Thoughts on What Will Happen in the Major European Leagues for the 2010-2011 Campaign

It has been over a month since I last posted on this blog, and for that I apologize. I will post much more once I get to school, where I anticipate having more free time than I have recently with my work schedule. I recognize I promised a long list of top 5’s and my favorite storylines of the World Cup, which I have written most of, but because of how early we are into the European season, I figured I would make my predictions for all the major leagues, especially the English Premier League. I have done a full table for England, while only listing a top 4 for Spain, Italy and Germany, as well as predictions for who will win their domestic cup. Once the draw for the Champions League comes out, I will do a prediction for that competition as well. Now for the predictions…

Spain:
1st- Barcelona
2nd- Real Madrid
3rd- Sevilla
4th-Atletico Madrid
Copa del Rey- Real Madrid

Italy:
1st- Inter Milan
2nd-Roma
3rd- Genoa
4th- AC Milan
Copa Italia- Inter Milan

Germany:
1st- Bayern Munich
2nd- Schalke 04
3rd- TSG Hoffenheim
4th- Bayer Leverkusen
DFB Pokal- TSG Hoffenheim

England:
1st- Chelsea
2nd- Manchester United
3rd- Arsenal
4th- Manchester City
5th-Tottenham Hotspur
6th- Liverpool
7th- Everton
8th-Bolton Wanderers
9th- Birmingham City
10th- Aston Villa
11th- Stoke City
12th- Fulham
13th- Blackburn
14th- Wolverhamption Wanderers
15th- Sunderland
16th- West Ham United
17th- Newcastle United
18th- Wigan Athletic
19th- West Brom
20th- Blackpool
FA Cup- Liverpool

Thoughts on Team Top 5's for the World Cup

Best Attacking Teams- These are the teams who I thought provided the most excitement in the attacking part of the pitch
1) Germany- The Germans were dynamic in front of the net, with Golden Boot and Young Player of the Tournament Awards Winner Thomas Mueller leading the way. Miroslav Klose also had a standout tournament, along with Mesut Ozil, Lukas Padolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger
2) Netherlands- The Dutch primary four attackers (Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie) bolstered big reputations, talent and ego. All of them had good tournaments, with the exception of van Persie who simply did not look like he belonged with the rest of the Dutch creativity on the pitch
3) Argentina- Lionel Messi left South Africa without scoring, but still had a great tournament, along with Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez. How Diego Milito never got on the pitch in South Africa is a true mystery, and coach Diego Maradonna not finding a role for him might’ve cost the Argentines a spot in the semi finals
4) Brazil- Robinho had a good tournament, while Luis Fabiano had an inconsistent one. Players like Elano and Maicon proved how dangerous they are in the attacking part of the field, while Kaka truly looked a step behind play. Is this fantastic player past his prime? Based upon how he did in South Africa, I would say yes.
5) Spain- They didn’t score goals, but they controlled every game they partook in. David Villa scored the crucial goals in the early parts of the tourney, while Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta scored the big ones in the latter stages.

Best Defensive Teams
1) Spain- Do I love their backline? No, I still don’t, but what they do have is a fantastic midfield who doesn’t let anyone get to the back. Iker Casillas in goal also isn’t a shabby option as well, but the likes of Carlos Puyol and Joan Capdevilla are anything but impressive on the defensive end.
2) Uruguay- This was the most physical defense I saw in South Africa, that could’ve been better had their captain and starting center back Diego Lugano not gotten hurt early in the competition. Extremely difficult in the air, and hard in the tackle, this defense was crucial to the Uruguayan cause
3) New Zealand- They only allowed two goals in three games, and are the only team to not get defeated while in South Africa. This defense was constantly under pressure, but their organization and the fantastic play of Ryan Nielsen was able to withstand everything thrown at them. Mark Paston also had a great tournament in goal.
4) Portugal- Only allowed two goals in four matches, playing in a side that only scored in one game all tournament. Fabio Contrao at left back and Eduardo in goal were great all tournament.
5) Netherlands- Led the tournament in successful clearances, and only allowed more than one goal in a game once. Martin Stecklenburg had a good tournament in between the pipes for the Oranje.

Favorite Teams
1) USA- Clearly biased, but even if I was a neutral it would be hard to not cheer for the Americans. Their never say die attitude warmed my heart, and the fact that I was there in person to see the comeback against Slovenia and the Algeria victory doesn’t hurt either.
2) Germany- Besides the fact that my favorite player was their captain for the World Cup (and should be going forward) they played a beautiful brand of soccer that was the most entertaining in the tournament.
3) North Korea- I fell in love with the theory of North Korea, a country who has shut themselves out from the rest of the world, qualifying for this tournament. They were also easily the least talented team in South Africa, and my love for underdogs definitely had something to do with my affection for them
4) South Africa- The host nation was very warm and welcoming, and their people had me cheering heavily for Bafana Bafana. Unfortunate they didn’t make the second round, but beating France and going out on a high note is really all anyone could expect of this team.
5) South Korea- They played a fantastic style of play that really was good enough for them to make the quarterfinals. The entire team also sported band boy style haircuts which simply looked goofy to me, making them more endearing than most other teams.

Teams that Exceeded My Expectations
1) Uruguay- I knew nothing about this team and therefore had them losing all three of their matches. Boy was I wrong
2) Spain- I thought their style would crumble against a more physical side, but they withstood a pretty brutal assault at the hands of the Dutch in the final to prove me wrong.
3) Japan- I had this team getting zero points and not coming close to winning, but anyone who thought this team would beat both Cameroon and Denmark is more lucky than good at making reasonable predictions
4) New Zealand- Another underdog who did well, nobody had this team doing anything so I’m not going to lose a lot of sleep over getting them wrong.
5) Ghana- I didn’t think Ghana was a poor side heading into the tournament, but I thought their group would be too tough for them to progress. That’s what I get for thinking Serbia is a quality side.

Teams who Did Not Meet My Expectations
1) Cameroon- Semifinals? God that’s embarassing
2) Serbia- (See Cameroon)
3) Nigeria- I thought this team would get hot and make a good run to the quarterfinals, but I was sadly mistaken. Yakubu had a woeful tournament, and was a big reason they did not do well along with the red card Sani Kaita received for being foolish against Greece
4) Argentina- Had them as finalists, but they found out the hard way its hard to beat teams when you have no tactics
5) Netherlands- A little harsh since they almost won the title, but they didn’t so they make this list. Great tournament, just unable to finish it at the end.

Thoughts on the World Cup Final

World Cup 2010 ended in a flurry of yellow cards, kicks to the chest, Nelson Mandela attending a matcha and with Spain lifting the trophy for the first time as World Champion. An early prediction of mine was that the first African World Cup would end with a new champion, so I suppose I can take a little solace in that, but the team I picked to win finished a little short. The Dutch have been my pick since March, so from a personal perspective it was a little tough to watch them lose in the final, but at the same time I’m pleased in that this tournament did bring us a new champ, and a deserving one at that. The Spanish defense, which I’ve said since Euro 2008 has been their weakness, did not allow a goal in the knockout rounds. This is not because of the fantastic play of the Spanish defense but that of their midfield, who did a great job of possessing the ball and giving the defense very little to do all tournament. Xavi and Andres Iniesta did not have standout tournaments, but proved just how talented they were by playing plenty of games without their A game and still controlling the proceedings. Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso also proved their worth by being a solid wall in front of the defense, but the depth of their midfield is where one sees just how talented Spain are; players like Pedro, Cesc Fabregas Jesus Navas and David Silva (who didn’t feature in the final) did not start consistently throughout the tournament , and they are all world class players.
But the MVP for the Spanish in the final was goalkeeper Iker Casillas. He covered mightily for Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique, thwarting Dutch winger Arjen Robben twice after he had beaten both Spanish defenders to gain breakaways. Casillas was lucky on the first breakaway, where Robben got him to go the other way but his trailing foot deflected the ball. However, he did a great job of staying big, closing space quickly and making Robben have to wait until the final second to shoot, doing everything a goalkeeper should do on a breakaway. Without the great play of Casillas, Spain would not have won yesterday.

The two players I feel terrible for after the final though are Arjen Robben, and Dutch defender John Heitinga. Robben, who has been a standout player all year for Bayern Munich, will be the goat of the final for missing his two chances. A player of his caliber should’ve put his chances away, and Robben knows that, but his presence was vital to the Dutch making the final. No player has had an instant impact for his team in this tournament quite like Arjen Robben, and his being there made defenses have to pay attention to him and leave space for players like Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder to make plays. Robben also lost the Champions League Final with Bayern Munich this year; two tough losses in one season. In Heitinga’s case, I do not think he should’ve been sent off. It looked to me that Iniesta went down far too easily, making sure Heitinga got his second yellow card. What makes his sending off truly unfortunate is that up to that point, he had been my MVP for the Dutch in the final. Heitinga was all over the place, being forced to guard the dynamic David Villa and did a fantastic job. The biggest problem with Heitinga’s skill set is that he may be a little too versatile; he doesn’t have a true position along the backline. In this tournament, he featured mostly at center back, and in the biggest game of his life, he was asked to man mark the World’s best striker in Villa and did just that. It’s a pity he got sent off, because he had really kept the Dutch in the game, but his sending off ended up costing them a chance at penalty kicks. Had Heitinga been on the field, my bet is that he would’ve been able to clear the ball before it reached Iniesta, who scored the match’s only goal. In a way though, the red card was long overdue for the Netherlands, as Nigel de Jong definitely deserved to see red for his challenge on Xabi Alonso in the first half, it’s just unfortunate that it was Heitinga who got the red card.

Speaking of the referee, I think Howard Webb put on an atrocious display. Granted, he got no help from the players who seemed determined to turn the match into a contest to see who could injure more opposing players, but I thought he handed out far too many cards. He really shot himself in the foot with his early yellow on Robin van Persie, because it set a precedent for how he was going to referee the match; if he was going to be in any way consistent, he would have to card players for worse challenges, which he did to his credit, but I thought he set the bar too low. No final should have as many cards as it did, and the referee should’ve done a better job of controlling the proceedings. That said, the Dutch can blame nobody but themselves for losing; the Spanish played better on the night.

With the tournament being over, I’ve decided to start doing smaller write ups looking back on the cup. My first retrospective series will be top five lists for different categories; Favorite teams, Best Goals and Best Celebrations, which will be wrapped up with my ten favorite storylines from the entire tournament. There is a bit of a lull right now until more soccer gets played, but a better way of looking at it is the domestic season begins in just a little over a month in Europe; the beautiful game really never does stop, does it?

Thoughts on What Will Happen During the World Cup Final

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals started with 32 teams vying for the championship, but now we are down to two: the Netherlands and Spain. It really is a historic final in that whichever team wins will be crowned champion for the first time in their storied history (first time we will have a new champion since 1978), as well as becoming the first European team to win the tournament outside of Europe. In my opinion, what adds to the importance of this final is where the next will be staged in four years, and who is going to be good there: Brazil 2014 is already Brazil’s to win. Even if it isn’t a good Brazilian team, they should win. If not the Brazilians than who? Germany appears to have a golden generation on their hands, and those young players will have developed even further in the time period before Brazil, making them a terrifying force to be, and potentially the team who can steal the title from the Brazilians in their own backyard. In four years time, Argentina can also expect to have a coach with some actual tactical awareness who could bring out the best in Lionel Messi, who should still be fantastic in four years, meaning the Argentines should be battling for that title. France and Italy should have new coaches who will bring in new players and make those teams respectable once again, while South American sides like Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador will be extremely motivated to show well as the tournament is on their continent. Where will that leave these two teams? With lots of work to do, and needing a huge amount of luck, to lift the trophy in Rio de Janeiro. Basically what I am saying is this: the World Cup in four years should not be as winnable as this one, so the team that takes advantage of this golden opportunity today will be extremely fortunate, while the other will be left disappointed, as I cannot see either of these teams making the final in four years time.

As great as the Dutch are, it appears to really be Spain’s year to win it; they have been rated as the best team in the world since they won Euro 2008, and after a minor blip losing to Switzerland in their first match in South Africa, they have won all their games and controlled every game in which they have played. I’m saying this despite picking the Dutch to win before the tournament started; Spain will never have a team this good I believe, if they do not win it will be hugely disappointing to their fans. I expect David Villa to score today, who has been an extremely influential player because the other big name Spanish forward, Fernando Torres, has been dreadful this tournament. Villa has picked up his slack, and has scored a few major goals for the Spanish en route to the final. Of course, the key to Spain’s game is the midfield, where Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets reside. The duo of Iniesta and Xavi always seem to be able to control the tempo of the game with their short passes and constant possession, making it extremely hard to beat Spain since they always have the ball. It also protects their average at best back line, who has yet to allow a goal since Chile scored on them in the group stages, but that has more to do with how dominant the Spanish midfield has been rather than how good the defense has been. They haven’t had a whole lot to do, but I could see them having problems today; while Spain will possess the ball, they are going to have to deal with Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie on the defensive end, a tough quartet to contain. What could also make Spain’s day difficult is the defensive midfield duo of Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong, whose grit and steel could break up Spain’s classic midfield play. Van Bommel and de Jong would have to have major games in order for this to happen, but the duo have had good tournaments and could be up to the task.

The Dutch were my picks to win before the tournament, so I have to be cheering for them later today. They have gotten to the final without playing the favored Total Football style many of the great Dutch teams of the seventies played. That said, those teams never won a championship playing that style, and if the Dutch win today they will do something that Johann Cruyff and company wanted nothing more than. The Dutch are a tough matchup for the Spanish in that they feature a team that is capable of absorbing pressure for long spells because they have different players who can provide moments of glory with little time necessary. I’m specifically thinking of Arjen Robben on the right flank, who should eat Joan Capdevilla up whenever he has the ball. Robben should have a good game, but the key to the Dutch will be the defense, who will have to hold up against the relentless Spanish pressure they are going to have to take. Giovanni van Bronckhurst as captain will have to keep the defense well organized and focused on their tasks as one small mental slip could result in Spain breaking through and scoring a goal. Another major key for the Dutch will be scoring first, preferably early, something they have been able to do this tournament, but will be difficult against Spain. It’s important to put Spain in a hole early, rather than get behind because Spain will hold onto the ball as much as possible, making them a difficult team to chase.

In the end, I am very torn over this game; I’ve picked the Dutch since before the tournament so I can’t turn my back on them now. That said, Spain are the clear favorites and will be expected to win. I can’t ditch the Dutch, so I will stick with them to win 2-1, but Spain should win. I will be cheering heavily for the Dutch though, they’ve made the final more than the Spanish have, they’ve suffered more heartbreak in the final than the Spanish have, it should be their turn to win it. The problem is that Spain is better. In this 2-1 game, I see the Dutch getting the important first goal through Arjen Robben, with the Spanish equalizing midway through the first half with Iniesta scoring, giving us a 1-1 score at halftime. In the second half, it will be a free kick by Wesley Sneijder to win it for the Netherlands, which will spark much partying in Amsterdam.

I’m a very confused individual ahead of this final. Obviously I’m excited to watch the match, but I’m realizing this is the last World Cup match that will take place for a good four years. In four years I should be done with college, and be out in the real world, so one could argue this is my last World Cup as a kid. It’s been a fantastic tournament though, with attending the matches obviously the high point. But it’s not just going to the matches, being a part of the South African atmosphere during the cup was intoxicating, and an atmosphere I have to be a part of at some point again in my life (I’m thinking 2018… in England hopefully). During this World Cup I have watched the games on three different continents in numerous different locations; my home, the deli where I work, the bar in our hotel, a restaurant on Long Street in Cape Town, the Cape Town airport, a seedy bar in Dubai, a German restaurant in Dubai (which featured Arabs in traditional German outfits… a sight I never thought I would see) and of course the three stadiums I went to. I’m watching the final at my friend Nathan’s house, which will mean a grand total of eleven locations where I watched a World Cup match. This tournament will forever be in my memory and will be a tough thing for me to say goodbye to in a few hours time. The beauty of the end of the World Cup though is this; only one month until all the major European leagues get started up, and only two years until Euro 2012. There is a long amount of time we must wait until Brazil 2014, but there should be fun games of soccer in between now and Brazil, and even if there isn’t, this fantastic competition is worth waiting four years for.

When the final is over, I will write about it and my other highlights of what has happened during the 2010 World Cup. I’ve got an interesting idea of making short lists of different categories about the World Cup and writing little bits about each list; favorite matches, favorite players, favorite moments etc. We will see, but until next time, enjoy the World Cup final!

Thoughts on the Quarterfinals of the World Cup

Ah I have returned to the blog! Sorry it’s been so long to those of you who were actually checking to see if I had any new posts (if there are more of you than the five fingers on my right hand, then I will be shocked) but I have good excuses. A mixture of poor internet in Dubai, jet lag, visiting Becca and sixteen hours of work is why I haven’t written in so long. I’m not exactly sure what to write about as so much has happened since I last posted. I think I’m just going to give a run down of what happened today and what could happen tomorrow. Today was a fantastic day of soccer, and my early prediction of this round being the best may come to fruition, especially with Germany vs. Argentina yet to take place.

First of all, I couldn’t be prouder of the Dutch right now. Brazil was their biggest test in terms of making it to the final game, and now they have gotten past them. Their performance in the second half was stupendous, as they pretty much wrestled control from the Brazilians, who could only respond with petulant fouls. What makes this victory even more special is that it is the first time in World Cup history that Brazil has lost after leading at halftime (I thought it was interesting that the team who scored first in both games today lost, very rarely does that happen). Wesley Sneijder provided a performance necessary for the Dutch to succeed; he may not be the official captain of this team, but he is a major leader on the field and is vital to their success. In a gritty game, I thought the defensive midfield duo of Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel was fantastic. Van Bommel is an incredible player to me; every game he participates in, he always seems to deserve at least a yellow card for his antics and actions, but he rarely gets them. Not sure how he does it, cause he definitely should’ve gotten one today. Arjen Robben on the wing wasn’t as effective as usual, but he was a constant nuisance to the Brazilians, just ask Felipe Melo, who got sent off for a frustrated stamp to the Flying Dutchman’s legs. The defense was also very good today, and appears to be much stronger than anticipated (the goalie Stecklenberg was outstanding, and made the save of the tournament stopping a beautiful curling shot from the right foot of Kaká).

Brazil will be kicking themselves for four years because of this loss; they had complete control of the game, and just let it go. The defense looked very shaky and frustrated with the constant threat of the Dutch attacking players. The performance of the defense will make the world wonder what happens if a team with quality forwards attacks Brazil and doesn’t just sit back in awe. All that aside, I couldn’t be happier with the Brazilians exiting the competition simply because I would be willing to bet my life’s savings on Brazil winning in 2014 with the tournament in their backyard. I will be beyond shocked if they do not win it.

The other match was both fantastic and cruel at the same time. Ghana, the last hopes of Africa, were eliminated by an extremely tenacious Uruguayan side. People will be furious with Luis Suarez for deliberately using his hand to stop Ghana from scoring in the final moments of the extra period, but I applaud him. I call that doing everything within your power to ensure your team doesn’t allow a goal, not cheating and ruining the game. It was a total necessity for Suarez’s cause, and the rest of the World who was almost entirely cheering for Ghana, can blame Asamoah Gyan for not converting the penalty kick that would’ve given Africa their first ever semifinalist. In the shootout, Uruguay’s kicks were as a whole better. Anyone who says Ghana should’ve won is blind; Uruguay did the important things to advance, and I will forever respect Luis Suarez for doing everything within his power to give his team a chance to win.

The match I am looking forward to tomorrow is Germany vs. Argentina. It, just like the Brazil vs. Netherlands match, has the potential to be the match of the tournament. The match features two teams who simply do not like each other. Expect the early proceedings to be erratic; the referee must establish control near the beginning of the match before it gets out of hand. I will be rooting for Germany, although I predict Argentina to win. The key is which defense stands up and I think Argentina’s will; the German center back pairing of Arne Freidrich and Per Mertesacker is not a good one, and Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi will run right at them. I can’t see the German attack having the same effect on the other end; Argentina will win, although I hope I am wrong.

The Spain vs. Paraguay game is really interesting as well, even though it is being overshadowed by the other game taking place tomorrow. Paraguay will be Spain’s defense’s toughest test though as they are an attacking side with lots of steel in the midfield. They have the personnel to stand up to Spain and provide them some difficult moments. Spain has far more class, but the Paraguayans have more toughness I think, and will win the match. Back when the World Cup draw came out, I made the bold prediction of neither Brazil nor Spain making the semifinals. I’ve gotten one of them out, got to stay with my prediction; Paraguay upset Spain, on penalty kicks.

Thoughts on the USA vs. Algeria Game and the USA's Chances in the Knockout Rounds

The USA vs. Algeria match yesterday was probably the most intense soccer game this country has ever partaken in, and I can say I was there to witness it in person. Did I have faith through in through? In all honesty, I did not. I wasn’t sure if the goal we needed to progress was ever going to come. But I assure you, when it did, I cheered as loudly and as passionately as I ever have in my entire life. Never has a sporting event moved me to tears, but yesterday did. It was the best sporting event I will possibly ever go to, and this is somebody who has seen his hometown team play in, and win, the Super Bowl. I will never experience what I went through yesterday.

The day started much earlier than it should have: 5:30 AM. We were told to wake up at this time by the company that we got our tickets through, despite our pickup time being 7:20. It also ended at 5:30 AM the next day when we finally got back to our hotel, with our company putting us on the 2:40 AM flight from Pretoria. A long day that had me truly frustrated with the people who were playing a huge part in my getting to live my dream of seeing the World Cup live. Truly cannot complain though, they got us to Pretoria (capital of South Africa, and is an absolutely gorgeous town) and they gave us great seats: we were in the lower deck, about twenty five rows up, just behind the Algeria bench. We also were pretty close to former president Bill Clinton, and were able to get some fantastic pictures of him looking out over the field from his suite.

The lineup that Bob Bradley fielded had three changes from the one that played against Slovenia: with Herculez Gomez, Maurice Edu and Jonathon Bornstein starting in place of Robbie Findley, Jose Torres and Oguchi Onyewu. The inclusion of Bornstein was a terrifying prospect to me: he is, in my opinion, the least talented player on the USA roster. However, he is the only natural left back that we have, hence why he was included to replace Onyewu, who Bradley must feel has not been up to snuff in South Africa. I have to say that this defense appeared much better than the one that took the field against Slovenia, mostly because of how organized they were. Carlos Bocanegra was very good in central defense, being much more vocal than Onyewu was in the previous matches, meaning that Jay DeMerit could play with a little more confidence knowing where Bocanegra was. Steve Cherundolo was our MVP in the first half, with much of the offense flowing through him on the right flank. He also did a great job of neutralizing Nadir Belhadj, Algeria’s talented left winger. And Bornstein, as much as he terrifies me, played a decent game. He was conservative and consistent, and proved that he can have a role on this team as long as he attempts to play within his skill level and does not try to make surging runs down the left flank that he simply can’t make. The biggest thing for the American defense was that they gave the Algerians the early goal opportunity that the Americans always concede, but the Algerians were unable to take advantage of it, hitting the crossbar instead of finding the back of the net.

The midfield had a quieter game than they did against Slovenia and England. Despite this, I think Edu is the man to start the next match against Ghana; he appears to bring the best out of Michael Bradley, and that is crucial to the USA’s success. Landon Donovan had an inconsistent game, Clint Dempsey missed a sitter (and scored a goal that was incorrectly disallowed), and Bradley played his usual game of controlling the offense going forward and making the occasional surging run into the box. For me, Bradley has been our second most important player this tournament behind Tim Howard. I’m not trying to snub Landon, who without the USA would not be in the Round of 16, but Bradley has been fantastic this whole tournament. He kept the fantastic midfielders of England in check, then played an all around superb game against Slovenia that culminated with him scoring the all-important tying goal and contributed heavily to the USA keeping a shutout for the first time this tournament against Algeria. He’s done this all without any continuity in terms of who he has played with in the center midfield position. Four different players have played alongside him there (Edu, Torres, Ricardo Clark and Benny Feilhaber, who also played well against Algeria coming on as a substitute), and Bradley has done a great job of adjusting to each of their styles of play, continuing to be a productive player along the way. At his young age, he would be a perfect pickup for a big European club after this World Cup. If it actually happens I am not sure of, but has he earned that big money move? Yes

The forwards of this USA team are very tough to rate because the job of the forward is to score, something none of them have done yet. Despite this, the forwards have had a good tournament in my opinion, and had another consistent performance against Algeria. Herculez Gomez was a good substitute in the starter position for Robbie Findley (who was suspended through receiving two yellow cards in the previous games), but wasn’t quite active enough for my liking. He had one great chance, but had a bad angle, and the Algerian keeper parried it away. Jozy Altidore, despite missing a sitter from six yards away, had a very good game. He is the type of player who gets better as the game goes on because his unique combination of size and speed wears down defenders. Are you aware he’s drawn 6 yellow cards this tournament from defenders? That’s a sick number of cards, proving just how difficult Altidore can be. The next step for him is technique though. Too many times his bad first touch ended an American chance to score. He has plenty of time to get better though since he is only 20 years old, making him an exciting prospect for the future.

As the game went on, I began to get less and less confident about our chances. I’d seen this too many times in sports: one team dominates and creates chances to win the game, but are unable to take advantage of them. This appeared to be another one of those games, especially heading into stoppage time. That was until Landon Donovan scored the biggest goal of his career, picking up a loose ball in the box and tucking it home after a Clint Dempsey shot, from a Jozy Altidore pass, was deflected by the Algerian keeper. I didn’t have a great view of the goal as it was on the other side of the stadium, but when I saw the ball go into the net, I, along with the other Yanks in the stands, erupted into cheers of jubilation and relief. I hugged my dad, mom, sister, and any American near me. I even hugged a couple of random South Africans behind me who didn’t care who won the game. I then broke down and shed a few tears: I had dreamt of attending this World Cup for six years and my family had traveled a far way to get to South Africa; one second it was to watch our boys finish third and miss out on advancing, to seeing USA soccer history. That goal, and the win that came with it, took the USA to the top of their World Cup group, the first time we’ve achieved this (we also set a World Cup record for least amount of minutes leading a match by a group winner, with two minutes in the lead). With this in mind, as the final whistle blew, I stepped on a few empty seats in front of me, raised my USA scarf high above my head, and proudly chanted USA along with the rest of the crowd. It was a moment of pure elation, where everything seemed right in the world.

I can only thank the USA players for providing this fantastic personal moment, whose performance truly epitomized their strengths as a team: grit, determination and desire gave that team victory yesterday and advanced them, not skill. It’s something the 2006 edition of this team sorely lacked, but it’s a quality this team appears to be overflowing with. Every player hustled; every player wanted the team to succeed. Not every team has this, just ask the French and Italians (delighted both teams are out by the way) and this quality is our team’s greatest strength.

Looking ahead, the USA appears to have a manageable draw to make it to the semi finals. Their Round of 16 opponents is Ghana, with their potential quarterfinal adversaries being either Uruguay or South Korea. All three teams are beatable; the USA shouldn’t be intimidated by any of them. That said, the Ghana game is scaring me greatly. Ghana will most likely be the only African team left in the competition, and will be motivated to advance to the quarterfinals more than any other team in the field. They will also have the support of the rest of the world; everyone wants Africa to do well this year (myself included). There will be no neutrals in Rustenburg on Saturday; the stadium will be all Ghana, with a few Americans sprinkled in.

That said, I am encouraged by how Ghana has played so far in this tournament. They really have not been that great of a side, scoring only two goals, both from the penalty spot. The Ghanaians were lucky to take all three points from a woeful Serbian side (my bad on that one), tied a lackluster Australia team without their key player, and were dominated by Germany despite only losing 1-0. Ghana is also a team with a weak goalkeeper in Richard Kingson, so there could be chances galore in front of the net for our boys. Considering the USA’s other potential opponent was Germany, the Americans have to be satisfied. The Ghana game is anything but a freebee though, and they will have to bring their A-game to have a chance of winning. That said, if the Americans get past Ghana, making the semifinals is expected from my point of view; when you get that far in the tournament and you either have Uruguay waiting for you, who has yet to play any team of true skill (a Mexican team that was all but guaranteed of advancing doesn’t count) or South Korea who simply aren’t as good as your team, you must no longer hope but expect victory. That is the difference between good teams and great teams: taking the field with the expectation of victory. I anticipate Uruguay to be waiting in the quarterfinals. If we get past Ghana, the chances of the USA making its deepest run at a World Cup in the modern era will never be higher. The question is whether they will take this golden opportunity ahead of them. For their sake I hope they do, as they will truly never have a better draw to get to the semifinals than the one laid out in front of them now.

Thoughts on Upsets Galore and African Disappointment

Today was a day mostly spent shopping for me, so I do not have any major experiences to talk about. I did stand in line with my Dad to try to get tickets to the North Korea-Portugal match, but unfortunately we were unable to. What made the day a slightly sad day was that North Korea got absolutely obliterated by Portugal. So much for the whole Portugal playing down to their opponent theory I had, although the Koreans did play very well in the first half before tiring out.

This result was bad for two reasons. The first is that it eliminated the North Koreans from advancing. Anyone who has read this blog (the proud and few) know that I have a small crush on the team from this mysterious, militant communist nation, and their involvement has been one of my major headlines of this tournament. Just sad to know we only have one more game, hope they get a point. This comes to my second reason for disliking the Portuguese win today: it effectively has eliminated the Ivory Coast (North Korea’s next opponent) from advancing, making it look like Africa will not advance a single team this year. This is truly depressing; the South African people have been fantastic hosts, and while they appear to support every team here (except France, nobody likes them), they really want the African teams to do well. This is supposed to be Africa’s tournament: if no African teams even manage to make the Round of 16 then this tournament will lose a lot of its flavor. Ghana is in the best position to advance, but they face Germany, who will most likely need a win to advance: you would be foolish to bet against the Germans in this situation. The team with the best chance in my eyes is actually South Africa. The French are imploding (hilariously I might add. I wonder if they now wish the Thierry Henry handball did not happen so they wouldn’t have to go through this embarrassment), meaning they’re ripe to be slaughtered. South Africa will be motivated; I suspect they will win by multiple goals. What they need is Uruguay to beat Mexico by multiple goals too, and they will have a chance. I’m not counting the hosts out yet, I know the odds are against them, but crazier things have happened in this sport (USA advancing at last year’s Confederations Cup). That said, I would be foolish to anticipate this actually happening: Africa will be lucky to get one team this year in the knockout rounds.

It is odd how poorly Africa has done this year, since this year’s tournament has really been that of upsets. Actually it’s hard to call these results upsets because this field is so even, so I suppose a better description would be traditional powers losing to normally lesser teams. It’s hard to pick a favorite as there are so many to choose from, but here are the choices: New Zealand (tying both Slovakia and Italy), Japan (beating Cameroon), Switzerland (beating Spain), Serbia (beating Germany), Algeria (tying England), Mexico (beating France), Paraguay (tying Italy) and Uruguay (tying France) all fit this description. I’d have to pick the New Zealanders as my favorite, especially the tie with Italy, since the Italians were beyond lucky to get out of there with a point. I’m aware they hit the post a few times, but they also blatantly had the referee giving them every decision, and assuming that every time one of their players was on the ground it was the result of a New Zealander fouling them. Truly pathetic Italy, congratulations on needing to dive to get results against New Zealand who is made up of pretty much semi-pro players. I really dislike this edition of the Italians: uncreative, old, cocky and as I’ve alluded to, diving more than trying to play productive soccer.

The Swiss have also been fantastic this year, despite losing to a very good Chile side today. Did you know that the Swiss have only allowed 1 goal in their past 6 World Cup matches? Crazy statistic, this team is truly underrated. Their emergence as a good team could also be bad for Spain (currently up 1-0 on Honduras), who may not advance. The Spanish still have to play Chile, who are sky high in terms of confidence right now and will be tough to beat. That will be a Spanish victory, but it will be close, and goal difference will come into play.. How disappointing would it be if the Spanish do not advance? The tournament favorites not making it out of their group? That would not be good for the tournament either, especially with how so many good teams are on down years.

Speaking of how poor traditional powers have been this year, I realized a fun fact today: the four semifinalists from the 2006 World Cup (Italy, France, Germany and Portugal) have as many wins at this World Cup as the four Asian representatives (South Korea, Japan, North Korea and Australia): 2. Not only that, the two teams who have those wins (Germany and Portugal) both lost in the semi finals, meaning neither of the finalists from the last tournament have a win yet. They currently stand at a collective record of 0 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss, with their opponents being New Zealand, Paraguay, Uruguay and Mexico. The last time one of these teams made at least the quarterfinals of a World Cup tournament was 1986, when Mexico made it to the final 8 as hosts (New Zealand and Paraguay have never made it that far, and Uruguay hasn’t since 1970). This fact shows just how unconventional this tournament is shaking out to be, and how weak the normally strong teams are. Because of this, I believe it raises the chances of the World crowning brand new champions this year. My pick? The Dutch, who are yet to slip up in South Africa, while talented teams around them, are doing it daily. These types of tournaments are really the best kind. Ones where traditional powers dominate, like 2006, are fun but they aren’t nearly as enthralling: watching nations’ teams break new ground is always more fun then watching teams search for more tournament victories. And I believe it is this type of fun that we, as a collective audience, have to look forward to.

Thoughts on the Cape Town Fan Zone

I just got back from an exciting safari, where I saw most of the fantastic animals that South Africa has to offer (unfortunately no giraffes): hippos, water buffalo, springboxes, zebras, crocodiles, warthogs, ostriches, lions and cheetahs (a huge moment for my older sister Anna, who has wanted to see cheetahs in Africa since doing a report on them in first grade). It is 3 PM now in Cape Town, and the Slovakia vs. Paraguay game is on. I realize that I didn’t even remotely mention what I did on the first day here in Cape Town, which was going to the official fan zone. The fan zone is a giant square in the middle of the city (the one in Cape Town happens to be where Nelson Mandela gave his first speech after being in jail) where there are huge televisions, tons of fans from all over the world, vendors and food. Fantastic atmosphere, simply one for an individual who loves the game. The games I saw were Argentina vs. South Korea and Nigeria vs. Greece.

The first game was the Argentina vs. South Korea game. I found myself rooting for South Korea, despite having Argentina in the finals of my predictions. This was partially because of how much fun it would be to have an Asian team do well at this tournament, but also because there was a huge contingent of South Korean fans there. Mostly college kids, this group of roughly 40 people spent the entire game chanting in Korean, no matter what was happening in the game. It is good they were so positive because their team was promptly played off the park by Argentina. They even smiled when young Italian fans no older than 12, still bitter over getting eliminated by the Koreans in 2002, ran over and flipped them off every time Argentina scored. Still, this did not deter their spirit. The best part of the game was when Lee Chung-Yong pounced on a mistake by Argentine defender Martin Demichellis, and calmly slid the ball into the back of the net right before halftime. After Chung-Yong buried his shot, the Koreans exploded and began running around the square, waving their flag with huge smiles on their face. A couple began high fiving random people around them, which I returned enthusiastically with a big smile on my face, trying to let them know that I was firmly on their side. It wasn’t meant to be though, as a second half brace by Gonzalo Higuain (who had a hat trick on the day) sealed the Koreans fate. After the game though, the disappointed Koreans sang their hearts out, letting the rest of the square know that their World Cup hopes were anything but over.

Now after that game I thought the Koreans were dedicated and crazy, but they paled in comparison to the Nigerians. About ten minutes before the game, my dad and I began to hear loud drums and chanting. It was coming from a distant corner of the square. We headed over to find not one or two, but three large groups of Nigerians, all dressed in vibrant green, making as much noise as possible. Why there were three factions was confusing to us, but we realized that the different groups could easily be individuals with different political beliefs. A country rife will political unrest, this could easily be the answer. It didn’t really matter to us what they believed in though, since all three groups were attempting to make the most noise. There also appeared to be some form of tribal praying as well, as one group huddled around a giant sack-like object that one of their members were wearing and began dancing in unison. Not quite sure what was happening there, but as a spectacle it was great. Eventually, the three groups got together in front of the massive screen where the game was being shown, and all three joined in singing songs and supporting their team. Soccer unites everyone, and I felt I was witnessing something important.

The game was not a great one for the Nigerians though. When they scored, the place erupted, as most people there were rooting for Nigeria over Greece (most African teams are receiving the support of the South Africans since Bafana Bafana appears to be heading out of the competition). But after the red card, it was a depressing affair as it became apparent that Greece were much better than anticipated. The Greeks eventually beat the Nigerians, despite heroics from the Super Eagles’ goalkeeper, 2-1, effectively eliminating Nigeria from the competition. It will take a miracle to see them through, so it was not fun to be around the hundreds of Nigerian fans who had much higher hopes than what had just transpired on the pitch.

The fan zone is one of many fantastic experiences I’ve had since being in South Africa. This place is fantastic, I’m truly in heaven here. Ok well, the New Zealand vs. Italy game is about to come on: come on you All Whites!

Thoughts on the USA vs. Slovenia Match

Sorry to those who expected me to respond immediately after the USA vs. Slovenia game, I simply needed an entire day to pull together all my thoughts after an emotional day that rendered me absolutely exhausted (this is of course assuming there is any demand by people who are interested in what I'm rambling about on here, but I know this is not the case). For most Americans, the game started at 10 AM and ended roughly around noon. For me, it started at 3 AM and ended around 1:30 AM the next day when I went to sleep. A long and exciting day, but one that I will remember for the rest of my life, and one that had a happy ending.

We left for the airport at 7 AM (the game was in Johannesburg, we’re staying in Cape Town), but I awoke at 3 AM simply out of excitement. I felt like a kid before Christmas Day, but multiplied by 1000. When FIFA decided to stage the World Cup in South Africa some six years ago, I’ve wanted to go. The second I heard the World Cup would be in Africa, I knew I had to go to a match. It’s been so far away, far away for a good chunk of my life, so please excuse me for being too excited to be troubled by sleep on the eve of something so major to me. I thought it would be best to lower my heart rate though so I wouldn’t suffer a stroke that would keep me from attending the match. My cure was listening to the calm music of The Middle East, Regina Spektor and The Dodos (all music given to me by my lovely girlfriend Becca, so thank you for assisting in the prevention of my death).

Eventually, my parents knocked on the door, I showered and we departed for the airport. Everything went smoothly until we got to David, our driver to the game. David, working his first day on the job, was able to get us to Ellis Park easily, but not find the parking lot we were supposed to be in. This resulted in us being driven all over the terrible area surrounding the stadium for an hour and a half, during which I saw my family’s emotions range from worry, to annoyance to rage. Eventually, David found our lot (right next to the stadium) and we got out. The atmosphere of the event wasn’t comparable to anything I’ve been to, and this is coming from someone who has seen his hometown team in the Super Bowl. Everywhere you went there were crazy costumes, vuvuzelas blaring (overrated, not in any way annoying and should be allowed) and drunk Slovenians screaming at the top of their lungs. We Yanks outnumbered them and were quite feisty, but there was something special about the Slovenians; their country is not well known (often confused for Slovakia), especially for its sports, so they were clearly excited and proud to be in the world’s spotlight for once.

We took out seats, which were fantastic despite being in the upper deck and got prepared to watch the game. Our section ended up being pretty heavily Slovenian, so we couldn’t scream “USA!” too loudly for fear of being attacked. Then the starting lineups marched on and the national anthems started playing. Not going to lie, I got emotional once the players stepped on the field. I suddenly realized the magnitude of this moment, how much time I had spent imagining it and how there was no more waiting, that I was experiencing it. I sang our anthem like I never had before (emphasizing the “O!” like any proud Orioles fan), and then the match began.

The first half was a nightmare. The first Slovenian goal resulted in our row getting drenched in beer that was chucked into the air by the jubilated Slovenians in front of us. They yelled and taunted at us, but then apologized profusely for the beer spilling. It’s kind of hard to hate a country that has only existed twenty years and has a population the size of Brooklyn. Anyway, after the goal went in I immediately began to feel an intense pain in my right side. I honestly thought I needed to go to the hospital, I hadn’t felt pain like this in my life. I knew it was a result of my fear of what may happen during the match, but for a few minutes I thought I needed medical assistance. The USA rallied though, with some fantastic chances being created that really should’ve been put away before the half was out (I should state that my wild card for the USA, Jose Torres, got the start I was clamoring for, but was absolutely awful. My bad, but still think he has a role to play for us in the future if not at this World Cup). After a particularly close one where a Slovenian defender stepped right in before Landon Donovan could pounce on it on the goal line, I had this sudden feeling that Slovenia were going to score again. Sure enough, a long pass, a misstep by Jay DeMerit and it was 2-0 to Slovenia.

Absolute shock and horror were my emotions at halftime. And a little bit of anger: I’d waited for this moment for years, and this was what I was going to see? I kind of wanted to go in to the locker room and yell at the players myself, but even if I could have this arranged, I wasn’t physically able to because my right side hurt so bad I could barely stand. But after the second half started, I sensed a new sense of urgency in the team: this was it, their backs were pretty much against the wall, they had to do something. The way this started was Landon Donovan’s goal, but Donovan did so much more after it. He was fantastic, and provided that go to player the USA has for so long desired in big games. That was the difference between this game and the Ghana game 4 years ago: we had a player who took the game and put it on his shoulders, pretty much saying “I’m going to carry you guys to a result”. We controlled the match, causing our row to get much more vocal and the Slovenians to go dead silent, after being raucous the entire first half. The goal was coming and finally it came with Michael Bradley finding the net. His celebration was great; the look on his face was of pure joy, relief and excitement, just fantastic to watch. He’s a potential captain for our team, that moment proved it. It was also great in the stands as the Slovenians were dead silent and shocked, ripe to have USA flags thrust in the faces and suffer “USA!” chants. Although I’ve stated I don’t have anything against their country, in that moment, I wanted nothing more for them to know that my team, my country, had just overcome theirs against all the odds. In their face. Also, thankfully, my intense pain all of a sudden left. Amazing what a goal can do to one’s health.

Then came the Maurice Edu incident, which is what every USA fan is talking about. Should the goal have been allowed? Yes, I’ve seen numerous replays and it should’ve been allowed, especially with the amount of shoving the Slovenians were doing. Edu is innocent, there is no doubt his goal was fine. I personally do not care. The USA gave up two goals and was lucky to come back against a very defensive and organized team, one that doesn’t blow leads often. That is the story for me: the USA was almost all but out of the competition and clawed their way back in. Their play in the first half has made them lucky to still be alive, so they shouldn’t complain too much. Now, if they still don’t advance then I will definitely feel a little bit robbed because we did the work to win that game. That said, if we do not advance it’s because we choked against Algeria, an inferior team we should beat, so even then I really won’t be able to complain. At this point I’m thankful we’re still alive (and actually would prefer to finish second so as to avoid the Germans and get the Serbs, who are all of a sudden not pathetic anymore).

After the game, the USA fans were ecstatic while the Slovenian fans were distraught. I consoled a few of the ones who spilled the beer in front of me; I would feel awful in their shoes, as would most sports fans. My spirits couldn’t have been higher though, as I proudly held my newly bought USA scarf above my head and chanted my country’s initials. My actions caused me to get spotted by an ABC reporter who interviewed me on camera for about 3 minutes which was fun. I didn’t end up on the news, but my Dad took tons of photos of me being interviewed, so I have proof this actually happened. Then we got back to the airport safely (no miscues by David), and got ready to leave. At this moment I immediately felt exhausted. I’ve never been that tired, not even when I got dehydrated at the Obama inauguration. I suppose this is what happens when one cares far too much about their team; I’d say this is a symptom of World Cup Fever. I literally passed out the second I got in my seat on the airplane, and pretty much don’t remember anything until the next morning when we awoke to go to Robben Island (which was a great time, very moving as well).

Overall, I would say the experience exceeded all expectations I had, which is saying something. The come from behind aspect of it was great, although a win would’ve been great. Really cannot complain though, especially after that first half. In terms of the USA advancing, Algeria still being alive does us no good. Algeria have a history of bagging it when they do not have a mathematical chance of advancing, resulting in them getting blown out, which would’ve been nice for us considering the magnitude of this game. It’s a tricky game, but I still like us to win and advance. The key is an early goal; if the Algerians start to see no hope early, they could still bag it and we could win big. It is not a necessity, but a goal in the first fifteen minutes and I would almost guarantee a USA victory.

Who goes with us is tough though. England has been dreadful, and Slovenia really does deserve to advance. Unfortunately for Slovenia though, I don’t see it. We Americans call our game a comeback; they call theirs a massive choke. That is a tough one for them to recover from, especially when their opponent is a talented team like England. I pick the English to win, meaning the USA could get first on goal differential. Either way I really do not care: bring on the Serbs, Germans or Ghanaians (sorry Aussies, don’t see it happening), the spirit of this team really could take us to the quarterfinals. The Serbs have been known to choke, the Ghanaians are inconsistent and this isn’t Germany’s year (Lukas Podolski’s failed penalty shot was their first at the World Cup since 1982. If that doesn’t spell out it isn’t their year, I don’t know what does.) The Americans are a good team, not a good collection of individual talent, but a good team, something many teams are not at this final (England, France, Cameroon etc.). But I’m getting ahead of myself: let’s just hope for a win against Algeria, that’s all Americans, can ask for right now. Thankfully for us though, I think our boys will deliver, and I will be lucky enough to witness it live.

Well I’m off to sleep. It’s 11:40 here and I’ve got to wake up at 5 AM and go on a safari. Hopefully won’t get stamped on by an elephant. Enjoy the soccer everyone and leave your thoughts and opinions!

Thoughts on the Last Matches of the First Round of the World Cup

Since the last time I posted, so much has happened, much of which I have not seen, that is making this tournament look more and more like a tournament for the underdog, just like the 2002 edition of the World Cup. The biggest upset was the Switzerland over Spain match. This has really put a dent into the Spanish quest for their first World Cup because if Switzerland win out and take first place, that means the Spanish would have to settle for second and a round of 16 match with (most likely) Brazil. I’m not shocked the Spanish got beaten, since I believe their backline is average at best, but how early in the tournament it was and who the opponent was. This is one of the worst losses in Spanish football history: no way should a team with the talent of the Spanish lose to Switzerland. This result has put all the big boys on guard I expect; any team can beat any other on any given day here, and if you get caught napping like the Spanish did today, it could mean your chances of winning go down the toilet. I’m not saying the Spanish are done, but they did themselves no service today with that loss. They must now rely on Switzerland slipping up somewhere, but if that squad was able to beat Spain, they should be able to take Chile and Honduras.

I would also like to state that my favorite teams so far have been the real Asian teams (why Australia is in the Asian confederation still puzzles me. Also, totally called the Aussie flop that is about to take place). As I stated earlier, South Korea were a true joy to watch, Japan totally deserved their victory over Cameroon (who I had in the semifinals? That looks like a great call right now) and North Korea looks very difficult. I’m developing a soft spot for North Korea, with their team spirit and lack of physical size making them the ultimate underdog at this tournament. But their tactics play to their strength: they generally have seven guys on defense not counting the goalie. Not only that, they’re brave defenders and are totally for the team (while I don’t think communism is a good way to run a country, it isn’t the worst way to run a soccer team). It really is a shame this bunch come from an anti democratic, militaristic state because if they weren’t I would’ve totally jumped on the bandwagon already. I’ve already got one foot in; the whole communist thing is a turn off for me though. They deserved to get something from the Brazil match, and they may actually get one off of Portugal and Ivory Coast. By the way, that game looked dreadfully boring from what I’ve seen, with the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo, who livens up a game simply by stepping on the pitch and being the douche that he is. But back to North Korea: all I’m saying is that Brazil were LUCKY to get all three points from that fixture, and since Portugal and Ivory Coast aren’t nearly as good as Brazil, one has to think the Koreans have a legitimate chance at getting a result before heading home. Also, no player seems to care more about how his team does than Jong Tae-Se, who would literally start to cry if he did something that wasn’t productive for his team. I realize that I’m going against my duties as an American, but I don’t care: GO NORTH KOREA!

The New Zealand tie was also truly a great one. On this blog, I didn’t even think the All Whites were worth my putting in the effort to research them, but they proved me wrong. Their goal may end up being the best celebrated one of the whole tournament, as I’m pretty sure nobody within the New Zealand camp actually thought they would get a point in South Africa, let alone score a goal. Slovakia has to be kicking themselves right now: they let the whipping boys of the group take two points from them. That’s going to come back to bite them, especially with Italy in their group. I do not favor the Italians, and really thought my prediction of a 1-0 Paraguay victory would come true, but the Slovakians have pretty much handed the Italians advancement on a silver platter with this dud of a game. Frustrating from the perspective of someone who finds the Italians a great bore to watch, but they could still get the Dutch in the Round of 16, which would mean curtains for the Azurri. Also, the team I’m angriest at is Serbia. My dark horses looked like absolute jokes against Ghana, and now look like they have no chance of advancing, needing the beat electric Germany to have a shot. And to think I almost changed my pick to have the Serbs finish first: thank god I’m not that incompetent or I would shut down this blog so I would stop humiliating myself. It’s tough knowing two of your semifinal picks are on the brink of elimination, and have only played one match. It’s also comforting when your winners are known for being the best choke artists in the world, and that the last semifinal team is coached by an absolute lunatic. What was I thinking with these picks? Oh well, got to stick by them now. Mostly, I’m not going to let them ruin my watching of this tournament, because if my happiness was based off of my predictions, I would become thoroughly depressed.

I’m not sure when I will post again as I am in Africa experiencing this World Cup first hand, but I will at the latest try to post after the USA vs. Slovenia game and let people know what it was like to go to the game (and if the vuvuzelas are as bad as advertised). Until then, have fun watching the games and look for me on the TV screen during Friday’s game!

Thoughts on the Trip to Cape Town

Well, where do I begin? I suppose I should start with my location: I am sitting at the desk in my hotel room in Cape Town, South Africa. After six years of dreaming about going to this fantastic spectacle, and roughly 42 hours of traveling (including a layover in Dubai) I am finally attending the World Cup.

The trip was long, but surprisingly not that stressful. Much of that has to do with Emirates Airlines. If anyone reading this ever has a chance to fly with that airline, I would suggest taking it: it will change your standards for airlines. The main thing that is fantastic about modern Emirates planes is the ICE system, which stands for Information Communication and Entertainment. The seat in front of you has a tv on the back of it, and you are given a remote. With this remote, you can choose from roughly 200 movies to watch, a whole host of television shows, games to play but most importantly, World Cup matches to watch. Granted, they were the days’ previous matches, but since our hotel in Dubai didn’t have the Brazil vs. North Korea game, I was very happy ICE was playing it. Oh and speaking of Dubai, I can tell the two days I spend there after South Africa are going to be wild. It’s like a much crazier Las Vegas in a much stricter society, making for an interesting combo. Also, when we landed there at roughly 11 PM, it was 111 degrees. Well at least I’m allowed to wear shorts there. In the United Arab Emirates, women are supposed to be completely covered except for their faces while in public, meaning my mom and sister are going to have to wear khaki pants and light sweaters while there. They’re trying to get me to suffer along with them by forcing me to wear pants, as opposed to my preferred shorts: we’ll see how that goes for them.

After sleeping (sort of) in Dubai, we boarded the 9 AM flight for Cape Town, arriving in the rainbow nation around 5 PM. We were off the ground for literally five minutes when the first vuvuzela horn was heard. We hadn’t even gotten out of the airport yet (and as I type this at 10:30 PM, at a fairly isolated hotel, plugged into my IPod, and South Africa having just lost to Uruguay, I still can hear the dull horns. I’d like to state up front that before going to the tournament, I was very pro-vuvuzela. We shall see if that remains the case. The hotel we are at is fantastic. It’s tucked away in a nice neighborhood and has a gorgeous view of the whole city. I was a little worried when we got off the plane, since the first thing you see once you depart the Cape Town airport is the many miles of townships, giving me all of a sudden this horrible vision of our hotel being a tiny shack with mud floors. The townships seem endless, it makes one wonder just how many people reside in them. They’re also much worse in person than they are in movies or any other media: I wouldn’t wish for anyone to have to live in those awful conditions. Really reminds a tourist that this beautiful nation was under the rule of apartheid no less than fifteen years ago.

Upon my family's arrival at the hotel, we relaxed and then watched the South Africa vs. Uruguay game at the bar in the lobby. The game was a depressing affair, as Uruguay dominated the game, led by Diego Forlan, winning it 3-0. To make matters worse, South Africa’s number one goalkeeper was shown a red card for fouling Luis Suazo in the penalty area, meaning he will not be available for the now must win match against France. Although the outlook is bleak, I’m not counting out South Africa yet. Either a win by France, or a tie means that South Africa could advance with a win against the French. I know their backs are against the wall, but being the hosts comes with the added perk of the enormous stadium’s crowd backing you. It also doesn’t hurt when France could’ve easily imploded by then, so their rocky situation may help Bafana Bafana sneak through. Anyway, tomorrow’s plan is to go to the fan zone. Been looking forward to this for years, since many people seem to think the massive centers full of people cheering for the games on the massive television screens is a better experience then actually attending the matches. We shall see, but I expect a full crowd to be there for at least the Mexico vs. France match. Then Friday is the big day: USAvs. Slovenia in Johannesburg. I will be in attendance and cannot wait! That pretty much describes this entire trip: I’m mostly thankful to just be here and be a part of the atmosphere. It is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially since this edition of the tournament is in Africa.

Thoughts on the USA vs. England Game and the First Two Days of the World Cup

Never has a soccer match showed me the significance of the goalkeeper position than the USA vs. England game. The two players who occupied that position, Tim Howard for the States and Robert Green for England, not only changed the course of the game, but just how qualifying may go in Group C. The door has now been opened for either Slovenia or Algeria to have a decent chance at progressing, especially if one of them wins tomorrow at the other’s expense, and much of this is because of the play of the goalies in the first game.

In the lead up to this monumental clash, the only position the English were willing to concede they had lesser players at was the goalkeeper spot, with the trio of Green, David James and Joe Hart not inspiring much confidence amongst English supporters. Tim Howard is a fantastic keeper, particularly good at one on one situations with strikers and doing a great job of organizing the defense in front of him. Whichever keeper was going to stand between the pipes for England, they would not provide the calming presence from the back that Howard does for the USA: the defenders of the USA know they have a great shot stopper behind them, while the English do not. I firmly believe the most important position on the field is goalkeeper because a fantastic goalkeeper having a great game can stop an opponent from scoring, no matter how dominant the opponent is. This was put on display tonight. Howard was phenomenal, making great saves against Shaun Wright-Phillips, Emile Heskey and Frank Lampard, as well as slide in to collect a ball that resulted in him taking cleats in the chest from a sliding Heskey. He kept the Americans in the game, while Robert Green cost his team the win. I’m aware that a team with the talent the English have should be capable of putting more than one goal into the net against the United States, but based upon what actually happened in the game, the ten outfield players for England played well enough to win 1-0. It was their goalie Green who cost them the win, by pulling a Bill Buckner on Clint Dempsey’s weak shot from 35 yards away, and allowing the ball to dribble into the net after being unable to scoop it off the ground. I could’ve stopped that ball at the age of five, not sure how Green wasn’t able to, but people will blame the ball. To Green’s credit, he hasn’t said anything along these lines because I believe he is aware that that isn’t the case. The ball wasn’t flying at him, it wasn’t dipping and ducking, it was rolling to him at about the speed of a ten year old bowling a bowling ball: not speedy at all, and one that a professional should stop 100 times out of 100. Granted, the score could’ve been 2-1 had Green not made a good quick reaction save on Jozy Altidore’s shot, after the striker was able to power past Jamie Carragher to get a rare open shot on net for the Americans. Nobody, especially the English, will remember that because Green’s absolute howler will overshadow his otherwise good game. And I know it’s cruel, but he deserves all the heat he is about to get because that one play may affect England’s attempts at finishing first place in the group and avoiding the tough winner from Group D. Once again, the English, I stress to you that soccer is a game that has two smaller competitions within it: one between the outfield players and one between the goalies. Both are important, but today showed just how vital the competition between the goalies is, with one keeper potentially ruining his team’s World Cup chances, and another providing the lifeline necessary to keep his team’s chances breathing.

While England do have the better talent, and I think they were the better outfield players today, the grittiness of the USA players, especially the defenders, balanced out the equation and made it possible for the Americans to gain a draw (a result I predicted by the way, 1-1). The central defenders, who I’ve been critical of, played their socks off, particularly Jay DeMerit, who silenced Wayne Rooney for much of the match. World class striker Rooney was not nearly as effective as he should’ve been in this game, and much of that had to do with DeMerit’s tenacious play, and how he refused to allow Rooney any space to work with. I thought Michael Bradley did a great job in the center of midfield. He was combating the middle of the park with superstars Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, and more than held his own against them (maybe would’ve done better had Maurice Edu or Jose Torres been in the game instead of Ricardo Clark). Hopefully he receives the necessary help in the center of the park in the next game versus Slovenia, allowing him to take control of the game the way he has in the past for the USA. Up front, the USA did not look great though. Other than the one chance Altidore created, I never really saw any venom from the strike partnership of Altidore and Robbie Findley, no spark that told me they were going to score at any point in the match. I wonder if maybe the solution to this is to bench Jozy Altidore (a tough statement for me to make since I just got my USA jersey with his name on the back). I think the speed of Findley is a weapon that if unlocked could be key for the USA’s chances of progressing, and that maybe Edson Buddle may be the player to do that. I know it was a friendly against a weaker team, but Buddle and Findley looked better together than Altidore and Findley, maybe that partnership should be given a shot against Slovenia. Just a thought.

I have not only watched the USA vs. England game, but all five matches that have been played. The first day was a little disappointing to me. The South Africa vs. Mexico game didn’t really take off until the second half, and while Tshabalala’s goal was very good, the lame goal Rafael Marquez scored made for somewhat of a dud first game. It looked great compared to the next game though. Shame on Uruguay for putting an unexpected five players on their backline, but even more blame sits with the French who were unable to break them down. France, as I predicted, look set to implode. None of the players played with the passion and the fire expected of a team at the World Cup, and this terrible dynamic with Domenech may cause this talented team to not progress to the knockout rounds. I still like my pick of Mexico winning the group, with South Africa finishing second. Day two was much better though.

My favorite team performance so far has been South Korea’s, who ran a very slow Greece team off the park with its effective passing and work rate. The Koreans look like a well oiled machine, and even though I picked the Nigerians to advance, I would love to see South Korea take the second spot behind Argentina. Ji Sung Park is a fantastic talent, as his goal today proved, and I would love to see him make the knockout stages in what he has said is his last World Cup final. Argentina looked dangerous, but was surprisingly unable to finish. This is OK against a Nigerian team that didn’t look dangerous except for one shot in the second half that required a good save from the Argentine goalkeeper, but this will not work in the latter stages of the tournament. Overall, I believe the first matchday of the tournament will get better as we go along. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s three matches, all I expect to be exciting, as well as high quality in terms of the performances of the teams on the pitches. They should be interesting to observe, and make it worthwhile to wake up at 8 AM, when I would much rather be sleeping.

Thoughts on What Will Happen in the Semifinals and the Final of the World Cup

The semifinals and the finals of the World Cup: three of the most intense sporting events professional athletes can ever take part in. One could argue that it’s one of the cruelest of fates to lose in the semifinals of a major international tournament, since the team gets so close to the final and falls just short of it. But it’s nothing like losing in the final, for there is all the hope and expectations the fans have dashed. The same goes for the players: winning the World Cup is every player’s dream, but losing it is almost an unbearable thought. Anyway, here are my matchups for the semifinals, and my predictions:

Serbia 1 vs. Netherlands 1
This game will go against pretty much everything I’ve written previously about both teams. The Dutch offense will finally run into a team that can stop them in the Serbs. However, the defense will not carry them through this round like it had in the previous two because they will have an off game going forward. This is going to be a sluggish game that will produce a red card. The Serbians will take the lead but the Dutch will catch them. A penalty shootout will occur, and the Dutch will outdo the Serbs, converting 4 to Serbia’s 2. The Serbs will be left wondering what could’ve been as their defense will accomplish the difficult task of shutting down the electric Dutch attack, but not provide enough goals to secure what should’ve been a victory. The Dutch go to the finals where they will face…

Argentina 2 vs. Cameroon 0
The Cameroonian dream will end because of one man: Lionel Messi. This will be the game that defines his tournament, as he will score both goals here to secure the victory over the Indomitable Lions. I don’t know why, but I see a quiet tournament for Messi, at least by the absurd standards everyone has for him. He will not have an elite tournament until this round, where he will answer his critics by scoring twice. The Cameroonians will be unable to control the ball for very long, and they will chase the Argentines the entire game. In the end, I don’t see two miracles for Cameroon, only one, which was the previous round against Spain.
That leaves two teams: Netherlands and Argentina. This is a rematch of the 1978 final which Argentina won 3-1. This is also a match that will feature numerous players who were in the Champions League final this year: Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Martin Demichellis, Mark Van Bommel, Walter Samuel and Diego Milito. It will be a fantastic final, with many elite players on the pitch for both teams. In the end, the final score will be…

Netherlands 3 vs. Argentina 1
The Dutch are my pick to win the trophy this year. I firmly believe that neither a favorite, nor a repeat winner will take the title this year. The Dutch fit these qualifications. Even if they were heavily favored or had won a championship, I would probably still pick them because they are the best team at this World Cup for me. I also really like Wesley Sneijder, who will be the MVP of the tournament. I recognize the Dutch do not have a great defense or goalie, but much like Spain they make up for it with their dynamic play in the midfield and Sneijder leads that area of the pitch. The backline for Argentina is also susceptible, with Maradona favoring four natural center backs as his defenders. This will not work against great wingers like Robben and Elijero Elia, who will run at, around, between and behind the likes of Demichellis all game. Robin Van Persie will open the scoring just before halftime to give Holland a 1-0 lead. Sneijder will then score a second, making Argentina needing to attack even more than usual. They will score next through Juan Sebastian Veron, and a late Argentina comeback will look possible. However, Dirk Kuyt will put the Argentine dreams of World Cup glory to bed with a nice breakaway goal as Argentina has to push up most of their players to try to score. This will leave Kuyt the room to run, and he will score, guaranteeing World Cup glory to the Dutch for the first time.

Well that’s how I see the World Cup going. I’m already ½ on predictions, getting the opener correct completely, but not getting the second one. In all honesty, I have no faith in my predictions. Much like my NCAA March Madness brackets, I expect to get much wrong. Once again, I have no expertise or true insight: I am just a massive fan of this fantastic sport, and will be having the time of my life for the next month.

Thoughts on What Will Happen in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals of the World Cup

I am officially done with my group predictions for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Now it is time to move onto the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals preview. If any readers would like to know how certain teams made the knockout phase of the competition on my bracket, they can read in the posts below as I’ve already gone through each group extensively. I will have a small 3-7 sentence write up for each knockout game until the semifinals and final, which clearly deserve a little more explanation. I feel like I should state that I am simply a fan, with no sort of expertise at all, so do not take what I am predicting as likely at all; I just love the World Cup and want people to know what I think. Now for the predictions:

Mexico 0 vs. Nigeria 2
I love the Nigeria team, and I’m really not sure why. This is a team that is considered underachievers historically, but I think this is the year they exceed expectations by making the Quarterfinals. Love their match up with the Mexicans, also underachievers who I don’t favor quite as much, particularly since this game will be played on African soil. It’s also good when one of their better players, John Obi Mikel, gets ruled out for the entire cup but they don’t appear phased or worried about their chances. I expect a brace from Obafemi Martins, who is known for being inconsistent but will have a great game here, as the Nigerians march on.

England 1 vs. Serbia 3
Poor England, I do root for them since it would be hilarious and fantastic if they finally lift the major international trophy they’ve craved for so long, but I don’t see it happening this year. The team’s backline concerns me, and when you compare it to Serbia’s, there really is no question which team is better suited to win this game. I predict big things for Milan Jovanovic, a midfielder and their lead goal scorer during qualification, and think he will be one of the standouts at this tournament that will secure him a big money move to a bigger club than Standard Liege, his current team. Jovanovic scores twice and sets up another, as Serbia flies by England. Wayne Rooney will score for England though.

Netherlands 2 vs. Italy 0
The Italians will get mercifully dumped out of the tournament here by mighty Holland. These two met during Euro 2008, and the Dutch won with ease and I expect the same here. Wesley Sneijder will control the midfield easily over a barely fit Andrea Pirlo, and both Robin van Persie and Dirk Kuyt will score. The Italians will go down fighting as they always do though, and will play their heart out, battling to a 0-0 draw at halftime, despite creating zero chances on the offensive end, before Sneijder takes over. Expect a few fantastic Gianluigi Buffon saves to keep the Italians in it.

Brazil 5 vs. Chile 2
The Chileans run and gun style will simply not work against the physical Brazilians, who will score with ease against the poor Chilean backline. Expect Maicon to be unstoppable on the right flank, and a brace from Luis Fabiano. Alexis Sanchez will have an awesome game though, scoring one for Chile and setting up the other, but Chile simply won’t have enough to beat Brazil. Expect it to be a fun sight though, as the game will be wide open with tons of attacking play and obviously, lots of goals.

Argentina 1 vs. South Africa 0
The South Africans will play beyond expectations against Argentina, but they will not have enough fire power up front. Expect an electric atmosphere though, with thousands of vuvuzelas blaring in support of Bafana Bafana. Argentina will struggle, but will squeak by on a Diego Milito goal as South Africa’s campaign will end. But they will have nothing to be ashamed of as they will have exceeded any reasonable expectations people had for them.

Germany 2 VS. USA 1
I see the nightmare repeat of when these two teams met in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. I recognize I am bias as I am American, but I would take this American squad in terms of talent against the Germans any day. But there’s that X factor that all German sides have of simply winning when they shouldn’t. The Americans will outplay the Germans and will take a 1-0 lead through Landon Donovan before halftime. Expect both Clint Dempsey and Edson Buddle to miss open chances. The Germans will battle though, as they always do. Oguchi Onyewu will be called for a penalty in the box on Thomas Muller, which will not have been a good call, which Bastian Schweinsteiger will convert. A late Miroslav Klose header, coming off the bench, will end a heartbreaking game for the Americans. This campaign though, will be enough for Bob Bradley to be offered the Team USA job again, which he will turn down, to coach in Europe.

Paraguay 1 vs. Cameroon 1
This will be a nervy and boring game, which will not create many chances. Pierre Webo will put Cameroon in front early, but Oscar Cardozo will answer for Paraguay. The game will go to penalties, and I see the Cameroonians having a little more steel than Paraguay, winning it 4-2. Tough for Paraguay, who would’ve been expected to play better based on their performances in the group. They will be left wondering what could’ve been, as Cameroon will continue onwards.

Spain 2 vs. Ivory Coast 1
This is a game I flip-flopped on because I really felt initially that Ivory Coast were the team to stop Spain. They are big fast and physical, as well as possessing that big striker who I felt could take Carles Puyol to school in Didier Drogba. But the injury to Drogba and the appointment of Sven Goren Erickssen as head coach has turned me off to the idea of an upset here. Even if Drogba plays he will not be 100%, and Erickssen is not the right coach to take this team to the promise land. Spain also, simply, has too much quality to not win this game. Both David Villa and David Silva will score, to beat a Solomon Kalou strike for Ivory Coast, who will bow out of the competition with mixed reviews. They’re will be positive ones since they will have gotten out of a very tough group, but will be frustrated that they received such a hard draw that really had no let up except for North Korea.

Based upon my results from the Round of 16, here are my quarterfinal matchups: Nigeria vs. Serbia, Netherlands vs. Brazil, Argentina vs. Germany, and Cameroon vs. Spain. Fantastic matchups, I see this being the best round of the tournament.

Nigeria 0 vs. Serbia 1
Tough game for me to call here as it is two teams I favor very much. I love the Serbian defense, potentially the best one at the tournament as well as their midfield. I think they will be able to handle the Nigerian attack and that will be enough. Milan Jovanovic will once again be huge for the Serbs and score, assisted by giant striker Nikola Zigic, just enough to push Serbia into the semifinals while the Nigerians go home.

Netherlands 3 vs. Brazil 1
The Dutch will beat Brazil because of their midfield. Wesley Sneijder is going to prove to the world he is world class and why he should be nominated for FIFA Player of the Year. Sneijder will control everything, while Kaká and Brazil will chase the game, something they are not used to. Robin Van Persie will find the back of the net for the Netherlands, as well as Arjen Robben and Mark Van Bommel as the Dutch will surprisingly cruise through to the semifinals. The Brazilians will be left wondering what the hell just happened, just like when they were knocked out by the French in 2006. Robinho will score for Brazil, but it will be Sneijder’s and the Dutch’s night.

Argentina 2 vs. Germany 1
These two met in the same round at the past World Cup, and the Germans won on penalties. The story will be a little different this time though, as Argentina just squeaks by, winning 2-1. The quality up top will be the difference in the game; Argentina is superb while Germany is very average. The scoring will open from the fantastic feet of Lionel Messi. The score will double from a fantastic, typical bullish run by Carlos Tevez. The Germans will score late through a Cacau header, but they will be unable to catch Diego Maradona’s side. Argentina into the semifinals, while an average German side goes home, exceeding the actual expectations for the talent they have, but not the expectations of a German side.

Cameroon 2 vs. Spain 2
This is my shock of the tournament. It will take a talented, motivated team led by a dominant striker to beat Spain, and I think Cameroon is that team. I realize that Spain is easily the better team, but at this point in the competition, Cameroon will know they are the last African team in the tournament, with Nigeria being eliminated the day before. Everyone would love to see an African side make the semifinals, and the entire stadium will be behind Cameroon to win. It also doesn’t hurt when Samuel Eto’o will be playing many former teammates and will want to knock Spain out more than any other team. Fernando Torres will open the scoring before Eto’o brings one back. 1-1 at halftime. David Villa then scores, but Eto’o responds again, a late goal, to tie it up. After a boring overtime, Cameroon beats Spain 4-3 on penalties, with Torres and Cesc Fabregas seeing their spot kicks saved by Carlos Kameni to get Spain dumped out again. Sorry, but the World Cup is rarely won by the favorites (Italy wasn’t, Brazil wasn’t favored going into 2002, and France wasn’t in 1998), and I think the trend continues here, with both Spain and Brazil out before the semifinals.

This makes my semifinal matchups Serbia vs. Netherlands and Argentina vs. Cameroon.

Thoughts on What Will Happen in Group H

Group H possesses the team that most people are picking and rooting for to win the World Cup in Spain. Spain is a team that has a great history of producing talented individual players and even teams, but notoriously chokes on the biggest of stages. Never has a Spanish team been this highly regarded though, with the success of winning Euro 2008 and the fantastic play of Barcelona last year making them favorites. They do have a manageable, but deceptively tricky group to navigate though. The attack minded Chileans reside here, along with the consistent Swiss side and plucky Honduras. Spain should progress through this group, but who goes with them is really up in the air, which is where this group will become interesting.

Spain is riding into this World Cup with lots of momentum. They’re brand of soccer, which involves a huge amount of possession and a high number of shots on target, appears to be unstoppable. The player who makes everything work is Xavi Hernandez, the same role he has at Barcelona which he does to perfection. Xavi will spray passes around the field and complete a high percentage of them, preferring to set teammates up as opposed to attempting to score. He will be partnered in the center of the midfield by either Andres Iniesta or Cesc Fabregas. It really is a tossup between the two as both are world class players, but I would say the edge is to Fabregas who has not been as injury prone in the past year as Iniesta has been. The other dynamic players projected to start in this midfield are David Silva and Xabi Alonso, with Silva brining a lot of flair on the wing and Alonso being the rock protecting the defense. The back four, for me, is easily the weakest part of Spain’s team. They have one of the top center backs in the world in Barcelona’ Gerard Pique, but after that the quality goes down. Carles Puyol is a warrior, and nobody can question his heart, but he’s starting to slow as he gets older. He is by no means a bad center back, but I would rate him as average, who definitely looks better because of how little work he has to do with both Barcelona and Spain. If Puyol has lots of work to do against a big and physical striker, he could easily get exposed. Spain’s fullbacks are also very vulnerable defensively. Right back Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid, is very good going forward in attack but his defense is average at best. When I watch Ramos play, he almost looks like a frustrated midfielder, who would much rather be spending his time in the opponent’s side of the pitch, and looks much less comfortable defending. On the left, Joan Capdevilla is also average at best, but probably a little bit better of a defender than Ramos. People who say Spain is flawless, look at their defense and the holes start to become more apparent. The goalkeeping position has no holes though. Iker Casillas is first-rate who is considered by many, despite having a down year with Real Madrid, the best in the world. The backups are top class as well: Pepe Reina had a great year at Liverpool and Victor Valdes had a solid one with Barcelona. Up front, Spain have numerous forwards for defense’s to worry about. Fernando Torres, when healthy like he is now, is considered to be a top five forward in the world. Someone who may be rated higher than him though is his partner in attack, David Villa. Recently signing for Barcelona from Valencia, Villa is considered by many to be the favorite to win the Golden Boot for most goals scored at this year’s tournament. In the midfield and attack, Spain are the best in the world. They also possess numerous class act goalkeepers. But the defense is susceptible, especially at the wings, and if any team is able to break down the Spanish midfield, they will have a few good chances to score goals. The key is taking those chances. Spain is so good that when you catch them on an off day, they can still beat you, so in order for Spain to be beaten in my eyes, it will take both a bad day from them and a fantastic day from their opponents. Do I see it happening in the group stage? Not a chance.

Switzerland is the second team in this group. A model of consistency for the past few years, they lack true world class talent at every position, but make up for it with having decent players all over the pitch. A huge blow to their chances though is the potential loss of striker and captain Alexander Frei, their only striker of any note. Frei looks unlikely to play against Spain, which could mean curtains for Switzerland in that game simply because they rely heavily on him to score. They’re number two striker is Seattle Sounders’ forward Blaise Nkufo, who is thirty five years old. Simply put, no Frei means Switzerland will most likely not make the second round. One thing they do boast though is a good defense. At the 2006 World Cup, they became the first team to be eliminated without allowing a goal, going out on penalties in the Round of 16 to Ukraine. Philippe Sendeross, who struggled mightily for game time at Arsenal and Everton this year, is at the center of the defense, partnered Stephane Grichting, a solid performer who plays in France for Auxerre. One thing the Swiss do have going for them is their consistency, which always seems to find them at the top of tables during competitions against many people’s expectations. They won their group in 2006, which possessed France and South Korea, and also topped their group in qualifying. It wasn’t an easy group either, beating out Greece, Latvia and Israel, once again relying on the defense which allowed eight goals in ten games. An impressive fact is that in the last six games of qualifying, the Swiss recorded five shutouts, with only Latvia able to penetrate the mouth of their goal. Another major plus for the Swiss is their fantastic coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, one of three coaches to lead two different teams to Champions League glory (Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund). They will have the coaching edge against every team in their group. Switzerland’s defense will be what carries them, but lack of Alexander Frei would be huge because they also need to score goals.

Honduras, the only Central American team at the finals, also resides in this group. They’re qualifying for the tournament is already considered a miracle and success in their tiny nation, needing a last gasp header from the USA to tie Costa Rica on the last day of qualifying, thus pole vaulting Honduras into the tournament over the unlucky Costa Ricans. Honduras have one true world class player and that is Wilson Palacios, Tottenham’s central midfielder. A lot will rest on his shoulders, needing to play not only the usual defensive role he already does for Spurs in the Premier League, but create going forward. He is their best player and will need to be great in order for Honduras to do something big in South Africa. The rest of the midfield is solid, with Julio Cesar de Leon and Edgar Alvarez both playing professionally in Italy. Up front, they will be missing Carlo Costly, who scored six goals for them in qualification but has been ruled out for South Africa through injury. A strong and quick forward, Costly was huge for them in qualification and will be sorely missed. His absence means David Suazo and Carlos Pavon will be relied on to score goals. The only standout in defense is Maynor Figueroa, who plays for Wigan in the Premier League, and will probably start in the center of defense. The rest of the defense, including the goalkeeper, is very susceptible and will have trouble not conceding goals. There is not much hope for Honduras to advance, but they’re being there should be victory enough for their country.

Chile is the last team in the group but also the most interesting. This team will be a fan favorite in South Africa, as they play with a 3-4-3 formation, with six attacking players on the field who blatantly don’t pay attention to defensive assignments. It is understandable though as they do have some fantastic young talent in the offensive sector of the field. Alexis Sanchez, only 21 years old, is coming off a monster year in Italy’s premier league, Serie A, for Udinese and is expected by some to win the Best Young Player Award this year. Nicknamed the Wonder Kid, and playing in the national team set up for four years (debuting at the age of 17), expect some creative flair going forward from Sanchez. He is expected to play up top with Mark Gonzalez and Humberto Suazo. An experienced player, Gonzalez had a good year with CSKA Moscow and is expected to score plenty of goals in South Africa. Suazo is the center forward and Chile’s target man, who will benefit heavily from the creative players around him as he is not extremely creative. His strength though is finding the back of the net, which he does to good effect, making him a dangerous, yet underrated player, going to South Africa. The three projected defenders, who need to be extremely disciplined in order for this formation to succeed, are Gary Medel, Gonzalo Jara and Waldo Ponce. Chile will allow goals because of their formation, but they have to be the band aids and attempt to stop the bleeding. If this trio have a bad World Cup, Chile may score a bucket load of goals, but they will allow lots, especially against Spain. That is essentially the key to Chile’s hopes: if they stop goals they will win, because it is a good bet they will score them.

Conclusion:
Spain will breeze through this group, scoring more goals than any other team in the group stage. Second place is tough to read, as I’ve flip-flopped on either Chile or Switzerland. In the end, I’m going to pick Chile’s attacking brand of soccer over Switzerland’s consistency. I see Spain winning all their games, and Chile winning their other two. The key match will be a Chilean 2-1 victory over Switzerland, who will end up disappointing and only manage a measly draw against Honduras. The match of the group will be Spain vs. Chile, both teams having already qualified for the next round, which will be an absolute goalfest, with Spain winning 6-3. Here is the table, schedule and how I see the group playing out:

Game 1: Spain 4 vs. 0 Switzerland
Game 2: Honduras 1 vs. 3 Chile
Game 3: Chile 2 vs. 1 Switzerland
Game 4: Spain 3 vs. 1 Honduras
Game 5: Chile 3 vs. 6 Spain
Game 6: Switzerland 1 vs. 1 Honduras

Standings:
Spain 9 pts
Chile 6 pts
Honduras 1 pt
Switzerland 1 pt