1. Germany can breathe much easier now…
The Germans looked like they were in serious trouble after Friday’s loss because Ghana had a game in hand against a side many considered to be the worst in the tournament. Those views weren’t unwarranted considering Australia was humiliated in its first match and its best player was sent off, making him unavailable against the Black Stars. A Ghana win would vault them to the top with six points and leave Germany tied for second with three points but facing a tougher last-match opponent.
Unfortunately for the Africans, almost nothing went well for them today as they struggled to a 1-1 tie that put them on much shakier footing in the group stage. Instead of needing help, Germany can win the group with a win over Ghana and has the benefit of a +3 goal differential thanks to their thrashing of the Aussies that will almost assuredly win them any tiebreakers.
2. Group F is the definition of boring…
I can’t imagine anyone waking up early to watch this horror of a group. The Italians are essentially the same squad that hoisted the trophy in Germany, except four years older and that much worse for the wear. Plus, they spend so much time falling to the ground it looks like the match is being played with a sniper in the stands. Slovakia is actually the same team as Slovenia and Serbia but with different uniforms. They accomplished a real feat in their opener, drawing with a team whose sole goal is to not be the worst-ever World Cup team. Paraguay has actually accomplished less in its illustrious World Cup history than the United States (no, really). I guess that’s what you get when you run around dressed like cotton candy vendors. And lastly (how appropriate) is New Zealand, the aforementioned team whose expectations are so low the bar is actually below ground.
3. South America could see all five countries advance…
I won’t even bother discussing Brazil and Argentina for obvious reasons. Uruguay delivered a commanding performance against South Africa, leaving Bafana Bafana in tatters after a 3-0 romp. They’ll win Group A if they beat or tie Mexico in their group stage finale. Paraguay is currently in a four-way tie for first in Group F with 1 point, but has their toughest game out of the way and just needs to handle business against New Zealand to gain a leg up on the Slovakians. Chile might have suffered a heartbreaker with Spain’s loss to Switzerland. They dominated Honduras with a rarely seen 70% possession rate but couldn’t afford to see Spain gift three points to their competition in the fight to advance. It’s pretty easy to imagine the Swiss getting to six points against Honduras (although I said that about Ghana, and look what happened), meaning that it will come down to either Chile or Spain for the second spot. The Chileans can’t be too happy about that one.
4. Positioning is everything…
One of the reasons Spain can ill afford to finish second in Group H is because the group is paired with Group G, better known as the Group of Death. That means a second-place finish would match them up in the Round of 16 against the winners of G, most likely the Brazilians. Win that, and a matchup against the Netherlands awaits in the quarterfinals. That’s two top-five teams in the world before they would even reach the semifinals.
Meanwhile, whichever team wins group A will get the runner-up from Group B (and really, it could be any of Greece/South Korea/Nigeria), none of whom are overly impressive. That would be followed by a match against the Group C winner, which is no longer guaranteed to be England. Two different roads, one much easier than the other.
5. Brazil-Ivory Coast could be the game of the tournament so far...
The World Cup had a rarely uneventful first slate, but that’s changed with a lot of the games opening up more in the attacking third. In the past two days, we’ve seen a thrilling 3-2 win by the United States over Slovenia 2-2 draw between USA and Slovenia (Thanks, Mali!), followed up by an incredible back-and-forth match between Cameroon and Denmark, with the Danes actually managing to put their goals in the correct net this time.
The Brazil-Ivory Coast matchup is likely to continue this trend. Assuming Didier Drogba earns the start for this one, it will be a compelling battle and the Elephants could very well steal a win from the Brazilians. We still don’t know what form the South American champs are in after their shaky 2-1 win against North Korea last week. Even if it doesn’t live up to its much-anticipated billing, it will likely still appear stellar in comparison to the first two games of the day, both Group F matchups.
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