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!