By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports
Match Review
South Africa, Monday, June 14, 2010 — Defending champions Italy started the defense of their World Cup title on a disappointing note after being held to a 1-1 draw with Paraguay in the opening match of Group F.
Antolin Alcaraz headed Paraguay into the lead seven minutes before the interval after a largely uneventful first half. The defender turned in Aureliano Torres’ perfect free kick from the right as he leaped the highest to beat Daniele De Rossi and Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro to the ball, before planting his header past Gianluigi Buffon, who could only stand and watch as the ball flew into the back of the net.
Italy’s first-choice goalkeeper was then taken off at half time as Italy pushed for an equaliser. They were eventually rewarded in the 63rd minute when Paraguay’s captain and goalkeeper Justo Villar flapped his arms at Pepe’s corner kick, totally missing the ball. It fell kindly to Daniele De Rossi at the far post who easily tapped the ball into an unguarded net.
Justo Villar made up for his costly error as he kept out two shots as the defending champions pushed for a winner towards the end. First, he held on to Pepe’s soft shot in the 79th minute before keeping out Riccardo Montolivo’s fierce low drive three minutes later.
Both teams eventually had to settle for a point.
Minnows New Zealand and Slovakia will be rubbing their hands in delight after this result as they will have the chance to top Group F when they face each other tomorrow. A win would send either team to the summit of the group.
Muhammad Nuri of RI shares his thoughts after watching the draw. He had predicted a 1-0 win to Italy.
Muhammad Nuri of RI. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Muhammad Nuri says:
The game wasn’t worth staying up till 4.30 am. Seeing the team you’re rooting for being held to a draw in their opening game made the opportunity cost of watching the game (Yes, you can tell I am mugging for econs) even higher.
To be fair, credit must be given to the Paraguayans who literally threw their bodies to defend Italy’s incessant attacks. They proved to be more than capable of coping with anything the Azzuris were throwing at them.
Personally I was expecting more from the defending champions, or at the very least, to put up an exciting display of football.
Man of the match: Vincenzo Iaquinta
One of the thrills I got from watching the game was observing Iaquinta’s hair every time the camera zooms in on him. It is a wonder how Iaquinta’s mohawk was still erected despite the heavy downpour. I’d really like to know which brand of hair wax he uses on his hair.
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| GROUP F | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PARAGUAY  | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 |
SLOVAKIA  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 4 |
NEW ZEALAND  | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
ITALY  | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 2 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
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