2010 FIFA World Cup Group F
Football tournament group stage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Group F of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 14 June 2010 and ended on 24 June 2010.[1] The group consisted of 2006 winner Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia. Italy and Paraguay previously met in the first round of the 1950 tournament, with Italy winning 2–0; neither qualified for the next round.
Italy were eliminated from the group with just two points, behind underdogs New Zealand, who drew all three of their matches to finish on three points. New Zealand ended up being the only unbeaten team at this World Cup, as eventual champions Spain lost to Switzerland in their Group H game while Japan and Ghana who both failed to advance on penalties in the knockout stage had previously lost a group game. Italy placed last, making it the first time since 1974 that the Italians did not advance beyond the first round and the first tournament they didn’t win a World Cup match.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Paraguay |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  Slovakia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | |
| 3 |  New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Italy |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
- Paraguay advanced to play Japan (runner-up of Group E) in the round of 16.
- Slovakia advanced to play Netherlands (winner of Group E) in the round of 16.
Matches
All times local (UTC+2)
Italy vs Paraguay
Italy entered the fixture as defending champions, having won the 2006 edition of the tournament, and their starting lineup featured five of their World Cup winning team.[2]
Paraguay defender Antolín Alcaraz put his team in front on 39 minutes with a well-timed header. Veteran Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was substituted off at half-time, with what appeared to be back injury.[2]
Half-way through the second half, an error from Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar allowed Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi to score an equaliser.[2]
| Italy | 1–1 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
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[Report 1] |
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          Italy[3]
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     Paraguay[3]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[4]
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New Zealand vs Slovakia
This was New Zealand's first World Cup game since their debut in the 1982 tournament, where they lost all three of their group games.[5]
Slovakia went ahead early in the second half via striker Róbert Vittek. New Zealand struggled to create any clear cut chances of their own, however deep into stoppage time Winston Reid equalized for New Zealand via a header. The 1-1 draw was New Zealand's first ever point at the FIFA World Cup finals.[5]
| New Zealand | 1–1 | Slovakia |
|---|---|---|
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[Report 2] |
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     New Zealand[6]
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     Slovakia[6]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[4]
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Slovakia vs Paraguay
     Slovakia[7]
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 Paraguay[7]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[4]
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Italy vs New Zealand
New Zealand took a surprise early lead when Simon Elliott's free-kick into the Italy penalty box was flicked on by defender Winston Reid, allowing striker Shane Smeltz to poke the ball into the Italy goal.[8] The goal ended up being New Zealand's only shot on goal for the entire match.[9]
New Zealand conceded a penalty on half an hour when Tommy Smith tussled with Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi, allowing Italy to equalize. Italy pushed for a winning goal in the second half but were unable to score, and the game finished 1-1. The result meant that after their opening two games, New Zealand had the same number of points as reigning World Cup champions Italy.
The draw extended Italy's winless run to five games, consisting of four draws and a 2-1 loss to Mexico in a World Cup warmup.[9] For New Zealand, it was only their second ever point at the World Cup,[9] having also drawn their opening game to Slovakia by the same score.
| Italy | 1–1 | New Zealand |
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| [Report 4] |
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 Italy[10]
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New Zealand[10]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[4]
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Slovakia vs Italy
| Slovakia | 3–2 | Italy |
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| [Report 5] |
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Slovakia[11]
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Italy[11]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[4]
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Paraguay vs New Zealand
Paraguay qualified for the round of 16 for the fourth time in their history after being held to a 0–0 draw by New Zealand.[12]
With their third successive draw, New Zealand concluded their campaign undefeated above World Cup holders Italy, but failed to qualify for the round of 16 by a single point.[13]
Paraguay[14]
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     New Zealand[14]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[4]
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