World Cup Friendlies Recap

It was a busy Saturday with almost a third of the World Cup teams taking part in friendlies. Countries like Luxembourg and Cape Verde Islands had their moments in the sun and learned the importance of wearing sunscreen. They got burned. Wales also got to lace them up, Denmark did some dancing and Cameroon showed that grapes can go sour. All the while, the World Cup teams stretched their legs and tried to avoid metatarsal miseries. Here’s a summary of the day that was

France 1 Mexico 0
I got to watch a bit of this one, which turned out to be a fairly interesting exhibition match. France controlled the first half and received a goal from Florent Malouda right before the halftime whistle to come away with a 1-0 win in Paris. I couldn’t help but be struck by the fact it will be one of the last times I see Zinadine Zidane play. He earned his 100th cap in the match and a big round of applause from the home crowd. I also couldn’t help but be stuck by the fact that Djibril Cisse needs to lose that scary facial hair. The nightmares I will have tonight.

Netherlands 1 – Cameroon 0
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in the 23rd minute to give the Dutch the victory. Cameroon is still bitter about not qualifying for the World Cup and it showed with them picking up six yellow cards and a red card. I’m guessing that before the next World Cup the Dutch might choose a different sparring partner.

Cote d’Ivoire 1 – Switzerland 1
The two World Cup qualifiers played to a draw in Basle. Tranquillo Barnetta’s goal gave the Swiss the lead in the first half. Emerse Fae got the equalizer for the Elephants with a beautiful goal from 30 yards. These two teams continue to intrigue me. I could see an early exit for both or either one could make the final 8.

Germany 7 – Luxembourg 0
Luxembourg is ranked 152nd in the world and for once those FIFA rankings might be correct. I could list the German players who scored but it might be easier to list the ones that did not. One concern for the Germans is an ankle injury sustained by centre-back Robert Huth. He’ll be examined once the team returns to its training camp in Switzerland.

Wales 2 – Trinidad and Tobago 1
Stern John gave the Soca Warriors the lead in the 32nd minute, but Robert Earnshaw scored twice to give Wales the win. It is worth noting that David Vaughan came on for Wales in the second making his international debut at 16 years of age, a record for Wales. He might play in a World Cup in my lifetime. Or not.

Paraguay 1 Denmark 1
World Cup qualifiers Paraguay played to a draw with host Denmark. Jose Cardozo opened up the scoring for the visitors in the 20th minute but a second half goal by Jon Dahl Tomasson left the score level. Have you noticed that Paraguay ties every game?

Serbia & Montenegro 1 Uruguay 1
Dejan Stankovic scored early in the first half for the host S&M team, but the vaunted Plavi defense couldn’t hold onto the lead, yielding a late goal Uruguay’s Diego Godin. It is too bad Uruguay didn’t make the World Cup. I really fancy their flag.

Portugal 4 Cape Verde Island 1
Striker Pauleta showed that he owns the Cape Verde Islands. The Portugal stud netted a hat-trick to lead his country over those green islanders 4-1 in Evora. Apparently the game was played in such brutal heat that play was stopped twice to allow the players to drink water. Armando Petit scored the other goal for Portugal. Methinks Cape Verde Island and Luxembourg should play each other next with the loser having to play American Samoa in a best of seven series in the dead of summer in Evora.

Spain 0 – Russia 0
The final match of the day saw Spain play to a scoreless draw with Guus Hiddink’s future team. Not only were there no goals, but neither team received a card. Hey Cameroon, you should take some lessons from the Russians regarding how to play a friendly.

As always, check out the team blogs for analysis and thoughts as we move one step closer towards the start of the World Cup.

On tap for Sunday:

Macedonia FYR-Ecuador
Ukraine-Costa Rica
Croatia-Iran
USA – Latvia

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