Sabkush Sports :Portugal hit seven, Swiss finally crack

Sabkush Sports :Portugal hit seven, Swiss finally crackPortugal hit seven, Swiss finally crack

Day 11 in South Africa was all about goals – the seven Portugal put past Korea DPR and the one that Switzerland custodian Diego Benaglio conceded against Chile. Spain finally found their range, meanwhile, to get their campaign back on track by beating Honduras. As the rain teemed down in Cape Town, so the goals flooded in as Portugal routed Group G rivals Korea DPR 7-0. When these teams met in the 1966 FIFA World Cup™ quarter-finals, the North Koreans raced into a three-goal lead before succumbing 5-3 but the only thing the rematch had in common was the presence of Eusebio, watching from the stands. Portugal led only 1-0 at half-time but tore apart their opponents after the restart to record their highest FIFA World Cup win and take a big step towards the Round of 16. For the North Koreans, so promising against Brazil in their first match, the game is already up. A goalfest was never on the cards at Port Elizabeth Stadium given Switzerlands defensive obduracy and Chiles profligacy in front of goal – even with the Swiss reduced to ten men by Valon Behramis 31st-minute red card. As in their first game, it took the South Americans 20 shots to score one goal but Mark Gonzalezs second-half strike was enough to give Chile the outright lead in Group H – and end Switzerlands record-breaking run without conceding. Lastly to Johannesburg, where Spain bounced back from defeat by the Swiss with a 2-0 success against Honduras. David Villa scored twice but spurned the chance of a hat-trick with a second-half penalty miss – the first by a Spaniard on the world stage. The European champions shots-per-goals ratio in the tournament is now 23/1, even higher then Chiles, so pity the poor Jabulani when the pair meet in their group decider in Tshwane/ Pretoria on Friday. Results Portugal 7-0 Korea DPR Chile 1-0 Switzerland Spain 1-0 Honduras Goal of the day Portugal 6-0 Korea DPR, Cristiano Ronaldo, 87 mins: It did not rival some of his teams superbly worked goals for quality, but Portugals captain deserved the stroke of fortune that brought his first international strike since February 2009 and left him grinning broadly. As against Côte dIvoire, Ronaldo had earlier rattled the Korean crossbar with a spectacular effort from distance but this time his luck was in: goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk saved at his feet but the ball spun up, bouncing on the back of his head before landing at his feet for an easy conversion. One to remember If Fernando Torres was feeling the pressure before Spains match against Honduras, he did not show it as he stood chatting for several minutes in the Ellis Park tunnel with the young boy assigned the role of his player escort. Torres was all smiles – and that lucky youngster will doubtless be for days to come too. Quote of the day "After we conceded the first goal we lost the balance between our defence and attack. Our players started to panic," Kim Jong-Hun, Korea DPR coach. Stat of the day 559 – number of minutes it took for Switzerlands defence to finally yield with Gonzalezs winner for Chile in Bloemfontein, surpassing Italys finals record of 550 without a goal. After seeing a Chile effort ruled offside, then foiling Alexis Sanchez when the Chilean broke through, Nati goalkeeper Benaglio – who had performed heroics in the 1-0 win over Spain – was finally beaten 15 minutes from time. It was the first finals goal the Swiss had conceded since 1994, ending a run of five clean sheets.