after a week's action of world cup,
here are the analysis of some of the matches
that caught my eye.

Group A

Germany VS Costa Rica

the match: Host country Germany
kicked off the tournament
with a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica,
gaining praises from critics for its
new-look attack but boos from the crowd
with critical defensive errors.

german keeper Jens Lehnman was guilty
of lapses in concentration,
and further calls for the more reliable
Oliver Khan were made by supporters.

analysis: kudos for coach Klinnsman,
who changed Germany's style of play
to a more attacking fashion,
if not,
i would have fell asleep in the later stages
of the match due to the time being
in the wee hours of the morning.

but i would have preferred Khan
to play in goal rather than Arsenal's Lehnmann;
at least Khan is vocal enough to control his defenders
during set-pieces and his presence
itself is a huge boost to the backline.

captain Ballack should be back for
the next match against Poland,
and i suppose Germany's pair of strikers
will benefit from his creativity and ammunation
of direct passes and through balls.

Group B

England VS Paraguay

the match: England coach Sven
kept to his promise and did not play
his star striker Wayne Rooney,
not wanting to further anger
Man United's manager,
Alex Furguson.

however,
England lacked creativity on the field
as they managed to stutter a small
1-0 win over Paraguay.

analysis: England was fortunate to
face a half-fit Roque Santa-Cruz
playing for Paraguay,
otherwise the Bayern Munich guy
might have cause much more damage
against the Three Lions.

Beckham was on form in the match,
having scoring a goal via a deflection off
the Paraguay's captain.

but i still feel that the central midfield
pairing of Gerrad and Lampard was too
unstable as both of them are attacking players,
and i would prefer to send on M Carrick to form
a five-men midfield,
giving the two latters chances to
roam around the pitch.

M Owen should be fully-fit
for their next match against T&T,
and i reckon that he will
have more impact on the game
with his superb finishing.

Group D

Portugal VS Angola

the match: Striker Pauleta scored
the only goal of the match,
with Inter's Luis Figo
providing the assist
in the 1-0 win over Angola.

analysis: i did not watch this match as i
was preparing for the trip to malacca,
and luckily i didn't,
otherwise i would have exploded with frustration
with Portugal's misses.

Ronaldo was labelled "selfish"
by the media with his too-many
fancy stepovers and tricks in the match.

he was then substituted with the more
defensive-minded Maniche.

fans were puzzled over this substitution,
and i can see why.
they were still looking for a goal,
and Ronaldo might be able to provide some useful
crosses and shots.

i guess the coach wanted a more aggresive man
to counter the technically-superior Angola,
and to break down their hard-working midfield.

well, at least they got their win and 3 points,
and i am contented with that.

another win over Iran may buy them
a place in the knock-out phase.

Group F

Australia VS Japan

the match: substitute Tim Cahill
scored a double to pull back Australia
in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Australia eventually emerged champions
with a 3-1 win over Japan.

analysis: this was one of the 2 matches
i watched in my hotel room in malacca,
and oh boy,
it WAS exciting.

Guus Hiddick was spot on with his tactics,
making shrewd substitutions that sent
Japan to the 13th level of hell.

but their next opponents are Brazil,
are Brazil might be looking for
a bigger win,
as they won by a mere 1-0 margin over Croatia.

the socceroos have to be on guard
against the likes of Adriano and Ronaldhino.