World Cup 2006 Blog |  |
- South Africa 0-1 Brazil: Dani Alves is the Difference
- Confederations Cup Semi: South Africa vs Brazil LiveBlog
- What Next for Spain?
| South Africa 0-1 Brazil: Dani Alves is the Difference Posted: 25 Jun 2009 03:05 PM PDT South Africa went toe to toe with the Seleção for 88 minutes, which is no mean feat. But Dani Alves came off the bench, played out of position and buried the above free kick to put Brazil through to Sunday’s final.
Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena was an absolute rock at the back. Portsmouth fans will have enjoyed his performance. And in many ways South Africa’s fullbacks Siboniso Gaxa (on the right) and Tsepo Masilela (on the left) were more Brazilian than the Brazilians in terms of bombing forward. Hopes of a decent performance from the hosts in 2010 now seem realistic, and they were unlucky not to make the final today. Instead they play Spain for Third Place on Saturday (kick off is 3pm local, 2pm UK time, 9am US Eastern), which is still a respectable achievement. (If there are any South Africa fans reading this, we still have an opening on South Africa WCB. Click that link to represent your team in blog form). The difference of course was Dani Alves’ 88th minute free kick. He was only on the pitch to end leftback Andre Santos’ miserable afternoon, but there was a strange air of inevitability when he stepped up to strike the ball. He didn’t bend it, he just hit it - hard - into the upper far corner. So 1-0 to Brazil, and they’ll now play USA in the 2009 Confederations Cup Final on Sunday. Kick off is 8:30pm local, 7:30pm UK time, 2:30 pm US Eastern (LiveBlog here on WorldCupBlog of course). |
| Confederations Cup Semi: South Africa vs Brazil LiveBlog Posted: 25 Jun 2009 11:09 AM PDT
Can South Africa vuvuzela Brazil out of the Confederations Cup? Who will face the USA in the 2009 final? Can vuvuzela be used as a verb? Find out in the LiveBlog below…
|
| Posted: 25 Jun 2009 09:36 AM PDT
Much of the reaction to USA beating Spain 2-0 in yesterday’s Confederations Cup semi-final has focused on the winning team. And quite rightly too. Beating Spain was and is a huge result for the USA, and possibly a turning point in Bob Bradley’s regime. But how will the loss affect Spain? They had wowed everyone in winning Euro 2008, changed coaches without skipping a beat and won six out of six in World Cup 2010 qualifying. Their unbeaten streak was a record-tying 35 games and they’ve been FIFA’s #1 ranked team for what feels like forever. For most people, Spain’s Confederations Cup 2009 campaign was either going to end with another trophy, or maybe a narrow defeat to Brazil in the final.
Spain are still the best team in the world. The team that’s really clicking at international level. And it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they go on to win their first World Cup when they return to South Africa in 2010. But that all depend on how the team handles yesterday’s surprise defeat. Will there be questions about their style of play not being direct enough? Do we now believe that Spain aren’t the same without Andres Iniesta (injured for this tournament)? Does this 2-0 loss hint at a possible choke at the 2010 World Cup? Or will Spain just shrug this off and go back to crushing opposition teams? |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Inbox too full?  | |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Posts
