Well the girls lost in the World Cup finals to Japan due to Hope Solo and the American shoot out team choking. It happens, we don't need to hear about women's soccer for the next 4 years.
I bashed the World Cup a week or 2 ago stating that I don't care about it, however, I'll be a hypocrite if I sit here and say I didn't watch it. It was an intense game that obviously went down to the wire, it stinks because there were some pretty cute girls on the US team and it's always nice to see pretty girls happy.
Alex Morgan for example:
For all of you think Hope Solo is cute too shut up, she's scary and I feel like she would argue too much and be too outspoken. Personality kills the looks or coolness of the name.
Also, I think it's a Ladybugs like conspiracy too for the US, no way Abby Wombach is a chick, she's too good and too bad ass. She was literally a men amongst boys out there.
I'm sick of hearing those Vuvuzela horns. That's the only part about this World Cup that hasn't been spectacular. Look, I know that there's an impetus to promote South African culture during this tournament, but would they allow thousands of bagpipes to play if the World Cup were in Scotland? So ban these instruments of obnoxiousness! Let them play for the games featuring the South African team, but when Germany is playing Australia, I want to hear crowd noises.
USA 1, England 1 The NY Post conjured up an amazing headline Sunday morning: "USA Wins 1-1; Greatest Tie Since Bunker Hill." And while England's goaltending gaffe ultimately allowed for this tie to occur, it was US goalie Tim Howard and some excellent defending that prevented England from making it a 2-0 game.
South Africa 1, Mexico 1 The South Africans experienced a lot of home-team hospitality when a Mexican goal was incorrectly disallowed for an offsides. There's a reason why the host team has always advanced past the group stage.
Uruguay 0, France 0 France simply refused to adjust their offense to Uruguay's defense. Imagine an offensive coordinator that kept calling for HB Dive or HB Slam, even though there are 10 defenders in the box. That's how France dealt with Uruguay's central clogging defense.
South Korea 2, Greece 0 Ever since the '02 World Cup in Korea, these guys have gotten better and better. More and More Koreans are playing for European club teams every season.
Argentina 1, Nigeria 0 An Argentinian with a German last name like Heinze? People who know their history know why that irks me. Argentina willfully became a haven for ex-Nazis after World War II. That's the part of Evita that was edited out.
Slovenia 1, Algeria 0 Slovenia was the first European team to win at the World Cup. How fucking crazy is that? And it was also Slovenia's first win in any major tournament... ever.
Ghana 1, Serbia 0 A stupid handball penalty allowed Ghana to take this pivotal win.
Germany 4, Australia 0 There were lots of questions about Germany's quality in this competition. Those questions remain, because Australia looked awful. Miroslav Klose scored his 49th goal for Germany, and his 11th career World Cup goal, tying him for 5th all-time (the record is 14, held by fellow German Gerd Müller).
Today, the ping pong balls were drawn NBA Draft style, determining who will play who in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The drawing is seeded, with the 32 participating teams divided into 4 pots based on things like world rankings. The US was in Pot #2.
The US will be in Group C with England, Algeria, and Slovenia. That's not too bad of a draw. England are obviously elite, but in the round-robin group stage, you only need to finish 2nd in your group to advance to the next round. According to FIFA's rankings, the US is sitting pretty. England is ranked 9th in the world, Algeria 28th, and Slovenia 33rd. The US sits at 14th.
Here are all the groups, and a little bit of analysis.
Group A: South Africa (host), Mexico, Uruguay, France This group is scary. Host teams have a huge advantage in these tournaments, Mexico is fierce, France is ranked 7th, and Uruguay 19th. No easy wins for anyone in this group. Hopefully Mexico will be embarrassed.
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece Most World Cup groups have a bitch, and South Korea will fill that role in Group B. Argentina and Greece will be the heavy favorites to advance, but Nigeria often put up a good fight.
Group C: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana 3-time Champions Germany have an interesting draw. Australia and Serbia are both solid, and although Ghana is ranked 37th in the world, they've surprised a lot of people before. Australia/Serbia should be the best match in this group.
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Cameroon, Japan The Dutch are ranked 3rd in the world, Cameroon is ranked 11th, and Denmark always has a few talented stars. Japan will be bitched out of this group, with the Netherlands and Cameroon advancing.
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia The 2006 Champions - Italy - have an easy draw here. Paraguay's ranked 30th in the world, Slovakia 34th, and New Zealand 77th. Look for Italy to win all 3 of their matches. And look for the team that finishes 2nd in this group to be throttled in the elimination rounds.
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal One weird thing about the World Cup is how often countries that once owned other countries get to play each other. England and the US play. Spain plays Honduras and Chile. Germany plays Ghana. And Portugal plays Brazil in this group. Portugal barely qualified, but they're ranked 5th in the country. Mighty Brazil sits 2nd.
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile Spain, winners of the 2008 European Cup and #1 team in the world might have some trouble here. All three of their opponents are solid, and Honduras is capable of big surprises. Spain should qualify, but in a shock, they might not win this group.
Prediction: Italy rides a very fortunate draw to the finals, before being crushed 3-1 by Germany.
This game didn't mean all that much on paper. Then again, losing to Costa Rica at home is one of the reasons US fans shy away from a sport like soccer. The United States needed all 95 minutes of this game to claw back from a 2-0 deficit and salvage a point in their last World Cup Qualifier (you get 1 point for a tie, 3 for a win).
That point was critical as it gives the United States the top spot in the North/Central American qualifying group. That could potentially mean an easier group for Team USA to start with in the 2010 World Cup. You might remember '06 when we were placed in a tough group with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana.
The National Team plays next on November 18th. They'll play Denmark on the road in a tune-up match.
Well I actually did sit down and watch this game. I know next to nothing about soccer, but I have to say it was entertaining. USA came out strong and were able to take the lead early, but after that we witnessed how much better Brazil really is. Tim Howard, who plays goalie for USA, was unreal (he also looks like Jason Taylor). USA couldn't get the ball out of their end, and their defense was basically useless. Brazil should have actually won this game by two goals, as Howard actually made a save from within his own net, but the ref didn't see it pass the line.
Anyways, great tournament for USA, but it would have been nice to see them finally win something. Just from watching that game it seems like USA still has a big hill to climb, but at least they are putting up a fight.
This is the biggest thing to happen in USA soccer history. It is already being compared to the Miracle on Ice. USA beat Spain 2-0. Spain was ranked as the #1 team in the world, and was riding a 35 game winning streak. We will have more on this tomorrow...
I don't care much about the Confederations Cup. And most people who aren't dedicated soccer fans don't know what the Confederations Cup is. These people should read the next paragraph to learn what the Confeds Cup is. Those who know or don't care should skip the next paragraph. And to those who don't like soccer, all I can say is "why have you read any of this?"
The Confeds Cup is a small tournament involving 8 teams: the latest World Cup champ (Italy), the host country (South Africa), and the 6 champions of the various continental soccer confederations. So, for instance, Spain qualified as champions of Europe. Egypt won the African championship, and so on.
Here was the situation: Brazil had already clinched a spot in the next round. And Italy had all sorts of tie-breakers over the US. USA would have to beat Egypt by 3+ goals. Moreover, Italy would have to lose by 3+ goals.
That's like winning a baseball game by 10 runs, or a football game by 35 points. It happens, but rarely. And for it to happen twice on the same day is INSANE.
That's precisely what happened. USA beat Egypt 3-0. Brazil beat Italy 3-0. Italy and the US had the same goal differential, but the Americans scored 1 more goal than the Italians, and that allowed them to advance.
For the record, Italy trampled the US 3-1 last week. But in a Texas/Oklahoma style scenario, the head-to-head game between them meant nothing.
This doesn't mean much. Spain will destroy the US Wednesday afternoon. I just think it's crazy.
Why is the World Cup awesome? Because it never stops. There's 3 years of qualifying just to get there, and the US National Team is in the final round of their qualifying routine. The top 6 teams in North/Central America play each other in a double round robin, the top 3 make the World Cup, and the US began the stage with arch rival Mexico.
If you don't like soccer, fine. But you should know that the US National team is one of the most hated of all sports teams in all the world. In 2003, Mexican fans chanted "Osama bin Laden" at a game against the red, white, and blue. See, soccer is the only thing most countries have a legit chance to match or beat the US in. So they hate us.
Anyway, the US won 2-0, Michael Bradley (who is son of the team's head coach) scored late in the 1st half, then late in the 2nd half. Mexico had a nice effort, but couldn't finish their offensive efforts with any creativity. Mexico is nowhere near as good as they've been, and the US will qualify with ease, probably finishing atop their 6 team group.
Look for the United States to have a solid showing in the 2010 World Cup.
Nine months ago Hope Solo was kicked off team USA for bashing teammate Brianna Scurry after a 4-0 loss to Brazil in the World Cup. However, Solo is back on team USA and Scurry is not. So much for the Coach Greg Ryan ruining two people's careers with that stupid move. Hopefully Team USA will play for the goaltender that once threw them under the bus.
One another note: Hope Solo is a close name to Han Solo
The US men's national soccer team hosted #1 ranked Argentina last night at Giants Stadium. Coming into the match, the US was 2-6 all-time against Argentina, and 1-9 against teams ranked #1. But a brilliant effort by goalkeeper Tim Howard helped stymie Argentina's offense and earn the US a 0-0 draw, and a moral victory.
However, the lack of goals has to be a source of some concern. The US failed to score in their 3 most recent tune-up matches, all against top teams. They fell 2-0 to England in London, and 1-0 to Spain in Madrid.
The US begins World Cup qualifying this weekend with a match against Barbados in Carson, CA. The two will then play in Barbados. The team with the best combined score will advance to the group stages of World Cup qualifying.
Argentina's arch-rival Brazil fell 2-0 to Venezuela in Foxborough, MA on Friday. It was the first time Venezuela has ever beaten Brazil in 18 tries. Both Brazil and Argentina begin South American qualifying for the 2010 World Cup this weekend.
In the European Championships, it was a good weekend to be the favored team. The Czech Republic narrowly beat host Switzerland 1-0 on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal side beat Turkey 2-0. Croatia beat Austria 1-0 thanks to a penalty kick. And Germany beat Poland 2-0. There were 157 arrests in and around the Germany/Poland game in Klagenfurt, Austria. Most of those arrested were Germans.
The Group of Death begins play this afternoon. Romania plays France at 12 noon, then a clash of the titans at 2:45 as Italy faces the Netherlands.
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