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Group D:
Italy over Ukraine 2-0
Saudi Arabia over Chile 1-0
Group E:
Belgium over USA 5-0
Brazil over Senegal 3-1
Group F:
Mexico over Greece 3-0
Argentina over Algeria 3-1
Group G:
Austria over Iran 3-0
Spain over Nigeria 2-0
Group H:
England over Portugal 3-0
Colombia over Canada 2-1
And the first round is done.
Analysis?
We are the only African side to win in the first round off games. However, we had the weakest opponent in our group. Losing to Spain, Argentina, Germany and Brazil doesn’t mean a whole lot for African sides that tended to be against the hardest club in the Group. A few surprises – Belgium thromped USA, Saudi Arabia with a nice win, and Sweden, who made it to the Final Four last World Cup were defeated by Russia (who also made it there, by the way).
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