Yisikhombisa means seven in Zulu, and it is with great National pride that I bring you the LSF's 7th World Cup post.
England v Slovenia
Was it just a pipe dream that Slovenia would be able to finish of the Brits? Well, I guess so, as the team we should have beat 3-2 got tipped by England 0-1 to start the day off. With Heskey riding the pine, his replacement Jermain Defoe buried the game winner for the Brits. 23 minutes in, Defoe stuck his foot out nearly blindly on a cross and gave the ball just enough redirection to befuddle the Slov keeper. It was all they would need, in a game where Wayne Rooney got hauled off and replaced by Joe Cole for an uninspired performance. In the end, though, England would escape the groups with a +1 goal differential and move on.
US v Algeria
With the games going on at the same time, the US was probably unaware that England had put the pressure on them and the option of advancing with a tie was no more. Despite that, the Americans played one of their most inspired 90 minutes of footie in recent memory. First off, they didn't allow any early goal as the defense held strong. Secondly, they continued to pound away with chance after chance, only to be denied by the wood work, the crafty keeper, or a bogus offsides call. Then, with the scored locked at nil-nil, and all experts calling for the end of the 2010 US World Cup dreams, something amazing happened. Clint Dempsey put a hard shot on that the Algerian keeper allowed to bounce off for a huge rebound. Thank the Soccer Gods, the ball came right to the magic toe of Landon Donovan. LD blasted the ball into the net in the 91st-ish minute and sent a nation into a frenzy. All expectations were realized. The US not only advanced out of the groups, but won our group with this brilliant victory. It is the first group win for the US in a World Cup since 1930. After the goal, we held strong, Algeria had their captain sent off for a second booking, and the boys mobbed Donovan and Howard to celebrate their accomplishment. We never lost in our 3 games. We earned a trip to the round of 16. And, most importantly, we did better than England! USA! USA! Yes!
Germany v Ghana
This game basically became the battle for the 1 and 2 slots in Group D after the Aussies and the Serbs battled each other for fun. Germany pounded home their golden goal in the 1-nil win in the 60th when Mesut Ozil took an impressive bullet shot from the top of the box than baffled the Ghana keeper. Despite Ghana pushing forward as much as possible, Germany came away with the win and the top spot in the group, while Ghana squeaked in via the 2 hole much like Mexico.
A brief thank you to ESPN Mobile TV for providing me the opportunity to watch both the US/Algeira game and Germany/Ghana games in their entirety while I should have been working. I love you, cell phone.
So, let's check out work:
Group C
LSF Predictions: US & England
Reality: US & England
I was hopeful, but also nervous, that Slovenia would advance with the US. But, I ended up being right about the two squads advancing from this underrated group.
Group D
LSF Predictions: Germany & Serbia
Reality: Germany & Ghana
Well, I was almost right. I thought that after qualifying ahead of Frnance, Serbia would be able to perform a little better. Of course, we now know that finishing ahead of France this time around doesn't mean very much. Meanwhile, Ghana came up solid with the tons of support they were getting from the African fans, and despite losing game three, they did enough to advance. Sorry, Socceroos.
Round of 16 matchups:
US v Ghana
I'm prett happy with this draw coming into the Round of 16. Look, I by no means am feeling like this is a lock for the Americans. Far from it. But, going against Germany would have been much harder. While Ghana is a quality team, maybe the best African squad so far, I have to go with the US here. We'll be celebrating with another pitcher of Stone IPA on Saturday for the game at Club Silkkkk.
England v Germany
Okay, if you're a hardcore soccer fan, this is the more exciting match to come out of he two groups from today. It's going to be a knock down dragout fight between two teams not stoked to be in the same bracket as Argentina. But, they'll focus on the task at hand, rather than looking to far into the future. So, what do you think? Germany looked solid for most of their group tests, and England looked beatable all day long. Germany breaks the Brits, and they'll be crying watching us go to the round of 8. Suckers.
Tomorrow we have Paraguay and New Zealand as well as Slovakia and Italy in the moring tilts with Cameroon and Netherlands as well as Japan and Denmark sharing the early afternoon spotlight. Group E is really Netherlands' group to win with Japan and Denmark throwing down for the second spot in an exciting match. Meanehile, Group F is wide open with all four teams holding a chance to get through.
Keep up the fun, soccer. Can't wait for Saturday.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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