Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Dear Spain: Lawl. That is all.

So the World Cup has been lacking some major upsets in the first round of games at the group stage, as the final two games of the first round went forward today. While there were some surprises and minor upsets in the opening week, there still wasn't a grand upset to make the World Cup feel like the World Cup.

Leave it up to Spain to take that privilege in the final first round game of the group stage. Before World Cup play began, Spain was touted by many to be THE team to beat, something which can be seen in nearly every world cup pool and betting circle.

Out of all the groups in the World Cup opener, Group H (Spain, Honduras, Chile and Switzerland) seemed to be a relatively simple challenge for a team like Spain. That is until they lost 1-0 today to Switzerland after a long and very entertaining game, especially in the second half. Despite out-shooting their opponents and having possession for over 60% of the game, they didn't manage to deliver on many a good opportunity.

Spanish football fans will have to hope they can get back on the ball - so to speak - seeing as how many believed Switzerland to be the 'simplest' opponent Spain would face in the Group stage.

Round two of Group stage play also opened today with South Africa meeting Uruguay, much to the eventual chagrin of the host nations fans. Eyes will be on many teams to see how they fare in round 2. Many will be focused on England Friday to see if they can get a strong foothold in Group C, and on Germany who hope to have another breakout performance against Serbia, after trampling the socceroos.

Other teams to watch closely: Ghana, Netherlands, France, Italy, Ivory Coast and Portugal.

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