Match 15: HONDURAS v CHILE

Date: WED 16Jun10

Venue: Nelspruit MBOMBELA STADIUM

PANDO! or GORDO? PANDO!

+ DIVERSIÓN – DIVERSIÓN – DIVERSIÓN! The best match of the Festival thus far as both sides came out positively over this new hybrid grass/artificial turf surface and attacked each other non-stop .. .. A nice addition to the vuvuzelas today was the subtle sounds of conch shells that wafted through the brand-new stadium .. ..

CHILE showed high-pressure all match long and threatened the HONDURAS goal all day long despite the scoreline .. .. HON tried to go forward but was out-manned and out-classed .. ..

The lone goal came in the first half when JEAN ‘Frenchman’ BEAUSEJOUR rampaged through the R/Box and re-directed a MAURICIO ISLA cross in to the lower-right for the winner .. .. 

CHILE could go a long way in the Festival if everything falls just right, but they were playing HON, so let’s see how they look v. SWITZERLAND first .. ..     

HON MoM: NOEL VALLADARES
Olimpio GK had to stand on his head to keep the score just 1-0 

CHL MoM: ALEX SANCHEZ
WOW > He’s a striker for me > Fast, tricky, brave and ran all day .. .. Nifty backheels, first-touch and vision .. .. Threatened in the box all day and will get his goals .. .. A key member for Udinese-ITA after being snapped up as a teenager!
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Match 16: SPAIN v SWITZERLAND

Date: WED 16Jun10

Venue: Durban DURBAN STADIUM

PANDO! or GORDO?  

+ She put her hand on my knee (again) .. .. We went back to my place (again) .. .. And, with candles flickering >> She said she had to go home .. .. again .. ..

(sigh!) SPAIN, did try and try but in the bedroom – I mean Pitch – It’s the final ending that matters and again ESP slithered home after having you hot and ready .. .. The Cup favorites, came out looking to attack but were put off just enough by SWITZERLAND to frustrate their short-passing game in the final third .. .. The vast majority of the Spanish attack came from the left with all six of their first half crosses coming in from that side .. ..

The last half started the same until on a long ball from Swiss GK DIEGO BENAGLIO saw a SUI forward get free in the box and GELSON FERNANDES cleaned up a loose ball in the box for the lone goal .. ..

ESP did not play badly, just not effectively .. .. That final ball/cross didn’t find it’s man and when it did, the quality of the shot was found wanting .. .. ESP pumped in 23 crosses in the second half alone but very precious few found it’s target .. .. And, when the crosses did find another Spanish player in a dangerous area, BENAGLIO was there to stop it .. ..

Perhaps yesterday the score would have been 3-0 to Spain, and maybe tomorrow it would have been 4-1 to Spain, but today the brave Swiss did what they needed to do and have set the football world on it’s ear .. .. OUCH > And tell that flirt not to call here again!!

ESP MoM: ANDRES INIESTA

Match 17: SOUTH AFRICA v URUGUAY

Date: WED 16Jun10

Venue: Pretoria LOFTUS VERSFELD STADIUM

PANDO! or GORDO? GORDO?

 + Alcides Ghiggia is a pleasant Uruguayan gentlemen, aged 83 years young and is a mythical figure who stands along Pope John Paul II and Frank Sinatra for an amazing achievement > Silencing 200,000 Brazilians at the Maracanã! What did he do? He scored an unlikely winner for URUGUAY late in the match and shocked a nation .. .. Senor Ghiggia remains the oldest man alive to have scored in a WC Final! 

Perhaps Ghiggia’s spirit came forth as URU ran rampant over a poor SOUTH AFRICA side you played hard but had no quality anywhere on the pitch and may consider themselves lucky that they even got a point v. Mexico .. .. 

Former Manchester United striker DIEGO FORLAN opened the night when URU took a deserved 1-0 lead when he fired from outside the box, and the ball flew into the net after taking a slight deflection .. .. FORLAN then converted a deserved PK when he roofed his shot after GK ITUMELENG KHUNE was ejected .. .. ALVARO PEREIRA added insult to injury when he had a free header on an open net in stoppage time .. ..