World Cup Roundup Day 12: The Champions Crash Out

Italy spent the last four years forgetting how to defend.
Fabio Cannavaro led that charge, transforming from the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2006 into a catastrophe whose mistakes have cost Italy goals in every single match of the 2010 World Cup.

The third goal the reigning champions conceded against Slovakia exposed the entire team as unfit to recapture the crown. Daniele De Rossi failed to track his man on a simple throw-in and the defensive line just let him run straight through.
Cannavaro practically tipped his hat to Kamil Kopunek as the substitute sped past to delicately lift the ball over Federico Marchetti and seal the Italians' fate.
So the 2010 World Cup lays claim to another record. After being the first World Cup in which the host nation failed to advance to the knockout rounds, it is also the first World Cup in which both finalists from the tournament prior failed to advance past the group stages.
In fact, both France and Italy finished bottom of their groups. The Azzuri even finished behind

New Zealand!
The plucky Kiwis didn't lose a single game, a remarkable accomplishment for any team which includes Andrew Boyens in its ranks. A drab 0-0 draw with Paraguay put the South Americans top of the group and featured once again the grit of the All Whites on defense.
The Netherlands remained unbeaten as well, putting together a 3-0 run to top Group E. Cameroon, which had already been mathematically eliminated, did put up a bit of a fight against the Dutch. Samuel Eto'o tied up the score at 1-1 by converting a coolly taken penalty, but a late Arjen Robben cameo sparked the Dutch to a solid 2-1 win.
That meant only second place was up for grabs in the group's other match. In it, Japan exploited some set pieces to eliminate Denmark.

First Keisuke Honda hit a swerving free kick from an acute angle that apparently caught Thomas Sorensen daydreaming about his Civic because the goalkeeper flubbed it badly. Then Yasuhito Endo curled a gorgeous ball around the wall and into the corner of the net for a two-goal lead.

Even Jon Dahl Tomasson's finish on the rebound to his atrocious penalty attempt didn't get the Danes back in the game. Honda showed some incredible poise on the ball to wiggle through the entire Danish defense and lay the ball off for Shinji Okazaki to tap it in.
The finish was so easy, even Cannavaro might have been able to bundle it in.
Goal Of The Day

Fabio Quagliarella provided the most highlight reel material from anyone today. His weeping at the final whistle put an image to how the country felt, and his offside goal which would have tied the game about summed up Italy's World Cup. But between those two, he hit a goal of such picturesque beauty most won't believe he did it with a Jabulani.
De Rossi overran the ball and narrowly managed to tap it back to Quagliarella. The Napoli striker settled and hit a sumptuous chip which floated just whiskers above the goalie's glove and into the top corner of the net.
Given the quality of the goal and how effective Quagliarella proved to be in the Slovakia match, one must wonder why he was making his World Cup debut in the third match and not the first.
Performance Of The Day

It wasn't the drilled free kick for the opening goal. It wasn't the vibrant running off the ball. It wasn't the perfect touches in all areas of the pitch. And it even wasn't the disarming selflessness to pass on Japan's third goal when any other striker would shoot.
OK fine, it was those things. Keisuke Honda tore it up against Denmark. Japan will need another performance like that out of him to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in the country's history.

Most Shocking Event
Vladimir Weiss may take a bit of grief from his wife tonight. The Slovakian coach left his son out of the starting lineup and out of the match entirely against Italy.
The move paid off, of course, with a spot in the knockout rounds secured. And it doesn't look like Jr. will hold a grudge, judging by the jubilant hug he gave his father at the final whistle.
But still, Momma Weiss will have the coach in the doghouse once he returns from the World Cup.
Referee Report Card
The referees managed a smooth day of games. Long may it continue.
Quote Of The Day
"The coach called me over, and asked me to invent something," Quagliarella told RaiSport. "I did my best, but my dream of a lifetime - and of my career - is over."