World Cup Day 11 Roundup: Switzerland Breaks Record for Longest Stretch Without Allowing A Goal, But Loses to Chile 1-0

by

Jun 21, 2010

World Cup Day 11 Roundup: Switzerland Breaks Record for Longest Stretch Without Allowing A Goal, But Loses to Chile 1-0In Monday’s opening match, Portugal dominated North Korea in a lopsided 7-0 victory, eliminating the North Koreans from the tournament.

Elsewhere in South Africa, Switzerland set a World Cup record for minutes without allowing a goal, but lost to Chile, 1-0.

Portugal  7, North Korea 0
North Korea, trailing 1-0 in the first half, had some early chances but just couldn’t keep up. Despite the rainy weather, Portugal caught fire in the second half with three goals in the span of eight minutes — and they didn’t stop there. In the 81st minute, substitute Liedson sparked another Portuguese scoring spree with the first of three more goals. Cristiano Ronaldo ended his 16-month goalless streak in the 87th minute, having not scored for his country since the 2008 European Championship. The win puts Portugal in second place in Group G with four points, two points behind first-place Brazil.

Chile 1, Switzerland 0
Midfielder Valon Behrami was handed a red card in the 31st minute for hitting two Chilean players in the face, leaving Switzerland playing a man down. The Swiss rose to the challenge and broke a record in the 69th minute, as they surpassed Italy’s record of going 550 minutes without allowing a goal. Six minutes later, Chilean substitute Mark Gonzales scored on a header to take the 1-0 lead. Switzerland charged and nearly evened it up in the 90th minute, but substitute Eren Derdiyok kicked it wide. The victory puts Chile in first place in the group with six points.

Spain 2, Honduras 0
The Spaniards bounced back from their embarrassing opening-match loss to Switzerland by shutting out Honduras. David Villa scored both goals for Spain. Villa recorded tallies in the 17th and 51st minute to run his international goal total to 40 for his career. Spain can still win Group H if they can beat Chile.

Standings

Group A
Uruguay (1-0-1, 4 points, 3 goals, 0 goals against)
Mexico (1-0-1, 4 points, 3 goals, 1 goal against)
France (0-1-1, 1 point, 0 goals, 2 goals against)
South Africa (0-1-1, 1 point, 1 goal, 4 goals against)

Group B
Argentina (2-0-0, 6 points, 5 goals, 1 goal against)
South Korea (1-1-0, 3 points, 3 goals, 4 goals against)
Greece (1-1-0, 3 points, 2 goals, 3 goals against)
Nigeria (0-2-0, 0 points, 1 goal, 3 goals against)

Group C
Slovenia (1-0-1, 4 points, 3 goals, 2 goals against)
USA (0-0-2, 2 points, 3 goals, 3 goals against)
England (0-0-2, 2 points, 1 goal, 1 goal against)
Algeria (0-1-1, 1 points, 0 goals, 1 goal against)

Group D
Ghana (1-0-1, 4 points, 2 goals, 1 goal against)
Germany (1-1-0, 3 points, 4 goals, 1 goal against)
Serbia (1-1-0, 3 points, 1 goal, 1 goal against)
Australia (0-1-1, 1 point, 1 goal, 5 goals against)

Group E
Netherlands (2-0-0, 6 points, 3 goals, 0 goals against)
Japan (1-1-0, 3 points, 1 goal, 1 goal against)
Denmark (1-1-0, 3 points, 2 goals, 3 goals against)
Cameroon (0-2-0, 0 points, 1 goal, 3 goals against)

Group F
Paraguay (1-0-1, 4 points, 3 goals, 1 goal against)
Italy (0-0-2, 2 points, 2 goals, 2 goals against)
New Zealand (0-0-2, 2 points, 2 goals, 2 goals against)
Slovakia (0-1-1, 1 point, 1 goal, 3 goals against)

Group G
Brazil (2-0-0, 6 points, 5 goals, 2 goal against)
Portugal (1-0-1, 4 point, 7 goals, 0 goal against)
Ivory Coast (0-1-1, 1 point, 1 goals, 3 goal against)
North Korea (0-2-0, 0 points, 1 goal, 9 goals against)

Group H
Chile (2-0-0, 6 points, 2 goal, 0 goals against)
Switzerland (1-1-0, 3 points, 1 goal, 1 goals against)
Honduras (0-2-0, 0 points, 0 goals, 3 goal against)
Spain (1-1-0, 3 points, 2 goals, 1 goal against)

Coming Up: Day 12 kicks off with two games at 10 a.m. ET when France, in the midst of a tumultuous week internally takes on host nation South Africa, while Mexico meets Uruguay. Also, Greece squares off with Argentina and Nigeria clashes with South Korea, with both matches starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Here's the complete World Cup schedule.

Previous Article

Defenseman Dylan McIlrath’s Toughness Makes Him Perfect Pick for Bruins at No. 15

Next Article

Ron Artest: Always a Character, Finally A Champion

Picked For You