The 90th Minute Soccer Blog » AFC

Introducing Our New Site: The Latest Soccer News

Jonathon Feyerherm — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:41:28 +0000

While The 90th Minute has coverage of the top matches, competitions, and clubs around the world; we have launched a new site to provide you the latest from all the top websites on the beautiful game. The site, The Latest Soccer News, has a collection of RSS feeds from sites such as Sky Sports, ESPNSoccerNet, BBC Sport, and many of the top blogs.

It’s a site that is your one stop for the latest news as it brings the latest articles from all these sites at one place. We are always looking to add more sources and update the site so feel free to contact us about it. You can find the site, The Latest Soccer News, at the link below.

The Latest Soccer News

Paraguay 0-0 (5-3 on penalty kicks) Japan – Video Highlights, Recap, Match Stats – World Cup – 29 June 2010

Jonathon Feyerherm — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:14:34 +0000

Two sides who weren’t expected to make into the quarterfinals met in the round of 16 as Paraguay faced off against Japan. One would reach their first ever quarterfinal while the other would be knocked out of the tournament. The winner would face Portugal or Spain.

Paraguay 0-0 (5-3) Japan Video Highlights

The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.

Paraguay 0-0 (5-3 Japan Recap

It would go to a penalty shoot-out with Paraguay edging Japan to move into the quarterfinals.

The penalties would be even after two rounds then Japan’s Yuichi Komano would miss to open the door for Paraguay. They would not miss one of theirs and clinched it in the fifth round with Oscar Cordoza who made it 5-3.

It was a tough a hard fought match and Japan can still consider this World Cup a success. Paraguay will be the 4th South American side to be in the quarterfinals.

Paraguay 0-0 (5-3) Japan Match Stats

15(6)	Shots (on Goal)	13(2)
26	Fouls	29
6	Corner Kicks	5
1	Offsides	1
61%	Time of Possession	39%
1	Yellow Cards	4
0	Red Cards	0
2	Saves	6

Paraguay v Japan Preview, Prediction, and TV Listings

Jonathon Feyerherm — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:24:43 +0000

Two teams who have surprised with their run into the knockout stage meet as Paraguay faces Japan. The match will take place at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Kickoff is scheduled for 15:00 BST, 16:00 local time in South Africa, and 10:00 EST.

It will be televised on ESPN in the United States, CBC in Canada, SBS in Australia, Al Jazeera Sport in the Middle East, ITV 1 in the United Kingdom, and on SuperSport in Africa. You can also find the match at the link on the bottom of this post.

Paraguay v Japan Preview

Paraguay were not expected to win their group while Japan were not expected to make it to the knockout stage. Neither side has reached the quarterfinals but one will make that historic jump at the end of the match on Tuesday. Paraguay advanced with two draws and one win while Japan moved on with two wins and one loss.

Japan are led by Keisuke Honda who has scored a couple goals and is their most dangerous player. Paraguay will need to contain Honda or they could be out of tournament. Overall, Japan as looked strong when attacking and has the ability to stretch defenses with speed. They are playing with lots of confidence and have every reason to do so.

Paraguay are favored in this match and won their group over defending champions Italy. They have only conceded one goal in this World Cup which was a during the Italy match. While they have been strong defensively, Paraguay doesn’t have a goal from a striker in this World Cup. Their main threat up top will be Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz.

This should be an extremely close match with two teams who have their best chance ever to reach the quarterfinals. While Paraguay have been a solid team, the momentum seems to be with Japan. Honda has been a major force and will be the difference. It should be into extra time and probably decided on a late goal or penalties.

Competition Stats

	Paraguay	Japan
Goals	Cristian Riveros 1	Keisuke Honda 2
Assists		Keisuke Honda 1
Yellows	Victor Cáceres 2	Yasuhito Endo 1

Betting Odds

Paraguay win – 11/10

Draw – 9/4

Japan win – 5/2

Paraguay v Japan Prediction

Japan will win the match on penalties

Watch Paraguay v Japan Online

The match can be seen at Free Live Sports TV.

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – World Cup – 26 June 2010

Jonathon Feyerherm — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:06:47 +0000

The round of 16 in the 2010 FIFA World Cup began with Uruguay facing South Korea. Both sides have surprised in the group stage as Uruguay won Group A and South Korea were second in Group B. The winner would play the winner of USA v Ghana in the quarterfinals.

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea Video Highlights

The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea Recap

It was a very entertaining match but Uruguay would win the match on a fantastic goal from Luis Suarez.

The two goals for Uruguay were both scored by Suarez who gave them a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute then a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute. The second goal was brilliant as he curled a shot to the far post that hit off the far post. South Korea’s goal was from Lee Chung-Yong in the 68th minute. The Asian side had chances to take the lead in the match and to tie it up late but couldn’t convert.

It was far from dominating from Uruguay and really could have gone either way or into extra time. The win has Uruguay into the quarterfinal round where they will play the winner of the United States v Ghana match. Even though they lost the match, it was a successful run for the South Koreans.

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea Match Stats

14(7)	Shots (on Goal)	15(4)
12	Fouls	12
3	Corner Kicks	3
1	Offsides	0
40%	Time of Possession	60%
0	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
3	Saves	5

Uruguay v South Korea Preview, Prediction, and TV Listings

Jonathon Feyerherm — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:51:41 +0000

The knockout stage begins with the round of 16 as Uruguay faces South Korea. The match will take place at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on Saturday, June 26, 2010. Kickoff is scheduled for 15:00 BST, 16:00 local time in South Africa, and 10:00 EST.

It will be televised on ESPN in the United States, ITV 1 in the United Kingdom, CBC in Canada, SBS in Australia, Al Jazeera in the Middle East, ZDF in Germany, and on SuperSport in Africa. You can also find the match at the link on the bottom of this post.

Uruguay v South Korea Preview

Both teams have surprised with their runs into the knockout stage. Uruguay won Group A while South Korea was second in Group B. It’s a great opportunity for both teams to make a deep run into the final stages as Brazil, Argentina, and Spain are all in other parts of the draw.

Uruguay are led by striker Diego Forlan who has probably been the best player in the entire tournament through the group stage. Forlan has two goals and will be main focus of the attack for Uruguay. Along with Forlan, he will get help from Luis Suarez who is very capable of taking advantage if the defense puts too much emphasis on Forlan.

South Korea advanced with a 1-1-1 record in the group stage and are not favored in this match. Park Ji Sung, captain of the team, has been one of the Koreans’ best players and a key to their success. Another player to watch from South Korea is defender Lee Jung-Soo who has two goals in three matches.

While South Korea is not a team that has surprised, they lack the quality of the South Americans. Uruguay have had great performances and are very dangerous in the final third. Forlan should once again lead them to victory with either an assist or goal.

Competition Stats

	Uruguay	South Korea
Goals	Diego Forlán 2	Lee Jung-Soo 2
Assists	Luis Suárez 1
Yellows	Diego Lugano 1	Lee Chung-Yong 1
Reds	Nicolás Lodeiro 1

Betting Odds

Uruguay win – 5/6

Draw – 12/5

South Korea win – 7/2

Uruguay v South Korea Prediction

Uruguay will win the 2-1.

Watch Uruguay v South Korea Live Online

The match can be seen at Free Live Sports TV.

2010 FIFA World Cup Group G Final Standings: Brazil & Portugal advance

Jonathon Feyerherm — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:26:12 +0000

Group G has wrapped up all their matches with Brazil and Portugal advancing to the knockout stage. This was called the Group of Death with three very strong sides (Brazil, Portugal, and Ivory Coast) and went down to the last set of matches. Brazil won as expected while Portugal edged Ivory Coast thanks to two draws and a 7-0 win over North Korea. Ivory Coast missed out and will be disappointed to be another African side not to make it out of their group. The final group standings are below.

2010 FIFA World Cup Group G Final Standings

TEAMS	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
Brazil	3	2	1	0	5	2	3	7
Portugal	3	1	2	0	7	0	7	5
Ivory Coast	3	1	1	1	4	3	1	4
North Korea	3	0	0	3	1	12	-11	0

North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – World Cup – 25 June 2010

Jonathon Feyerherm — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:01:05 +0000

The Ivory Coast needed a win in their final group stage match against North Korea to have a chance at moving onto the next round. With Portugal having a substantial lead in the goal difference, the Africans would need a win by a large margin combined with Brazil beating Portugal by many goals.

North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast Video Highlights

The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.

North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast Recap

The Ivory Coast would cruise to victory but it proved to not be enough as they failed to make it out of the group stage.

The goals were from Yaya Toure in the 14th minute, Romaric in the 20th minute, and Salomon Kalou in the 82nd minute. It was a solid performance from Ivory Coast but they go out of the tournament as Portugal were able to hold Brazil to a scoreless draw.

North Korea is also eliminated and finishes the group stage with no points.

North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast Match Stats

9(4)	Shots (on Goal)	27(10)
12	Fouls	16
0	Corner Kicks	7
2	Offsides	4
34%	Time of Possession	66%
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
7	Saves	4

North Korea v Ivory Coast Preview, Prediction, and TV Listings

Jonathon Feyerherm — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:06:37 +0000

Ivory Coast need a win in their final group stage match as they face North Korea. The match will take place at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa on Friday, June 25, 2010. Kickoff is scheduled for 15:00 BST, 16:00 local time in South Africa, and 10:00 EST.

It will be televised on ESPN 2 in the United States, CBC in Canada, SBS in Australia, BBC (via the red button) in the United Kingdom, SuperSport in Africa, and on Al Jazeera Sport in the Middle East. You can also find the match at the link on the bottom of this post.

North Korea v Ivory Coast Preview

It’s a must win for Ivory Coast and they will need to make up a substantial goal difference.

With Portugal’s 7-0 win over Ivory Coast, they will need to overcome a nine goal difference in this match. This would have to combine with a Portugal loss against Brazil. It’s not impossible for that to happen as North Korea are eliminated from contention to advance and were exposed defensively.

North Korea looked strong in their opening match against Brazil but appear to have dropped in form. They will play a defensive and compact style which will force the Ivory Coast to be patient and use the width of the pitch.

Ivory Coast will need a great performance from Didier Drogba if they are to have a chance. They need to score probably at least 5-6 goals and hope Brazil beats Portugal by a decent margin. It’s likely Brazil will win their match so it should be up to the Ivorians.

Getting a win by that many goals doesn’t seem likely but they should still get the three points.

Betting Odds

North Korea win – 15/2

Draw – 4/1

Ivory Coast win – 1/3

North Korea v Ivory Coast Prediction

Ivory Coast will win the match 3-0.

Watch North Korea v Ivory Coast Live Online

The match can be seen at Free Live Sports TV.

2010 FIFA World Cup Group G Scenarios

Jonathon Feyerherm — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:24:13 +0000

It’s down to the last day of group stage matches as Group G completes on Friday, June 25, 2010. Brazil has already qualified and North Korea has already been eliminated. That means there will be one spot remaining between Portugal and Ivory Coast. Portugal has the upper hand but could be vulnerable if they lose to Brazil and Ivory Coast makes up the goal difference with a large win against North Korea. Below are the list of scenarios for Group G.

2010 FIFA World Cup Group G Scenarios

Brazil has advanced. Wins group with:
(A) Win or tie versus Portugal

Portugal advances with:
(A) Win or tie versus Brazil
(B) Loss IF Ivory Coast does not win AND make up goal difference

Ivory Coast advances with:
(A) Win versus North Korea AND Portugal loss AND make up goal difference

North Korea has been eliminated.

Denmark 1-3 Japan – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – World Cup – 24 June 2010

Jonathon Feyerherm — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:31:08 +0000

Denmark faced Japan with the winner in the match getting the last remaining knockout stage spot in Group E. Both teams had beaten Cameroon but lost to the Netherlands.

Denmark 1-3 Japan Video Highlights

The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.

Denmark 1-3 Japan Recap

Japan would get a 3-1 win to be the second Asian side to move into the round of 16 knockout stage.

They would get goals from Keisuke Honda in the 17th minute, Yasuhito Endo in the 30th minute, and Shinji Okazaki in the 87th minute to get the three points. Denmark did make a run late in the second half with a Jon Dahl Tomasson goal in the 81st minute but it was too late.

The win was a great performance from Japan who last reached the knockout stage in 2002.

Denmark 1-3 Japan Match Stats

21(6)	Shots (on Goal)	15(9)
21	Fouls	11
7	Corner Kicks	2
0	Offsides	5
65%	Time of Possession	35%
3	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
6	Saves	5