RIO DE JANEIRO, June 18. /ITAR-TASS/. The sixth day of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is notable for an unexpected 1-1 draw in the Russia vs. South Korea match played in Brazil's Cuiaba (Mato Grosso state) at the Arena Pantanal stadium.
The Russian team responded to the goal scored by South Korean forward Lee Kyung-ho (in the 68th minute) with an accurate shot by Alexander Kerzhakov (74). It is noteworthy that the date of the match coincided with the 68th birthday of the Russian team's chief coach Fabio Capello.
The Russian team handled the ball more often, whereas the South Korean players, for their part, counted on swift counterattacks.
In the 70th minute, the Russian team conceded a counterlunge crowned with a powerful shot by Lee Kyung-ho. Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev, in an attempt to parry the ball, played awkwardly, letting the ball slam into goal cage.
In the 71th minute, immediately after the goal scored by South Korea, Capello fielded Alexander Kerzhakov, who replaced Yuri Zhirkov. The replacement proved effective. In the 74th minute, the Russian team succeeded, perhaps, for the first time in the match in effecting a multi-move combination, as a result of which the ball was passed to Kerzhakov who was in the goal area. The forward did not manage to score at the first go but then in a second touch he sent the ball into the net.
The team of Belgium, Russia's rival in Group N, not without difficulty, broke down the resistance of Algeria's team. Prior to the start of the match, many specialists asked only one question - how many goals will the Belgians score. The score turned out to be 2-1. Thereby the Belgians got their three points although not quite easily.
The Brazil vs. Mexico match failed to ecourage the fans' hearts with an abundance of goals. The game played at Castelao stadium in Fortaleza ended in a draw 0-0. The game became a 40th jubilee one in the two teams' record. In the previous 39 matches, the Brazilian side had 23 victories and suffered ten defeats. All this is indicative of one thing - although the advantage was on the side of the five-time world champions, the Mexican team has always been a rival in the no-easy category, and the latest game fully confirmed that.
Noteworthy in a non-game aspect of the 2014 FIFA World Cup was a traffic jam in Sao Paulo, due to which Pele, prominent Brazilia soccer player in the past, had to watch the first half of the Brazil vs. Mexico match in a car. The congestion was caused by the fact that a shortened working day was declared on the day when the national team was playing. When a lunch break time came, everyone rushed home to watch the match which began at 4.00 pm local time. The overall length of the traffic jam in the streets and the Sao Paulo highway quickly extended for 302 km. The day before, the traffic jam in the city streets at the same time of the day was only 18 km. Unlike Pele, many fans did not manage to get home even towards the end of the second half of the match.