Matchday 6 - Swiss Gold

Honduras 0 - Chile 1 (Beausejour 34)
Spain 0 - Switzerland 1 (Fernandes 52)
South Africa 0 - Uruguay 3 (Forlan 24, 80p Pereira 90)

Matchday 6 will forever be remembered for one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history after European minnows Switzerland defeated tournament favourites and European champions Spain 1-0 in their opening game. In the earlier Group H game Chile ground out their first World Cup win in 48 years with a 1-0 victory over Honduras, while Uruguay all but ended the host nations tournament with a 3-0 demolition of South Africa.

But it is the performance of the Spaniards that will be under most scrutiny this morning, and it can be summed it one word - CHOKE! Spain had won all of its past 12 matches, and lost just once in their last 48 internationals. And yet their first game at the World Cup, as tournament favourites and European Champions sees them lose…to Switzerland!!! A team they had never lost to in 18 previous encounters! The ghosts of previous failed World Cup efforts will certainly be haunting many a Spanish household today. While it is true the Spaniards totally dominated the game, and in no way deserved to lose, their ability to provide a final killer ball in the final third must be of concern. Despite their 21 shots their best effort was a Xavi Alonso strike from distance and to be fair, of those shots there weren’t too many clear cut chances. Also concerning was a potential injury to Iniesta, who was the best player on the park until having to go off, and the fact that Fernando Torres looked extremely underdone after coming on as second half substitute. The Swiss defended magnificently and now look to be in the box seat to advance to the second round. Spain should still qualify with wins over Chile (1-0 winners in the early game) and Honduras – but they cannot afford any more slip ups.

Updated odds to advance – Group H – Spain ($1.40), Chile ($1.85), Switzerland ($1.40), Honduras ($25). Group A – Uruguay ($1.15), France ($1.50), Mexico ($2.25), South Africa ($16)

What We Learned – That Spain are not the certainties that everyone made them out to be. The Iberian powerhouse had real problems creating quality attacking chances and now potentially could face the might of Brazil in the second round. The dream final could already be off the cards after set of matches!

The Falcon’s Spud Of The Day – The Punters Club who by majority voted to put its last remaining funds on Spain to win the tournament. I told you they were the suckers bet. Go Brazil! (Now tournament favourites just quietly).

Tonight’s Games – The second round continues with Argentina and South Korea clashing with the winner almost assured of qualification. On their last performance you would think the Argentineans would be too strong. In the other Group B game Greece take on Nigeria, with the Africans looking to stay in the hunt for the second round with a win. They should achieve that aim. Finally, Group A concludes its second round of matches with France taking on Mexico. Despite both teams needing a win to chase down Uruguay I expect a draw to be the final result.

Suggested Investment – Still no more luck with the exotic bets so it’s probably time to go back to the multi’s. Let’s try Argentina to defeat South Korea paired up with a draw between France and Mexico (I think the draw is especially good value at $3.20).