The last day of the Danone Nations Cup is in full swing at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto. As the 2009 tournament had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, this year’s Danone Nations Cup is a feast of junior football: a total of 40 games are being played throughout today to decide who takes home the trophies for 2010 and 2009, respectively.
No red or yellow cards to be seen in this format of soccer, but passionate play has been the order of the day. Some of the highlights:
Poland vs Austria 2009:
Poland started off well but Austria soon found their feet and went on to dominate much of the game. Austria took the lead leaving Polish defender and keeper staring at one another as the ball slowly rolled in between the goal posts. Laduma!
Poland went into attack mode immediately but failed to score an equaliser. Austria thus finishes in 21 st position overall and Poland 22nd
Egypt and France 2009 u/13:
France, who has won the tournament twice previously (2000 and 2008) beat Egypt 1-0 in a rather uneventful match. Having scored early in the game, the boys in blue held on to their advantage, leaving little room for the North African team to move.
France finishes in 19 th position overall and Egypt in 20th position.
Canada vs Russia 2009 u/13:
By all accounts, this turned out to be one of the more exciting clashes. Fast paced and fiercely contested. Canada was the first to hit the back of the net, but the Russians didn’t trail behind for long, equalising almost immediately.
Both teams impressed with their passing and defending, eliciting much support from the stands. In the end, it was the mixed Canadian team – they have two girls playing in the team – that triumphed 3-2.
Canada finished in 17 th position; Russia 18 th.
There was a buzz of excitement when Zinedine Zidane came onto the field.
