First of all let me apologize for the super late blog post. I went back to work today and had to send out some shirts afterwards. maybe one day soon I'll be able to blog full time about futbol. Anyhow, the games have become more interesting!

So while most Americans on the East Coast were still sleeping or stuck in rush hour traffic on their way to a futbol-less day at work, Portugal were getting busy firing away missiles at the North Koreans in Green Point Stadium. Holy mother of futbol! if you didnt catch this game I would advise that you open a new tab on your browser and navigate to espn3.com and watch the replay. Once you finish watching, return and continue reading.

Portugal v North Korea

After the North Koreans showed strongly against Brazil and managed to squeeze a goal from the game I strongly believed that the North Koreans would be able to, at the very least, get a draw against Portugal (following their so-so showing against the Ivory Coast). boy was I wrong. The first half was ok with Portugal scoring one goal before the break. Im not exactly sure what Captain Cristiano said to his teammates in the locker room, or if they just watched some Chelsea FC matches from this past EPL season, but whatever it was had the Portugese locked and loaded. From then on it was a barrage of goals that left me feeling very sympathetic towards the North Koreans. Nobody deserves to go out that way. This, for me, has been the most exciting match thus far and to those non-believers who complain that futbol is boring because there are very few goals scored need to look no further than this game to find salvation. There was even a bit of comedy courtsey of the Diving Sensation at the end with his hilarious goal. great stuff.

Chile v Switzerland

Today we saw Chile sit comfortably at the top of Group H with 6 points. I must point out an emerging trend. South American teams are doing very well in these games, African teams are playing poorly at best and €uropean teams have been very disappointing for reasons that include reality tv show-worthy drama and heartless performances.

Spain v Honduras

Just for the sake of formality am I calling this section "spain vs honduras" because it was really the David Villa show today. Villa started on the left side and many times turned the Honduras defense inside out like shirts ready to be washed. His first real opportunity was a shot on goal that bounced off the crossbar. Villa comes right back and splits two defenders Messi-style before making a third look clueless before firing past the keeper to give the Spaniards their first goal of the tournament. Somewhere in between the first and the 2nd goal, Fernando Torres looks very unconvincing and uninspired. Villa fancies a right foot shot on the edge of the box that takes a deflection into the back of the net. For whatever reason, David Villa looks seriously upset. But then again, he always does. His perpetual mean mug is justified when he completely misses the goal on a penalty shot that would've put him level on goals with Gonzalo Higuain who already has 3 goals in the tournament.

Xavi is taken off and Cesc Fabregas comes on. Immediately he has a good chance at goal, but the ball is knocked out of bounds for a corner. At this point the game is over and I have time to wonder why Gillette hasn't given him a ring and offered him their new Pro Glide razors. He certainly could use a shave.
Anyhow, the games continue in the morning with Les Bleus taking on Bafana Bafana in a game that is very important for both sides to secure a victory if they are to advance at all.

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment, or you could follow on twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol where I update by the second during the games.

P.S. Im posting this from my mobile phone so the formatting is out of whack and my grammar is horrible. I apologize and will fix all that when I get to a computer in the a.m.

Wow. You are probably as shocked as I am at the result of the Spain v. Switzerland game that ended just over an hour ago. The Spaniards came out well organized with a great deal of attacking flair from David Villa and a great chance from Gerard Pique. The Spaniards, made up of 7 FC Barcelona first team members played a very similar passing and attacking style similar to the one played by the Catalan Giants, but that proved to be very ineffective against a well organized Swiss defense.  The Spaniards were forced to take long range shots and it seemed, from the many shots that went far wide and over the bar, that they still aren't used to "Jabulani".  Xabi Alonso came the closest with a stinger of a shot that hit the crossbar.

The Swiss' patience paid off in the 52nd minute when the African-born Gelson Fernandes scored to put them in front after Iker Casillas came out to stop the attack.  I'm pleased with the result because it makes the games a bit more interesting.  The Spaniards, on paper, have quite possibly the best team in the world and most people picked them to win the entire tournament.  However, history tells us that no team has lost their first game and gone on to win the World Cup. We'll see what happens. As ESPN's World Cup tagline goes, One Game Changes Everything.

Now: South Africa v Uruguay. I'm looking forward to a great game. I really hope the Bafana Bafana can squeeze out a victory in this one, but I'm also expecting a great showing from Diego Forlan. Enjoy.