First Blood

Mac : The Rupee Symbol

2025-11-05T16:33:00.011+05:30

It's amazing how one gets to learn through some accidental usage.

I was writing a blog post on my "Share2Learn" blog and wanted to quote some Python code using the "backtick" symbols. And pressing the "backtick" key ( just below the Escape key ) on my MacBook gave me a "₹" symbol !!!

I was surprised to see it !! My first worry was that something had gone wrong with my system and I had to some how find out another way of getting that "backtick" symbol. I tried a few key combinations and found that I could get it using Option + Backtick

Some Googling helped me learn that this is a new change done in Mac OS 26 ( Tahoe ). And this is done for the India Keyboard layout as shown in the image below

The new ABC - India Keyboard layout on Mac 26 ( Tahoe ) with an Indian Rupee symbol

Pressing the backtick now gives "₹" symbol when using "ABC - India" keyboard as your Input source.

Personally I find it quite odd that the key shows the "backtick" symbol on the physical keyboard where as it displays a "₹" symbol when pressed. But then, may be the people who did this mapping had a strong reason to do it ( and hopefully was not a random choice )

There are other ways to get a "₹" symbol on your MacBook though

⬆ + 4 ---> $ ( Shift + 4 )
⌥ + 4 ---> ₹ ( Option + 4 )
🌐 + e and then search for "Indian Rupee Sign" ( 🌐 is also called the Function key )

If you have to display "₹" in your program then you can use the following Unicode Number

Unicode Value : 20B9
Unicode Name : INDIAN RUPEE SIGN

So, in Python code you could write code in either of the following 2 ways to display Indian Rupee Symbol

>>> print("\u20B9")

₹

>>> print("\N{INDIAN RUPEE SIGN}")

₹

You can find more such useful symbols and their corresponding Unicode names at : https://www.unicode.org/charts/charindex.html#I

Targus Bluetooth Presenter for MAC

2016-04-27T23:14:00.003+05:30

I had recently bought Targus Bluetooth Presenter, but had a tough time making it get recognised by my MacBook. Few learnings that might help those very few people who might have bought it [ Its no longer in production, if I am right ]

Targus BlueTooth Presenter

1> You need to press the "Power on" button for quite sometime for the device to switch on. [ Atleast 5 seconds ]

2> I had OSX 10.9 Mavericks and it detected my device automatically. But, try to switch on the device and scan for bluetooth devices on your Mac in various cycles. Once Mac detects it for the first time, it automatically detects it the next time you switch on your device.

3> The next most horrifying thing was that when I used the "Next" button on device while playing my keynote presentation, the slides moved to the "next slide" instead of moving to the "next transition" !!! I had to press the keyboard "Right Arrow" and "Left Arrow" to display the builds and animations on the slides. This completely defeated my purpose of using this device.

4> Thanks to "Jan Rychter", I was able to find a workable solution to this.

5> You need to install "Karabiner" [ formerly known as KeyRemap4Macbook" and follow the instructions given in Jan Rychter's blog article : https://jan.rychter.com/enblog/2011/3/8/making-your-targus-bluetooth-presenter-actually-usable.html

6> One problem I faced, was in identifying where the "private.xml" file was present. After reading the documentation for Karabiner at https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/document.html.en#privatexml I figured out out that this file can be accessed under the "Misc & Uninstall" tab.

Private.xml file for adding your own key Remappings

Resizing VirtualBox Guest OS screen on MAC

2014-05-24T12:30:00.001+05:30

Before we start, here are some terminologies to understand.

Host OS : Install VirtualBox on your MAC. For VirtualBox, MAC is now your host OS
Guest OS : On this VirtualBox, lets say we want to install Ubuntu 14.04. For VirtualBox, Ubuntu is now the Guest OS

When I first installed Ubuntu 14.04 as a Guest OS using VirtualBox on MAC, I was stuck with a peculiar problem. I call it peculiar, since I did not face this problem when installing OpenSuSE or Elementary OS as a Guest OS on the same VirtualBox. The problem was that, the size of the Ubuntu screen was stuck. Even if I changed the View to full screen, the screen size did not change !! It was something like in this image below.

No matter how much I move the corners to reize the window it always remained the same. I was stuck since I could not move around the application windows in Ubuntu as well !!! There is a fair amount of free desktop space that is left after that window is displayed in the image above. But, I had no access to it. I felt handicapped to do anything with that screen.

After some "googling" I found that there is a GuestOSExtension package that comes with VirtualBox that is supposed to fix this issue. But, unfortunately, I could not find this extension package for MAC.

With some luck, I found an option under Display Menu that solved my problem. You need to run your Guest OS for this menu option to appear as in the below image

Just keep following the instructions as they pop up after choosing this option. If you get some errors as to no permissions or no file found, then look into the errors to figure out which file it was not able to open.

I had to manually go to finder,

Applications->VirtualBox,
Control + click and choose "Show Package contents"
Double click Contents->MacOS->VBoxGuestAdditions.iso

You will see some more popups coming in your Ubuntu VirtualBox. Follow them. Restart your Ubuntu VirtualBox and your resizing problem should be solved.

It solved the problem for me and I downloaded variety Wallpaper just to see that small clock on the bottom of the wallpaper :)

MAC : Keyboard shortcut for Tags

2014-05-24T10:08:00.000+05:30

If you love using keyboard shortcuts and want to use Tags for your MAC files, this simple tip comes as a life saver.

Steps :

Open System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts
Select App Shortcuts on the left pane
Click on + to add a new shortcut
Select "Finder" as Application
For Menu Title, type in the following keys : Tags⌥;

Typing option + ; gives you the ellipsis.

Keyboard Shortcut : anything you wish to use to launch Tags [ ex : ⌘⌃ T ]
Open Finder and select the file or folder that you want to tag, and hit your keyboard shortcut

More details can be found in this article : http://www.macworld.com/article/2158081/use-the-finders-tags-feature-from-the-keyboard.html

Sign your documents in MAC

2014-05-17T20:07:00.002+05:30

Wouldn't you love to sign each and every document of yours with a special personal signature ?

Doing this is a piece of cake on your Mac Book Pro with the powerful and helpful Preview Application.

Open your image of PDF document in Preview. Select Tools->Annotate->Signature->"Capture Signature ..."

Then, sign on an empty page and show it to your Mac Book Pro's FaceTime Camera. Align your signature to that Blue Line you see on the screen. Once you like the preview of the captured signature, click on Accept [ I had to use the help of my wife to hold the paper in position while I clicked on the Accept button :-) ]

Go back to your document that you have opened in Preview. Click on View->"Show Edit Toolbar". You will then see a small "Sign" button. If you don't see it, then select Tools->Annotate->Signature, and you will see all your accepted signatures there. Chose the one you want and place it anywhere on the document. Adjust it and once you are happy, save the document. And you have your document signed with your own personal signature. Enjoy !!!

MAC : Keyboard viewer

2014-05-10T08:43:00.001+05:30

For my earlier post on Switching between windows in MAC, I pasted an image to depict the key strokes to use for switching between windows of the same application on MAC. If you ever wish to publish something like this, I am sure you will have to hunt for some keyboard images. Well, that's not required. You can use the inbuilt keyboard viewed of MAC and create an image out of it using screen captures. More on screen captures later. For now, follow these simple steps to set up the keyboard viewer.

Open System Preferences application and click on Language and Region

Click on Keyboard Preferences button that you will find towards the bottom of this window

Move to the Input Sources tab and select "Show input menu in menu bar"

Once you do this, you will see a new item added to your menu bar. Select the option of "Show Keyboard Viewer" from its drop down menu

And behold ! You get your keyboard displayed on your screen. You can also use it to type text in any application. And of course, it also highlights the keys that you press.

Another advantage of this keyboard viewer, is that you get to learn the symbols for various keys on MAC, like :

⌃ : Corresponds to "Control" key
⌥ : Corresponds to "Option" key
⌘ : Corresponds to "Command" key

MAC : Switching between windows

2014-05-09T11:02:00.000+05:30

When it comes to using a computer, I am a big fan of keyboard shortcuts. To move the focus from one window to another on a MAC, I found that you could use :

⌘ + ⇥ [ Command + Tab ]

key combination to switch between different "application" windows. If your current focus is on Safari and you want to move to another application like, Numbers, you would use "Command + Tab" to switch between them. While it does that, you also get to see a nice list of applications that you can possibly switch between. Something like this image below.

Then, one day, I had opened 2 windows of Safari and when I wanted to switch between those 2 windows, I found that "Command + Tab" key combination does not help me for this. It only helps to switch between windows of different applications. To move between windows of the same application, you had to use another set of keys :

⌘ + ` [ Command + Back-tick ]

The back-tick is on the key which has a ~ on it. Like the one on this image below :

Digital Marketing

2014-05-07T13:05:00.000+05:30

Attended a free seminar on Digital Marketing for Startups at IIMB on May 03, 2014

There were quite a few learnings for me in this. Hopefully, you will also gain from this.

Creating awareness

Use blogs and newsletters to create awareness about your online existence
Use twitter and Facebook and other social media to propagate information about your articles
Make sure that the attractive words in your digital ads are emphasised and given more importance on your landing page.
The content of your webpage is the biggest driving factor for attracting visitors
It also boosts up the chances of your page being listed high up in the search list
Constantly updating content on your website is the only sure way of retaining visitors

Email Marketing

Never under-estimate the power of email marketing. This is the most personal form of communicating in the virtual world.
Write personal emails, not generic emails
Write things that create a connection between you and the respondent. Don’t write one-liners

Adding Value to your websites

Visitors of your website, are more interested in getting what they want and not what you did
Visitors of your webpage look for things that add more value to themselves
You winning a football match is information to your visitor. It does not add any value to him
You writing about tricks to perform better as a footballer is more valuable to your visitor

Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising is still [ as of early 2014 ] in its early infancy. Its failure is in trying to mimic the banner ads.
Mobile advertising needs to develop new ways of presentations to be more attractive.

Brand building

Make sure your online image and offline image match each other.
Use the same words in offline communication that have attracted visitors in your online communication
Its the things perceived by your client that you chose to do or chose not to do that builds your brand. [ Read this An Entrepreneur's Diary and not at this conference ]
Apple has such large brand following today not because of how it creates things, but because of the things it creates.

Syncing Notes with Google

2014-01-25T19:37:00.001+05:30

MAC [ Maverick OS ] has this simple note taking app called “Notes”. I like the simplicity of it. Easy to launch and use. Infact, I wrote this article using MAC Notes in offline mode :-)

While exploring this simple application, I found that there was this feature of syncing notes with other online accounts, like iCloud, Google, Yahoo, etc.

So, I went ahead and associated this application with my Google account. This might sound too simple, but I was baffled on not finding which Google application Notes synced up with !!!

I tried Google Keep, the new note taking application of Google [ it replaced Google Notes, if I am right ]. MAC Notes was not synced with this. I tried Google Docs and there was no luck there as well.

After some googling, I figured out these notes were actually being synced with Gmail !!! Yes, Gmail. My MAC Notes were converted to self addressed messages. They were all labelled as “Notes”

So, when you sync up your MAC Notes with Google, remember that they are available online in your Gmail labelled as “Notes"

The Final Four

2010-07-05T21:34:00.000+05:30

This World Cup has completely opened up and is anybody's to grab. All the 4 finalists have equal chances of winning the World Cup. Its the moment of reckoning for all of them. No history or past glory in the previous matches will count. The one with self confidence and the fire to win will succeed. With the way the World Cup is progressing this year, and the four teams that we are left with, I am finding it pretty hard to convince myself on who would be the lucky one to lift the World Cup trophy on the 11th of July 2010.

For the Knockout matches, there were 6 countries from Europe, 5 from South America, 2 from Asia, 2 from Latin America and 1 from Africa. There were big time theories floating around that European teams were finding it tough to play in the high altitudes of South Africa. There were theories that countries from the southern hemisphere would do better than the European countries. But finally, now that we are left with the last [ best ? ] four teams, we see that 3 of them are from Europe and only one from South America !!! These four teams will be playing the remaining four matches [ 2 semis, the finals and the third playoff match ]

Germany : The team with the most dominant performance. Razor sharp. Clinical. Ruthless. Atheletic. Energetic. Young. Fast paced. Solid defense. There is hardly any weakness that is visible. Though, they look to be invincible on paper and past performance, I for some reason, do not want to see them win !!! This has been a World Cup of surprises. I am hoping for one more :) As I once heard from some football coach, all you need to win a football match is to score just one goal more than your opponent.
Spain : These were the pre tournament favorites along with Brazil to win this year's World Cup. They had a shocking start with a loss to Switzerland in their very first match. They have done great to fight back and make a place for themselves among the last four. They should be thanking their golden boy David Villa and amazing goal keep Iker Casillas for it. The way they play is very sweet and pleasant to watch. Very similar to the likes of Brazil and Argentina. They create good set pieces and are hoping that their star player Fernando Torres fires in the remaining matches. Germany are their biggest hurdle yet. Their match with Germany is certainly a final before the finals. Anything can happen in a Knockout match. I am hoping that Spain succeed and proceed to lift the World Cup 2010 Football trophy on July 11th.

Holland : Robben did it again for them. This time against the five times World Champions Brazil. Their tactics of scoring in the second half and then defending whatever lead they might garner, worked fabulously for them. A bit of rough game, but I guess one gets desperate in such Knockout matches. They have knocked out the favorites Brazil and certainly have the momentum on their side. They are certainly on fire and are quick on the field. Robben and Sneijder are right on the money. Persie is yet to fire !!! They have a relatively easy opponent in the form of Uruguay. If they are not over confident or complacent in their performance they have a great chance of entering the finals.
Uruguay : The most luckiest entrants into the semis. Had great luck against Ghana. They are the only South American country in the final four and will be hoping to represent South America in the final match. They won the very first World Cup tournament in 1930 and then later in 1950. They have the fire power and be hoping to reach the finals against Holland. They have a very good goal keeper in the form of Fernando Muslera who saved 2 crucial penalty kicks in the Sudden Death against Ghana. They might miss their striker Suarez though. Diego Forlan has been in good form in this World Cup. Uruguay will be hoping to see some magic from him against the inform Dutch.

All the best to all the four teams !!!

Let the best team win.

Saddest day of World Cup 2010

2010-07-04T11:50:00.002+05:30

Who would have thought that Brazil would not be featuring in the Semi Final line up in this year's World Cup ? Whose heart might have not skipped a beat when Gyan missed that penalty kick in the dying moments of extra time ? More than half of the football world must have been saddened after seeing Brazil lose to Holland. All because of their poor defense. As if that was not enough, I am sure even more people must have shed a tear or two for the unlucky players from Ghana. What wrong had they done to be denied a victory by the mere margin of the thickness of Suarez's arm ?

Both Brazil and Holland had good strikers and the match lived up to its expectations of being a tight match with plenty of attacks. It was certain that there would be no dearth in the number of hits on target. The winner of the two was difficult to predict. But it was certain that the one with the weak defense would certainly be on the losing side. And so it was. Unfortunately, it was Brazil who did the mistakes and exposed their weakness in defense. People had so many expectations from Brazil. They were already assumed to be in the Finals. Many even believed that all the knockout matches being played were only to decide the contender against Brazil in the finals. But, just as it happened 4 years ago in Germany, Brazil were knocked out in the Quarter Finals. Robben was the nemesis for Brazil. The match was a tad rough, though I dont know why the teams resorted to it. Robben was marked very well but he succeeded in gaining the highest number of free kicks. These fouls accompanied by the referee's sympathy for free kicks, meant that Brazil would not be able to play their free flowing football. They did have their share of luck, but ended up on the wrong side of the fense. It was a very sad day for me to see Brazil do such mistakes in their defense and lose the match.

I was somehow recovering from the shock of Brazil's early exit, when I witnessed the Ghana - Uruguay match. The brilliant confidence displayed by Ghana, helped me lift up my spirits. The first goal coming just 15 seconds before the end of first half, that too from a long range shot, was so thrilling to watch. As expected, second half provided even more excitement. The match started picking up more heat after Uruguay equalized. The match progressed to Extra Time. Both the teams were equally attacking. More drama was yet to unfold. With less than 2 minutes to go for the second half of Extra Time to complete, 4 players of Ghana moved ominously towards the Uruguan goal. They struck, but were denied the goal. Not by the referee, but the Uruguan player Suarez. [ Hero or villain ? Thats the biggest debate going on around the World Cup now ] Suarez deliberately handled the ball on the goal line and denied a certain decisive goal to Ghana. He was red carded and Ghana were awarded the penalty. Their experienced player Gyan took the penalty kick, but succeeded in only striking the ball to the top of the goal post !!! Every person watching this match skipped a heart beat. If Suarez hadnt hand balled, Ghana would have scored a goal and qualified for the Semis. If Gyan would have scored, then too Ghana would have qualified for the Semis. But destiny was with Uruguay. Suarez hand balled. Gyan failed to score. Match moved into Sudden Death. Fernando Muslera was the hero for Uruguay who saved 2 goals and made sure that Uruguay qualify for the Semi Finals. For me, this was a very sad sight. More sadder than seeing Brazil being knocked out.

By the time I wrote this, I also witnessed the clinical thrashing of Argentina by the ruthless and young German attack. If it was not for Spain, it was the end of stylish, sweet and beautiful football in this World Cup.

Fourth Semi Finalist

2010-06-28T01:14:00.000+05:30

The Fourth Semi Finalist would be the second team qualifying for the semi final match to be played on July 7th. It would be one of the following 4 teams.

Spain : Had a bad start to the tournament, but have started showing their true colors now. That early loss has come as a blessing in disguise for them. Their striker David Villa is in supreme touch. They are the best European team this World Cup, may be only next to Germany. Their match against Portugal will definitely produce sparks. This is one of the matches I am eagerly waiting for. Spain might have to play Paraguay in the Quarter Finals. That too would be an exciting match since both the teams are very quick on the field and produce attacking games of football.
Portugal : Coming from the group of death, they have had a rather easy qualification after that 7 goals win against North Korea. They may be a tad relaxed and lack the momentum which Spain possess. If they do regroup and play well as a team they certainly have the fire power to beat Spain. Would be interesting to see how Ronaldo plays himself against Spain.
Paraguay : The only South American in this quarter. They will have to fight hard against the Japanese. If they defend well, they have a good chance of beating Japan. South American teams have been doing good in this World Cup, but with teams like Spain and Portugal in this quarter, I think Paraguay might be lacking a bit against them. Would be interesting to see if they qualify for the semis from this quarter.
Japan : The second Asian team to have qualified for the Knockout stage. Their star striker Honda is the man to be watched. He scored 2 fabulous goals through freekicks in the group stages and also has the reputation of being the most fouled player. I dont expect them to qualify for the semis, since the other teams in this quarter have so much more experience in World Cups. But, for a change it would be great to see an Asian team in the semi final lineup.

Oh Dear !! Greene

2010-06-26T11:14:00.000+05:30

Funny as it might look, it certainly wasn't something that anyone watching the match or even playing the match, ever expected. It was one of Greene's worst mistakes. More than laughing, you feel sad for him. Luckily for him though, eventually England have qualified for the Knockout stage. Otherwise, he would have been made the sole person responsible for their debacle.

Funny Spanish Goal

2010-06-26T11:04:00.000+05:30

Not sure if you can call this a goal keeping mistake. Probably he was over confident ?

Great Japanese Freekicks

2010-06-25T19:43:00.000+05:30

Amazing freekicks

Its been very rare to find goals being scored in this World Cup from freekicks. These 2 great free kicks from Japan should definitely fill that void. I miss watching Roberto Carlos taking those great banana style free kicks.

Third Semi Finalist

2010-06-25T11:29:00.005+05:30

The Third Semi Finalist would be the first team qualifying for the semi final match to be played on July 7th. It would be one of the following 4 teams.

Argentina : This is a very tough quarter of teams with big reputation fighting it out with eachother. Argentina certainly are my favourite to move on to the Semis from this quarter. They have a very good style of quick and small perfect passes much like the other South American teams. Messi is getting into form and creating a lot of spaces for his teammates to score goals. They have reached the Knockout stage with a clean sheet winning all 3 matches in their group and would certainly want to carry on that momentum. Their match against Mexico is not gonna be a cake walk for them. Their next match would be something worth watching. Be it either the clinical Germany or England, it certainly is one of the battles to look out for.
Germany : Very clinical. Good physical presence. Very strong defense. Attacking and young strikers. They would come hard against the lackluster England. Klose will be back from his suspension to strengthen their forward line. Their match against England would be exciting to watch. If they reach the Quarter Finals, their match against Argentina [ hopefully ] would be a treat to watch.
England : Look very tired. Lack luster in their group game matches. Sneaked in to the Knockout stage through some lucky goals. But, on their day, they can certainly make the opposition pay. Ferdinand in their defense is being missed a lot. They need to improve on strengthening their defense. Rooney needs to learn from his counterpart Klose and also the likes of Ronaldo and Messi, to create spaces for others to score goals.
Mexico : The lesser ranked team in this quarter. Will have to fight the mighty Argentina first to move any further. It would be the biggest upset of this World Cup if they can win against Argentina. They sometimes play rough when cornered and might break the free flow passes that Argentina are used to. Would be interesting to see how much they can resist the Argentinian attack. If they move to Quarter Finals, they will certainly be hoping for the gods to be smiling for some more time on them :)

Second Semi Finalist

2010-06-24T18:22:00.045+05:30

The Second Semi Finalist would be the second team qualifying for the semi final match to be played on July 6th. It would be one of the following 4 teams.

Uruguay : The only team to have ever won a World Cup title among all the teams in this Quarter. They certainly have the experience in their coach. With fresh young blood rejuvenating the hopes of the erstwhile first ever World Cup Champions, one can only hope that they live up to their expectations and reach semis easily. They have much lesser experienced teams in their Quarter, but all 3 of them have been mercurial in their progress to reach the Knockout stage. If Forlan sticks to his best that he has shown in the group matches, Uruguay should find it much easy to qualify for the semi final spot.
Ghana : The sole African nation in this Knockout stage. They will have the entire continent backing them with all the vuvuzellas blowing at highest decibels. They will have to make sure that they first over power the mercurial USA team and then fight the mighty Uruguan side to reach the semis. Taking one step at a time would be their ideal approach to the semis. They need to make sure that they dont get bogged down by the high expectations of the entire continent and stick to their basics. It wont be easy for Ghana to reach the Semi Finals from this quarter, but would be good for African football if Ghana reach the Semi Finals.
USA : They have had the most dramatic qualification to the Knockout stage with a last minute goal in their last group match from Donovan. They are the surprise package for me in this quarter. They have a very good defense. They create good scoring opportunities but have failed to connect at the last moment. They will be hoping for more miracles from their star strikers to move ahead in the Knockout stage. It would certainly be a dream run with lots of excitement and entertainment, just like an Hollywood movie, if they reach the Semi Finals
South Korea : The first Asian country to qualify for the Knockout stage. Have a lot to prove for themselves. They are very fast paced on the field and might come in handy against their opening match against the in-form Uruguan team. They have reached the Semis earlier, when they hosted the World Cup in 2002 and should know a trick or two about playing in the Knockout stage. I would be happy as an Asian, if they qualify for the Semis, but I see that it would be a very tough ask for them.

First Semi Finalist

2010-06-24T11:26:00.011+05:30

The First Semi Finalist would be the first team qualifying for the semi final match to be played on July 6th. It would be one of the following 4 teams.

Brazil : They are certainly my favorites to qualify from this Quarter. They might face some rough and tough opposition from Chile which they might already be aware of. It wont be so easy beating them though. With Kaka coming back into the playing eleven, Brazil should be up with confidence. They still need to tighten up their defense. Except for the goalless match against Portugal they have conceded atleast one goal in the other two group matches. They might have to fight next with Holland who are looking good this year. All the 4 teams in this quarter have good strikers and hope to see good entertaining football in all the 3 matches
Holland : They are my second best choice after Brazil. They are the only team apart from Argentina to have reached this round by winning all 3 group matches. They have a very good striker in the form of Persie. With Robben ready to join the team now, they might have an easy match against the surprise package of Slovakia. I would love to see Holland and Brazil battle it out in the Quarter Finals.
Chile : Good attacking game. But, can play rough when they are frustrated. This can backfire them if they end up getting more yellow/red cards. I would be surprised if they reach the semis from this Quarter.
Slovakia : The surprise package !!! Had a dream run in their Group games and will be hoping to give their best now. With nothing to lose they might as well go all guns against Holland. This World Cup has been favoring the underdogs a lot and you never know if Slovakia can produce more surprises

Group H - FIFA 2010 World Cup

2010-06-22T11:35:00.039+05:30

Chile : Good attacking game. Strong defense. The only team to have not conceded a goal yet in this group. They have the South American flair to their game. With 2 wins in 2 matches they have already qualified to the Knockout stage. Their next match is against the struggling Spanish team. Spain desperately needs to win this match to qualify for the next stage, while Chile would be looking to go to the next stage with a clean sheet. This match has all the ingredients for entertainment.
Spain : Rooted as the best in-form team this year and a probable finalist in this World Cup, surprisingly went down to Switzerland in their opening match. This setback has placed them in a must win situation against the group leaders Chile. They have a very good attack. Very fast in movement. They were rusty and unlucky in the first match to have not converted any of their attempts into goals. They showed their true colors in their second match against Honduras where they beat them by 2 goals. This win has given them a one goal advantage over Switzerland who share the same 3 points with them. They are hurt and desperate in need of a win and their match against Chile has been hyped as a battle royale.

Matches in Group H

Switzerland : Surprise package of this group. They stunned everyone and almost produced the first upset shock of this World Cup when they beat the in-form Spanish team. They defended very well in their first match to deny Spain any goals. They were lucky to score one goal and managed to maintain that lead till the end. They fought gallantly against Chile, but could not defend as well as against Spain. They are one win away from qualifying into the next stage. They now need to beat Honduras by more than 2 goals to upset Spain and qualify for the Knockout stage.
Honduras : Its only their second appearance in World Cup and they looked nervous and rusty in their opening match. They lacked cohesion and could not create goal scoring opportunities. They definitely defended well, since they conceded only 3 goals in their 2 matches. With 2 losses in 2 games, they are certainly out of contention for the Knockout stage from this group.

Group G - FIFA 2010 World Cup

2010-06-21T20:55:00.058+05:30

Initially nick named the "Group of Death"

Matches in Group G

Brazil : Classy as ever. Sweet clean passes are the hallmark of their game. Watching Brazil play football has such a soothing and calming effect. There are hardly any yellow cards shown to them. Clean passes and clean tackles. No rough play at all. Kaka's red card was definitely a spur of the moment decision by the referee and was not because of a bad tackle while the ball was with Kaka. Robinho and Fabiano were exquisite in their display of Brazilian magic. After the first match, Kaka started showing his flair of passing the ball. This is one speciality I like about Kaka and other players in Brazil. They are not keen on scoring, but creating opportunities for their teammates. With 2 wins in 2 matches they have already qualified for the Knockout stages from this group. Their next match with Portugal is a mere formality.
Portugal : Rusty start to the tournament. Ended up with a draw against Ivory Coast, creating even more problems for themselves in this group of death. They had to win against North Korea and Brazil in their next 2 matches. But, what transpired in the match against North Korea was something super natural. The class and finesse with which they scored the first 4 goals completely devastated the North Koreans. By the last 15 minutes, when North Korea finished trying all they could with their attacking and fast paced game, one could see that their defense had tired. With the rains and wet ground adding more troubles to them, Portugal ended up scoring 7 goals !!! This match completely changed the nature of this group. Portugal now have such a huge lead in their goal differences that Ivory Coast need to beat North Korea by more than 9 goals. I am sure North Korea will be expecting this and be ready for the attack.
Ivory Coast : I expected a lot from this team. They were said to be the best in-form team representing Africa. Unfortunately, they were in a group alongside Portugal and Brazil. But, it was their presence in this group that made people call it the group of death. They were unlucky to end up with a goalless draw in their first encounter with Portugal. They had more chances than the rusty Portugal. Should have gained more points from that game to make it easier for them in the later matches. They could not defend well against the guile of the Brazilians. And now, with Portugal almost certain of qualifying from this group as the second best team, their 3rd match against North Korea is just a formality.
North Korea : Played very well against the mighty Brazilians. Had some great defense. They got great raves for holding back Brazil for a goalless draw in the first half of their match. It needed a great magical finish from Maicon to go behind the strong defense of North Korea to score the brilliant first goal. They were a tad unfortunate in their second match against Portugal. With the rains it wasnt easy anymore. Their defense was completely broken apart by the grit and class of Portuguese players. Both the teams were in a do or die situation. The final scoreline was just too harsh on the North Koreans. Their defense wasnt that bad. With 2 losses in 2 matches, they are out of contention for qualifying for the Knockout stage.

Group F - FIFA 2010 World Cup

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If the next 2 matches end up in a draw [ with equal goals being scored in both the matches] , we will for the first time see lots being used to decide the second best team in this group that should move ahead to the next round.

Paraguay : Classy. Good passes. Have that South American flair in their game. Good attacking game. Defended well to hold Cup holders, Italy to a draw in their first match. With the only team to have won a game in this group after 2 sets of matches in the first round, they are only one point away from qualifying to the next stage. They only need a draw in their game against New Zealand to make it to the Knockout stage.
Italy : Defensive as ever. Buffon's absense might affect them. They had to fight hard to clinch a draw in their match against Paraguay. Looked rusty in the beginning. They were lucky to have not lost their match against New Zealand. They had tons of chances but could not convert a single one to fruition. With 2 draws in a row, they are now in a spot of bother as are England in Group B. They now need to win against Slovakia and hope that New Zealand lose to Paraguay.

Matches in Group F

New Zealand : Surprise package of this group. Almost created an upset by drawing with Italy. Infact, they ruined their chance of beating Italy. They gave a great fight in the first match as well against Slovakia to pull back a last minute goal and draw the match. Their gritty defense has opened up this group. Virtually, any team can qualify from this group. They now need to win against Paraguay to qualify for the next round.
Slovakia : Looked good most of the time in their first match against New Zealand. The last minute equalizer from New Zealand seems to have beaten their confidence. Their loss against Paraguay has left them virtually out of this World Cup. They have a mathematical chance of qualifying if they beat Italy and Paraguay beats New Zealand.

The next set of matches in this group are nothing less than a knockout punch. All teams have a chance and will give their best. Hopefully, we dont see any rough games being played [ as in the other groups ] but rather see some great football being fought in the air.

Group E - FIFA 2010 World Cup

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Holland : Nervous start. But picked up their game and tempo in the second half of their first match against Denmark. Very good strikers. Fast paced and attacking game of football. Defense is a tad weak and might get exposed against a tough opponent. With 2 wins in 2 matches, they are the group leaders and the first European country to qualify for the Knockout stage.
Japan : Very strong defense. They did a great job against the mighty Cameroon attack. With a win in their first match, they have a very good chance of qualifying for the next round. Very organised in their approach and very methodical. Even a draw with Denmark will suffice to qualify for the Knockout stage.

Matches in Group E

Denmark : Poorest performance after Greece. Lack agility and very bad at passing the ball. May be they were still very nervous in their first match. They seem to have regrouped and found their rhythm in their second match against Cameroon. They now need to beat Japan by atleast one goal to qualify for the next round.
Cameroon : Strong and tall personalities. Very good strikers but they need to improve quickly to find any hope of moving ahead to the next round. Good defense as well. Unfortunately, they lost both their initial matches and became the first African team to exit the World Cup. I was very disappointed by their dismal performance.

Group D - FIFA 2010 World Cup

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Group with the maximum number of possibilities

Ghana : Have good spectator support. Lucky win against Serbia. Look to be more confident now. Are the group leaders now. Have a very good chance of qualifying for the next round. Even a draw with Germany will see them as the first African nation to qualify for the Knockout stage.
Germany : Clinical, precise, right on the money. Ruthless in their demolition of Australia in the first match. Very strong defense with the reputation of never conceding a goal [ well almost ]. Combined with this formidable defense they now have a young force of strikers. ~~I certainly see Germany reaching the semis.~~ With their surprise loss to Serbia, Germany have put themselves in a spot of bother. They now need to beat the group leaders, Ghana to be 100% sure of a place in the Knockout stage.

Matches in Group D

Serbia : Good attacking game. Do not have a great defense. But, did a great job of holding the mighty Germans to a 1-0 win. Athletic in the field. In a very tough position to qualify for the next round. They now need to win against Australia and hope that Germany either lose or end up drawing with Ghana.
Australia : Good strikers and good attacking game. Need to fix a lot of their loop holes in their defense. Are virtually out of the tournament. Need to win by more than 5 goals against Serbia to move to the next stage.

Group C - FIFA 2010 World Cup

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Slovenia : Weakest of the teams in this group. But, with the lucky win they got against Algeria, they have a very bright chance of qualifying for the next round. Can cause an upset in this group. Infact, after two set of matches in the first round of games, they are the Group C toppers !!! They just need to make sure that they dont lose their match against England. Even a draw will do for them !!! Slovenia's dominance along with the poor performance of England has very interestingly opened up this group.

Games in Group C

USA : Surprise package. Have very tall and very good defenders. Its tough to beat them in the air. It was only Crouch with his height who was able to tackle them. Donovan is still impressive and creates good openings for his teammates. They had a great comeback game against group leaders Slovenia, when they were down by 2 goals. They almost had the victory in their grasps when the referee over ruled their third goal. They have to make sure that they beat Algeria with more goals what England might beat Slovenia with.
England : Green ! Oh dear Green ! I am sure he is gonna be remembered the most in this year's World Cup than anyone else. England seemed to be in good shape for 80 minutes of their first match, but could clearly see fatigue and low confidence in the final 10 minutes. Their defense without Ferdinand seems to be a bit weak. Rooney is showing only some glimpses of shining in this World Cup. England must be hoping for some goals from him and Crouch. Lampard's horrible luck in the World Cup finals continues. I really hope he gets to score atleast one goal this year. ~~With lesser known Algeria and Slovenia in their group apart from the fighting USA, England seem to have a good chance of progressing to the next round.~~ With 2 draws in 2 matches, England have only themselves to blame for this situation. They are now in a do-or-die situation and need to beat the confident group leaders Slovenia to have a chance of qualifying to the Knockout Stage.
Algeria : Physically strong. Good attacking game. Unfortunate to lose against Slovenia. Tough road ahead. They showed their class and great defense against England by holding them to a goalless draw. They need to now beat USA and hope that England dont win against Slovenia to be able to move to the next stage. Its a tough call for them, but with nothing to lose, one can only expect a great match.

Group B - FIFA 2010 World Cup

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Argentina : They got speed. They got flair. They got Messi !!! For a change, Messi was playing more than what people must have expected from him with the Argentine shirt on. If it wasnt for the great goal keeping of Nigeria's Vincent Enyeama in the first game, we could have probably seen Messi's first goal in the World Cup finals. This team is very confidant and playing attacking football. They also have a fairly good defense. Its an easy group for them. After convincingly winning the first two matches, they are the first team to have qualified for the Knockout stage.
South Korea : Very quick in the field. Very good attacking game. Very athletic. They should give a good fight to Nigeria. They are the surprise package for me in this World Cup. They even managed to salvage a goal against Argentina. Their next match against Nigeria will definitely produce good football. They are very good at man to man marking and have a formidable defense. The battle for the second place in this group is something to be watched out for. They need to beat Nigeria and hope that Greece lose [ or atleast lose concede more goals than them ] to Argentina.

Greece : Horrible start. Completely dis-organised. Feel sorry for them. After having qualified to the World Cup finals, one hopes that the teams manage to at-least score some goals, if not victories. They seem to have failed to do that for all of their World Cup finals matches. I was hoping they at-least score a goal this year and salvage some pride. Their victory against Nigeria was another surprise. They could consider themselves lucky to be in this position. They now have to produce another miracle to beat Argentina and hope South Korea falter against Nigeria.
Nigeria : Looked very promising. Impressive goal keeping by Vincent Enyeama. They might have to tighten up some loopholes in their almost good defense. They are fast and have good strikers in the front. It was a surprise to see them unfortunately lose to Greece. This group has been full of surprises !!! Feels sad for them, since they played very well but ended up being the first team to be knocked out of the World Cup since they are yet to open their points tally, losing both their opening matches.