Well, I've had a chance to watch most of the games so far, so I'll comment on them, going in order of interest:
USA-CR: Completely flat and uninspired performance by our boys. The worst performing side of the tourney by far. A national embarrassment. Only plus was EJ, some of Reyna's play, and Convey's aggressiveness. For the next match - replace Lewis with Boca (whose mother, BTW, used to clean houses with Wifey's aunt in Alta Loma) and Beasley with Dempsey. Move Donovan to attacking mid (replacing Mastroeni) and put EJ up with McBride. Or just bench Lando and put JOB in his place at mid. Anyway, as for the Czechs - pure class. They were awesome. They schooled us. Whether they really are that good or we were just playing so bad it made them look good will be answered when they play Ghana. Regardless, if they play the way they did against us for the rest of the Cup, they will probably reach the quarters at least, and deserve the semis.
Holland-S&M: My Oranje looked beautiful on the pitch, although I think they should have put more away - S&M's back four were very solid however. Man of the Match Arjen Robben looked good but was very selfish in several instances, taking extra dribbles to create a shot for himself when he could have easily chipped into the 6 or laid one off for an onrushing teammate. Regardless, his and van Persie's play were very inspired. S&M played very hard, but very ugly - they had chances, but couldn't convert. They will finish last in the real Group of Death.
Mexico-Iran: El Tri did not look that good in this game. Sanchez' mistake of failing to punch away a ball almost cost them dearly. Fortunately, Mirzapour made a big mistake and Mexico capitalized, and added a beautiful insurance goal with the new rush of confidence. I think the crowd really helped the Mexicans on this one, as you could hear the crowd was obviously partisan to them. Disappointing performance from Borgetti, who needs to pick it up by their 3rd match (Portugal). I think Mexico will beat Portugal and advance first in the group - then lose to either Holland or Argentina. Iran looked ok, but I think they will probably not even beat Angola. By that time they will have lost to Portugal and they will be too demoralized to play well. Too bad!
T&T-Sweden: Must suck to be a Swedish fan. They had tons of chances and failed to convert. God was on the Soca side that day - great performance by Hislop. Almost with the upset, if only Glen's shot had been slightly lower! However, England will not tolerate a draw with T&T. The Soca Warriors will be thrashed soundly, although I still believe a miracle is possible. Go Soca! Sweden will not advance now.
Japan-Aus: One of the best games of the tourney yet. Japan played well in spurts, but overall were outplayed by the Aussies, who were well-deserved in their dramatic victory after a cheap goal from Japan. I think the Aussies have a chance against Brazil. They are very physical - it ain't pretty, but it's effective, and Brazil may not be able to deal with it. Japan is set for an early exit - I don't even think they can beat Croatia, since Croatia has such a 12th man advantage in the crowd.
Argentina-Ivory Coast: Argentina did not look that sharp, but good enough to win. They will lose to Holland and advance second in the group. I'm a bit worried about Drogba when he plays the Oranje. He's an awesome force, a one-man team, and he might pull off the upset. He very nearly managed to level with the Argies on several occasions.
England-Paraguay: Snoozefest. Lucky goal for England means they get the points, but overall a very ugly game that I wish I hadn't recorded.
Brazil-Croatia: Brazil looked very much unlike the superpower we were expecting, and yet they were still awesome. Best player was Kaka, who scored and controlled the midfield with his hustle, also making some key defensive stops. Other bright spots were Roberto Carlos and Cafu. Dida wasn't really tested but was solid. Ronaldinho, although he tried to force the ball many times, was at least creative and pretty solid at helping to control the pace of the game. Low points for Brazil? No doubt - Ronaldo and Adriano. The game changed considerably when Robinho came in for the fat one. As for Croatia - they played very well and with a lot of heart. They deserved a draw in this game. I really liked Prso's hustle. The Croatians also have a significant 12th man advantage - the Croatian fans were rabid and inspiring, even up to the final whistle. I look forward to seeing the Croatia-Aus game.
Italy-Ghana: Didn't see the game, so can't really comment on it. It seems that the Italians are playing like, well, Italians during the World Cup. That is to say, very well. Italy seems to always do this - they rarely underachieve on this stage. I expect them to lose to CR (then get thumped by Brazil in the 2nd round), but it will be a good game. Ghana - still haven't seen them play, so can't comment. But they have a proven finisher in Essien, who I think will provide the final nail in the USA's embarrassment of a World Cup.
France-Switzerland: Another snoozefest. France deserved to lose this game, so are lucky to have a tie. They squandered so many chances - how do you justify not shooting the ball at the edge of the 6 with the keeper on his line? Swiss looked ok and I think could win the group.
Korea-Togo: Wow, was Togo surprising. Beautiful goal. However, the discipline of Korea was evident and they deserved the victory. I think the Koreans could well win the group, depending on if they can get over playing a European team in Europe.
Portugal-Angola: Snoozefest. Portugal looked like they would run away with it, but couldn't convert on key opportunities. Angola will be obliterated by Mexico, but might pull of a win against Iran. Figo shined for Portugal, so he needs to lead that team against Iran - I don't think they will beat the Mexicans.
Good times! Now I have two games I'm salivating over: Holland/Argentina and now CR/Italy. I still have the same cheering hierarchy: USA, Holland, Mexico, Costa Rica, and T&T, but I think that only Holland and Mexico will do anything now. Ticos have a chance, but Ecuador seems to be playing very well. My hope for the USA now is just not to get too embarrassed. Score at least once against Italy, or get a draw. Get a draw against Ghana. The US tactic needs now to change to play defensively and counterattack. It worked well against Brazil in '94 and it at least keeps the score respectable.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
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6 comments:
well, my cheering heirarchy is Japan, United States, France, England, Ireland since they're my ethnicities :-) To me, so far the games that have been the most enjoyable were (in no particular order):
Germany 4-2 Costa Rica
Germany 1-0 Poland
Trinidad 0-0 Sweden
Australia 3-1 Japan
South Korea 2-1 Togo
and shockingly enough, Tunisia 2-2 Saudi Arabia
oh, and finally we saw a team that did worse than the United States: Ukraine. 4-0 whooping by Spain.
The teams I can see going pretty far (i.e. quarterfinals-ish) - Germany, Holland, Czech Republic, Italy, Brazil, Spain.
Are you a Japanese citizen? How can you cheer for Japan over the US?
Un-American bastard! :)
I sat through the CR-Ecuador game, and Ecuador looks really, really, really good. Their defense has been extremely solid. I hated their goalkeeper against Germany, but he actually looked pretty good against the Ticos, making some very key decisions to come off his line. I think the Ecuador-Germany game will be very good - a strong back 4 against the blitzkrieg of shots that the Germans will provide. Good fireworks. If Ecuador can tie or beat the Germans, then they will go far and deserve it.
I cheered loudly when Spain scored their fourth goal because we were no longer in last place. Spain has been the team that looks the best so far, then the Czechs.
I also was quite entertained by the Saudi Arabia/Tunisia game. Lots of dramatics by bringing on the old man, Al-Jaber to score what seemed to be the winning goal, then a sudden equalizer from Tunisia, clawing back for the tie.
Nothing topped that Aus-Japan game for me though, probably because I saw the only parts that mattered. What a dramatic game. I also really loved the Korea game. I hope Korea goes far in this tournament.
we've seen this happen plenty of times: Spain looks real well in group play.....only to get stopped in the 1st rd or quarterfinals.
After today, I see Germany, Ecuador, Argentina, Holland, Czech Republic, Brazil, South Korea, Spain doing well.
After today, I see Argentina doing extremely well. The acid test will be Holland. Holland looked flat (unfortunately for me) in the second half and were lucky to escape with a draw.
Agree on Spain. We'll see how they do against a real opponent when all the marbles are on the line.
I soooooooo look forward to seeing England go out against either Ecuador or Germany, who are playing much better soccer than the English are. England are crap. Unimaginative. And Crouch is crap. He got so many chances and only until he pulled on Sancho's hair could he make anything of any of them. We'll see if Rooney can do anything, but in my estimation - he'll be a letdown.
Don't forget Italy. They played very well against Ghana, and threaten to utterly demolish us after EJ's poor choice of words. I'm still crossing my fingers, but I think I'm going to need a lot of beer to get through tomorrow.
Oops, I meant Holland were lucky to escape with more than a draw.
I'll have to agree about England. I really like them, but for some reason they're not really showing me anything this World Cup. Sure, an own goal in the 1st game vs Paraguay, then scoring at the very last minute vs T&T. We'll see how they do vs Sweden but I think either Germany or Ecuador is capable of beating England at this juncture.
As for me saying Czech Republic going far. I will make my conclusion about them after their Italy game next week. Until then, for now, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Brazil, and Spain are the teams to beat for now. Maybe Korea, but I have to see them play France and Switzerland to make my decision. I'll also have to wait on my Ecuador and Holland decisions.
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