Group F
Stunner! Slovakia 3-2 Italy
Marking the first time in World Cup history, the two finalists from the previous cup failed to advance from the group stage in the next World Cup, Italy joins France in making the trip home. For Italy, it is even more surprising: the first time in 8 World Cups where they did not advance to the round of 16.

Why did it happen? For 80 minutes they seemed to be going through the motions certain that eventually they would find a way to win. In the meantime Slovakia played them straight up taking advantage when it fell their way (3 of their 4 shots on goal hit the back of the net). Leading 2-0 on a brace from Vittek, his first from a wayward pass from De Rossi that he cooly slotted home (25); the second when he got to the rebound off a corner kick and banged it in from a tight angle (73). After that second goal Slovakia nearly fell victim to celebrating too soon with a change in tactics where lumping the ball out and allowing Italy plenty of space to mount their charge came close to them surrendering their victory.

And Italy would finally wake up mounting an energetic attack over the final 20 minutes, scoring two of their own. Di Natale started a concerted effort in the 81st. Then came the goal that in the end settled the issue. Off a common, ordinary throw-in from the sideline Slovak sub (he had just come on ahead of the throw) Kopunek scored their 3rd (89) when the ball was tossed into space, he ran onto it unmarked and lifted a delightful ball over the charging keeper. The Italians, pressed to try to regain possession had pulled up to more tightly mark everyone in sight: everyone except the young man that had just come on the pitch and now the score was 3-1, but it wasn't over.

Italy would score again in the second minute of stoppage time and a miracle comeback seemed a very real possibility. In a scuffle in the net, of all places, the Italians tried to gain an advantage and a penalty call when a player dove into the net trying to wrestle the ball away from the keeper, then feigned being punched in the face hoping to yet again decieve the match officials. It nearly worked as the Slovak keeper was shown a yellow, apparently for time-wasting since no penalty was awarded, thankfully.

On a night when Italy's short-comings were made apparent little Slovakia was the efficient side taking advantage of their opportunities and were the deserved winners. Though they nearly fell victim to playing a 'prevent defense' lumping the ball away to anywhere will do territory Italy's defense and tactics on that seemingly innocuous throw-in had sealed their fate. Slovakia goes on, Italy goes home.

In the other match in Group F Paraguay held the top spot with a scoreless draw with New Zealand as another South American side wins their group. They will certainly be concerned about the lack of production but this New Zealand side proved their toughness in the draw with Italy last time out. Paraguay could still have a surprise in store. Group E runner-up Japan will need to be at their best.

Group E
Japan claimed second place in the group with a deserved 3-1 win over Denmark. For the Danes it marks the first time in four appearances that they failed to advance from the group stage. Japan's first two goals came from terrific free-kicks (Honda, 17 & Endo, 31). Denmark didn't manage to reply until Jon Dahl Tomasson tapped in the rebound of his saved penalty attempt in the 81st. Okazaki scored the goal that sealed victory for Japan in the 87th. Japan will face Group F winner Paraguay on Tuesday.

Group winner Netherlands completed their group with a perfect record but the manager wasn't pleased with their effort or performance on this day. Robin Van Persie completed a nice counter in the 36th to open the scoring but few chances after that came from the club. Samuel Eto'o would score from the spot to level for Cameroon but the Dutch would get the match winner in the 83rd when Arjen Robben's shot came off the post only to be tapped in by the sliding Huntelaar. The Dutch will face Group F runner-up Slovakia.

Will they take their charge to the top this time or not? The Netherlands have now won all 11 competitive games since the end of Euro 2008; not just unbeaten mind you; they have won them all.

Group G
Can Portugal stop Brazil? Can they take inspiration from their resounding second half in their last match (six goals). Not likely; Brazil is not North Korea.

In the event an entertaining opening half turned into a dour and disappointing scoreless draw. The most enterprising moments for Portugal were turned into attempts to pump up the already astonishing ego of Ronaldo. When given a free kick from 40 plus yards instead of putting the ball in the danger area for the defense to deal with Ronaldo went for goal. Later, when a break was on Ronaldo again went for goal ignoring his forward on the right running free. The glance from his mate with the questioning expression told you all you needed to know about what he thought of the outcome. Both clubs advance which probably tells you why thinking this result would be anything other than a draw was a bit like star gazing and hoping to see a super nova explosion.

North Korea, needing to recover from the shellacking by Portugal faced Ivory Coast who need a 10 goal victory and a loss by Portugal to advance. Cote d'Ivorie got their victory (3-0) but it wasn't enough. Another African side fails to advance.

Group H
Can Chile send Spain packing? That could actually be the result if Switzerland comes up winners in the final group stage match and Spain loses to Chile. Chile can be an impressive side on a given day but Spain will be ready for the challenge.

The match was very competitive in the early going with Chile showing they were ready to play. Then it all went wrong when Claudio Bravo, Chile's keeper, came charging out not only off his line but all the way out of the area to challenge with a sliding tackle. He did fine, except that when he swiped the ball away instead of going to touch it went right onto the run of David Villa who's bending ball bounced into the open net for the opener (24). The game then changed dramatically in Spain's favor when Iniesta drilled his shot to the corner (37) and Chile's left back was shown a red on the play. Chile rallied after the break and Millar pulled one back but that would be the end of it. Chile becomes the only South American side to not win their group but all five advance to the round of 16.

Spain wins the group and Chile earns second place and will face Brazil in the round of 16. Spain will face off against their neighbors Portugal.

Switzerland and Honduras produced a scoreless draw and the Swiss fail to take second place in the group as a result despite conceding only one (1) goal in the group stage. The Swiss could have claimed a place in the round of 16 with a two goal victory.

Surprises at the end of the group stage? In the first World Cup held on African soil only one of the teams from the continent advance, Ghana, and they didn't have the services of their best player, Michael Essien.

South America does incredibly well producing 4 group winners: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. The only South American side to not win their group, Chile, also earns a place in the round of 16.

The USA steps up and earns their very first point(s) in a final group stage match in their World Cup history with the stunning stoppage time winner from Donovan. They will now face Ghana, the team that ensured their exit at the group stage in 2006.

The effort of team USA in that final group stage match was impressive and thrilling too. Good and bad at the same time. The fact that they kept creating the chances was impressive. The fact that they had to do just that and didn't make one count until stoppage time was not. Those misses earlier from Altidore, Gomez and others were bad news in an otherwise compelling match. Those are the moments that create the difference between a winner and a loser and it is the team that makes them count of course, that goes on. Having the second goal taken away from them certainly could have been a death knell but they continued the hard work despite that horrible call and that effort paid off with the late winner. Truly impressive too. From here on the chances will be few and the team that is most efficient in front of goal goes on. The tendency to fail to take those really good chances must change. Creating the chances is great to see but it is finishing them that matters.

Going forward it is worth noting that USA advances having conceded the most goals of any group winner (3) in the tournament despite the final match clean sheet. From this point on the goals are harder to come by and the defense will have to be better than they've been so far. Remember, if it hadn't been for the crossbar USA would have conceded the opening goal in the 6th minute against Algeria. Not to be the bum at the party, but reality is what it is and this team has been leaking goals over the past year (13 goals in the final 10 games in CONCACAF to be precise and that continued in the friendlies ahead of the World Cup itself). Let's all hope that the tendency is behind them now.

Ghana is a solid team with several high profile players. Young and physically challenging Ghana will be a good test of the merit of Team USA. Ghana was clearly the better side for a very long time against Germany creating chances with intelligent play and running off the ball. The US defense will be hard pressed if the midfield can't hold the ball and build an attack at the other end.

Concerns? Top of the list is their need to play better in the offensive end by stretching the defense with more effective wide play. It is a little surprising not to see the man that is most effective on the wing, Stewart Holden and his threatening crosses into the danger area, not having seen a single minute so far.
That has made the US nearly totally dependent on Cherundolo getting forward to the wide areas to launch his dangerous crosses which has been reminiscent of the great play in 2002 of Tony Sanneh. The man that was most influential in their success at that World Cup went largely unheralded in the US.

Another has been the tendency of the defense to make miscues and failed clearances turning them into dangerous moments. The two plays that knocked them out in 2006 were of that very same root cause. The nonchalant turn by Captain America, Claudio Reyna, when he was stripped of the ball deep in his own end that led to a goal. Reyna said he couldn't hear the call warning him of the pending challenge. Imagine that (?), and with no vuvuzuela's blaring and buzzing. As if the goal wasn't bad enough it was only a few minutes later when Reyna was forced to withdraw after the knock he took to his knee on that play. That knock eventually led to Reyna's retirement as he wasn't able to recover full fitness when he moved to the MetroStars (now Red Bull NY).

Then the ill-advised attempt to clear on a volley by Carlos Bocanegra when he should have simply tapped the ball over the touchline and given a throw led to his sky ball where Guch was forced to challenge for it in the area surrendering a penalty which became the match losing play. Those subtle little moments are what become the difference maker in the knockout round. We've just seen how important those moments can be in the Slovakia victory over Italy. It was a poorly executed pass in their own end that led to the opening goal for Slovakia. Then, the poor tactical deployment and slow-footed Italian defense couldn't challenge the intelligent run on the throw that created the match winner that sent Italy crashing out.

Remember what led to England's goal in the 4th minute in the opener of this World Cup for the USA? A throw. US defenders being drawn away from their normal positions by the tactical deployment of England on that throw and created the space for Gerrard. He avoided the challenge of Ricardo Clarke and had an easy path toward goal because the central defenders had been draw out and neither were quick enough to get back. Little things matter from this point on and make the difference.

Another has been the recent performances of Clint Dempsey and his newfound tendency to flop so readily, or “go to ground” as they say in England has been maddening to watch. Yes, I know, it was his hustle and drive at the end that played a big part in the match winner in stoppage time over Algeria and yes I know he hit the post for what would have been the winner earlier. And yes I know it was Dempsey at the back post that banged in what should have been the goal they needed in the 20th minute.
And some pundits also cite his ten shots making it a positive. It may be cynical to say but ten shots with none of them actually hitting the net is a negative. Going close may be exciting but what really matters is making them count. From here on the team that is clinical in finishing their chances wins, simple as that.

USA will need a goal from Altidore or Dempsey to stay in the competition. If they don't produce or we don't get a goal from Gomez or Buddle getting past Ghana will be a bridge too far.

Another issue that faces them now, especially after the effort expended to defeat Algeria is can they recover physically with the short rest and be ready for the physical nature of Ghana's play? As happens in all Word Cups the preparation plays a part and the US is usually physically well prepared. The drain of the energy expended to win that final group stage match could be an issue with only two full days to recover for the Ghana match.