Continental shift evident in new order

Senegal, for one; why waste tears on France when you can watch a team that plays, and plays so well, for pleasure. If Senegal can be compared to any team, then they are the Brazil of Africa. A delight to watch for the sake of watching. We said the win over France was a fluke; we said their entry to the second round was fluke. Yet here they are, ready to feast on Turkey. And who’d bet against that happening?

The US have been widely criticised for not meriting a place in the quarters. They play a physical game, rely too much on their fitness and physique. Yet the same is true of their opponents, though Germany can back it up with experience and technique. How long before the US – who’ve now progressed beyond the group stage for the second tournament in three – pick up those traits?

The upsets in this tournament have much to do with underestimation. France underestimated Senegal, so did Portugal against US and same was the case with Italy when they played Korea. Why else would Giovanni Trappatoni, a man known for his tactical awareness, leave Delvecchio, Montella and – for a karge part of the match – Del Piero on the bench when facing a Korean team that had already bruised a few egos in their group?

Time, perhaps, to reflect on Korean football, and the game in Japan too. Whatever happens against Spain, the Koreans have exceeded wildest expectations yet at the same time have reserved their place in the quarters. They play a simple game; it’s called heart and it means you run until the final whistle blows. Too often their opponents have failed to understand this and have paid the price.

Guus Hiddink, whose popularity in his adopted country ranks somewhere up there with Kimchi, has performed a miracle to bring his team so far. He has had to coax, cajole, blackmail, threaten and terrorise to reach there. In the process, he’s taken a team of unfit no-hopers into a team of believers.