THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2014
Russia draw with S Korea
FAN FERVOR
CUIABA: Blundering Russia goalkeeper
Igor Akinfeev was bailed out by teammate Alexander Kerzhakov in a 1-1 draw
with South Korea in the World Cup on
Tuesday that exposed both teams’ deficiencies. Akinfeev had already looked suspect in dealing with long-range shots
before spilling Lee Keun-ho’s speculative
effort into his own net in the 68th minute,
gifting South Korea the lead at the Arena
Pantanal. Kerzhakov, though, came to
Akinfeev’s rescue by turning in a shot
from close range six minutes later - just
three minutes after coming on as a substitute - to earn Russia a point from a poorquality Group H match.
Akinfeev stayed on the ground inside
his own net, head in his hands, after making his error, clearly embarrassed after
dropping what was a routine save from a
shot from about 30 yards. He was consoled by a couple of teammates, who patted him on the back. “It was a kid’s mistake,” Afinkeev said. “The goalkeeper of
the national team shouldn’t make mistakes like this one.” Russia coach Fabio
Capello has remained loyal to Akinfeev
this season despite some patchy form,
and stood by him again. “He is a great
goalkeeper,” Capello said. “There can be
mistakes, of course - some can get a
penalty wrong ... and it’s logical for a goalkeeper to make a mistake as well. “We
were able to make up for that and we can
accept a mistake by a great keeper like
Akinfeev.”
The explosive six-minute spell that featured both goals was not in keeping with
the rest of a fairly mundane game characterized by slow build-up play, poor passing and wayward finishing. A point leaves
both teams behind Belgium, which beat
Algeria 2-1 earlier Tuesday, but the group
appears wide open based on the opening
two fixtures. Having lost four of its last five
games heading to Brazil, the South
Koreans came into their eighth straight
World Cup with concerns over their flimsy
defense and a lack of goal threat. A 4-0
thrashing by Ghana in a warm-up in
Miami last week highlighted those worrying deficiencies perfectly.
CUIABA: Russia’s forward Alexander Samedov (left) falls with South Korea’s midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng during a
Group H football match between Russia and South Korea in the Pantanal Arena on June 17, 2014. — AFP
There was no hiding their toothless
attack here, either, with the experienced
Park Chu-young starting as the lone striker but justifying fears that he has lost his
way after three ineffective years with
Arsenal in the English Premier League. He
was substituted in the 56th and his
replacement, Lee, scored South Korea’s
goal. Russia, led by former England coach
Fabio Capello, was just as lifeless in attack
- at least until Kerzhakov and Alan
Dzagoev came off the bench - and too
functional in midfield. A dire first half was
marked by the large contingent of
Brazilian fans in the crowd doing slow
hand clapping but South Korea coach
Hong Myung-bo was satisfied by what he
saw. “In such a tournament, the first
match is the most difficult,” Hong, who
captained the nation to the semifinals of
the 2002 World Cup, said through a translator. “There is a lot of pressure on it so I
thought the players played very well.”
Save for a shot by Son Heung-min that
flew over the bar in the 39th when the
forward was free at the edge of the area,
there was barely a chance created in the
first half. Capello stood with his hands on
his hips in the technical area throughout
the first 45 minutes, looking distinctly
unimpressed. There was a major improvement after the break, although it required
the mistake by Akinfeev to really get the
game going.
However, South Korea couldn’t hold
on and when Dzagoev’s cross-shot was
spilled out by goalkeeper Jung Sungryong and defender Hwang Seok-ho’s
clearance went straight at Andrei
Yeshchenko, Kerzhakov was on hand to
bundle home from inside the six-yard
box. “I thanked them for their reaction,”
said Capello, who turns 68 on Wednesday.
“It was the greatest birthday present I
could receive.”— AP
Five of the best goals of WCup
SAO PAULO: The World Cup’s opening
group games have produced several
goals of breathtaking quality. The following are five of the best so far according to
Reuters.
Robin van Persie
(Netherlands 5 Spain 1)
A stunning goal to match a stunning
result as the Netherlands came from
behind to thump world champions Spain
in Salvador. With Spain leading 1-0
through Xabi Alonso’s 27th minute
penalty, Van Persie sprung the offside
trap to launch himself in the air and meet
a raking cross from left wing back Daley
Blind. The Dutch captain’s diving, looping
header caught Spain keeper Iker Casillas
in no man’s land and dipped below the
bar to tie the score at 1-1. “It was a brilliant goal, I have to be fair,” said Van
Persie. “It was a bit of a gamble but just
before the pass I saw Iker Casillas out of
his goal. It was a header, really a lobheader, but a great goal.”
Lionel Messi
(Argentina 2 Bosnia 1)
Argentine number 10 Messi picked
the perfect time to score his first goal at
the World Cup finals for eight years. With
Argentina leading 1-0 but struggling to
put World Cup debutants Bosnia away,
the four times World Player of the Year lit
up the Maracana in the 65th minute,
dancing past a defender, playing a onetwo with Gonzalo Higuain before striking
home a sweet left-foot shot that went in
off the post. It was Messi’s first goal at
the finals since he scored in Argentina’s
6-0 win over Serbia & Montenegro
almost eight years ago to the day.
Haris Seferovic
(Switzerland 2 Ecuador 1)
Seferovic finished off a breathtaking
box-to-box counter-attack in stoppage
time to give Switzerland a thrilling 2-1
win over Ecuador, but excellent refereeing by Ravshan Irmatov also played a
PORTO ALEGRE: Netherlands’ forward Robin van Persie (right) controls the ball during a training session in Porto
Alegre. — AFP
part in the goal. Valon Behrami’s brilliant
block tackle in his own box got the move
underway, and Uzbek official Irmatov
allowed him to continue his surge into
Ecuador territory despite almost being
bowled over by a bodycheck. As the
flowing move continued and the ball
was fed out wide, Seferovic stole in
across the Ecuador defense to clip home
Ricardo Rodriguez’s cross and round off a
tremendous team goal that sent Swiss
fans into raptures.
Clint Dempsey
(United States 2 Ghana 1)
The American took 30 seconds to put
his side 1-0 up against Ghana, recording
one of the fastest goals at a World Cup.
Dempsey, who became the first US player to score at three World Cups, picked
the ball up from a throw-in outside the
Ghana box, and surged towards goal.
Showing terrific balance at full stride, the
US skipper zigzagged past two defenders into the area and struck a left-foot
shot in off the far post. Dempsey’s goal
was the fifth fastest at a World Cup.
Turkey’s Hakan Sukur holds the record
for the fastest goal which he netted after
11 seconds against South Korea in 2002.
Arjen Robben
(Netherlands 5 Spain 1)
Dutch winger Robben capped a
Ageing lion Eto’o snarls at
foes, still has desire to play
MANAUS: Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o may be coming to the
end of his career but as he showed on Tuesday the captain
of the Indomitable Lions still has plenty of desire. Eto’o hit
out at unspecified enemies he said were trying to undermine the team, saying he would deal with them after the
World Cup. Cameroon soccer has often fallen prey to
infighting and intrigues and the players left a day late for
the World Cup amid a dispute over bonus payments.
Local media accused the players of being greedy. Eto’o,
who has also had to deal with allegations about his personal life, told a news conference that there were people who
clearly wanted the team to fail. “You can be sure that after
the World Cup, I will respond to each and every person who
has attacked me. I will give the names of everyone who is
behind this story so Cameroonians know who loves and
who does not love this country,” he told reporters.
“I’m telling you - I won’t give in to blackmail. And after
the World Cup be sure that these people need to get ready.”
For the time being, though, he vowed to devote everything
to a team who started the tournament with a loss to Mexico
in Group A and need to beat Croatia yesterday. The fact that
coach Volker Finke is even considering playing Eto’o as a
substitute despite a knee injury shows how important the
striker is to the team. The 33-year-old made his international
debut in 1997 at the age of just 15. He played in the 1998
World Cup as a 17-year-old and has scored a record 54 goals
for Cameroon.
He came on for part of the Mexico game despite the
injury. “They asked me whether I really wanted to play and I
said I had the same desire as the 17-year-old boy who
pulled on the shirt for the first time (at the World Cup),” he
said. Eto’o said even if he did not play he wanted to stay
with the team.
“The most important thing is that we are a group and
yes, it’s true that I am an important member of the group.
But this group is more important than me,” he said. Eto’o has
also had a spectacular club career, winning the Champions
League twice with Barcelona and once with Inter Milan. He
said if Cameroon were knocked out of this World Cup in the
first round, the squad would stay together. “The Barcelona
team that won so much over the years took more than a
decade to build,” he said. — Reuters
rampaging per formance against
shell-shocked Spain by outsprinting
the defense from inside his own
half, tying goalkeeper Iker Casillas
up in knots and firing home with his
left foot. Media reports say the 30year-old reached 37kph during his
sprint, the fastest ever recorded by
FIFA in a game.
Olympic sprint champion and world
record holder Usain Bolt has been
clocked at just under 45kph.
Robben’s goal was the per fec t
bookend to the Dutch scoring after
Robin van Persie tied the game at 1-1
with his superb diving header in the
first half. — Reuters
MATCHES ON TV
FIFA WORLD CUP
Colombia v Ivory Coast
beIN SPORTS 1 HD
beIN SPORTS 2 HD
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beIN SPORTS 13 HD
beIN SPORTS 1 HD FR
BBC ONE HD
Uruguay v England
beIN SPORTS 1 HD
beIN SPORTS 2 HD
beIN SPORTS 11 HD
beIN SPORTS 13 HD
BBC ONE HD
Tomorrow
Japan v Greece
BBC One
beIN SPORTS 1 HD
beIN SPORTS 2 HD
beIN SPORTS 11 HD
beIN SPORTS 13 HD
beIN SPORTS 1 HD FR
BBC ONE HD
19:00
22:00
1:01