Dominate the midfield

Chapter 597 Chapter 597: Some happy and some sad!

The situation in Group G is clear. Brazil, which has two wins in two games, has already qualified ahead of schedule; as long as Portugal loses to Brazil by a small score, or the Ivorians do not win North Korea by a big score, Portugal will qualify.

At 25 pm local time in South Africa on the [-]th, the match between Brazil and Portugal started at the Durban Stadium. In fact, this is a battle for the top spot in the group.

Brazil took the initiative at the beginning of the game by virtue of its overall strength. Portugal could only use counterattacks to threaten the opponent's goal. However, Brazil's defense against Ronaldo was very tight, and Portugal's counterattack failed to pose a threat to Brazil.

The two sides ended the first half with a score of zero to zero.

At the Mbobela Stadium in Nesplite, Côte d'Ivoire completely controlled the rhythm of the game and launched a tidal wave of attacks against the North Korean team.In the opening 55 seconds, Côte d'Ivoire almost scored. Yaya Toure made a direct pass. Keita broke into the penalty area on the right rib and shot ten meters away from the goal.
The football was blocked by the North Korean goalkeeper Li Mingguo with his legs, and then he saved the football to the bottom line!

No. In the 14th minute, the Ivorian gave North Korea a strong blow. Boca made a pass from the left, and the unguarded Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure pushed a shot from the edge of the penalty area!
The football went straight to the lower right corner, and Li Mingguo couldn't help but watch the football hit the net!

One to zero!

After 6 minutes, the Ivorians made a comeback. Boca made a pass from the left. Drogba stopped the ball beautifully, turned around and got rid of the defense, and shot hard from the edge of the small penalty area!
The football roared past Li Mingguo's ten fingers like a cannonball!
"Pong!..."

Just when the Ivory Coast fans thought the goal must be scored, the football hit the crossbar and bounced back to the penalty area. La Liga Sevilla midfielder Romaric flew up and headed into the empty goal from the edge of the small penalty area!
Two to zero!
Côte d'Ivoire took a two-goal lead into the second half, and North Korea stepped up its offensive efforts. However, due to its limited strength, it failed to pose a real threat to the opponent's goal.

On another piece of turf, the game between Brazil and Portugal is still stalemate, and neither side has the ability to break the deadlock.

In the 308th minute of the second half, Côte d'Ivoire sealed the victory, Boca made a pass from the left, and the Chelsea winger Kalou, who got rid of the defense, volleyed eight meters away from the goal!
Soccer hits the net!

Three to zero!
Côte d'Ivoire beat the North Korean team, but they still could not escape the fate of being eliminated.Brazil and Portugal shook hands with a score of zero to zero and joined hands to qualify.

The situation in Group H is also relatively clear, with Chile qualifying ahead of schedule with two wins in two games, and Honduras getting out ahead of schedule with two losses in two games. Spain and Switzerland, who also had one win and one tie, competed for the remaining qualifying spot.

Spain against Chile, Switzerland against Honduras.

At 25:08 on the evening of the 30th, South African time, at the Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, the match between Spain and Chile, the winner of the European Cup in 08, started on time.

Spain, with no retreat, launched a tidal attack on Chile. They hoped to break through Chile's goal early, so as to take the initiative.

In the 4th minute, Harvey passed a free kick into the penalty area, and Torres shook his head ten meters away from the goal!
Soccer over the bar!

One minute later, Spanish defender Capdevila cleared a long pass, and Torres almost grabbed the spot 1 meters away from the goal, but Hara, who was chasing back, stabbed the bottom line in time, and the Chilean team escaped.

Chile almost scored in the 10th minute. Isla made a cross from the right, Valdivia made a direct pass, and Bossejor made a pass from the right side of the penalty area, but Marc Gonzalez shot from eight meters away from the goal. Fly! .

No. In 204 minutes, Spain finally broke the deadlock. Alonso made a direct pass from the left, and Chilean goalkeeper Bravo made a tackle before Torres.

Villa took the ball 40 meters away from the goal. Seeing that Bravo hadn't returned to the goal, he immediately shot the goal. The football drew a wonderful arc in the air and flew directly into the empty goal!
One to zero!

This ball boosted the morale of Spain, and Spain became more active.

No. 307 minutes Iniesta made a steal in the front court and passed the football to Villa. Villa passed back from the left side of the penalty area.
Soccer hits the net!

Two to zero!
One minute later, Chile was hit again. When Estrada returned to the defense, he tripped Torres and got a second yellow card. Two yellow cards turned into one red. The Chilean team had to fight with one less player.

Spain ended the first half with a score of [-]-[-].

Bloemfontein Free State Stadium, the match between Switzerland and Honduras was played amid the cheers of fans from both sides.The Swiss team launched a fierce attack on Honduras at the beginning of the game, but failed to break through the goal. Then the two teams fell into a stalemate. Until the end of the first half, neither side could break the deadlock.

After the start of the second half, Switzerland stepped up its offense, while Honduras, who was fighting for honor, resisted tenaciously, and the two sides fell into a stalemate again.

At the Loftos Stadium in Pretoria, just 2 minutes into the second half, the situation on the field changed suddenly. The Chilean team with one less player played a lightning attack. Sanchez made a diagonal pass from the hinterland, and Miral flashed a shot from the edge of the penalty area. , a strong shot!
The football suddenly changed direction after hitting Pique!
Casillas can only look at the ball and sigh, the football got into the net!

One to two!

The Chilean team pulled back a goal and narrowed the point difference. This goal made the slightly relaxed Spaniard tense again, and they began to besiege the Chilean goal.

Under strong pressure, the Chilean could only retreat for half the time, and finally kept the score of [-] to [-] until the end of the game.

At the Bloemfontein Free State Stadium, the Swiss were still unable to break through the Honduras goal and had to shake hands with their opponents with a score of zero to zero.

The Swiss were eliminated, and the Spaniard, with his own efforts, ranked first in the group and advanced to the knockout round!

At this point, the group stage was all over, sixteen teams went home, and the remaining sixteen teams entered the more brutal knockout round.

The round of sixteen came out.

Upper half: Group A first Uruguay vs. Group B second South Korea, Group C first England vs Group D second Ghana, Group E first Netherlands vs Group F second Slovakia, Group G first Brazil vs Group H Second Chile.

Bottom half: Group A second Mexico vs Group B first Argentina, Group C second US vs Group D first Germany, Group E second Japan vs Group F first Paraguay, Group G second Portugal vs Group H first Spain.

The world's major media shouted: The knockout round is coming!

At this time, the England team has quietly come to Rustenburg to prepare for the quarter-finals against Ghana. Due to the existence of the gag order, it is still difficult for the media to get a word from them.

The British media were very dissatisfied with this and put pressure on the FA. After careful consideration, the chairman of the FA, Triesman, found Capello again.

"England fans have the right to know what players think!"

Triesman thought it would take a lot of saliva to convince the stubborn Italians, but the Italians readily agreed.

The password is lifted!
(End of this chapter)