The first phase of the Group matches ended yesterday, with the last match telling the whole story of the exciting and thrilling start to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The last match was played in Group H, between the hot favourites Spain and the underdogs Switzerland. The match ended with a victory for the Swiss, who had clearly proven that this year’s World Cup would be totally different, full of surprises and speculations. The European Champions Spain were humiliated in front of hundreds of fans, who gathered to see a Spanish display of perfect football.
The Spanish side was not the only one who got a beating at the hands of the underdogs, as many teams were unable to win the matches despite the odds clearly favouring them. The matches started with the home-side South Africa getting a draw against the Mexicans, who were the most favourable to win the tie. Later in the evening, the French side also drew against the Uruguayans, also an unexpected result.
This whole episode continued in the second day of the World Cup. The English side, despite being regarded as one of the favourites to win the World Cup, drew against their archrivals, minnows USA. Later on, during the first phase of the Group stage, Italy also drew against Paraguay and Slovakia drew against the Kiwis. The major twist was still to come, and the Swiss fought the Spanish attack with bravery, emerging victorious despite the unfavourable odds.
The African Nations, playing on their home soil, were largely unable to impress their home fans. Nigeria lost against the falling Argentinean side, while Algeria and Cameroon also lost their fixtures. South Africa and Ivory Coast also failed to win, as they drew their matches. The only team which stood on top was Ghana, beating Serbia by one goal.
The only teams that got the desired results were Brazil, Argentina, Holland and Germany, all winning their opening matches with solid performances. The smaller nations did well on the African soil, which would lead the big nations into rethinking their tactics and strategy.
The team that performed the best was the German side, beating Australia by four goals. This was a solid performance from Germany, who is once again in the race to challenge at the top. The positive thing that emerged from the match was that four different players scored for Germany, which was a big boost for the coach.
South Korea also played very well against a defensively weaker side of Greece. South Korea adopted an open attacking style in the game, ultimately winning the match by two goals.
If the matches from the first phase are analyzed closely, it would be clear that the tactical errors and tinkering with the playing styles led to the failures of the big teams. These were the rare occasions where the managers get complacent, rather than the players. The satisfaction that their team would not be beaten led to the gravest disasters.
The biggest tactical mistakes were committed by Capello against USA. He adopted a very different style of play, starting Heskey alongside Rooney at the front. The most in-form player for England right now is Rooney, and Capello’s tactics made sure that he was the least utilised player on the pitch. In other matches, the teams also suffered because they failed to convert the chances that were created, which caused them to suffer at the later stages of their matches.
However, the failure at the first stage of the World Cup would help the managers to regroup their squads and rethink their strategies. The next round would see a lot of shuffling in the first teams and on the fields. The coaches would adopt a very cautious approach towards the game, despite facing weaker opponents. At the same time, the reliance on the big players would increase a lot. Nonetheless, there is still a lot to play for and it guaranteed that the big names would bounce back to reclaim their place in football.
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