SoccerBlogs

Porto keeper Helton gifts Shakhtar Donetsk a 1-0 lead after he spills Willan's tame shot for Luiz Fabiano to tap home for the opener of their Champions League Group G tie.

Group G is named the Group of Death as the Group contains AC Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax who have won this competition on 20 occasions between them and Auxerre won't be push-overs either. Below are all the facts you need to know about the Group G clubs.

Full Name: AC Milan

Nickname: Rossoneri ( The Red and Blacks)

Founded: 1899

Ground: San Siro

Capacity: 80,074

Manager: Massimiliano Allegri

Nation: Italy

Home Colours: Red and Black stripes

Dangerman:Alexandro Pato

Winners: 1962/63, 1968/69, 1988/89, 1989/90, 1993/94, 2002/03, 2006/07

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Full Name: Ajax Amsterdam

Nickname: de Godenzonen (The Son's of God's)

Founded: 1900

Ground: Amsterdam Arena

Capacity: 52,328

Manager: Martin Jol

Nation: Holland

Home Colours: Red and White

Dangerman: Luis Suarez

Winners: 1970/71, 1971/72, 1972/73, 1995/96

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Full Name: Real Madrid

Nickname:The Galacticos

Founded: 1902

Ground: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

Capacity: 80,354

Manager: Jose Mourinho

Nation: Spain

Home Colours: White

Dangerman:Cristiano Ronaldo

Winners: 1955/56, 1956/57,1957/58, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1965/66, 1997/98, 1999/2000, 2001/02.

Brazil coach Dunga has plenty to smile about after his team topped Group H unbeaten

Figures given are as follows: Games Played/Points Scored:

GROUP G: BRAZIL 3/7; PORTUGAL 3/5; IVORY COAST 3/4; NORTH KOREA 3/0

The Seleção have, as expected, topped the group after Dunga's men saw off a spirited show from unknown quantity North Korea in the opening group match before going on to beat Ivory Coast and gain a point in an uninspiring ninety minutes of football against Portugal.

Mark González scored the goal which gave Chile a 1-0 win over Switzerland

The second round of matches in Groups G and H were completed today with Portugal making themselves heavy favourites to go through to the Round of Sixteen stage along with group leaders Brazil in the former while Chile and Spain won their games to make the final round of games in the latter on Friday potentially very interesting.

Shane Smeltz gave New Zealand the lead in their 1-1 draw against world champions Italy

The FIFA World Cup doesn't fail to surprise with New Zealand gaining another point in the competition at the expense of world champions Italy who are failing to find their form. This draw means that Paraguay are top of Group F having beaten Slovakia 2-0 earlier in the day.

This one is hot! Full of latin scowls and machismo, a dash of African rugged good looks and a hint of the mysterious East it's got it all. Yeh baby! Group G!

Portugal World Cup 2010 Preview #28 (Group G) is a post from: Just Football

Appearances in World Cup Finals:

Portugal will be competing in their 5th World Cup campaign in South Africa. (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010)

Best ever performance:

The World Cup of 1966 is well remembered for being England's only World Cup victory to date, but en route they had to overcome the Portuguese.

North Korea World Cup 2010 Preview #27 (Group G) is a post from: Just Football

Appearances at World Cup finals: North Korea have qualified just once before, at the 1966 tournament held in England. Since then they've withdrawn or not entered on four occasions and have failed to quality on all other occasions.

Ivory Coast World Cup 2010 Preview #26 (Group G) is a post from: Just Football

Appearances at World Cup finals: 1 2006 in Germany was Côte d'Ivoire's first ever appearance at a World Cup finals. They were in a 'Group of Death' then (for want of a better cliché) and they're in a Group of Death now.

Brazil may be the favorites but for me it all comes down to Drogba in Group G. (Getty Images)

When the draw came out back in December one group stood out more than the rest, Group G. Most would say it is the famed "Group of Death" and when you really look at it no group comes close to the toughness that this one has.

For about twenty minutes, this game had potential. But the Ivory Coast could not put away their hundreds and hundreds of chances maybe it was a few less and ultimately the game was long over before it was over. North Korea were finally solid in the back, running out their lockdown numbers in the back, a stark contrast to the red carpet they rolled out for Portugal, and kept the Elephants from scoring the eight or so they'd need from advancing as the second African team even if early in the first half it seemed it might be the case.

Welcome to the liveblog for the final round of Group G games. It's Portugal vs Brazil and North Korea vs Ivory Coast.

Brazil are already through, but will win the group by avoiding defeat against Portugal, who themselves can win the group by beating Brazil, or guarantee second with a draw.

We're halfway through the last round of group matches in World Cup 2010, and 8 teams now know their fixtures in the Round of 16. In two days, we will know all 16, so we are going through each group and outlining how each side can (or can't) make it through.

Today, it's the turn of Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea.

With the events over the past few days, its easy to feel like the Bleus have turned their back on the fans

*Post written to the tune of Everybody Hurts by REM...audio at bottom of post (below the jump)*

I've been a fan of the Bleus since 1998, ever since the team's infamous World Cup win in Paris – I became a passionate fan of the Bleus after their infamous first round exit in the 2002 World Cup.

THE BIG PICTURE
After a disappointing start against the Ivory Coast, Portugal will be hoping to come to life here, but the question is can North Korea match their performance against Brazil? 90 minutes of gruelling work will surely still be affecting them and it remains to be seen whether they can motivate themselves to perform for a second time at that level.

THE BIG PICTURE
Brazil made a strange but ultimately winning start to World Cup 2010. North Korea's deep defending held the Canarinho at bay for a whole half, and the Chollima also scored a late consolation, but Brazil were ultimately in control and deservedly won 2-1.

By Dominic Vieira, reporting from Portugal

Analysis of the player's performance in the Group G clash between Ivory Coast and Portugal

IVORY COAST (4-3-3)

Barry: Badly beaten by Ronaldo's shot in the 10th minute.

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Portugal

The Group G clash between Drogba's Ivory Coast and Ronaldo's Portugal failed to live up to its hype and anticipation, in fact it was an incredibly boring goalless draw.

Champions League results and scorers game-week two.

Group E

Roma  2   1  CFR Cluj
Mexes '69Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Rada '78
Borriello '71

FC Basel 1 2 B. Munich
Frei '18Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Schweinsteiger '56 pen, '89

Group F

Chelsea 2 0 Marseillle
Terry '7
Anelka '28 pen

Spartak Moscow 3 - 0 MSK Zilina
Ari '34, '61Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Ibson '89

Group G

Ajax Amterdam 1  -  1  AC Milan
El Hamdaoui'23Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ibrahimovic '37

Auxerre 0 - 1 Real Madrid
                                   Di Maria '81

Group H

Sporting Braga 0 - 3 Shakhtar Donetsk
                                                    Luiz Adriano '56, '72
                                                     Costa '90

Partizan Belgrade 1 - 3 Arsenal
Cleo '33Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Arshavin '15
                                                      Chamakh '71
                                                      Squillaci '82

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