Spain 2, Honduras 0
How was this only 2-0? Well Torres still looked way short of his best, Navas did some great work on the right but too often wated his finish, and Honduras dug in well to clear their lines any way possible. Casillas had a couple of uncertain takes – she’s behind you the crowd cried, but after a good stop from Suazo in the 16th minute, the red tide besieged the honduras goal. David Villa went on a mazey run leaving three defenders floundering and made it 1-0. Navas followed up with a tempting cross into the box but Zavi couldn’t quite get his head to it. Torres lack of form was made clear in a five minute spell when he headed down instead in the goal from a Ramas raid, he skied a shot with a clear target and beat the offside trap only to be unfairly pulled back by the ref.
The second half was another tale of missed chances after Villa had made it 2-0 from a Navas break. Still the openings came and went, Ramos fired wide, Zavi, Torres and Navas made the crowd drool with neat close passes but each seemed too polite to add the final touch. Then Navas was clipped down in the box and Villa stepped up for his hat trick but fired the penalty wide. Goal difference may yet decide this group so Spain have to hope they wont regret their wasteful nature, Villa could still have got his treble but hesitated in the 86th minute and a Honduras defender cleared.
North Korea 0, Portugal 7
Amazingly Korea had the better of the first half hour and could have taken a shock lead as Yong Ho forced a good save. It took 29 minutes for Portugal to break through, Meirbeles cutting through the Korean defence to beat the keeper. Tiago let rip with a strong blast but Guk Ri fielded it well in goal.
The second half saw the floodgates open as the rain poured down. Simao was on the end of a patient build up to make it 2-0 and Almeida broke away and charged the Korean goal to add a third. Ronaldo hadn’t scored for his country in two years but was unselfish to unlock the Korean defence before passing back to Tiago for a fourth. Leidson had only just come on for Portugal before he made it 5-0 after a defensive slip, and Ronaldo finally got his name on the score sheet after the goalies block proved to be too lightweight. Tiago rounded it off with a glancing header, Portugal have arrived.
Chile 1, Switzerland 0
They are sneaking up on the outside rail with a mix of clever play and strong team work, Chile could be the surprise packet of the 2010 World Cup. Not a great game as the Swiss frustrated their South American opponents but a sending off tipped the balance for Chile. Suazo got the first of nine yellow cards shown in the game within a minute for a high kick. The cautios Swiss were down to 10 men after 30 minutes when Behrami hit Vidal twice in the face with his arm and got an instant red.
Chile were rampant after that, Sanchez led the charge but found the Swiss keeper a tough nut to crack. Paredes had the key after 75 minutes, he cut back to the goal line and flicked the ball out to Gonzalez to head the winner for Chile.
