World Cup Roundup Kune

I have to warn you, this Kune (fourth) World Cup post finds me as a pretty angry dude. Let's get into it.

Spain v Switzerland

Man, this game was so sweet. Spain may have dominated possession, but the Swiss did just enough on defense to make it a brilliant effort. Then, in the 52nd minute, the Swiss came away with a thrilling and eventually game winning goal. The Spanish had their chances, but luck was with the Swiss Miss. Stunning.

Uruguay v South Africa

I feel bad for the host country. Two goals from grease ball Diego Forlan, including one on a penalty kick, led the way to a 3-0 victory for the South African side. The worst part was the SA keeper getting a red card for no real reason, getting booted, and letting the flood gates open for the away side. So, the Bofana are going to be the first host country not to escape the groups.

Argentina v South Korea

Wow, this was nearly the worst game so far. My South Korea squad are going to need to turn things around if they hope to beat Nigeria. A 4-1 win for the former World Cup champs was led by the first tournament hat trick since 2002. Gonzalo Higuain was in the right place at the right time, and the good Koreans were out of luck.

Nigeria v Greece

The Greeks kind of got handed a win against a 10 man African side in this 2-1 match. It was a soft shot botched by the Nigerian keeper that rebounded to Torosidis for the game winner. African Nations are struggling here, eh?

Mexico v France

I got to watch this whole match with a large group of French fans at a British pub in Cupertino. Um, yeah, I was pumped. Former Chivas star, Javier Hernandez (now making Andrew bat his eyelashes while he's at Man United) buried a goal just 9 minutes after coming in. France had some quality chances, but were far from last tournament's squad. Then, Blanco got the chance to take a penalty kick to seal the deal, and he tickled the twine to make it 2-0. Luchador masks, Aztec warriors, it was priceless. Way to go Mexico!

US v Slovenia

I knew that Slovenia was tricky good and that this would potentially be harder than the England test, but why did it have to go so pear shaped? First of all, our defense is flat bad. We come out sad and dreadful in the first 30 minutes of every game, and it showed again this time. The defense let Tim Howard down, and two Slovenian goals were there to prove it. The first time World Cup ref made a horrible hand ball call on Findley, and we thought that would be the worst thing he did. Down 0-2 after 45 didn't give us much hope, despite having a couple of good runs at goal. The second half, however, seemed like it was just a matter of time before we nailed some home. We outmatched the hell out of them. Then, finally, Landon Donovan drilled home an amazing shot from a bad angle just 3 minutes in the half. The Galaxy star made fans out of all his haters when he left no doubt burying the shot with some force. The tables turned, and they woud turn even more. In the 82nd, it would be the coache's son making all the noise. A long ball into the box was headed down by my boy Altidore, and came to the feet of Bradley streaking in. He booted the ball into the net, and with 8 minutes left, somehow, we were even. Now comes one of the worst things I've seen...in my life. The US was awarded a free kick with everything on the line. Donovan sent the ball in perfectly and Edu buried the ball into the goal and sent our entire country into a frenzy. But wait, the ref blows his whistle. Offsides wasn't there so that can't be it. The Slovenians were bear hugging Bradley, Altidore, and company the whole way, so there can't be a foul on the US. Let's ask the ref. "No comment." What the heck? You all saw it, as long as you weren't working (God Bless America for my week long vacation). There was no call to be made. The ref refused to say what he actually called. FIFA is letting him keep silent. It's like an NFL ref throwing a yellow flag, penalizing a team for 10 yards, but not having to say why. It's a complete joke. As they said on ESPN, "it's criminal." They finally got something right at that network.

England v Algeria

Wow, Algeria's goalie was smashing. We all were hoping for a nil-nil draw, and that's what we got! We needed no goals and a tie to help keep our dreams alive, and Algeria pulled it off! Man, the Brits are having a problem. Would it be that Slovenia and the US escape from the group, leaving England and Algeria behind? If there is a God...

Props to Serbia for their thrilling win against a 10 man German side, by the way. The goalie even stopped a PK!

So, we have one group game remaining. The US lines up against Algeria on Wednesday morning at the same time the Lobsterbacks line up against Slovenia. The breakdown isn't really that bad. If the US wins against Algeria, we advance not matter what. If we draw against Algeria, we advance if Slovenia and England draw and less than two goals are scored be each side. This is so huge. Win and move on. Don't even worry about the other game, just get the job done. The start of the game is what we're looking toward in Wednesday's game.

Let's go US.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē