Adam's World Cup Page

2006-07-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

FINAL

ITALY 1 FRANCE 1 (5-3 PEN)

Somewhere in Italy, Roberto Baggio must be smiling. His latter-day Italian football team made amends for his heartbreaking shootout miss in the 1994 final by beating France on penalties and winning the trophy for the fourth time, their first since 1982.

Of course, the win is also a redemption of sorts for Italian fans across the world who have been wrongly cheated by the ugly match-fixing scandal on trial back home.

The Azzurri fought back from an early deficit and held off a French team who looked the better side for much of the match. But in a freakish spectacle that threatens to overshadow Italy's win forever in people's minds was a violent moment of insanity for Zinedine Zidane, France's legendary midfielder who is retiring from professional football after the World Cup. Provoked in ways unknown by clownish Italian defender Marco Materazzi with about three minutes left to play in extra time, Zidane turned and charged him, away from the ball like a crazed bull, headbutting Materazzi right in the chest. To say it tarnished the match and possibly Zidane's career would not be an overstatement, which speaks to the horror, the freakish naure of the whole incident. The TV camera's shot from across the field of the back of Zidane walking right past the trophy as he heads toward the dark corridor, alone, to hit the showers early will live with me forever. Pictures are worth a thousand words supposedly, but this one needed no words at all. Remember how I said that, should France win, Zidane lifting the trophy would go down as one of the most enduring images in sports? This one could top that.

The match got off to a fantastic start, though Arsenal fans may disagree. Thierry Henry was literally out cold in the first minute after an innocent collision with Fabio Cannavaro. He lay on the ground twitching, and when he sat up his head rested on the trainer's shoulder. But a couple minutes later, back on his feet at the sideline, smelling salts revived the player and he came back on the field. Soon after, Florent Malouda made a surging run through the box only to be felled by Materazzi for a penalty kick. Zidane deftly chipped the ball softly toward goal, where it hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced behind the goal line to give France the early lead. Some have questioned the legitimacy of the penalty, but the ref showed no hesitation in awarding it.

Just a few minutes later though, Italy leveled the scoreline when Materazzi, making amends for his penalty kick giveaway, rose above Patrick Vieira on a corner kick and headed it right past Fabien Barthez in goal. Although he appeared to hold Vieira down, the ref nonetheless allowed the goal. The match then dissolved into a defensive stalemate, with Luca Toni providing the only remaining moment of brilliance in the half when he rose above the French defense on another corner, only to strike the crossbar.

The second half saw France seem to play with more flair, determination and attacking desire than Italy. Henry made some great runs with the ball but lambasted Malouda for not making a proper run. Ribery started working his magic and France was often just one good ball away from retaking the lead, but every time the revered Italian defense held its form. Toni and Italy had one more golden opportunity and actually put the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled offside as a number of his teammates were behind the defense on the free kick.

France suffered setbacks as Vieira quietly left in the 55th minute holding his hamstring and was replaced by Alou Diarra, while Thierry Henry was subbed out for Sylvain Wiltord in the 107th minute. He walked slowly back to the bench, looking gassed. These substitutions, as with Ribery taken off for David Trezeguet in the 100th minute showed manager Raymond Domenech was either putting on his best penalty takers or was trying to win the game outright. Meanwhile, Italy seemed more than content to sit back and wait for a shootout.

Sadly, right before Zidane's moment of rage he nearly put the game away. In a neat one-two, he passed it out wide to Sagnol who sent in a deadly accurate cross. Then, unmarked and jumping very high, Zidane nailed a beautiful, unstoppable-looking header toward goal only for Gianluigi Buffon to knock it over the bar. It was France's best chance to score and Zidane's last as a professional player. Moments later he felled Materazzi and was shown a straight red. I'm currently suffering explanation fatigue in searching for answers, but the best anyone can do is speculate. Suggestions range from a nipple tug, to insulting Zidane's Algerian roots by calling him a terrorist, or worse, saying his dad was a 'harki,' a term for Algerian 'traitors' who sided with France during the independence wars. Supposedly Saudi Arabians said the same thing in 1998 when he famously stomped on one of them. But Materazzi denies everything, and with Zidane being the private man he is, we may never know why such a sublime football career could end so horribly.

Perhaps he's not into storybook endings, or maybe he wanted a more rock 'n' roll exit, but I've also read that he got into a huge argument with Domenech during one of the extra time stoppages picked up by Spanish TV but not the American (I don't understand how this is possible, since they've all been playing the exact same feed). Someone was insinuating that Zidane did what he did to have the final word against his manager, whom he reportedly never got along with anyway.

With Zidane, Henry and Vieira unavailable, France were now missing likely their first three penalty shooters. Barthez proved absolutely worthless as all five Italians made their penalties: Pirlo, Materazzi, De Rossi and Del Piero, with Fabio Grosso, in many ways their savior throughout the tournament with crucial, game winning plays against Australia and Germany, burried his in the back as the celebrations began. Meanwhile, France's Wiltord made his, But Trezeguet hit his perhaps an inch too high as it struck the crossbar and bounced away, instead of in as Zidane's had done two hours earlier. To their credit, Abidal and Willy Sagnol subsequently made theirs, but it wasn't enough. Italy were champions, this time victors instead of victims of the penalty shootout, while Trezeguet, who beat Italy with a Golden Goal in Euro 2000, became the goat in a game he didn't enter until extra time.

This French team crashed out in such perfect tragedy: a bunch of veterans start slow, with their best player coming back for the last tournament of his professional life. With their backs to the wall, they score and play well when they need to, then really turn it on, knocking off three of the top teams to reach the final. And just when everyone is ready to write this perfect little ending for them, they surprise everyone again. It's not that they fell short. In contrast, they were by far the better team down the stretch in this match. Zidane even decimated his shoulder late, but he kept playing. Then the old man, rising in the box for one last time gave his best effort - one last moment of magic, one last piece of brilliance pulled from deep down in his bag of skills. But this time his brilliance was matched by the goalkeeper. Seconds later, he was gone. Forever. It was Greek. It was Shakespearean. No, it was better than that, because it was so real, so unscripted, so unexpected by the entire world.

Penalty shootouts are such an awful, anticlimatic way to end a contest, especially a World Cup final. Something about Grosso's penalty take just didn't feel decisive and final, and it never does. But those are the rules, and to Italy's credit they had a host of wonderful, weird celebrations on the pitch to make up for it. Mauro Camoranesi had his samurai knot cut off as his teammates sat him in a chair and circled around him, Gennaro Gattuso was inexplicably running around in his underwear, Francesco Totti wore an Italian flag on his head like Little Red Riding Hood, and a number of the players accepted their medals while wearing their shirts backward. It was deserved lunacy after the unimaginable amount of stress placed on the team by the scandal back home on top of the typical World Cup pressure to perform. And who more fitting than captain Fabio Cannavaro, probably the most outstanding player of the tournament and the glue of the impenetrable Italian defense, on the day he earned his 100th cap, to lift the trophy as Italy were crowned champions?

In many ways though, the final match was a two-hour representation (a microcosm as many of my teachers would have said) of the tournament as a whole. Defences reigned supreme while only occasional moments of brillance shown through. Diving and cards marred an otherwise excellent tournament, on European soil for the last time for at least 12 years. But long after all the diving, the low number of goals and the record number of cards are forgotten, the football world will remember Germany 2006 as the year Italy were crowned champions for the fourth time, and for the horrific final exit of one of the best football players of all time. But not necessarily in that order.

2006-07-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

A (VERY, VERY) ABRIDGED GLOSSARY OF AMERICAN ESPN COMMENTATOR TALK

360 degrees, 'to come full-circle' - said when 180 degrees or 'a change in the team's fortunes' might be more appropriate

battling in the paint - a basketball term with no place in soccer

certainly - certainly John Harkes' favorite word. Certainly he uses it to start every sentence

Chelsea - a west London club who apparently reached the Champions League final this year, unbeknownst to Arsenal and the rest of the world

Christian Ronaldo - a suspicious lookalike of Portuguese showpony Christiano Ronaldo

geezer - a colorful bit of English guy slang whose meaning American announcers have no idea

give and go - another basketball term not used in soccer. Seriously, guys...

hook tackle - a tackling technique known only to commentator and former player Marcello Balboa, who is living proof of brain damage caused by too many headers

Lesbian - the capital of Portugal, according to the otherwise excellent Adrian Healy

Lionel Messi - young Argentine star whom Dave O'Brien asked of the audience, 'ya gotta wonder now why Lionel Messi hasn't entered the game yet,' late in the game after manager Jose Peckerman had used all of his substitutions

Mark Viduka - Australian striker who is 'one of the most dangerous strikers in the English Premiership' according to Dave O'Brien, in a league boasting such striker-nobodies as Thierry Henry, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney, Luis Saha, Hernan Crespo, Didier Drogba, Michael Owen, Robbie Keane, Darren Bent, Djibril Cisse... Mr. Viduka finished the 05/06 season far away from the top 20 in goals scored

Michael Beckham - English player on the pitch when Dave O'Brien is calling a soccer match (David Owen was nowhere to be found, however)

Paul Robbins - England goalkeeper on the field according to Dave O'Brien, presumably in place of Paul Robinson

PK - a scoring opportunity inside the box known only to Americans

playmake - a verb, according to JP Dellacamera. Used by No. 10s like Zidane, Riquelme, Ronaldinho, etc. to make a play, presumably

racehorse start - a fast start to a match?

SCORE! - Rob Stone's version of 'GOAL!'

Where oh where was Derek Rae, the best commentator in America by a country mile, throughout all this? Thank god for Univision...

2006-07-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

THIRD PLACE MATCH

GERMANY 3 PORTUGAL 1

Germany finished with something to show for their amazingly unexpected (except by me: ask my friend Josh what I thought of Germany on June 8) World Cup run by manhandling a Portuguese side who have learned nothing from both their shortcomings and the criticism levelled toward them throughout this tournament.

Bastian Schweinsteiger was the man of the match after scoring two wonderfully taken goals from practically the same spot - perhaps 25 yards out from the left - making the Portuguese keeper Ricardo look amateurish as he flailed and jumped the wrong way. He even set up the third, taking the free kick that Petit put into his own net. Meanwhile on the other side, Oliver Kahn was superb in the German goal, starting in the spot conceeded to him by his new best buddy, Jens Lehmann. He made several fantastic saves throughout the match and only let in a diving header by Nuno Gomes on a cross by Luis Figo that would have left every other keeper in the world helpless as well.

Even with Ballack resting, Germany looked in firm control, as Torsten Frings' return from suspension (after Italian TV tattled on him prior to the Italy v. Germany match) brought strength to a German side in which his contributions in their campaign cannot be overstated. Klose and Podolski played well (sorry about the comments yesterday, Lukas) and the defense did their job for the most part.

But by now it's obvious that Portugal were a couple good strikers and any shred of dignity short of being much better in this tournament. Pauleta was been thoroughly unimpressive. Their main striker only scored in the first minute of their first match - against Angola - on a goal for which Luis Figo did most of the work to set up. He has no moves except to dive and complain. I think he might have scored that penalty too, against Mexico (or was it Simåo?), but I'm not going to really count that. Seriously, he's terrible. I would look no worse in the box than he does. What if this team had a decent finisher? Secondly, Christiano Ronaldo was up to his same old tricks, running straight at the Germans today. He can force the pace when he first gets the ball, no question, but playing with a guy who tries to beat every player in front of him can really disrupt the rest of his team. Can you imagine trying to time your runs when he's busy on the sideline trying to fake someone out for 10 minutes?

But it was the same old from Portugal as well with their behavior. By now you'd think they'd figure out that running and falling down, regardless of contact, won't get them the calls, but there they were again, looking like a grenade just exploded right behind them whenever they came upon a German defender. Thankfully, the ref was having none of it, yet once again Ronaldo was one of the worst offenders, doing nothing to argue his case for the Young Player Award given out yesterday, for which many assume he was overlooked because of this sort of gamesmanship.

And talk about a bad day: Petit entered the game at halftime, was caught ball-watching as Schweinsteiger fired two goals right past him before he decided that defending might be a good idea, and between these two goals knocked one into his own net as well.

So congratulations Germany. You represented your country well, and for that they are obviously extremely proud of you. Congratulations as well on playing completely unlike the German teams we all remember. Great team, even better hosts. Portugal, thank god you didn't make it to the final. It's a shame your talents were overshadowed by your ugly behavior. Go to your room and come back in (Euro) 2008 with better manners.

* * *

As for tomorrow's match: Wow. Two teams peaking at just the right time. Both have outstanding defenses, leaving me a bit worried that it will be a low scoring affair, but think of the matchups: Henry against Cannavaro, and holding back Zambrotta from attacking; Zidane trying to draw Gattuso out of position; the Italian defense trying to stifle Ribery dancing through them; Totti, Pirlo and maybe del Piero going up against Vieira and Makelele. The efficiency of Buffon vs. the buffoonery of Barthez. And with Saha unavailable, will it be Trezeguet time deep into the match? After all, 'all he does is score goals,' one of my favorite lines. Whoever comes away with another star on their jersey, I'll be happy. Both teams have been plenty entertaining and are immensely talented. But Zidane is probably the ultimate big-game player. Think about it: the 1998 World Cup final - two goals headed in, to opposite corners of the net; the 2002 Champions League final, with his incredible left-footed volley; Euro 2004, in which he singlehandedly beat England late with two goals. To see Zidane lift that trophy one last time would go down as one of the most memorable images in all of sports, for all time. Les Bleus v. Gli Azzurri: blue on blue. I can't wait.

2006-07-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Lukas Podolski wins Best Young Player Award

Though I disagree with him winning the award, at the same time I can't think of who would be better deserving of it. Arriving on much hype, he only scored against Sweden in goals that Klose set up, and against Ecuador - a meaningless goal in a nearly meaningless game. Meanwhile he blew numerous chances in the nailbiter against Poland, was very quiet against Argentina (though he did put away a penalty kick) and wasted the few great opportunities he had to send Germany into the final past Italy. He plays similar to David Trezeguet - rather one-dimensionally - but is not nearly as effective.

Diving, crying and winking excluded, I'd say Christiano Ronaldo looked like a more certain candidate. He was more important to his team's success, though that may seem so by virtue of his position on the field compared to Podolski. I'm sure FIFA, or Gillete, or whoever votes on this took onto account Ronaldo's antics. Once again it's a shame, because Portugal don't need to resort to that kind of behavior. They have the players and the coaching to take them this far, they just for some reason think they need it to get by. But let me say this: I still maintain that Ronaldo is innocent in, and had nothing to do with getting Wayne Rooney sent off. First of all, I've played a lot of sports in my life, and I can say for certain that when one of your teammates is down, injured or in pain, you rush over to help them out and confront the aggressor. While you're there, suspended in disbelief that a guy consciously put his studs in another guy's private area, you might explain your exasperation to the referee in the heat of the moment. All guys with a pair can understand this. Furthermore, I replayed the incident over and over again, and it looks like (though I'm not a lip reader) all Ronaldo says to the referee is 'Look at that,' before Rooney shoves him.

Whatever, congratulations Lukas Podolski. But if only France's Franck Ribery were a year-and-a-half younger...

2006-07-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

SEMIFINALS

FRANCE 1 PORTUGAL 0

The English-speaking media's heroes and villains were pitted against each other in the second semifinal match today. France won back their crown as the darlings of football as writers and fans have been dazzled with their return to form, and caught up in the prospect of Zidane, Thuram, Makelele and Vieira taking it home one last time.

On the other hand, after upsetting the English-speaking world with their performances against Holland and England in which accusations of diving, acting and cheating were constantly thrown around, Portugal came into this game less liked than Osama bin Laden by the English media.

France came out looking far from they did in their world-beating matches that led to this semifinal. They took a cautious approach, playing half speed and staying back. They showed why as Portugal got off to a blistering start, with Christiano Ronaldo in particular going straight at the French defense, throwing everything he had at them, all while receiving a chorus of boos every time he touched the ball. Indeed, they looked the more dangerous side, but France's cautious attacking finally found Thierry Henry in the box in the 32nd minute. He beat Ricardo Carvalho to the middle but was dropped with a slightest of leg pokes, slightly reminiscent of Michael Owen's easy takedown against Argentina in 2002. This set up a penalty kick taken by Zidane. His easy three-step kick is nearly unbeatable. Portuguese keeper Ricardo even guessed correctly, but couldn't reach far enough or fast enough to stop it, and it was 1-0 to les bleus.

Carvalho's postgame take on his foul on Henry was classic - typically Portuguese in this tournament. The Fiver said it best:
'"I know I made contact with Henry but the referee could have played
the advantage. He did their job for them" - you gotta love those
Portuguese. Having fouled someone in the box and then admitted it,
Ricardo Carvalho is still wondering why the referee had the gall to
give a penalty against him.'

Portugal's answer to finding themselves down was to keep attacking, while embellishing and making the most of the dark art known as, shall we say... 'simulation.' They went flying wildly on what replays showed was very little, even no contact at all. For some strange reason, their diving seemed to occur most often inside France's box. Thankfully, the referee was having none of it. What's more, France did an excellent job of concentrating on defense throughout the rest of the game: they rendered Portugal's only striker, Pauletta, invisible (though he has a habit of doing this to himself anyway) while Makelele and Vieira shut down playmaker Deco for nearly the entire match. This no doubt made the difference as Sagnol was once again brilliant and Eric Abidal able in handling Ronaldo and Figo up the sides. Meanwhile, all Maniche could do on this day apparently was try to break Frank Lampard's unofficial record for most shots over the bar.

Surprising nobody (backup keeper Gregory Coupet no doubt included), Portugal's best chance came on another Fabien Barthez boneheaded goalkeeper save of a free kick. The swerving ball bounced high off his chest only for Figo, just waiting for it in the box, to knock it high over. A few more failed dives by Portugal and the game was over: good had triumphed over evil according to the press, as Zidane and co. were once again playing for the World Cup while Christiano Ronaldo was once again crying, this time for losing.

Oh, and by the way, pre-final, here's my all-tournament starting XI:

Goalkeeper:
GIANLUIGI BUFFON, ITALY

Defenders:
FABIO CANAVARO, ITALY
WILLY SAGNOL, FRANCE
RAFAEL MARQUEZ, MEXICO
FABIO GROSSO, ITALY

Midfielders:
ANDREA PIRLO, ITALY
PATRICK VIEIRA, FRANCE
GENNARO GATTUSO, ITALY
MAXI RODRIGUEZ, ARGENTINA

Strikers:
MIROSLAV KLOSE, GERMANY
FERNANDO TORRES, SPAIN

2006-07-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

SEMIFINALS

ITALY 2 GERMANY 0

Living up to everything at stake in a World Cup semifinal match, Italy advanced to the final, their first since 1994 while the host nation finally wilted in the face of a better opponent.

The opening 45 minutes was blistering, though mostly dominated by Italy. Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi proved his worth to his country, despite still not knowing the national anthem, by making blistering runs up the right side and always seeming to find a way to cross the ball into the box. Though Italy often advanced the ball up the wings, it could be said that Torsten Frings' workmanlike absence was felt for Germany. While Italy had more first half scoring chances, perhaps the best one fell to Germany when midfielder Bernd Schneider found himself wide open at the corner of the box, only to fire it into the stands off of Gianluigi Buffon's fingertips.

The second half, however, was a different story. Germany slowed the game down and controlled possession. Italy had neither the ball nor the space to move around with it. But the azzuri's world class defense denied Germany any real opportunities. In fact, red hot striker Miroslav Klose and his overrated partner Lukas Podolski were rarely seen. Italy continued to play tough and had only the ineffectiveness and lame diving attempts of Francesco Totti to be ashamed of. Buffon, in particular, was incredible in goal, as was Lehmann for Germany. He read every corner kick and came off his line every time. Totti almost caught the Germans sleeping when he threaded a ball into the box for Simone Perotta in the 85th, but Lehmann came charging out, getting his knuckles on the ball while flying sideways and colliding with Perotta. It effectively sent the game into extra time, which must have left the Italians a little worried, considering their abysmal penalites record in World Cups compared to Germany's.

Klinsmann did get his speed merchant, David Odonkor, into the match in the 83rd minute, while Borowski was replaced by Bastian Schweinsteiger back in the 72nd, but to no avail. Lippi, on the other hand, replaced an ineffective Luca Toni with Alberto Gilardino right after the Schweinsteiger substitution. Then, at the start of extra time, he put on Vincenzo Iaquinta for an exhausted Camoranesi. Lippi's subs proved more effective when, in the first minute of extra time, Gilardino excellently beat Ballack on the sidelines and fired it past Lehmann on the near post only for it to bounce off the post. Then, a minute later, Gianluca Zambrotta found Germany's crossbar on a rocket from right outside the box. The hosts dug deep and denied Italy many more chances, instead waiting out the storm for penalties, though Buffon did well to keep out one of Podolski's few chances.

Although Klinsmann then replaced a tired Klose with Oliver Neuville in the 111th minute, Germany's game plan was clear. It can be reasonably said, then that perhaps Lippi outcoached Klinsmann when, with two minutes left to play, Italy took the lead. On a perfect corner which left Lehmann on his line for once, Andrea Pirlo found Fabio Grosso on the right side of the box, who curled it around a helpless Lehmann and just inside the far post. With sheer excuberance Grosso took off, shaking his sweaty head maniacally with eyes clenched shut, flashing the largest grin as he had sent his team into the final. Then a minute later, Gilardino slipped a through ball to Alessandro Del Piero, who came on in the 104th minute and wonderfully chipped a ball right past Lehmann, who was stuck on his heels in no-man's-land. It was Italian ecstasy: two goals in two minutes, after 118 minutes of scorelessness. But as euphoric as the azzuri was, Germany was gutted. Two quick goals on the brink of penalties was a stomach punch of the highest order for the players and the host nation, as Ballack fought back tears but Podolski and others just surrendered to them and wept openly on the field. They no doubt got so close to Berlin they could taste it, only to have it taken away at the end. While no one wouldn't sympathize, Germany should nevertheless be extremely proud of its accomplishments. They turned their national style on is head and came to the World Cup playing fast and exciting, while attacking in all different angles. They played far above themselves as an unheralded team made great players look average in the tournament. A team and a host nation could hardly ask for more. Yes, the final would have been nice, but the team deserves all the praise and credit their country has so far given them after this loss.

Italy, on the other hand, will go into the final looking nearly unstoppable. Buffon and his outstanding defense of Canavaro, Zambrotta and Grosso has still allowed only an own goal into their net, while their suberb touch, vision, runs and passing particularly this game have shown them to be looking past the effective but boring catenaccio style. I'm just throwing this out there, but could it be that Italy is currently playing so well not in spite of the turmoil at home, but because of it? With so many of their best players this tournament playing for Juventus and AC Milan, could they be, in effect, showing off for any transfer availabilities, since these two clubs are looking at serious relegation next year? I'm fully aware that the shit is hitting the fan in Italy as we speak, and I'm sure Germany is a welcome reprieve for them, but since this is their job... just a thought.

2006-07-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

QUARTERFINALS

PORTUGAL 0 ENGLAND 0 (3-1 PEN)

In a match marked by grit and determination by both sides, Portugal advanced to the semifinals, while England were sent home to ponder another campaign fallen short, another loss to Big Phil and another inept penalty shootout.

Portugal looked the better side, though only slightly as the sputtering England squad played their best match yet, which doesn't say much. In a game marked by a slow pace an physical play, England, though putting only seven shots on goal looked a bit more focused and a bit more in synch. Their greatest asset today was not Wayne Rooney, who got sent off, but their classic trait of the aforementioned determination. Portugal, meanwhile, looked to the young bratty showpony Christiano Ronaldo to make things happen as their playmaker Deco was unavailable due to a red card picked up in Portugal's prison match against Holland.

And Ronaldo (Christian, according to all-round disasterous American ESPN announcer Dave O'Brien) didn't disappoint, making runs all over the place, putting crosses into the England box, egegiously drawing fouls and, many think, playing a part in getting Manchester United teammate Rooney sent off. He also happened to slot home the winning penalty, by the way.

England started the game in their same 4-4-1 formation (4-5-1 if you counted Beckham, who was pretty much invisible until his substitution), with Owen Hargreaves moved back into a holding midfielder role and Gary Neville returning from injury at his ususal right back position. While they certainly didn't come out looking like Brazil (who, curiously came out looking like England later in the day), their boring long ball target practice was nowhere to be seen today. Instead they concentrated on controlling the midfield. Meanwhile, their defense looked solid as ever, with both John Terry and Rio Ferdinand's heads appearing to be screwed on straight. Portugal saw Luis Figo and Ronaldo trying to cut apart England and striker Pauletta reminding us of his ability to disappear in big matches, but there really was no action to speak of in the first half.

The same can be said for the opening minutes of the second half. My personal highlight was when ESPN commentators O'Brien and Marcello Balboa spoke of England's best chances being now, under the roof of Gelsenkirchen, because the next World Cup is in South Africa, 'where it's really hot there in the summer.' While I don't doubt that, one small, little-known, minor detail about South Africa is its location: in the southern hemisphere, where it will be... winter. Nice one guys, I'm adding it to the 'ESPN Commentator Glossary' which will be released soon on this page.

England's fortunes were to change, briefly, in the 51st minute when the speedy and overdue young Aaron Lennon came on for a clearly injured David Beckham. Mr. Posh would spend the rest of the match on the sidelines in agony, displaying very visible tears for a time. Just as he has done every other time he has entered, Lennon brought a surge of energy to the England side, chasing down balls, hustling and wearing down Portugal's left side. He gave them a golden chance soon after with a superb dribbling display to the box. Unfortunately, he passed to Rooney, who whiffed it. But for these 11 minutes, England gave a hint - not quite an assurance, but nontheless a genuine feeling that they could take over this match.

Then came the 62nd minute, which found Rooney battling for a ball in midfield with a downed Ricardo Carvahlo. Rooney, through either frustration, his chronic hardheadedness or the heat of the moment, felt it necessary to put his studs into the Carvahlo family jewels - right in front of the ref, no less. Who else but Ronaldo should run over and say something to the ref that Wayne didn't like, (many think he pleaded for a red card) which no doubt explains Rooney pushing Ronaldo, still in front of the official. The card he reached for turned out to be reddish in color, and that was the end of Rooney. I didn't see it, but it's been said that Ronaldo then winked at his bench. I'll leave it at that.

Without a striker, this forced Sven to take out midfielder Joe Cole and send in the big target, Peter Crouch. Crouch huffed and he puffed, and to his credit he chased and knocked down every ball he could, but England were back to playing more cautiously being down a man. However, they seemed to step up their play as red cards can sometimes do, as if they all suddenly realized what was at stake. The much-maligned Owen Hargreaves, in particular, was outstanding on the day, running his lungs off. For the remainder of the nil-nil match, including the two extra time periods, England stayed unrelenting, while Portugal put on some impressive displays of possession, but neither side could quite crack the other. In another of Sven's countless strategic masterstrokes, he brought on Jamie Carragher, presumably for his penalty taking abilities, for Aaron Lennon.

On to penalties: England have not only a dreadful record in penalties, but in penalties against Portugal as well. At Euro 2004, they were beaten in the end by Portugal's keeper Ricardo, of all people, who slotted home the winner past David (Calamity) James. This time, Simao got the first for Portugal. Then Lampard, a disaster all tournament, hit a weak ball that Ricardo had no trouble with. Normally one of England's best penalty takers, everyone's heads for England sunk on this miss. Hugo Viana hit the side post, then Hargreaves stepped up and nailed one, proving to be the only useful player on the pitch for England today. Petit then was saved, Gerrard's effort was saved, while Postiga then made his. This left Carragher, who banged it home - before the whistle, however. His subsequent attempt was easily saved. That left only Ronaldo. He took a deep breath, jogged onto it and put it powerfully past Paul Robinson, who didn't even move. Game over. The tears of Gazza in '90 were repeated today, by nearly every Englishman on the pitch. Once again, England crashed out. Once again, Sven lost to Scolari. But for the first time since 1966, Portugal were going to the semifinals.

Shame on Rooney for losing his temper, but if he had any brain at all, he would have realized that winding Wayne up was surely a part of Portugal's plan - look at their previous match. Shame on England as well, for relying way too much on one man, as they've done since Rooney injured himself in April. After Rooney got sent off, their only answer was to put on Crouch. Why not give the young Theo Walcott a chance? He's supposedly fast - could you imagine he and Lennon up front? They could have given Portugal fits! Shame on Sven for bringing the kid at the expense of more obvious choices, especially since he was never used. And shame on the FA for England's sputtering form throughout the whole tournament. They had the chance to fire Sven at the start of the year. Either they could have kept him on or they could have fired him on the spot. Instead, they did the worst thing possible. Agree to terminate their partnership after the World Cup. It's very early, but I think over time, history will look back even more unkindly on the Sven years than how they are perceived now. I hope Steve McLaren will be a breath of fresh air, but he just seems to be cut from the same cloth: nice guy, no charisma. His assistant manager position for the last several years under Sven doesn't inspire optimism, either. For England's sake, they deserve better. But despite what England fans think, the tournament will still go on without them. England fans are like baseball's Red Sox fans: thinking they're the center of the football universe and always whining about their hard luck while no one else cares.

Christiano Ronaldo better not go back to Manchester United. He's no doubt lost a friend in Rooney (he didn't have many there to begin with) and faces a lifetime of boos and whistling in the Premiership. Better sign that transfer request and ship off to Real Madrid as he was rumored to be doing just that last week anyway. It's looking like a very smart move now.

Prior to the match, Gary Neville said, 'If we fail [against Portugal] we have to hold out hands up and say talk of us being potential world champions was rubbish.' Interesting revelation. It took them a while, but they themselves finally saw what the rest of the world did all along.

England's now gone, along with all their ineptitude, drama and silly sideshows. Let's discuss some exciting teams now.

FRANCE 1 BRAZIL 0

Football is a funny game. Who knows quite how, who knows quite why, but the once mighty, star-studded France finally regained their form just in time to dispose of an electrifying Spanish side in their last game out. France looked fast, fluid, stingy in defense and deadly in the attack. All of a sudden Zidane was playing on young legs, Vieira was playing back in central midfield and Franck Ribery finally gained some confidence on the world stage. But their new form was to be tested against the defending world champs, a Brazilian side that had failed many expectations so far in the tournament, but a team I figured was just acting like Brazilians: only working as hard as they had to. Not insignificant is the fact that Brazil's last World Cup loss came at the hands of France, eight years ago in the 1998 World Cup final in Paris.

But on this day, why Brazil showed up I have no idea, because they didn't come to play. Apart from the unsettled opening 10 minutes and a frantic last five minutes, France exercised domination over the champions, taking them thoroughly out of the game, controlling possession and running their old, tired defense into the ground. Zidane was effortlessly breathtaking, Henry had displays of brillance including an easy put-away past Dida and Ribery ran circles around Brazil. And how about Florent Maluda? In the first half especially, the left-sided midfielder looked superb. Willy Sagnol, who in my opinion has had an outstanding World Cup at right back, was equally impressive. He's tough and stingy on defense but plays superbly up the side and worked hard to not only to maintain France's possession but also had some great crosses and through-balls in the match. William Gallas, Lillian Thuram and, as always, Claude Makelele have been fantastic as well.

Brazil, on the other hand, couldn't seem to keep the ball. Their passing and teamwork has been off for the whole tournament. Ronaldinho in particular has been MIA, which in my opinion dates all the way back to the Champions League semifinals in May. He wore a gregarious headband with a giant gold R, but when that failed to produce anything special out of him he apparently left it in the locker room for the second half. Ronaldo couldn't do much, and it's a credit to France that big Ronny had to resort to a shameless dive late in the match to try to even the score. Kaka was nowhere to be seen and even the criminally overlooked Juninho, finally getting some time on the field, couldn't produce.

Brazil were earlier lucky as well when Vieira, who had a breakaway on goal, was tackled from behind by Juan. The resulting yellow card brought disbelief from the crowd, but France could do nothing with the chance on the free kick in injury time.
France broke the deadlock in the 51st minute on a set play. After being called off on more occasions than Frank Lampard has taken shots, Henry sneaked around the back and volleyed the Zidane kick past a helpless Dida. Why Brazil chose not to mark a player like Henry I have no idea, but Roberto Carlos just stood there with his hands on his knees watching Henry put it away with no gold shit within 15 feet of him. Let us also mark this as the very first Zidane-Henry goal in the history of France, ladies and gentleman - a nice monkey to have off of their backs I'm sure. In trademark fashion, Henry cooly ran away with his head down without so much as the slightest smile on his face. 1-0 France.

Slowly Brazil attempted to claw their way back into the match, although France smartly didn't stray from their game plan and decide just to defend. Even the likes of Adriano for Juninho, Cicinho for Cafu and Robinho for Kaka couldn't produce anything more than a thud when Ronaldo hit the ground as he tried to sell a dive to the referee late in the match. It was also a very appropriate sound effect for Brazil's exit from this tournament.

Two players - fellow Galacticos at Real Madrid, no less - in the twilight of their careers couldn't have looked more different today: Zidane was everywhere - light on his feet, playing keep-away fom Brazil, looking like his old self, while a tired and overweight Ronaldo could do nothing to pick himself or his team up. Thanks to a reinvigorated Zizou, with the help of 10 equally outstanding players peaking at the perfect time, the French renaissance is upon us and has Portugal in its sights on Wednesday.

Brazil though seemed to crash out of this tournament without anyone seeing the best from them, save for the second half against Japan when substitutions seemed to show the starters how it's done. We saw excellence from Kaka and Zé Roberto. We saw bits of excellence mixed with indifference from Ronaldo. We saw fantastic goalkeeping from Dida. But beyond that, Brazil seemed to shrug their shoulders this entire tournament. Cafu is just too slow, while Roberto Carlos is completely ineffective. I can remember only one Ronaldinho play in 6 matches. Conversely, I can remember many more flashy Zidane plays just today - the former best player in the game showing up the current best. Parreira will take a lot of heat for the way his side played each game, and I'm sure the rest of the world is disappointed not to see the beautiful, elegant displays we're used to. They gave a sense so often that this team did not like each other. But I think this loss will be stunning for them. After believing their own hype for so long, I wonder if Brazil actually realize what just happened to them or whether it will truly sink in later. Parreira himself admitted after the match that he wasn't prepared for the loss. Brazil once again looked flat, but it took a side as talented as France to finally make them pay for it.

2006-06-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

QUARTERFINALS

GERMANY 1 ARGENTINA 1 (4-2 PEN)

Germany advanced past the in-form Argentina side in a hard-fought match to book their spot in the semifinals in front of a hysterical crowd in Berlin.

In what most would not consider a classic contest, Germany battled back into a physical match with an 80th minute goal by their red-hot striker Miroslav Klose after Argentina took an early second half lead thanks to an excellently taken corner by defender Roberto Ayala.

The first half saw both teams playing their toughest football yet from the opening whistle. Argentina not only pressured Germany deep but controlled possession for nearly 70 percent of the time in the first half, yet the fact that they produced no shots on goal well illustrates the 45-minute midfield battle. Germany found midfielder Michael Ballack for their best chance of the half with a ball into the box that he headed just wide of the far post.

Then in the 49th minute, Ayala forced himself onto the corner kick, knocking it low and between keeper Jens Lehmann and Philip Lahm, guarding the post. The stadium fell silent aside from the small contingent of blue cheering for the formidable South Americans.

Slowly though, Germany fought themselves back into the match. Substitutions like speedy Odonkor on the right side for Bernd Schneider paid off, as his speed and disruptive abilities gave the hosts numerous opportunities. I have very little doubt his mission, other than speed, was to get under the Argentinians' skin, which he did well by fighting for the ball and, how should we say? 'Simulate' several fouls that gradually unglued the leading side. Klinsmann of all people should be an expert on dissecting their weaknesses, as he himself took what many once considered a dive in the box in the 1990 World Cup final against... Argentina.

The albicelestes took another blow when Klose challenged Argentine keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri, who fell injured. Though he played for several minutes more, he had to be carried off on a stretcher and substituted by reserve keeper Leo Franco in the 71st. Manager Jose Peckerman then used the rest of his subs in the next few minutes. His curious lineup, which started Carlos Tevez up front in place of the usual Javier Saviola, and saw outstanding midfielders Esteban Cambiasso Pablo Aimar starting on the bench were genuinely strange, I thought. He substituted Hernan Crespo for Julio Cruz and an ineffective Juan Roman Riquelme for Cambiasso all before the 80th minute while protecting his one goal lead. Curiously, whizkid Lionel Messi stayed on the bench.

Then in the 80th minute, Klose got his revenge for getting beaten by Ayala earlier by taking a wonderful high header and putting it low past Franco on a Ballack cross flicked on by Tom Borowski for the equalizer. Ballack's hard work paid off, while Argentina paid for their one-time mistake of giving him too much space.

Regulation, along with extra time, failed to yield another goal. The shootout would not feature a Champions League rematch of Riquelme vs. Lehmann, but following that performance, I had the upmost confidence in the German keeper making Argentina's job very difficult. Even Oliver Kahn, so long part of a very public rivalry in the struggle with Lehmann for the No. 1 jersey, gave a handshake to Lehmann before he headed out to tend the net.

First Oliver Neuville converted, as did Julio Cruz. Ballack buried his in the top corner, but Ayala saw his attempt saved by Lehmann. Podolski but his away, as did Maxi Rodriguez. Borowski then converted, which left Cambiasso needing to score to keep Argentina alive. But Lehmann had other plans as he stopped his second of the shootout, giving Germany a hard-fought victory. In the ensuing celebrations, Cambiasso was seen crying as a fight between German and Argentine players broke out, a somewhat fitting end to a high-profile loss for a physical side like Argentina's. Germany broke out a silly bowling celebration later however, to lighten the mood.

Peckerman's managing naturally raised some eyebrows in their loss, but he beat the critics by resigning immediately after the match. Most likely he'll be questioned about leaving Messi out, but further questions should be directed toward his curious lineup and substitutions. His side's lack of attacking interest in the second half cost them dearly, and they'll have the next four years to ponder it. Meanwhile, Germany goes on to face a tough Italy squad who looked impressive in the day's second match...

ITALY 3 UKRAINE 0

Yesterday, Italian manager Marcello Lippi, answering whether his side had indeed been lucky throughout the tournament as many critics suggested, was quick to point out the injuries of Totti, Nesta and Gattuso either in the run-up or during the tournament. As for me, I've seen this side making their luck rather than being a victim of it. And always, it has been their legendary defense which has kept all their opponents off the scoreboard save for an own goal and provided the foundation for their offense.

Today was no different. Perhaps prompted by the horrific suicide attempt of former Juventus player Gianluca Pessotto amid a domestic match-fixing scandal, current Juve star defenders Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta played magnificently. Zambrotta, in fact, opened the scoring in just the sixth minute with a low left-footed shot that got past the Ukrainian keeper, hugging the right post. While striker Luca Toni was still scoreless, it meant a fifth Italian player got on the scoresheet and left Ukraine with an early mountain to climb.

Poor Andriy Shevchenko. The star Ukrainian has received no service up front from his teammates the whole tournament and has just one goal to his name, a dubious penalty he won. It would get no easier as the former AC Milan striker had to battle a defense that either played with or against him for the last seven seasons. His best chance came on a header he put high over the crossbar, but besides that Ukraine had their best chances rock the crossbar and get saved well by Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon in the second half, and that was about it. Meanwhile, Italy continued their domination when Toni had to dive to put in a header on Francesco Totti's great cross.

Later though, it was once again Zambrotta's time. He blazed up the sideline, expertly getting past a defender in Ukraine's box before crossing along the ground to an unmarked Toni for the easy put-away. Toni now had two to his name, and it's game on on Tuesday for the Azzuri against the German hosts.

* * *

I'm getting a funny feeling about England v. Portugal tomorrow. As awful as England has played so far, something in the back of my mind tells me England might just pull it together for this one. Maybe some of the pre-match English optimism that the rest of the world laughs at has got a hold of me, I don't know. What I do know, though, is this: Portugal are without Deco, their playmaker who makes EVERYTHING happen for them. The last match he sat out was their opener against Angola. After taking an early lead before Angola practically touched the ball, Portugal never did put in another, always seeming to be one good pass away. They knocked it around well but could never find a good penetrating ball. That's what Deco provides, and it could well be missing tomorrow. But as I said before, while Portugal has won all their matches, they have also happened to score first in all of them. So if they happen to do the same tomorrow, you'd better believe England are in trouble. As I've also said before, with Sven and his empty head at the helm, England are not a team that give one the feeling they can come back from a deficit as Sven is incapable of making adjustments that actually work. England therefore must strike early and dig deep into their longtime reputation of always fighting, never quitting and playing until the end. I'm looking forward to it, which, considering their recent ugly form, means I've definitely caught the England bug.

As for Brazil v. France: it should be excellent. I think my head would explode with anticipation if I tried to dissect this one. With France's recent renaissance, Brazil's lack of joy, as well as the recent history of 1998, there will be much to enjoy in this match. I can't wait.

2006-06-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Let's get back to some matches already! Look at the stupid things I do, below, on my days off

After thinking about tomorrow's Argentina v. Germany match, I came to the same conclusion the night before, incidentally, that Steven on World Soccer Daily did, which is that Argentina have blazed a much harder road to get to this quarterfinal stage than Germany. They got out easily from a tough group and overcame a determined Mexico side in what was, in my mind, the best match of the tournament so far. Meanwhile, Germany had a laughably easy group stage and took care of Sweden on the day after Midsummer's Eve, a major drinking day in the country of Sweden. Although Sweden played reasonably well for being hung-over, Germany struck so quickly that it left them to play catch-up for more than 80 minutes. Germany looks strong and has improved leaps and bounds over their first game. Their strikers work very well together, Ballack is in top form, their defense hasn't attempted another disasterous offside trap and Lehmann in goal has had very little to do. But this Argentina side they will face is several notches above anything they've played to date. Nearly everyone for Argentina is in top form. However, Germany has that massive homefield advantage which can never be underestimated, along with a distinctly German sort of national pride. The rest of us can only try to understand, so here goes: Germans are proud of being Germans, yet due to their horrific recent history, they obviously have a guilty complex about expressing their national pride. Sports are the only real medium in which they can express this pride without shame or guilt. With this in mind, Argentina would do well not to 'misunderestimate' (as our elequent leader George W. Bush says) Germany. Combine this World Cup moment of theirs on home soil with a hysterical crowd cheering them on and Germany is a match for anyone.

As for Italy v. Ukraine: Ukraine, you've shown us nothing except a reliable cure for insomnia and have consequently worn out your welcome. Time to go home. Sheva, you're going up against an already world-renowned Italian defense whose members either practice with you or play against you all season, every season, and furthermore one that has allowed only an own-goal so far this tournament. Italy will make them look like Saudis.

* * *

And in case you care, here's my 23-man squad of best names (I don't think they could beat yesterday's all-hair team in a match though, even with all these available substitutes):

Goalkeepers:
Tomislav Butina, Croatia
Boubacar Barry, Ivory Coast
Jose de Jesus Corona, Mexico

Defenders:
Antonio Lebo-Lebo, Angola
Manuel Loco, Angola
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, Iran
Hedwiges Maduro, Holland
Massamasso Tchangai, Togo
Dmytro Chigrynskiy, Ukraine
Volodymyr Yezerskiy, Ukraine

Midfielders:
Gilles Yapi Yapo, Ivory Coast
Miroslaw Szymkowiak, Poland (also the winner of 'Most Polish')
Chung Kyung-Ho, South Korea
Song Chong-Gug, South Korea
Tranquillo Barnetta, Switzerland
Affo Erassa, Togo

Strikers:
Arsenio Love, Angola
Titi Buengo, Angola
Fred, Brazil
Bosko Balaban, Croatia
Razak Pimpong, Ghana
Filippo Inzaghi, Italy (also the winner of 'Most Italian,' in a close race)
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Holland (who wins 'Most Letters')

And for those keeping score at home, Saudi Arabia has no less than seven Mohammeds, while South Korea has eight Kims and five Lees.

2006-06-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Now that the World Cup has taken a day off to give us a breather and remind us of our normal lives, I'd like for games to resume as quickly as possible.

A few thoughts after replaying yesterday's thrilling France v. Spain match in my head:

- While everyone wants to talk about Carlos Puyol's invisible elbow that struck down TH12 and led to France's second goal (but not us - not on a Gooner's blog) how about the fact that Spanish right-back Sergio Ramos broke the golden rule of guarding the post on that resulting free kick? Yeah the ball did bounce off him, but it slipped in between him and the post. Back to Football 101 with him! An unfortunate ending for Ramos after having a great tournament, in my opinion.

- As I've been saying, Patrick Vieira has been the key every time for France's success. Moving him into the center was the best thing France could have done to support the lone Henry up front. Right-back Willy Sagnol plays up often enough to cover the right side anyway, and he does it well, so it's been no problem.

- The passive offside rule played a giant part in Franck Ribery's goal. The Spanish defense thought they had caught Henry offside again (which he was) and slowed down, although the ball was distinctly played forward to Ribery (by Vieira, many may forget - good thinking, Patrick) and they were too far behind to be of much use, leaving Ribery only to deal with a clumsy-looking Iker Casillas.

- What were Spain thinking with that starting lineup? Aragones got it all wrong. Why start Raul ahead of Joaquin? Why play 4-3-3 against France's 4-5-1? Spain's (very talented) midfield were incredible at knocking it about, but they never got anywhere. And provided no defensive cover whatsoever. France's, on the other hand, did, and also ran all over Spain for portions of the game once they settled down. By the time Aragones realized what he'd done it was too late. Even the more defensive-minded Marcos Senna for Xavi couldn't save them. And why Luis Garcia coming in ahead of Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes? Reyes is faster and puts better crosses into the box. Taller, too, when he's in the box himself. Spain is clueless in big-match situations, and it once again showed.

Now, without further ado, my all-hair starting XI (4-3-3):

Goal keeper: Santiago Cañizares, Spain.
I knew Rod Stewart liked football, but who knew he tended the nets? For Spain?

Central defender: Rafael Marquez, Mexico
Carrying on the distinguished greasy ponytail of retired slimy limey David Seaman.

Central defender: Carlos Puyol, Spain
A no-brainer. His Captain Caveman nickname owes everything to this mane.

Right-back: Juan Pablo Sorin, Argentina
Michael Bolton is putting his copyright infringement lawsuit together as we speak.

Left-back: Gabriel Milito, Argentina
With Bolton on the back line, how appropriate that Kenny G is playing on the other side.

Midfielder: Esteban Cambiasso, Argentina
Our final Argentine, this is 'fading glory' for all to see.

Midfielder: Ronaldinho, Brazil
That 'vapor trail' you think you see as he speeds by is actually droplets of Soul-Glo.

Midfielder: Mauro Camaronesi, Italy
Leaving an Italian off a hair list would be bad enough, but leaving Camaronesi off is unthinkable. If hair were criminal, he would be in Guantanimo. Camaronesi IS a bad hair day.

Striker: Loco, Angola
With a name to match his hairstyle, here he is sporting the wonderful 'leave a little in front.' Special thanks to Eric for christening it The Big Eyelash.

Striker: Bakari Kone, Ivory Coast
I think I accidentally found the ugliest picture in the world.

Striker: Fernando Torres, Spain
A spectacular mullet if ever there was one. You know you're jealous.

Honorable mention: Striker Danijel Ljuboja, Serbia and Montenegro
Classic eastern-European anti-style.

2006-06-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

SECOND ROUND

BRAZIL 3 GHANA 0

Brazil saw off a determined Ghana team in a match that was much closer than the scorline suggests, and at times made spectators wonder just which team was Brazil.

While Brazil had some great goals, once again the world is disappointed with their display on the pitch today. But they found themselves with an early lead in just the fifth minute when Ronaldo had a breakaway, running onto a through-ball by Zé Roberto. Needing only the keeper to beat, he pulled out a swift scissor move that froze keeper Richard Kingston, then moved quickly left for the easy tap-in. Ronaldo's third in two games, it gives him sole possession of the record for most World Cup goals, with 15.

Early lead aside though, it was Ghana who took the game to the Brazilians, not the other way around. While Brazil were spending the whole day slightly out of sync with each other on completing runs and passes, Ghana tirelessly attacked just as they did to escape the first round, and it took some of Dida's finest goalkeeping to keep Ghana off the scoreboard. Brazil added another just before halfime though, when Adriano simply had to get in the way of a cross from the right to knock it into goal with his upper leg. Replays showed he was clearly offside, but the goal stood, much to the protest of the Ghanaians. In fact, their manager was ordered off the field.

The second half saw more of the same, with Ghana linking quick, clever passes but never able to get their shots on goal. Brazil substituted Juninho for Adriano, moving Ronaldinho up front and Kaka into the middle. While this was the move many Brazilians have been hoping for according to my Sao Paolo correspondent, I think Juninho plays better in the middle while Kaka should be playing outside. Several chances were wasted as Kingson made saves off of shots where one more pass across the goal would have found an open, waiting player. As the commentators pointed out, it's worth wondering whether this Brazilian team of 2006 even gets along very well. Although they have easily won all their games, they have never really flipped the 'on' switch, save for the Japan game when reserves played for several starters. Whether this starting lineup of Parreira's just doesn't play well together or if they just know better than to waste their energy on pre-semifinal matches is debatable.

Zé Roberto added a third late when he beat the offside trap on a breakaway and had only an onrushing keeper to deal with. He cleverly chipped the ball over him, ran around and tapped the ball in. Great stuff. Unfortunately for Ghana, it means they're going home, though after an incredible tournament. With very few people picking them to come out of a tough group, they surprised everyone by playing quality, fluid, physical football that earned them a spot in the second round on their first trip to the tournament, and making them the only African team to do so this World Cup. They're young, so expect to see them in 2010, on home soil no less.

FRANCE 3 SPAIN 1

If Saturday's fantastic match between Argentina and Mexico was a physical embodiment of South American football perfection, than today's France v. Spain clash was its European equvalent. It offered wonderful attacking, great goals, solid defense and top-notch execution - in short, it exceeded even the high pre-match expectations.

Since Spain was coming off its hottest start to a World Cup, possibly ever, France was just finding out how to start their engine on Friday with a 2-0 win over a plucky and physical Togo. France of course did so without the services of Zidane as well, which actually made tactical sense. Now that he was back, for possibly his final game, the question was whether France could come out and finally play as a cohesive unit.

A burst early on by Spain found them in the driver's seat. After David Villa was fouled in the 18-yard box, he expertly converted his penalty to give the long-suffering underachieving Spanish a 1-0 lead. But France turned it on. Ribery was finding his form, Zidane looked years younger, playing all over the field which allowed Patrick Vieira to roam into the middle, where he plays his best. Unfortunately, Thierry Henry tried all day to get the hang of Spain's wonderfully executed offside trap. With five calls in the first half, one wondered if it was he that was holding them back. However, France found a way to score around it, or rather, in spite of it. For Henry was offside yet again in the 41st minute when Ribery ran onto a wonderfully timed through-ball. He needed to beat keeper Iker Casillas, who came off his line. Ribery cut hard left, turning the corner faster than Casillas and tapped it in. Personally, I think Casillas could have done better, whether going to ground or staying on his feet, as he seemed to ponder which to do himself for too long. The first half finished at a breakneck pace, and the second half started the same way.

Spain substituted the speedy Joaquin for David Villa and Luis Garcia in for an ineffective Raul, and Luis the thumbsucker almost headed one past Fabian Barthez, but it bounced just a bit too high. As with its football history, Spain just couldn't quite make the most of their chances, though that's largely due to the excellent French defense, for whom right-back Willy Sagnol was particularly on his game today. France's second half saw them going straight at Spanish left-back Mariano Pernia with very good results that just seemed to fall one pass short as well. Finally, while chasing both Carlos Puyol and the ball, Thierry Henry seemed to catch an elbow to the face, though replays showed he was making the very most of minor contact. I have to believe he wouldn't do that while wearing an Arsenal shirt. Just believe with me, please. The resulting free kick from about 25 yards out found a Spanish head, then Vieira's as he stood near the far post. It bounced off of David Villa on the near side, bounced off the post and went in. The resulting dog pile was wonderfully spontaneous, an outpouring of relief from the dissapointments of 2002, and until recently, 2006.

Spain tried desperately to get an equalizer, but all their long balls and clever runs into the box were stifled by France. Finally, in injury time, France played a long-ball to Zidane, who raced toward goal, faked Puyol with a shot, dribbled to his right while burying it into the left side, faking Casillas the keeper as well. With that, France were on to the quarterfinals for a date with Brazil: a rematch of the 1998 World Cup final.

* * *

Wow. France and Brazil. I'm not gonna say a thing, because both teams have been very unpredictable in their own ways this World Cup. Needless to say, though, I'm looking forward to it. You should be too.

Thursday and Friday are days off, which means no game reviews. No matter, assuming I have the time, I'll be using it to fill the page with a couple of surprises and counting down the seconds until Germany v. Argentina.

2006-06-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

SECOND ROUND

ITALY 1 AUSTRALIA 0

With experience and a little bit of gamesmanship that only a team like Italy possesses, the Azzuri saw off an Australian side long on determination but short on execution.

Once again (and for the last time, now) Guus Hiddink is a genius football manager. He had his Socceroos playing forward, giving the Italians no space. They worked the ball great around the pitch and created only a few opportunities in the half, but looked fearless against Italy. Meanwhile, the Azzuri created the better of the first half chances while posessing the ball for less time. Striker Luca Toni in particular almost converted a nice turn and a shot, but Mark Schwartzer, back on duty after Zeljko Kalac’s sorry performance against Croatia, stuck his foot out for a nice save. Earlier he was blocked nicely by defender Scott Chipperfield, who had an outstanding game. Then came a blown header, and you had to wonder if it just wasn’t his day.

But his team wasn’t doing much on offense either. Alessandro Del Piero, who got the start over Francisco Totti, couldn’t get much going either. The tide changed, however, when ruthless defender Marco Materazzi drew a straight red card for a tackle only slightly late. It was a bit harsh, so just think of it as retribution for his years of clownish, clumsy and dangerous defending.

From this point on, though, Australia took control and spent the remaining 40 minutes attacking, throwing everything they could at the Italians. But Italy’s defense stood strong, proving why the nation constantly produces the best defenders in the world. Fabio Cannavaro in particular, was top-class as always. And after Materazzi’s red card, Italy subbed out Toni for defender Andrea Barzagli. Australia tried as hard as they could, but in the end they lacked any sort of creativity or a crucial playmaker necessary to crack the defense. Harry Kewell was unfortunately unavailable for the match.

When Totti did come on for Del Piero in the 75th minute, the game changed as Italy strung together some good attacks lacking that final ball. Then, on a counteratttack in injury time, defender Fabio Grosso made his way to the corner, got around one, then two defenders and had only Lucas Neill to beat. He faked left, causing Neill to slide left. However, Grosso pulled the ball to his right, and seeing Neill in his way, managed to trip over him, earning the penalty. Seemingly every teammate on the field dog-piled him, leading to Totti converting the kick. He explained after the game how he came full circle since 2002 when he was ejected for diving in the penalty area in their loss to South Korea.

Anyway, the penalty. I’ve heard people absolutely livid about this. They say he dove, that he’s an opportunist, that the Italians are cheaters, they outplayed Italy, they didn’t deserve to lose, etc. I saw very little wrong with the play myself. Neill obstructed Grosso, who had gotten the ball clean free and attempted to chase it. Had he been partially held up, an onrushing defender would have likely gotten to the ball before Grosso and sent the game into extra periods. Look at it this way: he beat his defender with a great move and was obstructed by him. Yeah, sure he made the most of it. But it’s not too much different than an attacker beating his man and then getting brought down. How is it any different? He was obstructed from reaching the ball! I know everyone was enthralled by the Aussies, but in the end, they couldn’t get it done. Against 10 men! I’ll leave for others to debate whether they deserved to lose, but without putting at least one in the back of the net, they didn’t deserve to win. Deal with it.

SWITZERLAND 0 UKRAINE 0 (PEN)

I'm very proud of myself for predicting last Friday that this one would go into penalties. Either take my word for it, or look to your right and click on that day's write-up. Check it out, I called it. Don't know why, don't know how, I just had that feeling. With that said, I missed most of the game and only saw 22 tired bodies jogging around in extra time, neither side able to string anything together. Obviously, congratulations to Ukraine for winning, but I feel bad for the Swiss. Losing on penalties is the worst feeling in soccer. But to not score a single one, that is truly shocking. With the final scoreline, however, I hear Switzerland is the first side in a World Cup to lose without ever having conceded a goal. So congratulations there, guys. I wonder if Arsenal defender Philippe Sendeross, who was out with an injured shoulder, would have made a difference in this one. Meanwhile, it means Ukraine will go on which, given their company in the quarter-finals, is almost a travesty. Not that Switzerland is football royalty, but Ukraine insist on playing an extremely boring game and will surely get outclassed by the Italians.

* * *

While I will continue to play down the Italy penalty, you have to agree that part of why it is so hotly debated has to do with its timing, following yesterday's match between the prison teams of Portugal and Holland. You also have to wonder whether that rumored move by Barcelona for Lucas Neill is still on. But moving on, this matchup, short of some cosmic realignment, should see Italy through to the semi-finals. Not only has Ukraine been nearly outclassed by Tunisia of all teams in this tournament, but the entire Italian team plays either with or against Andry Shevchenko, Ukraine's main target man. Unless the entire Italian team gets subpoenaed in their domestic match-fixing scandal which is soon to commence, they should run rampant over Ukraine on Friday.

2006-06-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

SECOND ROUND

ENGLAND 1 ECUADOR 0

Consistently finding new ways to win ugly, England saw off a lackluster Ecuador side today in a game dominated by strategy and short on execution. As much as yesterday's matches left the football-loving world in ecstasy, England once again reminded everyone that there's more than one way to win.

We can now understand English fans' typical behavior of drinking, singing and sometimes unfortunately causing trouble, as it is now clear that this is what they have to entertain themselves, since their countrymen can't do it on the field.

It was captain David Beckham ('Spice Man' being the preferred nomenclature used by the Spanish channel announcers - said in English no less) who gave In-ger-lund the victory with an above-average free kick that just barely beat Ecuador's below-average keeper, Cristian Mora, in the 60th minute. Until that point, England controlled possession, enforced a snail-like pace and executed an offense that consisted of hopeful long balls to a lonely Wayne Rooney up front. In all fairness, this was an effective strategy, since Ecuador looked their most dangerous in their first two victories when they had space to run. England gave them none and seemed to win most 50-50 balls, effectively taking Ecuador out of the match. Yet we have to wonder, just how far can England go playing like this? Three teams yesterday (Germany, Argentina and Mexico) would have absolutely wiped the floor with them. First, England can thank their easy qualifying group which they made look much more competitive than it was. Now beating Ecuador, they find themselves in the quarter-finals without having played a half-decent side in four matches! With players of this caliber the blame has to fall on the manager. They emulate his disposition on the pitch like no one else I've ever seen. He manages to make great players look useless. Frank Lampard has not scored in what must be 30 shots now, Steven Gerrard is ineffective, Beckham is strictly one-dimensional and John Terry put a stamp on an indifferent performance today by misplaying a ball that surely would have given the guinea pig-eating nation of Ecuador an early lead were it not for the fantastic hustle of Arsenal left back Ashley Cole sliding in to deflect an easy put-away.

Where to begin with Sven's tactics? Once again Lampard doesn't deliver. Rooney is left to fend for himself up front, Gerrard and Lampard still can't play together, and Sven continues to tinker: Owen Hargreaves gets moved around again, though he followed up a good performace as holding midfielder with another solid effort, this time at right-back. The positives: Aaron Lennon finally came in for the vomiting Spice Man in the 87th minute. If you guessed that England would immediately start playing better, you're right. Other than that, Michael Carrick played the holding midfielder role adequately and Wayne Rooney did some masterful passing work inside the box only for every one of those chances to be wasted. Oh, and they won today. But against an opponent with half an inkling of creativity, I can't see England's back line looking any stronger than a house of cards. If there's any upside, England sort of resembles the similarly ugly Greeks, who managed to somehow win Euro 2004.

But England has been a mess all tournament. An untested 17-year-old is one of only four strikers to get invited to Germany (two of the other three were injured) by a lame-duck manager, six years of tinkering has failed to yield any great performances (beating Germany 5-1 was a long time ago, boys), their classless wives and girlfriends are all too eager to become tabloid fodder while in Germany (a trip they shouldn't even be part of), and to call their performances against inferior competition thus far 'underwhelming' would be an exercise in classic British understatement. What a sad reality that Mexico played their guts out with a sublime performance against Argentina of all teams, yet are on a plane home, while England are on to the next round.

PORTUGAL 1 HOLLAND 0

Through memorable moments, World Cups always seem to produce names that will live forever and grow to be associated with each tournament. This year, several names are candidates for immortalization: Miroslav Klose. Fernando Torres. Shaka Hislop. Daniele De Rossi. Valentin Ivanov.

Who's Ivanov? Suddenly one of the most infamous referees ever to blow a whistle in a World Cup. The tournament already had its Graham Poll 'three yellow-card' moment, but Ivanov, not to be outdone in incompetance let an exciting match spin spectacularly out of control today in which Portugal winning, and thus advancing to play England, seems like an afterthought.

A game for the ages for all the wrong reasons, it got off to an exciting start. Arjen Robben was darting up the left side, Portugal's attacking exposed giant holes in the flimsy Dutch defense. While Holland made themselves way too busy looking for one too many passes around the goal and never converting (due to the excellent work of Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho) , it was Portugal who sliced open the Dutch back line on a goal by Maniche. I gotta aplaud ESPN announcers JP Dellacamera and John Harkes, who have been the only American announcers worth listening to so far, for astutely remarking early on that Ivanov has to act or risk losing control of the match. Before you knew it, Costinha received a yellow card, his second, for a blatant handball following numerous physical challenges up to that point. Portugal were ahead and had only to defend now. A formidable task against the Dutch, but with central striker Dirk Kuyt putting in the most wasteful performance of the tournament so far and star Ruud Van Nistelrooy riding the bench, it was an easier job than it seemed. But frustration led to score-settling, and soon words and confrontations followed every tackle and challenge. Several no-calls for legitimate fouls to Arjen Robben (who carries a reputation of being an opportunitst diver) and many others paved the way later to incidents like Luis Figo headbutting Mark Van Bommel, substitute Rafael Van der Vaart shoving Armando Petit and Deco holding up play, where by then yellow cards had been issued left and right. Sixteen yellow and four red cards was the final tally, with Costinha and Deco seeing red for Portugal and Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst exiting for Holland. Cameras showed Barcelona teammates Deco and Van Bronckhorst sitting on the steps together, talking and looking on at the grotesque 90-minute spectacle before them.

The Dutch certainly had their chances. Robin Van Persie capped off an amazing exercise in ball skills by firing across the face of goal, Mark Van Bommel selfishly took all kinds of wild shots and Philip Cocu could only find the crossbar from eight yards out off a deflection. With numbers depleted and players tired, the field seemed twice as large as Portugal hunkered down in defense and Holland pushed way up. But in the end, a thousand tired balls sent into the Portuguese box all went begging as Portugal's defense held steady. Kuyt wasn't up to the task of converting Robin Van Persie's excellent efforts, and the genius of manager Marco Van Basten has to be called into question as Ruud Van Nistelrooy, though out of form, could have easily put away at least half of those chances. Instead he was left warming up on the sidelines, wearing a substitute bib for the whole match, unable as well to avenge his vendetta against Christiano Ronaldo, who got hacked early and had to leave the game by some of Ruud's teammates who probably had the same thing on their minds. Though the result will be quickly forgotten, this morbid spectacle will live on in World Cup lore.

* * *

First of all, shame on all four teams today for playing it out the way they did in light of yesterday's displays of football perfection. England, for all their squandered talent, is a disgrace to the game, while Holland and Portugal, despite the comedic and shocking spectacle, behaved like high school players. However, two winners emerged, setting up an England and Portugal quarterfinal showdown that promises to be interesting. England will have its first chance to play some real competition, while Portuguese manager Luis Filippe Scolari is going for the three-peat over hapless Sven after he outwitted the randy Swede with Brazil in 2002 and with Portugal in Euro 2004. Christiano Ronaldo is questionable after a laceration on his leg, while Deco and Costinha will be suspended. However, based on performances today, England might as well not show up. Figo will cause havoc from the side while Pauleta, Ronaldo and Maniche will test the solidity of an overrated and underperforming English defense. As valiantly as Holland tried, they were no match for Portugal's defense, and the anemic English attack of hopeful long balls will look more ineffective than ever. But this is soccer, and anything can happen. I trust that Sven will rise to the occasion with some kind of brilliant formation and strategy dreamed up while fantasizing about FA secretaries. However, England is another team that offers no hint of being able to come from behind in a match should they find themselves a goal down. Witness their exit in 2002 to a 10-man Brazil team. Sven has proven to be no master tactician capable of making vital adjustments, and since Portugal has scored first, and usually early (Iran game aside) in all their matches thus far, the Mr. Burns-looking England manager could find himself with his hands full if or when the sh*t hits the fan.

2006-06-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

SECOND ROUND

GERMANY 2 SWEDEN 0

Germany continues to impress the world and ingratiate their nation to formerly maligned manager Jurgen Klinsmann as they saw off a hapless and luckless Swedish side today with two quick goals that injected venom early into Sweden's best-laid plans, whatever they might have been.

As they acquire the look of world-beaters, it's definitely no coincidence that Germany's defense is more in sync, their midfield is running rampant and their strike pair of Lebensraumers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski are working together better than any in the tournament so far.

It's becoming clear that Klinsmann's strategy is to score early and take Germany's opponents out of the match in the German heat. Pushing beyond 90 degrees, it's easy to see why this is very effective. His side didn't waste time today, getting on the score sheet when Klose ran onto a ball in the box which the keeper deflected for Podolski to fire into the back of the net. The home side went crazy, only for the place to nearly explode minutes later when Klose received an excellent pass, ran along the 18 yard line, which drew three defenders and left Podolski open. Klose squared it to Podolski leaving him only to put it away once again. Like that, they got the lead they wanted, with 78 minutes still left to play. Michael Ballack was superb in the midfield, along with Bernd Schneider, Torsten Frings and Bastian Schweinsteiger. They beat Sweden to every ball, played them tight, allowed them no easy passes and for the most part, enforced a high tempo. For 90 minutes. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was ineffective and left with very little to do up front. Sweden's only real chance came early in the second half when veteran Henrik Larsson was brought down in the box, only for him to put his spot kick into the cheap seats. That's about all she wrote as Sweden seemed to get the short end of all the referee's calls, while Germany benefitted. I know it sounds simple, but one part of Germany's scoring success is due to the fact that their players usually keep their shots low, even on the misses. Check out their goals. Klose is fantastic at this, maintaining his cool in the heat of the moment. With the national team now coached by their former go-to finisher, it makes perfect sense.

ARGENTINA 2 MEXICO 1

I'm currently waiting for confirmation, but I'm pretty sure the stars were aligned just perfectly today, because this second round clash between Central and South American giants offered all a football fan could ask for - on top of the day's first match, no less. This game was an epic clash, the kind you hate to see finish. Both teams gave every ounce of sweat they had, and in the end only a spectacular goal of the very highest caliber put an end to this instant classic.

Argentinean midfielder Maxi Rodriguez will forever be allowed to cut to the front of the line in Buenos Aries, I would imagine, after his extra-time left-footed volley from the corner of the 18-yard box put a dagger into the tireless heart of a Mexican squad that showed up ready to take on the world.

Having played Argentina relatively often, Mexico is probably one of the few teams not intimidated by the albicelestes. It showed as the game moved at a breakneck pace rarely seen even at the club level. Mexico took the game right to them, cleverly attacking at key Argenine players and needing only five minutes to score. Defender Rafa Marquez cleverly sneaked behind Heinze to put away the free kick perfectly flicked on by Mario Mendez, and it was 1-0 Mexico. Though Argentina was shocked at the plot twist, they nontheless equalized five minutes later when Mexican striker Jared Borgetti, defending Argentine striker Hernan Crespo on a corner kick, headed the ball into his own net. Crespo took credit despite appearing to barely miss the ball, but FIFA later confirmed it to Crespo anyway. But no time for details - the ball was in the back of the net and this scorcher was just heating up. Eccentric Mexico manager Ricardo La Volpe (an Argentinean, by the way) executed a brilliant strategy that saw Mexico take command of the first half, leaving Argentina in dissaray and no doubt feeling lucky to get to the break without further goals. Mexico did this by playing fast, with quick runs and passes and by putting immense pressure on Argentinean playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, the man with the keys to the albiceleste engine. Winning every ball, Mexico took the game right to Argentina. This constant pressure kept offensive-minded players like midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and defender Juan Pablo Sorin on their heels and completely out of the attack. Meanwhile, the return of Borgetti to the offense caused problems in and around the box, and only through bad luck did Mexico not go back up. I don't remember saying 'wow, what a game!' so many times in one half in my life.

But Argentina learned their lesson as they gained control of the game in the second half. The key was slowing it down a bit and controlling possession. Mexico, for their part, continued their strategy, still with no results, but were becoming more successful in wearing down Riquelme. Eventually the South Americans brought on Carlos Tevez for Crespo, and young Lionel Messi for Javier Saviola (as well as Pablo Aimar for Cambiasso). These two couldn't produce results against the Dutch defense in their previous match, so this curious pairing could only be attributed to a potential mismatch that the unfortunately-named Argentine manager Jose Peckerman must have seen. The duo, while electifying individually, failed to link up very well, save for a few occasions. Messi had a goal disallowed for an erroneous offsides call, while Tevez, for all his impressive handiwork, froze in front of goal on a breakaway near the end of regular time, unsure whether to shoot or pass. It took Marquez the defender, playing the game of his life, to deny Argentina a winner.

Both teams were dead tired going into extra time. Riquelme in particular clearly was unable to run onto passes meant for him. And while substitutes Gonzalo Pineda and Zinha for Mexico did their best, an exhausted Mexico were left to sending long balls into the box time and again. Finally, just before the end of the first period of extra time, a long cross outside the Mexican box found Maxi Rodriguez on the right, who then took it perfectly off his chest and sublimely volleyed a left-footed bending shot past the outstretched Mexican keeper Oswaldo Sanchez in the upper corner, just inside the far post. Argentina's bench, players and crowd were jubilant as they were now only left to defend for 15 more minutes. After the break, tired players picked themselves up and gave it their all. Mexico tried bravely to convert several long-balls, to no avail. Needing only to run the clock out, Messi's and Tevez' youthful inexperience showed as they each raced toward goal several times when all they really needed to do was dribble into a corner and put their foot on the ball, or play keep-away from Mexico. Finally, time ran out. Both teams gave it all they had and produced a truly memorable display, although only Argentina would go on in this tournament.

* * *

Even before today, the showdown between Germany and Argentina promised to be magnificent. In light of these matches, it's fair to say that Germany will be the fresher of the two for Friday's clash. It's tough to call. Fatigue aside, both have top-class midfields, though here the advantage goes to Argentina. Both have good defenses, although for its big names and attacking potential, Argentina has the upper hand here as well. And while Germany's strikers are hotter right now than perhaps Argentina's, the albiceleste has the advantage as they go far deeper with Messi and Tevez, as opposed to Germany's diminuitive, though effective Oliver Neuville. Lastly, Riquelme v. Ballack promises to be spectacular, as both players are so strong on the ball and the heartbeat of their teams. But Germany does have that 12th man in the stands, which can never be discounted. I can't wait.

2006-06-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

SPAIN 1 SAUDI ARABIA 0

In the battle of B-teams, Brazil's yesterday looked better than Spain's today, but that's about all the bad news the Spaniards had coming their way today. Spain was the last team in the group to be given the opportunity to take points against the hapless Saudis, but it didn't matter for the Spaniards as they had taken maximum points so far and had already phoned in their reservation for Round two. With very little at stake for either team considering the Saudis needed a miracle from Allah to advance, in short, Spain cruised to victory. Gutierrez Juanito had a great strike on a corner kick from erratic Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes. Once again, the comically inept Saudi defense treated every ball into the box like a live grenade, including this one, allowing for Juanito and Reyes to make the typical look sublime. Saudis were simply taking up space in the box (behind the Spanish, no less) as no one, keeper included, made any effort for the ball. 1-0 to the Spanish. And considering we all know the love affair Spain has with sitting back on a one goal lead, the fact that they mailed in the second half came as no surprise. David Villa, Xavi and Fernando Torres were subbed in but didn't do much. Had they been playing any other team than Saudi Arabia, their opponent should have and could have easily made them pay for their lazy defending. Decent chances were wasted, one after the other. Their luck reached new lows when a deserved call in Spain's box for a penalty was not given and a yellow card was instead issued to the Saudi player for diving. They gave the Rod Steward-coiffed keeper Santiago Cañizares very little to do despite Spain's truly careless defense. But at least he got some playing time after famously losing his number one spot due to a severed tendon caused by dropping a bottle of cologne. Additionally, 30-year-old Michael Salgado made his World Cup debut after being overlooked in 2002 and being injured for Euro 2004. But poor Raul found himself relegated to Spain's reserves, and then couldn't even score on a defense notable for all the wrong reasons. The win finds Spain playing neighbors France on Tuesday.

UKRAINE 1 TUNISIA 0

I could only watch this one for so long before being bored to death, first by the lack of action and second by the announcers constantly bemoaning the lack of action. Yes, Sheva drew a dubious penalty, but a nil-nil draw would have seen Ukraine through anyway. They've got Switzerland up next, which has 'penalty shootout' written all over it. Tunisia once again couldn't get it done in a group in which they had a realistic chance at finishing second. They'll regret letting the Saudis back into a match they had won, as well as missed chances against Ukraine. Next time, guys.

FRANCE 2 TOGO 0

My special thanks to France, who confirmed my soccer aptitude in their win today. Following their disasterous draw with South Korea and the unavailablity of Zinedine Zidane, I knew their prospects looked better. It meant that Patrick Vieira would be back to the middle of the field, where he not only is more comfortable but also has plenty of experience playing with Thierry Henry from their Arsenal days. This side also saw defender Mikael Silvestre and striker David Trezeguet starting (Trezeguet was long overdue), and the difference was apparent from the opening whistle. For while Togo wanted desperately to win over their former colonists, France got off to a great start from the opening whistle, with Trezeguet having a great look just a few minutes in. However, Togolese keeper Kossi Agassa was once again on his game, and he continued to frustrate France in goal, while the rest of the sparrow hawks did their best to physically intimidate Les Blues. At halftime the score was still 0-0, and you had to wonder whether Frace really had it in them to rise to a challenge - of any kind - this World Cup. Sure enough, in the 55th Vieira took a great ball, turned and fired past Agassa to give France the lead. But two goals were what it took to guarantee France a spot in the second round, so they were still left with some work to do. Ribery's absolute sitter his missed was the last straw. Finally, it was none other than Vieira finding Henry making a run into the box. Henry put one of his silky smooth first-touches on the ball before firing it home and putting his hand up to his ear to get some French love. All they had to do now was defend, which they did adequately, and the scoreline remained the same. France were indeed through, set to face the upstart Spaniards in the next round. Manager Raymond Domenech is without a doubt crazy, but I'm glad to see he's at least been reading my blog. As for Togo, I thought they played slightly better than they got credit for. It nice to have teams like them in the World Cup, aside from the off-the-pitch money problems. Good luck guys, hopefully you'll return in four years.

SWITZERLAND 2 SOUTH KOREA 0

Thank god to the Swiss for wanting a strong finish to their group play. A draw would have been enough to see them through but instead they chased a win. Though Koreans will no doubt whine about some questionable officiating in this match, I'm dying to ask them how it finally feels to be on the losing end of some dubious calls. I can only assume the referee, and I can't blame him, would much rather take payment in Swiss Francs than in LG mobile phones, Samsung appliances and dog jerky. It was none other than Arsenal central defender Philippe Senderos heading home an excellent corner kick in the 23rd minute in which he bloodied his head on the follow-through by banging it with a Korean, who needed treatment of his own. Like always, Korea started out by being outplayed as the Swiss looked solid in the attack and had only themselves to blame for some missed chances. However, the tide began to turn as Korea started putting together some good attempts at the Swiss goal while the Swiss defense inexplicably gave them acres of space in which to attack (insert your own Swiss cheese joke here). Additionally, the official missed a Swiss handball inside their own box which could have easily levelled the scoreline. It is fair to say that Switzerland were a bit lucky to get to the half with their lead still intact. The second half brought more of the same initially as the Swiss back line would not push forward while everyone else got behind the ball. Gradually Switzerland started attacking again but I've never seen so many attempts not only wasted, but wasted in such a spectacular manner. They attacked the goal in the final 18 yards about as well as the Saudis defend it. Shots were miles wide and sometimes couldn't be distinguished from crosses. However, they finally got their second when Alexander Frei was released (or 'unleashed' as master American announcer Dave O'Brien likes to say) with a through-ball past the Korean back line. The offiside flag went up, but Frei's goal, in which he dribbled around the onrushing keeper, stood after the referee overruled the linesman due to the initial pass being deflected of a defender. Korea was livid, but although a flag went up they were found completely guilty of not playing until the final whistle. After that, they failed to mount any more serious attempts on the Swiss goal, and the Swiss were through to play Ukraine in round two, doing so as the only team in the World Cup yet to concede a goal.

* * *

BESTS & WORSTS: FIRST ROUND

BEST MATCH: Australia 2 Croatia 2 (Runner-up: Holland 2 Ivory Coast 1)

WORST MATCH: England 1 Paraguay 0 (Runner-up: France 0 Switzerland 0)

MOST DRAMATIC MATCH: Germany 1 Poland 0 (Runner-up: Australia 2 Croatia 2)

TOP FIVE GOALS:
(5) Torsten Fring's ICBM from 40 yards out, Germany vs. Costa Rica
(4) Ronaldo's turn and shoot, Brazil vs. Japan: the 'Great One' returns from fat camp
(3) Fernando Torres' run-on to a Cesc Fabregas pinpoint pass, Spain vs. Tunisia
(2) Fernando Torres' finish to a beautiful build-up thanks largely to Carlos Puyol, Spain vs. Ukraine
(1) Esteban Cambiasso's goal from a Hernan Crespo back-heel, the culimation of a breathtaking build-up, Argentina vs. Serbia & Montenegro
(Honorable mention: Joe Cole's volley, England vs. Sweden and Darijo Srna's free kick, Croatia vs. Australia)

BEST TEAM GOING HOME: Ivory Coast (Runner-up: tie between Croatia and Czech Republic)

BEST DEPARTING KEEPER: Shaka Hislop, Trinidad & Tobago (Runner-up: Jean-Jacques Tizie, Ivory Coast)

BEST PLAYER: Going out on a limb, I'm going with Kaka (Runner-up: Fernando Torres)

BIGGEST SURPRISE: tie between Australia and Ghana - way to go, guys

2006-06-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

GHANA 2 UNITED STATES 1

The first real day of meaningful games in final first-round matches brought some of the best games of an already magnificent tournament, but unfortunately not the result U.S. fans were looking for. The look of despair on the faces of 11 beaten Americans following their elimination match against the upstart Ghanaians told of unmet expectations and a day's performance that was too little, too late. After only their uniforms seemed to show up to play the Czech Republic, the U.S. put on a spirited performance against Italy in which they left everything on the field against a side who outmatches them by a mile on paper.

Witnessing the startling variation in form from one game to the next by many teams in the tournament, it was fair to wonder which U.S. side would show up needing at least a win for themselves against Ghana, in addition to some help from Italy in their match to advance into the second round. In the end, the team who showed up was second best on the field to the Ghanaian Black Stars, who will advance to the second round to face Brazil in their first ever World Cup.

Though their energy level was higher than that of the Czech match, it was obvious from the starting whistle that the Americans were playing with the weight of the world on their shoulders. The problem was, only four of them were up to the task today, and four just couldn't sustain the heavy lifting needed against a determined side who was faster, more determined and had far superior touch on the ball than the Americans. Captain America Claudio Reyna dug a deeper hole for his side when he had the ball stolen only 30 yards out by Haminu Draman, who sprinted toward goal and beat Kasey Keller with a well-taken shot to the far post.

The U.S. produced no serious response, not even having the cojones to take on their opponents individually until the 43rd minute, when Beasley intercepted a short pass, sprinted toward goal on a breakaway and picked out an onrushing Clint Dempsey, just ahead of his marker himself with a perfect pass that Dempsey absolutely pounded back into the net with a conviction and technique suggesting he was one of only a few U.S. players up for this match. But just before half, in a play that will no doubt be the scapegoat masking the team's true problems, Oguchi Onyewu was called for bringing down Razak Pimpong in the box and captain Stephen Appiah gave the lead back to Ghana on the subsequent penalty kick.

Once again, the U.S. now found themselves in a situation inconsistent with their game plan: instead of defending and scoring on the counterattack as is their typical strategy, they now faced a side determined to play defense, in which the U.S. has to play the agressor. Unfortunately, this U.S. team has been a side for some time that does not instill belief that they can ever come back from a deficit. This game proved it once again, as a combination of near misses, Ghanaian time-wasting and a glaring lack of a go-to guy sealed the fate of the U.S. Media darling Landycakes Donovan was nowhere to be seen this World Cup. He truly has gone soft living in southern California and playing in the MLS, where even there his stature has declined. His true self was exposed for the world to see and I doubt his agent will be getting any more calls from Europe. As shocking as it sounds, it's not unfair to suggest that Donovan is finished as an impact player. Beasley followed up a below-par season at PSV Eindhoven with a similar below-par performance in the World Cup. Both now-former stars serve as cautionary tales to athletes who start believing their own hype. I don't worry much about McBride, who will return to England playing in a system under which he flourishes. Eddie Lewis looked surprisingly sharp down the sides today, while Bobby Convey, who will be in the Premiership next year, was one of the only players to take on opponents this World Cup (in contrast to Beasley). Clint Dempsey proved deserving of a European contract and Oguchi Onyewu must be tired from carrying his team.

Finally, Bruce Arena was exposed a bit for his tactical shortcomings this World Cup. Playing a 4-5-1 in a must-win game at the World Cup, while risky, can pay off with the right strategy. But the benefits it provides in retaining the ball and dominating the midfield are only worthwhile if the team itself is intent on going forward. Only several players showed any interest in that today, creating a situation doomed to fail. Finally, leaving out Eddie Johnson for most of the World Cup had everyone wondering why, although I believe his impact in the Czech game was a bit overrated, owing mostly to the contrast between his and the team's performance that day.

So where do we go from here? While it is true that many of the European-based players failed to show for this World Cup, on the other hand only Dempsey and Johnson among the MLS representatives looked good. Still, U.S. Soccer should encourage their best to play overseas - look what it did for Ghana. We will likely have a coaching vacancy as well. Chase after Jurgen Klinsmann, who has transformed the Germans from an outdated panzer division into a fleet of Porsches and is currently captivating an entire nation - the hosts - this summer (he even resides in Orange County - it's a perfect gig for him). But most glaring in my mind is that U.S. Soccer suffers from isolationism. Disregarding tournaments like the Confederations Cup last year have come back to bite them in the ass. Similarly, the urge to shy away from playing teams who might actually beat the Americans has got to stop. Sure it might upset little Timmy and his soccer mom when the family pays tickets to see the U.S. lose to a footballing superpower in a friendly. But how can we live up to our own hype when we never play quality sides? The England friendly last year, along with the Germany friendly of several months ago were more abberation than routine. The simple fact, made abundantly clear one more time at this World Cup, is that beating up on CONCACAF teams will never prepare the U.S. to play with the best every four years. U.S. Soccer needs to get over its fear of failure, fear of upsetting soccer moms and dads and start going toe-to-toe with the rest of the world. Beating Honduras does not a champion make. Until then, the rest of the world will continue to see us as more intersted in playing our own football than theirs.

ITALY 2 CZECH REPUBLIC 0

For what it's worth, Italy held up their end of the bargain with the U.S., finishing first and earning a date with the Ozzies in round two. I was glued to the U.S. game and subsequently missed a match I really wanted to see. Amazing that Materazzi, of all people, nailed home the first. With that one under his belt, I can only imagine how much bloodier than normal he left the field today. Congratulations to Italy for getting it done. I'm personally sorry to see the 'Czech Republicans,' as one British announcer reportedly called them, going home this early. Pavel Nedved was an absolute joy to watch, as was a world-class keeper in Petr Cech. While Cech will likely be around for years, this is certainly the last we'll see of Nedved on the world stage, along with Karel Poborsky, Jan Koller and Tomas Galasek - it was fun while it lasted but over too soon for a team with great potential but limited by so many injuries. But I look forward to seeing Tomas Rosicky at Ashburton Grove in an Arsenal shirt 38 times later this year.

BRAZIL 4 JAPAN 1

With Brazil just leveling the scoreline at halftime and a blistering Australia v. Croatia match being played simultaneously, imagine my dismay when the Editor-in-chief called and asked me to come back from lunch early to the Daily Planet to train an intern on her first day. But since this blog isn't paying the bills, I didn't have much choice. Therefore my match analysis will be limited. I understand Japan gave Brazil a great match until they tired in the end. Japan's goal was as superb as their keeper has been in three matches. While he might have fallen short on one occasion today (so I understand), he's a great candidate for 'best keeper not to survive the first round.' But Brazil, even with a retooled starting XI, was too much to handle for the Japanese and their Brazilian manager, Zico. However, it was great to see Juninho get in on the action, as well as Arsenal man Gilberto Silva. My Sao Paolo-based Brazilian correspondent Rui says the Brazilian press is mystified as to why Mr. Parreira continues to his 'magic quartet' in the positions he does, and the popular suggestion is to take out either Ronaldo or Adriano (preferably Ronaldo, though dare I wonder whether his performance today suggests a return to form? I only saw one half of it), who are the same style of player and move Ronadinho up front. Then Juninho can take Ronny's position in the center as playmaker. However, he went on to remark that this is highly unlikely. But Brazil v. Ghana will prove to be a great match next Tuesday. Don't you dare miss it.

AUSTRALIA 2 CROATIA 2

Arrrrrgghhh, why did I have to miss this one? So many elements suggested that this match had classic written all over it before it began. (1) Rabid fans for both teams (2) several Croatians on Australia's team and some Croatian players who were born in Australia (3) a must-win situation for Croatia and must-win-or-draw for Australia to advance (4) both sides looked surprisingly sharp against Brazil, who still beat them both (5) new keeper for Australia tending the net. If anyone has a recording of this match, please oh please let me know. I saw Darijo Srna take one of the best free kicks in the tournament so far in the third minute and Australia convert a penalty late in the half and a great 40 minutes in between, but that is about it. Apparently Australia finished the match with 10 men and Croatia nine. In the end, Australia advances to play Italy, which should make for another exceptional second round matchup (again - what an incredible World Cup this is!) while Croatia will be left to ponder missed opportunities against Japan on Sunday which helped to seal their fate.

2006-06-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

PORTUGAL 2 MEXICO 1

Needing a win or a draw to assure second-round qualification, Mexico must have figured its chances were good in getting a result. Portugal had already won Group D and had nothing to play for, and so were resting stars-with-yellow-cards Pauleta, Deco, and crybaby Christiano Ronaldo. But this seems to be a Portugal side who often play best with no pressure. When one further considers that those NOT sitting included Luis Figo, Simao, Maniche, Ricardo Carvalho and Tiago, Mexico had a game on their hands from the opening whistle and found themselves behind when Simao, on the endline, found Maniche racing into the box to fire home in only the sixth minute. Mexico can blame getting initially outplayed on the fact that defender Rafa Marquez was positioned as more of a holding midfielder - playing further upfield - which is how Maniche found the space to roam. Marquez' woes continued as he inexcusably brought his hand up to the ball on a corner kick, thus awarding the Portuguese a corner kick which Simao converted. However, a number of sporadic Mexican chances went begging until Fransisco Fonseca headed in to reduce the lead in the 29th. Both sides then continued trying to make the most of their chances, although Portugal's often looked better, until the break. The second half saw more of the same. Mexico had a golden chance to equalize in the 59th minute when Miguel handled in the penalty area, but Omar Bravo sent the penalty sailing over the bar. He was having a worse day than Marquez when Bravo managed to put an absolute sitter over the bar as well later. In the end, neither he, nor Zinha, Fonseca or the substituted Guillermo Franco could fill the boots of Jared Borgetti, who is still nursing a torn muscle. Portugal's defense and hustling midfield were just too much for El Tri today. While they still qualified for the second round, it's clear they'll need better performance from their stars and a more coherent game plan to take on Argentina, of all teams. They'll also need to rethink all the dives in the box, as the referee not only wasn't buying it, but dished out a second yellow card to Luis Perez for doing so. Don't forget a lot of luck as well. But if manager Ricardo LaVolpe can tweak his team's feng shui just right, who knows?

ANGOLA 1 IRAN 1

I didn't watch this one, opting instead for the above game. Congratulations to Angola on their first World Cup, in which they earned two points, scored a goal and gave footballing powers Portugal and Mexico real matches. Had Iran not equalized late, they might have found themselves playing Argentina this weekend. Iran, enjoy your wonderful country upon your return home.

ARGENTINA 0 HOLLAND 0

This match with lots of hype but little at stake was either a snoozer or a high-speed chess match for the benefit of each manager, depending on your appetite for soccer. That both sides were resting some of their best players and experimenting with new player interactions was obvious from the starting lineups. Most mouth-watering was the Argentinean strike pairing of Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez. Again, coaches were resting their players with yellow cards in this one, so Holland's defense was largely unfamiliar (though Cocu, Van Der Vaart, Van Persie and van Nistelrooy remained further up front) while for Argentina, Sorin and Heinze, along with Crespo and Saviola up front were all taking the day off. The first half saw Holland looking sharp in the attack early on, with the exception of an invisible Ruud. But once Argentina settled down, it was Riquelme, Tevez and Messi time as Messi danced around defenders while Tevez could not be brought down or dispossessed. Both nets remained empty, however, as a stalemate seemed to please both sides. It meant that Argentina won the group on the strength of their 6-0 thrashing of Serbia & Montenegro, earning the chance to play Mexico in the second round, while Holland will go up against Portugal. And while it is unfortunate that Messi and Tevez together produced no results, it's important to note why. Without a Crespo who can make sneaky runs around and behind the defensive line, both strikers on display today were reduced to taking long range shots or attempting to break a Dutch defense that held up fairly well. The only useless man on the pitch was Ruud's substitute, Ryan Babel, in the 56th minute, who bungled every touch and half-chance that came his way. However, his appearance owes to the situation - a nice luxury for coaches who could tinker with their lineup against top-notch competition. England should have done the same, as they found themselves in a similar situation yesterday. What better time than then to see what young Theo Walcott is actually capable of when Owen went down in the first five minutes, rather than bring on the yellow card-carrying Crouchaldinho? Only manager Sven would be audacious enough to name him to the team against all good reason, then cautious enough to leave him on the bench in a game of little consequence. With Argentina's full team back to face an out-of-form Mexico in the second round, everything looks rosy for the albiceleste. And a Holland v. Portugal showdown sounds tantalizing as well - a match-up of two legendarily underachieving teams who seem to improve with each match in the World Cup so far. May I just say this again? This is a fantastic World Cup this year!

IVORY COAST 3 SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 2

Had I been a psychic, I would have watched this match instead, although Ivorian Didier Drogba had to sit this one out. Congratulations to the Ivory Coast for a much deserved win. It's a shame they're going home after looking so strong in losses to two top-quality teams. But them's the breaks, and in the end the new guys couldn't get it done, so they're going home. The upside here is the youth of the team. Hopefully we'll see them again in four years - on African soil, no less. As for S&M, another tough break. In addition to falling short of expectations, they will go home to a divided nation - one they played for after it ceased to exist. Nice job getting to the dance and finally putting a couple in the back of the net today.

2006-06-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

GERMANY 3 ECUADOR 0

Depending on your natural amount of skepticism, this match was either a domination by Germany, or it was already over before it began. However, after watching Germany's performance, both may be true. Because although Ecuador manager Luis Fernando Suarez said he was playing to win or lose while fielding a lineup that suggested playing for a draw, Germany simply ran rampant over the South Americans. While some of Ecuador's key players were rested, from the start Germany never let them into the game, dominating posession and defending as well as ever. An early goal by Miroslav Klose, one of two he had on the day, helped to set the tone as well. Ballack's play, as usual, was superb. His toe lift over the defense to an onrushing Klose was a Top 5 candidate for 'Goal of the First Round.' Klose controlled the ball and simultaneously split the two defenders, moved right to slip past the oncoming keeper and left himself an easy tap-in. The crowd justifiably went nuts. And while Klinsmann's mind is one that no one will ever understand, his risky move not to substitute out Ballack, playing with a yellow card, didn't prove to be a problem. Germany also had several excellent chances to demonstrate their speed and counterattacking ability, and converted when Bernd Schneider sprinted up the right side and crossed a perfect ball into the box for the previously useless Lukas Podolski to slot home on a slide. Germany had many more chances throughout the day, which turned Berlin's stadium into one giant party. Even Robert Huth became involved, as every play he made was greeted by the crowd echoing his surname. While there is always cautionary talk of 'peaking early,' this should not be an issue for Germany as they seem to be improving with each match. Meanwhile, Ecuador can sit back with its rested stars and hopefully not let the loss of momentum get them down for their second-round match.

POLAND 2 COSTA RICA 1

Sorry, I didn't watch this one - not while Germany were running on all cylinders. But congratulations to Poland for earning three (late) points. Please take your hooligans home with you now.

ENGLAND 2 SWEDEN 2

Assuming that Trinidad & Tobago weren't going to make up a three-goal differential, this match had draw written all over it considering both that this result would see both teams through, and that soccer history has not been kind to England against the Swedes. Well, a draw was what they got, but in a very unlikely way. England's Michael Owen went down in only the third minute, officially snatching the title of Most Delicate Englishman from the (presumably injured) hands of Jonathan Woodgate. Unofficial word was a knee injury. Thus, Crouchaldinho was brought on in only the fourth minute but was probably instructed to play cautiously, since his one yellow card was the reason he wasn't starting in the first place. And while Rooney had a few good plays and brought some much needed energy to the side, the same old England came to play today: Lampard fired a few over the bar, Beckham crossed some balls that weren't taken advantage of, Ashley Cole got himself involved, but only Joe Cole looked spectacular. The fact that it was his day showed when he chested down a ball and volleyed it off the bounce high into the far post, catching the Swede keeper too far off his line to do anything about it. It should also be mentioned that Own Hargreaves, normally the physical embodiment of Sven's footballing philosophy, played very well in central half and asserted himself throughout the match. But once again, it was a tale of two halves for England in which the second half seems to always find them second best. Suddenly, Sweden was looking very dangerous on set plays, as a Markus Allback header found the back of the net and leveled the score. Eight minutes later, Sweden found the underside of the crossbar as Paul Robinson deflected an Olof Mellberg header, but not before claims of handball against Jamie Carragher went unrecognized. Sweden continued to look as invigorated as Swedes possibly can (which is to say, not much), especially on set plays, while in contrast, England appeared more and more dull. David Beckham was made to look more one-dimensional than ever as he only bothered to show up on free kicks and corners. They finally retook the lead, however, when Steven Gerrard, substituted for a frustrated Wayne Rooney in the 69th minute, scored a great header from the penalty area on a nice cross. However, after striking the crossbar once more, Sweden got another equalizer in the 90th when Henrik Larsson tapped a cross past Robinson with the thinnest of touches. England were denied victory over the Swedes once again, though they still win the group. This means they will face Ecuador, while Sweden will go up against hosts Germany. If I were Germany, however, I would be wishing to play England instead. In addition to Owen's problems, England still play without passion or any real conviction - three games into the World Cup. They rarely look dangerous and continue to let down in the second half. Compare this to Germany, who have scored four second-half goals in three games, two of them around the 90-minute mark. Meanwhile Sweden suddenly showed an aptitude for set plays and scored both their goals this way while threatening many more, all without streaky striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Their match with Germany looks to be interesting, while England-Ecuador is a hard one to call. I'll save that analysis for another day.

PARAGUAY 2 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 0

Didn't watch this one either, but the dream is over for the Soca Warriors. It's a shame to see them come out of the tournament goalless, but the adoration of the world they won in the last week will no doubt be remembered until they next qualify - which could be a while. Paraguay, on the other hand, fell short of expectations and will go home wondering what could have been had they not tapped in a Beckham free-kick three minutes into their World Cup.

2006-06-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

SWITZERLAND 2 TOGO 0

Nice to see the Swiss score their first World Cup goal since 1994. In the portions of the match I watched, Switzerland looked pretty good and didn't have too much to worry about in Togo. Switzerland's second goal, though replays show it was deflected, was still brilliant. However, it was a very predictable result and so I won't waste too much space with it, but the victory served to help France as well after their disasterous collapse against the Koreans. I know full well that French manager Raymond Domench is crazy (look no further than the bizarre eyeglasses frames - always a good yardstick for eccentricity), but even he saw Barthez' lousy goalkeeping yesterday. I don't understand how he can possibly deny Gregory Coupet his shot in goal. Sure, he isn't quite as entertaining, but France can't be too worried about that right now as they have bigger concerns in front of them. The suspension of Zinedine Zidane is a blessing in disguise: much has been made of the fact that Zidane has never assisted a Henry goal, but the reasons for it are pretty clear. Henry is used to receiving the ball first-time at Arsenal, whereas Zidane's style of being a 'playmaker' with no sense of urgency has Henry timing all of his runs poorly. It was no accident that Henry's goal was assisted by former Arsenal strike-partner Silvain Wiltord. Here's to hoping another former Gunner, Patrick Vieira, distributes more to Henry's liking. It's now up to the Swiss to book their second-round ticket and spare the world any further Korea matches for four years, which always seem to involve them getting outplayed throughout the match, staging a freak comeback and having opponents' goals inexplicably dissalowed.

UKRAINE 4 SAUDI ARABIA 0

I saw none of this one, except for a quick montage of Ukranian goals. Bouncing back from a 4-0 slaughtering at the hands of a quality Spanish side is never easy. But nothing could possibly ease that pain quite like a subsequent match against the Saudis. They'll make any team look like world-beaters. Ukraine now only need a win or a draw against Tunisia later this week to advance.

SPAIN 3 TUNISIA 1

Through 45 minutes of hard-driving rain, it seemed as if it only took Spain one match to look as fractured as their country's politics, but their salvation came in the form of an old hero. After Raul had a wonderful second half against Ukraine by playing with the eagerness of a youngster and positioning himself perfectly thoughout that match (as I noticed later on the Univision rebroadcast), it should have been no surprise that Spain's equalizer was created when he followed up on a deflected shot, beating his defender for the goal. And you could feel it coming. The entire second half leading up to that point saw Spain controlling possession perhaps as much as 80 percent of the time. So when Raul leveled the scoreline, Tunisia simply had no answers as the Spaniards kept coming. Just when I was starting to question whether Cesc Fabregas had actually been substituted into the game, he played an amazing 30 yard ball forward to the diagonally-running striker Fernando Torres, who had his marker beat in a sprint and flicked it past the onrushing keeper on the second touch, never once looking up after he received the ball. While the Tunisian keeper perhaps could have done more in either closing down Torres or diving after the ball, Torres' Greek god-like pose after scoring was as appropriate as it was pretentious. He followed this up several minutes later by perfectly trapping a long-ball, once again beating his marker, but getting a little too much foot under it on the bounce and sending it high. He added his last of the match when he was brought down while going for a header in the box and then pounding home the penalty kick under the torso of the hapless keeper, a lucky play thanks to the slick pitch. So Spain are through and have 90 minutes to waste playing Saudi Arabia on Friday. Even goalkeeper Iker Casillas could probably sit this one out.

* * *

I've been meaning to say this for a long time, but Adidas really outdid themselves this go-round with their ad campaign. Yes, I'm getting tired of seeing it more than 10 times a day, but those spots are brilliant and further put to shame Nike's 'Joga Bonito' ads, which are a huge letdown after their Euro 2004 'Ole' commercials, in which Ronaldinho's insane mid-air toe-flick move was on display and Eric Cantona was only briefly seen. Seriously, this time around do we need Eric f***ing Cantona, of all people, to tell us to 'play bootiful?' I'm glad Nike still isn't the World Cup sponsor. And with Adidas' match ball providing some spectacular goals, 'die marke mit den 3 streifen' are on quite a roll this year.

2006-06-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

CROATIA 0 JAPAN 0

Catching up on my blog, I only watched this one periodically. I saw one great penalty save from Japanese keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and not much else from either side. Congratulations, you each get a point.

BRAZIL 2 AUSTRALIA 0

Following a win against Croatia in which the media apparently expected nothing less than a performance which would have put Brazil 1970 to shame, Ronaldinho and co. entered today's match against an upstart Aussie side with question marks in the media, but a quiet confidence in their play. Brazil is a team who steps up only when it matters, and although they didn't score 20 goals, and although Australia did possess the ball on a number of occasions and even make some great attempts, and although they did have to actually play defense, what do you know? Brazil came away with another convincing win that inched closer to the silly expectations placed upon them. And what can really be said about a Brazilian victory? They moved the ball fluidly and creatively, they received great help from their outside backs in the attack, their counterattacks were quick and dangerous and their defenders displayed textbook tackles to deny their opponent. In short, they stuck with their formula. Australia could have made things interesting with their own counterattack, as substitute Harry Kewell blew several sitters that’ll no doubt keep him awake tonight. And their midfield displayed good hustle in getting back on defense. Defense, however, was the difference, as Zé Roberto made a couple perfect, vital tackles to deny Australia the chance to attack, while Adriano got an easy goal when his defender played too far off him, presumably to contain him and prevent the dribble. All it really did was give Adriano a great look at goal as he slotted it home perfectly, a daisy-cutter just inside the right post on an assist by Ronaldo. Speaking of Ronny, he will no doubt be panned again for a performance notable this time for a whiff on an excellent opportunity in the first half, and also for the aforementioned assist. Again he was replaced by Robinho, a move which brought renewed intensity up front. Brazil’s second opportunity was a stroke of luck and heads-up play. It came on the heels of a recent Kaka sprint in which he dribbled half the length of the field only to fire it wide in the end, and soon after a powerful header, again by Kaka, which rattled the crossbar. This time, Robinho’s shot from the right side bounced off the post, sitting perfectly in front of goal for substitute Fred to easily tap home. That was all she wrote for Australia, who now face Croatia in what will likely decide second place, as well as possible bragging rights for Australia’s sizeable Croatian immigrant population. Japan meanwhile have the thankless task of trying to beat Brazil by a wide margin to earn second place, though this result will only allow them through if Croatia win as well. Lastly, Brazil punched their tickets to the second round while earning plenty of unfair criticism along the way. Listening to their critics, one would think they made it through in a manner as lackluster and unconvincing as England’s, but this is simply not the case. Whereas England have looked as dull and uninspired as their manager through two easy matches made to look difficult, Brazil were on cruise control the whole time. Only the most unrealistic (and there are a lot of them) English supporters would compare the two performances, so shame on the English media for doing so.

FRANCE 1 SOUTH KOREA 1

Competitions are simply much more fun with a villain. Whether fans will admit it or not, a contest between two likeable teams is hard to watch and confusing for viewers, creating a 90-minute-long agony of mixed emotions. Every call, every move and every goal is second guessed. That's why, as frustrating as this match was, I have to keep reminding myself that Korea is here for a reason, and wouldn't you know it, they've done it again. This side has developed a knack for: (1) playing very boring soccer, (2) always pulling a goal out when it matters, and (3) denying the opposition legitimate chances under highly suspect circumstances. After taking the lead on a through-ball easily slotted home by Arsenal talisman Thierry Henry, Korea pulled another fast one on the world when keeper Lee Woon-Jae palmed away a Patrick Vieira header from a Zidane corner that had clearly crossed the goal line. This is getting out of hand. I hope someone checked the parking lot after the match, because if the referees drove away in anything other than Kias or Hyundais I'd be very surprised. Nontheless, Korea continued to give France plenty of space to attack in the first half, though Les Bleus failed to make anything of it. Their performance was much improved over last time, but a killer instinct is still lacking. The second half saw France content during large stretches to sit back and defend. Therefore, the shift in momentum was clearly felt by anyone watching as a Korea goal came knocking louder and louder, when at last Park Ji-Sung lobbed a corner kick header over the awkward Fabien Barthez to equalize. William Gallas grabbed the ball out of goal and kicked it high in disgust, which perfectly summed up mine and his emotions. France were left with about 10 minutes to retake the lead, and Franck Ribery's earlier entrance into the game provided a glimpse of vintage Zidane as he worked exhaustively to create chances for France, but it wasn't to be. Vieira blew an absolute sitter from just outside the 18-yard box, sending it high into the stands as France were left to ponder an easy victory thrown away. Zinedine Zidane's only major contribution was picking up his second yellow card of the tournament, making him unavailable for France's next match against Togo. Meanwhile, Korea's fans will continue to annoy the world in humming the musical stylings of Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' and other well-known classical numbers. I'm taking guesses as to how many legitimate goals will be pulled back and erroneous offsides will be called against Switzerland, Korea's next opponent.

2006-06-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

PORTUGAL 2 IRAN 0

After Mexico provided further proof that scoring goals on Angola isn't so easy, Portugal must have breathed a sigh of relief - not only at the Mexican's comparative difficulty getting goals, but also at the result, which meant a win would see them in sole posession of first place in Group D. For although Portugal won their first match 1-0, they obviously lacked any sort of predatory instinct past the first minute and were always at least one good ball away from putting another in. However, on Saturday they came up against a stubborn Iran team who played competitively for 70 minutes in their previous match, a loss to Mexico. It was only when injured Ali Karimi, Iran's best player, had to be subbed off around the 60th minute that Portugal's many attacks forward proved to pay off. Deco took a nice pass beyond the top of the box and slotted it on the left side to give Portugal the lead - on one of their less threatening attacks, no less. Then in the 80th, Portuguese legend Luis Figo, who is looking younger and more vital each game, was brought down in the box for a penalty. All that was left, then, to seal victory was for bratty winger Christiano Ronaldo to slot it home, which he did with a well-taken shot to the upper left corner. In all fairness, Ronaldo improved his performance today to earn a deserved result. With that, Portugal advanced to the second round, while Iran was assured of returning home before their postcards arrive. Portugal will now play Mexico for first place and a date with the second-place finisher in Group C: either Argentina or Holland.

GHANA 2 CZECH REPUBLIC 0

Looking so strong in their dismantling of the U.S. in their first match, today's Czech Republic encounter with Ghana served as a cautionary tale in letting down your mojo and intensity in the second match of the group stage. It could not have come at a worse time for the Czechs as they faced a Ghanaian team in a must-win situation, all without the help of their main strikers Jan Koller and the still-injured Milan Baros. From the get-go, Czech found themselves behind as Ghana unleashed a rocket past keeper Petr Cech in the second minute. From then on, despite the best efforts of attacking midfielders Pavel Nedved, Tomas Rosicky Jaroslav Plasil and Karel Poborsky, the Czechs could never quite crack the Ghanaian defense. The lone striker for the match, Vratislav Lokvenc, couldn't do much at all and seemed entirely ineffective. In fact, the Czechs were beaten to nearly every ball and outplayed in nearly every way by Ghana's speedy, tireless midfield. They pushed into the attack every time and dropped back on defense for every Czech possession until the final whistle. They simply played in a higher gear than the Czech Republic, who looked so quick last week against the U.S. Petr Cech legitimately proved he is the best keeper in the world by making countless outstanding saves. It was all he could do to keep the scoreline 1-0, then 2-0 throughout the match. Ghana earned a penalty on a through-ball to Matthew Amoah, who was slightly tripped in the box by vital defender Tomas Ujfalusi, who was shown a straight red card. While his shot hit the post, Ujfalusi's absence was felt as it was only a matter of time before Ghana scored their second, an easy finish from a wide-open Sulley Muntari. The Czechs wasted their best chances each time, whether sending it wide, over, or straight to the keeper. Nedved found the net a minute into the second half, but was ruled offside. Rosicky, who looked so sharp in his first match failed to make much of an impact, but it was Plasil on the left side who seemed to bungle most of the promising attacks and chances that came his way.

ITALY 1 UNITED STATES 1

In what will be remembered as a classic encounter in the U.S. for years to come, the Americans put in an effort that was 180 degrees different from their first match. Admittedly, I watched this match among the distractions of a pizza restaurant starting around the time the red cards began coming out of the shirt pocket. Therefore, my observations might not be of the most insightful caliber. However, while this time it was Italy who looked a bit flat, in contrast the U.S. looked as if they were playing the match of their lives, and rightly so. They did not back down from any challenge, as the red cards are proof of that. And, in contrast to our genius American commentators, the red cards seemed appropriate punishment to me, as the fouls were all clearly vicious. In a match of that intensity, the referee did what he had to to keep control of the match. Anything less and the game would have taken a back seat to elbows, dirty tackles and tripping. But this intensity is good: it showed the will to win that was absent against the Czechs. Landon Donovan looked hungry for the first time in years, Bobby Convey showed great hustle down the left side, Clint Dempsey, making his first World Cup appearance, proved his worth and Oguchi Onyewu was critical as he stiffled numerous Italian chances despite playing with a yellow card carried over from his first match. Finally, Kasey Keller, though flat-footed for the Italians' first goal, made some world-class saves, one of which, against an excellent Gianluca Zambrotta volley, saved the game for the U.S. DeMarcus Beasley came on late and put one in the back of the net which was called offside as Brian McBride was clearly behind the line and in between the ball and keeper Gianluigi Buffon. Beyond this chance, though, he still exudes a hesitancy to go at the defense - clearly unlike his old self. Arena inexplicably finished the match with one subsitution still available, leaving recently in-form striker Eddie Johnson on the bench. Thinking about it now, it is strange to internalize this result, after thinking since the draw that this team realistically didn't have a chance against this superior Italian side. But soccer is a funny game, and never fails to demonstrate that a team such as the U.S., on their day, can be a match for anyone. This return to form comes at a crucial time as they play a Ghanaian team carrying lots of momentum into their final match. Italy can qualify for the second round with a win or a draw against the Czechs, Czech can qualify with a win or a draw if the U.S. draws as well, Ghana can get through with a win or a draw if Italy wins, and the U.S. can qualify with a win along with an Italy win, or a Czech win if the U.S. makes up the goal differential. If Italy and Czech draw, the only chance the U.S. has is to win big themselves, getting some goals to their name along the way.

2006-06-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

ARGENTINA 6 SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO 0

Argentina's first match against the Ivory Coast left the world thinking that, though the game was the first excellent match of the World Cup, the South Americans had much more to show the world. What they had to show, specifically, were the likes of strikers Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi, who today got the chance to enter a match already out of Serbia's reach push it even further away. Poor S&M: First they get thrown into the group of death after an excellent qualifying campaign, now they can't even score a goal for their now-dissolved nation back home. In retrospect, they appear to have peaked at the wrong time as Holland earned three points off them and Argentina appeard to break their will to even compete. But to be fair, Esteban Cambiasso's goal would have broken the will on anyone. In a dizzying game of keep-away-from-Serbia, Argentina moved the ball around effortlessly in its attack until a through-ball found Crespo inside the box. He moved right, then backheeled it for Cambiasso to run onto and slot past the Serbian (or Montenegran) keeper - a legitimate candidate for goal of the tournament so far. After Rodriguez and Cambiasso (not Combiassa, Mr. I-know-everything-'expert' Eric Wynalda) humbled and humiliated Serbia's defense, the dynamic duo of Tevez and Messi showed what Argentina is capable of. Argentina were clearly not ready to sit back, play defense and put their foot on the ball, as Tevez came on for fellow striker Javier Saviola, while Messi replaced midfielder Rodriguez a few minutes later. Tevez lived up to his reputation, displaying highlight-worthy dribbling skills and an ability to stay on his feet while taking knocks, finally playing an excellent ball across the box to Crespo for their fourth goal. With defeat fully on the faces of Serbia, Tevez continued to attack in the same manner, slotting one of his own in the net to make it 5-0. Then the stage was all Messi's in the 88th minute when he displayed some fancy moves of his own and getting it past the keeper on the far post from the right side. S&M weren't even playing for pride at this point in a game which had become more exhibition than match. It meant Argentina were going to the second round, seemingly with all the momentum in the world and six of their players already on the scoresheet.

HOLLAND 2 IVORY COAST 1

The Ivorians have every right to lament over their bad luck. In their first World Cup, loaded with a star-studded, lightning-quick squad, they had the misfortune of drawing both Holland and Argentina in their group. Indeed, this Group of Death lived up to its reputation, as each of the Ivory Coast's first two matches were easily some of the best of the tournament so far. In any other group, Didier Drogba and co. would have advanced to the next round. Today though, they were up against a Dutch side with the round of 16 on their mind and an entire stadium of Orange supporting this cause. The Oranje army started off sharp, with young bratty Arsenal striker Robin van Persie being brought down on the edge of the box promptly putting away the direct free kick in the top right corner - a superb strike that the Beckham of five years ago would have been proud of. Soon after, with Holland continuing the attack, the Ivory Coast defense played right into the hands of the clever Dutch. Previous-match hero Arjen Robben attacked on the dribble toward the middle, drawing every defender and leaving open perhaps the most dangerous striker in the world. All it took was a great leading pass for Ruud Van Nistelrooy to pound it home and Holland were up 2-0 - an unlikely scoreline given that the Africans were attacking with all the gusto of the Dutch, but none of the effectiveness. However, a subsequent Didier Zokora shot served as a reminder that the Ivorians were still very much in it, despite the shot catching the crossbar. Then Bakari Kone brought the Elephants back to within a goal, and it was game on. A harsh yellow card for captain Drogba for a late challenge on keeper Edwin Van Der Sar meant he will sit out Ivory Coast's final game, against Serbia. The second half saw the Ivorians continue to attack and create chances, yet be denied by the coming-of-age Dutch defense. Holland midfielder Phillip Cocu quietly did an excellent job of silencing Ivorian distribution man Zokora, and their back line withstood repeated crosses and corner kicks to deny the speedy Africans any goals, which would have been well-deserved. One such corner kick was headed across the face of goal, and were it not for van Persie guarding the far post and shouldering the ball away, the Ivory Coast would have found themselves level. Still, the Dutch deservedly reached the second round and have a mucn-anticipated date with Argentina coming up, though it is of decidedly less importance. Now that both have secured passage, they have only first place to play for. Far less deservedly, Ivory Coast will go home after presumably picking up some points against Serbia, no doubt feeling cheated by the vagaries of FIFA's seeding system and Group of Death draws. On the plus side, this young team will likely return in 2010, on their home continent and with four more years of experience under their belt. I can't wait.

MEXICO 0 ANGOLA 0

Again, I couldn't catch this one either. All I've gathered is that Mexico had some fine chances, and Angola must have played some stingy defense to hold back a Mexican attack comprised of Omar Bravo and Guillermo Franco. Despite their dispicable 'take no prisoners' strategy they employ every time they play the U.S., Mexico has since won me over with a combination of defender Rafael Marquez' excellent club form for Barcelona, the team's impecable talent, an aesthetically pleasing style of play and manager Ricardo La Volpe making the sidelines interesting by not only bringing smoking back to the game, but also by unleashing his sartorial 'worst of both worlds' jacket and tie/jeans combination on the world. And don't for a minute think that Mexican girl pop-group Chic Pack hasn't stirred up some Mexican pride in me, with their quasi-patriotic song 'Chiquiti Bum' performed in tiny Mexican soccer outfits their mothers surely don't approve of (thanks Nike), and played endlessly on the Spanish channel. Passage into the second round for Mexico will have to wait, then, as they await Portugal and Iran's result tomorrow.

2006-06-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

ECUADOR 3 COSTA RICA 0

I only woke up to catch the second half of this one, but Ecuador showed the world several things: (1) they can play just as well at sea level as they do at 3,000 meters (2) when the defensive back line does its job, Costa Rica can't score, although they unleased a crossbar-rattling shot just before full time that could have made things interesting (3) face-painting little flags on your cheeks isn't just for the kiddies and female fans, and (4) goalscorer Ivan Kavledes probably unleashed an entirely new paradigm in goalscoring celebrations by pulling a makeshift spandex SpiderMan mask out of God-knows-where after tapping in a 90th-minute cross to put the game on ice. It also means Ecuador, along with Germany, advance to the round of 16, while hapless Costa Rica and Poland are headed home, setting up the first lame-duck match of the World Cup next week. Meanwhile, Ecuador and Germany will play for all the Group A marbles, with the loser earning the chance to play England in the second round.

ENGLAND 2 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 0

Oh boy oh boy. England sure know how to scare the hell out of their fans. I will assume this game was watched by millions, the majority of whom were quietly pulling for T&T to do the impossible. The trouble was, England all but invited them in. I was only able to catch the first half, thanks to a 10 a.m. office meeting (thanks bosses) but what I saw was nothing short of amazing. It was a half of overpaid Premiership megastars throwing everything they had at T&T, though with very little creativity and even less quality. In the islanders, England faced a fired-up defense determined to hold back the Three Lions, while producing very few, though high-quality counterattacks. The Soca Warriors nearly made headlines across the world when a header off a corner kick would have given Trinidad the lead were it not for a world-class clearance off the line by none other than John Terry. Meanwhile, at the other end, once again only Joe Cole looked sharp in his runs through and around the T&T defense, while Lampard took 900 shots, most of them off target, Peter Crouch looked inept trying to finish some superb crosses and Michael Owen making no impact whatsoever. I understand Rooneytime didn't produce the results and it was in fact Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard, who finally produced at the international level, who put the game away. While backing Trinidad is nearly as contagious as Jamaican bobsled fever was 15-some-odd years ago, the end result was the same. Still, T&T have every right to hold their heads up high as they exposed to the world the state of the English team while also looking more formidable than their reputation otherwise suggests. Anyone opposed to the playoff system for qualifying need look no further than Trinidad's (and Australia's) matches to see that it has the ability to produce exciting World Cup matches. T&T is still alive after previously holding Sweden goalless. And though Sweden have three more points, T&T can make Group B interesting, since they're next playing hapless and goalless Paraguay, while the Swedes are up against England, though carrying a goal differential of +1 into the match, compared to T&T's -2. England, on the other hand, better get it together. Unfortunately, they are saddled with a manager who has absolutely no incentive to win except for pride, since whispers surfaced before the World Cup of him taking the Real Madrid position in the coming season. But since he's never done much for them anyway, the players will have to take it upon themselves and step it up in the round of 16, which they qualified for today. Sweden, whom they haven't beat in a very, very long time are looming, and have the second round at stake. A Swedish win could land them in first place, which is looking like a very real possibility after this England match.

SWEDEN 1 PARAGUAY 0

Sorry folks, I couldn't catch much of this one either, so I don't know if it was a case of Sweden's scoring problems continuing to linger of just Paraguay playing the kind of defense for which they're known. Arsenal man Freddie Ljungberg left it late, and Sweden will go on to challenge an out-of-sorts England for all the marbles in Group B. With all the history between the sides, and both teams having difficulties finding the net against farly tame opposition, this could turn out to be a very interesting match. Meanwhile, Paraguay have only pride left to play for when they face Trinidad, who actually do have a mathematical chance of advancing, which would require a large English margin of victory against Sweden and several goals for Trnidad in their match against Paraguay on Tuesday.

2006-06-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

SPAIN 4 UKRAINE 0

Spain stuck with the script today, yet added some extra embellishment as they got of to their usual great start by demolishing Ukraine in the German heat.

Top to bottom, this Spanish side took the game straight at their opponents from the opening whistle and never looked back. Ladies and gentlemen, they had the look of champions. Operating with David Villa, Luis Garcia and Fernando Torres all in forward roles and backed by Sergio Ramos, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Marcos Senna in midfield, the Spanish attacked brilliantly, and in numerous ways - playing tricky through-balls around the middle, crossing it in from the flanks, by releasing their attackers on long balls... in short, Spain took Ukraine out of the game from the start, and it is a testament to Ukraine's defending that two of Spain's goals came on set pieces, while one came on a penalty resulting from the most undeserved red card so far in this tournament.

Spain's midfield was key in pushing far forward and providing the distribution and numbers in attack, while also completely shutting down any sort of offense Ukraine could muster. Similarly, Spain's back line and keeper made easy work of the few hopeful long balls and crosses Ukraine tried to put together. Poor Andriy Shevchenko was helpless up front as he received virtually no passes the entire game.

While it was of little consequence since the game had long been decided, Spain substituted in both their slumping leader, Raul, as well as young Arsenal prodigy Cesc Fabregas. Raul had a chance or two to get his confidence level back up, while Fabregas got some good WC time on the pitch. I'm a big fan of these minor moves: bringing in these important players with the team already winning by so much instills confidence these players can build upon for later, when they need it. It's great experience.

I'm turning into a huge fan of this Adidas 'Teamgeist' match ball, as it is resulting in some spectacular long-range goals so far, but Spain's fourth on the day, one of the best so far in the tournement, was of a different sort. Defender and Captain Caveman lookalike Carlos Puyol sprinted upfield, slicing through the Ukraine midfield and staying on his feet through a nasty tackle. He then passed it off, where immediately it was flicked on, then flicked on again to Ferando Torres with his kickass mullet, who had his man beat, then Ukraninan keeper Olexander Shovkovskyi beat as well with a one-touch shot to the near post. It happened so quickly and resembled a much prettier version of pinball that, in a flash, showed how dangerous the Spaniards can be.

Spain starting off strong is nothing new, however. Let's see if they can play like this in the later rounds. If so, look out world.

TUNISIA 2 SAUDI ARABIA 2

So I raced home from work to watch this one... just kidding. I heard it was an explosive match - or rather, a great match, with some good goals. At least Saudi Arabia kept their opening match opponent to below eight goals this year! Ho hum. Bring on the Spaniards and this'll get ugly in a hurry.

GERMANY 1 POLAND 0

In a rematch of World War II, with the end result being the same, both Germany and Poland looked markedly different from each of their opening matches. In the end, it was a wonderfully dramatic late goal which gave die Mannschaft a hard-fought victory.

With trouble being caused by hooligans leading up to the match, the media buildup and some minor political history intertwined in this face-off, the match was fast, physical and obviously emotional. Poland, so lackluster in their opening match, a loss to Ecuador, created a few decent chances in the first half. Meanwhile, Germany brought the game to the Poles, but were continuously unlucky. Several perfect chances by strikers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski remained just that, and by the second half, when Poland were keeping everyone back and playing for a draw, Germany was obviously running out of ideas as their repeated long-balls looked more and more futile. Meanwhile, Poland inched closer and closer to their result, but not before their keeper saw yellow for repeated time-wasting, and a red card to midfielder Radoslaw Sobolewski left them a man down late into the game. A returned but slightly out-of-form Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose both rattled the crossbar within seconds of each other around full time, and the task looked slightly too tall for the Teutons as their near-misses summed up Germany's effort on the day.

However, Klinsmann's subs, who entered 15 minutes before, came through. David Odonkor, after sending in an impossible number of crosses already, to no avail, found diminuitive striker Oliver Neuville, who dove feet first to slide one by as the stadium went berserk. It was a deserved result, though one that looked just slightly out of reach for the entire match.

This new Germany side, as much as they like to attack, is much more fun to watch. Leave it to a former striker to mold his team this way. Several problem areas should be cause for concern though. Midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Torsten Frings were awful today. Going beyond the point of uselessness, they at times were a genuine detriment to their team. Odd, considering they were each so vital in their victory on Friday against Costa Rica. Meanwhile, having Ballack back was a plus, but a feww good runs aside, his contributions were fairly minimal by his standards and one has to wonder whether he's fully recovered from his calf injury. Nevertheless, their midfield assisted well overall at times with the attack and got back when needed to help the defense, an improvement over last game. The defense as well stepped up. Philipp Lahm, along with Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder, looked much improved and often put immediate stops to Polish attacks. It gave Jens Lehmann relatively little to do throughout the match.

I've secretly wondered since before the World Cup began whether Germany could prove to be a legitimate dark horse. Factor in their home-field advantage and the level of pride that German athletes always play with, the fact that everyone wrote them off which gives them something to prove, and the fact that their team is loaded with players who I think are better than anyone ever gives them credit for. Great teams always persevere with hard work, rising to their challenges, having numerous members all contribute, and finally, a bit of luck. Germany showed all of these today, with the last detail proving especially valuable. I'm a bit less convinced of their chances now, but we're only two matches in.

2006-06-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

SOUTH KOREA 2 TOGO 1

For as many problems as the Togo team has faced going into this game (player infighting, new coach who just threatened to walk out, unpaid bonuses to players), Togo showed equal parts heart and skill to overcome all that and only lose on a late goal while already a man down.

I only turned it on for the second half, but was glad I watched. It took the star power of Korea's Ahn to take the lead against a Togo side who did nearly everything right that we love about underdogs: fearlessness despite adversity (in this case, a red card), solid defending, nice saves by the keeper, a dodgy-looking manager (always a key ingredient) and an offense who showed guts and talent in their continued willingness to counterattack while playing with 10 men. Togo even had several good efforts in the second half, and South Korea is no doubt a little lucky to come out of this match with three points. Finally, Togo's bird dance was perfect: always count on the Africans to provide great goal celebrations.

Petulant star striker and Arsenal man Emmanuel Adebayor had some wonderful opportunities and will hopefully capitalize on them for Togo in their remaining matches. Meanwhile, Korea's manager Dick Advocaat is steeped in the Guus Hiddink Dutch school of football manager mastery, as his substitutions changed the momentum and thus the scoreline of the match, as did Hiddink's for Australia yesterday.

FRANCE 0 SWITZERLAND 0

In a game that promised not only the return to greatness of a World Cup winner, but also the tournament debut of Frenchman Franck Ribery against a Swiss side who fought through Turkish hell to qualify, viewers and spectators can be forgiven for feeling extremely let down by a match of very poor quailty by anyone's standard.

The story is the same for the French, who are loaded with talented players who can't translate their club brilliance into winning international performances. In fact, France looked throughout the game to possess no sense of teamwork, chemistry or communication. Passes were way off, runs were not made and goals were not scored - for either side, actually.

The Swiss could have injected something into the match - either life or quality - had they not been playing for a draw. They couldn't capitalize on a few excellent chances, but neither could France, for that matter. Zidane was solid though rarely brilliant, and I'll guess that Ribery's stock plummeted after this game. With all the hype surrounding him, he looked to be suffering from a bad case of stage fright.

The effort was probably good strategy for the Swiss as they look to be capable of earning three points each off of Korea and Togo, my new favorite team along with Trinidad and the Ivory Coast. But for this, they earned 'honorary Scandanavian' status from me, as they played a style every bit as boring as teams from around the Arctic Circle often do. France, on the other hand, must pull it together quickly. Failure to escape out of a group with the combined skill level of these three teams would be quite embarassing, though it could realistically only come from playing even worse football than today - which I would do anything to avoid watching.

BRAZIL 1 CROATIA 0

A somewhat uneventuful match by Brazilian standards told us a lot less about this team than what many in the media will no doubt think.

Surrounded by media hype leading up to their first match, many wondered aloud whether the Brazilians had it in them this year to go all the way again, considering the distraction, the poor club performance by many of the team's best players, and whatever other reasons people would like to bring into speculation.

What non-Brazilians always fail to realize is the Brazilian mentality. This team never has - and probably never will - go out and bust their ass for a group stage match. Did anyone wearing gold today look like they were breaking a sweat? Periodic flashes of brilliance aside, this team put in the minimum amount of effort required and got their result. Don't like it? I doubt any Brazilian would care. Remember that they always have a knack for turning it on when it matters, whether in a World Cup final or in simply qualifying for the tournament.

Croatia, on the other hand, was surprisingly exciting to watch at times. With a stadium seemingly full of their checkerboard-pattern shirts and flags, you'd have thought you were watching an Italian derby with the colors, the chanting and the flares. And they were losing! While in the first-half Croatia concentrated on defending, which thus limited their attacking possibilities as the midfield spent the first 45 minutes only pushing up so far to avoid being overwhelmed by the lightening-quick eight-man Brazilian counterattack, the second half saw them taking some great chances on offense, in which they created great opportunities but were never quite able to complete the final pass or take many quality shots. Nonetheless, they defended physically but otherwise well. They seemed to really control the pace of the match throughout the second half also. I can't help but say their shirts are cool-looking as well - totally unique, though somewhat reminiscent of an Italian dinner table (an Italian-American one, that is). Look for Croatia, if they remain on this form, to demolish Japan and possibly Australia.

One insight the match did provide, though, was the performance of Robinho on the world stage. The youngster came on for a nonchalant Ronaldo, and showed speed, fancy footwork, good vision and hustle. Here's to hoping the young Pele sees more action off the bench, or possibly in starting, as Brazil have a pretty easy group and should continue to walk through. One more tiny insight provided was Brazil's potential. Kaka's goal just before halftime was perfectly placed and not even struck hard. The space given to him by Croatian defenders allowed him to simply fire away. But what are defenders to do? Play them tight and they'll dribble right around you, play them loose and they'll take deadly aim. That's a conundrum that neither Japan nor Australia are likely to solve.

* * *

After seeing everyone except Group H play one match (and I'm only interested in Spain and Ukraine from that one), I have to say I've so far been most impressed with: (1) Czech Republic, (2) Argentina (3) Ivory Coast, and (4) Mexico. I look forward to seeing what they can do next, as well as which other teams might start to get hot...

2006-06-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

For a change, let's go first-person today...

AUSTRALIA 3 JAPAN 1

While I only watched the second half of the second half, I apparently caught all the good stuff, minus an accidental goal by the Japanese. All one can say is that Guus Hiddink, already proven as one of the best managers in football, pulled another masterstroke today. All three of his subs came on to not only change the style of the match but create three goals in 15 minutes. We found out that Tim Cahill is for real, making a mockery of a Japanese defense who refused to get between Cahill and the goal, while John Aloisi did the same while also creating some of Cahill's chances. Japanese keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi made some fine saves from set pieces leading up to those three goals. Japan's next matches will only get tougher against Croatia and Brazil, so don't expect much from them this tournament. Assuming Brazil beat Croatia tomorrow, a draw against Croatia just might be good enough to see Australia through on goal differential.

CZECH REPUBLIC 3 UNITED STATES 0

As I listen to the American team get skinned alive by callers on World Soccer Daily, after seeing the nuts on ESPN spin the damage control, my head is full and I really don't know where to begin. Let's start by saying the Czech Republic is for real. This match showed they came to play.Proving age is just a number, Pavel Nedved, Jan Koller and Karel Poborsky ran circles around a much younger U.S. team. Milan Baros, still out, shows that there is much more to come from this team.

Onyewu's yellow card in the third minute was unfortunate, but nontheless an invitation to go right at him. Jan Koller's early goal was a brilliant piece of counterattacking where Eddie Lewis was left too far up, though Koller did the real work in faking to the near post, drawing Onyewu there and leaving only the shorter Eddie Pope, who was completely out-muscled. It was a brilliant goal made to look like target practice.

The Americans really didn't look too bad in most of the first half, though. Reyna made some intelligent passes and other smart plays, including his shot against the post that, in all fairness, probably wouldn't have changed much. Donovan was completely ineffective, and McBride received no distribution whatsoever. I actually never saw him touch the ball. Convey and Beasley showed very little besides an unwillingness to take on any Czechs or do anything but pass. The few crosses that Convey got off were inaccurate save for the one meant for Eddie Johnson, which was about as close as the U.S. got in the second half.

More troubling than the scoreline was the fact that the U.S. showed not one hint of spark, heart, character or competitiveness that got them so far four years ago. It was absent during their warm-up matches as well, but you would have to assume the World Cup would produce some sort of adrenaline release - anything besides the timid play on display today.

I must say that while Thomas Rosicky looked outstanding even beyond his two unstoppable goals, my man of the match would be Nedved. Who knew he was still so fast? Not only was he blowing past Beasley, he seemed to be all over the field, giving hell to every U.S. player and always finding new ways to be part of the Czech attack.

In summary, the U.S. seemed to play today like they knew their place in world soccer, as opposed to four years ago when they looked fearless and had everything to prove. Gone was any sort of hunger that every great team, even five-time champs Brazil, seem to be born with. And while the U.S. is a much easier opponent than the Czechs will face in later rounds, it's worth noting that the Czechs appeared after the match to have barely broken a sweat. Landon appeared the same way, for that matter. I was faced with a dizzying array of b.s. coming from all angles at ESPN, which I'd love to comment on once I sort them all out in my head. It will be both maddening and cathartic hopefully, reliving some of the shameful commentary and 'analysis,' for which I'll put pen to paper tomorrow.

I'm saving Italy v. Ghana for later tonight, as I couldn't get proper Univision reception at work. Therefore, no photos from web pages which might reveal that score.

2006-06-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

HOLLAND 1 SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO 0

Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben came off looking like a Diego Maradona in a win that saw Holland earn three valuable points in the 2006 group of death.

Robben looked every bit the star on the world stage as he does at Chelsea. Making cutting runs, taking good shots, evading defenders and putting a brilliant breakaway goal past Serbia early on was exciting for everyone - except, apparently, his teammates, who complained about his ball-greediness.

Already, we're one game in and the Dutch are fighting with each other. It will be quite a test of manager and unofficial Zen master Marco Van Basten to keep his team together - one that is capable of so much but is always highly combustible. He thought rejection of several tempermental stars was the end of his worries, but apparently there's still some discontentment.

Still, Van Basten's unproven defense was up to the task today, stifling most of Serbia's attacks, while stellar keeper Edwin Van Der Sar kept their few serious chances out of the net.

It was a battle of the midfields today, yet every time the Dutch broke through, Serbia's excellent defense had an answer, save for a Robin Van Persie through ball which released Robben, beating his man along with the onrushing keeper. Holland's threats continued to be more frequent and serious than Serbia's as they had posession for far longer, but they were never able to put another one in. Striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy, a projected star of the tournament, was substituted out before the 70th minute. No stranger to controversy, One can only imagine the horse-faced striker is one source of discontentment, as he produced nothing memorable.

Holland's points, well-earned and deserved, will come in handy as they face group mates Ivory Coast and Argentina in the coming weeks. Their match yesterday showed two sides capable of going deep in the tournament, based on what I've seen so far. Meanwhile, Serbia and Montenegro will need something more than luck on their side to have any hope of getting out of this group alive.

MEXICO 3 IRAN 1

As further proof that warm-up matches serve as a poor indicator of performance when it matters, Mexico saw off an Iran team who played far better than the scoreline suggests.

Just as the two sides wear the exact same colors, here were two evenly matched teams in a game that had it all: great attacking, tough defending, nice saves and one outstanding goal. Save for Germany's opening match, this was otherwise the most exciting match of the three-day-old tournament so far (though I missed the Ecuador v. Poland match).

A very even first half had each team matching attacks, with Mexico's a bit more frequent but Iran's looking more serious, especially when keeper Oswaldo Sanchez made a world class save to deny Iran's headder a sure goal. El Tri finally took the lead on a short cross put in by Omar Bravo on 28 minutes.

But Iran answered shortly after when Yahya Golmohammadi hammered home a shot through a congested box.

Mexican manager Ricardo Lavolpe, from Argentina, has whipped Mexico into a much more tactial side than they are ever used to, and his adjustments at halftime ultimately resulted in Mexico shutting down Iran's attack as the game wore on, as well as striking quickly in succession deep into the second half, after pulling star striker Jared Borgetti very early in the half. Mexico's defense, particularly star Rafael Marquez, looked super as he put a stop to and often dispossessed his mark while also providing some good distribution to the attack.

Mexico finally put it away, after repeated attempts, on a goalie mental error. A bad throw into play saw Omar Bravo challenge the ball, making the defender pass off to his center back. He lost it to substituted striker Zinha, who passed it to an onrunning Bravo for the easy put-away. Two minutes later, an unmarked Zinha headed home a fantastic cross, and that was that. If Iran were playing for the draw in the second half, which their play suggested at times, it certainly bit them in the ass as Mexico's offense was too tenacious for them on this day. Still, they gave Mexico a great game are certainly capable of doing the same to Portugal and of course, Angola.

PORTUGAL 1 ANGOLA 0

For a team that always promises so much and delivers so little, were we to expect the unexpected in Portugal this year?

Hardly. In a match that saw Portugal look untoppable for the opening two minutes and somewhat harmless for the remaining 88, they held off a brave Angola side who will no doubt be pleased with their performance.

After Pauleta put a low shot just wide in under a minute, Portugal came right back after seasoned though youthful-looking legenday midfielder Luis Figo put the ball to the right of his defender and passed on the left in full stride, then unselfishly crossing across the box to Pauleta, who was on the mark this time.

They then continued to dominate possession but only occasionaly looked seriously threatening as they were denied time and again by a determined Angola defense who wouldn't allow Portugal the critical pass or cross they needed for a second goal.

Young star Christiano Ronaldo looked like he had his hands tied, as the crowd was only treated to his typical excessive display of scissor moves once in the match - early in the second half, shortly before he was substituted. His problems with coach Luis Filipe Scolari are well-documented, with this early retirement a new chapter to the saga. Still a first half header on a free kick which rocked the cross bar was impressive, especially given that he isn't particularly noted for an arial scoring ability.

Angola as well failed to make the most of a significantly fewer number of legitimate chances, and their strategy of physical play did not go unnoticed as they picked up three yellow cards.

Boos and whistles resonated throughout the stadium as Portugal made defensive substitutions and slowed the pace toward the end. They came off looking unconvincing once again and will need more from everyone if they are to safely get past an in-form Mexico and a dangerous-looking Iran.

* * *

In American-related news, ESPN's Alexi Lalas actually told the American-viewing audience that Kasey Keller is the world's very best keeper. Here we go again. It's one thing to educate your audience, probably the most soccer-illiterate nation in the world, which is a good thing, but it's another thing entirely to mislead them. Depending on your perspective, it comes off as either incredibly myopic or needlessly deceptive to suggest this, as (sorry Kasey), he isn't even the best in his group. Czech's Petr Cech and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon are at the very top of their class, and what's worse is that this is very well known to the rest of the world. Pass on this quote to anyone in the rest of the world and see if they don't laugh at you. The U.S. has always turned out great keepers, and Keller is one of the best of these, but it does everyone a disservice to ignore facts that are very obvious to anyone who follows the game.

2006-06-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

ENGLAND 1 PARAGUAY 0

Once again, England whimper away from another impotant opening match with an unconvincing 1-0 win. As pundits will skewer them for their performance, so will I, only I haven't lost sight of the fact that it still earned them three points which are always valuable, even despite playing in a group that is shaping up to be very weak.

What is it about this team that, as one pundit said, always seems to equal less than the sum of its parts? In meaningful games, England seem to play as if they have the weight of the world on their shoulders and can never look as sharp as their outstanding players do individually.

Interestingly, the only player capable of earning much praise for England is the often-overlooked Joe Cole, who made some impressive runs and was the only man on the pitch who appeared to be playing for a win. Oh, the goal: it came in the third minute off a David Beckham free kick, headed in by a player with the decidedly un-English name of Carlos Gamarra. That pretty much summarizes England's opening display - the fact that they can't even take credit for the winning goal.

Sven, boring as ever, took no chances as he substituted in defensive midfielder Owen Hargreaves midway through the second half, making his intentions clear. Michael Owen, who so often turns it on in World Cups, proved legitimately unthreatening while the team allowed Paraguay far too many half chances than they resonably deserved, though star striker Roque Santa Cruz apparently disppeared as well, perhaps joining Owen wherever he was hiding on this day. Big man Peter Crouch was mildly impressive, though more for his highly admirable hustle than for his contributions. Every goal kick had his name (and forehead) written all over it, and has much as he was shoved, cut down and elbowed by the Paraguayan defense, he won most of them. Unfortunately, the only thing he took away from the match was an unfair yellow card.

As much as it hurts to write negatively about a likable squad whose heroes are tragic on the level of Shakespeare, it must be torture for their fans. English pessimism has never been more deserved. However, a handy three points has them sitting pretty in a very mediocre group.

Finally and inexcusably, ABC cut away to, of all things, an informercial about four minutes from time. Whether this was just a San Diego-area mishap or it was national is unknown to me, but ABC already received strike one for the day. A postgame drive past Princess Pub was necessary to confirm the final scoreline.

SWEDEN 0 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 0

Two days in, and we already have the first scoreless draw of the tournament, which may be our due after an exciting opening match. This, however, wasn't the snoozer the final scoreboard suggests though. Tiny T&T overcame massive odds, a 90-minute Swedish onslaught and a sending off to be awarded both a hard-won point and possibly the hearts and adoration of the world so far in this World Cup.

In a game where posession was dominated by a Sweden team decked out in canary-yellow kits, their international stars Freddie Ljungberg, Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic couldn't get past back-up keeper Shaka Hislop, who no doubt had the game of his life as he was filling in for starter Kelvin Jack, who suffered a head injury before kickoff. Sweden looked strong on the attack as Ljungberg reproduced his club-level hustle and Larsson distributed the ball around top like the old master he is, though Ibrahimovic once again fell short of reaching his unlimited potential by failing to get one past Hislop.

There isn't much else to report, since Trinidad never really threatened. Avery John will sit out the next match for earning two yellow cards - the second one for a situation in which he obviously got the ball as much as his man. For Sweden, it means already being two points behind an English side who worked about half as hard to earn their points, while for T&T it was a point that will likely be remembered in the islands for a while to come.

ARGENTINA 2 IVORY COAST 1

Of the day's three matches, Argentina v. Ivory Coast was by far the most promising on paper, pitting the former champions and always-serious contenders against the upstart Africans with the international stars.

In the end, Argentina walked off with three points in front of no less than Diego Maradona, while the West Africans couldn't make the most of their speed and many chances to earn a deserved tie.

The game featured hustle, menacing defense courtesy of Argentine Gabriel Heinze and great offensive displays but remained scoreless until the 24th minute, when striker Hernan Crespo put a deflected ball into the corner of the goal. The goal had come knocking earlier thanks to the excellent distribution from Juan Roman Riquelme. Their second came on a through-ball to Javier Saviola, impossible to defend and which looked very similar to both of Costa Rica's yesterday.

Through determination and speed to burn, striker Didier Drogba and company finally got one back in the 82nd minute, a fantastic put-back in the corner not unlike Crespo's earlier effort. They continued to press, but couldn't find a second. Heinze, Saviola and Lucho Gonzalez all picked up yellow cards for the South Americans, while Ivorians Drogba and right-back Emanuel Eboue each saw yellow as well.

It meant an early lead for Argentina and a call-out to everyone else, while the Ivory Coast has nothing to show for a great effort - a shame considering that, again, only two can escape from this wonderful group. However, it should be noted that neither Argentina's Lionel Messi nor Carlos Tevez saw action today. Given the fact that they are top-level strikers capable of at least what todays starters produced, the best may be yet to come for Argentina.

* * *

Side note: ESPN cutting away to a halftime booth consisting of Brent Musberger, Alexi Lalas and Judy Foudy is bad enough, but when that booth happens to be at the Belmont, is becomes either hugely laughable or insulting. Nice attempt at a parlay, ABC. You're covering the Belmont later today? Thanks for telling me. Add to this the fact that these three knuckleheads have, well, nothing to add, and we ended up with the most throwaway halftime show in sports television history. This station was really testing viewers today, especially with the earlier gaffe.

2006-06-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

GERMANY 4 COSTA RICA 2

Two outstanding goals couldn't hide the fact that there are some major holes in the German machine as they saw off Costa Rica 4-2 in the opening match of the 2006 World Cup in Munich.

Played in Allianz Arena, or 'the Munich FIFA World Cup Arena,' as clueless ESPN baseball announcer Dave O'Brien would have you believe, the German hosts looked at times far from convincing throughout the match. While they have plenty of capable players going forward, the back line made a mockery of the offside trap. Their failure to step forward at the critical time led to both of Costa Rica's goals, scored on through-balls by Paulo Wanchope with only keeper Lehmann to beat ('one vee one,' as you will hear announcer John Harkes say endlessly in the next month). To the Ticos' credit, both balls were placed very well - particularly the second, where Wanchope had his men beaten and which left Lehmann in no-man's-land.

A frantic opening saw lots of excitement and possession trade-offs, with Philip Lahm scoring an incredible opener on six minutes from just outside the box to the far post. As a historical note, it was the second-fastest goal scored in an opening match, the first being in France 1998, presumably for Brazil, though I can't immediately find the stat.

But Costa Rica bounced right back, with an offside trap-beating goal in the 12th minute by Wanchope. Though the crowd jeered and whistled, replays showed him to be just onside. The stadium plunged into silence until birthday boy striker Miroslav Klose gave the home side the lead once again four minutes later. The rest of the first half saw Costa Rica continue to bring everyone back on defense and Germany continue to lack confidence going forward. They made some great runs in advancing the ball at times, but clearly Borowski was no suitable replacement for Michael Ballack, who was out injured today but will be available for their match on Wednesday against Poland, despite Costa Rica giving the German midfield plenty of space. They lacked his leadership, ball-handling skills and distribution. Midfielder Bastian Schwiensteiger had great hustle and set up three of the goals, but Germany could clearly use a leader on the field.

Manager Jurgen Klinsmann made some good adjustments at halftime as Germany started the second half dominating possession and getting their midfielders back on defense, which smothered the Costa Rican attack. Indeed, Costa Rica's second goal was scored when Germany's midfielders failed to get back and applied no pressure.

Despite earning plenty of corners and having many chances to cross, most of Germany's crosses were beyond poor, being way off the mark, if not sailing past the goal. Klose earned his brace after knocking in the rebound from his own header, which the keeper failed to adequately clear. Costa Rica then got their second a few minutes later to make it 3-2, putting a damper on the party.

A late goal by Torsten Frings put the game beyond doubt. It was a sensational effort, a 40-yard swerving rocket off a free kick. Frings held off running onto the squared ball until the last minute, nailing it right before the desperately sliding Costa Rican defender could intervene.

Despite winning by a convincing margin, all German fans will be grateful to have Ballack return. While he can do little for their defense, who will no doubt be practicing their offside traps in practice this weekend, he adds sorely needed leadership and the skill to dominate a match. Meanwhile, Costa Rica can take comfort in putting two in the net against a team like Germany. Despite the loss, it'll give them something to draw from before facing Ecuador on Thursday.

Despite my excitement at the World Cup finally arriving, it nonetheless made me miss European club ball, where game tactics are well-executed, passing is precise and deliberate and teammates work well together from spending week in and week out together. While ESPN will be happy with the scoreline for their fickle American viewers, I personally look forward to higher quality matches. However, I'll take a six-goal match any day!

2006-06-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

One day to go, and already Germany suffers a setback - before the games have even started! Captain, goal scoring machine and central midfield wizard Michael Ballack won't be ready for the opener on Friday v. Costa Rica. It's a shame for fans of the game. Ballack plays the position possibly better than anyone in the world. But in a mediocre group, it won't matter much. His calf (Germany's calf, as the domestic media has called it) will improve for their second game. But fear not, Germans! he'll be replaced with Tim Borowski, who is striker Miroslav Klose's teammate at Werder Bremen. Besides, it's not as if Ballack is a one-man team: Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski are fine players as well. And Costa Rica has dropped four of five tune-up matches in Germany anyway. Look for a German victory, where, even without Ballack, we'll get a sense of whether the team plays its old-fashioned machine-like style or rather plays with more excitement under coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

France and Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse just broke his leg in France's final warm-up match against China, which pretty much rules him out of any action. His replacement is 26-year-old Sydney Govou from Lyon, though Nikolas Anelka or Ludovic Giuly would have been better options, despite their spats with coach Raymond Domenech. Giuly claimed Domenech treated him 'like a piece of shit,' and as he jetted off to Australia said, 'if there's an injury, tough luck for [Domenech],' while Anelka, nicknamed 'le sulk,' has managed to whine and piss his way out of France squads in the past as well. He's choosing to watch the World Cup in lovely Dubai.

Finally, look who else has World Cup fever - Ronaldo! (wish I could take credit for that one). He missed Thursday's practice with a slight fever, and no other immediate details were available. He left Brazil's last match against New Zealand with blisters on his feet. Man, what's with Nike shoes this year? I'm pretty sure that quality isn't job one in Chinese sweat shops, but this is ridiculous.

2006-06-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone to my first ever blog, but one that I couldn't be more passionate about. Thirty-two teams, 31 days, 12 German cities and an impossible number of plotlines – the World Cup is again upon us! Thanks for visiting. Here you’ll find daily recaps, predictions, things of interest, and my assessment of ESPN’s lousy announcers who don’t know shit about ‘the beautiful game.’ If you missed a match and would like a recap, or if you just want to hear a pseudo-expert’s take on the day’s action, stop in, have a look and drop a comment.

Thankfully for Americans, game times are more viewer friendly this year than the night-owl matches of four years ago (though I was working in London at the time, watching games at 8 a.m. and noon as work grinded to a halt... suckers!), with most games taking place on the West Coast at 6 a.m., 9 a.m. and noon.

Here in San Diego, while all games will be televised on ESPN and ABC (good for them), for more of a communal feel, head to a number of drinking holes, including Shakespeare Pub or Princess Pub in Little Italy, Costa Brava, Brazil By The Bay, Guava Beach or ‘Canes in the beach areas, Rei do Gado, Samba Grill, or any Irish bar downtown, or to The Blarney Stone in Clairemont. I’m sure regular sports bars will show games upon request, but you might have to ask them nicely to turn away from regular sports programming like college softball, poker or World’s Strongest Man. Good luck, and enjoy!

Without fanfare or further ado, here’s my initial breakdown of all eight groups, and 32 teams...

GROUP A
Germany
Costa Rica
Poland
Ecuador

Considering that host nations have always advanced past the group stage in every World Cup, the odds of Germany getting through look pretty good. And while the media constantly speaks of how bad Germany is this year, they would do well to remember saying the same thing in 2002, when all Germany managed to do was make it to the final. With Michael Ballack on the team, 'die Mannschaft' always has a chance against anybody, though a calf injury may keep him out of the first match against Costa Rica. And with fellow 2002 goalscoring machines Miroslav Klose Oliver Neuville, et al returning as well and with a resurgent Jens Lehmann starting in goal after playing Oliver Khan's understudy for so long, critics may be eating crow for writing them off too early. Look for coach Jurgen Klinsmann to enforce an attacking style hopefully more fluid than teams of Germany past.

Costa Rica dominates Central American soccer, but a shaky defense could hold them back this year. In fact, the Ticos initially seem the weakest in a very average group. They gave Brazil a great game in 2002, but didn't escape the group stage. Look for striker Paulo Wanchope, who earns his paychecks in England and is Costa Rica's all-time top scorer, to make whatever kind of impact Costa Rica can manage.

For unpredictability, look to Poland. While they averaged three goals a game in 2005, they also happened to look ordinary in many of their qualifying games, including in a snowy friendly against the U.S. Poland has the potential to play great football, but realizing their potential is always in question. With high expectations of escaping the group stage in 2002, their gutless performances surprised everybody.

Unfortunately for Ecuador, none of their matches will take place above 10,000 feet, where they are a much more formidable team. In the lower altitudes, they are simply ordinary. Finishing third in South American qualifiers saw them beating fellow WC teams Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay in Quito, but winning only once outside of their home lands. They like to play the ball up the wings of a very talented midfield, having discarded the usual No. 10 build-up style, which can make for some exciting play. If they manage to earn a win in either of their first two games, their final group match on June 20 v. Germany will no doubt determine whether they advance.

GROUP B
England
Paraguay
Trinidad & Tobago
Sweden

Well well, what can we say about Ol' Blighty that hasn't already been said a million times by the press, who leave nothing un-second-guessed. With Paul Robinson in goal finally replacing the horror that was David (Calamity) James, a defense anchored by the indomitable John Terry, which provides strength in the attack by 'the best left-back in the world' Ashley Cole, and a midfield containing Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, an in-form Joe Cole and the questionably washed-up legs of David Beckham and his hairstyle of the week, one would naturally assume that 'this is finally England's year!' after taking a look at the striker pair of Michael Owen and 20-year-old Wayne Rooney. Not so fast, though! All-world striker and Shrek look-alike Rooney famously broke his fourth metatarsal in one of the final games of the season, on the day Nike revealed its new model of cleats to be worn by Rooney. It's gotta be da shoes, right Wayne? Instead, they might look to Peter Crouch, the 6'8" freak show who so far has only shown a talent for disrupting defenses and attempting to knock balls down for the other striker, though he bagged a most unexpected hat trick on Saturday as England whipped Jamaica 6-0 in a tune-up. This is horny Swedish coach Sven Goran Eriksson's closest idea of a plan B, though as much as he hopes Rooney is indeed ready to play at some point shows he hasn't strayed far from abandoning plan A. And if the famously philandering coach could get his head out from the legs of another FA secretary for very long, he'd see two things: that leaving Darren Bent off the team was stupid, since he only happened to score the most goals in England this year as an Englishman, and that young Aaron Lennon for Tottenham provides much more energy, spark, flair, etc. to the right side than Beckham could these days. Though Beckham exists today as a one-dimensional player capable only of crossing great balls into the box, English fans seem alright with this. But Lennon’s play for Tottenham this year showed he too is capable of providing his strikers the same high-quality crosses everyone has come to expect from Becks, and presumably doesn't bully the coach like Mr. Posh Spice. His fearlessness during the season is exactly what the team needs and is reminiscent of Rooney's electrifying games in Euro 2004, before he went out injured. Speaking of injuries, World Cup assassin Michael Owen seems to be finally fit as well after missing most of the season due to his own broken metatarsal. But enough about England...

In a continent renowned for unparalleled attacking flair, Paraguay carries the distinction of having the best defense in South America, which isn't saying a whole lot. Though Oliver Neuville beat them 1-0 with an injury time goal in 2002, they have qualified for their third World Cup in a row. Bayern Munich star Roque Santa Cruz plays up front and will likely provide the goals. Look for them to rely on their defense against better teams like England and play a 4-5-1. I'm especially excited for their first match, against England on Saturday.

T&T earned their first World Cup berth ever after finding energy from new coach Leo Beenhakker, who was appointed midway through qualifying. They came close in both 1973, losing 2-1 to Haiti after a corrupt El Salvadorian referee disallowed four goals! Then in 1989, needing only a tie, they lost 1-0 to the U.S., thanks to Paul Caliguiri and his pretentiously titled 'Shot Heard 'Round the World.' Expectations aren't high, but 34-year-old captain Dwight Yorke, onetime Manchester United striker, will get his moment in the German sun as he leads them onto the field for at least three games.

Reliable like a Volvo and sometimes as uninspired, Sweden made it again, as they often do by playing suffocating defense in European qualifying. And 2006 sees them playing England once again in the group stages. With winger Freddie Ljungberg coming off a great second-half of the season for Arsenal and talisman Henrik Larsson providing the spark for Barcelona’s Champions League victory, their attack looks superb as well. However, streaky striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is coming off a very disappointing season at Juventus (whose games are turning out to likely be fixed anyway). To advance, this mercurial striker must also be in top form. Andreas Isaksson is solid in goal as well, though the reputation of 1994's Thomas Ravelli is a lot to live up to. They're a good bet to escape the group stage, but how far they go is up in the air.

GROUP C
Argentina
Ivory Coast
Serbia & Montenegro
Holland

Every cup's gotta have 'em; ladies and gentlemen, presenting your 2006 official 'Group of Death.' It's almost a shame knowing that only two of these four very quality teams will survive, but it could give us some of the best matches of the group stage.

A hasty exit, largely at the hands of a pity-pat foul on Michael Owen in 2002 sees expectations lowered for Argentina this time around. That's a shame, because this go-round sees them fielding an incredible attack force with a couple high-quality defenders. Hernan Crespo fills both the boots and the hairstyle of legendary Gabriel Batistuta in that, if he can shake his mark (which he is not excellent at) he can make the most of even the smallest chances. Great in the air as well, he had a superior season with Chelsea after leading AC Milan to the Champions League final while on loan the year before. Eighteen-year-old Lionel Messi, pegged 'the new Maradona,' will be thrilling to watch as well, provided he has recovered from a torn hamstring suffered in March. Meanwhile, Carlos Tevez, an Argentine plying his trade in Brazil of all places, is yet another of their formidable strikers. With outstanding dribbling skills and an ability to both beat his marker and stay on his feet due to his strong build, he will no doubt come off the bench, if he's not in fact starting. But all play goes through Juan Roman Riquelme, a midfield playmaker of the highest caliber. His distribution is top-notch, as are his spot-kicks. A horror penalty miss in the Champions League semi-finals for Villarreal, his club team, may still haunt him. If he is able to look past it, he will be dangerous. A back four of Juan Pablo Sorin, Walter Samuel, Roberto Ayala and Gabriel Heinze, who looked outstanding for Man U until sidelined by an ACL tear, will likely provide adequate defense in a system which always looks to attack, a tactic reinforced by coach Jose Peckerman. A dirty team by all accounts throughout their history, Argentina's winning youth team won the FIFA Fair Play Award a couple years ago, when coached by Peckerman as well.

Yet another exciting team in this group, Ivory Coast just qualified for its first World Cup and has the star power to go along with it. Striker Didier Drogba recovered nicely from a controversial mid-season, showing maturity and top-class skills down the stretch. He is undoubtedly the star man on this team. While primarily a goal-scorer, I find his great vision and passing skills are always overlooked. Meanwhile, defenders Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue, who also play alongside each other at Arsenal, are coming off great seasons where they looked unbeatable at times. Eboue likes to sneak forward often and is a great goalscorer, but can be held back when the opposing team plays a marquee striker deep, forcing Eboue to mark him, as Barcelona did in the Champions League final. Despite this talent, Ivory Coast will have to be at their best to see daylight out of the group, which is nonetheless attainable. If they do escape, they will definitely announce to the world that they are for real.

From the land of foreign NBA superstars, Serbia & Montenegro qualified for their first World Cup as their own nation, going undefeated and conceding only one goal, to Spain. Key players include Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic and Man U defender Nemanja Vidic. If there's a surprise coming out of this group, it could be this team.

After missing 2002, football's bridesmaid comes back for more. While infighting so often has cost the team in the past, coach and former all-world player Marco Van Basten has found a winning formula of young talent and marquee players after showing several stars the door, such as Patrick Kluivert and Edgar Davids, for being disruptive and an impediment to success. They then tore through their qualifying group with lesser known players, beating the Czechs twice by 2-0 each time and seeing super-keeper Edwin Van Der Sar rack up clean sheets in their final eight games. While not only keeping his temperamental stars in check, Van Basten assembled an otherwise formidable lineup, save for the back line. With perhaps the world's finest keeper in Van Der Sar in goal, the back line features shaky former attackers who have been converted to playing the back. Experienced central midfielder Philip Cocu distributes, while a trio of forwards will strike fear into any opposing defense. Ruud van Nistelrooy is a deadly expert finisher, who scores nearly all his goals in the box with machine-like accuracy and reliability. Arjen Robben has speed, ball skills and the talent to notch goals and assists. His diving antics are less well-received, however. He and van Nistelrooy may be running on fresh legs, though, after sitting out large parts of the tail end of last season. Even brattier is Robin Van Persie, who will no doubt be coming off the bench if he is in fact not starting. However, his speed and finishing skills could change the face of a game for Holland. With the potential for dark horse status in this tournament, only their inexperience and tough group could hold them back.

GROUP D
Mexico
Iran
Angola
Portugal

With as many World Cups as Mexico has qualified for, the only time they've even reached the quarterfinals was on their home soil, in 1970 and 1986. Often long on talent, they seem to fall short when it really matters after looking sharp in the group stages. While they impressed many by beating Brazil and drawing with Germany and Argentina in the 2005 Confederations Cup, and scored the most goals of any qualifying nation by beating up on weak Caribbean and Central American nations, their very recent form has dipped. They lost 1-0 to France and 2-0 to Holland in the last couple weeks. Still, striker and all-time goals leader Jared Borgetti supplies most of the firepower, while captain Rafael Marquez is an excellent and physical center-back, whom Americans will remember for his malicious elbow to Cobi Jones' skull, which earned Marquez and his ponytail a red card. He is much improved this time around, having provided the solution to Barcelona's previously weak defense. Look for them to play a 3-5-2 and work the ball up with short passes - the Latin way - and switch to a 4-4-2 if necessary. An easy draw should see them through to the next round.

Poor Iran. Led by a crazy dictator who doesn't even have the final say in things, which are left up to clerics stuck in the dark ages. Women can't attend their matches and no team will play them anyway. Football is their only hope nowadays, and it is universally agreed this is their best team in years. Led by Bayern Munich attacking midfielder Ali Karimi and with players scattered throughout Europe, they have an outside shot at reaching the second round, should Mexico or Portugal stumble.

Enjoy the stiff competition, Angola, because you have a 500/1 chance of winning the cup, but realistically we'll all sooner win the lottery than Angola will even get past the first round. Not too much is really known, except that they have been searching far and wide for anyone with Angolan roots. They got here on scoring only 12 goals in qualifying, less than Borgetti alone! Hello and goodbye.

Hey, did you know this is the last chance for what's left of Portugal's 'golden generation' to win something major again, who won the world youth title way back in... who cares? Yeah, me too. No one will shut up about it, perhaps because it's an easier talking point than constantly saying they fall short time and again. After being tipped with an outside shot at winning in 2002, they immediately shit the bed against the U.S. in their first game and couldn't quite scramble back. Many think their last shot at something major disappeared when they lost to Greece, of all teams, at home in the Euro 2004 final. They're always dangerous though. Brazilian turncoat Deco is a fantastic passer, crosser and has great vision. He sets up the goals, along with the prattish Christiano Ronaldo, who had a great Euro 2004 tournament. He'll excessively scissor his way past defenders with speed to boot, but gets easily rattled when faced with physical play. Striker Pauleta is Portugal's all-time goalscorer, but he has a tendency to disappear in big games, going goalless in 2004's home-soil tournament. And midfielder Luis Figo, former FIFA World Player of the Year, is back for one last go-round to see how much is left in the tank. His excellent crosses were at one time enabled by his speed, but we'll see if losing a step through age will hold him back. But they've got enough class to make it out of an otherwise weak group with any luck.

GROUP E
Italy
Ghana
USA
Czech Republic

You'll have to search far and wide to find any recent team as loaded as Italy this year. Top to bottom they're complete and they're deadly at every position. With a mix of experience and in-form players, they look like a match for anyone. Top-class keeper Gianluigi Buffon is in the net, their back four of Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta and Massimo Oddo is intimidating as hell, defensive midfielder Gennaro Gattuso is a pit bull, attacking midfielders Mauro Camoranesi and Francesco Totti, coming off a broken leg, need no introduction and striker Luca Toni scored the most goals in Italian Serie A this season. Combine him up front with Filippo Inzaghi, a classic goal poacher who can score with any legal part of his body, or possibly star veteran Alessandro del Piero, and you have a truly world-class side. There's just that little matter of a huge match-fixing scandal currently enveloping their country right now, in which a couple players and their coach has been implicated, and for which many more team mates have been investigated. It could either prove a huge mental distraction, or it could prove to be their saving grace from the usual media frenzy who place impossible expectations on the club, as they will instead be preoccupied with the latest in the breaking scandal. After getting hosed by a corrupt referee against host South Korea in 2002 and then crashing out of Euro 2004 in the group stage despite not losing any games, look for them to end a long string of disappointments. Coach Marcello Lippi has vowed to encourage a more attacking style as opposed to their usual bore tactics, and looks also to be a coach who won't let typical Italian locker room drama and prima donna antics get in the way of winning games. They have the stigma of taking a game-and-a-half to get into a tournament, so if they come out firing on all cylinders against Ghana in their first match, watch out.

While the ignorant U.S. media trumps Ghana as possibly the best African team this year, the truth is that not too much is known about them, never having previously qualified. One thing is for sure, though, about the Black Stars: Center-midfielder Michael Essien is world-class. He’s a classic holding midfielder who stifles opponents and starts the attack. Having led Lyon to several of their many French League titles, Chelsea overpaid for his services last season – one in which he looked good in limited playing time but his performances were overshadowed by a couple of extremely harsh fouls. Apart from his physicality, he reads the game well and is as quick as he is strong. Other midfielder Stephen Appiah sees Ghana with a strong core. A team with the potential to surprise, Ghana could capitalize on slip-ups by the other three nations in Group E and get through.

After reaching the quarterfinals in 2002 only to get knocked out by Germany, Expectations are even higher for the U.S. this year. However, 2002 was a year of many surprise teams, and for the world to consider 2002 anything but a fluke, they will have to prove their worth against top teams. While the draw was a tough one, it gives the U.S. that very chance they need to play top opponents. Admittedly they don't have much success against footballing superpowers, and what's worse, these teams now know not to take the Americans lightly. However, against their first round opponents their style of short passes around the middle will no doubt be tested by the excellent midfields of their opponents. It will be doubly important to move the ball down the sides, as DeMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey and Landon Donovan must produce. It will take fullbacks like Steve Cherundolo to make overlapping runs up the sides as well, as he is a good crosser of the ball. Defensively, center-back Oguchi Onyewu is a rock, and has been linked with a move to the Premiership at Middlesborough. Kasey Keller is a superb keeper, though he isn't the world's best, despite what the knucklehead announcers on ESPN will have you believe about Keller anything else ridiculous about the team that they breathlessly proclaim. I have no illusions: it will take a mini miracle for the U.S. to advance, on the scale of Portugal's collapse last go-round. Which of these teams will it be? It will also take a spirited defensive effort and a ton of heart, which have both been MIA in their tune-up matches. Like four years ago, they'll need to get all 10 back and play the counterattack to perfection if they want to see the second round.

Earning their first World Cup as their own nation, the Czechs come with some momentum. After advancing deeper in Euro 2004 than most of the big Euro powers, they've definitely won up-and-coming status, despite having a decent WC pedigree as Czechoslovakia. The seasoned Pavel Nedved is exhilarating to watch on the left side, though he's got a temper. Meanwhile, new Arsenal signing Tomas Rosicky is an able attacking midfielder, while Milan Baros can display world class finishing up front, despite having an average club season. Their defense is hard-nosed, and in Petr Cech the Czechs have perhaps the world's finest keeper between the sticks. They're tough! Along with Group C, this group might provide the best first round matches in the tournament.

GROUP F
Brazil
Croatia
Australia
Japan

What more can be said about Brazil? Their 'magic quartet' is a dream attack force: Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaka. Four names, immeasurable talent. That leaves young Robinho riding the bench, waiting for any substitutions. Despite having a back four eligible for Social Security benefits in America, their left and right backs (Roberto Carlos and Cafu) make long runs up the outside and are covered on defense by defensive midfielders Ze Roberto and Emerson and center-backs Roque Junior and Lucio. Dida is actually a fine keeper as well - especially for being Brazilian. But the expectations... they're high this year. The media and spectators are all over them, wherever they go. And, a number of them have had less than stellar years. Ronaldo and Adriano were unhappy at their clubs, Dida let some howlers get past him, Roberto Carlos looked old and slow this year for Real Madrid, and Robinho didn't electrify the Spanish League as some would have hoped. On the plus side, Ronny only won Player of the Year, league and cup titles and the Champions League, while Kaka helped AC Milan to a close second behind Juventus, whose results were fixed anyway. Do not miss any Brazil matches if at all possible. They play football the way it was meant to be played - and they do it as a matter of pride. You will see 80 yard runs, impossible-to-defend stepovers, perfect passes, lethal finishing and goals scored in an amazing variety of different ways. Rather than defend, it's fun to watch them beat opponents simply by outscoring them. They are the odds-on favorite, but the trophy is by no means theirs already.

If anyone will give Brazil a fight in the group stage, it's Croatia. After making the semifinals in 1998, they look younger and better than in 2002. They finished ahead of Sweden in qualifying and look to finish second in this group. Playing the popular-in-the-Balkans 3-5-2 formation, young star Niko Kranjcar is an attacking midfielder to watch. But Croatia have never beaten a South American side, and this year doesn't look like the time, either.

Waiting 32 years to qualify has unleashed a soccer frenzy down under. The country is positively soccer mad, and with any luck it can crack into the other three big sports. The country gets tantalizingly close each time by virtue of the nature of its qualifying campaign. Playing in the laughably weak Oceania group, Australia has to play the last qualifying country of South America in a two-game playoff to earn a World Cup spot. This year, it came down to penalties against Uruguay in Sydney, where the Socceroos just pulled it out. But despite their relative obscurity as a soccer nation, their roster has members playing in England and Italy's top leagues. Keeper Mark Schwarzer is rightfully quality, while Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill had fine seasons with Liverpool and Everton, respectively. Striker Mark Viduka was a bit of a disappointment, but his international form is much better. Right midfielder Marco Bresciano plies his trade in Italy, where he was transferred around for about $11 million in 2002. One interesting match up will be the Croatia match, as the team as well as Australia as a whole has a huge Croatian population. Let's not forget, they are coached by one Guus Hiddink, who has proven he can turn anyone into a winner. Their physical play has been criticized, however, and Brazil's coach recently appealed to FIFA to tone down the brutality. One can only assume he was referring to Australia. But they have the potential to surprise, and if there's an upset, it'll be the Aussies stealing second place.

In contrast to the land of Oz, Japan is a country whose soccer team's star has fallen. Underrated in 2002 (though also a host nation), nobody believed me when I told everyone they were going to the second round. They did, and I could have been a few dollars richer had I put my money where my mouth was. However, things have took a downward turn in the last year. Being technically the first nation to qualify this year after finishing first in Asia, they have failed to find the net, finishing last in the Sapporo Cup, or whatever it was called -- their four-nation tournament which served as a WC warm-up for them. Star Hidetoshi Nakata said they have no heart and weren’t ready for the World Cup over the weekend as they only beat Malta 1-0, and onetime Brazilian great and now coach Zico hasn't found a winning formula. This doesn't look to be their year. At least Japan has some great summer celebrations they can enjoy after getting knocked out in the first.

GROUP G
France
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo

While not otherwise liked by the rest of the world (a feeling I do not share however), France's footballing ability is something special. Having dominated the sport around the end of the century, winning the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, France fell hard in 2002, crashing out in last place without scoring a goal. But this year they're back, with a still-killer lineup that people seem to be writing off too easily. After going goalless in their first three qualifying games, Zinedine Zidane, William Gallas and Lilian Thuram all decided to rerun, feeling reinspired. While he's playing on old legs, Zidane, the best player of the last 20 years will no doubt be an inspiration. But the usual infighting may hold them back. Coach Raymond Domenech has some weird tricks up his sleeve, perhaps doing what the stars tell him to, as he is reportedly an astrology enthusiast. Ludovic Giuly and Robert Pires were left off for not getting along with him, and Fabien Barthez, France's longtime keeper got the nod ahead of Gregory Coupet, who had a superb season and earned the No. 1 spot in every way. But with William Gallas and Thuram on the back line, Makelele, Patrick Viera and Zidane in the middle and Thierry Henry, a rejuvenated Luis Saha and David Trezeguet up front (with the outstanding Franck Ribery, a young Zidane available as a substitute, but not Djibril Cisse, who just broke his leg), France lucked out with an easy group and should advance with any more luck.

Switzerland's path to Germany involved escaping a group that included France and Ireland, then a two-game playoff against Turkey for the final European qualifying spot under the most hostile conditions in Istanbul, which were enough to merit a FIFA investigation. Switzerland are a low scoring team, though it's also worth mentioning that they only allowed more than one goal once in qualifying. Center midfielder and captain Johann Vogel is the one to watch, as he is the heartbeat of the Swiss team. They should edge out Korea for second place, but don't expect them to go any further.

It'll be hard for the Koreans to top their achievements in 2002 on home soil, and 2006 doesn't look to be their year. Missing are football mastermind Guus Hiddink and the very friendly officials who practically allowed Korea past Italy and Spain last time. Never have I seen more dubious disallowed goals and offsides calls in two matches. Still, Park Ji-Sung has the experience of wearing a Manchester United shirt to draw on, but their lineup is otherwise unimpressive, even in a similarly unimpressive group.

Ah, Togo. Nice job guys. How did you get here again? Well, they did beat and tie Senegal, 2002's token 'African team to make a surprise run at the World Cup.' However, they are the lowest ranked team in the tournament and look to do... not much. Their temperamental star, lanky striker and Arsenal substitute Emmanuel Adebayor, fights with his coach, and the team claims the Togo government has wrongly pilfered money from the soccer federation. Enjoy Germany, guys.

GROUP H
Spain
Ukraine
Tunisia
Saudi Arabia

'This is Spain's year' is one of the more oft-repeated phrases of the World Cup. They always look formidable going in and always leave with a whimper, having fallen short of expectations and never playing to their extraordinary potential. They've never done better than the quarterfinals. However, Considering the squad they've put together this year, along with their weak group, Spain should escape without breaking much of a sweat -- barring an unforeseen bigger collapse than usual! But let's take a look at this starting XI: keeper Iker Casillas is still Spain's No. 1, famously earned four years ago after Spain's former keeper severed a tendon after dropping a bottle of cologne... or was it Spanish Fly? Anyway, Casillas is still one of the world's best, and he's protected by Barcelona's captain Carlos Puyol, Segio Ramos, Pablo Ibanez and Antonio Lopez. The midfield has young premiership wingers Jose Antonio Reyes and Luis Garcia on either flank and new Spanish favorite, 18-year-old Cesc Fabregas in an attacking central midfield role, while up front is David Villa, the Spanish League's top scorer this season, along with mainstay Raul, who, when he hasn't been injured, has been sucking for a couple years at Real Madrid. Inexplicably, his club and country are morbidly faithful to him, for which he owes them a lot of goals. Another option at striker is Fernando Torres, who combines speed, passing and goalscoring ability a bit like Thierry Henry. Or they might adopt a 4-3-3 and use all of the above, if they're really feeling attack-minded. But like Italy, Spain are also historically likely to sit back and defend a 1-0 lead, which has obviously never gotten them anywhere special. A change in strategy may see them finally play to their potential.

If there is a downside to the World Cup, it's that the world sometimes doesn't get to see some of the best players who come from weaker soccer nations. Historically, George Best from Northern Ireland and Ryan Giggs from Wales come to mind. In the last 5-10 years though, the Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko has been absolutely electric. He is already a legend at AC Milan, which he left last week for Chelsea (presumably because billionaire owner Roman Abramovich wanted someone to talk to), scoring consistently and sometimes spectacularly. But what really sets him apart from most others is that knack that few strikers have - an ability to make the most out of nothing more than half-chances. He is a predatory goal machine and the world awaits to see what he can do on this stage. But he's not alone. Word is that he's got some fantastic support from his lesser-known teammates, all of whom play their club ball in either the Ukraine or Russia. Those teams who will focus on quieting Sheva will be punished by the likes of midfielders Andriy Veronin and Serhii Rebrov, who used to partner with Shevchenko at Dynamo Kiev, their old club. Similarly, Andriy Husin, who bagged some vital qualifying goals, and Ruslan Rotan will have their eye on goal as well. But of course, the game plan centers on putting the ball on Sheva's feet. With a weak group and thus entry into the second round highly likely, Ukraine has dark horse potential written all over them.

Out of this year's five African qualifying teams, only Tunisia has previous World Cup experience, though it has never helped them escape the first round. On this, their fourth trip, they are coming off a 2004 African Nations win, along with scoring the second-most goals in African qualifying -- almost 2.5 per game. They have several Premiership players on their squad, but will likely miss out on second place in the group.

Saudi Arabia was fun to have around in 2002, serving as a whipping boy for the Germans, Irish and Cameroonians in their group. They famously suffered a 8-0 thrashing in their opening game against Germany. Things haven't improved much since then, and while their defense treated every cross into their box like a live grenade, their offense didn't - and won't - give anyone nightmares, except perhaps security. They've only beaten European sides in frendlies historically, and this doesn't look like the tournament to change that.