Two Good Ones Today

So the US went out of the 2010 World Cup in the round of 16 and the journey is over. I (along with anyone who has even casually watched the team over the last few months) said the key was to not concede early... and 5 minutes in three American defenders were unable to contain a basic Ghanian stroll down the center of the park and it was 1-0. The US played well but not great for most of the rest of the game and it was just to pull even on Donovan's penalty in the second half. In my opinion there was not much of a difference between the two teams. The Americans had slightly more quality chances and Ghana probably played a tighter game in the middle of the park by a slim margin. The difference is in the details. Ghana took their goals when opportunities presented themselves and the US didn't. Jozy Altidore I thought was particularly mediocre and it is a shame because some of the guys playing alongside and behind him generated chances that could have changed the outcome. Putting Ricardo Clark in the starting 11 then pulling him off for Maurice Edu in the first half is not Bob Bradley's finest hour either. It was sad to see them go but in a way I am thankful the US went out like that and not on another blown call or by goal difference in the group stage. That could have stifled the momentum of the game in this country.


Two interesting matches today. The first is England vs Germany, two traditional powerhouses of European football. 44 years ago England "won" their only World Cup by beating the Germans in London. Since then international football has been more kind to Germany as they won the title twice and came runners-up another three times while the Three Lions never again reached the championship match. A 1990 semi-final between the two was decided on penalty kicks, and twenty years later here we are. Personally I think England have been one of the real let-downs of the tournament and although this might not be the German machine of the 80s I expect them to win comfortably (on the field if not the scoreboard).

Argentina faced Mexico at this round last time and won a 2-1 overtime thriller on Maxi Rodriguez's wonder goal. The two teams aren't exactly rivals but there are plenty of storylines. In addition to the Maradona-Messi stuff that comes out whenever Argentina play we have the manager's verbal assault on former Mexican manager Ricardo La Volpe, the inclusion of naturalized Argentine Guille Franco in the Mexican squad, Gio Dos Santos vs Messi, and the fact it is not only a rematch of four years ago but Argentina also thrashed Mexico in a Copa America semi-final in 2007. Mexico have a lot of spirit and they deserve credit for knocking out France and surviving a group stage with the host nation. However the gulf in class here is tremendous and in all likelihood Argentina will take this one by at least two goals. 3-1 sounds about right to me.