Day 5 saw the second of Group F matches, New Zealand against Slovakia; and the two matches from Group G (the group of death), with Cote d'Ivoire taking on Portugal and Brazil facing Korea DPR.
The two lightweights faced each other in an afternoon kickoff and despite starting the brighter of the two sides, New Zealand found themselves a goal down soon after the 2nd half started, with a cool finish by Robert Vittek (Man of the Match). Unwilling to give up, they finally secured a draw with a last-gasp equalizer from their striker Winston Reid, whose goal sparked wild celebrations among the Kiwis. With the match between Italy and Paraguay also ending in a 1-1 draw, this group is now status quo and I reckon the qualifying sides will be decided on 24 June, when Slovakia take on Italy and Paraguay face New Zealand.
News just in: Italy could face a potential goalkeeping problem after their starting shotstopper Gianluigi Buffon was substituted at halftime in the match against Paraguay due to a back injury. Buffon was massive for the Azzurris in their triumphant campaign 4 years ago, saving a powerful goal-bound header by Zinedine Zidane in injury time in Berlin. His loss will be immense for a defensive-looking side.
In a group where the margin for error was the smallest among all, Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal gave a match that was exciting at times, but mostly cagey to the point of boredom. Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck from a considerable distance early in the 1st half and almost scored the goal of the tournament with a scorching drive that had the Africans goalkeeper, Barry thoroughly beaten but could not beat his goalpost. Drogba did not start, but came on as a 2nd half sub to cacophonous cheers from the crowd and almost sealed 3 points for CIV with a late attempt that saw the ball flash across the face of the goal, leaving many a Portuguese heart missing a heartbeat. An entertaining goalless draw but both sides will need to discover their shooting boots before soon.
For most part of the match, Brazil huffed and puffed but found no way past a resolute Korean defence. Kaka was almost invisible and while the full backs bombed up and down the pitch, their play in the final 3rd was a bit rusty, to be honest. Korea DPR did not exactly bend over backwards either and whatever their coach told them seemed to be effective as they took the battle to their much more illustrious opponents. Couple of chances had the Brazilian defence scrambling for clearances and Dunga realized that his team had underestimated the Asians. Come 2nd half, each side was determined to score first, but it was the 5-time champions who broke the deadlock with a fine finish by Maicon, who had such a stupendous season with Inter Milan that he edged out another superb full back Dani Alves who had a great 2009-10 with Barcelona. Elano secured the win with an angled drive 18 minutes from time after a slick through ball by Robinho had sliced open the Koreans defence. The Koreans pulled a goal back through a rousing run and finish by Ji Yun Nam, but with less than a minute to go, the score stood at 2-1. Brazil made a winning start, but Korea DPR proving that the gap between established powers and the underdogs is now thinner than ever, Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal will be now extra careful to guard against complacency in their matches against the lowest ranked team in the tournament.
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