results of the matches,friday-25 fifa world cup

Elephants' roar not enough

Yaya Toure and Romaric scored first-half goals and Salomon Kalou added a late third as Côte d'Ivoire defeated Korea DPR in Nelspruit on Friday, yet Portugal's 0-0 draw with Brazil ensured the west Africans still ended the afternoon eliminated. With four points, the Elephants finish one behind the Portuguese, while Brazil top Group G with seven and the Koreans go home after three defeats.

Going into the match knowing they needed to make up at least nine goals on the Portuguese, the Ivorians attacked from the start at a raucous Mbombela Stadium as Kader Keita forced a good save from Korea DPR goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk in the opening minute. The always-dynamic Gervinho looked to have done enough to open the scoring in the 11th minute when he collected the ball on the byline and pulled it past the goalkeeper and across the face of an empty net, but no Ivorian was on hand to take advantage.

But the Elephants were ahead just three minutes later as full-back Arthur Boka's ball sliced through the defence and found Yaya Toure in space on the edge of the area. The Barcelona man calmly brought it under control and curled a right-footed shot past the diving keeper. Midfielder Romaric tickled the outside of the post with a speculative shot shortly after before doubling the lead on 20 minutes. Didier Drogba made the goal with a fabulous bit of skill, holding off a defender, bringing the ball down and then smacking a shot off the underside of the bar. While appeals were made that the ball had crossed the line, Romaric kept his concentration and coolly nodded the ball through a group of defenders.

When the North Koreans threatened it was from the pace and industry of Japan-based striker Jong Tae-Se on the counter or from free-kicks, with captain Hong Yong-Jo's curling effort in the 24th minute the best they produced. But it was Côte d'Ivoire creating most of the opportunities, and Gervinho had two good openings before the half-time break. In the 38th minute, he broke onto a through-ball in the box but his shot skimmed the bar with the goalkeeper at his mercy. Then, just before the interval, he could only loop a header from Drogba's cross straight at the goalkeeper.

Korea DPR held onto the ball more in the second period, and Jong threatened with a low shot to Boubacar Barry's near post in the 51st minute. Drogba could have increased the Elephants' lead in the middle of the half with two headers but he failed to keep either on target. Côte d'Ivoire coach Sven-Goran Eriksson brought on forwards Aruna Dindane and Kalou in the 64th minute in the quest for more goals, but they left themselves more open at the back and Jong had two chances to score in the 81st minute, with the Korean sharpshooter denied only by some desperate defending. Just a minute after that, Côte d'Ivoire finally found their third – merely a consolation at that point – as Kalou managed to touch in Boka's cross ahead of the charging goalkeeper.

friday-25-results,of the matches

Spain edge Chile, both go through

Spain beat ten-man Chile 2-1 to finish top of Group H and book a Round of 16 meeting with Portugal, while their opponents' courageous display was rewarded with a date with Brazil.

Goals from David Villa and Andres Iniesta, coupled with Marco Estrada's dismissal, appeared to give the European champions an impregnable lead at the break, but Rodrigo Millar's deflected strike got the South Americans back into a game they were desperate to win to guarantee a place in the knockout phase. As it transpired, Switzerland's inability to beat Honduras ensured Marcelo Bielsa's side advanced – something the Chilean players discovered, to their immense relief, after their faces had been pictures of desperation upon the final whistle in Tshwane/Pretoria.

A capacity crowd at Loftus Versfeld Stadium anticipated a beguiling duel between two footballing sides, whose players swiftly began satisfying those expectations. Chile's Alexis Sanchez drew gasps from the spectators with an eye-catching drag-back, while Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta served notice of his return to fitness and form by nonchalantly side-stepping two opponents and freeing Villa.

The contest's first chance fell to Fernando Torres, who raced in behind the Chile defence but, under pressure inside the area, blazed over. A better one then fell to Mark Gonzalez. Jean Beausejour squared the ball across goal and, although it was marginally behind the 25-year-old winger, he will have been disappointed at his failure to get a decent connection on a close-range shot.

Chile continued to push the pace until the 24th minute. That was when the Europeans took the lead. And that was when Villa became the first Spaniard to reach ten goals in major international competitions. Xabi Alonso started the move, robbing Jorge Valdivia of possession and launching the ball forward. Torres gave chase, outstripping the last Chilean defender and forcing Claudio Bravo to race from his line and, while sliding, divert the ball away from the Liverpool striker's path. Unfortunately for the Real Sociedad goalkeeper, his clearance dropped into the path of another clinical Spaniard and Villa, from 40 yards, duly curled the ball into the unguarded net.

Thirteen minutes later, Spain moved into a two-goal lead. Alonso carried the ball through the midfield and fed Villa, who broke into the area and, after drawing two opponents to him, cut the ball back for Iniesta to effortlessly pass it into the bottom-left corner of Bravo's goal. The referee, Marco Rodriguez, then red-carded Estrada, who had tripped Torres as he was galloping into the penalty area seconds before the goal.

Logic said that it was curtains for Chile. Bielsa, their indomitable coach, said otherwise. He remodelled his tactics, electing to attack through the centre rather than from the wings, introducing Millar and Esteban Paredes for Valdivia and Gonzalez in an adventurous double substitution. It immediately reaped dividends. Two minutes after the restart, Millar's shot deflected off Gerard Pique and looped over goalkeeper Iker Casillas and into his net.

Thereafter, however, Chile struggled to unravel their opponents' tactics and, when they did, Parades wasted half-chances. Villa fluffed better ones, his touch deserting him twice in quick succession around the hour mark. Vicente del Bosque's side then intelligently played possession football. Gradually, they exhausted their adversaries, who were already a man down. Bielsa bellowed instructions from the touchline, but Spain's impeccable ball retention left the Chileans unable to execute their coach’s orders.

There were looks of relief and delight from the Spaniards upon the final whistle. There were ones of uncertainty from the Chileans. That was until they heard the news: they were through to the Round of 16.

soccer news

In a FIFA World Cup™ first, neither the reigning champions nor the runners-up from the previous edition have reached the Round of 16 here at South Africa 2010. With France having exited on Tuesday, today was the turn of holders Italy to bow out after a dramatic defeat by debutants Slovakia, who reached the knockout phase in the process.

Japan, too, made history by clinching a last-16 berth for the first time on foreign soil, while Paraguay had never previously qualified for the second round as group winners. The already-qualified Netherlands, for their part, ended their Group E campaign with a third win to become only the second team so far, after Diego Maradona’s Argentina, to advance with a 100 per cent record.

Results
Slovakia 3-2 Italy
Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand
Denmark 1-3 Japan
Cameroon 1-2 Netherlands

Goal of the day
Fabio Quagliarella, Slovakia 3-2 Italy, 92 mins: Already in added time and with his side desperately chasing a lifelife, Italy’s No18 coolly collected the ball on the edge of box before sending an exquisite chip into the top corner of Jan Mucha’s net. Unfortunately for La Nazionale, the equaliser that would have sent them through proved beyond them.

One to remember
Italy’s defeat meant they joined France in packing their bags for home. This is the first time that the two FIFA World Cup finalists from one edition have both been knocked out in the first round of the following tournament.

Quote of the day
“I assume complete responsibility for this failure. I was convinced this squad could do a lot better than that – not win the World Cup, but do a lot better. When a team goes into a match as important as this with fear in their stomachs and heavy legs, it’s because the coach hasn’t prepared them well enough mentally, physically and tactically, but above all mentally. I offer my apologies to Italian sport, the players, the football association, everyone. I’m very sad that my adventure with the Italian football association has come to an end in this fashion,” Marcello Lippi, Italy coach.

Stat of the day
3 – A new FIFA World Cup record for Japan, who had never before scored three times in one game in the competition. What is more, two of their goals against the Danes came from sumptous free-kicks.

Voice of the fans
“This is a real shock. Even though Italy had been terrible in their previous games, I still expected them to pull a win out of the bag and qualify. Credit to Slovakia, though, they really deserved this win, they were just fantastic and I am so happy for them! This World Cup has been so interesting so far,” lutontown1988 (England).

Have your say
Slovakia’s reward for ousting the world champions is a Round of 16 date with the Netherlands. Can Vladimir Weiss’s team spring a surprise once more?

friday-25--matches fifa world cup!!!

The Round of 16 picture will take final shape after today's games as the curtain falls on Groups G and H. Three hopefuls will be able to toast their progress at the final whistle, with Brazil having stayed faithful to a 32-year tradition by booking their ticket with a match to spare.

The five-time winners face Portugal in a final contest high on prestige, even if their cousins from across the Atlantic are also strongly placed in Group G thanks to their three-point cushion over Côte d'Ivoire and a comfortable goal-difference advantage. The Elephants will nonetheless pursue their slim chance to the full by trying to rack up a heavy win over Korea DPR.

Everything remains feasible in Group H, on the other hand, with all four contenders dreaming of the knockout phase. Front-runners Chile are in the healthiest position given their six points from two outings and a draw against Spain would guarantee them top spot, while the European champions must triumph to have a chance of doing the same. They face pressure from Switzerland, who meet Honduras, and wins for both European teams would leave three sides on six points and everything coming down to goal difference or goals scored. In short, expect suspense.

The matches
Korea DPR-Côte d'Ivoire, Group G, Nelspruit, 16.00
Portugal-Brazil, Group G, Durban, 16.00
Chile-Spain, Group H, Tshwane/Pretoria, 20.30
Switzerland-Honduras, Group H, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, 20.30

The big game
Chile-Spain

Question marks have hung over Spain since their arrival in South Africa, their performances falling short of the standards they set en route to European glory and in qualifying for South Africa. Upset 1-0 by Switzerland in their opening encounter, Vicente del Bosque's men lifted themselves to down Honduras 2-0, but they spurned an incalculable number of chances in that match while also giving Los Catrachos hope on the break.

The fluid, one-touch football that has been Spain's trademark over the last two years has been less prominent as the pressure of the occasion and the demands of a long season have both taken their toll, and like a number of European teams they have thus far struggled to shine. In contrast, Chile have been a revelation during their twin 1-0 successes, those scorelines hardly reflecting their domination in both games.

Perhaps the only concern for Marcelo Bielsa's men is how to kill off games and the Argentinian coach is looking to Humberto Suazo to find his feet after the striker finished top scorer during South American qualifying on ten goals. Chile will also strive to deny Spain an early breakthrough and hope that self-doubt creeps into their play.

In focus
Tiago v Julio Baptista

It can be a daunting task standing in for a household name but that is the challenge facing both these players with Deco out for Portugal and Kaka missing for Brazil. Tiago has already demonstrated his ability courtesy of two goals and an influential display against Korea DPR, but for Julio Baptista his FIFA World Cup™ adventure is about to begin. The match itself may be set to unfold with little at stake, but it will be no less intriguing to watch the former Chelsea midfielder lock horns with the player they call 'The Beast'.

What they said
"Côte d'Ivoire smile more than any other team I've coached in my career, and I've coached quite a few," Sven-Goran Eriksson, Côte d'Ivoire coach.