The World Cup is upon us. Over 200 teams play for two and a half years to find the 32 teams that will compete in the World Cup. This is a big deal. You can view my predictions for the 1st and 2nd rounds below. As the 1st round finishes, I'll post corrections and predictions for Round 2.
If you follow this link, it will take you to ESPN's TV schedule of matches.
Here are my predictions for Stage 1 here (click to enlarge):
And you can examine my picks for Stage 2 here (click to enlarge):
Also, here are some interesting games to look out for.
6/11 Angola v Portugal: Portugal colonized Angola.
6/14 Germany v Poland: WW II and all that entails.
6/21 Argentina v Holland: The rubber match between two great soccer powers.
6/22 Australia v Croatia: Half the Australian squad is of Croatian descent.
Here are some other matchups that have an earth-shattering appeal and that we could see depending on how teams advance:
England v Germany: Historically joined at the hip.
Brazil v Argentina: Hatred is too mild of a word for these two South American neighbors.
Japan v South Korea: Occupation always stirs up some fond memories.
Serbia & Montenegro v Croatia: The wounds are still fresh
Final Game Prediction:
Brazil 2 - Italy 1
6 comments:
Germany 4 - 2 Costa Rica
Germany came out swinging, scored a few for the highlight reels, and Costa Rica was fortunate to score 2 to help the otherwise crazy-ass goal differential.
Poland 0 - 2 Ecuador
A dissapointing game. Poland moved the ball well, but horizontally. It seemed like they made very little forward motion, and Ecuador's two goals could best be described as "meh". They were fairly lackluster.
England 1 - 0 Paraguay
This game was exciting for the first 10 minutes of play. Beckham took a free kick, and Paraguayan Captain, Carlos Gamarra, accidentally headed the ball just out of the goalies reach for an own goal.
Sweden 0 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
This game was really fun to watch. T&T player, Avery John, got two yellow cards equalling a red card, the first for the tournament so far. Both teams played greatly. Trinidad and Tobago held their own in their first World Cup appearance ever, and Sweden had a great system set up. A midfielder would dribble the ball to the corner of the box, cross it in, and a forward in front of the goal would head the ball to another waiting forward on the post for a shot. It was the most fun I've had watching a game this World Cup.
Argentina 2 - 1 Cote D'Ivoire
I wasn't able to watch this game because we were at Sarah's graduation ceremony where the Seahawks play, but that isn't to say that I didn't try to tune the TV's hanging over the concession area in to the game, and that I didn't get updates from the web on my cell phone. The mentionable thing from the text on my phone was that Cote D'Ivoire scored their only goal in the 90th minute.
Serbia & Montenegro 0 - 1 Netherlands
I only watched certain parts, but Holland is good, and Arjen Robben scored on a breakaway in the 18th minute.
Mexico 3 - 1 Iran
Iran was boo-ed as they came onto the pitch before the game because of their president's anti-semitic remarks. There is controversy over whether to let him into the country or not because it is a crime to say what he said. By the time we left for church, Mexico had scored a very pretty goal, and Iran was barely keeping up just. They managed to squeak out the equalizer goal as we left for church. It was also pretty.
Angola 0 - 1 Portugal
Angola made innumerable mistakes today. Their left forward would breakaway, and then slip or slide to the ground when he reached scoring distance. Angola's goalie came out of the goal to attack an already defended man. The Portuguese player passed it right ever so gently around the goalie to Pauleta who tapped it in for the only goal of the match. Portugal wasn't amazing, but it should have been a blowout with how foolishly and clumsily Angola played that game.
I watched the Italy/Ghana game today. Ghana's keeper is NUTS! He was always running WAY the heck out on corners. Very fun to watch.
Monday, June 12th, 2006
Hey Chris! I saw the game as well. I totally agree.
Australia 3 - 1 Japan
Japan scored in the first half, and Australia equalized in the 84th, and scored in the 89th and 90th minute for an unexpected win against Japan.
USA 0 - 3 Czech Republic
This game would have been better if the USA played as aggressively as the Czech Republic, and if they could have moved their shots 6 inches closer to the center of the goal. I felt that the USA waited patiently for chances to arise more than made plays happen. I do disagree with some people that were saying the US played poorly. I would argue that they played differently, and fairly well. They just needed a little more energy in their approach. (criticize away)
Italy 2 - 0 Ghana
There were two penalty box fouls that I saw against Italy that the refs didn't notice. My students could be heard yelling, "Racist refs!" down the halls. Ghana played extremely well against Italy (World Cup favorites predicted to take second overall). This only furthers my thought that the US could very well take last in their group. dang.
Every time the world cup rolls around it makes me wish I knew more about soccer. I really enjoyed watching the end of the France/Swiz. game during lunch yesterday.
I've heard it said that Brazil's bench could win the world cup this year. Are they really that much better than everyone else?
Hey Tim, it would look like Brazil's bench could win the World Cup, but their performance against Croatia wasn't very convincing. They still seem like the team that plays in the poetic Samba style that I loved in 2002, but they didn't show up on Tuesday. The teams to watch at this point: Spain, Ecuador, Argentina, Czech Rep., Italy, and of course, Brazil.
Tuesday, June 13th, 2006
Brazil 1 - 0 Croatia
I was surprised that Brazil didn't show up more. This is the team that originally got me into the World Cup with their 2002 opener against Turkey. Ronaldo was just slow on Wed.
France 0 - 0 Switzerland
This draw was surprising, but kudos to Switzerland who held their own against Henry. I think Cisse's injury has really hurt France's defense.
Korea 2 - 1 Togo
This game was the game to watch. Togo scored early (31'), and it looked like Africa was going to jump ahead. Alas, a red card for Abalo gave Korea the advantage it needed to score in the 54th and 72nd minutes.
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
Spain 4 - 0 Ukraine
A total blowout that has made some people re-examine Spain as a contender.
Tunisia 2 - 2 Saudi Arabia
Tunisia went up early (23'), but Yasser equalized in the 57th minute. Saudi Arabia went up in the 84th minute, and Tunisia responded just 8 minutes later with 30 seconds remaining in stoppage time (92').
Germany 1 - 0 Poland
140 arrests of partiers around Dortmund surrounded this game steeped in history. Germany totally outplayed Poland, and finally put one away in the 91st minute to finish Poland.
Thursday, June 15th, 2006
Ecuador 3 - 0 Costa Rica
Ecuador has totally become a surprise contender in my mind. They have been playing excellently. They are definitely a team to watch.
England 2 - 0 Trinidad & Tobago
This game saw England score their first 2006 World Cup goal all by themselves in the 83rd minute. They finally looked like England during the last 10 minutes of the game. If only they could extend that to the rest of the game, they might be a contender.
Sweden 1 - 0 Paraguay
Sweden dominated this game, and the score should have been higher. Paraguay didn't impress me with their constant whining in their opener against England, so, it was nice to see them eliminated by Sweden. Sorry all you Paraguayans, but Valdez is a whiny baby.
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