Group G Summary- Brazil and Portugal qualify comfortably
The group which promised so much actually delivered very little in terms of drama and excitement. Five time winners Brazil eased through with two wins and a draw, Portugal pipped Ivory Coast to second spot while the Korean DPR as expected failed to get a point on the board. The deciding factor in the group came in the second round of matches, Portugal taking on North Korea in a re run of the classic 1966 quarter final which Portugal won 5-3. This time it was much simpler the Portuguese sweeping aside their Asian opponents 7-0, with six of the goals scored in the second half. In the evening kick off Brazil eased past the Ivory Coast 3-1 in the best match of the group. Both sides went on to secure qualification with these victories where Brazil set up an all South American clash with Chile on Monday while Portugal meet favourites Spain.
The first game looked a mouth-watering encounter between African giants Ivory Coast and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal; In fact it was anything but. The two teams who are managed by Sven Goran Eriksson and Carlos Queiroz set up with a 4-3-3 formation but played a very defensive minded 4-5-1. The game was cursed pre-match as The Ivoirians’ star player Didier Drogba was only fit enough for a place on the bench. In the first half the only moment of magic came, aptly, from Ronaldo whose 30 yard strike crashed off the post. The Elephants started the second half the better of the two with Gervinho constantly a thorn in the side of Ricardo Carvalho and he came closest with a powerful strike which was palmed away by Eduardo. Drogba did get on but looked unfit and failed to influence the game. The game got what it deserved in the end - a boring 0-0 both teams managing one attempt on target each, simply too scared to lose with systems that cancelled each other out.
David and Goliath were next as Brazil, the most successful team in World Cup history took on lowly North Korea. The first half was very intriguing as North Korea and in particular striker Jong Tae Se unsettled Lucio and Juan in Brazil’s backline with his powerful attacking runs. Brazil failed to create much and at half time it was a surprising 0-0 scoreline with hints that impossible could happen. However, ten minutes after half time Brazil right back Maicon was slipped through by Robinho and two yards from the by-line he caught keeper Myong-Guk Ri out with a fierce drive which crept inside the near post. It was a tremendous strike, one of the goals of the tournament so far – provided he intended to shoot. Brazil grew in confidence from that and Elano added a second after another superb pass from Robinho. Brazil looked more rigid though than in previous tournaments as manager Dunga likes to have his two holding midfielders (Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo) to protect the back four. North Korea kept going though and Ji Yun-Nam scored a consolation goal after some sloppy defending. The Brazilians would be relieved to hear the full time whistle, although comfortable in the second half without the magic of Maicon it could have been a different story.
The second round of matches really saw the group came alive as much improvement was needed if qualification was to be assured. Portugal took a huge step towards qualifying for the second round with the 7-0 thrashing of North Korea. At half time North Korea were very much in it, as a sole Raul Meireles strike edged the European side ahead in a tight contest. the second half was anything but with Simao, Hugo Almeida, Ronaldo, Liedson and a double from Tiago giving the Portuguese a much needed confidence boost. Furthermore Ronaldo’s strike was his first international goal for 16 months and Queiroz will need more from his main man if they are to progress any further.
The evening match pitted Brazil against the Ivory Coast which turned out to be one of the best matches to date. Brazil were looking to add to their unconvincing victory against North Korea while the Africans were desperate to collect more points after their opening draw. Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba gave his side a boost after he was declared fit to start, while Brazil were unchanged. Both teams started tentatively but on 25 minutes the game sprung into life when Kaka found Luis Fabiano who smashed the ball past Boubacar Copa in the Elephants goal to put the Samba side one up. Dunga’s team took control from there and in the second half Fabiano added a controversial second as he looked to have handed the ball twice in the build up. Elano then notched his second goal in as many games finishing off a typically slick Brazilian move to make it 3-0 and game over. Sven Goran Eriksson’s side played their part in a game full of skill and attacking play and deservedly grabbed a goal back when Drogba headed home unmarked from 10 yards. The match finished in controversy though as Kaka picked up a second yellow card when Abdul Kader Keita dramatically went down holding his face after an innocuous collision. All in all it was a dark patch on a brilliant performance from the South Americans which secured their place in the last 16. Ivory Coast would have to hope for a momentous victory over North Korea while they hope Brazil could beat Portugal in the final group matches.
Ivory Coast were hoping for a goal fest going into their final match against North Korea who were already out. It looked promising early on as Yaya Toure and Romaric gave Eriksson’s side a 2-0 lead with just 20 minutes gone. However they failed to capitalise missing a number of chances after more characteristically bad defending by North Korea. In the second half more chances were missed and the score didn’t change till eight minutes from time when Salomon Kalou tapped home a Boka cross from six yards. This left the African side needing Brazil to win 7-0 against Portugal in an intriguing tie to get through. It was evident from the off though that result was impossible in a match which turned out to be one of the worst of the tournament so far. Both sides packed the midfield and were missing key players in the shape of Kaka, Elano, Robinho and Deco. The best chances fell to Brazil in the first half when Nilmar’s shot was pushed onto the bar by Eduardo then Fabiano’s header clipped the outside of the post from Maicon’s post. So both sides played out a 0-0 draw and comfortably qualified for the second round. Portugal looked solid and didn’t concede in the group stage while Brazil looked a unit capable of winning their sixth World Cup.
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