THE WORLD Cup of football is under way, and so far, so good. In fact, it has been more than good - it has been thrilling and brilliant.With over a third of the matches gone, the contest has been packed with some wonderful and exciting matches, some surprising results, and some brilliant play - collectively and individually.
In the opening match, Senegal, playing in the finals for the first time, set the stage for a lovely tournament when they knocked off defending champions France 1-0; in another stinging upset, the United States of America picked off the fancied, star-studded Portugal 3-2 after leading 3-0; many-time champions Brazil were pushed to the hilt by the unheralded Turkey before they were rescued by a controversial penalty and won 2-1; and in the big match to date, England, thanks to a penalty, pipped favourites Argentina 1-0.
As far as brilliance is concerned, however, the best match so far was between Nigeria and Sweden that ended 2-1 in Sweden's favour.
The fear at the start of the World Cup was that it would have been a dull affair dominated by defence. So far, however, and thanks to teams like Senegal, Nigeria, Sweden and Cameroon, host countries Japan and South Korea, it has been open, attacking and exciting.
England versus Argentina was a great contest; Sweden versus Nigeria was a thrilling, exciting one. It was a match highlighted by creative skills and sensational moves. When the tournament is over, fans will still be talking about the cross from Nigeria's Joseph Yobo and the header by Julius Aghahowa, the magical dribbles through the middle by Jay Jay Okocha, the deft moves by Ifeanyi Udeze on the left-wing.
They will also remember the dribble by Freddie Ljungberg, the pass to Henrik Larsson and the clinical finish as he dribbled inside, beat two defenders and then tucked the ball away from the goalkeeper to level the score.
After losing two matches, Nigeria are out of contention, and there are those who will blame them for not defending enough. They are out because they lost by the odd goal, 1-0 and 2-1, to two strong teams - Argentina and Sweden, and because the luck ran against them.
Against Sweden, who won with a penalty, one of Yobo's shots hit the post, after one of Okocha's devastating dribbles had left a string of defenders behind him and two others in a daze, a hasty clearance by one bounced off the other and onto the post, and on a number of occasions the Swedes just managed to scramble the ball off the line.
Thus far the World Cup is welcome diversion from terror and strife, even though our own Reggae Boyz didn't make it this time.
