This should be interesting. If the USA can’t do it now, against an injured and demoralized Portugal, then it will be clear it simply doesn’t have the horses to compete with the second-rate teams. But the win over Ghana looks a lot more impressive in light of Ghana battling a lazy Germany to a draw.
Tag: sports
Germany v Ghana
MESSI! 1-0 was a harsh result for Iran, who played Argentina to a near-draw and were robbed of a clear penalty. Both goalies were excellent, but one defender just isn’t enough to shut down Messi, whose 90th minute goal was the thing of beauty one expects to see from a truly elite international. A very good game, though, and probably the best the Iranians have ever played at the World Cup, their defeat of the USA a few Cups back notwithstanding.
Messi’s strike wasn’t even his most impressive move of the game. My favorite was when he took on three defenders and went through ALL THREE of them before being stymied by the fourth. He may not be at the absolute top of his form that he was when Barca was destroying everything in sight, but this is the best he’s ever been at the World Cup. Which is saying something, as only Batigol has scored more goals for Argentina.
I have to admit, though, I do kind of miss watching Unfrozen Caveman Striker.
I can’t imagine Germany having any trouble at all with Ghana, and I very much doubt I’ll even bother to watch Bosnia-Nigeria.
Italy v Costa Rica
I didn’t expect this game to be of any interest, but in light of the Uruguay-England result, Costa Rica should probably be taken more seriously than I’d assumed. That being said, it’s a lot easier to penetrate the Uruguay defense than the famous catenaccio, even if it’s no longer being anchored by Maldini and Cannavaro. So, I still expect a fairly routine 3-1 Italian victory, but it should be one that is on the entertaining side of routine.
In any event, the prosecco is flowing and the match is on. Avanti Azzurri!
France v Switzerland is the match I’m really anticipating. The French looked much stronger than I’d anticipated, as Pogba is a fearsome midfielder in the mode of a more aggressive Patrick Viera and Griezeman is a classic fox-in-the box, albeit with speed. Prior to the tournament, I would have bet on the Swiss, but so far, they appear to be more lucky than good. I think a draw would be a good result for the Swiss, but then, the French are young, so it’s entirely possible that they’ll end up imploding.
FIRST HALF: Italy is completely controlling the ball but it’s going to be hard for them to win if they leave Balotelli up front. His head is clearly not in the game and he’s blown two very good chances. Costa Rica is robbed of a penalty, but grabs one before the half when Chiellini gets lazy. 1-0 Costa Rica.
SECOND HALF: Ugh. As Ender said, Italy looked lazy, clumsy, and slow. One would almost suspect they were content to lose in order to knock England out. They’ll have to do better against Uruguay or they’ll be coming home too.
UPDATE: As for the France-Switzerland game, the Swiss haven’t been trounced so roundly since the days of the Napoleonic invasion. It’s 3-0 at halftime and should be 4-0 considering the missed penalty and the follow-up shot that hit the crossbar. That’s more goals than the Swiss gave up in the previous eight games.
Uruguay v England
This is the game where we discover if England are a second-rate or
third-rate team. I didn’t think they showed much against Italy, but
then, Italy is one of the premier defensive teams and it’s easy to look
hapless and out-of-sorts against Gli Azzurri. Uruguay is always underrated and forgotten, but they are always a talented and technical team that can give absolutely anyone trouble. I’m looking forward to this one.
And in the meantime, I’m going to sit down and enjoy Columbia v Ivory Coast. Couldn’t care less who wins, but it should be entertaining enough.
UPDATE: yep, it was entertaining. Drogba had a chance to pull it level, but Columbia wins without too much trouble. The African teams just are not at the same technical level as the South American teams.
FIRST HALF: Tough miss by Rooney, but the cross to Suarez and his subsequent header were things of beauty. Nice active match between two good teams who are focused on attacking the goal.
SECOND HALF: Lovely team goal and easy finish for Rooney. But Suarez plays the miss – ALWAYS PLAY THE MISS – and puts away the long ball from the goalie that Gerrard deflected backwards. A pure striker’s goal. You can always tell the true striker, because he a) shoots on goal, and, b) doesn’t drill it right at the keeper. A good win for Uruguay, although there is no way they should have left Alvaro Pereira in the game after he was kneed in the head by Sterling.
Japan vs Greece has been a snoozer. The Japanese simply have no idea how to attack, even though Greece is down to 10 men after their captain picks up a pair of stupid yellow cards.
What we have here is an opportunity
The politically correct brigade has gotten the USPTO to remove trademark protection from the Washington Redskins for the second time:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled six federal trademark registrations for the name of the Washington Redskins, ruling that the name is “disparaging to Native Americans” and thus cannot be trademarked under federal law that prohibits the protection of offensive or disparaging language.
The U.S. PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a ruling in the case, brought against the team by plaintiff Amanda Blackhorse, Wednesday morning.
“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered,” the board wrote in its opinion, which is here. A brief explanation of how the Board reached its decision is here.
Setting aside the possibility that this decision will, like the 1992 case, be overturned, it is apparent that the anti-Redskins activists, most of whom appear to be in the media, are counting on Daniel Snyder to behave like the greedy monopolist of their fantasies.
The thing is, the value of Redskins-branded merchandise is relatively trivial compared to the overall value of the teams. Teams only make about $5 million per year from their merchandising and there is already a considerable amount of knockoffs available. For example, I once saw a guy lifting at a gym in Italy wearing a Minnesota Vikings shirt. The only sign that it was a knockoff was that the Vikings running back featured on the shirt was #33, and I knew the Vikes have never had a notable running back with that number.
But there is a very real potential benefit to Snyder and the Redskins in the loss of the trademark, because an increase in the production and distribution of Redskins merchandise could lead to the Redskins truly becoming America’s Team in a way that the Dallas Cowboys are not. And with or without the Redskins trademark, Redskins gear can’t be sold as Official NFL gear by anyone anyhow. But whether the PTO board’s decision stands or not, I think the loss of the trademark is very unlikely to create any significant pressure on Snyder to change the team name, despite the media’s bizarre portrayal of the decision as “a landmark”.
Holland v Australia
One wouldn’t expect the Socceroos to give the Oranje any trouble. But aside from Robben’s one excellent run – although seriously, if you’re a defender, why are you not committing for fear that Robben might pass off – the Netherlands have shown none of the flair they did against Spain. Australia is not only controlling the ball, Cahill’s volley off a 40-meter across-the-field pass is the goal of the tournament to date. It finishes 3-2, but Australia was more than respectable.
UPDATE: Chile is DESTROYING Spain. It’s 2-0 and the Chilean midfield is running circles around the Spanish players. Shades of France completely failing to defend its crown in 2002.
Brazil v Mexico
This promises to be an enjoyable game, as well as determining whether
the home team is a legitimate contender for the title or not. The
Germans look fearsome; the USA looks tactically competent, but
insufficiently athletic and technical to hope for more than a draw
against Portugal and a possible second-place finish on goal
differential.
Germany v Portugal
Great result for the USA, if they can beat Ghana today. Germany’s destruction of Portugal, complete with a red card and an injury, has Portugal reeling and should set the USA up nicely… if they can get at least one point from Ghana.
YOWZERS! 31 seconds in and Clint Dempsey nutmegs a defender, manages to pull the ball along with him, and slides it home off the post! 1-0 USA.
Switzerland v Ecuador
I’m enjoying the results to date. Here is hoping that the doughty Swiss can continue the theme. Hopp Schwiiz!
I didn’t actually think the English were bad, and Sterling is clearly a player to watch. But they simply weren’t strong enough to break through the Italian catenaccio-style defending. Some may find it boring to watch, but I’ve played with Italians long enough that I’ve come to respect the defense-first philosophy.
And Pirlo… what can you say about a playmaker still playing at this level at 35? It’s unbelievable. Remember, those midfielders are covering the equivalent of up to three 5k races in only 90 minutes, with only one break in the middle. Calcio isn’t as violent as MMA, NHL, or the NFL, but it is a brutal sport in its own way. There is a reason why even superlatively great players like Brazil’s Kaká are done as internationals at 32 and there is talk of England’s Rooney being washed up at 28.
UPDATE: Switzerland was robbed of one game-winning goal (seriously, what is it with these terrible assistant referees and their dreadful offsides calls?) but a PHENOMENAL slide tackle to stop a dangerous shot in the area, followed by a GREAT advantage call by the referee, led to a long counterattack and goal with 14 seconds left in injury time. 2-1 Switzerland!
England v Italy
I like Italy here, even without Buffon. I don’t think England is the first-rate team the English are so firmly convinced that it is. I don’t think Italy has it to win the Cup, but they should win the group.
We had our year-end 9×9 tournament today. What a disaster. I repeatedly felt like Lens watching Robben taking on two defenders and the goalie instead of simply passing the ball to the guy standing in front of the empty net. The important difference being that my teammates aren’t Robben and we scored only one goal in four games.
I put it down to too much World Cup watching. Everyone suddenly thinks they’re considerably better than they are. In any event, this would be your open World Cup post.