Which teams performed up to expectations? Which didn't? Who surprised? Who failed to shine?
Spain's victory over the Netherlands gave the Spanish their first World Cup title to go with their recently-won European championship from 2008. For the Dutch, it was their third final they've lost. It was a fitting end to the tournament, as the #1 team in the world faced off against #2. In the final, everyone expected Spain to play the way they had been playing: dominating possession, outpassing their opponent, slowly building up to make that final break into a goal. But few expected to see the Netherlands resort to the goon tactics that they employed, only rarely threatening the Spanish goal and accumulating multiple yellow cards throughout the match. Nigel de Jong's kung fu-style kick on Xabi Alonso epitomized this for the Dutch (though he received only a yellow).
Joy for Spain, heartbreak for the Netherlands, especially after they had done the rest of the world a favor in defeating Brazil so spectacularly. It was disappointing to see them sink below their own high standards in the final, but such is the fear of Spain that this was believed to be the only way to defeat them.But what about the rest of the tournament? The opening round of matches were, for the most part, incredibly dull and boring, as most teams did not want to make a mistake and lose an advantage so early on in the tournament. However, by the time the group stages had ended, there were plenty of surprises and drama aplenty.
For the group stage:
THE GOOD
Japan
Japan came in to the 2010 World Cup with a decent chance to get out of their group, but a chance that they shared equally with both Cameroon and Denmark, as it was expected that the Netherlands would romp over all who came before them (which did, in fact, happen). Nonetheless, many were surprised when Japan emerged 1-0 victors over Cameroon in their first match, despite heavy Cameroonian pressure and some close calls. Japan's next match against the Netherlands ended in a Dutch win, but only just. The 1-0 defeat was not truly reflective of the play, as Japan had several chances to score, but didn't. Their final match came against Denmark, in which they showed a masterclass of play to simply dominate the Danes and score some spectacularly built-up goals, ending Denmark's tournament and qualifying themselves for the knockout rounds.
Argentina
Argentina entered the tournament with more doubts hovering over their heads than confidence. Many were questioning the wisdom of having Diego Maradona as manager. The opening three games in South Africa rapidly changed those negative opinions, however. An opening 1-0 win against Nigeria that they dominated was followed by a comprehensive 4-1 demolishing of South Korea, in which Gonzalo Higuain got a hat trick. Their final match against the Greeks was almost a joke, as Greece gave only token attempts to attack and allowed Argentina to come forward in waves, in a game that Greece needed to win. The 2-0 final result could have been much worse.
Slovakia
Slovakia came into the tournament as a distinct dark horse, needing to get out of a group that included reigning World Champions Italy and perennial non-pushover Paraguay. Their first match against New Zealand struck fear into no one, finishing 1-1 against the rather weak Kiwis. A 2-0 loss against Paraguay in their next match made it even more unlikely for them to get out of the group, as they'd have to then do a miracle and defeat the heavyweight Italians. That they did, however, achieving a stunning 3-2 victory, thereby qualifying the small Eastern European team for the next round and humiliatingly giving Italy not a single win at the tournament, making them finish last.
THE BAD
France
A train wreck before, during, and after the World Cup, literally no one was sad to see them exit at the first stage, including their own fans. After only managing to qualify for the tournament at the expense of Ireland by blatantly cheating, the French team's internal troubles spewed up, and their play suffered. Head coach Raymond Domenech had lost the team's confidence, and there were rumors that certain cliques of players disliked other cliques and would do things like, not pass to them in training. A draw and two losses with only one goal for put a mercifully fast end to the horrific excrement that was the France's style of play for the last 2 and a half years.
THE DISAPPOINTING
England, Italy, Honduras, the African teams
All of these teams had relatively positive expectations coming into the tournament, but when they got there, the level of play failed, bad mistakes were made (and punished), and those high expectations were to go wanting.
For England, a weak group made it even more embarassing with how bad they played, barely managing a shot on goal against Algeria and only just squeaking by Slovenia to qualify for the knockout round.
Italy never truly showed up. They were having difficulty scoring and winning in the several games they'd played in the tune-up to the World Cup, and that continued in South Africa. A 1-1 draw against Paraguay was their best result, as they were forced to dive and cheat to earn a penalty against New Zealand (really?) and still almost lost, if a late Kiwi shot had been a few inches in the opposite direction. Only after losing 3-1 late in the game against Slovenia did Italy wake up and attempt to play the way they know how to. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and they had to go home with their heads hung decidedly low.
Honduras had qualified for the first time since 1986, emerging out of a fiercely-competitive CONCACAF qualifying group, and their appearance sparked hope and excitement among their devoted fans. Unfortunately, Honduras never truly played the way they are able to play, only appearing to give half-hearted attempts against Chile, then parking the bus in front of the goal against Spain, and not really doing much of anything against Switzerland. Disappointing in the effort and execution, from beginning to end.
Many of the African teams were also expected to do well. After all, this was the first World Cup on African soil, and many of the elite African teams had qualified, like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. Yet, only Ghana would make it to the second round, but even they were more indebted to the two games in which they were awarded a penalty kick whilst simultaneously red-carding an opposition player.
Nigeria played well against Argentina, and could have gotten a draw. They then were leading Greece, before exploding, getting a man sent off for no good reason, before allowing 2 goals and losing to the previously-winless Greeks. To top it off, they had several gilt-edged chances to defeat South Korea in their final game and inexplicably screwed those up, eliminating them despite several chances to do otherwise.
Cameroon's offense was very well-equipped, but their defense was just not up to par. After narrowly losing to Japan, a game in which they should have at least drawn, they squandered a lead against Denmark, losing 2-1.
The Ivory Coast was, of course, once again in the Group of Death, along with Brazil, Portugal, and North Korea. However, many had given them a chance to go to the semi-finals, at least. This did not happen. A drab opening match against Portugal only lead them to get out-classed by Brazil in their second match, which saw the use of the most outrageous and despicable fake injury since Rivaldo in 2002 to get Kaka sent off when the score was already 3-1 for Brazil. A 3-0 win against North Korea wasn't enough for the Elephants, and their fans deserved a better showing.
For South Africa, not even their own fans really wanted to see them play, but after the first match ended in a draw against Mexico, suddenly their team wasn't so bad. Until they imploded and allowed Uruguay to walk all over them, winning 3-0 and rendering their final game against France basically moot. What was truly disappointing to see was the vast droves of fans that began leaving the game in the second half after Uruguay scored to make it 2-0. This was the World Cup and the home team's fans left the home team out to dry. Very disappointing.
For the knockout rounds:
THE GOOD
Germany
Germany's 4-1 demolishing of England and 4-0 emasculation of Argentina were enough by themselves to make Germany's World Cup a smashing success. Though they were defeated by the superior Spanish, it was Germany's 3rd straight semi-final appearance in a World Cup, as they finished third for a second year running.
Uruguay
Not many expected Uruguay to finish fourth, ahead of the other South American heavyweights, Argentina and Brazil. But not only did they make it to their first semi-final since for 40 years, they did it with style and panache - the only blight being Suarez's blocking of a sure goal with his hands. The game against the Netherlands ended in a heartbreaking loss, but no one expected this team to get that far, and they are to be commended for it.
THE BAD The other South American teams
This was the first tournament in which all 5 of the South American teams had qualified for the second round, with Chile being the only one to not finish as a group leader. Despite South American teams outnumbering European teams for the first time in the knockout rounds of a World Cup, the semi-finals would feature only Uruguay, and three other European teams. Brazil and Argentina's poor performances against the Netherlands and Germany respectively were hard for their fans to take, and Paraguay's penalty mishaps against Spain ensured they weren't getting past La Furia Roja.
Overall, the 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup was exciting and dramatic. Not a ton of goals, to be sure, but some spectacular ones.
Spain lost to Switzerland in their first group match, and in winning the final, became the first team to lose their first match and go on to win. This was the also the first tournament in which a European team won a World Cup that wasn't in Europe, and the first time any team has won their first World Cup in a tournament that they didn't host.
The only undefeated team at the end of the tournament was New Zealand, of all teams.
Some big guns misfired (Italy, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Cameroon, etc) and some smaller guns made their presence known (USA, Japan, South Korea, Ghana, Uruguay, Slovakia, Slovenia).
The Uruguay-Ghana and Spain-Paraguay games were exciting and tense as any in recent memory, especially due to the penalties involved. Both semi-final games were boring, unless you were paying attention.
All in all, it was a truly memorable, surprising, and dramatic World Cup with a fitting end.
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