Time for our World Cup roundup. The last couple days saw the group stage come to a close with a couple surprises, one big name heading on, and one big name heading home. So, what do we make as we transition to the knockout rounds? Let's check out the roundup for Days 14 and 15 from South Africa and examine the winners and losers from the group stage!
1) Biggest Winner - Spain
-A week ago, Spain was coming off of a hugely disappointing defeat to Switzerland and were teetering on the edge of exiting the competition. Spain were a shadow of the sublime offensive unit that we saw at Euro 2008 and leading up to the World Cup and folks questioned whether or not their World Cup curse was back. However, reports of the sinking of the Spanish Armada were greatly exaggerated this time around. A tough 2-0 win over Honduras followed and then today a 2-1 win over Chile got them through and more importantly to the top of the group. Granted, we still haven't seen Spain at their best, but they did the job to avoid Brazil in the Round of 16 and have a relatively easy path to the semis. This could be a time where we see Spain gradually improve and play their best soccer later in the tournament - and that would be great news for the Furia Roja.
2) Standout Performer - David Villa
-David Villa (above) is the forgotten man in the Spanish side. Xavi and the amazing midfield get a lot of attention and so does Liverpool's Fernando Torres. Heck, Villa doesn't even play for Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona, but Valencia. Well, at least he didn't... he just signed for Barcelona for oodles of millions of dollars. But in their first 3 games, Villa has been the best player on the field by a long shot for Spain. His finishing from all over the field has been superb (except for the penalty spot), his movement has been on point, and most importantly he has gotten crucial goals when needed. There are a lot of stars and breakout players at this tournament, Villa might just be both.
3)Biggest Loser - Italy
4) Best Game - Slovakia 3 Italy 2
-The Italians needed to beat Slovakia to advance to the Round of 16. Even if you know nothing about soccer, you know that a country like Italy should beat a country like Slovakia. If you know just a little bit about the World Cup and remember Italy as the defending champions and can't locate Slovakia on a map then you really know that Italy should beat Slovakia. If you're a student of the beautiful game then you know Italy never loses World Cup games to Slovakia with a spot in the last 16 on the line. But, that is the beauty of the 2010 World Cup - the form book and the history book have been thrown out the window. Slovakia took it straight to Italy from the beginning and held on in a frantic finish to pull out a win in a 3-2 classic. Check out the highlights...
5) Biggest Surprise - Asia
-Australia (yes I know it is its own continent, but it's in the Asian federation for some reason) was probably the most fancied Asian team heading into the tournament. But, it's been the two powers of the Far East - Japan and South Korea - that have proved to be two of the Cinderella stories of the tournament. Never before had either team won a game off home soil in the World Cup, and yet now both countries find themselves in the knockout round. South Korea has played much better attacking football than anyone anticipated and Japan has taken their chances with clinical percision, like Keisuke Honda for instance. While they might not do a lot of damage going forward, advancing outside of Asia is a huge step in the right direction.
6) Highlight - David Villa: Goal of the Tournament Part II
-David Villa has done it again! His first goal against Honduras is a candidate for Goal of the Tournament, but he may have topped himself with this 45 yard one time effort against Chile! He may be on his way to the golden boot and ball in this year's tournament...
7) Extra Time - 5 Winners & Losers of the Group Stage
5 Winners
1) South America
-Today's loss from Chile was the first of the tournament for South American teams! 5 South American teams came to South Africa and 5 of them remain in the KO round. They have an unbelievable combined record of 10-4-1 through the group stage! And, most of them will be favored to advance to the QF round. In fact, the only thing stopping all 5 from being favored to advance to the last 8 is that the top two teams from qualifying, Brazil and Chile, play each other in a mouthwatering last 16 game.
2) Landon Donovan
-The US #10 has been the star of two huge games - his goal against Slovenia boosted American spirits and led to a draw, and of course everybody in the country rejoiced when he put in the rebound against Algeria to advance. Donovan is the face of US Soccer, and it's only fitting that he be the one to play a key role in securing a spot in the last 16.
3) ESPN
-The self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports have finally put their massive amount of resources into a World Cup and been rewarded with massive ratings and top class coverage throughout the tournament. With the disaster of '06 and Dave O'Brien and Marcelo Balboa, ESPN made the move to import scores of announcers and analysts for the 2010 World Cup. The results have been nothing short of the best work ESPN has ever done. The game and studio coverage has been outstanding and insightful, especially the work of...
4) Ian Darke
-While Martin Tyler has done his job as the best play-by-play man in the world, his British counterpart Ian Darke has been the media darling of the 2010 WC thus far. Darke's more excitable style seems to be a great fit with the US Soccer audience, yet he also lets the game tell the story like the great British announcers. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the World Cup has been Darke's journey with the US National team through their heroic draw with Slovenia to Landon Donovan's goal against Algeria. You can tell Darke has fallen in love with the team and he's almost become our home announcer. His call of the Donovan goal has been compared to Al Michaels and the Miracle on Ice even! That may be a bit of a stretch, but it still gives you chills!
5) Soccer In The USA
-But, above all, the sport of soccer is the big winner. With record TV ratings and a thrilling US victory, you get the sense that the sport has seen a big jump thanks to this year's World Cup. Yes, there is always a World Cup bounce, but never before quite this big. Never before have we had such excitement in the general population and so many people talking about the World Cup. Hopefully, the excitement will be sustained after the tournament as well. Of course, soccer isn't going to replace the NFL anytime soon, but soccer has definitely made it in the USA.
5 Losers
1) France
-An easy choice for #1. The manager can't manage. The players didn't want to practice. And now, they're going home deservedly early. They were such a disgraceful act that police had to escort them away from their own fans when they landed back home in France. Sacre bleu!
2) Europe
-Besides France, the rest of Europe didn't fair so fondly. Only 6 out of the 13 UEFA teams in the tournament successfully made the knockout round. In addition to France, fellow 2006 finalist Italy failed to make it (first time in history). England and Spain both failed to impress at times in the group stage while advancing and sleeper teams like Serbia went home early as well. While continents like Asia and South America have shined away from home, you have to wonder whether or not a European team will break the duck and ever win away from the continent.
3) Africa
-Meanwhile, this year's host continent didn't fair well either. Only Ghana was able to advance past the group stage. Teams like Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Nigeria had golden chances to get through but failed to do so because they couldn't keep their composure in front of goal. It was a disappointing tournament for African teams on the field, but host nation South Africa has put on quite the party and shown the world that Africa can host the world's largest events.
4) Diving & Refereeing
-Hopefully FIFA takes note of the ridiculous amount of diving and cheating going on at this year's tournament. From failed penalty calls to failed red card calls, it has been a bad tournament for diving and refereeing. If FIFA wants to really improve the beautiful game they'll add a panel to punish divers for cheating and be more upfront with blown calls that have an impact on games.
5) Kim Jong-Il
-Maybe it wasn't a good idea to pick that Portugal/North Korea game to stream back live to the communist state. Oh well, there's always his remarkable golf game to appease the North Korean sports fans.
