HIGH – 5: WORLD CUP DAY 18
A look back at Day 18 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Here we highlight the best PLAY, PLAYER, STORY, PICTURE and VIDEO of the day.
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| © AP Images |
Play of the day: Wesley ‘Sniper’ Sneijder’s pin-point Hollywood pass to Robben from deep inside his own half set Arjen Robben free on the right side. Rob Van Persie, the only other Dutchman other than Robben in the Slovak half made a dummy overlapping run but Robben did what he does best; he cut inside with his left foot and unleashed a perfectly accurate shot at the near post to score the first goal.
Player of the day: Sneijder is also our player of the day just edging Brazil’s Robinho. His 60-70 yard pass to Robben that ended up in the Slovak goal absolutely defines the vital role he plays for the Oranje. Wesley Sneijder who already scored the winner against Japan in the group stages, scored the second of the match after Dirk Kuyt laid the pass for an easy tap in. Eventually his goal made the difference as the Slovak’s pulled one back in the dying seconds of the match with a penalty from Vittek.
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| © AP Images |
Story of the day: While the two European teams played a tight match which required moments of brilliance from Robben and Sneijder to turn the game around, the two South American teams playing each other later on provided an open-ended attacking game. Brazil turned on the style against Chile in their round of 16 match. Both teams were on the offence from the word go. AS Roma defender Juan opened the scores with a well taken header off a Maicon corner kick. Brazil’s front three of Kaka, Robinho and Fabiano were in party mood as they combined to create the second against the run of play. Kaka’s brilliantly weighted through ball for Fabiano was a piece of magic from the Samba playmaker. For the third Ramires’ marauding run past three defenders from his own half created a great opportunity for Robinho to score, which he did. The Seleção also proved they have a water-tight defence as they kept a good Chilean attack at bay.
Image of the day: A helpless Marcos Beisla shouts at his team during their match against Brazil.
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