We're just inching over the week mark in the World Cup and it's fascinating to watch so far. No real favorites have emerged from the pack yet. Expected powerhouses have underperformed (Germany- lost to Serbia, Spain- lost to Switzerland, England- lost its mind) and people you haven't expected have stepped up in a big way. I'm sure the last round of group games will shake things up even more and maybe clear up the picture of what's coming in the tournament a bit, but then again, maybe not. Either way, it's fascinating to watch- and you know what, I'd be watching this anyway, but for some reason the South African edition of the World Cup is an increasingly fascinating and compelling bit of television to watch.
Some thoughts--
England: is having a team meeting to figure out just what the heck happened against Algeria. There are calls for Joe Cole to start, which I'd be fine with, but having watched both England games in full, I'd say the Three Lions have all the ingredients and just need to click. Always a difficult task, especially with the egos of such a diverse collection of superstars on your team, but I really believe if they get it together and work as a team, then Slovenia and the rest of us are going to get quite the show.
But although they seemed to have slept on Algeria, ('It's Algeria, we're gonna get a goal') was the lazy impression I was left with, I don't think it's all bad news for England. Unlike the last World Cup and Sven Goran Erickson's 4-5-1 idiocy that left poor Wayne Rooney taking on whole teams by himself, Capello has the right idea, pushing people up the wings and bringing talented midfielders like Lampard and Gerrard forward to try and create some more dynamism on offense. Against the U.S., they were quick, efficient passing through the midfield and if Tim Howard was one iota less good than he is, England would have won 4-1 easily. I'm hoping, however, if their collective balls are placed right against the bandsaw, it might well inspire some brilliance and urgency from England- both of which were lacking against Algeria and if England wants to stay in, they will need to go out and get after it for 90 minutes and then some against Slovenia, because if they don't, little Slovenia will eat them alive.
The United States-- again, very, very simple: win and you're in. And please don't concede anymore goals in the first 15 minutes. Let's shutout Algeria, shall we? And how about that game against Slovenia? Resilient, they never quit and after a dismal first half, it was a different, hungry team that came out and scored three fantastic goals (only two of which were allowed). If the United States can play for 90 minutes against Algeria like they did against Slovenia in the Second Half, they'll romp. And, in fact, if they can keep playing just like that, they have the talent and ability to go very, very deep in the tournament.
France--bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha! France, I'm sorry has looked like complete merde. They lost to Mexico, tied with Uruguay- striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home yesterday and today, the team refused to train. (England fans take note: it could be a lot worse, you could be France.) Little sad when you're known more for what you do off the field than on.
Who I'm Watching-- Uruguay, Ivory Coast, Ghana. Haven't seen Spain, Portugal or Brazil yet and I'm withholding judgment on Italy just yet.
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