FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 19 (29 June 2010)

Second Round:

PARAGUAY 0 - JAPAN 0

(Paraguay won 5-3 on penalties)

Honestly, both teams had surpassed expectations by making it this far. However there had to be one winner in a match that looked like 0-0 from the outset. Both teams defended stoutly and lacked lethal finishing. If only Matsui's strike had curved under the bar... Paraguay were perfect in the penalty shoot-out while Japan rued Komano's miss. While there are still hopes for an all-South American semi-finals, I do not see Paraguay getting past Spain in the quarter finals. Rating: 2/5

SPAIN 1 - PORTUGAL 0

El Classico! In the clash of the Iberian heavyweights, it was Spain that prevailed over Portugal. The match could have gone either way, with Portugal getting better chances in the first half, but it was Spain's dominance in the second half that counted. Goalie Eduardo kept the score respectable with a string of great saves, before David Villa's (who else?) decisive coup de grace. Cristiano Ronaldo was anonymous (other than the spitting incident) and that summed up Portugal's poor evening. Rating: 4/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 18 (28 June 2010)

Second Round:

HOLLAND 2 - SLOVAKIA 1

The heroics which Slovakia exerted to overcome former World Champions Italy could not be repeated against the Dutch. The singular inspiration from a certain Arjen Robben was enough to make the difference. His splendidly struck goal was a thing of beauty, and the Oranje counter-attack to produce Wesley Sneijder's clincher showed that the Dutch could also emulate the Germans. Vittek's consolation penalty, the last kick of the game, was as much as the Slovaks deserved. A showdown with Brazil, a repeat of 1994 and 1998, is one to watch. Rating: 3/5

BRAZIL 3 - CHILE 0

Brazil is back to its red hot chilli sambal best! All its three goals - from Juan, Luis Fabiano, and Robinho - illustrated pure class, and the gulf between potential champions (6 times winners this year) and pretenders. Chile, for all its exuberance and attacking know-how, were swept aside with relative ease. Can we all dream of a Brazil-Argentina final? Keeping fingers crossed. Rating: 4/5

CHOPIN AT 200 / Singapore International Piano Festival 2010 / Review

CHOPIN AT 200

Singapore International Piano Festival 2010

Victoria Concert Hall

Wednesday to Saturday

(23-26 June 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 28 June 2010.

The music of Frédéric Chopin was purportedly the uniting theme of this year’s PianoFest. However under the watch of new Artistic Director Lionel Choi, the sub-plot of showcasing the instrument’s newest glittering names took a firm hold. In a line-up with shades of the 2001 edition (21^st Century Pianists), the young and gifted illuminated a bright and promising future for the art of piano performance.

Whatever one has heard of China’s Yuja Wang in print, gossip or youtube, it is all true. At 23, her waif-like physical stature and guileless demeanor belied a thoughtful and often profound interpreter with devastating technical facility. Antithesis to the swaying and swooning Lang Lang, her ramrod straight posture and complete lack of affectation or extraneous effects rendered the range of sounds she produced all the more incredulous. Whether barnstorming Chopin’s Funeral March Sonata, teasing out singing lines in three Schubert-Liszt song transcriptions, or pummeling the life out of the Steinway grand in Prokofiev’s incendiary Sixth Sonata, every quantum was in service of the music. In the set of short pieces by Scriabin, her ability to negotiate between smouldering calm and outright violence within the space of seconds was uncanny and breathtaking. The full-house audience at the first evening was left wondering whether they had just witnessed the heir-apparent to legends like Horowitz or Argerich.

Six years younger was the Briton Benjamin Grosvenor, cradle-snatched for his Singapore début on Friday evening. Despite a slight awkwardness in stage deportment, everything he did suggested a close-to-formed artist rather than former child prodigy. Three of Nikolai Kapustin’s jazzy Concert Études served as delicious finger-warmers before the main course. His Chopin, two Nocturnes book-ending the Third Scherzo, juxtaposed seamless cantabile with scintillation and immaculate octave-work. Ravel’s devilish Gaspard de la nuit bristled, not just with stunning note-perfection but a multi-layered appreciation of its three movements; the variegated rippling of Ondine, desolation in Le Gibet and Scarbo’s impish malevolence. The mighty Liszt B Minor Sonata unleashed a young lion’s appetite for blood, reveling in arch virtuosity and stampeding pages, often pushed to the limit. Further years of experience might temper his approach but hopefully not quell the inner fire. In the meantime, let us all exult in Grosvenor’s youthful exuberance.

In his early forties, Polish-born Piotr Anderszewski, who first appeared at PianoFest in 1997, is a veteran by comparison. Chopin was conspicuously absent from his well-balanced programme, in its place the pervasive spirit of J.S.Bach. As always, Anderszewski’s Bach is a thing of beauty. The English Suite No.5 brought out all these qualities: mastery of counterpoint, bell-like ringing clarity and rhythmic vitality in its seven movements. Completely different was Pole Karol Szymanowski’s Metopes, three impressionistic visions of Grecian maidens of mythology, fair and foul. An antidote to Ravel’s Ondine, these were seductive in a hypnotic and oblique manner, abetted by Anderszewski’s sensitive, tactile pianism that ranged from fleeting whispers to an orgiastic frenzy. Schumann’s Six Canonic Studies (Op.56) and Beethoven’s penultimate A flat major Sonata (Op.110) completed the picture, music hewn from common inspirations and carved out with the most crystalline of timbres. Never a harsh sound to be heard, Anderszewski turned sobbing lament in the sonata’s 3rd movement aria into a victory of hope and affirmation. It was this human and anti-virtuosic quality that made this recital the most satisfying of all. The next edition of Asia’s premier piano festival cannot come soon enough.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, June 2010)

TRANSFORMATION

YUJA WANG, Piano

Deutsche Grammophon 477 8795

*****

Following the critical success of her début recording, Yuja Wang’s sophomore CD is even better. The repertoire is pure virtuoso fodder from the competition mill, but she is on top of everything. In Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka, Wang matches Maurizio Pollini’s famous 1970s recording for sheer incisiveness, and even tops it with a buoyancy and windswept lightness that defies belief. Taking certain liberties in phrasing and textures, she makes this reading very much her own. Like the legendary Michelangeli and Earl Wild, she merges both books of Brahms’ fearsome Paganini Variations and also reorders some of the sequences. With crystal clarity and faultless control, the results are stunning. Ravel’s sweeping La Valse, with its monstrous chords and decadent glissandi, completes the picture. Two little Scarlatti sonatas, played with delicacy and insight, demonstrate an all-rounded musicality. Be prepared to be blown away.

VOLODOS IN VIENNA

ARCADI VOLODOS, Piano

Sony Classical 88697568872

Rating *****

The Russian arch-virtuoso Arcadi Volodos is without doubt one of the most compelling pianists today. This 2009 recital in the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein confirms that he is the true successor Russian icons like Horowitz, Richter and Gilels. Seldom have musical judgment, tonal allure and digital dexterity been better aligned. His programming is also unusual, beginning with a handful of Scriabin miniatures (Préludes and dances), whetting the palate before the feverish intensity of the Russian mystic’s Seventh Sonata “White Mass”. Then come the variegated leaves from Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales and Schumann’s Forest Scenes, all delivered with delicious wit and rare insight. In Liszt’s barnstorming Dante Sonata, he does a Horowitz by adding his own outrageous embellishments. Artistic licence or self-indulgent hubris? At any rate, this artist demands to be heard.

CHOPIN 200^th Anniversary Edition

EMI Classics 9671172 (16 CDs)

****

Every work that Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) wrote included the piano. Despite the ambitious title, this is a mixed bag including chamber music and songs from 20 different pianists dating between 1955 and 2009. The sound quality is variable but mostly acceptable. The lion’s share of performances come from American Garrick Ohlsson, the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition winner, who is excellent in the Piano Concertos, Nocturnes, Préludes and Polonaises (including those written as a child and teenager). Also worth listening to are the 58 Mazurkas and several dances from the late great Ronald Smith, and Andrei Gavrilov’s blistering account of the Études.

Not all Chopin is great music; his early First Sonata (Op.4) is derivative despite an ardent reading from Leif Ove Andsnes. And does anyone really care about his Souvenir de Paganini, short variations on Carnival of Venice, even if it is played by Daniel Barenboim? The newest tracks are by the youngest pianist, 17-year-old Briton Benjamin Grosvenor, who performs Chopin’s miscellany – mostly obscure short pieces and shavings from a master’s workbench – with much sympathy. Hear him in more substantial fare at this year’s Piano Festival.

MUSIC FOR CLARINET & PIANO

EMMA JOHNSON, Clarinet

JOHN LENEHAN, Piano

Naxos 8.572240

****1/2

This is a very accessible anthology of 20th century repertoire for the clarinet, which has unwittingly become a memorial for jazz legend Sir John Dankworth (1927-2010), the husband of Dame Cleo Lane. His Suite For Emma in five dance movements, written for Johnson, straddle between classical and popular/jazz forms. These are the lightest pieces here with the exception of Picture Of Jeanie, a scored improvisation of Stephen Foster’s Jeanie With Her Light Brown Hair.

The music takes on a slightly more serious tone with Aaron Copland’s early Nocturne (1926, originally for violin) and Clarinet Sonata (1943) which skilfully combine the blues with his more structured creations. Leonard Bernstein’s first published work was his Clarinet Sonata (1942), a witty 2-movement work that pays tribute to his teacher Paul Hindemith and mentor Copland. Former BBC Young Musician of the Year Johnson performs with disarming ease and fervour. Warmly recommended.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 17 (27 June 2010)

Second Round:

GERMANY 4 - ENGLAND 1

So-called pre-tournament favourites England, with its "golden generation", returned with their tails between their legs, trounced by its bitter traditional rivals Germany. The score may not reflect how close the match might have been had Frank Lampard's "Geoff Hurst 1966" goal been spotted by the officials. At 2-2, who know what would have happened next? A highly anticipated second half fizzled out as England collapsed. Gerrard and Co. sought for the equaliser but were felled by two superb counter-attack goals, both scored by the rising Thomas Muller. Germany were clearly superior in all areas and deserved to win. As for goal-line technology and video replays, its up to "Sap Bladder" and his ilk now. Rating: 4.5/5 (1st half), 3/5 (2nd half).

ARGENTINA 3 - MEXICO 1

A replay of the corresponding fixture from 2006, with almost the same outcome. Argentina did not need extra time this time around, with two goals from Tevez (the first offiside, and the second a scorcher) and Higuain, soon to be the Golden Boot. Irresistible Argentina look unstoppable now. Another penalty contest with Germany in the quarter-finals might just happen again. Lightning does sometimes strike twice. Rating: 3.5/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 16 (26 June 2010)

Second Round:

URUGUAY 2 - SOUTH KOREA 1

Clinical finishing from Luis Suarez ensures the progress of Uruguay's best ever team in the modern era of the game. His second goal was a peach, while the first resulted from dodgy Korean defending, as always. The Koreans got their goal off a free-kick, as always. This Uruguayan might very well make the semi-finals, their first since 1962!

GHANA 2 - USA 1

(After extra time)

The American dream is over. Against the sole survivors of Mama Africa, the "Comeback Kids" fell short of the mother of all comebacks, supported by former US President Bill Clinton. As always, the Americans gifted an early lead to the opposition, gratefully accepted by Portsmouth's FA Cup final penalty misser Kevin Prince Boateng. Landon Donovan led the charge, and won the equaliser through a penalty. Asamoah Gyan's solo effort, shoving away two defenders, was worthy to win any match. Ghana's secret to their success: a resolute defence and rock-solid goalkeeper Kingson. Arsenal could learn something from this. Rating: 4/5

KATYA GRINEVA Piano Recital / Review

KATYA GRINEVA Piano Recital

Esplanade Concert Hall

Thursday (24 June 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 26 June 2010.

Right smack in the very week of the Singapore International Piano Festival, New York-based Russian pianist Katya Grineva did well to attract a sizeable audience at the Esplanade. Having performed at Carnegie Hall for eleven successive seasons, Grineva was probably used to playing for large audiences. However she does not project a particularly big sonority, instead favouring a more intimate sound of a salon-like quality.

This worked well for pieces like Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No.1, an unusual recital choice, where arch-simplicity and spaciousness were reflected with gem-like radiance. Same went for the melodic lines of Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor (Op.posth) and Schubert’s Serenade from Schwanengesang (as transcribed by Liszt), the latter with its distant echoes, which sang with clarity.

However Grineva’s tendency to over-pedal and race ahead smudged many a detail besides attempting to conceal technical inadequacies. These showed up in mostly virtuosic fare like Liszt’s Les jeux d'eau a'la Villa d’Este, Chopin’s Waltz in E minor (Op.posth), Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance and the Schumann-Liszt Widmung. Her reliance of rubato, laid on with a shovel rather than with lapidary finesse, over-sentimentalised the Chopin set. The famous Nocturne in E flat major (Op.9 No.2) and Waltz in C sharp minor(Op.64 No.2) just had too much of a good thing.

In the more rhythmic works, a firmer foothold was established. Her view on works by Spaniard Granados and Argentine Piazzolla reflected tragic and dramatic qualities well. Closing with Roger Branga’s transcription of Ravel’s Bolero, the steady build up to a terminal crescendo was also memorable.

The two-hour-long programme, built on multiple morsels of a digestible quality, was greeted by an enthusiastic audience. Grineva’s championing of the obscure Viennese Jewish composer Marcel Tyberg (1893-1944), silenced by the Nazi holocaust, was particularly laudable. His romantic Legende and the Rondo from the First Sonata, emulating Chopinesque lyricism and turbulence, were given impressive Singapore premieres.

The best performance fell to the Swiss-American Ernest Bloch’s Poems Of The Sea, where tempest-tossed and impressionistic visions were driven with evocative insight and a slew of colours. This performance, another Singapore first, was the most deserving of a standing ovation.

This concert was presented by D'Alejo, in memory of Deidre Alejo.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 / Day 15 (25 June 2010)

IVORY COAST 3 - NORTH KOREA 0

BRAZIL 0 - PORTUGAL 0

GROUP G:
Fairly predictable, really. Ivory Coast needed 8 or 9 goals against the North Koreans to progress and hope that Brazil beat Portugal. They only managed 3 goals, against a team that is so out of depth in the tournament. Other than that gallant loss to Brazil, North Korea might as well have been Singapore. (Remember Goal 2010? That preposterous claim that some day-dreamy minister of sports made that Singapore would make the finals?) Both Brazil and its former colonial masters played safe for a zero score bore. Ho-hum. Rating: 2/5

SPAIN 2 - CHILE 1

HONDURAS 0 - SWITZERLAND 0

GROUP H:
For all the Swiss heroics against Spain a week ago, it could not make Honduras roll over. So they pay the price while Spain cruise against Chile. Nothing very much to say except David Villa looks like a good bet for the Golden Boot. This sets for a mucho caliente all-Iberian meeting in the Second Round. Rating: 2.5/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 14 (24 June 2010)

SLOVAKIA 3 - ITALY 2

NEW ZEALAND 0 - PARAGUAY 0

GROUP F:
Forget North Korea 1966, South Korea 2002, Slovakia 2010 will be remembered as the biggest humiliation of the fabled Azzuri. The World Champions of 2006 have been ignominiously dumped out of the World Cup, finishing bottom of their group behind the likes of minnows New Zealand, Slovakia and Paraguay. Defensive lapses resulted in ALL three Slovakian goals, the last seeing sub Kamil Kopunek ghosting in from a throw-in to lob the ball over the hapless Marchetti. Marchetti is without a doubt Italy's Bonetti. Marcello Lippi and gang go home to another rotten tomato reception. The Kiwis, undefeated in this campaign have a lot to be proud about. Rating: 4.5/5

JAPAN 3 - DENMARK 1

HOLLAND 2 - CAMEROON 1

GROUP E:
Another shock, the Japanese down the Danes with two Braziliant free-kicks from Honda and Endo. Rivelino and Roberto Carlos would have been mighty proud. There will be no comeback for Jon Dahl Tomasson and company, who were brilliant against Cameroon but were overwhelmed by Japan's incessant attacks which resembled a raid on Pearl Harbour. Holland were efficient, with Cameroon and Samuel Eto'o disappointing greatly yet again. They will be the only African team that go hone with zero points. Rating: 4/5

IRISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA / Review

IRISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Esplanade Concert Hall

Tuesday (22 June 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 24 June 2010.

Orchestras often present in concerts a half of serious classics followed by lighter fare after the interval. For its concert in aid of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the Irish Chamber Orchestra brought out the bubbly from the word go.

The 18-member ensemble, fresh from a China tour, opened with Mozart’s popular Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. There is hardly music more familiar than this. Its performance – lightly textured and crisply articulated – made this old friend respond with the freshness of new acquaintance. Silky smooth strings distinguished the graceful Romance while the spirited Rondo flew on wings of Mercury.

The show was then set for Irish accordion-player Dermot Dunne to weave a spell of nimble mastery on an instrument unglamorously associated with oompah bands. Rested against the paunch and fingered on two keyboards, its sound production is not unlike the mighty pipe organ. Dunne turned it into a virtuoso vehicle fit for Paganini.

In little-known 19^th century German Bernhard Molique’s Concerto in G minor, originally cast for the even less celebrated concertina, Dunne turned lead into gold. Although the music is unmemorable, like second hand Weber or Hummel, the mileage Dunne and the band wrung from its pages was astounding. The slow movement’s song without words, accompanied by muted strings, began to glimmer like precious Mendelssohn.

Music from the “Emerald Isle” came in Dunne’s own Shanghai Set, a medley of homespun Eire – jigs, reels and a pensive melody accompanied by a rustic drone. His short duet with bassist Malachy Robinson clearly delighted the audience.

The second half pairing of Antonio Vivaldi’s concertos and Argentine Astor Piazzolla’s tangos is not new, having been winningly tested by Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica. Highly rhythmic, incisive music and Piazzolla’s love affair with Bach’s music united these unseemly bedfellows.

The fugal opening of La Muerte (Death) and the aria-like simplicity of La Ressurreccion (Resurrection), beautifully voiced by leader Katherine Hunka’s sonorous violin, set the mood for pure passion. Dunne’s accordion returned for three more infectious tangos, and only pedants would quibble that he was not playing a bandoneon, Piazzolla’s own instrument.

The evening closed with two encores, including the obligatory Irish tearjerker Londonderry Air in a lovely arrangement, capping a four-leafed clover of an evening.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 13 (23 June 2010)

ENGLAND 1 - SLOVENIA 0

USA 1 - ALGERIA 0

GROUP C:

England eventually come out of their slovenly start to down Slovenia by a single Jermain Defoe goal. The Slovs were just willing to go along with that scoreline, knowing that their 4 points would be just enough to exit the group stage. Valter Birsa's finishing was hopeless, aiming all his shots to David James but hoping for a Robert Green. Cue Landon Donovan for an injury time winner, which lifted USA to the top of the group, and dump Slovenia out. England's reward is to meet... (gulp) Germany in the Second Round, and possibly Argentina in the quarter finals. Better start practising taking those penalties soon... Rating: 3/5

GERMANY 1 - GHANA 0

AUSTRALIA 2 - SERBIA 1

GROUP D:

A very keenly contested group with any of the 4 teams capable of emerging from the First Round. Germany's excellent Mesut Ozil was justly rewarded with a scorcher of a goal. Germany top the group with 6 points. At this stage, Tim Cahill (above) and Brett Holman gave faint hopes for an unlikely Ozzie revival. A Serbian equaliser would have ruled Ghana out but that never came. Ghana is the first African team (and likely to be the last) to qualify for the Second Round, and the Americans await. Rating: 4/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 12 (22 June 2010)

SOUTH AFRICA 2 - FRANCE 1

URUGUAY 1 - MEXICO 0

GROUP A:

You don't need to be French to understand the word "catastrophique", one term bandied in interviews following the French debacle at the hands of Bafana Bafana. From the outset, Les Bleus appeared deflated and after Gourcuff's tough sending off, South Africa made it 2-0 by halftime. The second goal was pure comedy, aided and abetted by a French defence comprising Abou Diaby, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and William Gallas, all Arsenal players. Arsene Wenger, be afraid, very afraid. Raymond Domenech: the ultimate sore loser. He 's just a loser, period. Mexico, for not even making an effort, will meet Argentina in the Second Round. Another automatic exit beckons. Rating: 3.5/5

SOUTH KOREA 2 - NIGERIA 2

ARGENTINA 2 - GREECE 0

GROUP B:
Argentina wrap up Group B in style and maximum points. Two late goals sealed a well-deserved victory, and Greece hardly challenged. Strangely at the 79th minute of both matches, all 4 teams were in a chance for qualifying. Even Nigeria, whose chase for a third goal proved ultimately fruitless, were not out of it. All 4 goals in the Korea-Nigeria match were from poor defending. Yakubu's howler from 3 yards has to be the miss of the tournament. As for the Korean sweeper Kim Nam Il, known as the "vacuum cleaner", he's just a sucker. South Korea gets Uruguay in the Second Round with some hope in their hearts. Rating: 4/5

LIM HUI and LIM YAN / Violin and Piano Recital / Review

LIM HUI Violin Recital

with Lim Yan, Piano

Esplanade Recital Studio

Sunday (20 June 2010)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 22 June 2010.

What a difference seven years make. It was in 2003 when a shy and awkward teenager claimed Second Prize in the National Violin Competition where no first prize was awarded. Today, that diffidence has transformed into poise and purpose in the person of Lim Hui, a self-assured virtuoso not without a touch of glamour.

Presently based in Japan, Lim returned with a confident showing in a demanding recital programme that proffers a major artist in the making. In Beethoven’s popular Spring Sonata in F major (Op.24), she exhibited a full and even-tempered tone that served its lyrical lines well. Beethoven’s inner fire was not ignored as she was fully capable of channeling soft and sensitive into robust and resolute within a single breath, with lots of gradations in between.

Its coupling with Brahms’ Second Sonata in A major (Op.100) was a most natural one, with a similar penchant for song-like qualities while simmering over a bed of underlying disquiet. Lim and her pianist first-cousin Lim Yan, the near perfect collaborator, displayed excellent chemistry throughout in the passionate passages and soaring climaxes.

The near full-house audience was plenty enthused, and accorded the duo applause in between every movement of all the sonatas. Without trying to sound like a cold fish, it would have been far better for the fans to reserve the plaudits to the end of each work. Intrusive clapping can be a distraction to performers too.

The shorter second half showcased 20^th century music, beginning with Estonian Arvo Part’s minimalist Spiegel im Spiegel (Mirror in a Mirror). Anti-virtuosic to a fault, this contemplatively static work delighted in long-sustained notes from the violin, while the piano sent up the repeated triads of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

The oasis of calm it provided then erupted into the fireworks of Prokofiev’s Second Sonata in D major (Op.94a) where its bittersweet angular melodies melded deliciously with percussive and motoric rhythms in an unlikely juxtaposition. When a performance makes one forget about the difficulties of execution, as the two Lims ably demonstrated, it has clearly succeeded in making its mark. The encore, from John William’s Schindler’s List, was merely icing on the cake. Just brilliant.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 11 (21 June 2010)

PORTUGAL 7 - NORTH KOREA 0

A repeat of the 5-3 scoreline from 1966 was never on the cards, with Portugal romping to their biggest ever victory in the Finals. Six different scorers and the Koreans had no reply. Missed the match as I had been watching Toy Story 3 with my son instead. Some moments should never be sacrificed, even if its for the World Cup.

CHILE 1 - SWITZERLAND 0

Back in time to watch Chile dismantle a 10-man Swiss side that had yet to concede a Finals goal since 2006. The scoreline would have been much bigger if not for poor finishing, and Switzerland could have even grabbed an equaliser. Chile command Group H, and a showdown with the Spanish beckons. A draw will ensure that Chile avoid the Brazilians in the 2nd round. Rating: 3/5

SPAIN 2 - HONDURAS 0

This should have matched the Portuguese feat, if not for a lack of clinical finishing. David Villa had a brace, and the luxury of missing a penalty. Fernando Torres is still rusty, and Cesc Fabregas denied a goal upon 10 seconds of coming on as a sub. Spain must beat Chile in the final group match to avoid Brazil. Eminently do-able. Rating: 4/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 10 (20 June 2010)

PARAGUAY 2 - SLOVAKIA 0

Was at the Esplanade attending a violin recital, and thus missed this one totally. Looks like the South Americans have it all going for them. Paraguay cements its position in Group F and look likely to go through with a final match against New Zealand.

NEW ZEALAND 1 - ITALY 1

New Zealand holding Italy to a draw in football seems as unlikely as Italy trumping New Zealand in rugby. But it happened, with the Kiwis getting a shock lead and Italy fighting back. Honestly, it should have been 0-0. Shane Smeltz's goal was from an offside position and the Italian penalty converted by Iaquinta was for the slightest of shirt tugs. All Whites goalie Mark Paston stood as tall as Pat Jennings while skipper Ryan Nelsen was a proper Bobby Moore. The Italians champs, whose reign looks to be over soon, were chumps. Rating: 4/5

BRAZIL 3 - IVORY COAST 1

Finally, the Brazil of vintage has come alive! This match had everything: scorchers of goals, missed chances and the inevitable red card. Luis Fabiano's second had shades of Maradona 1986, two handballs and a waltz through a sea of defenders before scoring. Kaka had two wonderful assists, before being sent off for tapping an Ivorian in the chest. How that Elephant collapsed, reminiscent of Rivaldo against Turkey in 2002. Refreshing to see Didier Drogba scoring, and still ending on the losing side. Rating: 4.5/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 9 (19 June 2010)

NETHERLANDS 1 - JAPAN 0

The Dutch do it again, without too much flair. Japan are the next victims to the accursed Jabulani ball, with goalkeeper Kawashima making a hash of Wesley Sneijder's stinger. The Oranje go through, while Japan needs to beat the Danes next.

AUSTRALIA 1 - GHANA 1

The Ozzies have another man sent off - this time its Harry Kewell for an unintentional handball. They gain a handy single point whilst the Black Stars cannot finish them off. An unlikely win was even possible, but Luke Wilkshire shot straight into the Ghana's Kingson. Australia aren't out of it yet. Rating: 3.5/5

DENMARK 2 - CAMEROON 1

Like Nigeria before them, Cameroon blow a one goal lead and look likely to be eliminated. Very good goals from Bendtner and Rommedahl make the difference, while Eto'o's miss thanks to the crossbar looks very costly now. Rating: 3.5/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 8 (18 June 2010)

SERBIA 1 - GERMANY 0

Another shock in a World Cup of shocks. With Miroslav Klose sent off, the Germans succumbed to the sucker punch, courtesy of Jovanovic. Lukas Podolski was simply awful, capped with a missed penalty. Pride comes before a fall, as they say. Rating: 3.5/5

USA 2 - SLOVENIA 2

One of the greatest matches thus far, a titanic struggle embodying the universal values of football, whatever they may be. With Slovenia cruising 2-0 (to 6 points and entry into the Second Round), the Americans staged an almighty comeback and should have won if not for a questionable refereeing call. Why is football the world's greatest game? Here is the evidence! Rating: 4.5/5

ENGLAND 0 - ALGERIA 0

A terrible showing from the so-called favourites. They huffed and puffed, and achieved close to nought. Even the Desert Foxes looked more fluid in their attacks. No finishing power, alas. England have it coming if it cannot beat Slovenia next. Rating: 1.5/5