The Spanish edition of “Write the Future” (well, “Escribe el Futuro”)..worth watching:
main
CommentaryGeneral Knowledge
Today’s mathematics: 32 games done, 31 to go
We just crossed the halfway point of the tournament, when measured in terms of number of games played. The tournament consists of a total of 63 games, of which:
32 games have been played over the past 11 days: 4 games in each of the 8 groups;
there are 16 games remaining in the group phase: 2 games in each of the 8 groups, with 4 games per day over the next 4 days (Tues-Fri);
16 teams will advance to the knockout phase: 2 teams from each of the 8 groups;
15 games will be played in the knockout phase: 8 + 4 + 2 + 1.
So the total # of 63 can be broken down as follows:
63 = 32 + 16 + 15 = 8*4 + 8*2 + (8 + 4 + 2 + 1).
Let me know if you see anything wrong with the math here.
Live Blog
Spain v Honduras – Liveblogged Commentary
Spain just kicked off against Honduras–and so begins the highly anticipated return of Spain to the field of play after their shocking loss to Switzerland last week.
Req’d–or at least highly suggested reading going into this match is Adam Novy’s listicle: “5 Reasons Spain Lost to Switzerland“..
Starting lineups:
Spain – Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Juan Capdevila, Jesus Navas, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Fernando Torres, David Villa.
Honduras – Noel Valladares, Sergio Mendoza, Osman Chavez, Maynor Figueroa, Emilio Izaguirre, Danilo Turcios, Wilson Palacios, Amado Guevara, Roger Espinoza, Walter Martinez, David Suazo.
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan).
Commentary after the jump…
Live Blog
Liveblogging Chile v Switzerland
Like the last couple games we’ve (semi-)liveblogged, we won’t try to keep up with the game play-by-play, but we will post some thoughts and observations on the flow of play and on the individual players.
This match just kicked off a few minutes ago. It should be an interesting and competitive match, as both teams won their opening games: Chile impressed in defeating Honduras; while Switzerland shocked the world by upsetting Spain.
Starting lineups:
Chile: Bravo, Isla, Jara, Ponce, Vidal; Carmona, Medel; Sanchez, Fernandez, Beausejour; Suazo
Switzerland: Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Von Bergen, Grichting, Ziegler; Behrami, Huggel, Inler, Fernandes; N’Kufo, Frei
Time-stamped observations after the jump…
Commentary
The Big E.A.S.Y. (via @johnglally)
Via an Englishman in New York, @johnglally (whom we hope will soon shift (or at least crosspost) his commentary from Twitter to CultFootball):
“I wonder why England players might suffer from complacency and overconfidence…”
Dateline = December 2009, when the group draw was announced.
Live Blog
Notes on Slovakia-Paraguay
We’re not liveblogging this one, as the game is already in the 29th minute, and in fact Paraguay just scored to go up 1-0. But we’ll use our liveblogging format nevertheless for some notes and observations about the match–probably mostly about the Paraguayan side, as we’re guessing they’re the more likely to advance out of the group.
Starting lineups below, and notes after the jump…
Slovakia: Jan Mucha, Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Zdeno Strba, Vladimir Weiss, Jan Kozak, Stanislav Sestak, Robert Vittek, Jan Durica, Marek Hamsik, Kornel Salata.
Paraguay: Justo Villar, Claudio Morel, Carlos Bonet, Roque Santa Cruz, Enrique Vera, Paulo Da Silva, Victor Caceres, Cristian Riveros, Nelson Valdez, Lucas Barrios, Antolin Alcaraz.
Live Blog
(Semi-)Liveblogging Netherlands-Japan
Some thoughts on Netherlands-Japan collected below as we watch the match on this fine Saturday morning.
It won’t be liveblogging, as we’re watching the game about 80 minutes behind real-time off the DVR, and hence there’s no point in trying to give a play-by-play. This’ll be more a collection of thoughts about the game–particularly the efforts of the Dutch, as they seek to build upon their 1st win, solidify their position at the top of this group, and develop some momentum heading into the remainder of the tourament.
Video
Brilliant Orange
Inspired by Tommy’s couple video posts today, I thought I’d do one myself.
Consider this collection of videos a warmup for the Netherlands v Japan game kicking off in a couple hours (and also a warmup, perhaps, for the capsule history of Dutch football I’m thinking about writing up).