World Cup 2010 Blog: “Liveblog: Spain vs. Switzerland” plus 9 more

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• Liveblog: Spain vs. Switzerland
• Liveblog: Honduras vs Chile
• Preview: South Africa v. Uruguay
• Your Bracket Predictions: Winners
• The Daily Awards: June 15th 2010.
• Preview: Spain vs. Switzerland
• Preview: Honduras vs. Chile
• Photo: Apparently Ronaldinho Did Make It To South Africa
• Jong Tae-Se’s Anthem Tears
• Poll: Maicon’s Goal for Brazil – Cross or Shot?

Liveblog: Spain vs. Switzerland Posted: 16 Jun 2010 06:12 AM PDT Welcome to the liveblog of Spain vs. Switzerland in World Cup Group H. Make your comments before, during and after the match in the liveblog window. Below the main liveblog are videos of the goals so far, and then a feed of trusted Twitter accounts either broadcasting from the match or talking about it. Read up on the match with our Spain vs. Switzerland preview. Goal videos: Don’t just take our word on the match. Check out match comments from carefully selected Twitter accounts: FAN RESOURCES   Spain Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Spain Jerseys | Spain Tickets   Switzerland Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Switzerland Jerseys | Switzerland Tickets

Liveblog: Honduras vs Chile Posted: 16 Jun 2010 04:05 AM PDT Welcome to the liveblog of Honduras vs Chile in World Cup Group H. Make your comments before, during and after the match in the liveblog window. Below the main liveblog are videos of the goals so far, and then a feed of trusted Twitter accounts either broadcasting from the match or talking about it. Read up on the match with our Honduras vs Chile preview. Goal videos: Bet on Honduras vs. Chile Don’t just take our word on the match. Check out match comments from carefully selected Twitter accounts: FAN RESOURCES   Chile Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Chile Jerseys | Chile Tickets   Honduras Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Honduras Jerseys | Honduras Tickets

Preview: South Africa v. Uruguay Posted: 16 Jun 2010 02:21 AM PDT THE BIG PICTURE South Africa’s beloved Bafana Bafana goes into this match on fairly high spirits, after their 1-1 draw with Mexico that was almost a win. Uruguay, on the other hand, has to be asking a lot of questions after their scoreless draw with France, a match that neither side did much to impress in. All of Africa, and many neutrals outside, will be on Bafana’s side, but Uruguay can and may very well do better than they did the first match. WHAT’S AT STAKE Group A is all even, with the four sides on 1 point each, but Mexico and South Africa have the slimmest of advantages by way of having a goal scored. The Bafana boys play France last, and won’t want to leave themselves needing a win from that one. Uruguay needs to show that they are more than a team with two brilliant strikers. I know this gets tiring to hear before every single match, but this one is really important not to lose. Bet on South Africa vs. Uruguay OUR PREDICTION Going into this tournament, I would have picked Uruguay to give South Africa a very hard time, and they still might, but after watching the first match, I’m not so sure. The South African midfield looked far better than Uruguay’s, and I may be getting caught up in the hometown hope, but I’m going for a South Africa 1-0 victory. FAN RESOURCES   South Africa Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter South Africa Jerseys | South Africa Tickets   Uruguay Uruguay Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Uruguay Jerseys | Uruguay Tickets

Your Bracket Predictions: Winners Posted: 16 Jun 2010 12:48 AM PDT Now that World Cup 2010 has kicked off, and we’re already (astonishingly) 14 matches into the tournament, our World Cup bracket predictor is closed for new entries. Well over 2,000 of you filled out brackets this time around, more than doubling the number of entries we got for Euro 2008. We won’t publish your individual predictions (though Chris and Daryl were kind enough to share theirs), but we thought it might be interesting to look at what everyone picked as a group – crowdsourcing the bracket, if you will. So here’s a breakdown of who you picked to join the very exclusive club of World Cup winners: Nearly 1 in 3 of you chose Spain to raise the World Cup on July 11th, with the usual suspects of Brazil and Argentina next. England and the Dutch are separated by a single entry, the equivalent of England going out in the quarters to the Oranje on penalties (spoiler!). The really gaping hole in these predictions, which include picks for 23 of the 32 teams to win, is Asia. No one picked South Korea, North Korea or Japan to lift the cup, and only 3 plucky Aussies picked their side to do it … this was of course before the 4-0 loss to Germany. Spain: 720 Brazil: 513 Argentina: 269 Netherlands: 228 England: 227 Italy: 100 Germany: 94 USA: 52 Portugal: 35 France: 25 Mexico: 18 South Africa: 6 Ivory Coast: 6 Ghana: 5 Chile: 5 Serbia: 4 Greece: 4 Nigeria: 3 Australia: 3 Uruguay: 3 Paraguay: 2 Denmark: 1 Honduras: 1

The Daily Awards: June 15th 2010. Posted: 15 Jun 2010 08:40 PM PDT Team of the Day: Group F is the weakest of the lot, and New Zealand weren’t given a prayer. The three others were supposed to hop, skip and jump over their way to the tussle for the other two spots and leave New Zealand in an Oceanic dust whilst FIFA poured bubbly all over themselves. They weren’t brilliant, they weren’t even as good as North Korea in the battle of the minnows, but they drew an unexpected point in a one-all game while conceding an offside goals. Subtract the goal, and they’re top of the group. (Ignoring the various details.) The universe would never allow it to happen. Player of the Day: Jong Tae-Se. For this. Queen of the Day: Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. Universe Realignment Award: After a tournament with largely brilliant officiating thus far, we get the offside goal scored by Slovakia. Admit it: feels right, doesn’t it? (Thieved unashamedly from Refs WCB) Hair of the Day: Not only has he split the braids down the middle, but he’s also using the Alice band to rope off the area in question. Gervinho’s a hero to bald men everywhere. Candid Camera Award: Oh come on. Fans of the Day: Prison Shower Scene of the Day: Guy Demel humps Cristiano Ronaldo. Matchup of the Day: The pickings were thin what with it being -12 degrees in South Africa and all, so Brazil takes on, err, Brazil. v.

Preview: Spain vs. Switzerland Posted: 15 Jun 2010 07:10 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE The cosmos conspired to make us hang on as long as possible, but the day is finally here: tomorrow we get a glimpse at Planet España. They are football’s showmen, reigning European champions, favorites for this World Cup, and one of the easiest teams on the eyes – men and women alike – you’re bound to see in the near future. A phenomenal ode to silky smooth technical football and intelligent use of a football pitch, and without doubt the tournament’s most gifted team on paper. And with all apologies to Switzerland, along for the ride on this one: we’re just here to get a glimpse of the planet’s most spectacular team. WHAT’S AT STAKE In the scheme of the group, an upset would be massive as everyone expects Spain to cruise to 3-0-0 and the second round rather comfortably. And that’s it, really: Switzerland will be looking for a massive upset and a loss will be understood if not palatable, while Spain will simply be looking for a win and perfecting their already famous team chemistry and almost telepathic understanding of each other (largely due to the Barcelona contingent). Spain’s real worries, and curse, start in the knockouts; for now, they’re just trying to achieve the expected by heading to that top spot of Group H marked La Furia Roja. Bet on Spain vs. Switzerland OUR PREDICTION The problems with the Jabulani have centered around the ball in flight, and no one plays better with the ball on the floor with Spain. Switzerland is very much a contender to get through to the knockouts, but Planet España resides in another galaxy. 3-0 Spain FAN RESOURCES   Spain Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Spain Jerseys | Spain Tickets   Switzerland Team Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Switzerland Jerseys | Switzerland Tickets

Preview: Honduras vs. Chile Posted: 15 Jun 2010 06:00 PM PDT Follow our Honduras vs Chile Liveblog THE BIG PICTURE Group H is that final World Cup 2010 group to get started. Spain are favourites because, well, they’re Spain. Second place is up for grabs though, and both Chile and Honduras (plus Switzerland) will back themselves to take it. I have high hopes for this game. Honduras possess several relatively well known players, like tough-man midfielder Wilson Palacios, and the more creative duo of Amado Guevara and Julio César de León. Goals courtsy of either David Suazo, Carlos Pavon or both. Read the full Honduras Team Profile, or visit the Honduras blog. But i’s Chile that I’m really excited to see. Coach Marcelo Bielsa will play an exciting 3-3-1-3, with thunder footed Humberto Suaza winged by the tricktastic Alexis Sanchex and the speedy Mark Gonzalez, all set in motion by playmaker Matías Fernández. Try telling me that doesn’t sound like a team worth watching. Read the Chile Team Profile for more (including Alexis Sanchez YouTube magic), or visit the Chile blog. WHAT’S AT STAKE Points for both obviously. But also excitement. The complaints about the lack of excitement at World Cup 2010 thus far have started to bubble, so I’m officially nominating Chile as the antidote. Even if they lose, that formation alone should get your blood flowing. The one worry is that both Suazo’s (Honduras striker David and Chilean striker Humberto) are battling injuries and may not be available for this game. Bet on Honduras vs. Chile OUR PREDICTION I’m so high on Chile right now that I’m fighting the urge to predict a big win for them. But I’ll reign in my enthusiasm and say 2-1 to Chile. FAN RESOURCES   Chile Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Chile Jerseys | Chile Tickets   Honduras Blog | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter Honduras Jerseys | Honduras Tickets

Photo: Apparently Ronaldinho Did Make It To South Africa Posted: 15 Jun 2010 05:00 PM PDT For a teeth whitening convention.

Jong Tae-Se’s Anthem Tears Posted: 15 Jun 2010 03:57 PM PDT Brazil and North Korea had big anticipation leading up to kickoff with World Cup behemoths and footballing unknowns clashing, and it didn’t even take til the kickoff to get the fireworks started in the form of waterworks. As they were panning across the North Korean team they got to their star Jong Tae-Sae, bawling his eyes out to the beat of the DPRK anthem. An astonishing, nigh unbelievable scene, but one which is apparently pretty regular for Jong: apparently he does it before every game. What’s perhaps more stunning is that he’s Japanese-born to South Korean parents. Is there any doubt that he believes?

Poll: Maicon’s Goal for Brazil – Cross or Shot? Posted: 15 Jun 2010 01:51 PM PDT It took Brazil 55 minutes to finally get past North Korea. Maicon broke the deadlock with the above goal. Just one question: Was it a cross or a shot? I’m adamant that it’s a shot because a) he uses outside of his foot, and b) Maicon’s just that good. Others disagree. Let us know what you think in this poll and in the comments below: Alternative videos, just in case the above gets disappeared by FIFA: The game finished 2-1 to Brazil. Full match review to follow.

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