World Cup Days Ten and Eleven

That's it for the first two go-rounds. There's just a third set of matches left, and because they have to be played simultaneously in each group (see the last entry for why), that's four per day and we're all done by Friday. The moment of truth for the Americans is Thursday, and I'll be at home watching it. In the meantime, let's wrap up the last two days and preview the next few.

Sunday
After Saturday's Group E action, Sunday was pretty much doomed to be a disappointment, and so it was on most levels. First off there was the useless Japan-Croatia 0-0 draw, though honestly I bet that would have been most people's pre-tournament pick for "least compelling matchup between teams that made the knockout stages within the last eight years." Then there was Brazil/Australia, which proved two things:

1) Brazil don't seem to be trying that hard.
2) It absolutely does not matter.

Maybe when they're playing someone besides Croatia, Australia, and Japan, Brazil will be better exposed, though you have to feel like they're totally saving themselves for the knockout stages. On the other hand, England had their number in 2002 until Eriksson revealed that he's really kind of a lousy tactician, so I hardly think this team is unbeatable. I'm just not convinced anyone will beat them until I see it happen. I'd love to see them play Argentina, but if they both win their groups that can't happen until the final. Though wouldn't that be a great final?

The third game was France/South Korea. France probably got jobbed on Vieira's header, but in fairness to the ref I didn't see the French complaining about it until after the game when they'd all seen the replay and/or heard everyone say it was probably in. If not one single player on the pitch was throwing up a protest, why should we expect the ref to have been able to tell? Anyway, it's France's own fault for wimping out in the second half and giving up a pretty crap goal. Hard to believe we may have seen Zidane's last game on the international stage, though.

Monday
Sunday may have been uninspiring, but Monday was possibly worse. Switzerland/Togo? (Though that does remind me to tell my favorite "ESPN's coverage is frequently stupid" story: during the first game between France and Switzerland, ESPN ran that little "here are some facts about x country" graphic thing they do for Switzerland. Where the map of Switzerland should have been, however, there was a map of Sweden. So close and yet so far. I don't know if this is as egregious as the announcers repeating for days that this was the U.S.'s fourth straight trip to the World Cup and apparently not a single person on the team realizing it was really their fifth, but it says a lot about American knowledge of the rest of the world, I think.) The second Swiss goal wasn't bad to watch, though; I love those doinkers.

Ukraine/Saudi Arabia was as much of a snoozer as you'd expect from any game involving Saudi Arabia and a European team. (Remember Germany in 2002?) The question is, does this game mean Spain are really, really good, Saudi Arabia are really, really bad, both, or something in between? Frankly, if I'm a Spain fan, I'm worried that they've been a bit coddled with an easy draw - they stomped the only seemingly hard team in their group, and even if it took them awhile they did eventually outclass Tunisia. It's hard not to see them rolling past Saudi Arabia, and their hardest second-round opponent would probably be France (assuming they can score at all) or a rematch with South Korea. But then they would be almost certain to meet Brazil in the quarters, and while Spain have showed more quality than Brazil so far, I think the Spanish would be more unprepared for the Brazilians than vice versa.

Final Group Matches Preview

Group A: It's decided who's moving on, but not in what spots. Surprising no one, Germany top the group with six points... except that, surprising everyone, they don't top the group, because Ecuador are also on six points and have a better goal differential. Ecuador beat the same teams Germany beat (obviously) and did so by an additional goal in each game despite not having home-field advantage. Does this mean that Ecuador - winners of just one road game in qualifying and that at significant altitude in Bolivia - are really the class of this group? Hard to believe. But I'm pretty psyched to watch this one. No one tell me what happens before 7:00 tomorrow when I get home.

Group B: England are moving on but second is still open. Technically Sweden could still top the group if they can beat England - not impossible considering England's recent form, not that Sweden have looked great - but more likely they'll be hoping to hold off Trinidad and Tobago. If Sweden lose and Trinidad win, it will come down to GD, and Sweden are at just +1; a 2-0 loss to England could make things very dicey for the Swedes.

Group C: If you're not looking forward to Argentina/Holland - a rematch of the 1978 final, incidentally - you don't like soccer. Argentina have looked better - but then they've looked better than everyone - but Holland haven't looked terrible either. This one ought to be a wide-open game; it could finish 6-5 and I wouldn't be shocked. (Well, yes, I would. But you know what I'm saying.) In any event, you have to favor Argentina to win the group right now.

Group D: It's Mexico and Portugal to top the group. Amusingly, minnows Angola are still in it after Mexico's gag draw with them; I'm absolutely going to be rooting for both Portuguese-speaking nations in the hope that Mexico get run out of the tournament's easiest group. Most likely, though, the traditional powers will move on; I think Portugal can beat Mexico, but it's not immediately clear that Angola are a shoo-in to beat Iran.

Group E: Well, we know what I want to happen. Group C may feature a better top two, but this is clearly the real Group of Death, as literally anything can still happen on the last day. The Americans are the only side that don't control their own destiny; the other three are in with a win, while the U.S. need Italy to win as well (there are other possibilities, but they involve huge GD swings and are thus quite unlikely). The real Death-Group thing is that it's hard to know what to expect on the last day. Which Czech team shows up, the one that manhandled the U.S. or the one that got thoroughly outplayed by Ghana? Which Italy team shows up, the one that glided past Ghana or the one that was pushed around by an American side that wanted their match more? Will Ghana be hurt by the suspension of goalscorer Asamoah Gyan? Will missing a defender and a holding midfielder hurt the U.S., or does the fact that one of those is Eddie Pope really make it addition by subtraction? But that's the really great part about the World Cup. Groups F and H are the only other ones where no team has been totally eliminated yet; you gotta love a last day where every team is alive.

Group F: Every team is alive, but who really cares? We all know Brazil are going to top the group. Oh, sure, there's the battle for second. Snore. Australia pretty much just need to draw Croatia to advance; that game could be decent, at least. Japan are still in it, but if Australia don't lose they'll need to beat Brazil by three goals. Ha.

Group G: France are in real danger of another crashout. They play Togo, obviously the weakest team in the group (and perhaps in the tournament), but even a win could land them in a three-way tie for first on five points if Switzerland and South Korea draw. If you're France you'd really like a decisive win, since 1-0 might not be enough. A France win and any winner in the other game is enough to advance the French, though not as top of the group. Can you imagine a France/Spain match in Round Two?

Group H: With as bad as Ukraine made Saudi Arabia look, I don't see any way Spain don't take the full nine points and win the group. The question is, which Ukraine team shows up to face Tunisia? Can Tunisia possibly steal that game and second place? My guess: no.