Matchday 15 - Beware The Inquisition

Portugal 0 - Brazil 0
North Korea 0 - Cote d'Ivoire 3
Chile 1 - Spain 2
Switzerland 0 - Honduras 0

Matchday 15 saw the conclusion of the group stage. Portugal and Brazil played out a 0-0 draw to ensure both advanced from Group G at the expense of Cote d'Ivoire, their 3-0 win over North Korea not enough to see them advance. In Group H, Spain got the 3 points it needed to win the group with a 2-1 win over Chile, who also advanced after Switzerland could only manage a 0-0 draw with Honduras.

The highlight of the day was the continued return to form of Spain, their 2-1 win over Chile ensuring they topped Group H at put themselves on the opposite side of the draw to the tournament favourites, Brazil. With Iniesta returning to the side after injury, the European champions looked much more fluid and creative in midfield and created a number of chances through some superb passing moves. However, they were troubled by Chile early on with the South Americans having the best of the play until a horrendous goalkeeping error from Claudio Bravo allowed David Villa to score a stunning strike from over 35 yards out after Bravo ran miles outside his area in a failed clearing attempt. The goal ignited the Spaniard's who dominated the rest of the first half and the second goal, scored by Iniesta was the culmination of a fine series of inter-connected passes, Villa providing the final pass before Iniesta slotted low to the goalkeepers right. Chile were able to reduce the deficit back to one just after half time with Rodrigo Millar's deflected shot completely wrong-footing Iker Cassilas. With Switzerland and Honduras still locked at 0-0 in the other group game, that meant both Spain and Chile would advance at the current scoreline, and the second half petered out as a result, although Spain did continue to look lively. Chile also advanced to the second phase despite the loss, setting up a South American derby with Brazil in the next round.

Brazil took on Portugal in a battle for the top spot in Group G with both sides already having qualified for the second phase....and the result? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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The match was perfectly summed up by SBS analyst Craig Foster post game - "Well there is 96 minutes of our lives we will never get back". This game was absolute garbage with Portugal not even trying to press forward. I just feel sorry for anyone that forked out $$$ to go see this game.

Second Round Matches - Brazil ($1.23) v Chile ($5), Spain ($1.50) v Portugal ($3)

What We Learned - That Spain look to be back on track. Apart from the concerning form of Fernando Torres, who was an early second half substitute, most of the Spanish players displayed good form, both collectively and as a team, against Chile. The win means they avoid Brazil in the second round and can set themselves for a big run to the semi-finals.

The Falcon's Spud of the Day - Claudio Bravo (Chile) - After his side had had the best of the early proceedings, Bravo charged out of his penalty box to clear a Spanish through ball on the left flank. His clearance bounced back to David Villa who, despite being 35 yards out, had an open goal at his mercy. The star striker made no mistake, give Spain the lead and the momentum, and the Chileans never recovered. Epic Fail!

Tonight's Games - The knockout round kicks off with the spectre of extra time and penalties hovering over every game. It all kicks off with Uruguay and South Korea, and Uruguay would be extremely disappointed not to go through here. The late game sees the USA take on Ghana - two teams that will never get a better chance to make the quarter-finals. I expect the spirit of Africa to get the Ghanaians over the line.

Suggested Investment - Hard to know how to play the knockout stages but we will start by trying a multi with Uruguay and Ghana to both advance to the quarter finals from their matches tonight.

Prices courtesy of Betfair.