Halfway to the quarter-finals: weeding out the suspect defences

Uruguay vs S. Korea
The Koreans had a better game, and by better, I mean they enjoyed more possession in the opponent's box, and created more and better chances. It's not that the Uruguayans sat back after their first goal, it's that, despite sitting back, they still were not good at dispossessing the Koreans. Fortunately for the Uruguayans, they were gifted their first goal, and Suarez, the opportunist-extraordinaire, curled in a rare chance.

S. Korea joins Japan as the Asian nations that show off their mastery of the Jabulani free-kick.

USA vs Ghana
This was a game that seems to swing back and forth on a pendulum, but the US was undone, it seems by a combination of Ghanian tenacity, and a lack of energy from their main forwards, even after their preferred XI started the second half.

Prince-Boateng hoodwinked Howard and the US defenders into thinking that he was going to pass the ball, before switching directions and taking a one-time shot. Howard had bitten, and didn't have time to adjust.

I must admit, I was impressed that several of the Ghanians chose to stay on their feet throughout the game, despite being given the opportunity to flop by Americans kicking their heels. Several have noted their antics towards the end of the game, but they were the equivalent of a time-out, the referee does stop his watch, and the defence takes the chance to reset. The Americans who don't like it should see what happens when you take time-outs away from their favourite sports.

The US dominated the second half, and were unfortunate not to get more chances, but cometh the hour, cometh the man, and it wasn't Donovan this time. Gyan stayed on his feet when he could have flopped, and, splitting the defence, hammered the ball home.

England vs Germany
Zonal Marking, perhaps my favourite read after every game, highlights England's problem with Ozil, and, sadly, their own formation. Watching the games, I was never convinced that England would struggle this much defensively, even against a wild card like Ozil, and I'm still convinced that the Germans would never have broken like that in the second half if England didn't push so for the equalizer. Truly, I don't think anyone in the England camp anticipated how fast the Germans could be, and how good their outlet passes could be. It's almost as if England, seeing themselves as World-Beaters, believed that other teams would have the same problems. As it happens, England is England, and they failed to see Germany for who they are in their current form.

People have addressed the short-comings of the England team as the players not being good enough, or simply not being "World class", which is utter bollocks for anyone who has followed the Premier League over the last decade. Many of the players on the team have a crucial role to play for the club team who employ them, and many clubs in Europe would fall over themselves to buy one of them if they had the money. The problem is that we cannot translate domestic success into international success, especially if they all come from different playing systems, and to me, it truly seemed like they could not adjust to the system Capello had in place, as a group of individuals, and so their movement and their passing suffered, and they failed to form a team.

What now? The "Golden Generation" was supposed to win Germany 2006, and as we look forward to Brazil 2014, many of the midfielders and defenders from this tournament will not be on that team. We have two years to rebuild and re-adjust for Euro 2012, and I can only hope that Capello changes his system in time.

Argentina vs Mexico
It seems like the Argentinians outclassed Mexico, but I'm disappointed, like in the England game, the first half score line was defined by a defensive mistake, and an erroneous call. Mexico chased the score admirably, and Hernandez's goal made me fear the Rooney-Hernandez partnership we'll see in the Premier League next year, woo, I think he's going to be my latest source of hatred. But, foreign players are hit and miss when it comes to the speed of the Premier League so we'll see.

Tevez's goal was hit so hard, I think that if we were to look at the frames 1/32 second by 1/32 second, there would actually be some frames where you couldn't see the ball.

Blatter
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