World Cup Post #9 - 6/30/06

OK, so the combination of ending regular school, starting summer school, and moving into a new apartment have killed my ability to blog. I have a lot of catching up to do.

First, why did the U.S. not make it out of their group? Well, I think there are a lot of reasons. Their group was tough. The #2 and #5 teams in the world did not make it out, so that says a lot. Grouping is weird. Look at a team like Ukraine. They get destroyed by Spain, but get Tunisia and Saudi Arabia after that. Not too tough. Another reason was the officiating in the Italy and Ghana games. Eddie Pope being sent off was a complete joke, as the majority of the officiating in the cup has been. Then in the Ghana game, Ghana gets a PK for nothing. How did Ghana win? A major mistake by Claudio Reyna and another by the official gave Ghana their two goals. Take nothing away from Ghana. They are a good team that outplayed Brazil (except the scoring part) in their round of 16 game. However, there are three more important reasons that kept the U.S. from success: Arena's insistence on using a 4-5-1, the teams complete lack of heart, and their inability to score goals. All in all, there is a lot too be learned.

Second, my predictions for the round of 16 were pretty close. My misses were: Ecuador instead of Poland, Ghana instead of the U.S., and Switzerland instead of Korea. I think I even got the placing right in most of the others.

Getting to the quarterfinals brought some major surprises. First, I couldn't believe that Spain lost to the French. It seemed like the Spanish were firing on all cylinders while the older French team was fighting with themselves. Experience counts for a lot, as does the big-time dive by Thierry Henry in the box. However, Spain's coach is a racist (he called Henry a "black shit") and does not deserve to go on. Portugal's victory over the Netherlands was a disgusting display on both sides as well as by the official, who lost all control of the match. Neither team deserved to go on, but at least the Portuguese will be missing two players in their quarterfinal match. Italy got lucky against a great Australian side by getting a PK in literally the last minute. They are even more lucky to get Ukraine in the quarters. Speaking of Ukraine, their round of 16 match with the Swiss was dreadful. 120 minutes of slow football followed by 3 PK misses by the Swiss. Yawn.

The Quarters. Frankly, I'm stunned at Argentina's exit at the hands of the Germans. However, hosts always do well in the World Cup and they often win. Italy should dominate Ukraine, which will set them up for a battle with WWII ally Italy. England has struggled so far, but I hope to see them pull something together and outclass the dirty Portuguese side. Brazil and France should be an exciting game. Brazil will create a lot of chances, but they could have trouble with stopping a creative and quick Henry with their old defense. My picks are all shot though with Argentina's loss. I think England will move on to face Brazil and beat them to face Germany in the final. That's what I think right now, but I may change my mind later. Only 6 more games left in the cup as Italy-Ukraine is about to kick-off. It went too fast. What will I do for the next 4 years?