Argentina and Uruguay Top in Group A and B WorldCup Soccer

While a lot of big-name nations from Europe have struggled, the finest from South America finest have already taken off at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Uruguay and Argentina emerged on top of Groups A and B respectively after finishing their assignments and the continent’s other three representatives are at the moment ahead of their groups too, with Brazil, five-time world champions who already booked their place in the Round of 16 with a game to go.

Now it is Paraguay and Chile that is being eyed if they can complete a clean sweep in their last first-phase games. At this time, the CONMEBOL countries got ten wins and two draws of their 12 games. They have taking 32 of the 36 available points up at stake. This means that Paraguay of Group F and Chile of Group H need only a point to assure qualification to top their respective sections.

This is a turnaround if you think about what happened in Germany 2006, where no South American nation was able to make it to the semi-final stage. Jorge Valdivia the Chile schemer said that it is great that the South American teams are bouncing back. Coach Gerardo Martino of Paraguay is not even surprised and said that all the five teams were in good shape at the start of the tournament. All of them have high hopes and the majority has shown good displays in the first round. With this said, it is quite clear that Brazil and Argentina are two different case to contend with. And it is very clear that South American teams have risen from the group.

On Group A, Uruguay won without giving up a goal and Argentina did not give up a point in Group B. While Paraguay held a draw with world champions Italy in their first and made an impressive 2-0 victory against Slovakia in their second, to top Group F. Brazil had back to back wins against Korea DPR and Côte d’Ivoire in Group G, and Chile collected six points to their credit to become the first team to over run Switzerland in 559 minutes in the FIFA World Cup tournament.

Enzo Francescoli the Uruguayan legend said, the punishing and intensely aggressive nature of South American Zone matches is one factor behind this quick start. For the teams of South America it is a real tough qualifying phase. They have a different football standard with different marking styles and tactical movements.

Poll: Who Will Advance From Group G in World Cup 2010

The match between Brazil-Portugal is one of the most looked after game in all of the groups. This is the only group with teams ranked amongst the top five in the world.

Brazil has the record of having five time winners and twice being runner ups. They are the only country to be in every FIFA World Cup™. Brazil is regarded as one of the heavily favored to win in South Africa World Cup 2010. They are one of the toughest team to beat in South Africa and being the winner of the Confederations Cup will prove to be helpful in the World Cup.

Portugal is a team loaded with quality and ranking fifth in the world because of their ability. In 2009 they were unbeaten with a record of eight wins and four draws. The most important is the team has great defense and a good mixture of youth and experience.

Ivory Coast is ranked sixteenth in the world and has top class players that include one of the best strikers of the world. They have a quality squad who is used to playing with pressure and familiar with the African conditions.

North Korea has qualified in 1966 for the World Cup only once. Because of being a communist country, they are secretive in nature so their abilities are unknown which will be their greatest strength. With this information, you will have the idea of Who Will Advance from Group G in World Cup 2010.

Bravil vs Bolivia Results

Bolivia wins 2-1

The Legacy of Pele

One of the legends of football is known simply as Pele. He has been acclaimed as the Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and is a national hero in his native Brazil. From his humble beginnings playing for Santos in Brazil, his playing career has been marked with excellent dribbling and passing, his powerful shot, his heading skill and above all his prolific goal scoring prowess.

Though Pele has retired in 1977, he is still the standard that Brazilian players are measured against. He has been acclaimed as the “King of Football”, the all time leading scorer on the Brazilian national football team and is the only footballer to be part of three World Cup winning teams. This is why Pele is still one of the icons of sports and with his current role as the worldwide ambassador for football; he is the symbol of greatness from the humblest of beginnings.

Fan Dies and Many Injured in Football Related Violence

A heavy pall has come over football in Brazil as one fan was shot to death and with at least forty others sustained injuries due to fan versus fan violence in Brazil. In Belo Horizonte, a man was killed when rival supporters of Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro clashed on Sunday. Another teenager was also shot but is currently out of danger.

Corinthians fans also fought with police in Sao Paulo after a one all draw with bitter rival Sao Paulo in a heated match at the Morumbi stadium. Fans complained that police authorities refused to allow them to leave the stadium. Police did so for safety reasons and when the fans resisted the control measures, police were forced to use tear gas to keep the violent mob at bay. Many of the injuries sustained were due to the pushing and shoving resulting in contusions and broken bones. Other injuries sustained were people being trampled on as the barricade gave way and the supporters rushed out of the stadium. As of the moment, police authorities are investigating the incidents.

Robinho Runs Back To Brazil

Talks are that Robinho has gone back to Brazil to take care of personal matters. Brazil Manchester City manager Mark Huges warn Robinho to slow down and wait to go back. Robinho decided to take an unauthorized leave from the club and go back.
Robinho and Kaka, Robinho international teammate, was not picked and sent back to Brazil. Rumor has it Robinho might of went back due to Kaka not making the pick. Robinho had said he was not worried about Kaka that Kaka had done it to himself and Robinho was ready and willing to play for Manchester City.
Robinho had mention he was very happy with the team, the fans, and the coach and willing to put himself in the best position to make it to the top as a player.
Huges now said that once Robinho gets back they will finish the talks this weekend and he will know how Huges feels about the unauthorized leave from the team.

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