The FIFA WC 2010 , 19th edition of the football world cup kicked off in south africa this year on friday, with a very grand opening ceremony.
The great Nelson Mandela coudnt be at the inauguration because of a family tragedy, but world all over were very excited, the atmosphere in the stadium was electrifying.
The first game was between the hosts South africa and Mexico. It was an evenly contested match, with south africans relying on their pace and attack took the lead in the match just after half time. The crowd erupted with joy. Its great to see the home team score the 1st goal of the world cup. Mexico wasnt far behind either, with their gritty defense and their intermittent attacks were a constant threat for the bafanas at the centre of the box..
With constant pressure, finally mexico equalised and the match ended level pegging.. It finished 1-1.
Second match was between Uruguay and last yr finalists France. Was a really lazy match, with both teams attacking but not getting enough shots on goal. France had an early opportunity in the game, with Sidney Govou missing a sitter. But France continued their attack but couldn't open the scoring finally same was the case with Uruguay.
Next day there were few important matches, South korea vs Greece, Argentina vs Nigeria and finally England vs USA. South korea dominated the game against Greece and finally won convincingly 2-0. On a other hand Argentina struggled as a team, but one man was brilliant. He was Lionel messi. His mesmerizing skills left everyone spellbound in the stadium. But the goal came from the unlikely source. Gabriel Heinze grabbing a open header in the box to drive it into left top corner past the Nigerian defender. Messi continued his attack at the Nigerian goal, but the goalie Enyema made some unbelievable saves to keep the score only at 1-0. Finally a convincing win for Diego Maradona's men.
The next game was too much hyped, between England and US. Capello chose Robert Green on goal instead of the veteran David James, and newcomer Joe Hart. England took lead early in the game with a cool assist by Emile Heskey and Gerard just nudged the ball into the right hand side corner of the goal. Then came the turning point of the game. Dempsey's shot at the England goal. Robert Green got hold of the ball, but somehow the ball popped out of his hand and into the goal. haha.. Sorry Robert Green , it is unfortunate, but i can't stop laughing at it. It was hilarious. So finally the score remained 1-1, with US salvaging a vital draw off England. On the other hand, England might have been really disappointed with the result.
As the Games continue, it would be interesting to see how the powerhouses, big names perform at the world cup. Im routing for Spain. Go Espana.
