Group H Review: 1st Group Matches

The World Cup finally comes alive with an exciting pair of group fixtures as Sam Parker rounds up the action from Group H.

Okay, there may have only been two goals between them but after a quiet opening to the World Cup, Group H provided a good day of footballing entertainment. And it threw up the biggest surprise of the tournament so far.

Whilst it would be tempting for this writer to sit here smugly after predicting a Spanish failure, I was still anticipating Spain to comfortably stroll through the group stage. Whilst it’s still unlikely that they’ll fail to emerge from the group, their job has been made considerably harder following a shock 1-0 defeat to a well-drilled Switzerland side.

Spain had a good 70% of the possession and over 20 efforts on goal, but were unable to break through the Swiss defences. A combination of failed penalty appeals, a determined effort from Diego Benaglio and his defensive team and the width of the woodwork prevented Spain from recording a goal to leave them frustrated.

In fact, the only bright points they could pick is that Andres Iniesta completed 90 minutes after a thigh injury, whilst Fernando Torres was able to play the final half-hour to ease any potential injury concerns they had over star players. They didn’t do much wrong in the game, but just couldn’t find that clinical edge.

Switzerland were, in all fairness, not there to play football, but to stop it from being played. Champions League winning coach Ottmar Hitzfield had realised the dangers of trying to play against Spain and countered that perfectly with two banks of four harrying their more luxurious opposition at every given moment.

Despite missing talismanic striker Alexander Frei through injury, they still managed to steal a goal at the other end. Former Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes struck on the rebound after Eren Derdiyok had been unceremoniously launched into the air by Iker Casillas.

Derdiyok could have had one himself, but was denied by the post, which could have secured an even bigger famous win.

The Swiss hope to be able to include Frei in the squad for the next fixture, though Philippe Senderos is likely to ruled out of the rest of the tournament and it will be interesting to see how they approach their other group rivals.

CHILE VS. HONDURAS

Chile also look an exciting team, which frankly should come as no surprise to anyone who paid attention to the South American qualifying stages. A team that has combined some sparkling attacking flair with some typically robust defensive techniques, they have set their sights on a surprise charge to the semi-finals.

Central to these hopes will be Alexis Sanchez, with the Udinese winger catching the eye in this 1-0 victory over the group’s minnows. They also hope to be able to call upon Humberto Suazo for the clash with Switzerland, with the striker leading the qualification charts in South America with ten goals.

Not that his replacement, Jean Beausejour did a bad job, as he poached the only goal of the game to give Chile a maximum start. They could’ve had more, but for some wasteful finishing and a stunning save from Noel Valladeres to deny Walter Ponce, bringing back memories of Gordon Banks stop from Pele all those years ago.

Honduras are a team that look severely short of firepower and will be praying that Inter Milan/Genoa striker David Suazo recovers quickly to give them some sort of attacking thrust, with Carlos Pavon looking very isolated up top on his own.

Honduras can rest easy knowing they have already made their mark on the World Cup. They have become the first team in history to field three players from the same family, as Julio Cesar de Leon picked up a hamstring injury and was replaced in the squad by Jerry Palacios. He joins brothers Wilson and Johnny in the squad to make a little piece of history.