Match 1-16 recap

After today's first major shocker of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ when Switzerland topped Spain, all thirty-two teams have played their first game. What have we learned?

Low scoring affairs and first match jitters have defined the first third of group play. Only four teams (Brazil, Germany Netherlands and South Korea) have scored more than one goal, while thirteen teams were shut out. Whether its been the unpredictable Jabulani ball, six months of team preparation, or world-class goalkeeper play, we've seen fourteen fewer goals in the first sixteen World Cup games than we did in Germany four years ago.

Let's go group by group and see what happened:

Group A
South Africa started the first World Cup on African soil the right way — with a goal by Bafana Bafana's Siphiwe Tshabala. The game ended in a draw though, as did the game in the group when Uruguay surprisingly stayed with France. France, the 2006 runner up did not look like the top six-ranked team that they are. The United States' CONCACAF rival, Mexico, also did not look sharp in their tie with South Africa.

Group B
The most-discussed team at this World Cup — Argentina — was able to pick up a win against Nigeria's Super Eagles, but it wasn't the high-scoring affair that many predicted. Reigning Player of the Year, Lionel Messi, was kept relatively quiet in the 1-0 win. South Korea beat Greece 2-0 and is looking to advance out of group play for the first time that they aren't the host country.

Group C
Surprise: Slovenia is at the top of Group C. After the United States earned a draw against England's Three Lions — which, we have covered here and here, — Slovenia pulled a late victory out against Algeria. The US hopes to make Slovenia's lead short-lived when they face off on Friday at 10 AM ET.

Group D
Tshabala may have scored the first African goal on African soil, but Ghana won the first game by an African team in an African-hosted World Cup. On a penalty kick following a handball in the box, Asamoah Gyan earned The Black Stars the result. Meanwhile, Germany reminded the world of their dominance by scoring two more goals then the second-highest scoring team in this World Cup so far. Even more impressively the 4-0 victory came against a solid Australian team.

Group E
If Netherlands is going to live up to its reputation of underperforming in the World Cup, it’s not happening early. The Dutch team blanked Denmark 2-0. Japan shocked Cameroon's with a 1-0 victory. Like their co-hosts in 2002 — South Korea — Japan is looking to advance to the round of sixteen for the first time in a World Cup not on home soil. Meanwhile, Cameroon's Indomitable Lions weren't quite so indomitable and have a lot to prove in their next two matches.

Group F
Italy's defense of its 2006 World Cup win started off slowly, putting them in the same company with the team they beat in the 2006 final, as they looked quite flat in their 1-1 tie with Paraguay. New Zealand gave us some last minute heroics when Wilson Reid met a beautiful cross from Shane Smeltz with his head in the third and final minute of injury time to earn a draw against Slovakia.

Group G
The proclaimed Group of Death certainly saw some intrigue, although maybe not exactly as expected. Neither Portugal or Ivory Coast was able to put the ball in the back of the net, which will likely make the battle for second place in the group come down to a tiebreaker. North Korea — the lowest ranked team in the World Cup — was able to keep Brazil off the board in the first-half and surprisingly scored a goal in the 89th minute, but still lost to the World's number one team 2-1. Brazil lived up to their reputation of playing with flare and style, as Maicon's goal was arguably the prettiest of the first sixteen games.

Group H
Prior to today Switzerland was known for neutrality, chocolates, and watches. Add an item to that list: giant-killers. Switzerland shocked the world with a 1-0 victory over Spain's Furia Roja who had only lost one other game in their previous forty-nine international matches. Fun Fact: that one loss came at the hands of the United States in the 2009 Confederation Cup's semifinal. In Group H's other game, Chile beat CONCACAF team Honduras 1-0, although the match was more lopsided than the score indicates.