Monday, 21 June 2010 08:41
Portugal failed to live up to expectations in their first match of this World Cup and I have a feeling they will again today. Take away Ronaldo from Portugal and you are left with very little and if he is not having one of his special days, he is just another player.
I am writing this so I can be wrong. I so desperately want to see Ronaldo do well but in this team, I can not see it happening. Also, I suspect North Korea are going to be very well organised and they will know all about threat levels.
Half of me thinks Portugal will win but the other half is expecting a draw. I can't see North Korea winning although I am hoping for more of the same from when they lost to Brazil, in terms of commitment and work rate.
Prediction
Our little run of predicting the right results is over so we do not expect to get this result right but we are going to go with a win for Portugal and we are also going to double up and have a cheeky bet on Ronaldo to score a goal. If he can not weave a little magic and get a goal against this lot, we are all doomed and you might as we ll start heading to the mountains, because the water is coming.
Opposition View
Portugal coach, Carlos Queiroz
We’ll have to play higher up the pitch against the North Koreans and take more risks because we need a victory. Obviously we can’t afford to play the way we did in our last match. We got a point against a very strong team and now we’ll approach the next game with a clear goal; to win.
North Korea striker, Jong Tae Se
Portugal are one of the potential competition winners. We started this World Cup against one of the biggest teams in the world and I think there’ll be less pressure against Portugal. We have a real chance of winning this match.
World Cup 2010 Group G Table before Kick Off
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
 Portugal |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Ivory Coast |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 1 |
 Korea DPR |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
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Final World Cup 2010 Group Tables
A
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Uruguay |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
 Mexico |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
 South Africa |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 4 |
 France |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
B
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
 South Korea |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
 Greece |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
 Nigeria |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
C
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
 England |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
 Slovenia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Algeria |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
D
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Germany |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
 Ghana |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Australia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 4 |
 Serbia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
E
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Netherlands |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
 Japan |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
 Denmark |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
 Cameroon |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
F
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Paraguay |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
 Slovakia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
 New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 Italy |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
G
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Portugal |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| Ivory Coast |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Korea DPR |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -11 | 0 |
H
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Spain |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
 Chile |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
 Switzerland |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Honduras |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
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