The Emergency Budget - Grim News For Everyone

Last week’s emergency budget brought the expected grim news for everyone in the country, as we attempt to deal with the misery from the recent economic crisis and the deficit that Britain faces.  Chancellor of the coalition government, George Osborne has attempted to keep things as positive as they could be, but has still taken the opportunity to hammer people the best as possible.

The most notable change is the increase in VAT, from 17.5% to 20%.  The change will take place, as in effect from January 4^th 2011.  The VAT measures will consequently see a litre of unleaded petrol rise by 3p, a pint of lager go up by 7p and a Ford Focus car, rise in price by over £300.  This VAT alteration will stick for good, unlike the emergency reduction taken out by former Chancellor, Alistair Darling back in November 2008.

Benefits for families, such as the controversial child tax credits will be removed, and public spending has also been reduced, with schools, universities and the police seeing their budgets restricted by a further 25%.  Other big announcements included the rise of the state pension age to 66, and in the recent days, there have been growing suggestions that the retirement age will be increased, so people may be forced to work longer, than they previously thought.  Osbourne also confirmed the selling off by the government of the Student Finance Company.  Student Finance has borne the brunt of thousands of complaints for delays and cancellations of loan and grant payments to hundreds of University students across the country.  This news could make things even more uncertain for students, attempting to beat the recession issue.  Surprisingly, tuition fees were not raised though, which raised an eyebrow with some.

Personal tax allowances have been raised to £7,475 from next April and there will also be a freeze on council tax for a year.  Below are some of the other key points from the Osbourne speech at the House of Commons last Tuesday:

• ·         A two-year pay freeze on the public sector, but there will be a £250 pay rise for workers who earn under £21,000 a year.
• ·         A probe has been announced into public service pensions.
• ·         Economic growth is predicted to be lower than forecast at 1.2% this year. 
• ·         The 10% cider duty rise tax has been axed.
• ·         Tax credits to families earning over £40,000 have been cut.

Immediately, the government has received intense scrutiny, as anticipated, with Labour really pulling the punches in the House of Commons.  The acting leader Harriet Harman has condemned the budget as ‘unfair,’ whilst Ed Balls, a leadership contender for the opposition called it ‘The Budget from Hell.’  Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is also feeling the heat, as it seems like he supported the VAT increase, despite claiming that was never an option in his election campaign.  How much influence David Cameron had on Clegg’s decision remains to be seen.  However, Clegg probably gave in, realising that if he disagreed, he was more than likely going to be outnumbered by Tory MP’s. 

Osbourne has claimed that it was an ‘unavoidable budget,’ and that there was no alternative, but to tackle the massive government borrowing, which has brought Britain onto its sorry knees.  This was a budget that was always going to hit the country hard, whatever the outcome.  Some areas have been hit harder, probably unfair on them, but these cuts/freezes have had to be sorted out, otherwise we will be in an even bigger mess than we were before.  This is something that as a country, we must unite and stick together through the expected pain, as Britain attempts to grapple with the aftermath from the recession.

Slovenia 0-1 England: Energetic England Progess Into Knockout Stages

Now that’s more like it.  Once more, when the chips are down, England pull out a performance full of blood, sweat and determination.  A tense, but thoroughly deserved 1-0 win over Slovenia at the Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth sees Fabio Capello’s men edge into the knockout stages, with a performance that will make the nation belief again.

It was a match that England had to deliver, after two stuttering and abject displays against the USA and Algeria.  Capello made three alterations to his line-up, with Matthew Upson replacing Jamie Carragher at the heart of the defence, due to Carragher’s suspension.  James Milner, fully fit after a virus took over from Aaron Lennon on the right-side of midfield and Jermain Defoe was drafted in for the inadequate Emile Heskey upfront.  All three made significant contributions to the winning performance.

Upson made a last-ditch challenge in the dying stages to deny Slovenia their best chance, but it was Milner and Defoe who were the main men, becoming English folklore heroes in the process.  The moment came on 23 minutes, when Milner, who combined well on the right-hand side with Glen Johnson all day, swung in a wicked ball into the penalty area.  Defoe, who had barely had a touch upto that point, stole half a yard on his marker, and powered a rasping drive past the despairing Slovenian goalkeeper, Samir Handonovic, despite him getting both hands onto the effort.  The relief in the celebration could be seen, as could the cheers in Port Elizabeth and back home in many houses, pubs, offices and schools across the UK.

After that, England should have had more goals, and were unlucky to not win by more than the final 1-0 margin.  Defoe missed a glaring chance moments after the interval, with Handonovic increasing his price tag at Serie A side Udinese, by producing a string of top-class saves to keep Captain Steven Gerrard frustrated.  His best save, was when a hard-working and committed Wayne Rooney escaped the offside trap, but scuffed his shot when in a glorious position.  Handonovic did enough to get a fingertip onto the shot, and diverted it onto the post.  Slovenian chances were few and far between and when they came, either John Terry would throw some body part at it, or David James would comfortably hold onto the controversial Jambalaya ball, which would have made Robert Green squirm on the dugout, after his glaring error in Rustenberg eleven days ago.

Despite the major positives, there are the usual negatives.  Rooney limped off with twenty minutes to go, with an ankle problem and the doctors will be hoping it is only a knock, and nothing more severe.  Also, Landon Donovan’s 91^st minute winner in Pretoria for the USA not only broke Slovenia hearts and sent them tumbling out of the competition, but booted England out of top spot in Group C.  It means a trip to Bloemfontein awaits on Sunday afternoon, with the old enemy Germany the possible opposition, should they get the three points they require against Ghana in Soccer City tonight.

For now though, England won’t worry about that.  Pride, confidence and belief is restored; the criticism and lack of team harmony can be forgotten now.  The job has been done, although via the hard route and the knockout stages begin at the weekend, with England still in business and very much alive and kicking in the World Cup.

Phew!

World Cup Report: Day 10-12

We have now reached the halfway point in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the groups are taking shape.  Here is a round-up of the last three days, which have seen more shock results, a demolition derby, shocking playacting and a dignified exit for the proud hosts.

Sunday 20^th June: Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay

Paraguay moved into pole position in Group F, with a comfortable 2-0 win over a laboured Slovakia side that seemed to be more than happy to play for a point.  The Europeans only had one shot on target, which shows their major issue going forward.  Paraguay’s goals came from Enrique Vera and a brilliant late strike from striker Carlos Riveros.

Sunday 20^th June: Italy 1-1 New Zealand

The world champions stuttering start to their defence continued in Nelspruit, as they were embarrassingly held by Rickie Herbert’s spirited New Zealand side.  The All Whites took a lead, when Shane Smeltz took advantage of a dodgy offside decision to put them into a surprising lead on seven minutes.  The Azzuri equalised, through a Vincenzo Iaquinta penalty, after Daniele de Rossi was held back in the box by Tommy Smith.  However, Marcelo Lippi’s men never looked like breaking through again, and now require a win against Slovakia on Thursday to ensure qualification for the last sixteen.

Sunday 20^th June: Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast

Sven Goran-Eriksson’s negative tactics backfired, as his Ivory Coast side were outclassed by the brilliant Brazilians in Soccer City.  A tame first half came to life, when Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano lashed home an opener.  Fabiano’s second, came through two questionable handballs, blindingly missed by the French referee.  The third goal was a rollback to great Brazilian sides of the past, with Kaka’s dazzling skill and classy through ball playing in Elano for his second of the campaign.  Elano was stretched off moments later, before an unfit Didier Drogba got his country’s first goal of the tournament, heading in with eight minutes remaining.  The match soured in the closing stages, with Kaider Keita using the disgusting ‘playacting’ tactic to get Kaka sent off.  The result ensured the Brazilians passage into the knockout stages. 

Monday 21^st June: Portugal 7-0 North Korea

Portugal ripped apart North Korea in Cape Town, recording the 4^th biggest win in World Cup history and putting them on the brink of qualification for the knockout phase.  Raul Meireles scored the only goal in the first half, but the Portuguese hit blistering form in the second half, scoring six goals without reply.  Atletico Madrid’s Tiago scored twice, and there were also goals from Simao, a flying header from Hugo Almedia, substitute Lledson and Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended his two-year wait for an international strike.   

Monday 21^st June: Chile 1-0 Switzerland

A lively performance from Chile saw the South Americans overcome a stubborn Switzerland in Port Elizabeth and put them on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages.  Despite breaking a defensive record for the most amounts of minutes without conceding consecutively, the Swiss were on the backfoot from the 28^th minute, when West Ham winger Valon Behrami was shown a straight red card for a deliberate elbow.  Despite a host of chances, and a referee who would struggle to handle a game between secondary school children, Chile was restricted to the one goal, scored through a header by ex-Liverpool flop Mark Gonzalez.

Monday 21^st June: Spain 2-0 Honduras

A dynamite double from new Barcelona signing David Villa helped put Spain back on track at Ellis Park, after their shock opening loss to Switzerland.  In a performance that was dominant, but not one which will frighten the South American challengers, Spain never looked in trouble against a Honduras side, which don’t have many attacking weapons at the tournament.  Villa’s two goals were both quality individual efforts, though he blotted his copybook with a missed penalty in the second half.

Tuesday 22^nd June: France 1-2 South Africa

The hosts left their World Cup in the group stages on a high note, following a battling performance to overcome France, who as a team, have quite simply had a World Cup full of nightmares and catastrophes.  This continued in Bloemfontein, as Yoann Gorcuff was given his marching orders for a flailing elbow midway through the first half.  By then, Bafana Bafana roared two goals clear, courtesy of a header by Bongani Khumalo and a tap-in from Katlego Mphela.  Sadly, they ran out of steam in the second half, and were eliminated on goal difference, with Florent Malouda’s consolation little more than a sobering statistic with Les Bleus.

Tuesday 22^nd June: Mexico 0-1 Uruguay

Uruguay sealed top spot in Group A, courtesy of a Luis Suarez header in Rustenberg.  A patchy game, which saw both teams clearly feeling nervous about progression, was only brightened up by the Ajax targetman’s crisp header on 23 minutes.  Despite defeat, Mexico’s goal difference was enough to see the North Americans also progress to the knockout stages for the fifth consecutive finals.

Tuesday 22^nd June: Greece 0-2 Argentina

Argentina continued their 100% record, seeing off a Greek side that seemed content to play for the draw, in a game they needed to win.  Only requiring a draw to seal qualification and top spot, Argentina looked cagey, compared to previous outings, but were firmly on top and two goals in the last twelve minutes saw Maradona’s men get the deserved victory.  They came in unlikely sources however, from Bayern Munich centre-back Martin Demichellis and 36-year old veteran striker Martin Palermo.

Tuesday 22^nd June: Nigeria 2-2 South Korea

South Korea advanced into the knockout stages for the first time on foreign soil, after gritting out a share of the spoils with Nigeria.  The Super Eagles made the perfect start, in a game they had to win to continue their interest alive, with Kalu Uche tapping in on twelve minutes.  The Asians took firm control in Durban, with goals either side of half time, through Lee Jung-Soo and Park Chung-Yung, the latter being the first player to score a direct free kick at the finals.  Yakubu’s glaring miss summed up the Africans faltering tournament, though the Everton marksman did make up for it, with a penalty after Chinedu Obasi was fouled in the penalty box.  However, Korea held on to book a meeting with Uruguay on Saturday.

Bleakley Departs For ITV - Where's The Loyalty?

Last night, ITV announced that they had poached the services of the popular One Show host, Christine Bleakley.  The deal is rumoured to see Bleakley earning £1.5million a year in her new role, which will see her partnered again with old co-host of The One Show, Adrian Chiles on the new ITV breakfast show, which will begin this September.

Christine has been at the centre of a major bidding war for weeks now, between the two major UK broadcasters and part of the deal will not only see her be part of the new breakfast programme, replacing GMTV this summer, but other prime-time projects, including new entertainment and lifestyle shows.  Bleakley, also being well-known for the high-profile girlfriend of prolific Chelsea and England footballer Frank Lampard, was only earning £100,000 a year with the BBC, which wonders how much she had sold out for?  The BBC did offer her a new, much more improved deal, but it seems like that money and the close bond with Chiles seems to be more important than loyalty and trust in her case.

When Adrian Chiles quit the BBC two months ago, largely to replace Steve Rider as the new figurehead of ITV’s football coverage, their plans were to remodel the One Show firmly around Bleakley – whose contract with the Beeb expired this September.  Popular breakfast presenter Chris Evans and comedian Jason Mannford had been signed up to co-host the show, alongside the Northern Ireland golden girl.  They had given Bleakley a new £450,000 a year deal, and a week to mull over the future.  With no contact from Christine, the BBC felt there was little option but to withdraw their very tempting and more secure offer.

The departure of Bleakley follows Chiles out of the BBC door, and with Jonathan Ross also leaving the corporation when his contract ends next month, leaves the nation’s favourite TV channel facing a bit of a shortfall in presenting talent.  The BBC insist that they have made the right decision, by not entering into a bidding war with their main rivals, for a presenter’s services.  I believe that they have made the right decision.  After all, no presenter is more important than the service of the BBC to the British public.

The Bleakley/Chiles combination is no doubt going to be a winning one, and will pull more audiences into ITV at breakfast time, which has suffered from the stale progress of the award-winning GMTV in recent times.  However, the massive money deal that it is giving Christine suggests that they are putting a lot of faith into her abilities, and there is no guarantee that it will definitely work out.  This is a massive gamble for her career and for ITV as a whole, as it will be seen as an expensive flop should things not work out.  Although ITV have won this battle, I think the BBC has made a shrewd move and time will move on with new presenters and new talent, to replace Bleakley and Chiles on The One Show. 

Some must question though, how important is loyalty?  

World Cup Report - Day 7-9

The second round of group games in the 2010 FIFA World Cup is well and truly underway.  In the past three days, we’ve seen tensions rise in camps; some players show a lack of team unity and the first side to be well and truly eliminated from the competition.  Here is a brief round-up of the past three days, excluding the England match yesterday.

Thursday 17^th June: Argentina 4-1 South Korea

Diego Maradona’s Argentina became firm favourites to land the World Cup, after an impressive 4-1 victory over South Korea in Soccer City that all but virtually booked their place in the last sixteen.  Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain was in fabulous form, hitting a hat-trick, after an own goal from Park Chu-Young.  Despite an error by Martin Demichellis, which allowed Lee Chun-Soo in to score for the Koreans with the last kick of the first half, Argentina weren’t in any major danger and raised the standards for the other favourites in the process.

Thursday 17^th June: Greece 2-1 Nigeria

Sani Kaita’s daft dismissal after 33 minutes left Nigeria on the verge of elimination and helped Greece on the way to a first-ever World Cup win.  Nigeria dominated the early exchanges, took an early lead through Kala Uche’s free-kick.  A deflected strike from Dimitrios Salpingidis drew the Greeks level, before Vasiledios Torosidis capitalised on a spill by Vincent Enyeama to thrash the Euro 2004 winners to an essential victory.

Thursday 17^th June: France 0-2 Mexico

Mexico took full advantage of a French team lacking any spirit and cohesion, to virtually book their place in the knockout stages and send the 2006 finalists packing home.  Javier Rodriguez, Manchester United’s new striker put the North Americans infront, making the most of a horrific French onside trap, to slot the ball past a despairing Hugo Lloris.  A France team that looked lazy, old and lethargic conceded a dreadful penalty by Eric Abidal, converted by 37-year old Cuathmatic Blanco, which sealed an impressive win for the Mexicans.

Friday 18^th June: Germany 0-1 Serbia

Serbia blew Group D wide open, with an unexpected victory over pre-game favourites Germany in Port Elizabeth.  A fussy and poor referee didn’t help the Germans cause, with Miroslav Klose unluckily sent off for two clumsy, if not malicious challenges.  Lukas Podolski had a shocker, and became the first German to miss a penalty at the World Cup in 28 years in the process.  Serbia’s winner came five minutes from half-time from Liverpool bound striker, Milan Jovanovic. 

Friday 18^th June: Slovenia 2-2 USA

In a pulsating encounter at Ellis Park, the United States stormed back from two goals down, to record a hard-fought draw with Slovenia.  The Europeans were coasting at half-time, 2-0 up, through efforts from Valter Birsa and Zlatan Ljubijankic.  However, the US recovered well, helped by an early second half response by Landon Donovan.  Michael Bradley’s dramatic leveller eight minutes from time ensured a share of the spoils and a very dubious refereeing decision saw Maurice Edu and the Americans have a goal wrongly chalked off in the dying stages.

Saturday 19^th June: Holland 1-0 Japan

A hard-fought victory in Durban over a spirited Japan side sealed Holland’s birth in the last sixteen.  The only goal came in the 51^st minute, through a swerving shot from Inter Milan playmaker, Wesley Snejider. 

Saturday 19^th June: Ghana 1-1 Australia

It was a missed opportunity for Ghana, as Australia earned a hard-fought draw in Rustenberg.  Another goalkeeping gaffe, this time from Richard Kingston allowed the Socceroos a 11^th minute lead, through Brett Holman.  However, Galatasaray winger Harry Kewell was dismissed for a deliberate handball on the goal-line, with the resulting penalty converted by Asamoah Gyan.  Despite Ghanaian pressure, the Aussies held on to ensure that all four teams in Group D still have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Saturday 19^th June: Cameroon 1-2 Denmark

Morten Olsen’s Denmark produced a stirring comeback in Pretoria, which eliminated Cameroon from the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  A horrendous error from Christian Poulsen allowed Samuel Eto’o in to put the Africans infront.  However, two brilliant team goals won the night for the Scandinavians, courtesy of Arsenal misfit Niklas Bendtner and star of the show, Dennis Rommedahl.  As a result, Cameroon becomes the first side to be eliminated from the tournament.  

ITV's Abysmal World Cup Coverage

It may be a week since the Greatest Show on Earth began, but ITV have made an abysmal start to their coverage of the tournament.  It has left the channel well and truly red-faced.

Below is the ITV World Cup theme tune, which is the only plus point of their entire coverage.

The first cock-up was during England’s first World Cup match, against the United States in Rustenberg last Saturday.  When Steven Gerrard brokethrough the American defence to put the Three Lions infront, inside of four minutes, ITV HD viewers were treated to this:

This isn’t the first time, as many viewers were gobsmacked to see Dan Gosling’s winner for Everton in an FA Cup 4^th Round Replay against Liverpool missed for a Tic-Tac commercial back in February 2009. 

Adrian Chiles, the new face of ITV football, taking over from the dependable, if obtrustive Steve Rider has brought over his humour from BBC’s Match of the Day 2 to the channel.  However, this style does not suit live coverage, and his bumbling apology to HD viewers for missing the crucial England goal last week only made matters worse.

Less than 72 hours later, ITV pundit Robbie Earle was flying back to England in disgrace.  Ex-Wimbledon striker Earle, who scored for Jamaica against Croatia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, has been part of the ITV team since 2001.  However, he was sacked by the channel, after 40 of his tickets were found to be in the possession of some Dutch girls, portraying a marketing campaign for the Dutch beer, Bavaria.  FIFA rules clearly state that only family and friends can have tickets from these established experts of the game, and allegedly, this isn’t the first times that Earle has committed the offence.  The incident took place during Holland’s Group E opener in Soccer City on Monday against Denmark.  Earle’s insistence that he didn’t do anything wrong only makes matters worse. 

ITV’s humour to try and embarrass North Korea as much as possible is another low.  Though the Koreans weren’t helping themselves with some of their antics, ITV made them a laughing stock and were forced to grovel almost, following the Asians brave display against Brazil at Ellis Park on Tuesday.

It has been a disastrous start for the broadcaster, but sadly, these failings fail to surprise me too much.

England 0-0 Algeria - Shocking Performance Leaves England On The Brink

England’s over-paid footballers produced a shocking performance in Cape Town tonight that pretty much leaves their 2010 World Cup dreams in tatters.  Their limp display in the 0-0 draw with African outsiders Algeria leaves Fabio Capello’s side needing a win against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday to even escape Group C.

Following Saturday’s average 1-1 performance with the USA, Capello decided to drop Robert Green, following his horrific clanger in Rustenberg and bring in the experienced David James.  Gareth Barry returned from injury, in place of James Milner, which pushed Captain Steven Gerrard onto the left-side of midfield.  This tactic, on Capello 64^th birthday was a massive mistake.  Gerrard produced an error-strewn display, and once the captain produces this, then it will hurt the confidence of the other players.

Capello must take some of the flack from tomorrow’s damming newspaper headlines, especially for taking off the only player who looked like a serious threat, Aaron Lennon for Shaun Wright-Phillips, who failed to get into the game.  His persistence to stick with the ailing Emile Heskey is beyond belief.  Heskey scored only three Premiership goals throughout last season and by the end of it, was in the reserves at Aston Villa.  He is not England material, and Darren Bent must be wondering back at home, what he had to do to get in the squad.  Whenever Heskey gets the ball, he dithers, sloppily gives away possession or falls over like a flat pancake.  Technically, it means we only play with ten players.

It wasn’t even England’s lack of goals that frightens the fans; it was the lack of courage in the final third and even the lack of attempts in goal.  England looked nervous and frightened all over the park, especially in the final third, where are finishing looked more like a Sunday League side.  The players need to take courage and responsibility for their failings, and if they don’t, an early flight back to Luton next Thursday beckons.

Slovenia’s 2-2 stalemate with the USA earlier today leaves the group wide open, but Fabio Capello will be scratching his head and wondering where the qualifying form has gone.  England end up on the brink of a humiliating embarrassment, and an indigenous exit from the FIFA World Cup, if things don’t change ASAP. 

This was a miserable 64^th birthday to forget for Fabio Capello.

Microsoft Reveal XBox 360 Is Coming - Will It Continue It's Gaming Domination?

On Tuesday, Microsoft finally confirmed the rumours that have been persisting for a while, that the Xbox 360 will be coming out in a slim, lighter format.  What was more surprising was the news that Microsoft was already shipping consoles to several stores in America, and consequently, it will make its debut tomorrow.  European stores and UK users will be waiting until late August before the Xbox heads to these shores.

The new model will directly go head-to-head with its major rival, Sony and its slim PlayStation 3 version, which debuted last August.  Since the slim version was released, Sony’s sales for the PS3 have slowly been rising, after a stuttering start, which saw the console being plagued by a hosts of technical problems.

The Xbox 360 Slim edition will have a Wi-Fi connection installed in the hard-drive, which will be a major boost to its users.  On the previous Arcade and Elite versions, Wi-Fi connection had to be used through an Ethernet cable, or by buying packs that cost upto £70.  The hard-drive will also store upto 250GB of space, allowing plenty of space for users to store the many games, programmes and music that they will want to use.

Microsoft wouldn’t reveal much more at the launch, and probably will wait for the feedback from potential buyers and other gaming experts.  However, they did leave another jaw-dropper by announcing that the Slim version will be available at a much similar price to the older, reliable version.  Consequently, in the US, it will be available from $299.99.  In the UK, prices will begin from around £195, making it at least £40 cheaper than its Sony competitor.  This will make it an absolute bargain, and shows Microsoft are taking full consideration for its many consumers, and the problems that some maybe facing with costs as the world begins to slowly recover from worldwide recession.

Microsoft also went onto say, that they will be producing a knockdown sale of its older Elite and Arcade versions, making it a very tempting proposition for many, who are after a decent, popular games console.  The Xbox 360 already has access to Sky Player, Twitter, Facebook and Skype, and there are plans for the BBC I-Player to become an extra ingredient on the new model.  I-Player’s capacity is a big unique selling point for the PS3.

So, will this Slim Xbox 360 version continue to see Microsoft on top of the gaming establishment?  I think it will.  Sony’s PS3 got a lot of criticism on its delayed release, and it hasn’t really recovered.  After failed attempts by Sega and until the Wii, constant letdowns by Nintendo, Microsoft might have well and truly taken the mantelpiece and the crown from Sony as the new ‘Gaming King.’ 

World Cup Report - Day 4-6

The greatest show on earth is starting to take shape.  Here is a brief round-up from South Africa of the matches from the previous three days – as goals continued to be a problem for many, due to the over-cautious approach from most teams.  However, yesterday brought one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, as the European Champions were dethroned by hard-working Switzerland.

Monday 14^th June: Holland 2-0 Denmark

A cataclysmic own goal from Simon Poulsen set Holland on their way to an opening victory in Soccer City, Johannesburg.  Following a tight first-half, the own goal gave the Dutch, lacking their usual fluency the lead 52 seconds into the restart.  Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt settled the outcome, tapping home from close range, after Eljero Ella’s effort rebounded off the post with four minutes left.

 Monday 14^th June: Japan 1-0 Cameroon

Japan caused the first surprise of the finals so far, beating a lazy Cameroon outfit in a dour encounter.  The match was settled by CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda, slamming home on 38 minutes after poor defending from the Africans in Bloemfontein. 

Monday 14^th June: Italy 1-1 Paraguay

World champions Italy made a pathetic and traditional poor start to their defence, struggling to a 1-1 draw in Group F’s opener.  South Americans Paraguay took the lead when Antolin Alcaraz powered a header past the despairing Gianluigi Buffon before half-time.  Marcello Lippi’s men recovered to earn a share of the spoils, when Danielle De Rossi poked home from a scrambled corner, benefiting from a glaring error by Paraguay shot stopper Justo Villar.    

Tuesday 15^th June: New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia

Another tight game, saw the All Blacks earn their first ever World Cup point in dramatic circumstances in Rustenberg.  Winston Reid headed in the leveller in the third minute of injury time, punishing Slovakia for sitting back and holding onto the 1-0 lead, given by Robert Vittek’s coolly placed effort on 50 minutes.

Tuesday 15^th June: Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal

One of the most hotly anticipated group encounters turned into an absolute dire match, as two evenly-matched teams cancelled each other out in Port Elizabeth.  Cristiano Ronaldo came closest for the Portuguese, whacking the woodwork on five minutes with a rasping thirty-yard drive.

Tuesday 15^th June: Brazil 2-1 North Korea

In a game they were expected to wipe the floor with their opponents, the stylish Brazilians laboured to a 2-1 win at Ellis Park.  They had to wait until Maicon’s 55^th minute beautiful strike from an almost impossible angle.  Elano sealed the result, placing Robinho’s masterful pass into the net.  The North Koreans deserved a goal for their valiant efforts and earned it through a super strike from Ji-Yun-Nam.

 Wednesday 16^th June: Honduras 0-1 Chile

Chile opened their World Cup account with an impressive performance in Nelspruit.  Jean Beausejour’s strike ten minutes before the interval proved to be the difference in one of the most one-sided encounters so far.  Marcelo Bielsa’s side spurned a host of opportunities which suggested that the South Americans are a force to be reckoned with.

Wednesday 16^th June: Spain 0-1 Switzerland

European champions Spain were humbled by a hard-working Swiss outfit in Durban, and now face an almighty struggle to get out of Group H.  Despite crisp passing and neat build-up, the Spanish failed to take advantage of their possession and lost the match to a scrappy effort on the hour mark, put away by ex-Manchester City player Gelson Fernandes.

Wednesday 16^th June: South Africa 0-3 Uruguay

Diego Forlan produced a masterclass, as Uruguay well and truly silenced the South African fans in Pretoria last night.  The in-form Atletico Madrid ace, destroyer of Liverpool and Fulham and in Europa League this season scored twice, and set-up a third for Alvaro Pereira.  South African goalkeeper Itumenleng Khune was red-carded for a professional foul on Luis Suarez, as the hosts now face a huge battle to survive in their own tournament.