First 5 games.

Yes I have started a rudimentary blog, gonna write a few notes about each world cup game. Who knows it may blossom into more.

Games so far (yes I have watched all of them!):

Germany 4-2 Costa Rica

A very exciting start to the tournament, an unusually open match for an opening game although Costa Rica tend to be involved in high scoring affairs (see Brazil 5-2 Costa Rica at 02). Germany were very exciting going forward, Lahm had a top game, Schweinsteiger also really showed his class - what a perfect ball for Klose to score the second goal. Frings 4th a potential goal of the tournament and all in all very exciting going forward. Defence though was decidedly dodgy, their backline was too flat and their man marking non existent at times. Seems a recipe for scoring and conceding many! Costa Rica had the effective game plan of threading the ball through for Wanchope to finish which paid dividends on 2 occasions. Germans did manage to employ the offside trap effectively at times to stop this becoming an all too common occurrence. Very good finishing from Wanchope, I particularly enjoyed the clinical outside of the boot finish for the second goal. Overall quite far behind the Germans but never out of the game. Some very dodgy defending at times, giving the ball away in crucial areas.

Ecuador 2-0 Poland

Happy to see this result eventuate, for some reason it's nice to see Ecuador do well, and Poland look miserable! Poland had a lot of possession and passed the ball well (as expected) but lacked the incisiveness and penetration to finish off the moves. Ecuador played a very comfortable game, and proved they don't need to be at altitude to win. Two goals from nice moves, and some generally pleasing play in both attack and defence. Not as much of an upset as the media is making it out to be.

England 1-0 Paraguay

The worst game of the tournament (out of 5 viewed so far). England grabbed an early goal to settle the nerves thanks to Beckham making a habit of whipping in dangerous free kicks. The first half showed England on top but unable to add to the goal tally. The second half saw England wilt (under the heat?) and generally not do very well, allowing Paraguay back into the game. Joe Cole was my man of the match although Beckham and Lampard also did well. Worrying signs from Ashley Cole, Terry and Neville. Up front is a worry with Owen lacking something at the moment, Crouch doing OK but unable to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Interesting subs from Sven: Downing on for Owen? Hargreaves on for Cole? Although Downing did ok the substitutions were strange. Very defensive subs with Paraguay looking unlikely to score. 4-5-1 that left Crouch too isolated. Wanted the introduction of Lennon from my mind, to break the shackles and be full of running. Paraguay didn't look very flash particularly in the first 20 minutes. Still managed to give England a few scary moments.

Sweden 0-0 T & T

Very enjoyable game. Sweden constantly looked dangerous but were unable to find the goal that could have started an avalanche. Ibrahimovic a constant threat. Their 3 main assets of Ibrahimovic, Ljunberg and Larsson flattered to deceive on the whole. T & T. Full of passion and committed defending typified by an unusually defensive performance from Dwight Yorke. Coped admirably playing with 10 men for pretty much all of the second half and could even have grabbed the unlikeliest of winners. The crowd were in full voice, and the players who tend to ply their trade in the lower leagues did their reputations no harm.

Argentina 2-1 Ivory Coast

An entertaining game that unfortunately finished with the wrong result, and Maradona going nuts in the stands. Argentina showed that they could make the most of their chances, taking a slightly undeserved 2-0 half-time lead given they were on the back foot most of the half. Riquelme had a great game in the middle of the park, showing creativity particularly the through ball for Saviola's goal. Ayala had a great game in defence. Could be a real threat at the world cup. Ivory Coast played some quite sublime stuff at times inspired by moments of individual brilliance in the middle of the park, particularly from Zakora and Dindane. However numerous chances were wasted, especially from Kalou blasting wide a couple of times. Keita missed a golden opportunity to level it to 1-1. Shortly after it was 2-0 and the chances of a comeback were diminishing. Drogba had a passionate game upfront and was rewarded with a goal with about 10 minutes to go. But the equaliser never came. A good showing from the team suggests they could give the Dutch a few problems.