Definitely the highlight of the day. Additionally, it was pretty damn cool when North Korea scored as well.
Holy shit, the All Whites actually got a draw. And with that their first point in a world cup. Now it's time to do the rest of the world a favour by finishing off what they almost did last time they played Italy. I predict an Argentina - All Whites final, although I am realistic so NZ will probably only win on penalties after drawing.
For you US Soccer fans out there: does anyone want to see Torres in the second match? It looked we had absolutely no poise on the inside last match (with the exception of Landycakes) and you could really see it when our center backs tried to feed the ball up. They eventually got the point where they had no confidence and just booted the ball up as far as they could. This is what Torres brings: the ability to help control the middle and distribute the ball out to the wings. Yeah, he's a little young and green, and they still aren't full of confidence on him yet, but give him a chance. He can't be any worse than the two I'm about to mention. That being said, I pray to god that either Bradley or Clark do not start next match. They both looked awful. I also cant stand Clark, he was horrible in the qualifying, so this adds fuel to my fire. His saving grace was a good Confederations Cup. Donovon looked good. I was pleasantly surprised. It's funny how head and shoulders he and Dempsey are above everyone else, with the exception of Howard. Donovon had poise, made some really good runs and had some good services.
That call that involved Renaldo getting a yellow card was absolutely awful. It was a clear tackle from behind and then the other player jumped in his face? I know he had a reputation for flopping but not there. I guess umpires, ref's, and field judges all have their moments.
I actually commented to a friend that Ronaldo is the only player I've ever heard of to get carded solely for being a douchebag. In other news Switzerland/Spain is the best game of the tournament thus far.
The ref was alright. Spain got unlucky, and as much as I hate the Shit4* (Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Italy) I know Spain will be alright. Unless they draw Chile. Boy out of all the 1st games, Germany completely shone. I hope they don't peak too early. *Diving, flailing, cheating teams that could still win on talent alone if they were to play honorably. The English, Dutch and the Germans play honorably, and I find that much more fun to watch. Under Capello however England has neither the flair, the speed or the form.
Either Torres or Edu. Personally I'd prefer Edu, but I'd be fine with either one. They're both good passers, Torres is a little bit better on the ball, but Edu is a better defensive player (which frees up Bradley to go forward more) and is more athletic. Totally disagree on Bradley, he had a good game, Clark was the primary one at fault on England's goal but after that he settled down and I didn't think he was too bad. That said while he's a good player defensively he doesn't offer a whole lot on offense other than a good long-range shot, and if Slovenia throws 10 guys behind the ball as expected we'll need someone who can help break down their defense.
HAHAHAHAHAHA. Bafana Bafana will be eliminated* after losing 3-0 to Uruguay. It wasn't even close, was it? Well done to the S.A. goalkeeper Khune for getting himself sent off for fouling Suarez in the penalty area. Fucking idiot. Well done to Switzerland for beating Spain. Spain are the biggest World Cup chokers ever - why do they ALWAYS do this? Stupid. *Let's be realistic here - S.A. have NO chance of beating France. France could send 10 of their 100 shittiest players and still smack around Bafana Bafana like the proverbial red-headed stepchild.
Yes, there's a small chance S.A. will beat France. But don't forget, France is fucking horrible. Of all the big football-nations, France is the by far the most beatable country. (And here's me hoping that they won't pull a '2006' and somehow reach the final, resulting in me swallowing my words). But if I'm correct, even a SAF win won't guarantee progress to the second round, right? And go easy on Spain. Christ, we're barely beyond the first round of matches, and everybody is going apeshit and making far-fetched conclusions already (England sucks, Italy sucks, Messi sucks, Spain sucks, matches are terrible, not enough goals etc). I'm sometimes as guilty of this as anybody else, but I'm trying to put things in perspective. It's interesting to try and make conclusions and prediction based on one match, but it's just the first round of matches, let's wait until the first round ends before seriously doing stuff like this. History shows us that these tournaments usually start slow, but becoming more exciting with each game. Yes, the goals tally is really low for a first round. And there was only one team that was really impressive and scored a lot of goals (Germany), but anything can happen. And what about Spain? Everybody thought they were the greatest thing since blow-jobs, but they lose and suddenly they're horrible? Yes, they have a history of bottling it at the World Cup. But come on, they played really well yesterday, but it just wasn't their day. They will go through the second round, no doubt. The only thing this match showed is that Spain isn't a team of supermen and can be beaten. Fortunately. Also, this result may mean Spain and Brazil meet eachother in the second round. Fucking awesome.
I've got Spain getting knocked out by Ivory Coast in the second round in my pool. If they get knocked out by Brazil instead, so be it.
Argentina were good without setting the game alight, I don't think Higuain could have asked for an easier hattrick but he's a right-place-right-time player. If they can inject a bit more urgency into their game, which admittedly Korea didn't demand, then they'll be fearsome. Still a few questions over the defence - Demichelis' lapse of concentration for the goal could spell disaster in a knockout game. Now for Greece - Nigeria, which promises absolutely nothing. I'll have it on in the background and hopefully they'll give me a reason to turn around.
Oh good, the team with the 1-0 lead over an offensively inept opponent just got a red card in the 35th minute. That should make the rest of this game entertaining.
Fantastic days football. Tomorrow will be very interesting however, I expect to see a win from both USA and England, anything else will be severely disappointing. Also Germany should give another hammering too. Looking forward to it.
I already said Domenech was an asshole. He left out Vieira, Benzema (not a great season for him, but still...), Nasri... and yet there is place for Toulalan, a player who regularly picks up cards (and thus suspensions) in the ECL. Stupid. I think a few of these guys will remain when Blanc comes in, but I don't see him selecting Henry again after this tournament. They should still beat S.A. - Bafana Bafana are the worst team in the tournament and will now have to play the bench goalie because Khune is an idiot who got suspended. Argentina... where the fuck were you in the previous match? Higuain played well. Aguero's shot in extra time was VERY close and he had that Korean defender tied in knots. I suspect Maradona will give Palermo a go in the next match - it's got to be his last WC. I'm still praying for England... come ON! Please let Hart start...
The ref ruined that game. Always blowing up and showing cards for absolutely nothing. Klose should never have been sent off. Having said that the Germans were surprisingly ineffective, especially first half. And that is their first missed penalty in a world cup since 1982. Looking forward to this evening. I'm pulling for victories for England and USA. EDIT: Who is this Torres for USA? It's like a child has won a competition to be allowed to play one world cup game. He's tiny.