On the Sixth Day of the World Cup

the football gods gave us: Spain v Ukraine Tunisia v Saudi Arabia Germany v Poland. Spain v Ukraine is on right now and at the break, Spain is up 2-nil on two set piece goals. Ukraine were the first team to qualify for the tournament even through a very tough qualifying group that included both Greece & Turkey. So, we were expecting a great game, but instead in the first half the Ukraine have just rolled over to get their bellies scratched. The seem completely lost & befuddled as though they really are playing outside their depth. On the other hand, Spain under the tutelage of that bigoted bag of windAragones, are playing a complete game of football. Their offence is starting at the back and moving forward while their defence includes every person on the pitch. They're doing a brilliant job of contianing & dictating. We'll wait to see what the second half brings for Spain, who have the longest unbeaten streak in World Cup history and for the Ukraine who are playing in their first World Cup ever. **UPDATE** the first game of the day is over. and, although the result is not surprising, the scoreline is at 4-nil to the Spanish. I'd have truly counted on the Ukrainians to make a better show of it then they did. This being their first World Cup ever, they have a lot to prove. Perhaps they can rise to their level against the Saudi Arabia team in 5 days. I'll be reporting back on SA v Tunisia after it starts. **UPDATE** It's half time in the Tunisia/Saudi Arabia derby and the Tunisians have a 1 goal advantage. The Tunisian coach Lumerre believes wholeheartedly in his team saying that this is the "third consecutive World Cup and the team has to go through. They have every right to expect to be among the 16 best nations in the world." Let's see if his players have as much faith as the coach. The star striker for Tunisia, Santos, is out with a shin injury (shin injury?) and will not feature in this first match at all. He hopes (needs!) to be fit for the second match against Spain on the 19th of June. Saudi Arabia is playing now in their 4th consecutive World Cup and seem fit & ready for the contest. They're hoping to at least equal their efforts in their debut World Cup (USA 1994) where they went through the first round into the second. Time will tell. **UPDATE** We're just a few minutes into the second half and already Saudi Arabia have equalised through an Al-Kahtani goal from a Noor cross. It looks like they're not going to roll over like the poor Ukraine did this morning. No belly-scritching for the Saudis. **UPDATE** What a fascinating game. The Saudis absolutely were not willing to lay down and play dead to their Tunisian counter-parts, so instead on the 84th minute, super-sub Al-Jaber with his first touch on the ball fires one into the net to give the Saudi's the lead. Disappointingly for them, but great for the football nation that loves good drama, the Tunisians just weren't quite ready to give up either. 3 Minutes into overage at the very death of the match, a Jaidi - Jaziri - Jaidi pinball game ends with the ball in the back of the SA net. Magnificent play by both teams earned them both an important point in this critical match. So, with 2 matches having been played in all groups, the tables look like this: Group A Germany 3 Ecuador 3 Costa Rica 0 Poland 0 Group B England 3 Trinidad & Tobago 1 Sweden 1 Paraguay 0 Group C Argentina 3 Netherlands 3 Ivory Coast 0 Serbia & Montenegro 0 Group D Mexico 3 Portugal 3 Angola 0 Iran 0 Group E Czech Republic 3 Italy 3 Ghana 0 USA 0 Group F Australia 3 Brazil 3 Croatia 0 Japan 0 Group G South Korea 3 France 1 Switzerland 1 Togo 0 Group H Spain 3 Tunisia 1 Saudi Arabia 1 Ukraine 0 One more match left for today. The first match in the second part of round 1. Germany vs Poland in Gelsenkirchen. Kick off is in about 45 minutes. See you then. **UPDATE** Nearly at the break in this must-win game for both teams. Poland must win having suffered an embarassing defeat to Ecuador on the first day of the tournament, while Germany must win so as to avenge the defeat they were given by Poland in WC 2002. That defeat sent them crashing out of the tournament and the Deutsch shall not suffer this to happen again. Still, at this point in the game, it certainly looks as though Poland want it much more than Germany. They're ahead in nearly every stat except the one that counts and there, the two teams are even. It's a nil-nil draw. **UPDATE** It seems that my source for the data I provided above was woefully mistaken. I have since learned that in 85 years of footballing history, Poland have never beat Germany. After lastnight's game the record stands at 13-0-1. Germany's motivation was to keep that streak alive and secure passage through to the next round, which they effectively did. **UPDATE** and more late drama in the final match of the day. Hapless Poland vs home country, Germany in the MotD played to a nil-nil for 92 minutes. Then, finally, the deadlock was broken as super-sub Neuville slotted it home. Soboleski, the Poland mid-fielder recieved a second yellow, creating the fourth red card of the tournament. A quick substitution after that by Germany brought on Neuville and sparked a German renaissance. Prior to the sub, the teams were equal on Shots on Goal, but extreme pressure from the host nation for the last 15 minuts of the match was always going to cause tears for the Poland camp. In those last 15 minutes, Germany racked up 13 shots on goal with 8 of them requiring player intervention to prevent the net from shaking. Truly, at this stage, Poland will go home while Germany advances. That's that for the day, folks. More to come tomorrow. Wastrel On. (Currently listening to: Elan & Elvis Presley & Sloan & Marty Robbins)