Teams in Group of Death see action; New Zealand make history

In more World Cup action today, fans witnessed what was probably the most anticipated match of the group stage – between Portugal and the Ivory Coast.

Being in the group of death, it is likely that one of those two giants will not proceed to the next round, assuming that tournament favourites Brazil top the group.

Ivory Coast definitely proved they will not be a push-over in the group, showing skill, pace and desire to win throughout the match. They kept a fairly unimpressive Portugal at bay, earning their first point of the tournament.

Portugal captain Christiano Ronaldo was up to his usual antics, diving left, right and centre and earning a yellow card for mouthing off. Not much has changed.

In order for Portugal to go anywhere they are definitely going to have to learn to play as a united team, instead of individual stars – something that Ivory Coast showed they can definitely do.

Brazil also took to the pitch today, facing a People’s Republic of Korea side they definitely weren’t expecting. The first half consisted of Korea defending feeble attempts at scoring by Brazil – the five-time champions looking nothing like side everyone was expecting.

It was obvious that Brazil coach Dunga was livid with his squad’s performance at the half, his facial expression emotionless throughout.

However, Brazil must have taken a lashing from Dunga during the half, as they came out a different side. They began to complete passes, and make impressive runs at the Korean keeper.

Finally, 10 minutes into the second half, Maicon broke through giving Brazil a lead they would not relinquish. Then, 20 minutes from full-time, Robinho finally combined with Elano for a beautiful, precise goal that showed us the old Brazil we all love to hate is still there. It just took them some time to warm up.

This all came after New Zealand shocked Group F by drawing against Slovakia. Winston Reid headed home the equalizer in the 93rd minute, shocking the Slovakian side and fans alike. Reid didn’t think twice about the yellow card he would receive when he stripped his shirt in celebration, after making history scoring his country’s first ever goal at a World Cup.

With all the teams in Group F now tied at 1, things just got a lot more interesting for the defending champs Italy.