Six days into the World Cup, every team has now appeared at least once and it is fair to say that, until today, the tournament has fallen short of the dazzling display anticipated. With the exception of Argentina – Nigeria, a match that provided end-to-end lively action throughout, no matter how much luster FIFA or ESPN tried to add, the quality of play has been average at best. Today’s Chile and Spain matches were great to watch all around and hopefully the start of a consistently higher level of play, as the pressure of advancing mounts.
There are positive impressions from the first 16 matches. Germany looked sharp in its demolition of the hapless Aussies and Holland played OK against the Danes, though far from spectacular. Ghana looked much better than in the pre-tournament friendlies and is now in position to make a run, though Germany will be a telling test for them. Italy played better than expected, with pace and purpose in pursuit of all three points in play, yet still seemed to lack creativity even on its best effort day. Paraguay defended well and has good attackers, but their obvious weakness is in the midfield. Even Brazil, while controlling the game and with Robinho in stupendous form, looked very average against a resilient N Korean defense. Fun matches took place today, Chile and Spain looking good despite missing boatloads of goals. Tournament favorite Spain suffered a heavy blow today that may cost them a date with Brazil in the Round of 16.
The disappointments came in several forms. All of the combatants of Group A – France, South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico – have looked mediocre at best. While USA showed spirit, England showed very little of anything. Greece’s performance was not worthy of participation in this competition. Slovenia and Algeria treated us to a lame stalemate. Slovakia essentially blew its chances of advancing to the second round by tripping over a jubilant New Zealand. Serbia disappointed greatly, considering the amount of talent on their roster. Cameroon suffered from a disjointed performance heavily reliant on individual efforts, while Japan looked organized and keen on taking points rather than impressing with play.
Ivory Coast – Portugal, yesterday’s highly anticipated match-up, also failed to deliver quality, leaving the audience wanting. Portugal created very little. Cristiano Ronaldo looked subdued. One play in 90 minutes and that was it. Midfield poor, Deco nothing, Simao nothing, Liedson very little. Portugal had support in the stadium and did not rise to the occasion. For their part, Ivory Coast moved well but created very few real chances. Even the introduction of Drogba in the second half, which lit up the crowd, failed to lift the game itself. In 25 minutes Drogba did virtually nothing, barely touching the ball until his chance in injury time.
Enough of that, please!
It can’t be just the swerving ball, about which many complaints have been lodged, or the altitude at which most games are being played. The contributing factor most responsible for the low goal count may be that the players are simply tired after long, strenuous club seasons in the era of the modern game. With energy depleted, the creative aspect of the game suffers first. The other conceivable possibility affecting the quality of play is the constant buzzing of the vuvuzelas. It creates a linear atmosphere without any discernible emotional scale, sending the players into a trance of sorts. There is no audible crowd reaction, none of the chants can be heard, and so what is the charm of the one-note plastic trumpet?
Whatever the explanation, the pace must improve or the audience’s interest is sure to dwindle. Everyone will still follow the tournament, perhaps more distantly. There are many matches to go, plenty of time for the tournament to catch fire, but up to now the magical moments have been in short supply. Today was a marked improvement in quality, let’s hope it is the beginning of exciting things to come.