World Cup 2010 Blog: “LiveBlog: South Africa vs Mexico (Plus Opening Ceremony)” plus 9 more |  |
- LiveBlog: South Africa vs Mexico (Plus Opening Ceremony)
- Preview: Uruguay vs France
- South Africa World Cup Diary – June 10
- Daily Dose: June 10th, 2010 – Shakira Good, Tutu Better
- The World Cup Blog Accountability Brackets (With Bonus Podcast)
- Preview: South Africa vs. Mexico
- Pele Taps Brazil & Spain, Destroys Brackets The World Over
- Soundoff: Who Will Win the World Cup? More Importantly: Why?
- Three Pre-World Cup Thoughts
- Podcast: England vs USA Preview
| LiveBlog: South Africa vs Mexico (Plus Opening Ceremony) Posted: 11 Jun 2010 01:45 AM PDT Welcome to the WorldCupBlog liveblog of South Africa vs. Mexico in World Cup Group A, the first match of the 2010 World Cup. Make your comments before, during and after the match in the liveblog window. We will add videos of the goals when they come in, and a feed of trusted Twitter accounts either broadcasting from the match or talking about it is available at the bottom of the page. Read up on the match with our South Africa v. Mexico preview.
Goal/incident videos: (here when we have them) Don’t just take our word on the match. Check out match comments from Twitter accounts that we’ve carefully selected for our South Africa vs. Mexico list:
        | ||||||||||||
| Posted: 11 Jun 2010 12:43 AM PDT
THE BIG PICTURE It’s every bride’s worse nightmare: the bridesmaid is more attractive than the woman in the big white dress tying the knot. South Africa and Mexico will be a wonderful show engulfed by the buzzing stadium and on the back of the opening ceremonies, but this is the ‘paper game’. France has some of the biggest names at the Cup and Uruguay has an attack that even South American nations dream of (Brazil and Argentina are perfectly pleased with the status quo, however). Not quite the purists’ dream, it still has the potential to flow rock back and forth, particularly if Oscar Tabarez’s wingbacks plan to go kamikaze and open up space in the back, and goals could be had aplenty. It could be quite the show, with a bit more focus on the pitch. WHAT'S AT STAKE This seems to be the hardest group to project, with the hot Mexico (form, not culinary temperature) and hosts South Africa making this one of the true four horse races on paper, so though it’s an overused cliché: every game does count. But it may just mean a bit more for the psychology of France, given the way the nature of qualification (notice how skillfully ‘the way they handled…’ was avoided), their friendly loss to the footballing colossus China and the general aura surrounding lame duck Raymond Domenech. A loss and they might be starting the Laurent Blanc early – real early. SQUADS
KEY MATCHUP But the real matchup is just ahead of Llories where France have one of the best fullback pairings at the World Cup but have suffered in the center recently. In Gallas and Abidal, they have two high-quality defenders, but two who’ve seen their share of injuries this season – Gallas hasn’t played a competitive game in months. Next they’ll get to see their share of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, one of the best strike pairings in South Africa, who will exploit any space they’re afforded, or any needles Walter Gargano feels like threading. There are shades of a circumstantial mismatch here, made worse if Gallas fancies the opposition box as he’s apt to do. OUR PREDICTION The opening game of 2002 keeps knocking on the door, asking to come in, and we say let’s embrace her (blindly, too): France will shock the world again…by winning 3-1. Uruguay have yet to enjoy the friendly African soil, last playing May 26th in Montevideo, and though France were Jabulanied by China, it’s still some degree of match fitness. The game will be ugly and muddled in the first half, but France will take advantage of set pieces and get a late third to hammer the predictably rusty nail into the Uruguayan coffin. [Bonus prediction: 'Jabulanied' lands in Merriam-Webster by 2011.] FAN RESOURCES
WATCH THE MATCH
    | ||||||||||||
| South Africa World Cup Diary – June 10 Posted: 10 Jun 2010 11:33 PM PDT Being in South Africa for the tournament gives us an opportunity to share some unique moments from the 2010 World Cup. We hope you enjoy these short videos and photos. Today I went hunting for Aussies. I’d been told that there were over 2000 compatriots living in a tent city inside a cricket stadium. I had to investigate. Turns out it’s true and I spoke to a few of them outside to discuss Australia’s chances in their first game against the almighty Germany.
Looks like a draw would satisfy some fans. Personally I think we can sneak a win. For more video from the World Cup in South Africa, visit video.worldcupblog.org
    | ||||||||||||
| Daily Dose: June 10th, 2010 – Shakira Good, Tutu Better Posted: 10 Jun 2010 10:10 PM PDT Shakira performed the official World Cup song at the Kick-Off concert today, but 78 year old Archbishop Desmond Tutu (below) stole the show. He also has more Nobel Peace Prizes than Shakira. So 2-0.
| ||||||||||||
| The World Cup Blog Accountability Brackets (With Bonus Podcast) Posted: 10 Jun 2010 08:09 PM PDT
Some call them predictions, we’ll call them accountability brackets. At any rate, they’ll prevent us from making predictions after the event has already happened. We’ll save that for Andy Gray. chris: I did everything possible short of hiring a voodoo master or Jean-Claude Van Damme (high leg kick) to stop myself from predicting Brazil v Spain – even after Pele said it (no one’s fault but my own, I know) – but each various road and boulevard breaks down that way. I can’t be at fault for that, right? (Maybe.) I like Serbia. A lot of people I know like Serbia. I also like Germany. There’s a trend here, can you spot it? Teams that pull from tough groups, and I think Group D is the toughest even without Essien leading the Black Star supernova, have a tremendous advantage in preparation which suits well for the next round. Conversely as an Italy fan I was a bit devastated when they drew the two long straws taped together – also known as Group F. They’ll still draw Spain, because old acquaintances are destined to be renewed somehow, and once again they will lose. Thus there is Spain, whom I was initially predicting to do poorly. Many, many people seem to forget they’d won a European Championships before, back in the swingin’ 60’s, so their curse lies solely in the World Cup realm. Of course then I saw that goal from Planet España against Poland and immediately put them in the final shortly before trademarking my first born: Xavi David David Iniestia Silva Hernandez. (He’ll be brilliantly technical and adored by the masses, yet still won’t be able to get on the amusement park rides. Tragic.) But ultimately I think a South American dynamo will take his team upon his back, as he’s been known to do for club in the past, and chauffeur them to the promised land: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite. Better known as Kaka. He and Brazil will be too strong, too solid, too good. And then Robinho will get his sex. Round of 16: Quarterfinal teams: Germany v France – Germany Semifinal teams: Germany v Brazil Finalists: Brazil, Spain Daryl: If you only know one thing about me, know this: I’m a coward. I’m terrified of predictions, mostly because history has shown me I have a very very high chance of being wrong. I’ve had a team of statisticians study me, and they found that my predicting something results in a tangible decrease in the probability of that event taking place. So rather than do a bracket by myself, I’ve attempted to share the blame with three other people. Below you’ll find a podcast recorded with my three Total Football Soccer Show co-hosts, in which the four of us sit down with the World Cup Blog Bracket and argue until we come up with a bracket by consensus. Click play below to listen:
Here’s how that bracket looks: Round of 16: Quarterfinal teams: Semifinal teams: Finalists: Brazil, Argentina To be clear those aren’t my picks. Unless they turn out to be accurate, in which case they’re definitely my picks. You’ve still got time to enter your own picks into the World Cup Bracket competition, but you’ll need to hurry.
    This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||||||||
| Preview: South Africa vs. Mexico Posted: 10 Jun 2010 04:11 PM PDT THE BIG PICTURE For Mexico it’s all about the youngsters settling in and oldsters keeping up: How quickly will starlets like Carlos Vela, Gio dos Santos and Javier Hernández settle into their first World Cup? How long will the grand old man Cuauhtémoc Blanco last before tiring? Read our Mexico team profile for more. As well as the on-field events, there’s the perception of this World Cup at stake. What will the crowds be like? Will the vuvuzelas be enjoyable or intolerable? Will everything go smoothly? Let’s hope for a great start to a great World Cup. SQUADS
KEY MATCHUP |
At various times during this competition you will hear from Daryl and myself “just as I predicted”, “told ya so” and “nanner nanner nanner” as we ride around WCB Global Headquarters on our imaginary horse using whatever shirt we may or may not be wearing as our imaginary lasso. Well, not entirely true: ‘ At various times’ should read ‘On the impossibly unlikely rare occasion we get something right’.
Posts
