ISSUE 4 OF THE NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE!
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WHERE DID THOSE POINTS COME FROM?
Click here to see which players got you those points and which ones lost them from the group stage.
FRANCE COME FROM BEHIND TO ELIMINATE SPAIN
After going down 1-0 to a David Villa penalty, France rebounded against Spain in their Round of 16 match to win 3-1 and book a quarter-final against Brazil.
Spain dominated the possession (61% to 39%) and in the first half looked to be the better side, having more of a flow and creativity to their attacking moves. The breakthrough came on 28 minutes, Pablo Ibanez going down in the area under the challenge of Lilian Thuram shortly after a corner kick and the referee awarded Spain a penalty. David Villa stepped up and struck the ball low and hard to his left, Barthez guessed the right way and got a touch but the penalty kick was unstoppable. Frank Ribery levelled the scores minutes before half time, Patrick Vieira setting him up. Ribery was able to round Casillas and comfortably slide the ball home for 1-1. The scoreline stayed the same until late in the game, Patrick Vieira scoring his second goal of the tournament with a close-range header. As Spain tried to get back into the match, France broke again, this time it was captain Zinedine Zidane who took the ball and turned inside past Carlos Puyol and finished cleverly, fooling the 'keeper into diving the wrong way. The game finished less than a minute later, 3-1, France going through to a quarter-final against Brazil on Saturday - a rematch of the 1998 final.
RONALDO GETS 15TH, BRAZIL WIN 3-0
Ronaldo became the sole all-time leading scorer in FIFA World Cup history as he netted his 15th in Brazil's 3-0 win over Ghana.
The record was broken just 5 minutes into the game, Ronaldo being released by a brilliant Kaka pass and side-stepping the goalie for the easy finish. Ghana made the best of the chances throughout the rest of the half but the majority of shots were straight at Dida and caused little threat on the Brazilian goal. Brazil looked dangerous on the counter attack, though, and their second goal came on one, Kaka again playing a vital role in the move, giving the ball to Cafu who crossed for Adriano to knee the ball into an open net in first-half stoppage time. The second half provided pretty much the same story as the first, Ghana creating chances and moving well but being unable to really test Dida. With 6 minutes left of the 90, Ze Roberto broke free of the Ghana defense and took it around the Ghana 'keeper, tapping it in to finish off the scoring at a flattering 3-0 to Brazil. It could have been 4 or 5 in the last few minutes but Ghana 'keeper Kingson kept his team in it with some very good saves.
The result sends the reigning World Champions through to a quarter final against either France or Spain on Saturday night.
FIRST SHOOT-OUT SEES UKRAINE THROUGH
The first penalty shoot-out of the 2006 FIFA World Cup saw Ukraine beat Switzerland 3-0 after extra time had finished goalless.
Both teams cancelled each other out during the regulation 90 minutes and even during the further half hour of extra time. The only booking of the game was for Switzerland midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta. Oleksandr Shovkovskyi picked up the Man of the Match award.
Switzerland's inability to score continued into the penalty shoot-out, Marco Streller and Ricardo Cabanas' shots being easily saved by the Ukrainian goalie, Tranquillo Barnetta rocketing his spot kick off the bar. Andriy Shevchenko missed Ukraine's first penalty, but his three team-mates who did score sealed a 3-0 penalty shoot-out win. Artem Milevskiy calmly chipped the ball down the centre of the goal, Sergei Rebrov also found the back of the net and Oleg Gusev (pictured) scored the winner to send Ukraine through to the quarter finals and Switzerland back home.
Ukraine will meet Italy in their quarter-final match on Friday (8pm kick-off).
STOPPAGE TIME PENALTY SINKS SOCCEROOS
Australia put in a strong display against European giants Italy, but fell 1-0 to a 95th minute Francesco Totti penalty.
The Australians controlled the ball for the most part although Italy created the best chances going forward. Marco Materazzi's straight red card on 50 minutes looked to give Australia the chance needed to upset the Italians but they couldn't get the ball in the back of the net, perhaps Harry Kewell missing the match through injury being the key. The penalty came deep into stoppage time in the second half when the game looked to be going to extra time. Fabio Grosso charged into the penalty area and stumbled to the floor over an Australian defender, the referee deciding it was indeed a penalty offense. Francesco Totti, who replaced Alessandro Del Piero in the 75th minute of the game, stepped up to the spot and smashed the ball past Mark Schwarzer, a great penalty kick to send the Italians through to the quarter-finals. Australia are out of the tournament now after shocking many by escaping Group F with Brazil. Italy are set up for a quarter-final match against either Switzerland or Ukraine on Friday (8pm).
ERIKSSON VERSUS SCOLARI III
Sven-Goran Eriksson's England side will meet 'Big Phil' Scolari for the third major tournament in a row in the quarter finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Portugal beat Holland 1-0 in Sunday's Round of 16 game from Nuremberg, Maniche scoring the only goal in a game that was dominated by controversial officiating. The Russian official set the tone of the game early when he booked Mark Van Bommel after just 2 minutes, following up by showing the yellow to Khalid Boulahrouz 5 minutes later. Maniche's goal came in the 23rd minute as Deco put the ball in the box to Pauleta who laid it off to Maniche, the goalscorer faking out the defender before shooting home with some quick footwork. The referee lost control of the match and issued 16 yellow cards (tying a World Cup record) and 4 red cards (setting a new World Cup record). The players weren't entirely blameless though as several bad challenges were joined by pushing, headbutting and near-brawls. The 4 dismissed players all went for their second bookable offenses, Holland losing Boulahrouz and Van Bronckhorst while Portugal had Deco and Costinha sent off. Ruud Van Nistelrooy didn't play at all in the game, being dropped from the starting line-up and not even being subbed in, Marco Van Basten instead choosing Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to try and help his team out.
The 1-0 result sends Portugal through to a quarter final against England next Saturday (4pm) in what will be coach Felipe Scolari's third battle against Sven-Goran Eriksson's England in as many major tournaments. Scolari lead his Brazil side to quarter-final victory over England in the 2002 World Cup and achieved the same feat in the same stage of the 2004 European Championships with Portugal. This time Portugal will be without key midfield duo Costinha and Deco, both suspended for the quarter-final after being sent off against Holland, and possibly without Cristiano Ronaldo who had to be replaced in the Round of 16 match due to injury. Will it be three straight wins for Scolari, or will Eriksson be able to pull one back in the series? Find out next Saturday.
BECKHAM'S FREE-KICK LEADS WAY TO QUARTERS
David Beckham scored his first goal for England in more than 3 years to book England a quarter-final place.
Sven-Goran Eriksson lined up his team in a 4-5-1 formation, Michael Carrick coming into the midfield while Wayne Rooney played the lone striker. Owen Hargreaves replaced Jamie Carragher in defense, Gary Neville still recovering from injury. Both teams had chances to take the lead in the first half, the closest being Carlos Tenorio's shot that hit the bar after being deflected by Ashley Cole. England were awarded a free-kick on the hour mark and captain Beckham lifted it over the wall and snuck it in between the post and the Ecuadorian goalkeeper. The lead could have been doubled when Rooney neatly passed an Ecuador defender and slid it back to Frank Lampard for a free shot from 15 yards, but the Chelsea midfielder lifted his shot well over the bar. Jamie Carragher replaced Joe Cole in a defensive switch and England held on to the lead, Rooney doing well on his own up front. Two subs in the last few minutes of the game saw Aaron Lennon and Stewart Downing replace Beckham and Gerrard. England held on to the 1-0 lead and now face a quarter final tie against either Portugal or Holland next Saturday at 4pm.
TEAMS UPDATE
Thanks to all of you who were able to get in your second round replacements by the June 24th 4pm deadline. The site is constantly being updated with your changes and every team's replacements should be up soon.
MAGNIFICENT MAXI STRIKE SENDS ARGIES THROUGH
The first extra time in the 2006 FIFA World Cup was experienced Saturday evening, Argentina edging Mexico after a thrilling game.
An exciting first half was set up as Mexico started well, captain Rafael Marquez getting on the end of a free kick and sliding the ball in at the far post. The score was level 4 minutes later when Hernan Crespo beat Jared Borgetti to the ball and knocked it in from a corner. Mexico held their own for the rest of the first half and were largely the better side, creating several chances. Bolton Wanderers' Borgetti should have put away at least one of his few chances but he couldn't. Argentina came out in the second half and did well to slow the game down, but neither side could grab a winner in regulation time. The match carried on into extra time and the eventual winner came just 8 minutes in, Maxi Rodriguez chesting down a long pass from Sorin and smashing it with his left foot from outside the box, the 'keeper had little chance as the ball swerved into the net. The result sends Argentina through to the quarter finals where they will meet tournament hosts Germany in what looks to be an exciting game next Friday afternoon.
PODOLSKI NETS TWICE, SENDS SWEDEN HOME
The first game of the knock-out stages saw Germany beat Sweden 2-0 in Munich.
Lukas Podolski gave the hosts the best possible start on, only 4 minutes of the game had passed when he was able to latch onto a free ball and direct it into the net after Miroslav Klose had been closed down by the Swedish defense. Six minutes later Podolski doubled his and his country's tally, Klose again playing a big part in the movement, laying it off for Podolski to strike home. Germany dominated the game in terms of ball possession (63% to 37%) and shots (26 to 5). Things took a turn for the worse later in the first half, Swedish defender Teddy Lucic being undeservedly dismissed for his second yellow card. Sweden were not totally out of the game though as they were awarded a penalty for Christoph Metzelder's challenge on Henrik Larsson after Ibrahimovic had done some good work down the left wing. Larsson took the spot kick himself but sent it over the bar. Michael Ballack had several second-half chances to make it 3 from distance including one that Andreas Isaksson tipped onto the post, but none of them bulged the net. The game finished 2-0 and the hosts await tonight's result between Argentina and Mexico to see who they will play in the quarter finals next Friday.
KNOCK-OUT PHASE BEGINS TODAY
The second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup begins today, beginning with Germany against Sweden in Munich.
Tournament hosts Germany, who comfortably advanced from Group A with 9 points, will begin the knock-out phase when they battle Sweden in today's 4pm kick-off. The Germans wrapped up three wins out of three with a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica in the tournament's opener, a late 1-0 win over Poland and a 3-0 drumming of Ecuador. Miroslav Klose is the top German goalscorer as well as the top tournament goalscorer so far with 4 goals, grabbing 2 against Costa Rica and another brace against Ecuador. Sweden qualified second in Group B behind England who they drew 2-2 with. They also drew against Trinidad & Tobago, 0-0, and beat Paraguay 1-0.
The other Round of 16 game today features many people's now-tournament favourites, Argentina, against Group D runners-up, Mexico. The Argentinians topped what many predicted to be the 'Group of Death', Group C, with a 2-1 victory against Ivory Coast, a 6-0 beating of Serbia & Montenegro and a goalless draw with group runners-up Holland. Argentina have become many people's tournament favourites with Juan Riquelme pulling the strings from midfield and arguably the best combination of strikers in the tournament.
The Mexicans qualified from Group D in a less-than-convincing manner. Their start against Iran was expected, a 3-1 victory making them look strong but a 0-0 draw against Angola threatened their qualification with a 0-2 loss to Portugal not helping their chances. Fortunately for Mexico, Angola couldn't take advantage with their 1-1 draw against Iran and Mexico went through with 4 points.
Check out the 'Fixtures' or 'Standings' page under 'The World Cup' header to check out the match-ups for the Round of 16 and beyond.
Click here to see third group phase news.
Click here to see second group phase news.
Click here to see first group phase news.
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