Thoughts After Game 2s

It is scary how fast the World Cup flies by. After years of anticipation it really does feel like a blink and you missed it kind of thing. Crazy to think we are on the eve of the last group stage matches. Here are some thoughts on the second games:

Afri-still-cant-
Last week I said I was not surprised by the African let downs, and the second games did nothing to change my opinion. It is sad in a way but not at all unexpected. Some teams got tough draws, some clearly aren't on the level, and some just didn't have things break their way. I feel kind of bad for Cameroon who I thought played a great game against Denmark and probably deserved a draw. That is the thing about tournaments like this: one bad day like they had against Japan, and you are on the brink of going home.

And then there are two clear illustrations of one of the big things I think is missing from African football: an awareness of how big the moment is. The first example came in the Greece-Nigeria game last week. Up a goal about a half hour in a Nigerian player reacted to a normal slightly-below the radar bit of antagonizing body language by kicking the Greek player in the groin, about ten yards from the referee. There is no scenario imaginable in which this doesn't lead to a red card. On ten men for an hour the Nigerians conceded the equalizer and eventually Greece took the lead. It is not a stretch to say 11 on 11 Nigeria could have won. The second example was the feigning injury of the Ivorian player after he ran into Kaka. The Brazilian was already on a yellow and despite his elbow glancing the opponents chest the Ivorian clutched his face and squirmed in faux-pain until the referee sent off Kaka. This is bad because A) the whole world knows your a creep and B) It was in the dying minutes of a 3-1 loss and even then (before Portugal's 7-0 hammering of the Norkos) the Ivorians had to know their only chance at qualification was if Brazil stomped on Portugal in the final game. Much more likely with Kaka than without.


Refereeing-
I spoke too soon when I applauded the job officials have done so far. The second round of games saw a bunch of bad calls but the one inescapable gaffe was the nullification of the USA's dramatic go-ahead goal late in the game versus Slovenia. Replays from every angle show it was a good goal. No fouls, not off the hand, clearly over the line, clearly on-side. There really was no reason to wave it off. And that is where this goes from bad call to one of the all-time worst. Referees make wrong decisions all the time, it is a part of the game. But to make a decision like this and give absolutely no explanation to anyone is beyond comprehension. When it is obviously a goal (if anything the US had two legitimate appeals for a penalty) and you say otherwise... let the world know why. If you are defending a call that turns out to be wrong, you have made a highly visible mistake. If you say "it is not a goal because it is just not, because I said so," your name will live on in infamy and you give life to the not-so-hard-to-encourage conspiracy theorists.


South America-
Through the second round of games South American teams have been the dominant force of the tournament. Of the ten games played the CONMEMBOL nations have piled up 8 wins and 2 draws for an impressive 26 points from a possible 30. The style of play has been as convincing as the statistics. And think about this: as of now Argentina has as many goals as Italy (2) Spain (2) France (0) and England (1) combined. The abundance of European based players in these squads ensures they are comfortable in a foreign setting far from home which may account for the good run of form, at least in part. Another thing is the level of commitment. Argentina and Brazil are always overflowing with talent but the two managers, say what you will about them, each picked 23 men they knew would give everything for the shirt. Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile lack no motivation and are all headed by coaches who are extremely thorough and creative. It is easy to kick a team while it is down but does anyone think a CONMEBOL country at this WC would find itself in France's position?


Accumulation-
One thing I think is an absolute detriment to this tournament is the accumulation rule. 2 yellows in the first 5 games lead to an automatic suspension. I understand they want the more sightly aspects of the game on display but this is just absurd. Especially when so much comes to interpretation. And if you are concerned with putting the best of the game on the world stage just look at Kaka's ridiculous suspension as evidence this approach doesn't work. Either make it 3 yellows for a suspension or wipe the slate clean after the group stage.


Bracket Overload Looming-
A lot can change over the next four days but we face the realistic possibility of a massive bracket overload. Without too much stretching and mmmmaybe scenarios we could see one side of the knock-out bracket include Germany, Brazil, Spain, Italy (I don't care how bad they look), and the Netherlands.

Looking forward to the rest of the week's action.