32 MATCHES DONE, 32 TO GO

Slovenia 2-2 United States
England 0-0 Algeria
Germany 0-1 Serbia
Ghana 1-1 Australia
Netherlands 1-0 Japan
Cameroon 1-2 Denmark
Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay
Italy 1-1 New Zealand
Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast
Portugal 7-0 Korea DPR (PRK)
Chile 1-0 Switzerland
Spain 2-0 Honduras

You know one thing I noticed very obviously during the first round? That all the players featured in the nice Nike advertisement did not perform well and some of them continue to play badly during the second round.

If Spain grabbed the headlines in the first round for the upset by Switzerland, then the second round headlines must be given to France. For the wrong reasons though.....England too are somehow going the France way. There are speculations but not yet. For both countries, the captains seemed to be the cause. Germany too lost to Serbia apart from France losing to Mexico.

For the right reasons, Brazil and Portugal have to be the ones to grab the headlines. Brazil showed their samba in the win over Ivory Coast while Portugal finally broke the World Cup dry spell of goals with 7. Spain, England, Germany, Italy and France especially have the risk of missing out on the knock-out stage. Their third and final match in the group will be extremely crucial and for France, they must hope that either Uruguay or Mexico win the match for them to have any mathematical chance.

This World Cup has so far been the most closely fought competition since I first watched football in 1996. Big teams do not perform up to expectations. Although I have to say that coincidentally some of them like Italy and France are loaded with players past their prime, those on the brink of retirement. Smaller teams played very well defensively, giving bigger teams hard time to unlock the defences. Brazil is the only team out of 8 groups so far guaranteed of qualification no matter how the matches will end in the last round. This is how close the competition is so far.

World Cup 2010: Who Can Qualify For The Next Stage?
A look at the numbers...
By Ewan Macdonald
Jun 21, 2010 11:00:00 PM

Goal.com looks at the possibilities for every team from Group A to H, heading into the final days of the group stage.

Group A
Fixtures:
France-South Africa
6/22/10 4:00PM
Mexico-Uruguay
6/22/10 4:00PM

* Uruguay need only a draw to progress to the next stage in first place. Should they lose and France or South Africa draw, they will qualify in second place. Should they lose and one of France and South Africa wins, it will come down to goal difference.
* Mexico need only a draw to progress to the next stage in second place. Should they lose and France or South Africa draw, they will qualify in second place. Should they lose and one of France and South Africa wins, it will come down to goal difference.
* France require a win over South Africa; and for Uruguay and Mexico not to draw; and to secure a superior goal difference to the losing side of the other fixture, in order to qualify in second place.
* South Africa require a win over France; and for Uruguay and Mexico not to draw; and to secure a superior goal difference to the losing side of the other fixture, in order to qualify in second place.

Group B
Fixtures:
Nigeria-South Korea
6/22/10 8:30PM
Greece-Argentina
6/22/10 8:30PM

* Argentina need only avoid defeat against Greece to qualify in first place. Defeat is fine, too, unless it is by three or more goals, and South Korea win, in which case they will finish third. Second place is possible if they lose by a high margin to Greece but are not leapfrogged by South Korea.
* South Korea are guaranteed to qualify in second place if they win and Greece drop points; or if they win by a higher margin than Greece; or the same margin whilst preserving a goals scored superiority.
* Greece will finish second if they secure more points than South Korea. If they win and South Korea win, then it comes down to three-way goal difference, in which the Greeks must score two goals more than the Koreans.
* Nigeria must beat South Korea and hope that Greece lose to Argentina. Only this set of results will see them qualify in second place.

Group C
Fixtures:
Slovenia-England
6/23/10 4:00PM
United States-Algeria
6/23/10 4:00PM

* Slovenia will qualify for the next stage with a draw against England. They can also qualify in second place - or even first - with a narrow defeat, providing that Algeria win only by a slim margin against the United States.
* The United States will guarantee qualification with a win over Algeria, and will finish first if Slovenia can only draw at the time, or if England win by a narrow margin. A draw will be enough if Slovenia beat England, or if Slovenia and England draw while the USA preserve a better goal record than England. The only scenarios that see the USA finish first instead of second is if they secure a better goal difference than Slovenia whilst the Europeans draw with England; or if England beat Slovenia and the USA retain a better goal difference than them. Meanwhile if the USA lose they are definitely out.
* England are guaranteed to progress if they defeat Slovenia. They can also qualify in second place if both matches end in a draw and they score three more than the United States do in their tie with Algeria (e.g. 3-3 and 0-0.) Defeat eliminates England entirely, as does a draw if either USA or Algeria pick up a win. First place is possible for England only if they win and the USA and Algeria draw, or Algeria win.
* Algeria cannot win the group but can qualify in second if they beat the USA and Slovenia win; draw; or lose by a significantly greater margin than Algeria.

Group D
Fixtures:
Ghana- Germany
6/23/10 8:30PM
Australia-Serbia
6/23/10 8:30PM

* Ghana need only avoid defeat to qualify. If Serbia beat Australia and Ghana and Germany draw, Ghana finish second. If Serbia beat Australia and Germany beat Ghana, Ghana finish third.If Australia draw with Serbia and Ghana retain their goals scored advantage over Serbia in a one-goal loss, Ghana qualify in second; a larger margin of defeat results in a third place finish. If Australia beat Serbia and Ghana lose, Ghana qualify in second place.
* Germany will qualify in first place with a win over Ghana, assuming Serbia fail to beat Australia by a three goal margin. A draw with Ghana will see them through in second if Australia and Serbia draw; or if Australia win without repairing their goal difference. Any other scenario results in elimination for the Germans.
* Serbia will qualify with a win over Australia. They will finish second in doing so unless Ghana and Germany draw; or if Germany win and Serbia can repair their goal difference over them. A draw will be sufficient for Serbia to qualify in second place if Germany lose; or if Germany win and Serbia secure a better goal record than Ghana.
* Australia will qualify in second place if they beat Serbia and Ghana beat Germany. They can also qualify in second if they win and Ghana and Germany draw, providing that Australia can overcome a mammoth goal difference margin of seven; or if Germany beat Ghana and Australia can overcome a their goal difference margin vis-a-vis the Africans. Realistically Australia need a win, and a Ghana win.

Group E
Fixtures:
Denmark-Japan
6/24/10 8:30PM
Cameroon-Holland
6/24/10 8:30PM

* The Netherlands have already qualified and are likely to finish first. They will only finish second if they lose and if the winner of the Denmark-Japan fixture can secure a better goal record than the Dutch.
* Japan will qualify in second place with a draw or a win against Denmark.. They can win the group if the Dutch lose and the Japanese can secure a superior goal record while winning versus Denmark.
* Denmark will qualify in second place with a win against Denmark - no other result will suffice. They can win the group if the Dutch lose and the Danes can secure a superior goal record while winning versus Japan.
* Cameroon are eliminated.

Group F
Fixtures:
Paraguay-NZ
6/24/10 4:00PM
Slovakia-Italy
6/24/10 4:00PM

* Paraguay Paraguay will qualify for the next stage in first place with a win against New Zealand. They can also finish second if they lose and Italy and Slovakia draw; or if Slovakia beat Italy while repairing their goal difference deficit over the Paraguayans. Any other scenario results in elimination.
* Italy will qualify with a win over Slovakia. They will also qualify if they draw and Paraguay defeat New Zealand; or if they draw while Paraguay and New Zealand draw, while scoring more than New Zealand. Should Italy and New Zealand both draw by the exact same scoreline then a drawing of lots will take place to determine qualification. Italy can only finish in first place if they win, while Paraguay and New Zealand draw and Italy achieve a better goal difference than Paraguay. Or, if Italy win, New Zealand win, and Italy achieve a better goal difference over New Zealand. Any other scenario will result in elimination.
* New Zealand New Zealand will qualify in first place with a win over Paraguay unless Italy also win with a bigger scoreline. They can also qualify in second if they draw and Italy and Slovakia draw, and while doing so also score more than Italy (e.g. 1-1 and 0-0.) Should New Zealand and Italy both draw by the exact same scoreline then a drawing of lots will take place to determine qualification. Any other scenario will result in elimination.
* Slovakia cannot finish first. They will finish second if they win and New Zealand fail to beat Paraguay. They can also qualify in second place if they win and New Zealand defeat Paraguay, providing that the Slovakians can repair their goal difference deficit over the South Americans.

Group G
Fixtures:
DPRK-Ivory Coast
6/25/10 4:00PM
Portugal-Brazil
6/25/10 4:00PM

* Brazil have already qualified for the last 16. A draw is all they need to clinch top spot.
* Portugal need only a draw to qualify, but a win will see them top the group. They will also qualify if they lose and Ivory Coast fail to win. They can still lose in the event of an Ivory Coast victory so long as the two results don't result in a swing of nine or more goals. Should Portugal lose 3-0 and Ivory Coast win 6-0 then lots will be drawn to determine who progresses.
* Ivory Coast require a win, coupled with a Portugal defeat, which ensures a minimum nine-goal swing to progress. A 6-0 victory and a 3-0 Portugal defeat will be mean a drawing of lots.
* DPRK are eliminated.

Group H
Fixtures:
Chile-Spain
6/25/10 8:30PM
Switzerland-Honduras
6/25/10 8:30PM

* Chile only need a draw against Spain to qualify as group winners. They will also progress even if the lose and Switzerland fail to beat Honduras. A win will guarantee top spot.
* Spain will qualify top of the group if they defeat Chile by even a single goal and Switzerland do not beat Honduras by two goals or more. If Spain can only draw with Chile, they will only progress if Switzerland fail to beat Honduras. If Spain lose, they can still advance provided Switzerland also lose by an equal or bigger margin.
* Switzerland will make the last 16 if they defeat Honduras and Spain can only draw with Chile. If Switzerland only manage a draw, they can still go through if Spain lose to Chile. Switzerland can finish top of the group if they win and Spain beat Chile, but they must have a better goal difference than both Spain and Chile. If Switzerland and Spain are levelled on points, goal difference and goals scored, the Swiss will go through having beaten Spain.
* Honduras cannot finish top of the group. They can only finish second if they beat Switzerland and Spain lose to Chile, and they record a better goal difference than the Spaniards.