Archive for July 2010
Spain, Paraguay best defences in World Cup
Spain had the best defence conceding just two goals in seven matches but Paraguay came second conceding also two goals but in five matches.
After five matches, Paraguay and Uruguay were on the same footing with two goals conceded but Uruguay went on to concede a further six goals in its next two matches to slip down the defence ranking.
Switzerland and Portugal each conceded one goal each but the Swiss only played three matches and Portugal four.
Portugal and Uruguay were in fact the only two teams not to concede a goal in the group stages.
Below is table showing all the goals conceded by each team:
| Team | Goals |
|---|---|
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Portugal | 1 |
| Spain | 2 |
| Paraguay | 2 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| Japan | 2 |
| Algeria | 2 |
| Slovenia | 3 |
| Serbia | 3 |
| Ivory Coast | 3 |
| Honduras | 3 |
| Ghana | 4 |
| France | 4 |
| Brazil | 4 |
| USA | 5 |
| South Africa | 5 |
| Nigeria | 5 |
| Mexico | 5 |
| Italy | 5 |
| Greece | 5 |
| Germany | 5 |
| England | 5 |
| Chile | 5 |
| Cameroon | 5 |
| Netherlands | 6 |
| Denmark | 6 |
| Australia | 6 |
| Argentina | 6 |
| Slovakia | 7 |
| Uruguay | 8 |
| Korea | 8 |
| Korea DPR | 12 |
delicious
digg
World Cup goals decline in 2010
A total of 145 goals were scored with 59 scored in the first half and the remaining 86 in the second.
This number is not very much different from the goals scored four years when 147 goals were scored.
But there is a huge difference when this is compared with 2002 and 1998 where 161 and 171 goals were scored as shown in the table below:
| World Cup | Goals |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 145 |
| 2006 | 147 |
| 2002 | 161 |
| 1998 | 171 |
If the decline in the number of goals continues in 2014 its quite possible that the number of goals scored then could be less than the 141 scored in the 1994 edition hosted by the United States but which featured 24 teams and 52 matches.
The table below shows the number of goals scored by each team:
| Team | Goals |
|---|---|
| Honduras | 0 |
| Algeria | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Korea DPR | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Serbia | 2 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| Greece | 2 |
| Cameroon | 2 |
| South Africa | 3 |
| Slovenia | 3 |
| Paraguay | 3 |
| Nigeria | 3 |
| England | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Chile | 3 |
| Australia | 3 |
| Mexico | 4 |
| Japan | 4 |
| Ivory Coast | 4 |
| Italy | 4 |
| USA | 5 |
| Slovakia | 5 |
| Ghana | 5 |
| Korea | 6 |
| Portugal | 7 |
| Spain | 8 |
| Brazil | 9 |
| Argentina | 10 |
| Uruguay | 11 |
| Netherlands | 12 |
| Germany | 16 |
Total Goals Scored : 145
Blackpool opts for away start
Blackpool's first ever premiership match will now be in the third round when they host Arsenal.
There is work at the moment at Bloomfield Road to boost the capacity of the stadium to 17,600 and its assumed that by the time the Gunners visit that work would have been completed.
Blackpool will now host Wigan on the weekend of April 16, 2011.
Spain lifts World Cup
Spain who were playing in their maiden World Cup final, made it third time unlucky for the Netherlands who had lost in the final twice before.
Like the previous matches in the knockout stages, Spain won by scoring just one goal but this time the goal was scored in extra time after the match finished goalless after ninety minutes.
Spain's goal was 145th of the tournament and Spain conceded just two in the whole tournament.
The Netherlands had gone into the final unbeaten and they found it hard to score against that last conceded a goal in the group stages.
Today I will just show the table that includes all the matches played and see how it looks now that the tournament is finished.
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Spain | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 18 |
| Germany | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 15 |
| Argentina | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| Uruguay | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Brazil | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Ghana | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Japan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Paraguay | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Chile | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| Portugal | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| USA | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 5 |
| Ivory Coast | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Mexico | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 4 |
| Korea | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 4 |
| Slovakia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 4 |
| South Africa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Serbia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 3 |
| Greece | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| Italy | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 2 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 |
| Algeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| France | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| Honduras | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 |
| Korea DPR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
So this being a goal difference based table, Netherlands finishes top on number of goals scored but it would have been different if I consider head to head.
World Cup final: Netherlands vs Spain
It will be the third final for the Dutch but for Spain its the first time to reach this stage.
The Netherlands are unbeaten so far having won all their matches and they have scored 12 goals in the process and are currently second in the goal scoring charts behind Germany.
Spain hasn't been scoring many goals since the knockout stages and the knockout stage matches have all been won by an odd goal.
In the group stages Spain two goals against Honduras and Chile and they got their highest winning margin against Honduras.
Chile was the last team to score against Spain and the only other team to score against them was Switzerland.
Now I will take a look at the winning trend for the Netherlands:
| Trend | Frequency | Percentage(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands leading at half time, Netherlands winning at full time | 2 | 33.3 |
| Netherlands leading at half time, Netherlands losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Netherlands trailing at half time, Netherlands winning at full time | 1 | 16.7 |
| Netherlands trailing at half time, Netherlands losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Netherlands drawing at half time, Netherlands winning at full time | 3 | 50.0 |
| Netherlands drawing at half time, Netherlands losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Matches ending in result | 6 | 100.0 |
So the Dutch have 100% winning record and its important to note both teams have not played extra time so far.
The winning trend for Spain:
| Trend | Frequency | Percentage(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Spain leading at half time, Spain winning at full time | 2 | 33.3 |
| Spain leading at half time, Spain losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Spain trailing at half time, Spain winning at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Spain trailing at half time, Spain losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Spain drawing at half time, Spain winning at full time | 3 | 50.0 |
| Spain drawing at half time, Spain losing at full time | 1 | 16.7 |
| Matches ending in result | 6 | 100.0 |
The majority of Spain's wins have come in a match when they have gone into the break drawn and then score the winning goal in the second half.
So it will be interesting to see what changes in the trends will take place for the 2010 FIFA World Cup final as one team ends as a loser.
Germans finish third
Germany scored the first goal but the match was tied going into half time.
Soon after half time the Germans saw themselves behind as Uruguay became the first team to score more than one goal against Germany at this tournament.
Germany came from behind to secure the bronze medal.
This was Uruguay's second successive 3-2 loss having lost by the same scoreline against the Dutch in the semi-final match.
From having conceded just two goals before the semis, Uruguay have now gone from 2 conceded to 8 conceded in just two matches.
The table below shows the number of goals each team has conceded with just one more match to go:
| Team | Goals |
|---|---|
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Portugal | 1 |
| Spain | 2 |
| Paraguay | 2 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| Japan | 2 |
| Algeria | 2 |
| Slovenia | 3 |
| Serbia | 3 |
| Ivory Coast | 3 |
| Honduras | 3 |
| Ghana | 4 |
| France | 4 |
| Brazil | 4 |
| USA | 5 |
| South Africa | 5 |
| Nigeria | 5 |
| Netherlands | 5 |
| Mexico | 5 |
| Italy | 5 |
| Greece | 5 |
| Germany | 5 |
| England | 5 |
| Chile | 5 |
| Cameroon | 5 |
| Denmark | 6 |
| Australia | 6 |
| Argentina | 6 |
| Slovakia | 7 |
| Uruguay | 8 |
| Korea | 8 |
| Korea DPR | 12 |
Total Goals Conceded : 144
Unless the Dutch can score four goals against Spain in the final, Germany will finish the tournament as the highest scorers with 16 goals.
Bronze medal match: Uruguay vs Germany
Uruguay has had a very good run at this year's tournament but lost narrowly to the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
Before the semis Uruguay had not conceded more than one goal in a match and in the group stages they came out with a clean sheet.
Germany lost to Spain in its semi-final match and this was its second defeat of the tournament having lost to Serbia in the group stages.
Apart from that defeat Germany had been very impressive and scored four goals in three different matches including a 4-nil drubbing of Argentina in the quarters.
So taking a quick look at the winning trend for Uruguay:
| Trend | Frequency | Percentage(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Uruguay leading at half time, Uruguay winning at full time | 3 | 75.0 |
| Uruguay leading at half time, Uruguay losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Uruguay trailing at half time, Uruguay winning at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Uruguay trailing at half time, Uruguay losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Uruguay drawing at half time, Uruguay winning at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Uruguay drawing at half time, Uruguay losing at full time | 1 | 25.0 |
| Matches ending in result | 4 | 66.7 |
The other match not shown here was won on penalties against Ghana.
For Germany here has been the winning trend:
| Trend | Frequency | Percentage(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Germany leading at half time, Germany winning at full time | 3 | 50.0 |
| Germany leading at half time, Germany losing at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Germany trailing at half time, Germany winning at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Germany trailing at half time, Germany losing at full time | 1 | 16.7 |
| Germany drawing at half time, Germany winning at full time | 1 | 16.7 |
| Germany drawing at half time, Germany losing at full time | 1 | 16.7 |
| Matches ending in result | 6 | 100.0 |
Germany has so far not been stretched to extra time and it would be interesting to see what happens should this match reach that far.
Spain reaches maiden World Cup final
Spain will now meet the Netherlands who beat Uruguay to reach their third final.
Spain won by by an odd goal which is the same scoreline for all their knockout matches.
Germany went into the semi-final having only lost once and having scored 13 goals but they could not find the net against Spain.
The second half goal was enough for Spain to reach its first final in a match were no cautions were issued which could be the only match where that has happened so far.
I will take a look at the table that puts all the results together so far:
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 18 |
| Spain | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 15 |
| Germany | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 12 |
| Argentina | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| 6Uruguay | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| Brazil | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Ghana | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Japan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Paraguay | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Chile | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| Portugal | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| USA | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 5 |
| Ivory Coast | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Mexico | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 4 |
| Korea | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 4 |
| Slovakia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 4 |
| South Africa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Serbia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 3 |
| Greece | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| Italy | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 2 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 |
| Algeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| France | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| Honduras | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 |
| Korea DPR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
Dutch beat Uruguay to reach third final
The Dutch scored first but Uruguay responded to get the match drawn at half time.
In the second half the Dutch scored two goals in less than five minutes to lead 3-1 and the Uruguay made for a closer scoreline with a goal in injury time.
This was the first time for both teams to concede more than one goal at this tournament.
At this point I will take a look at the scorelines so far this tournament and with three matches left:
| Scoreline | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 0 - 0 | 7 |
| 0 - 1 | 9 |
| 0 - 2 | 3 |
| 0 - 3 | 2 |
| 0 - 4 | 1 |
| 1 - 0 | 6 |
| 1 - 1 | 7 |
| 1 - 2 | 5 |
| 1 - 3 | 1 |
| 2 - 0 | 3 |
| 2 - 1 | 6 |
| 2 - 2 | 2 |
| 2 - 3 | 1 |
| 3 - 0 | 1 |
| 3 - 1 | 2 |
| 3 - 2 | 1 |
| 4 - 0 | 1 |
| 4 - 1 | 2 |
| 7 - 0 | 1 |
Portugal's 7-nil is still the most outstanding scoreline with no other team scoring more than four goals.
Adelaide settles for Coolen
Adelaide who finished bottom in the A-League last season managed to reach the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League.
In the last six years Coolen has coached FC Twente, AGOVV Apeldoorn and RBC Roosendaal having retired from playing fifteen years ago.
Coolen's first match in the 2010/11 A-League season will be a home match against Newcastle Jets at the Hindmarsh Stadium.
Germany demolishes Argentina
The South Americans had never failed to scored in a match but they faced an efficient German team that seemed to score with every attack.
Australia and England had all conceded four goals against Germany and now Argentina has joined them.
The Germans are now the leading goalscorers in the tournament as shown in the table below:
| Team | Goals |
|---|---|
| Honduras | 0 |
| Algeria | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Korea DPR | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Serbia | 2 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| Greece | 2 |
| Cameroon | 2 |
| South Africa | 3 |
| Slovenia | 3 |
| Paraguay | 3 |
| Nigeria | 3 |
| England | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Chile | 3 |
| Australia | 3 |
| Mexico | 4 |
| Japan | 4 |
| Ivory Coast | 4 |
| Italy | 4 |
| USA | 5 |
| Spain | 5 |
| Slovakia | 5 |
| Ghana | 5 |
| Korea | 6 |
| Uruguay | 7 |
| Portugal | 7 |
| Netherlands | 9 |
| Brazil | 9 |
| Argentina | 10 |
| Germany | 13 |
Total Goals Scored : 132
Argentina are still second in the scoring charts but Germany can still increase this tally with two more matches to play.
Germany will now meet the winner between Spain and Paraguay.
WC Quarter-finals : Argentina vs Germany
The two teams met at the same stage in the 2006 edition and Germany came up winners after a penalty shootout.
Argentina go into this match unbeaten so far whereas Germany lost to Serbia in the group stages.
Both teams have conceded two goals so far but Argentina has scored ten goals compared to Germany's nine.
The table below shows the comparison stats based on the group stages only:
| Germany | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|
| Played | 3 | 3 |
| Points | 6 | 9 |
| Drawn | 0 | 0 |
| Won | 2 | 3 |
| Lost | 1 | 0 |
| Goal difference | 4 | 6 |
| Clean sheets | 2 | 2 |
| Failed to score | 1 | 0 |
| Goals scored | 5 | 7 |
| Goals conceded | 1 | 1 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.7 | 2.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Biggest win | Germany 4 - 0 Australia | Argentina 4 - 1 Korea |
| Biggest loss | Germany 0 - 1 Serbia | No loss |
| Score 3 or more | 2 | 2 |
| Concede 3 or more | 0 | 0 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 2 | 2 |
| Points | 3 | 6 |
| Drawn | 0 | 0 |
| Won | 1 | 2 |
| Lost | 1 | 0 |
| Goal difference | 3 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 4 | 5 |
| Goals conceded | 1 | 1 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.0 | 2.5 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 1 | 1 |
| Points | 3 | 3 |
| Drawn | 0 | 0 |
| Won | 1 | 1 |
| Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Goal difference | 1 | 2 |
| Goals scored | 1 | 2 |
| Goals conceded | 0 | 0 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Brazil slump to shock defeat
The world number one team had entered the competition as favourites and they looked on course when they scored the first goal.
Brazil becomes the first team to get to half time in the lead and then lose as shown in the following which shows all the trends for matches that have ended in a result:
| Trend | Frequency | Percentage(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Home team leading at half time, home team winning at full time | 14 | 33.3 |
| Away team leading at half time, away team winning at full time | 12 | 28.6 |
| Home team trailing at half time, home team winning at full time | 1 | 2.4 |
| Away team trailing at half time, away team winning at full time | 0 | 0.0 |
| Draw at half time, home team winning at full time | 8 | 19.0 |
| Draw at half time, away team winning at full time | 7 | 16.7 |
| Matches ending in result | 42 | 72.4 |
The Netherlands will now meet Uruguay who beat Ghana 4-2 on penalties.
Liverpool appoints Hodgson
Hodgson leaves Fulham which he took to the Europa Cup final where his team lost to Atletico Madrid.
The much travelled manager will try to try and arrest the decline at Anfield with the team finishing seventh last season and winning no silverware.
Liverpool had finished second at the end of the 2008/9 season and there were hopes that the team would even try and win the Premiership but the Anfield outfit ended up fighting for a Europa Cup placing.
Hodgson's first premiership match will be against Arsenal at Anfield.
