Day 8
06.16.2006Technorati tags: soccer World Cup
It's been a crazy couple of days. Germany qualified for the second rounds. But they're second in their group — to Ecuador. Wow.
So now Ecuador only has to tie Germany to win its group. And that matters, because it's pretty clear England will win its group. The winner of Group A plays the runner up from group B. So Germany has an incentive to not play England so soon in the tournament. Then again, so does Ecuador. And they only need to tie to avoid that outcome.
Scrappy little Trinidad & Tobago couldn't quite stand up to England for 90 minutes, which beat them 2-0. Still, an amazing showing for the tiny island nation. But since Sweden beat Paraguay, there's still a slim chance for the Soca Warriors. If England beats Sweden, and if Trinidad & Tobago beats Paraguay, the two'd be tied for second in Group B.
Today, Argentina just shellacked Serbia & Montenegro 6-0. It was just sad to watch, except that the Argentine goals were just magnificent. They've even won me over a bit. Usually, Argentina plays rather dirty, taking pot shots & dives, relying more on the ref then on their skills. Not this year, apparently. Their passes were just spot on, including nice little heal clicks & no-look passes that looked more like an exhibition than a World Cup match. They could go all the way.
The last two games today were also good. Holland played the scrappy Ivory Coast to a 2-1 win. But the White Elephants of Africa never showed any fear, and fought to the bitter end. But, alas, they've no chance to emerge from out of Group C. Now Holland plays Argentina, and whoever wins takes the group. And Holland needs to win, because a tie means Argentina wins the group — because it scored so many more goals.
Not sure if they care, though. Group D doesn't look so hot. Mexico couldn't beat Angola, which frustrated them for a 0-0 draw. Portugal barely beat Angola, so that group's wide open. But none of the teams that could emerge from that group (which is any of them) looks strong enough to go past either Argentina or Holland.
And tomorrow the USA has its shot at Italy. If they lose, they can't move out of their group. A tie gives them a miniscule slim chance. So they need to beat Italy.
Posted by Miguel at 08:49 PM