World Cup Day Eight

So much for the Group of Death. Especially Serbia's place in it. The Ivory Coast may have been eliminated but they put up two spirited fights; the Netherlands and Argentina were clearly just better. But they only lost 2-1 each time. Serbia, meanwhile, haven't scored a goal yet while surrendering seven, which is only seven times as many as they allowed in ten qualifying games (to be fair, though, they weren't exactly in the toughest group, apart from Spain), and they've been absolutely dominated on both sides of the ball by both Argentina and the Dutch. The Argentines are looking like strong candidates to go a long way in the tournament, and their game against the Netherlands on Wednesday ought to be a great one (unless both teams decide they don't care whether they win the group or not and rest guys, the only drawback to scheduling the bulk of your anticipated marquee matchups at the back end of group play).

I think Cambiasso's goal - Argentina's second, the backheel from Crespo - was the prettiest of the six. Possibly the best goal of the tournament among the ones I've seen. Along with Spain and probably Holland, Argentina really are looking like a major contender right now, at least as far as "firing on all cylinders in the first round" means "looking like a major contender."

Weekend Matches That Will Tell Us a Lot About Their Groups

* Portugal-Iran. Mexico handled Iran pretty well, so Portugal need to take care of business after the Mexicans stumbled to a draw with Angola. This should tell us something about what to expect out of the Portugal/Mexico final that will most likely determine first vs. second place - though with Argentina and Holland waiting, do you want to be either of these teams?

* Brazil-Australia. I think the general consensus is that Brazil aren't as bad as they looked and Australia aren't as good as three goals in eight minutes would suggest. I also think that Brazil could be pulling a 2000 New York Yankees - do just enough to get into the next round, then roll. I'd love to see Australia get a result here, even if only a draw, though.

* US-Italy. A-duh. Something of a must-win for both teams, though the Italians might settle for a draw if they think they can beat the Czechs. How will the U.S. rebound? Will the offense look like anything other than total crap? Tough questions that will be answered soon.