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The best team won on the day and Andres Iniesta's goal 4 minutes from the end of extra time meant that the World Cup was won by Spain for the first time.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 25 - Final - Netherlands vs Spain" »
Germany and Uruguay put on a show today and it was the Germans who edged a very entertaining match.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 24 - 3rd Place Playoff - Uruguay vs Germany" »
There will be a new name on the World Cup on Sunday after Spain deservedly beat Germany 1-0 with the irony of a goal from a corner scored by Carles Puyol.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 23 - Semi Finals - Germany vs Spain" »
The Netherlands will be hoping for their first World Cup victory at the third attempt after a second half double from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben finished off Uruguay and put the Netherlands into their first World Cup final since 1978.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 22 - Semi Finals - Uruguay vs Netherlands" »
Germany ruthlessly put Argentina to the sword while Spain's in-form striker David Villa pierced the Paraguay defence to finalise a mouthwatering set of Semi-Finals
There was drama in the first set of Quarter Finals as the Dutch beat hot favourites Brazil who were reduced to 10 men and Uruguay eventually won a thriller against Ghana on penalties but had to rely on a normal time penalty miss from Asamoah Gyan after Luis Suarez sacrificed himself to prevent a certain Ghana goal by deliberately handling the ball on the line.
Spain will play Paraguay in the quarter finals of the World Cup after the Paraguayans won a penalty shootout with Japan and David Villa despatched the Portugese in the late kickoff.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 19 - 2nd Phase - Paraguay vs Japan and Spain vs Portugal" »
Chile paid the price for their high pressure attacking tactics as Brazil eventually broke their resistance and ground out the win with a flourish by taking advantage of the defensive frailties of their attacking opponents to win 3-0.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 18 - 2nd Phase - Brazil vs Chile" »
If anyone ever wanted an illustration into how a modern football formation works they only have to look at the Netherlands who comfortably beat Slovakia to progress into the quarter finals.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 18 - 2nd Phase - Netherlands vs Slovakia" »
Argentina's victory over Mexico was marred by further refereeing controversy but Diego Maradona's side still did enough to deserve to progress to the quarter finals after beating a feisty Mexico side 3-1.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 17 - 2nd Phase - Argentina vs Mexico" »
England were one of the few sides to play 4-4-2 in the World Cup finals but the system that suited them against lesser opposition seems to have been found wanting in the biggest stage of all and crucially against a modern side playing a modern formation in Germany
England slumped to their biggest ever World Cup defeat as they were hammered 4-1 by some excellent counter-attacking German play.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 17 - 2nd Phase - Germany vs England" »
Ghana became the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter finals when they beat USA thanks to talismanic striker Asamoah Gyan's Extra Time winner.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 16 - 2nd Phase - USA vs Ghana" »
2-1. Luis Suarez lit up the World Cup with a stunning winning goal against the South Koreans.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 16 - 2nd Phase - Uruguay vs South Korea" »
A stunning first half performance from Spain sealed their qualification to the knockout stage after two goals and a Chilean red card effectively ended their hopes of topping the group despite pulling a goal back to end the game 2-1. With an unlikely door to qualification opened for Switzerland they couldn't take their chance, finding it impossible to break down an obdurate Honduras.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 15 - Group H Final Games" »
What should have been a mouthwatering encounter descended into a card filled bore as Portugal secured the point they needed to qualify from Group G against Brazil and prevented Ivory Coast from overtaking them with an unlikely goal swing against North Korea.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 15 - Group G Final Games" »
Japan hit top gear to qualify for the second round of the World Cup in style by 3-1 over a Denmark side that looked out of sorts and ponderous while the Netherlands secured top spot in the group with an assured 2-1 win over Cameroon.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 14 - Group E Final Games" »
World Cup holders Italy crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage after an extraordinary defeat at the hands of Slovakia while New Zealand couldn't find the winner against Paraguay which would have sent them through too.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 14 - Group F Final Games" »
It's England vs Germany again in the World Cup as the Germans eased to a 1-0 win over Ghana to top Group D. The Ghanaians become the only African representatives to qualify from the group phase in World Cup 2010 after Australia turned over Serbia 2-1 in the other Group D match.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 13 - Group D Final Games" »
USA booked their ticket into the next round with Landon Donovan's last kick of their game against Algeria after a more confident England scored early thanks to Jermain Defoe and managed to hold on against Slovenia.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 13 - Group C Final Games" »
Nigeria missed out one an unlikely place in the next round of the World Cup by a single goal as Yakubu arguable missed the best chance any team will ever have to score a goal in these finals as they could only draw 2-2 with South Korea. Meanwhile, Argentina left it late to finally crack the stubborn Greek resistance and win 2-0 with both goals scored in the last 10 minutes.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 12 - Group B Final Games" »
South Africa exited the World Cup on goal difference with their heads held high after they beat a gutted France side 2-1 but couldn't overcome a 3 goal group deficit after Uruguay beat Mexico 1-0.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 12 - Group A Final Games" »
2-0. Spain eased their way back into World Cup contention with a relaxed victory over a lacklustre Honduras side
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 11 - Group H - Spain vs Honduras" »
Chile left it late to cement their superiority with a 1-0 win over 10 man Switzerland after substitute Mark Gonzalez' header finally rewarded their attacking play.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 11 - Group H - Chile vs Switzerland" »
7-0. Portugal mercilessly tore the North Koreans apart after facing stiff initial resistance.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 11 - Group G - Portugal vs North Korea" »
3-1. A red card for Kaka marred the end of a controversial match in which Brazil had comfortably outplayed Ivory Coast and qualified from Group G.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 10 - Group G - Brazil vs Ivory Coast" »
1-1. New Zealand scored a controversial goal but held on for a well deserved draw against a poor Italy side which provided yet another of this World Cup's seismic shocks.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 10 - Group F - Italy vs New Zealand" »
0-2. Paraguay took control of Group F with an assured victory over Slovakia.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 10 - Group F - Slovakia vs Paraguay" »
It was a day that finally decided the fate of one team in this World Cup and produced some off the pitch drama too.
0-0. England's obituary writers will be out in force after a listless display against Algeria dealt their chances of qualifying a big blow.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 8 - Group C - England vs Algeria" »
2-2. The USA showed immense character to battle back from 2-0 down and were strangely denied what would have been a winning goal when a late Maurice Edu strike was disallowed.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 8 - Group C - Slovenia vs USA" »
0-1. Alberto Undiano Mallenco will be a name on the lips of many Germans tonight as they literally paid the penalty for some incredibly harsh refereeing when Miroslav Klose was sent off for a second yellow card offence, Serbia went in front and then Lukas Podolski missed a penalty.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 8 - Group B - Germany vs Serbia" »
0-2. After a quiet beginning to the World Cup the shocks are starting to come thick and fast as Mexico delivered a hammerblow to easily the worst side in the tournament so far.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 7 - Group A - France vs Mexico" »
2-1. In an eventful match, Greece took full advance of every bit of luck that came their way and came from behind to win and to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the second round against 10-man Nigeria.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 7 - Group B - Greece vs Nigeria" »
Gonzalo Higuain netted the first hat trick of the World Cup as Argentina eased to a 4-1 win over plucky South Korea to put themselves in pole position to top Group B.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 7 - Group B - Argentina vs South Korea" »
0-3. Two goals from Uruguay's star striker Diego Forlan dealt a massive blow to South Africa's hopes of qualification from their group as Itumeleng Khune was sent off for the hosts.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 6 - Group A - South Africa vs Uruguay" »
The first 16 games have come and gone, so apart from the German demolition of Australia, why has there been a paucity of goals and a general feeling that defence is more the watchword than attack?
0-1. Spain expected a win but got turned over by the most organised team in the tournament.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 6 - Group H - Spain vs Switzerland" »
0-1. Chile hammered Honduras by the narrowest possible scoreline as they wasted chance after chance in a game they had complete control of from start to finish.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 6 - Group H - Honduras vs Chile" »
2-1. It's not a World Cup without Brazil involved and they overcame stubborn North Korean resistance to win their opening group game but their rank outsider opponents had a say right at the end.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 5 - Group G -Brazil vs North Korea" »
0-0. A dour goal-less draw with only a few flashes of brilliance from Portgual's Cristiano Ronaldo to punctuate the gloomy torrential downpour.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 5 - Group G - Ivory Coast vs Portugal" »
1-1. New Zealand's never say die attitude earned them an unlikely but fully deserved point in the dying seconds of the game - their first in World Cup finals. Finally a bit of drama!
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 5 - Group F - New Zealand vs Slovakia" »
1-1. It was another slow start for defending World Champions Italy as they recovered from a shock deficit against Paraguay to equalise and finish on top despite not being able to find the winner.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 4 - Group F - Italy vs Paraguay" »
Japan survived a late Cameroon onslaught to record their first World Cup finals victory outside of their home country.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 4 - Group E - Japan vs Cameroon" »
Netherlands laboured to a 2-0 win over Denmark thanks to an unlucky deflection.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 4 - Group E - Netherlands vs Denmark" »
Germany demolish 10-man Australia to lead Group D
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 3 - Group D - Germany vs Australia" »
A deserved African victory after Asamoah Gyan scored the tournament's first penalty to beat Serbia
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 3 - Group D - Serbia vs Ghana" »
Robert Koren's goal sealed victory Slovenia over 10 man Algeria
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 3 - Group C - Algeria vs Slovenia" »
Weeks of expectation came to a swift anticlimax as Robert Green's howler allowed the USA to cancel out Steven Gerrard's opening goal for England.
Continue reading "World Cup 2010 Day 2 - Group C - England v USA" »
Two wins in Group B as World Cup 2010 kicked off.
An eventful start to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa saw Group A kick off with a pair of draws after a lavish opening ceremony today.
The BBC have launched an interesting quest to find your stories about memorable British film locations in popular cinema.
We've all heard of viruses, spam, even spyware. Now a Rochdale nurse has had her PC files hijacked and held to ransom.
Regular readers may have noticed some changes to the Openwriting home page and article pages in the last few days.
New and now permanently ad-free in its latest incarnation, Opera represents a genuine alternative web browser. Paul Chan investigates.
Is Internet Explorer too easily filled full of spyware for your tastes? Is Firefox too slow compared to Internet Explorer? Paul Chan tells of an old school third web browser which is having a 10th anniversary special.
Paul Chan can't wait for the football season to start.
Paul Chan discusses ways of remembering your password.
On a recent trip to London's Heathrow Airport, Paul Chan found it very difficult to find a good eatery which was a little out of the ordinary.
Yes, it's another summer blockbuster and, with Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg and a iconic title from cinema history, can it really fail?
The BBC are closing down their Cult TV website. Paul Chan remembers the days before overexposure of soaps and then make-over shows and reality TV brought the curtain down on some excellent TV drama.
They don't make too many movies like this any more...
PC World's latest special offer is very good value for money.
A welcome throwback to the days of Flash Gordon and RKO Adventures
Stylish film director Michael Mann is back and he's created another masterpiece of the crime thriller genre.
Matt Damon returns in a superior thriller based loosely on Robert Ludlum's secret agent - Jason Bourne.
Continue reading "The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy" »
"Inspired by Isaac Asimov" is the legend in the credits sequence, and many purists may have decided to avoid this film in advance of its release.
The voice is unmistakable. He's a cinema legend with a career spanning almost 6 decades.
The third film in the Harry Potter series may be the shortest but it's also clearly the best so far.
Continue reading "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" »
Earth vs Mother Nature
A powerful drama about people coping with tragedy.
Everyone should know the plot of the Iliad from classics at school. First things first though - Troy is a good film.
Would you like to see the Picture of the Week in a bigger window?
In an alternate version of the 1950s in which neither World Wars happened a little girl is training to be a witch.
THE latest virus to hit the news has actually gained some serious notoriety by downing English Coastguard computers.
Movies, music and television is full of remakes and revisitations. A sign of less adventurous times.
Although taken late last year in Haworth, this image shows the frosty weather that can linger during the midwinter gloom.
Click on the image for a larger version
A growing number of people are using the internet at home and at work.
Architecture, modern and traditional, has been a hot topic every time town centre regeneration is discussed.
Birmingham has been in a state of building and rebuilding for a number of years but one of its most recent buildings is a startling tribute to modernism.
Computers should be reserved for serious work - not games.
A view to the west over Wadsworth Moor, above Pecket Well near Hebden Bridge.
While passing in the late afternoon, the sun sank beneath the horizon of Wadsworth Moor but left a vivid red sky for several minutes.
Click on the image for a larger version.
The much vaunted snow from last week didn't really stick around to cause anything other than a slight inconvenience.
Here is a picture I took of some Yorkshire countryside last week while passing. Click on the image for a bigger version.
Another new virus has emerged to plague users of Windows computers - but if you take some precautions you can just treat it as an inconvenience.
I waited a long time to see this animated film, described as the Japanese Alice in Wonderland, in which a little girl has to save her parents after they are turned into pigs at a seemingly abandoned amusement park.
The weather is a talking point more than ever this week. The BBC provide a superb weather service from their portal: BBCi
Another Philip K Dick adaptation with mixed reviews. If you like action and adventure sign up here. If you are a sci-fi purist, you may wish to avoid...
The Net Guide By Paul Chan. Internet users who have been online for some time will be acutely aware of spam.
