The group stages of the 2010 World Cup ended today with the final games in Groups G and H. Brazil already clinched a spot in the final 16 and Portugal was a near certainty but the Ivory Coast was lurking in the distance. Meanwhile, three teams could advance from Group H depending on the outcome of the day’s action.

Portugal 0 vs. Brazil 0 – Two of the most offensively gifted teams in all of football… The scoreline says it all. Brazil entered the game heading to the Round of 16 no matter the result of this game. Portugal was fairly safe on goal differential should they lose to Brazil and Ivory Coast beat North Korea. So when two teams have nothing to play for, it seems as though they feel compelled to give us nothing to watch. The general consensus heading in was that this was a game to DVR and show to the grandkids. Instead, Brazil defended all game to avoid losing top spot in the group and we had a 90-minute cure for insomnia. With the result, if we can call it that, Brazil goes through in first while Portugal locked up second in the group.

North Korea 0 vs. Ivory Coast 3 – The other Group G game was more or less a consolation prize. North Korea was looking to avoid punishment at the hands of Kim Jong-Il and the Ivory Coast could still make the knockout stage if they could get a nine goal swing in goal differential. The near insurmountable deficit wasn’t enough to stop the attack, though. In the 14th minute, Yaya Toure powered a right-footed strike past the keeper to open the Elephants’ account. Just six minutes later, Romaric headed home the second goal of the game. At that pace, it would be a close one for the Ivory Coast but then PDRK fell back into defending mode. That’s not to say they didn’t have chances. The North Koreans got a few chances as they took to  counter-attack while the Ivory Coast pushed forward to close the gap to Portugal. An 82nd minute goal by Salomon Kalou was too little, to late as both sides were eliminated.

Chile 1 vs. Spain 2 – It took them a bit to hit their stride, but now it’s easy to understand why Spain was the pre-tournament favourite. Spain took advantage of a ten-man Chilean side to coast to an easy victory. The scoring opened in the 24th minute, when David Villa hit a clearing attempt with a one-timer over everyone from 40 yards out. Villa was in on the next goal as he played a pass to Andres Iniesta who powered the ball into the back of the net. Immediately after that goal, Chile’s Marco Estrada was sent off thanks to Fernando Torres tripping over a chalk line on the field. Chile tried to mount a comeback in the second half thanks to Rodrigo Millar’s 47th minute strike but that was the extent of the Chilean threat. With the win, Spain won the group and will face Portugal in the next round.

Switzerland 0 vs. Honduras 0 – Try as they might, the Swiss Army couldn’t capitalize on their upset of Spain. The Swiss looked good quality to advance after their first game but couldn’t finish the job. Their fate was sealed with this scoreless draw against Honduras. Switzerland, normally considered a defensive side, was on the attack far more often than the Hondurans as evidenced by the fact they managed more than twice as attempts at goal than Honduras. In the end, though, both teams settled for a scoreless draw which eliminated both from the tournament.

Man of the Day: Player (Team) – Stats

Group G Standings
1. Brazil 2-1-0, 7 Pts.
2. Portugal 1-2-0, 5 Pts.
3. Ivory Coast 1-1-1, 4 Pts.
4. North Korea 0-0-3, 0 Pts.

Group H Standings
1. Spain 2-0-1, 6 Pts.
2. Chile 2-0-1, 6 Pts.
3. Switzerland 1-1-1, 4 Pts.
4. Honduras 0-1-2, 1 Pts.

Saturday’s Schedule:
Uruguay (1st Group A) vs. South Korea (2nd Group B)
USA (1st Group C) vs. Ghana (2nd Group D)