2010 FIFA World Cup: Where Is the Beautiful Game?

There have been 11 games so far in the 2010 World Cup and we have yet to see the beautiful game.

Yes, there have been stirring draws, such as South Africa-Mexico, England-USA, and Italy-Paraguay.

There has been one blowout, one game without a goal, and many close games between sides that did not seem evenly matched on paper.

There have been controversies about the Jabulani and Vuvuzela, which will hopefully end by July.

But are the repetitive controversies just more evidence of the lack of great storylines in these first 11 matches?

Today began with the Netherlands, which often provides the beautiful game at the beginning of major tournaments before self-destructing later on. 

One own-goal, a goal that came from a header that was deflected, with both touches by Danish players, and then a point-blank cleanup goal from Dirk Kuyt, were all Le Oranje could give us.

Hardly a beautiful performance against an overmatched Denmark side.

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk even said, "We wanted to play beautiful football but we (kept losing) the ball."

As for the other two games today, Japan's energetic, shirt-tugging defense managed to hold a confused Cameroon side that didn't respond well to odd lineup changes by coach Paul Le Guen.

Keisuke Honda's 39th-minute goal should have been headed away by multiple defenders, but ended up holding as the winner. There is no word on how much the car company will pay the striker for the free advertising.

Italy came alive a bit when sub Mauro Camoranesi came on to kick some shins, but the beautiful game is never the domain of the Azzurri.

It is not yet time to give up on the 2010 World Cup. After all, Brazil and Spain have yet to take the field.

But unless we start seeing some more compelling football, be prepared to hear a lot more about balls and horns instead of moments of brilliance and the beautiful game.