Sunday, June 27, 2010

Slovakia eliminated defending champions Italy from the World Cup. First round groups E and F were decided on Thursday: Japan, Paraguay and the Netherlands progress alongside Slovakia.

When a team finishes third or fourth in a group, they are on their way home. After the elimination of France, runners-up in 2006, it was the turn of the reigning champions. Slovakia met Italy in their first World Cup finals as an independent country.

After 81 minutes, the Azzuri (Italy) were down by two goals, both struck by Róbert Vittek, when they got one back. They were denied a chance to equalize by a rebound from a Slovak knee on the goal line.

Their next goal was disallowed as offside. The Slovaks strengthened their lead when a gross positioning error by Italy led to a goal from a corner. Italy scored their second goal in the closing moments of the game, but it wasn’t enough, and the Azzuri were out of the tournament.

For the fourth time in history, the reigning world champion was eliminated in the first round. The previous occasions were Italy in 1950, Brazil in 1966 and France in 2002.

Also on Thursday, Japan achieved a surprise 3 – 1 defeat of Denmark. This, along with their victory over Cameroon on June 14, secured their qualification. Paraguay stamped their ticket for the round of sixteen in a nil–nil draw with New Zealand’s All Whites. The draw gave New Zealand a point to take them ahead of Italy, finishing Group F in third place. The All Whites leave the tournament undefeated, recalling Cameroon’s elimination in 1982 after three draws, pipped by Italy on goals scored. The Netherlands beat Cameroon, securing Group E’s first place.