Lacklustre Italy beaten by Mexico in World Cup warm-up match
BRUSSELS:
Mexico recorded the most impressive result of their World Cup warm-up matches by beating defending champions Italy 2-1, bouncing back from their earlier defeats against England and the Netherlands.
Mexico, ranked 17th in the world to Italy’s fifth, took a 16th-minute lead when Arsenal forward Carlos Vela took advantage of slack marking to finish Giovani dos Santos’s cute pass with a crisp half-volley. The Azzurri defence was equally static when Alberto Medina doubled Mexico’s lead in the 83rd minute.
Comfortable in possession and resourceful in midfield, Mexico dominated their opponents and were not troubled until Bonucci lashed in an 87th-minute consolation following a corner. Italy simply lacked ideas in possession, were hesitant in defence and had Mexico been a little sharper in front of goal, their margin of victory would have been even more handsome.
Italy coach Marcelo Lippi still appears unsure about how to configure his attack, with forward Antonio Di Natale largely anonymous in the playmaking role during the first half. Italy will face Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand in the group phase.
Spain’s close encounter
Spain eked out a 1-0 victory over South Korea in a World Cup finals warm-up.
Playing before a packed house, Spain took the opportunity to give playing time to many of their injured players, while South Korea failed to convert some good efforts.
The match started off cautiously with neither side willing to take any risks and it mostly stayed that way in the first half. In what was one of the best chances of the game, Celtic’s Ki Sung-Yueng fired in a superb shot on goal after 67 minutes only for it to be blocked by a team-mate, who accidentally headed the ball away. The pace accelerated in the last 15 minutes with both sides attacking more consistently and Sevilla winger Jesus Navas finally netted after 86 minutes with a glorious 25-yard strike into the top-right corner.
Spain are one of the favourites to win the World Cup in South Africa for the first time. Until now, their best result was a fourth-place finish in 1962.
Lahm, Schweini lead Germany to win
New captain Philipp Lahm hit the equaliser and his deputy Bastian Schweinsteiger scored two penalties as Germany came from behind to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1.
With Germany flying to South Africa tomorrow, Lahm led the side in Frankfurt, but it was not the type of start he would have wanted. Germany were 1-0 down from Lahm’s own defensive lapse but he responded by going on a weaving run at the Bosnian goal and buried his shot past goal-keeper Kenan Hasagic on 51 minutes. Germany were then awarded a penalty when Bosnia brought down one of their substitutes on 72 minutes, which Schweinsteiger netted in, followed by another one on 76 minutes.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 5th, 2010.
Mexico recorded the most impressive result of their World Cup warm-up matches by beating defending champions Italy 2-1, bouncing back from their earlier defeats against England and the Netherlands.
Mexico, ranked 17th in the world to Italy’s fifth, took a 16th-minute lead when Arsenal forward Carlos Vela took advantage of slack marking to finish Giovani dos Santos’s cute pass with a crisp half-volley. The Azzurri defence was equally static when Alberto Medina doubled Mexico’s lead in the 83rd minute.
Comfortable in possession and resourceful in midfield, Mexico dominated their opponents and were not troubled until Bonucci lashed in an 87th-minute consolation following a corner. Italy simply lacked ideas in possession, were hesitant in defence and had Mexico been a little sharper in front of goal, their margin of victory would have been even more handsome.
Italy coach Marcelo Lippi still appears unsure about how to configure his attack, with forward Antonio Di Natale largely anonymous in the playmaking role during the first half. Italy will face Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand in the group phase.
Spain’s close encounter
Spain eked out a 1-0 victory over South Korea in a World Cup finals warm-up.
Playing before a packed house, Spain took the opportunity to give playing time to many of their injured players, while South Korea failed to convert some good efforts.
The match started off cautiously with neither side willing to take any risks and it mostly stayed that way in the first half. In what was one of the best chances of the game, Celtic’s Ki Sung-Yueng fired in a superb shot on goal after 67 minutes only for it to be blocked by a team-mate, who accidentally headed the ball away. The pace accelerated in the last 15 minutes with both sides attacking more consistently and Sevilla winger Jesus Navas finally netted after 86 minutes with a glorious 25-yard strike into the top-right corner.
Spain are one of the favourites to win the World Cup in South Africa for the first time. Until now, their best result was a fourth-place finish in 1962.
Lahm, Schweini lead Germany to win
New captain Philipp Lahm hit the equaliser and his deputy Bastian Schweinsteiger scored two penalties as Germany came from behind to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1.
With Germany flying to South Africa tomorrow, Lahm led the side in Frankfurt, but it was not the type of start he would have wanted. Germany were 1-0 down from Lahm’s own defensive lapse but he responded by going on a weaving run at the Bosnian goal and buried his shot past goal-keeper Kenan Hasagic on 51 minutes. Germany were then awarded a penalty when Bosnia brought down one of their substitutes on 72 minutes, which Schweinsteiger netted in, followed by another one on 76 minutes.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 5th, 2010.