Best of Day 18
We take a look at all the drama and key incidents on day 18 of the World Cup.
Last Updated: 28/06/10 10:27pm
Every day during the World Cup, Sky Sports is taking a detailed look at all the drama and key incidents in South Africa.
Ignored defensive tactic of the day: If Fabio Capello was frustrated by England's shoddy defending in Sunday's drubbing by Germany, then Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss must have been in a similar boat.
You would hope that in his pre-match teamtalk ahead of Monday's last-16 clash with Holland, Weiss said to his defenders something along the lines of: "Whatever you do, don't let Arjen Robben cut inside you onto his left foot if he gets anywhere near the penalty box."
Robben was different gravy for Bayern Munich last season - and scored a hatful of wonder goals after cutting inside defenders and smashing left-footed piledrivers into the back of the onion bag.
He was at it again, scoring the opening goal against Slovakia - and I'm sure I don't need to describe his 18th-minute strike.
And it was like Groundhog Day in the 50th minute, as guess what, he cut inside the defenders, switched the ball onto his left foot only to be denied a second goal of the day by a fine diving save from Jan Mucha.
You could hear the collective sigh of relief from Slovakia's backline when Robben was substituted on 71 minutes - but he'd already done the damage.
Save of the day: It's something of a cliche, but the sign of a good goalkeeper is making quality saves when you have had little else to do. And Holland custodian Maarten Stekelenburg certainly proved that to be the case in Durban on Monday when, after a largely inactive 66 minutes, he was called on to produce not one, but two blinding saves.
First off, the Ajax No.1 pulled off a fine fingertip reaction to push Miroslav Stoch's piledriver over the bar. But the best was still to come when Slovakian dangerman Robert Vittek found space in the area and fired what looked to be a certain goal, only to be thwarted by a brilliant one-handed reaction save from Stekelenburg. Goals obviously win matches, but in this case, saves can often prove just as important.
Dodgy haircut of the day: I've been a big fan of some of the ropier-looking barnets of the World Cup, namely because they're often styles I've never been brave enough to carry off myself! My favourite before today was definitely the 'acorn cut' of South African goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs, who looked like an extra from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
However, the Mohawk cut being sported in Durban today by Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik now takes top billing for me. If Josephs looked like an early 1990s reincarnation then Hamsik has gone proper 'Old Skool' with his style - Limahl eat your heart out!
Quote to give hope of the day: Fabio Capello: "I want to stay on as manager of England. I like this job. I know what to do."
I genuinely hope Capello does know what to do - as it seems the entire nation has had enough of waiting for the 'Golden Generation' to deliver.
Well done to the FA for giving themselves a two-week window to decide Capello's future. He is absolutely the right man to take us forward in the world arena, especially when you think the likes of Harry Redknapp, Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce are the alternatives.
I hope when in saying 'I know what to do' that means putting the likes of Lampard, Terry and Gerrard out to pasture and letting the likes of Ryan Shawcross, Jack Rodwell, James Milner and Adam Johnson start to establish themselves in the senior squad.
Germany have showed that putting faith in youth and players who are hungry and more interested in football than appearing in 'OK' or 'Hello' is the way forward - and Capello needs to be given time to bring them through before handing over the managerial reins to Stuart Pearce in a few years' time.
Daylight robbery of the day: England fans, players and management were up in arms on Sunday when Frank Lampard's first-half goal wasn't given. 'It's daylight robbery,' we all screamed - but little did we know there was some genuine robbery going on back at the England hotel.
Story: The Football Association has confirmed that a number of England players had items stolen from their hotel in Rustenburg..
A number of unnamed players had shirts, a medal and underwear taken by members of the cleaning staff at their Royal Bafokeng base, which England used for the duration of the World Cup in South Africa.
The goods were eventually located and returned, while five hotel workers were convicted of the thefts by a special World Cup court on Sunday.
"We can confirm that some items went missing, which have thankfully been returned," said an FA spokesman. "The local police have dealt with the matter and, as far as we are concerned, it has been resolved."
I wonder if the cleaners were after the same undercrackers Ashley Cole was wearing when he was snapping away with his mobile phone a few months ago.
Move of the day: When Juan powered home Maicon's corner to give Brazil the lead against Chile, the commentators were quick to label it a 'British goal', as if heading home a corner was invented by England's 'Brave John Terry' in 2003 and has never before been seen outside our shores. Juan will now be known as John in our office for the remainder of the tournament. He's as English as warm beer and self-deprecation.
But there was nothing British about Brazil's second. A raking ball from the back set Robinho free on the left, and he skipped forward before squaring the ball to Kaka. What happened next was as majestic as it was simple. Kaka's had a quiet tournament thus far - apart from getting sent off because aspiring thespian Kader Keita ran into him - but with one seemingly effortless cushioned 10-yard pass he managed to wrongfoot the entire Chilean backline. Luis Fabiano provided a fittingly expert finish, but it was Kaka's moment of magic that stood out in 10 seconds of pure Brazilliance.
