FIFA World Cup Soccer 2010: Portugal, Paraguay and Slovakia in with a chance
No one knew how this World Cup is going to shape up when it was about to begin. Everyone thought that the usual World Cup is in the making. Legendary team’s, who have excelled at the highest level, will still stay on top and formulate the last eight. But the entire world was in for a surprise. After the elimination of two football giants France and Italy and the loss suffered by Spain against a weak Switzerland side, regular plans went haywire. African soil has proved to be different and upsets have become the norm.
Legendary teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Netherlands and England provided their fair share to this World Cup by running through the first round with an unbeaten record. Contrary to that, weaker teams came out from nowhere and gave fabulous results to prove their mettle at the highest stage. Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile are surely the notable teams in this regards. By troubling the toughest teams of them all, these South American teams proved that spirit is second to none. Brazil could not score a goal against Portugal in the group stages while England was unable to find a win for themselves until the last match of the group stages. England was the biggest disappointment after Spain who lost their first game against Switzerland.
Currently, fans are expecting that since this World Cup is taking a different shape, compared to its previous editions, any team can power through to the on top. Even if they don’t lift the cup, but by eliminating the top guns and qualifying for the semi-finals, the norm would at least be broken. The South American cluster is expected to trouble the top ten teams. Paraguayans helped eliminate Italy along with Slovakia. As a result, it’s safe to assume that one of these teams might make it to the final four.
Uruguay has performed beyond expectation. Despite running in a tough group, the team managed to win the top spot. Not only that but they eliminated South Africa and France, the runner-up in last year’s World Cup in 2006. Uruguay tied their first match against the French, went on to win the second game against South Africa and actually went on to win against the Mexican’s.
Secondly, Chile has been more than just “impressive.” They were paired with European Champions Spain, Honduras and Switzerland. For this particular group, Switzerland was the team that defeated the Spanish side to initiate the upset season. Chile was unbeaten till they met Spain. Largely due to a yellow card for a Chilean defender, Spain won with a final score of 2-1. Chile still qualified and will meet Brazil in the round of 16.
The next team that has amazingly surprised fans across planet Earth is Paraguay. They were grouped with defending champions Italy, New Zealand and Slovakia. The Slovakians later went on to beat Italy and marked the second biggest upset of South Africa 2010. With the round of 16 beginning, the Paraguayans are in with a chance.
One more team that cannot be counted out is Slovakia because they topped their group. The Slovakians impressed all and sundry throughout this tournament. They played with amazing ball possession, great ball control and even took a good amount of shots on goal.
However, no one really knows what will happen in this World Cup as its changing colours as the time is passing and it moves towards the final. It cannot be ignored that all the teams are trying to perform their level best. The answer to who will qualify is just a shot in the dark. But one thing is certain; the underdogs have the ability to defeat their tougher opponents in the round of 16.
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