Saudi Arabia 1-0, despite fielding 11 different players! A 36th minute goal by Juanito was enough to secure the win. Having won all their games so far (including that 4-0 drubbing of Ukraine), the Spanish must be confident of going far in the tournament. France is next and that promses to be an excellent matchup.

Andriy Shevchenko scored from the spot to finish the Tunisians off and cement the Ukranians’ second place finish in Group H. They have recovered well from their nightmare opener, but I still don’t see them going far as I doubt they have the depth and quality required for success (besides Shevchenko). The Swiss are next though, and that’s a pretty fair matchup… so they still do have a chance.