Jabulani to blame for dearth of goals
WE had the biggest upset of the World Cup so far yesterday with Spain losing their match against Switzerland 1-0. Spain are the favourites to win this World Cup and there was a lot expected from them.
They were very good in midfield, passed the ball well and dominated possession, but Switzerland’s defence was excellent — they showed great determination and were very organised.
When Spain brought Torres on in attack they looked dangerous, so I would expect him to start the next match. I also expected them to have shaken off the cobwebs and gone through to the next round, but this has obviously made it more difficult for them. It will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure and the potential backlash of a passionate nation that had anticipated so much.
In the same group, Chile beat Honduras 1-0. Chile — under their coach, Marcelo Bielsa — have one of the best attacking sides in the tournament, as well as strength at the back. Alexis Sanchez looked an exciting prospect on the right wing — he is reportedly a target for a number of the top European clubs. Honduras, while strong in midfield with Palaciosc, were disappointing. Once Chile went 1-0 up, they had to try and equalise, which is not one of their strengths.
Honduras showed great confidence in their qualifying matches — particularly against Mexico — but seemed to lack confidence and looked a little disorganised.
They seemed completely out of synch and didn’t look to attack — I actually think they felt inferior against a South American opponent. In my opinion, they went into the game looking for a 0-0 draw.
Unfortunately, South Africa lost 3-0 against Uruguay, which is a shame as we want the host nation to do well and go through to the next round. In saying that though, they still have a chance to beat France.
At the moment, Uruguay are in the driving seat. The match between France and Mexico could decide South Africa’s fate. Either way, they will want to perform well in their final match against France.
One thing I have to mention about this World Cup is the drop in the amount of goals being scored. Typically at this stage of the tournament, there would have been 35-plus goals scored. So far though, there have only been 25 goals scored. This is all down to the new football.
FIFA has made the ball lighter, thinking that it would help score more goals, but it’s had the opposite effect. Free kicks from a long range with a lighter ball are making the ball more difficult to control and they are not hitting the mark, which has resulted in the quality of goals scored not being as high.