Days 11 & 12

I completely missed day 11, I've not even seen the games, but i do know the results. In a nutshell Switzerland went to town on Togo leaving a disheartened African nation in a 2-0 wake. Next, the Ukraine completely dismantled Saudi Arabia 4-0. What is it with Group H and the 4-0 scorelines? Spain, as the final game of the day and the last game in the second round of the group stages won 3-1 over Tunisia. The Spaniards went into the break a goal down, but then Cesc Fabregas came on in mid-field and revolutionized the game while galvanizing his team-mates. The Arsenal man is quickly becoming a national hero for Spain. At this stage the following teams are definitely going home, even with one more match to play: Costa Rica Poland Paraguay Iran Serbia & Montenegra For the next 4 days, the tournament will host 2 games at a time. These third-day matches are critical quite often, so FIFA wisely refuses to afford any team an advantage by knowing the outcome of the other game in the group. So, Group A plays both games this morning (they're on right now), while Group B plays later in the day. Tomorrow it'll be Groups C & D and so on until the group stages are done. At the moment, Germany is besting Ecuador on a Klose goal in the 4th minute. While Poland & Costa Rica, playing for honours & nothing more, are tied 1-1. This final race to the finish is always one of my favourite parts of the tournament, because for so many teams it's not over until it's over. Unfortunately it means that I will not get to see every match. For the next four days I have to make a decision on which games to watch. Today was easy, I don't need to see Poland play Costa Rica in a nothing game. I do, however, want to watch the Germany/Ecuador game. Other groups are not so easy, like Group E for instance. It's vitally important to see both the Italy/Czech Republic game and the US/Ghana game, but a choice has to be made. I'll tell you which one I choose when it happens. **UPDATE** Group A is complete! Sad Costa Rica went through the entire tournament without winning, but they did manage to score three goals. Poland beat Costa Rica 2-1 on the day and the South Americans are going home. Poland, too, but with a win in their pocket & their eyes on the the next competition. Germany were the decisive winners of Group A. They placed Ecuador squarely in 2nd place with a 3-0 win in Berlin. The group shakes out thus: Germany 3 wins for 9 points. 8 goals for - 2 against. Ecuador 2 wins, 1 loss for 6 points. 5 goals for - 3 against Poland 1 win, 2 losses for 3 points. 2 goals for - 4 against Costa Rica 0 wins, 3 losses for 0 points. 3 goals for - 9 goals against. Germany will play the 2nd place of Group B, while Ecuador will take the 1st place team. Those line-ups will be determined in the next few hours. **UPDATE** The second games for today are underway. We're 25 minutes into the matches and thus far the teams are holding steady at 0 goals each. Unlike the teams in Group A, where there two clear-cut winners and two clear-cut losers, this group is a little more murky. England are definitely through, but will they finish in first or second? Sweden, who have won one and drawn one, can leap England into first place with a victory in today's game. Should that happen, then Trinidad & Tobago, along with Parguay are going home. Should Sweden draw against England then again, both T&T and Paraguay head to the showers. However, should England win then Trinidad & Tobago can pass Sweden on goal-dfferential; but since T&T have yet to score and Sweden have yet to concede, this final scenario seems unlikely at best. England started the game with Owen & Rooney up top, a marvelously skilled pair but it's unlikely to work. And we certainly aren't going to see it work today because Owen is off on the 3rd minute and replaced by Peter Crouch. Someone please give Sven a knock on the noggin. The man has completely lost the plot. That's it for now. Until then, Wastrel On! (listening to: Paul Oakenfold & Le Tigre)