World Cup: Where have all the goals gone?

Who would’ve thought? Six days and 16 matches into the 2010 World Cup, the only buzz so far has come from the constant drone of tens of thousands of Vuvuzelas and the first word that comes up when discussing strikers and goals is not Messi or Ronaldo, nor Rooney or Drogba but Jabulani!

The first World Cup held in Africa was always going to be unique but the only striking feature after each team has completed their opening assignments has been the surprising lack of goals.
Wasn’t that supposed to happen in the knock-outs, when teams got increasingly cagey? The group stages of the Word Cup finals have traditionally proved to be goal-feasts, as the big guns set about putting down the markers with old-fashioned, pedal-on-metal drubbings against the pretenders.

In 2002, 47 goals came in the first 16 games at an average close to three per match - the biggest win being Germany’s 8-0 mauling of Saudi Arabia. Four years later, the back of the net was found 39 times as Spain wrapped up the opening round with a thumping 4-0 win over Ukraine.

In 2010, the first round has seen 25 strikes, the goals-per-game average at a ridiculously low 1.5. The excuses emanating from various camps have revolved around the two most derided words of the week: Vuvuzela and Jabulani. If you don’t know what the Vuvuzela sounds like, watch any game or, alternately, shove your head into a beehive. Players say that the loud (measured at 127 decibels), monotonous din makes it impossible for them to hear their teammates.

The ball provided by Adidas has proved to be a concern as well, with every second cross being overhit and shots flying high over the crossbar. No goals have been scored directly from free-kicks which, with the number of specialists around, does point to the fact that teams are struggling to come to terms with either the Jabulani or the high altitude at which games are being played (the explanation of the second theory is that as air pressure decreases, the ball carries a lot more).

Can that be all though?

The defensive eight
Over the years, the 4-4-2 has been the most favoured formation for top teams, the two target men up-front keeping opposition goalkeepers busy. Increasingly over the last four years, the 4-5-1 has come into vogue - even teams that play two out-and-out strikers tend to play one up-front and one as a linkman just in front of the midfield. The 4-5-1, when used as an attacking tool, allows for the two wide midfielders to join in rapid counterattacks, as Jose Mourinho proved with both Chelsea and Inter Milan. But smaller sides have effectively used it to stifle more attacking teams — Greece’s ‘defensive eight’ won them the Euro in 2004. And on Tuesday night, the unfancied Switzerland gave a great example of what defensive bloody-mindedness could do even against a team overflowing with natural talent as Spain.

The schedule
Another factor resulting in the slew of dreaded 0-0s and 1-0s could be the way the matches have been scheduled. As at all Word Cups, the eight groups generally include two strong teams and two relatively weaker sides.

Usually, the clash between the groups bigger sides are played right at the end and tend to decide where the teams finish in the group. This time though, a look through the fixtures that have passed, show that in several groups, the biggest clashes have already been done with — France drew against Uruguay and now play South Africa and Mexico; England couldn’t beat USA but should do better against Algeria and Slovenia; defending champions Italy were held by an impressive Paraguay but will New Zealand or Slovakia prove to be a threat?

The 2-1 result in Brazil vs North Korea was the only real surprise in that sense, considering it was the biggest mismatch in World Cup history as far as rankings go: when No.1 takes on No 104, you’re right to expect more than three goals.

The coming week should, hopefully, fix all that: Among other clashes, England play Algeria, Germany take on Serbia, while Spain will have a chance to redeem themselves against Honduras.

And if the ball is still only trickling into the net, there’s always the buzz of the Vuvuzelas to rant about.

This copy was written after the completion of first round.