Plan B in Group A

Uruguay and Mexico advance to the playoffs

3. Switzerland

4. Honduras

The French team ended its performance at the World Cup with an inglorious defeat from South Africa; these three points did not help the Africans reach the playoffs. From Group “A” the next step is not the world vice-champions and not the tournament hosts, as was expected before the start of the World Cup, but Uruguay and Mexico.

GROUP "A". Uruguay - Mexico. Explaining the success of the South American teams and the North American Mexico that joined them, the famous specialist Evgeniy Lovchev once sensibly noted that these teams are traditionally strong in individual performers. At the group stage, where you need to get points with average teams, this could be a decisive factor. Almost everyone, even New Zealand, has learned to build defensive redoubts and can tactically competently withstand the opponent’s team attacking actions. But in individual skill, their players are inferior to the same South Americans, and in episodes when an opponent boldly goes to beat them one-on-one, they often simply cannot stop him.

In the round of 16, Mexico and Uruguay will have the opportunity to test whether their trump cards are valid in the playoffs. But in the head-to-head match, they had the task of not ending up in second place - with a high degree of probability, the second team of Group A would end up in Argentina. The Uruguayans imagined better the danger of meeting with Diego Maradona's team. They looked more active throughout the match, and Suarez materialized his advantage in scoring chances in the first half, finishing the serve from the flank.

South Africa - France. There were moments when the Mexicans, monitoring events in a parallel match, could worry about their place in the playoffs. But France, even in its current state of devastation, is not a team that can lose to the Africans with a devastating score.

Before the final meeting, the country's Minister of Sports, Roselyne Bachelot, met with the French players. As the AP agency later reported, many football players shed tears at the minister’s speech. But even earlier, information appeared that some players refused to take the field. As a result, team captain Patrice Evra found himself on the bench, among others.

Neither rebellion nor tears helped the French team - they lost again without will. Having conceded at the beginning of the half, the “tricolors” lost Gourcuff, who was sent off due to a dubious decision by the referee, and finally fell apart. The South Africans scored once more, although they could have scored much more. The “goal of prestige” by Malouda, whom the now former head coach of the French national team Raymond Domenech disliked and marinated on the bench, reassured the Mexicans - based on the difference in goals scored and conceded, they could no longer be lower than the hosts in the standings.

GROUP "N". Spain - Honduras . The day before, the Spanish team tried not to fall out of the fight after the second round. The European champions not only had to beat Honduras, but to do it with the maximum difference in the score - it is possible that in group “H” they would have to count the goals scored and conceded by three teams. Vicente Del Bosque's team managed to complete only the minimum task: Spain won 2:0. At the same time, the scorer of the double, David Villa, missed the penalty and missed the chance to score a hat-trick and force Argentine Higuain to take the top spot on the list of scorers. The Spanish forward may not have the opportunity to add to his goalscoring tally anytime soon. FIFA plans to review the episode missed by the match referee, in which Villa deliberately struck an opponent in the face with his hand, and it is possible that the striker will be disqualified.

Match results. 2nd round. Group "N". Spain - Honduras - 2:0 (Villa 17.51) . 3rd round. Group "A". South Africa - France - 2:1 (Kumalo 20, Mphela 37 - Malouda 70), Mexico - Uruguay - 0:1 (Suarez 43).

Group "H" I V N P M O

Group "A" I V N P M O

Andrey VDOVIN