World Cup Update - Day 1

Over the course of the World Cup, I will be writing about the tournament and the matches of that day. I may touch on the NBA finals, US Open and Wimbledon; however I am mostly focused on the World Cup
USA vs. England

Of course, the match that everyone was talking about was USA vs. England. I would have to say the game was okay. good end to end soccer; however, for the American side, England had most of the possession. Now I will say this-- the USA team did get good opportunities but I did no see a sense of urgency from them and frankly, we were lucky to get a point.

Coming Up Next...

Slovenia and Algeria are now pushovers. the Slovenian team is very defensively sound and are organised. however; if we play with pace and let ladon and Clint get the ball we could do some damage. Remember this, a team that lost to Northern Ireland. Algeria are a team that attack well in numbers. However, the defense and goalkeeping are dreadful. This is a team that lost to Egypt 2-0, USA beat them 3-0 in the Confederations Cup last summer.

The Best and Worst

Currently all groups except G and H have played so instead of going in depth, I'll list three teams that impressed me and three teams that did not impress me.

Top 3 That Impressed

1. South Korea - Being as disciplined and attackingly excellent. The Koreans look like they could do damage.
2. Germany - Played amazing without leader Michael Ballack and beat up on Australia that had previously conceded only 1 goal in their last eight matches.
3. North Korea - For being arguably the worst team in the tournament and being in tghe group of death, they held there own against the always amazing Brazilians and at one point looked better than them.

Top 3 That Stuck It Up

1. France - Where do I start? Played awful, got lucky, didn't prove a threat. I don't believe they will get out of the group.
2. Greece - Attacking-wise they are just terrible. Very dull. Need I say more?
3. Italy - Proved what I thought all along. Too old, Too slow, No Quality. Won't make it past the quarter finals.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.