Matchday 4 - Champs Held

Netherlands 2 (Agger 46 [og], Kuyt 85) - Denmark 0
Japan 1 (Honda 39) - Cameroon 0
Italy 1 (De Rossi 63) - Paraguay 1 (Alcaraz 39)

Matchday 4 saw the defending champions Italy came from 1-0 down at halftime to snatch a point against Paraguay, the Netherlands open their campaign with a clinical display against Denmark, while the Samurai's of Japan scored their first ever World Cup win away from home in dispatching Cameroon by a single goal.

The Italians are notoriously slow starters to tournament play, and it was no different this time as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a stout Paraguayan defence. In fact the South Americans took an undeserved lead just before half time with centre back Alcaraz (not to be confused with the San Fransisco prison) leaping over Fabian Cannavaro to head home a free kick. That was really the only chance the South Americans created up until then and they were lucky to lead. Italy had been the better of the two teams, without creating any glorious chances, and they were hard done by to be down at the break. Amazingly goalie Gionluigi Buffon was subbed off at half time (crushing my fantasy team) and things were starting to look like they were going to go really wrong for the Azzuri. However, the Italians garnered the equaliser they so richly deserved, unfortunately (for Paraguay) thanks to an absolute howler by goalkeeper (and captain!) Villar - who flapped at an Italian corner, missed the ball, and allowed Daniele De Rossi to knock the ball home. The Italians dominated from then on and were arguably unlucky not to find the winner they probably deserved. If they improve (they always do) on that performance they will be thereabouts again, while Paraguay should also advance from the group if they can mantain their level of play.

In Group E, the Netherlands kicked off their campaign with a win in what was a clinical dispatching of Denmark, 2-0 the final score. The game was best described as a 'tactical' affair with the Danes happy to defend deep and allow the Dutch the majority of the time on the ball. The Amsterdam boys admittedly looked fairly impotent in the first half and were lucky to take the lead just after half-time thanks to an own goal from Denmark's Danny Agger. The 1-0 lead would have been more than enough with the Danes only able to create a handful of chances throughout the 90 minutes, none of them troubling the Dutch keeper. In the end the Dutch got the second they probably deserved with Dirk Kuyt tapping home from close range after his teammates shot had been deflected off the post. The Dutch looked ok, but it was hardly a tournament winning performance from a team tipped by many to be the best outsider here. The Danes were very compact and disciplined in defence and should be able to advance if they can snare a win against the Japanese (who defeated Cameroon 1-0 later in the night).

Updated odds to advance - Group E - Netherlands ($1.02), Denmark ($2.50), Cameroon ($6), Japan ($2.10). Group F - Italy ($1.20), Paraguay ($1.40), Slovakia* ($2.50), New Zealand* ($12)

*Still to play

What We Learned - The mythical 'Africa premium' does not exist. Cameroon unforgivably lost 1-0 to a Japan team coming off a string of very poor performances. Backed up by the fact Algeria went to down to minnows Slovenia yesterday the only win an African nation has had so far was Ghana's fluke victory over Serbia thanks to a late penalty - a game that deserved to be 0-0 anyway.

The Falcon's Spud Of The Day - Justo Villar (Paraguay) - Ominously the third keeper to get the award in just four days, Villar, the team captain, was the latest goalie to let in a howler. With his team up 1-0 and possibly on the way to a famous victory he softly flapped at (and missed) an Italian corner that landed right at the feet of Daniele De Rossi to tap in for 1-1. Who would want to be a goalkeeper at this tournament.

Tonight's Games - Group F's matches are rounded off with the ultimate no-name clash as New Zealand takes on Slovakia - the Slovaks should just win what will probably be a dour affair. Group G kicks off with arguably the best first round match up as Cote d'Ivoire takes on Portugal. Without a fully fit Drogba I expect the Portuguese to just nudge this. The night (or early morning) will end with the superstars of Brazil taking on the fairytale story of North Korea. Let's hope the Brazilians can smash home more than 4 goals to ensure the Australian's do not hold the record for the biggest defeat at the tournament for long.

Suggested Investment - Another multi went down last night after Italy failed to get over Paraguay. Given most matches have been tight affairs resulting in a few unusual results it might be time to resort to the more exotic bet types again. With a couple of star strikers in order why not try Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) [$6] to score first in his game, and Luis Fabiano (Brazil) [$4.50] to score the first goal in the late game.

Prices courtesy of Betfair.