The second Quartet

p6190194, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.

The first round of the knockout stage is complete, and we have our top 8 teams for the Quarters. Germany, Argentina, England and Portugal have already made it to the round of 8. And now we also have the remaining 4 teams to compete in the quarters.

First was the match between Italy and Australia.One would have thought that Italy could easily wipe out the Aussies, but that was not be. The Aussies are a very determined lot and showed that perseverance and skill on the field. The Aussies truly have the "Never Say Die" attitude. They were hard and gave Italy the toughest time in this tourney. Italy was also attacking, but the ball was in possession more with the Aussies than the Italians. Italians committed a foul and the red card drama didnt leave this match as well, and Italy were down to 10 men in the second half. From that moment onwards, it was like, Italy had forgotten to attack, and the Aussies had just one thing to do in their live, and that was to attack Italy. It was really surprising to see the Italians go on a backfoot for so long. The Aussies were unlucky in not being able to convert numerous scoring chances. It was close to the end of the stipulated 90 minutes, and the teams were levelled at 0 - 0. It was in the 92nd minute, just 5 seconds before the refree could blow the whistle that Austrlia conceded a penalty !!! The hearts of all the people watching the match all over the globe skipped a beat and I am sure there were more heart breaks than the cheers for this penalty. No doubt, the penalty kick was taken very cleanly and was the best till now, one couldnt ignore the moment and the manner in which this penalty was awarded to Italy. The Aussies really deserved a better ending to their World Cup adventures.

Ukraine have been my favourites to reach the semis, but their game against the Switzerland started giving me some doubts on their ability to go ahead in the tourney. But, may be its true that, this match was between 2 good and strong teams who had battled it out in the round robin matches and were among the best 16 in the world. Moreover, I think its the fear of losing that makes teams play more cautiously. The match was equally fought well by both the teams, and at times Ukraine found that luck was not on their side and had to wait for some more time to taste victory. Even after battling it out for the extra time of 30 minutes over the stipulated 90 minutes, we could not find the better one among these two. And thus, we witnessed this World Cup's first penalty shootout. And boy, who could have predicted that it would be the worst penalty shootout of the entire World Cup history !!! The Swiss unfortunately could not score a single goal out the minimum 3 shots, thanks to 2 good saves by the Ukrainian goalkeeper. And even after missing one shot, the Ukranians scored 3 goals in 4 shots and one the match. What a day of events we have had today !!! Both the matches ending in such uniquely strange ways.

Then we had the much awaited Brazil v/s Ghana match. This definately lived up to its expectations. If it was not for the early goal from Ronaldo, in the first half of the match, Brazil would have definately found themselves in a more defensive position. Incidentally, this goal was the record breaking goal for Ronaldo, which made him the highest goal scorer in World Cup matches, breaking the German, Meuller's record of 14 goals. Though the final score line stood 3 - 0 in favour of Brazil, it doesnt really say what happened in the match. Ghana was dominating the match with some good bal possession and lots of attacks for most of the time. It was the fast paced counter attacks of Brazil, accompanied by some really harsh refreeing, not giving off-sides most of the time to Brazil, that won the match for Brazil. Ghana were very unlucky in not being able to finish off their attacks. It wasnt that the Brazilian defense was so strong that Ghana couldnt score a goal, but it was the lack of that final stinging shot which Ghana lacked that played spoil sport for them. Ghana, a team from Africa that beat good teams like Cameroon and Sengal in the qualifying matches, stood up to its reputation and gave the reigning champions a real fight. The World Champions though looking to be picking up some pace and rhythm now in the World Cup showed some bad teamsmanship by not passing the ball to their own teammates when it mattered the most. Had they been little more unselfish, we could very easily had atleast a couple more goals. I hope they learn a lesson from this match, and gel together unselfishly.

The surprise back door entrants France had a great time beating the much in-form Spain. The first half was fought brilliantly with the scores remaining level at 1 - 1, and i was seeing a much better France this time. They definately seem to have gained some confidence in themselves after having made their way to the knockout stage. I guess, it was this confidence that separated the 2 teams which didnt lack anything in technique and quality. I didnt watch the second half of the match, but later found out that France scored 2 more goal to win the match by 3 goals to 1, and set themselves a repeat of the 1998 World Cup final match against Brazil in the quarter finals. Brazil had lost that match and should be rooting to set the matters straight this time around. With matches getting more tighter and more important, and hoping that the refreeing gets better hopefully we should have a very good quarter final round and let the best team win !!!

With 6 of the 8 teams in the quarters being the previous World Cup champions, it definately is tough to choose the teams one would like to see in the semis. My choice of teams for the semis would now be Argentina, Ukraine, England and Brazil, with yes, an Argentina Brazil final :-)

The first quartet

pc120012, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.

The Knockout matches have started and we already have our first set of 4 teams who enter the Quarter Final round.

The first match was between the home team Germany and Sweden. But then, after the first 15 minutes, there was only one team playing and that was Germany. The Swedes were just starting to warm up for the match, while the Germans were already in attacking mood and scored the first goal in the very 6th minute itself !!!, exactly the same way they started off in the round robin matches. The Swedes looked shocked and their defense was all scattered and the Germans were too professional to miss such a golden opportunity and scored another goal in the 12th minute. The Germans were attacking very hard, and the scoreline could have very easily been 4 - 0, and it looked like the Germans could just score as many goals as they wished. The professional aproach of the Germans and their strong physical presence in the ground along with the great home crowd support and home advantage, completely dominated the proceedings of the game. The Swedes did try their luck, but could hardly have any impact on the strong German defense. With this match, the Germans have definately given a strong signal to the other teams and have made their intentions of winning the World Cup this time and avenge the defeat of the previous World Cup against Brazil, snatching back the golden trophy.

The next match was between the strong Argentina against their neighbouring rivals Mexico. Mexico scored the first goal, again an early goal, in the 6th minute itself, but Argentina equalized soon in the 10th minute itself. From then on, the match was anybody's game. Both the teams were attacking and counter attacking, but both of them lacked that final sting in the attack. One could say that the defense of both the teams was good enough to restrict another goal being scored, but it was a combination of good defense and bad finishing. The match remained at a 1-1 stalemate till the stipulated 90 minutes, and the match for the first time in this tourney. moved into the extra time. In the 12th of the first half of extra time [ yes, there is no golden goal funda and the teams have to play full 30 minutes ], Rodrigues, scored a superb goal, from the right corner of the D, to land the bal in the top left corner of the goalpost. A fantastic finish indeed !!!

The classy Argentines will now meet the professional and mighty Germans in the Quarters and this will definately be the clash of the tournament. Its sad that one of these teams will not be making it to the Semis though.

The second day of the knockout round saw the match being played between England and Ecuador. Ecuador had shown great promise in the round robin matches and had made it clear that England could not easily walkover this team. And the match indeed ended up this way. The first half didnt produce a single goal by either sides. But the game was good and interesting. Both the sides were creating good spaces and attacking well, but their defense was too good to be beaten. Atlast, England scored the solitary goal of this match, and it seemed to be the only way England could breach the Ecuador defense, a lovely Beckham free kick. This was one of the most beautiful free kicks by Beckham I have seen live. The ball went over the wall, and just brushed through the hands of the goal keeper only to find itself on the side net, inside the goalpost. England had struck, and it looked very clearly that they were not interested in scoring any more goals as the English players started keeping possession of the ball, not allowing Ecuador to attack, and thus ended the match with England beating Ecuador 1 - 0.

The match between Portugal and Holland was very promising, but ended up being the worst game of the tourney, with 3 red cards being given and almost every other player was warned with a yellow card. It was the most roughly fought matches I saw in this World Cup. There was hardly any continuity in the game, with free kicks being given every now and then. It was certainly a pathetic game to see, and definately lacked any fun of watching a good game of football. Thanks to a well planned goal by Maniche, Portugal won the match beating Holland 1 - 0, but are left with 3 of their main players kept out and their main striker Ronaldo injured.

With England facing a low profile, second line team of Portugal, it seems quite certain that England will make it easily to the Quarters. Hopefully, the next 4 teams will win convincingly and we get to see some good quality football played fairly.

Threshing is over

The valley, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.

The Round Robin stage of the FIFA World Cup 2006 is over, and we have the boys separated from the men. We now have the top 16 nations battling it out for the prestigious golden trophy.

For some the third round of the round robin stage was a place to show their dominance, while for some it was a moment to redeem their pride and make their presence felt at this World Championship. To avoid any advantage to the teams, both the matches in this round in a group, as goes the tradition, were being played simultaneously.

Germany and Ecuador were the top 2 teams and had their places secured for the knockout stage, but this match was still not taken lightly, especially by the Germans. Ecuador rested some of its main strikers, and Germany were determined to raise the bar of their performance and went full guns against Ecuador, beating them 3 goals to nil. The only good thing from this match for Ecuador was that this match itself was inconsequential for moving to the next round. But this loss means that Ecuador will now have to face England in the knockout stage and Germany will face Sweden. Poland atlast registered their first win in this World Cup, winning 2 goals to 1 against Costa Rica, who had to return back without a win in this competetion, but not without showing some great promise of coming back to the next World Cup. Thanks to some great attacking games by Germany, this group produced 18 goals, the highest goals in a group.

In Group B, England and Sweden were already through to the next round, and it was a matter to knowing who would be the top team from this group after their match. England hasnt beaten Sweden for the past 38 years and had a great chance to breaking this record this year. But Sweden wasnt going to sit back and watch. The Swedes were going tit-for-tat against the English. The battle was fought with great anxiety, and the match was worth watching it. After watching the match, one could only say that a 2 - 2 draw, was probably the best that could come from these 2 teams attacking eachother so well. The only sad part was the second goal in the 90th minute, that was scored by Sweden when Larrson threw in a ball which beat everyone in the defense and viciously found itself into the English goal. The match definately deserved a much better finishing goal. Paraguay bid good bye to this edition of the World Cup, but not before registering their first win in this tourney by beating TNT by 2 goals to nil. I hope that Paraguay will have strikers who can move ahead with some good pace when they reach the next World Cup. TNT werent that bad, but yeah, they can definately improve a lot with the confidence that they must have gained now by playing in such a huge arena. Strangely, this group has produced the lowest number of goals. 10 !!!

Group C match between Argentina and Holland was more of a match of the titans than anything else. The match was inconsequential, but both the teams wanted to prove themselves against some tough opponents. Well, the scoreline read 0 - 0 after 90 minutes, and that shows how good these 2 teams have been in this tourney. Very good attacking game, but a very good defense on either side saw the scoreboard remain as it was before the start of the match. Argentina will now meet Mexico in the knockout stage, and this definately sounds like a good battle to watch out for, while Holland will face Portugal, which is gonna be another tightly fought match. Ivory Coast showed what mettle they are made up of when the won the match against Serbia by 3 goals to 2. This group was the group of death for me. If Ivory Coast were in any other group, I am sure they would qualified for the next round. I hope they come back for the next World Cup and get more luckier. With Argentina scoring 6 goals in a single match, this group has scored 18 goals in all. Again the highest number of goals in a group.

Group D saw Portugal beat Mexico 2 - 1, to retain their top position in this group. Portugal have reached the knockout stage for the first time, thanks to some really bad performance by Iran and Angola. I expected some good wins by Iran, by the match between Iran and Angoal ended in a 1 - 1 draw. Mexico is a very promising team, but will have to be in top form to beat Argentina to proceed ahead in this tourney. Portugal has a very good blend of experienced players and some new fresh blood that seems to be gelling well this time. They will meet Holland in the knockout stage, and it should be a great match to watch out for. This group produced 12 goals in all.

The last round of matched in Group E were more important than any of the other groups. Almost every team had a chance to make it to the next round. This group produced the only winning new comer of this tourney, Ghana. Ghana very convincingly thershed out USA, 2 - 1, with USA again being reduced to 10 players in this match as well. Ghana have played very well, and made good use of their opportunities in this group, and have advanced to the knockout stage, where they will meet the reigning champions Brazil. Its gonna be a match between the champs and the rookies. If Brazil dont underestimate Ghana, and dont get complacent, and Ghana doesnt create some miracles, then Brazil should easily walk through this match, hopefully. The Czechs have really dissappointed me in this tourney. I was expecting them to be in the semis, and their loss to Italy [ 2 - 0] just means that they have to return back without even quualifying for the knockout stage. Italy have been good, though I havent watched a lot of their matches. With Italy and Ghana scoring well, we could see 14 goals being scored in this group.

Brazil retained their top position in Group F, by beating Japan 4 - 1. Ronaldo atlast was able to hit the ball, and scored 2 goals, but only after Brazil were stunned to be reeling behind Japan by oe goal at the end of the first half. Croatia was another team that was disappointing in this group. They drew their match with Australia, and helped the gutsy Australia proceed ahead into the knockout stage. Brazil will face Ghana, while Australia will face Italy in their knockout matches. Hopefully, Brazil should peak up in the coming knockout matches, and we should be able to see them in the finals against Argentina. There were 16 goals scored in this group, probably less than expectations, especially with so much of hype being there for the mighty Brazilian team.

Group G was another open group, where any team could qualify for the knockout stage. And this definately produced the surprise of this tourney with France beating Togo 2 - 0, and qualifying for a place in the next round, even after Zidane had to sit out of this match on his birthday. A very similar episode had struck France, when Zidane sat out of the match in 1998, and came back to lead France to vistory in the Finals against Brazil. I am sure the French are hoping for a similar thing this year around. Only time will tell us though. Switzerland beat South Korea 2 - 0 to knock them out from a comfortable position to make way into the knockout stage. The Swiss will face Ukraine in the knockout stage, and France will have to fight it out against Spain. We got to see only 11 goals from this group.

Ukraine needed one more win and thats exactly what they got against Tunisia, beating them by a solitary goal to qualify themselves into the knockout stage. Ukraine have come back after a dissappionting start, and have to face the Swiss in their knockout stage, which sounds like an easy win for Ukraine. Spain, playing very good football, beat the Saudis 1- 0, to fix their knockout match against France. This definately seems to be a good match to watch, with Spain in great form, while France might have just found their touch again.

We have already seen 120 goals being scored in these round robin matches, and I am sure this should definately be one of the highest number of goals scored in round robin matches in all of the World Cups so far. It is definately a tough call to make now, but I guess that it would be Argentina, England, Ukraine and Brazil making it to the semis, with Brazil fighting it out with Argentina in the finals. Though, Germany look to be the under dogs this year and might just prove everyone wrong, while they are playing some great professional football with the home crowd advantage.

Fightback

Sunset, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.


After a fighting match against Italy, Ghana fought back defiantly and won the match against the mighty Czechs 2 - 0. It was a very impressive performance by Ghana, true to their reputation of being the best African team this year. Their defense was just too good for the Czechs to find a break, and Ghana did attack well. This was undoubtedly the first upset of this tourney, and probably we had found the dark horse of this year. We need to see if Ghana can do a Senegal this year around.

With Ghana winning their match, and USA holding back Italy to a 1-1 draw, Group E is all open, with Ghana and Czech at 3 points each, and Italy a mere 1 point ahead of them and leading the group. The next round of matches, especially the one between Ghana and USA would be a stunner as both the teams would be badly in need of a win to stake claims for the knockout stage.

My hopes of seeing the Croates in the semis got a hard blow, when the Japanese held them to a goalless draw. I was surprised that neither of the teams could score a goal, even after they had so many chances to score. Japan very badly needed a win from this match, as they have only 1 point and have to face Brazil in their next match. Even after losing to Brazil, Australia would be thankful to Japan, for drawing their match with Craotia, since Australia already have 3 points and have to beat or atleast draw with the Croates to get a berth into the knockout stage, assuming that Brazil play well and win against Japan.

Brazil did seem to be gaining back their confidence and playing well now. Though, the first half of the match was not upto the mark, for either of the teams, only after the superb goal from Adriano, thanks to a very clever pass by the heavy weight Ronaldo, did the match pick up its pace. Brazil should consider themselves lucky that they did not concede a single goal, even after there were more than 3 lapses in their defense, and the Aussies couldnt materialise on these loopholes. Infact, Brazil havent conceded a single goal in their past 9 wolrd cup matches till now !!! But ofcourse, this team has the potential to do a lot more and i hope they peak up at the right time. Brazil are the group leaders and expect to meet either Ghana or the Czechs in the quarter finals.

France continued their pathetic performance, apart from a spark of brilliance from Henry when they scored the only goal in their past 5 world cup matches !!! South Korea fought back well to score another goal and draw the match, to lead Group G with 4 points. After drawing their first match with the least confident French, Switzerland won a good match against Togo, to lead the Group G with 4 points. The Swiss will have a tough fight with the Koreans in the next match to become the leaders of this group. Togo are virtually out of the tournament and will have to face France in their last group encounter. France would definately be hoping to get a win from this match to get a last minute entry into the knockout stage, though I personally dont think they deserve to be there.

Ukraine had lost their first match, 4 - 0 to Spain, and they fought back galantly to win 4 - 0 this time against Saudi Arabia This was definately one of the most brilliant come backs of a team. Shevchenko, supposedly the most promising youngster of this World Cup, scored a goal and created an opportunity for another. Ukraine have to beat Tunisia in the next match to make a place for themselves into the knockout stages and face South Korea. Sprain drubbed Tunisia 3 - 1 to lead group H with 6 points and book their place in the knockout stage.

The way the teams are placed now, we have very bright chances to witnessing a Brazil v/s Argentina final, with either Ukraine or Australia, and England or Portugal making up the other 2 semi finalists. Ofcourse, I still see a minor chance for Germany and Holland as favourites to enter into this list of semifinalists.

Get down to business

Both the waterfalls, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.

Every team has played one game each, while some tasted First Blood [ a good reason to get the name of my blog here ;) ], some have started shedding off the World Cup blues, and are getting into the thick of things to make a mark for themselves in this edition of the World Cup. After the second round of matches in the round robin, most of the teams would know when to book their flight back home, while for some it would be a wait and watch, to either decide when to go back home or to which stadium they would have to proceed in the next round based on the performance of their group mates.

Hosts Germany had a very tough fight with Poland, and their perseverance paved way when Neuville scored the winner goal [ the only goal in this match ] in the dying moments of the match, 92nd minute to be precise. Poland did give them a good fight, and Germany missed quite a lot of chances and should consider themselves lucky to have got a win from this match. But, i liked the way the Germans are playing this time. Their attacking game looks very good and they have a very good defense too. I consider them to be strong contenders for the Semis, but they might most probably have to face England in the Quarters, and sadly one of them will not make it to the semis :-(, unless Ecuador top Group B, and earn a showdown against Germany.

I am sure Ecuador wouldnt want this to happen as they would have to play against the less gutsy Sweden as of now. The way they played against Costa Rica and won an easy 3-0 victory shows a lot about this team. The method of their game and the way they were making places for themselves to score, should definately make their oppostion take notice of this team. Ecuador could well turn out to be the Senegal of this World Cup. We will have to wait and watch though. The other 2 teams in Group A, Costa Rica and Poland, are technically out of the tourney.

England showed some signs of improvement but i am sure they are capable to doing much better. After a shaky start, with Rooney coming back into the team, and Owen being substituted in the early second half, their spirits did seem to be high. The decisive goal by the Liverpool captain, Gerrard definately showed what England is made up of. They are currently the group leaders and will most probably meet Germany in the knockout stage, but should be hoping to face Ecuador. The second team in Group B, Sweden did show some promise in this match, coming back from a goalless draw earlier in their first match. Their win eliminated Paraguay. And a loss to England, eliminated TNT.

Group C, has Argentina all geared up and roaring to give all the 15 teams qualifying for the knockout stage a run for their money. Serbian players had a great lesson on how to play football and could merely watch Argentina as spectators, while Argentina scored 6 goals in a single match !!! The match was completely one sided, but the finnese and grace with which the Argentines scored the goals, just shows how well a team in unison can perform. All the Argenine players are on the same wavelength and the team would hope to resonate well again, once they meet Brazil in the finals [ well, yeah ... thats my prediction for the finals ]. The first goal of this match, had 24 passes made between 8 Argentine players, without a single pass being intercepted by the Serbs, and a final back heal pass to Saviola came just 6 minutes after the match started. This is undoubtedly the tourney's best team goal, and might infact stake claim for the world's best team goal !!!

Holland had a tough fight from Ivory Coast. It was sad that Ivory Coast couldnt fetch a single point from this game that was so equally contested. The match was on equal grounds, but for Neistelroy luckily not being found off-side, scoring the winning goal for Holland. They will most likely face Portugal, who would be making their debut appearance in the knockout stages, while Argentina, the top team in Group c will face the much easier team Mexico.

Serbia and Ivory Cost are virtually out of this tourney. Ivory Coast showed a lot of promise and I would have been happy to see them have a fighting chance in the next round robin matches, but technically they are out. In Group D, Iran, even after showing some spirited game, are out of the tourney, while Angola have a chance to sneak in, but only if they can score more than 3 goals against Iran, and Mexico lose to Portugal.

It takes just a moment

A Rose, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.

Yeah, it takes just a moment to change to course of a match, and thats precisely what was happening all the way long in the first round of the round robin matches going on in the FIFA World Cup 2006 tourney this year.

This was very very evident in the Australia v/s Japan match. Both the teams were really playing very poor quality of football, compared to the standards shown by the other South American and European countries. Japan and Australia should consider themselves lucky to have been pitched in the same pool, since they wont be easy quitters. Well, atleast Australia would consider themselves lucky, with the way they won the match. It definately was a very spirited and persevering approach by the Aussies, and Japan, who should have atleast scored another goal, instead of holding onto their one goal lead. The Aussies got a break through in the dying moments of the match, when Aussies' substitutes, scored 3 goals in a span of 6 minutes, after waiting for 84 minutes to score their first ever world cup goal since 32 years !!! Japan were caught sleeping and didnt know what struck them. Aussies were delighted, to say the least, after winning over their most important rivals in this group, though its a complete uphill task for them to score against either Croatia or Brazil, unless their "never-say-die" approach springs a surprise victory for them, causing a major hickup in this World Cup.

USA were hardly any botheration for the Czech Republic. The match ended as expected with the Czechs winning by 3 goals to 1, and being strong contenders to qualify from Group E. Another team from this group, Italy, had an easy run over their rivals Ghana. This was one match i didnt watch, but the news is that Italy look strong enough to give a strong fight to their opponents to qualify for the semis.

The remaining matches were lacking all the luster of the tourney and getting boring, and predictable at times. The South Koreans, played very selfishly and took undue advantage of the 10 men Togo team. It was sad to see the giant players of Togo running all over the park and gasping for breathe and the South Koreans making fun and keeping the ball to themselves and not allowing Togo to have possession of the ball, even after South Korea were 2 goals ahead. I thought that this was one of the worst matches i saw in this tourney, with the South Koreans showing so bad sportsmanship, but that was not to be.

The worst match I saw was that of France. Pathetic to say the least. The French havent learnt from their disastrous episode of the previous World Cup. They still do not gel as a team. The growing age of the key players should be among the least of the worries for the French Coach. This team lacks the team spirit. There was lack of co-ordination, and they very very badly lacked the killer instinct. Henry was very disappointing. I wonder how he manages to score so great goals for Arsenal. Well, i suppose, its just that Henry doesnt enjoy his game as much while he plays for France, as he enjoys while playing for Arsenal. The Swiss held the French for the second goalless draw of this tournament, and i would not be surprised if France doesnt make it to the second round this time as well !!!

Group H has undoubtedly the least known and least famous teams, with probably only Spain being the strong contenders and it could just be anyone else for the second position from this group. Spain had a very very easy game against the much highly rated Ukrain. The Ukranians had Schevchenko who was being projected as the most happening player of this World Cup , with he being paid quite a huge sum for his transfer to Chelsea in the coming season. Though, he did show some class in the way he played, it was really tough on him, as the ball hardly came to him. The Spanish players made merry and won the match quite easily 4 - 0, with the Ukranians being reduced to 10 players, and also getting the tourney's first penalty kick.


The last match in the first round of the round robin matches was that between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The first half was not so great and Tunisia were leading by a solitary goal. But, the second half saw some very good attacking game from the Saudis and it lifted the whole match to a completely new domain. The tackling, the passes and even the strikes were all good. The match became even more interesting when the Saudis scored a very clean goal, and withing the next 10 minutes even scored their second goal !!! Both the goals were very professional and clinical. The match was almost over and the Saudis would have won this match, but it was not to be. The Tunisians who hardly had any possession in the second half, though they did have some good counter attacks were being pushed back by the Saudi attacks. In the dying moments of the match, infact, in the last couple of minutes of injury time, the tournament witnessed the most late goal, a 93rd minute goal !!! This was so harsh on the Saudis, but Tunisia did deserve this goal, and at the end you could say that this was a more fair result for the great game of football we got see from this almost inconsequential match.

The much hyped Brazil had a very good first match, and supposedly had to fight against their toughest rivals in this group, the Croatians. Every one of the strikers were looking for their piece of glory, and we did see some very good football with the Brazilian samba on the field. Very good quick small passes and wonderful game plays culiminating into very good attacking positions. The Croates were not to be left back. They were the 3rd best seeded team in this tourney, and i guess they really showed how to attack Brazil. Any chance they had for counter attack, they were giving everything to it. This was a great game to watch, but yeah a bit dissappointing to see the Brazilians not showing so much good finishes. Most of this credit should go to the Croatian defenders and even the Brasilian defence for not conceeding a single goal. The Brazilian defence has definately improved. As the commentator was saying, at times you realise that its the defenders who make the match more interesting than the strikers. Strange that one should feel this statement come true when you have more than half of a team full of world class strikers !!! Kaka scored a very good long range shot in the 42nd minute to win the match for Brazil. We also got to see glimpses of the Ronaldhino dribbling, and Ronaldo's shot and Carlos powerful kicks ... hope we get to see more and more of these great players in this tourney.

Now that the first round of games are over and al the teams have played one game each, my choice for the Semis would be Brazil, Argentina, Croatia and either Germany , England or Italy [ in this particular order of preference :p ] making it for the last four. Lets see how the next rounds progress and how many changes i will have to make in this list of probables for the semis. I still am rooting for a Brazil and Argentina final with Brazil bagging the golden trophy :-)

Videos

A very nice video on the Start of the Battle

And another beautiful one of the Finest moments of Theiry Henry [ well known as the God !!! ]

A Fantastic Kick Off

Garden, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.

Football lovers couldn't have asked for more. World Cup 2006 has started with a bang. If the number of goals scored in the opening match is any indication of the times ahead, then we really are in for a big feast !!!

After a very colorful and entertaining opening ceremony, the hosts Germany, completely against their traditional style of football, started off with a goal in the very 6th minute of the opening match against Costa Rica. I have never seen Germany play so good attacking game. Probably the reason for this was that Costa Rice were still shedding off their World Cup blues, but none the less, the attacks were really good and it was a great game to watch. Costa Rica, had a surprise, as they scored the equalizer in the very next 5 mintues !!! Was this a repeat of the Senegal match in the previous World Cup ? Well, Klose, of Germany, the birthday boy, with his presence of mind, made sure that Germany were not going to back off so easily, and scored the thrid goal of the game in the 19th minute. In just 20 minutes of start, we were being treated with 3 goals !!! And the commentators confirmed this being a record breaking opening match, with just 9 goals in all being scored in the previous 12 World Cup opening matches. World Cup 2006 was live and kicking and was off to a flying start !!!

As if, the flurry of goals had sparked off a vibrant wave, the quality of the game too was high and the players were really pumped up. Both the teams were playing attacking football and the spectators were kept always on the edge of their seats. Costa Rica reduced Germany's lead to just one goal, with their star striker Wanchope, tall 6'5" who moved very fast, scoring his second goal of the match. The match suddenly took a very interesting turn, and the Costa Ricans were closing in on the Germans. But, Frings, of Germany, scored the most fantastic goal of this tournament, with a long shot from clos to 35 yards. It was a great away going swinging shot which the goal keepeer of Costa Rica gave it a brave attempt at saving it, but was just too fast and far away for him to even touch it. This goal was something you usually get to watch in some ads, which are usually artificially created. With 6 goals scored in all, it was the highest number of goals ever scored in an opening match !!! If this was any indication of what was coming in the later matches, i am just not able to wait to watch Brazil score their goals this time :-)

The first match lived up to its share of surprises, by having 6 goals scored in it and the second match produced the first upset of the tourney. Poland, who were definately more experienced that their rivals Ecuador, were found stranded and lost to Ecuador's 2-0 score. It was just not Poland's day !!! They had so many chances and they were just not able to convert these chances into goals. Ecuador were most of the time found defending, but they never left any chance to counter attack, and it gave them good dividends.

The day ended with 2 wonderfully faught matches, with already 8 goals scored in one day !!! ... And I was now eagerly waiting for the England match on the next day. Germany and Ecuador are currently leading Group A.

As if taking a cue from Germany, England were off to a flier as well. Beckham scored a lovely bent free kick, a trademark Beckham shot, and with Gamarra of Paraguay heading it into his own goal, England had their first goal scored in just 4 minutes. Even better than the first match !!! England were pressing real hard after this spirited start, but Owen was not able to get anywhere near the ball. Crouch, the new England 6'7" striker, tried his best, but all he could do was just head the ball from the goal kick and either won a freekick or give away a freekick, for which he even won a yellow card. I was a bit disappointed with England's game. They had the goal advantage and didnt press too hard later on in the game. They seriously were missing Rooney. May be his fast running could give them some edge, but they have yet not shed their style of defending on the laurels of having a slender lead.

The next group B match was the first goalless draw of the tourney. Sweden were surprisingly held to a draw by the new comers, Trinidad & Tobago. Sweden were expected to have a very easy walk over TNT, but it was not happen so. TNT played so good football, that Sweden found it very tough to get past the TNT defense. TNT were counter attacking too, but just didnt have a striker who could score goals. Their passing was also not upto the mark, and were very lamely giving away the ball. Sweden were good to capitalize on this, but were finding it tough the breach the TNT defense. At times, they did succeed, but luck was not on their side. Sweden had a glimmer of hope at the start of the second half, when the tourney saw the first red card, and TNT were reduced to 10 men. This too didnt help Sweden, and TNT played just too good to hold back Sweden. At the end of the match, the TNT fans and players celebrated this draw so much, that if you just saw them without seeing the match, you would have thought that TNT actually has won the World Cup :-)

Probably, the best match till now, in terms of quality football, was to come in the match between Argentina and Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast, made up of players who play in the lower teams of English Premier, were not bent on giving it away easily to Argentina. Argentina, a team full of fresh talent, were very spiritied and clinical in their approach. The way Argentina were possessing the ball and making close passes, you could see it clearly that Argentina had arrived into this World Cup with some serious stakes. I have a feeling that it could just be their tournament. They had everything going in for them. The passes, the possession, and the most important of all, the finishing. So immaculate and beautiful to watch. They move very fast, and have an aggressive game. Their defense might be of the greatest standards, but it isnt that bad either. I want to see more of this team and hope to see it fight the spirited Brazilians, their arch rivals.

Sunday's games didnt have any big games, but the matches were none the less exciting. Netherlands could have done better, but they settled for a 1-0 win over Montenegro. The game between Mexico and Iran was more interesting to watch. Both the teams were busy attacking all the time. It did point out some loop holes in their defense. But, it was Iran who finally had to do most of the defending, as Mexico beat them 3-1, with 2 of these goals being scored in a span of 5 minutes of the second half. Portugal too had a slender lead of 1 goal, and finished winners over Angola, winning by 1 goal to 0.

Today we have matches between Australia and Japan, USA and Czech, and Italy v/s Ghana. I want to see how the Scolari lead Aussie teams performs this time. Japan will have to prove that they were not flukes to get selected twice for the World Cup finals. Czech Republic is currently the second best team in the world, going by the seedings given this year, and USA have a uphill task against them. Italy have a got a point or to prove themselves and lets hope they dont struggle against Ghana, the latest entrant from the Africanas this year.

Let the ball keep rolling ....

Books

Evening Rays, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.


I am such a huge fan of books, and i wonder how i have not written down about what books i am currently reading in my blog ever ? Well, such is life i suppose. Somethings are taken for granted somethings just slip off from your mind :p

Presently, I am reading an online version of "Thinking in Patterns", available here

A nice quote from this book ...

"We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: Premature optimization is the root of all evil."—Donald Knuth

So many times I have seen that happening in the softwares that i have worked on.

The latest novel that i read was "Overload", by Arthur Healy. Its a very good novel that explains the pressures that exist in a government owned firm, that too if its concerned with "electricity" ... something we all take for granted. Healy is known for his in-depth explanation of the industry he writes a novel on, and this was a very good description of the various factions that exist in a firm that provides the services of electricity. The story itself is very good, with the plot set around the spokesperson of the firm, and how he tries in vain to explain to the world the dangers of not living with electicity, and how the reporters always misinterpret him to gain publicity and leaev out the bland and harsh realities he talks about. It really is very sad to know that you realise the importance of electricity only when you dont have it, and he puts forth that point with a very tragic incident :-( Another twist in the tale, is the terrorism aspect, trying to sabotage the firm on the name of being protectors of the environment. Its a very good dual where you get to learn and appreciate how both electricity and the environment are necessary for human beings and how one should be open to other's thoughts and be ready for a common ground of compromise, without loosing on the main intention of the debate.

I started reading Arthur Healy's books with, "Airport", thanks to Santosh, who told me that Arthur too was of the same class of writers as Crichton. Airport is undoubtedly a blockbuster. I wonder why there hasnt been a movie picturised on it, or may be there is one, and i am unaware of it. Its a simple tale of how an "airport" is managed, with the planes being scheduled and handled to land and take off at precise times, how the insurance firms rely on the worst fear of humans for flying in air, how the mechanics and ground force work countless hours to keep the airports the way they are. Its a story of a series of events on 4 parallel threads that happen in a span of 4 days, and culminate in the last 100 pages. These 100 pages are just sooooo good, that you wont feel like leaving the book .. Arthur's writing really has a great grasping power and you can feel it in this wonderfully descriptive and high tension drama story. He makes you feel the pressures and tensions of the working life in an airport. A marvelous book indeed.

I was a bit disappointed by "Wheels" though, another Healy book, on the automobile industry. Probably, just because i read this book after reading Airport, my expectations were really high, and "Wheels" lacked that punch. It really didnt have a thrilling story, or a central thread that holds the mood of the story. It was a mix of atleast three stories, which did not necessarily converge. But, yeah, none the less, it gave a very good picture of the automobile industry, of its standards, the people that work there, the kind of monotonous work it creates, and how people just life their lives in that work, just because they do not have any other alternatives. The human aspects and pressures surrounding a huge industry as that, is really good to know and understand. Dont expect any gripping story, and you will enjoy this book.

I am now on a month's leave and not going to read any books, for its the month of the World's greatest event on Earth !!! Football World Cup 2006 !!! ... Though, i really do not have any idea on what my next book to read will be, I have got a suggestion that "Fish" is a good book. This is a complete contrast to the genre of books that i read. Its a book on suggestions and practises on time management and attitude handling. Lets, see how many pages of this book I can turn :-) ... only time will tell ....

... and its a GOAAAAALLLLLLLLLL !!!

With less than 10 days left for the World Cup 2006 to start on the 9th of June, and with 32 teams comprising of 736 players all ready to launch themselves into the biggest tournament of their careers, it is definately going to be one hell of a blockbuster month of football all around.

After a huge struggle of three weeks to actually finish up writing all this, I have atlast succeeded in publishing this blog entry. I hope to be more regular atleast with the World Cup kicking off from the next week.

Group A : Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador.
Germany has Ballack [ the latest new entrant to the champion Englsih team .. Chelsea ] , Kahn [ though he is ageing now ... there is Lehmann waiting to replace him .. and you believe it or not .. Lehmann is 39 :)

Group B : England, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden .
England is being counted as a strong contender to reach the finals. There seems to be a lot of hope on Lampard who missed out the World Cup last time, and is in great form with Chelsea right now. Beckham, though of late has been, very strangely in less limelight is the England captain with a lot of hopes shouldering on him. Hopefully, for him and for the fans, Rooney should get well soon and we should be able to see some really fast thrilling goals being scored by him. Ofcourse, they always have the, recently gone off-color Michael Owen, who could also fire this time, along with Gerrard, the Liverpool captain which won the FA cup this year, along with defence players like the coolest Ferdinand and Cole among others.

Group C : Argentina, Holland, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro
Called the group of death .. basically because there are 2 good teams in Argentina and Holland and 2 completely unknown teams who might cause some shocks. Argentina is one team that is being seen as a probable team to reach the semis with all the fresh players they have .. though they might lack some experience to play in big matches. They have players like Crespo, Messie and their striker Aimar. They also have a very good defense. Holland, for some reason have lost the touch that they had in the earlier decades and might want to regain that stature with the World cup now coming to europe. Neistelroy, the ManU forward [ or should i say former ManU forward ? ], makes his first world cup appearance and must be hungry for some success. He also has the Arsenal [ ? ] forward Persie to help him in the front. Sounds to be a real group of death with these teams really fighting it out for their place in the knock out stage.

Group D : Portugal, Mexico, Iran, Angola
A pretty easy group compared to the others. Portugal being the Euro 2002 champs, have the ageing Figo who would have to bare the burden of his team this year. Deco, is another player who is in good form and should prove handy. I am not very sure about the players in the other teams, but i guess Portugal and Mexico are definately the favourites in this group.

Group E : Italy, Czech Republic, USA, Ghana
This is another of those tight groups, which i personally feel is the group of death, since apart from Ghana [ who might be the underdogs this year ], all the other 3 teams are very good.Italy have Inzaghi and Totti along with some more fresh blood that should be a very good team to reach the knockout stage from this group. The Czechs have Nedved, Heinz and Drogba who have been performing good in the european league matches. These definately sound to be the second favourites to reach the next round, unless the lesser known Ghana, and the strong contenders USA show some startling brilliance that might make the games in this group even more interesting.

Group F : Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan
Its a bit tough to choose the second team that would reach the next round. Brazil, the favourites this time around, who i hope will not be complacent and produce some real good matches. More than half of the Brazilian squad is full of well known strikers, and thats where lies their weakness. With forwards as formiddable as Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldino [ more of a mid fielder ], Roberto Carlos [ this man has no fixed place in the team :) .. just keeps running all over the park ] and Cafu, it would be left to their goalkeeper and the defense to avoid giving away goals, so that goals scored by the forwards can be of advantage !!! Ronaldhino is one player whom i want to be getting the golden boot this year. Australia, as always like to consider themselves underdogs, and Scolari [ the former Brazilian coach ] being their current coach now, has given them that extra bit of confidence which they need to take advantage of and cross over the less experienced Japan and Crotia. I feel, the battle would mostly be between Croatia and Australia to fight it out to bag the second place from this group.

Group G : France, Switzerland, South Korea, Togo
France have a lot of promise, but i sometimes feel that they somehow do not gel well as a team. I hope some early good matches should fix this problem for them. I strongly believe that with players like Henry, Zidane [ slated to retire after this world cup ], and one of the best goalkeepers in the form of Barthez, with a good defense lineup of Patric Vierra and Cisse, France should be into the semis. I hope, Henry finds a good companion with him who can help him in the forward. While playing for Arsenal against Barcelona, in the finals of the UEFA Cup this year, Henry was found stranded many a times either in want of a partner or some pass not reaching him at the right time. Togo and South Korea and relatively new to the World Cup and i hope South Korea be the team that represents Asia in the knock out rounds. They have some good players and I have been hearing much good reports about them. Switzerland is another team that can cause some upsets here, and should have the upper hand for the second place in this team.

Group H : Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia
A bit tough to choose the teams that might land up in the knock out stage from this group. Spain is undoubtedly the most probable of the teams from this group. The one big name in this team is ofcourse the Real Madrid goal keeper Casillas. He is undoubtedly the best goalkeeper of this decade. He has made some really stunning saves for Real Madrid. I am not so sure about the other players, but this man is definately someone to watch out for. I am equally ignorant about the other three teams in this group. And I can only hope for Saudi Arabia to reach the knock out round and some credibility to the Asian presence there, though I guess Ukraine is a more strong contender.
For some live updates on the matches happening this year, here is a RSS [ XML ] link that you can use in your RSS reader and keep yourself updated.

FIFA 2006 Calendar


I have also found some nice calendars on the web which i have added to my Google Calendar to help me follow the matches :) As usual, an Excel sheet to keep track of the matches and scores is something already ready and eager to be filled with data in it now :)

Its time to say .... GGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL !!!