June 15, 2002

 
We start second round tonight. These are all knock-out games with the loser going home. If the score is tied at the end of regulation, they play two 15 minute sudden-death overtimes, then they go to a shoot-out. In a shoot-out, each team selects five players each of whom shoots a penalty kick. At the end of each team's five shots, the team with the most goals wins. This is nerve-wracking to say the least.

Germany 1, Paraguay 0: Here we go with the second round and the first half of this one was, well, awfully boring. Paraguay got one decent shot off requiring a good save, but otherwise, tedium. Both sides are playing very conservatively, but at least Germany has an excuse: They have something like 4 regular players on the bench because of cards received during that terribly officiated game against Cameroon. Here's hoping somebody attacks in the second half.

There's a little more action to start the second half but not dramatically so. We desperately need somebody to score so that this game opens up. Tedium for most of the game and then Germany scores in the 87th minute. Paraguay has done nothing but defend, so they sure are getting what they deserve if you ask me (or the announcers). The only saving grace of the late goal is that viewers won't be subject to 30 minutes of defensive soccer. Now in stoppage time, Paraguay gets a well-earned red card. So they've got like 1 minute with 10 men. That's kinda what they deserve for playing a game packed into the back. After so many exciting first-round games, World Cup fans deserve better. Seamus Malins sums it up nicely: "If you don't attack, you don't deserve to win."

England 3, Denmark 0: England comes out firing, putting in a quick one off a corner kick in the 4th minute. Launch some attacks, get some goals. It's an easy equation. Denmark has an injured guy and makes a sub in the 7th minute. We're passing the 12 minute mark and both sides are pushing the attack. This is a much better game than Germany v. Paraguay, and nobody can tell me that Paraguay as a team doesn't have better touch on the ball than Germany, Denmark or England. I'm annoyed that Paraguay chose to play a boring defensive game. Or maybe I'm just sleep-deprived. Getting up for these 4:25 AM games continues to be a killer.

England is still playing Heskey and Owen up top, Heskey hits the ball into the keeper on a 1 v 1 break. I wonder how Vassel would've done with that. I think Vassel is faster and more skilled with the ball (and as evidence I'd cite England's first game where Vassel started in play of Heskey and was, for my money, Man of the Match). Guess it doesn't matter what the fans want. Paraguay didn't put in Cuevas, their two-goal scorer from last game, until the 90th minute, and he's their best offensive player. The US continues to play Jeff Agoos, and I hardly need repeat what most fans are saying about that. So Vassel not being in is hardly uncharacteristic of a lot of the coaching that's going on.

Owen on the deflected cross in the 22nd minute! Bit unlucky for the Danes, but a pretty finish. Actually, on the replay, it was a played ball with a deflection, and the defense left Owen alone at the six yard box. That's obviously a mistake, 'cause he'll slot the ball in a corner nine times out of 10. Yellow card to Tofting of Denmark for delay, which is to say for "being an idiot." Denmark trying to attack now, and there's still plenty of time. It's only 2-0. If they can keep it at that or get one back by half, they'll have a chance in the second half. Denmark misses just wide in the 27th minute. Geez, need to finish a run that good. Moderate rain falling at the 30 minute point. Don't know if this is a stadium with a retractable roof or not. Suppose not. Serious rain now in the 35th minute. It looks miserable.

Beckham to Heskey in the 44th minute, and he slots it. 3-0 to England before half. Denmark is screwed. They're gonna have serious second half problems now. Corner to Denmark. Headed away. Good shot 40 yards out. Another corner to Denmark. Nothing. And that's half. Denmark is going to have to attack like mad in the second half.

Both teams come out shooting again. Love it. England making a sub 3 minutes in. Guy wasn't injured so why not change at half? There must have been a point to waiting...use more clock maybe? Not sure. Ah, Mills gets a hand to the face of a Dane, and now everybody's good buddies. OK, ref sorts it out and gives him a yellow. No problem. Beckham hits a dropping shot 56 minutes in; nice save by the keeper. Well, Denmark's still shooting. Gotta give them credit for not folding it up. Sherringham coming in for Heskey. I'd rather see Vassel, but oh well. Denmark has continued to press and has put up the occasional good shot, but it's the 87th minute now, and honestly, it's over even if they manage to squirt one in. England has looked impressive today.

 June 14, 2002

 
Belgium 3, Russia 2 and Japan 2, Tunisia 0: Terrible defensive mistakes hand the game to the Japanese, but hey, it's Tunisia. They're going home. The Belgium game was very exciting with goals going both in at both ends in a very open and attack-oriented game. Russia only needed a draw to advance, the Belgian defense was beaten without too much effort, and that made for a wonderfully exciting game. Belgium and Japan advance to the next round.

Poland 3, United States 1 and South Korea 1, Portugal 0: US is fielding the same team as the last game except Stewart replaces Beasley on the side mid. Mathis gets a corner in the 2nd minute. Crappy call in the box gives it to Poland. Poland scores in the 2:50 mark beating Agoos near post. Terrible call negates Donovan goal in the 4th minute. Goose beaten for a goal in the 5th minute. He is killing us. 2-0 Poland. Keough and Edwards are busy being Agoos apologists, "what a great career he's had since high school, etc." Idiots.

US has never won in the World Cup when being scored on first. We're like 0-10-1. Free kick to US. Keeper has it. McBride shot easily saved in the 9th minute. Mathis rips one from 35 in the 11th. Just wide. US dominating possession (roughly 60 to 40), but Poland is keeping a lot of guys back. Sannah gets a corner in the 18th minute. McBride heads to keeper. Portugal guy is red-carded in the 27th minute or so in the other game for a very ugly foul; all legs, no ball. If South Korea wins, this result doesn't matter. Poland beats Pope, Friedel saves twice(!) and Poland misses on the resulting corner. If we go down 3, we're totally hosed. Right now we still have time to catch up.

O'Brien high in the 30th minute. Agoos down in the US penalty area. Looks like a cramp. Beasley in and we're going to run a 3-5-2. Hope Agoos is OK, but thank God we finally have him off the field. O'Brien shot pinballs in the 39th, but keeper saves. We might get scored on, but I don't think we will be be any worse off with the three in back and with Agoos out. O'Brien misses in the 43rd. Just need to keep firing. Yellow to the Polish keeper for delay. Nice Friedel save in stoppage time. Half-time. I don't know what Arena plans to change at half, but he better have a nifty plan to beat Poland's packing back. The current tactics aren't getting it done.

Card to a Polish forward for a dive in the box in the 46th minute. McBride out and Joe Max-Moore in for him in the 58th minute. Fresh legs up front can't hurt, I guess. 100th cap for Moore. Yellow to Polish player for tackle on Beasley in the 63rd minute. Beto red carded in the South Korea game. Portugal down to 9 men! Still 0-0. Poland scores off a corner in the 65th. 3-0 Poland. US will have to hope that Korea wins. Polish player was offside, but they didn't call it. Bummer. Mathis misses barely on the scoop in the 66th.

KOREA SCORES in the 70th minute! SWEET! We may live to fight another day. We don't deserve to, but who cares? Free kick into the wall in the 69th minute. Cobi in for Stewart. Reyna nice shot. Figo misses a free kick that he should have made in the 75th minute. Sanneh gives up a PK in the 75th minute. Friedel stones him! Nice! Yellow card to another Portugal player in the 82nd minute. Donovan scores in the 83rd minute. 3-1 now. Portugal off the post in the 89th minute. OMG that was close. Hard shot on frame in the 92nd minnute. Yikes. Corner to Portugal. South Korea wins! US to the second round! We are so frickin' lucky. That's the game on the US side, where 3-1 Poland wins and goes home. Hejduk picked up a yellow, his second of the first round, so he'll miss the game against Mexico.

Postgame Commentary: We really sucked, and I don't mean a little bit. Ever since our stellar effort against Portugal, we've played progressively worse, and one has to wonder at the cause. Certainly Jeff Agoos' play has not helped in any regard. He's been intimately involved in every goal scored against the US but one and even the one where he was blameless he wasn't in the game. I don't know if teams have researched the weaknesses of the US and are directing their attack at Agoos or if they're just discovering his slow-footedness as a pleasant surprise in the run of play. Either way, he is a dreadful liability, and the foremost question for Bruce Arena on every US soccer fan's mind is "Is Agoos' injury sustained in the Poland game sufficient to keep him out of our second round game with Mexico, and if not, what can we do to make it so?" He is a walking—and I mean walking—goal machine for the wrong team. Love his heart and he's probably an OK guy—I dunno—but the Cup has been an embarrassment for him and the clearest possible sign about the state of the MLS. I mean, if this guy is a star, what does that say about the league?

 June 13, 2002

 
Brazil 5, Costa Rica 2 and Turkey 3, China 0: I don't know about you, but I didn't really expect much from either of these. Yeah, Brazil is always entertaining (and they were again), but did anybody think that the Ticos of Costa Rica had much of a prayer? Nah, me neither. Some better finishing early on might have made it a game, though. But giving up 5 goals along with Turkey's 2-0 victory over hapless China sealed their fate and Costa Rica becomes the first CONCACAF casualty of the tourney. I continue to believe that Brazil's defense is insufficient to win them the Cup despite a marvellous attack.

Italy 1, Mexico 1 and Ecuador 1, Croatia 0: Italy played an incredibly lackluster game and were very lucky to escape with a draw. They seemed uninspired and uncaring, allowing Mexico to dominate possession roughly 60 to 40 percent. Although I've previously picked them to win the Cup, my estimation of them dropped substantially on the basis of this game because, honestly, I don't think Mexico is anything special. They're not a terrible side, mind you, but if the US can beat them, I'm not sure I'd consider them the world's elite. We may get a chance to see, though, because if the US makes second round they will face either Mexico or Italy. I would prefer to hit Mexico by a very wide margin even if they did win their group.

Ecuador scored a surprising win over favored Croatia. Croatia had their chances but could never quite put one away. Here too I'm not convinced the better team won, but after the officials handed Croatia the victory against Italy, perhaps justice was served.

 June 12, 2002

 
England 0, Nigeria 0 and Argentina 1, Sweden 1: More simultaneous games, this evening featuring the "Group of Death." Nigeria is eliminated already, but the other spots are up for grabs. First half for both games? Pretty weak and rather uninteresting. Couple shots here and there, but nothing to write home about. Let's hope somebody feels some pressure in the second half. Argentina at least needs a win to advance, so they ought to be throwing some people forward.

Sweden takes the lead on a free kick in the 58th minute! Oh, baby! Argentina's gonna need two goals now to advance. Considering Sweden's done nothing up to this point in the way of attacking chances—Sweden didn't even have a shot in the first half—that's a major bummer for Argentina. Assuming Argentina loses, England advances regardless of the outcome of their game. In the 87th minute, Argentina gets an iffy penalty kick which is saved, but the follow-up is slotted. 1-1 with 2 minutes to go in regulation. Argentina must win to advance; Sweden must maintain the tie. Argentina has dominated the possession time, but Sweden' had several can't-miss chances which they've inexplicably missed. Sweden's playing this with 11 men in the defensive third. Argentina's getting corner kick after corner kick. Nigeria and England have gone 0-0. That's it. Argentina can pack their bags and return home to their crumbling economy and riots in the streets.

Spain 3, South Africa 2 and Paraguay 3, Slovenia 1: South Africa goes down 1-0 in the 5th minute on an utterly tragic goalkeeping error. They start to get some good chances in the 10th minute, but Spain—playing five non-regulars since they've already clinched second round—controls the run of play. Yellow to South Africa in the 15th minute. Spain looking sharp, South Africa less so, but it probably won't matter: Paraguay would have to beat Slovenia by two in addition to this result in order anything to change regarding second round. On the Paraguay side of things, life is not so grand. A second yellow in the 22nd minute gets one of their dudes sent off. They gonna go +2 versus Slovenia with 10 men? Not likely. Looks like second round will be Spain and South Africa. South Africa scores in the 30th minute to tie the game at one.

Pretty good game so far, but it's Edwards and Keough with the call which is obviously torturous. I swear they say the dumbest things and try to make them sound profound. If you ever want an example of how to abuse adjectives their commentary is instructive. Of all ESPN's commentators, Mike Hill is the only one I would listen to if I had a choice. Edwards and Keough are on the other end of the spectrum; they're the audio equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Edwards must have a background in radio, because the man will not shut up. He insists on detailing the most obvious plays when all the world can see what's going on. This is a boon for the sight-impaired but a crying shame for the rest of us.

In the 45th minute, Spain easily slots a free kick right outside the box. Not even hard. Heck, I even could do it, the keeper was so out of position. Terrible goalkeeping job. 2-1 Spain at half. Also in stoppage time, Slovenia slots a near post shot against Paraguay to take a 1-0 halftime lead. You know, Chilavert has talked tough all Cup long, and he's brought nothing to the table except poor play. What a buffoon.

In the 52nd minute, South Africa scores on a header to make it 2-2. If South Africa wins, they'll win the group. Group winner plays Ireland on three days rest, second place plays Germany on two days rest. Best to win the group. Spain answers with a beautiful header in the 56th minute. Now 3-2 Spain. Paraguay, with 10 men, tied it at 1-1 in the 66th on a nice shot. Good luck to Paraguay. Only needs two more goals to make it a game.

But they do! Paraguay scores again in the 77th. 2-1 Paraguay at this point, but they need one more to make up the goal differential to make second round. Chilavert hits a great free kick from 40 yards out in the 79th minute. Barely saved. Red card to Slovenia in the 80th minute! Even numbers at last. Can Paraguay pull this off? Paraguay just misses in the 82nd minute. Wait! GOAL! Paraguay 3-1 in the 83rd minute! And God, what a goal! Dribbles three defenders and slots it!

Six minutes in regulation now. If Paraguay holds this and South Africa loses, Paraguay goes to the second round. And yes, that's how it ends! Amazing!

 June 11, 2002

 
Senegal 3, Uruguay 3 and Denmark 2, France 0: The third games of the first round for all groups are played simultaneous so that teams can't by influenced by the results of the other match. That makes it a pain in the butt for us viewers, but it's for a good reason, so we deal. For these Group A matches, both Uruguay and France needed to win by at least 2 goals in order to advance. Any other result, and these two—my clearly lousy picks to advance by the way—go home.

The Senegal v. Uruguay game had the advantage of lots of excitement. Senegal dominated the first half, taking a 3-0 lead to halftime. Uruguay emerged with nothing to lose and took early control, pumping in two quick goals. They added a third late in regulation. Despite this and despite creating several very good additional chances throughout the course of the half, Uruguay could not finish again. At least they fought the good fight on their way out the door.

The same could not be said of France. Even the return of Zinadine Zidane—obviously still not 100 percent—could not put sufficient energy into the French side. Honestly, they just never had the urgency and energy they needed for success at this tournament. After winning the 1998 World Cup and the Euro 2000 Championship, I dare say that this generation of players is done in terms of success on the world stage. Surely the French would have done better with a healthy Zidane, but given their lack of determination, I think it will take a new group to scale the world stage again.

Denmark wins Group A and Senegal takes second.

Germany 2, Cameroon 0 and Ireland 3, Saudia Arabia 0: The Saudis World Cup fate is already determined so there's little doubt that the Irish, who need a victory against them by a margin of 2 to advance for certain, will get it. Unless something flukey happens, the only question is how many goals Ireland will score. Robbie Keane put in a nice volley in the 7th minute, and that's where it stands at half. At the 60th minute, the Irish gets #2 on a nice touch volley off a cross. Duff scores for the Irish in the 87th minute on a pretty weak goalkeeping job. 3-0 Ireland.

What's been a lot more interesting is the Germany v. Cameroon match where it's winner take all. A draw goes to the Germans. The first half has been a violent card festival. Eight yellows and one red in the first half alone, with Germany picking up the majority including the red. They'll play the second half with 10 men. I don't know that it's worse, but if they do manage to advance, they'll be playing with a lot of their regular starters on the bench. These teams haven't met before, but it's there doesn't seem to be any love lost. Scoreless first half, but Cameroon has had the run of play, and Germany is carrying so many yellows that it wouldn't be at all surprising to see more players sent off. The first half at least has been brutal, and we've literally had more cards than shots on goal. The second half ought be interesting to say the lest.

Germany on a counter in the 49th minute. Goal! Playing with 10 men, wow! Cameroon is gonna have to really up the pressure now. They need two goals because a draw goes to the Germans. 52nd minute sees Cameroon sub out a defender and put in a forward.A yellow to Cameroon; that's 11 so far. 57th minute, another yellow to Cameroon.. That's 12. 59th minute, another yellow to Cameroon. That's 13. 71st minute sees two more cards, one to each side. That's 15. Header off the post by Cameroon! Oh, that was close. 74th minute, another card to Germany...but they've taken back one of the previous Cameroon so we're still at 14. There we go. 76th minute, red to Cameroon. Now we'll be 10 v 10. In the 78 minute, header for Germany! Goal! 2-0, and this game is over. In the 80th minute, another yellow to Cameroon. That's, uh, 15? I'm losing count. Foul count at this point is Germany 29 Cameroon 19 for what that's worth. That's it, Germany wins 2-0.

This one gets my vote for worst officiated game of the Cup, overtaking the Italy-Croatia travesty from a few days ago. Final total according to the commentators was 8 yellows each (16 total) and 1 red card each (2 total). The big problem for Germany now is that they'll be missing several starters for the second round game.

Germany wins Group E and Ireland finishes second. I picked right on Germany, but missed on the second place where I thought Cameroon would take it.

 June 10, 2002

 
South Korea 1, USA 1: Edwards and Keough calling the game. Welcome to audio hell. Couple close shots for Korea in the first 10 minutes. Agoos is in, so we're in trouble. Can't believe that Arena is that crazy. Only 11 minutes gone, it's clear that Agoos and Sanneh are not fast enough. Wait until they get tired. 13th minute Agoos holding his man at top of the box but doesn't get called. No possession up top so far for the US. 19 minutes in. Agoos has been nothing short of awful so far. Friedel has been forced to cover repeatedly. Couple of chance for the US in the 20th minute. Minute later Korean player down; bleeding profusely. Walks off under his own power at least. Mathis GOAL! 23rd minute against the run of play. 1-0 USA. Of course Korea was playing with 10 at the time, but that's too bad for them. Mathis having a lousy game up to that point, but hard to complain now. Korean player is bandaged but still bleeding. Not looking attractive at the moment. Beasley with a decent shot at the 28th minute. Hejduk picks up a yellow in the 29th. Free kick over the bar. Muddled and mixed play up to the 36th minute. Korea uses their first sub in the 37th minute. Agoos gets a yellow in the box. PK to Korea. Hard to tell if Agoos flattened the guy or not. At least somewhat, I think. Friedel guesses right! Saved, and the follow is shanked! Pope is down for the US. Crap. Well, I guess the plus side is that we're still 1-0. Pope gonna try to run it off. Three minutes stoppage time. Hand ball on Reyna, free kick outside the box on the corner. Cleared by Pope. Halftime, 1-0 US.

Second half starts with Korea on the attack. Friedel saves point blank on the Hejduk miss. Defense is getting exposed. Two successive corners to Korea in the 49th minute. US playing a lot of defense. Korea using their second sub in the 55th minute. Dude that was bleeding is out. He's looking hideous, so that's a good thing asthetically if nothing else. Free kick outside the box on the Pope foul. Cleared. Virtually no possession for the US. We might get fouled defending, but we give the ball up very readily. McBride and Mathis getting almost nothing that they can hold onto. Another corner to Korea after some chaos in the US box. Reyna down in the 63rd minute. Hard to say what it is, but they stretchered him off so that can't be good. US playing 10 men for a few seconds; Reyna jogging back on. Whew. Beasley to McBride very close in the 66th minute. Donovan whiffs on a shot in the 68th. Korea using their last sub in the 69th minute. The US has yet to use even one. Friedel with another point blank shot save after Sanneh loses his defender on a cross. Hejduk beaten on the cross; Agoos unable to clear for anything other than a corner. Beasley out and Lewis in in the 74th minute. Beasley's had a mediocre game so not a bad sub in my book. Sanneh gives it away in the midfield, shot high and wide. Korea scores off a free kick in the 77th. Jeff Agoos loses his mark, header beats Friedel easily as Agoos collapses to the ground in what? Embarrassment? Despair? Constipation? I said before the match that Agoos would cost us a goal. Count the PK that Korea should have made and it would be 2. What a surprise. Donovan on a run, defender trips him and gets a yellow. Free kick easily handled by the keeper. Josh Wolff in for Mathis in the 82nd minute. Four minutes left in regulation now. US dodges a bullet in the 89th. Friedel is huge. Three minutes stoppage time. Two minutes to go. One minute to go. Game over. 1-1 draw. Whew.

Postgame Commentary: As much as I like Keller in goal, he's traditionally very poor on penalty kicks. I don't know if Friedel is better, but his first half save was huge. As predicted, Agoos was terrible. Dunno if he fouled in the box or not, but even removing that from consideration he was awful. In the second half he made a couple of good headers but was thoroughly beaten on the Korean goal. I don't know what Arena sees in him (ESPN's Dave Dir thought Agoos was good today, which I think is a larger commentary on Dave Dir than anything), but so far Agoos has literally cost us every goal scored against in the World Cup.

The forward line didn't see the ball often enough to do a whole lot with it. Despite an excellent finish for the score, Mathis had a relatively poor game. McBride worked hard, but he didn't see the ball often enough to be a signficant factor. I would say the same for Wolff.

In midfield, we got a whole lot of nothing offensively with only the occasional exception. Best was John O'Brien, the easiest example of this being his assist on Mathis' goal. Reyna was very defensively-oriented and too much for my liking. He did not have a good game, but neither did Beasley, Lewis (who subbed for Beasley), or Donovan. They're going to have to play much better against Poland, or we'll be in trouble.

Defensively, Friedel was easily Man of the Match, but Eddie Pope was also outstanding. With Agoos, Hejduk, and Sannah around them Friedel and Pope had to be. Sannah actually had an OK game, though OK for him is way above average, so we'll take it. Hejduk was badly beaten several times, and as much as I like him, he's a defensively liability. But he's a clear asset compared to Agoos. I won't further belabor the obvious, but Agoos is costing us goals and even more significantly points in the standings and goal differential. If we have a bad game against Poland, Agoos may well be the reason we don't get to the second round.

Belgium 1, Tunisia 1: Belguim takes the lead in the 12th minute. Tunisia lost game one, so they're gonna have to push people forward. Tunisia on the free kick in the 17th minute. Baby, what a kick! We gotta a game! Tunisa now applying lots of pressure. Well, OK, looks like I might be wrong, 'cause this is starting to peter out a bit. Good chance to start second half for Belgium, and looks like they've got the run of play for the second half. Not much in the way of dangerous chances though. Injury time now...couple of opportunities for both team. Nope, that's it, a draw. Neither team likely to advance, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

Portugal 4, Poland 0: Portugal scores on a rocket in the 13th minute. Ooh, yellow to a Polish defender, his second in the first round so he'll miss the USA game. I just found something new to cheer for. Hey, Buddy, hope your replacement is a step slower than McBride. Rain really starts dumping about 20 minutes in. Geez, it's torrential. Looks like you could swim in it. Poland is bringing a lot of guys forward and applying a good deal of pressure. In the 38th minute, another yellow to a Polish defender. Dunno if he's carrying one already, though. Well, maybe he'll get another one before all is said and done, hehe. Half time.

Loser of this game goes a-packin' so I'd have to say that the last thing USA wants is a Polish victory which might keep them interested in playing hard in the final game. Of course if we see a Portugal victory over Korea as expected, then we're gonna need to draw Poland to advance. If Portugal and Poland tie, both will have 1 point and a draw or better in our game vs. Poland moves us to second round.

Against the run of play in the 64th minute, Portugal puts in a counter attack goal. Bummer for Poland. Hope they keep attack themselves. Figo on the assist, and it was a pretty one. Figo off the post in the 66th minute. Poland shot saved in the 67th. In the 76th minute, Portugal counters again. Score! Hat trick for whoever that guy is. 3-0 Portugal. Now in the 87th minute, Portugal slots a cross. 4-0. And that's the final. Poland is eliminated.

 June 9, 2002

 
Mexico 2, Ecuador 1: A fairly slow first half with two all right goals. We can only hope for more excitement in the second. Refereeing has been kinda iffy, so hopefully that won't decide things. Mexico smacks the game-winner in the 56th minute after dominating the run of play for the opening minutes of the second half. Mexico has very good odds of making second round.

Costa Rica 1, Turkey 1: Costa Rica had to come back to tie this, but boy you can't say they didn't have their chances at victory. An entertaining second half saw them miss on numerous makeable opportunities, but ultimately end in a draw with a Turkish team missing a couple starting players who sat out thanks to red cards in their previous match against Brazil. A win here would have moved Costa Rica to the second round. As is, the only thing that got decide is that China is eliminated from second round contention. I think we knew that was coming anyway.

Japan 1, Russia 0: A little more exciting than one might think since the Japan home crowd kept the atmosphere amped up. Ball control was poor for both teams during the first half and few decent scoring chances resulted. Japan puts one in on the 51st minute, and I'm gonna hazard a guess that Russia is going to attack until their players drop from fatigue. Here we go...57th minute Russian dribbles the keeper, has an open goal, and...hits the side net. Shots from both sides now coming fast and furious. In the end Russia can't put one in, and Japan's hard work earns them their first ever World Cup victory—not to mention a decent shot at making second round.

 June 8, 2002

 
South Africa 1, Slovenia 0: Not the most exciting of games mainly because neither side is all that good. South Africa has a better than even shot of making second round, but expect them to be cannon fodder at that point. Slovenia, already missing their best player and with a lane duck coach, will be lucky to win a game in the first round. This game saw South Africa dominate, though Slovenia could've gotten lucky and come out with a draw. Nope, game over for Slovenia, and they're eliminated from the possibility of advancing to the second round.

Croatia 2, Italy 1: A so-so first half, but ooh baby, a rockin' second half. Italy took the lead on a Vieri header which was actually the second one he scored, but the first was disallowed on a very questionable offsides call. (Replay showed it to be not even close to offsides on either Italian player involved.) The Italians subbed for an injured defender and conceded a goal. Minutes later, Italy conceded a second. In stoppage time, the Italians banged a free kick off the post (bummer!) and had a 60 yard shot disallowed on another questionable foul call. (If there was a foul on the play, I didn't see it.) Croatia wins 2-1 in a very controversial game!

Several notes: First, the Italians had 2 legitimate goals disallowed on bad calls IMHO; second, the Italian defense was strong but not so much after the sub Materazzi came on; third, Croatia showed fire not seen in their first game; and finally, Italy remains my pick to win the Cup. I think they'll recover to beat Mexico and head into the second round atop the standings of their group. Of course, I also thought they'd win this one, so who knows?

Brazil 4, China 0: China will be packing the back by playing a 4-5-1. This limiting of space should be relatively effective in plugging up Brazil's attack and giving China some attacking chances. Nobody expects China to win or draw, though.

Regardless of score, the game is being called by Jack Edwards and Ty Keough, so in some sense we're all losers. Stupid comments are the order of the day, and it doesn't take even 10 minutes for Edwards to go into his trademark bit of calling out the names of players as the ball is passed to them. This invariably proves incredibly annoying, usually because we quickly realize he has no idea what else to say. The only upside is that it keeps Keough from saying anything stupid in the interim. In that respect, you wish Edwards could run his bit all game.

In the 14th minute, Roberto Carlos launches a monster kick from 30-35 yards out and it rockets into the side of the goal. 1-0 Brazil. Baby, what a shot! There's one for the highlight reel. In the 31st minute, Rivaldo finishes an easy one in front of the net. 2-0 Brazil. In the 44th minute, Ronaldo pulled down in the box. PK by Ronaldinho. 3-0 Brazil at half time. Frankly, not much of a game no matter how big a fan of Brazil I am.

Second half, DeNilson is in. That's cool. 55th minute Cafu to Ronaldo. Walk in the park. Really effortless given China's rather resigned defense. Goal differential counts. Brazil is gonna keep scoring, I'd bet. Hey, China off the post in the 60th. Nice. Crappy call gets Roque Jr. a yellow in the 69th. Free kick for China just goes wide. China mounts a few attacking chances the remainder of the way, but it's nothing too threatening. Not a great game if only because the teams were so unevenly matched.

 June 7, 2002

 
Sweden 2, Nigeria 1: A very wide-open game between "group of death" teams that both need three points. The first half in particular was highly entertaining, and both of the goals scored were super. The Swedes got a PK in the second half to take the lead, and play became more fractured and slowed down as players beame fatigued. Nigeria got some pressure in the final minutes, but was unable to put anything in the net.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria were eliminated with today's loss.

Spain 3, Paraguay 1: Paraguay was unable to hold its early lead as Spain turned on the juice. The Spanish are usually World Cup disappointments, but perhaps not this time around. The had a very impressive second half, and Paraguay's not terrible, especially with Chilavert in goal. Spain's victory here guarantees a second round berth.

England 1, Argentina 0: Argentina had the run of play for the first 10 minutes.A yellow to Batistuta in the 12th minute. Injury sub for England in the 18th minute. Owen on a break in the 23rd minute, 1 v 3, off the post. English starting to apply a lot more pressure in the last few minutes, say the 20-34 minute range.Yellow card to England's Ashely Cole in the 28th minute. Good shot for Argentina in the 31st. English defense is iffy on the right flank. Beckham has probably broken an Argentine's nose in the 39th minute. Caught him with an elbow and the poor dude is bleeding all over. Hopefully just a nose bleed. Penalty kick in the 42nd minute. Pretty move by Owen drew it easily. Beckham slots it in the 44th minute. 1-0 England at half.

Multiple strong shots from England at the 48th minute. Heskey gets a yellow card in the 49th, probably for delay of game, but they don't say. Beckham with a shot in the 54th. Sheringham, a sub for Heskey, rips one in the 57th and earns a corner. Batistuta subbed out in the 59th minute. Free kick to Argentina in the 65th—blocked. Nice shot from Sinclair in the 66th. Aimar with a shot in the 67th, right over the English crossbar. Free kick to Argentina in the 72nd minute. Argentina has amped the pressure in the last few minutes. Several good chances. Headed out. Goal kick. England doing a lot of defending. A lot of corners to Argentina. Owen being subbed out for a defender. England's been in the bunker for a while now, but clearly they're going deeper now in the 80th minute. If they can kill off the remaining 10-12 minutes, they'll come away with three points. Corner kick to Argentina in the 82nd. Now into stoppage time. England wins!

Now in the group of death, Sweden with 4 points, England with 4 points, Argentina with 3, and Nigeria with 0. The final games in this group will be nail-biters.

 June 6, 2002

 
Senegal 1, Denmark 1: This is the game where we find out if Senegal is for real, and the answer appears to be "yes." The first half was controlled by the Danes, with a slower, rougher pace that really played to their strengths. Senegal opened it up in the second half and the Danes began to wilt. Senegal applied enormous pressure, and coupled with a speedy counterattack, Denmark relied on Senegal's poor finishing to stay in the game.

In the 80th minute, a brutal tackle got a Senegal player, Diao, a much-deserved red card on a play sure to make the highlight reel and not in a good way. That studs up slide tackle seemed somehow the logical conclusion to a game that at times seemed more like a hockey match than a soccer game with six yellow cards (3 per side) and 1 red and lots of physical play.

For what it's worth, this is the best possible result for France, who can win their remaining two first round games and advance.

Cameroon 1, Saudia Arabia 0: I really thought this would be another train wreck for Saudia Arabia, but through the first 65 minutes it was 0-0. Cameroon got one in the 65th minute, but it's not like Saudia Arabia was without chances. They really did well to recover from the 8-0 spanking that Germany gave them. This also sets up a great Germany v. Cameroon game, the winner going to second round and the loser probably goes home. If Ireland beats Saudia, as seems likely, Ireland will have 5 points, the winner of Germany v. Cameroon will have 7 and the loser will have 4. If the teams tie, everybody will have 5 and it goes to goal differential where Germany's +8 likely puts them through. Good stuff ahead in Group E.

France 0, Uruguay 0: Thankfully a much better game than the scored would indicate. France, already injury-plagued, lost Leboeuf in the 16th minute, but not before Henri was red-carded on a blind two-footed tackle at the top of the French box. Frankly, I thought it was more of a yellow card offense than a red, particularly in light of some stuff that went on later in the game that received no cards whatsoever. Nonetheless, France played with 10 men and many of them out of natural position for over an hour. Both teams had some good scoring chances, and France's keeper Fabien Barthez, who I'm no entirely convinced with, came up with some fabulous saves to keep France's tournament hopes alive.

Group A standings are messy in an interesting sort of way. If France beats Denmark they'll have to do it by a wide margin because only goal differential is likely to get them through to the next round. The same is true for Uruguay when they face Senegal. Senegal and Denmark, the two teams atop the standings with 4 points each, need only draw their final games to advance.

 June 5, 2002

 
Russia 2, Tunisia 0: A I don't know that either of these two will amount to anything, but after yesterday's tie between Japan and Belgium, a winner here will lead the group. Early first half is pretty entertaining. Russia's getting some chances and appears to have several guys who can really fire the rock from range. Tunisia is counter attacking effectively, but they'll have to get lucky to put one through it looks like. Defensively Tunisia's keeper is having a good game. Middle of first half was a little muddled. Tunisia's playing a lot of defense and Russia's getting a lot of pressure put on goal, but if Russia's not careful Tunisia might steal something here a la Senegal v. France. Second half is a little more back and forth. Oops, looks like the Tunisian keeper isn't gonna be Man of the Match after all. What a terrible throw! Russia 1-0 in the 60th minute. Tunisia is gonna have to up the pressure now. I hope it makes for a better game. Penalty in minute 63. 2-0 Russia.

USA 3, Portugal 2: Bad news starts early: Jack Edwards and Ty Keough will be calling the game. This is the worst of ESPN's announcing crews, so we're guaranteed to suffer regardless of the outcome. ESPN confirms the lineup that they reported yesterday. In the studio, Rob Stone is mildly entertaining but tends to leave dead air, Dave Dir is none too articulate, and and Paul Caligiuri is tongue-tied and ill-at-ease. Best commentator in the ESPN stable is, IMHO, Englishman Mike Hill, and I wish they'd have him call more games.

USA on a corner in the third minute! GOAL! Yeah baby! O'Brien on the follow, sweet! We might get out of this game with a point. We're gonna see a lot of pressure throughout the rest of the match, though, and I don't know that we're up for it. Great chance in the 6th minute on a rebound. Pope chokes and hits the side net. Geez, we could've been 2-0. US is 4-1 in World Cup history when scoring first.

Crappy call against Pope in the 7th minute. Dangerous free kick with Figo to take. Whew. Agoos beaten badly in the 12th, but the missed header means we can breathe again. Beasley is doing well. Donovan makes a great run in the 17th for a corner. Problems on the US defensive flanks as anticipated. Hejduk and Sanneh are in for a long day. Our forward line is planning very well. McBride and Donovan working well together. Donovan in the 29th minute on a deflection! GOAL! 2-0 USA! USA! USA!

30th minute. Pope on the ground in midfield. Ah, replay shows him kicked in the groin. I'd be on the ground too. OMG! McBride on a cross from Sanneh in the 36th minute! Textbook cross, run, and header. 3-0! We are pummelling them!

Crappy clearance in the 38th minute gives Portugal it's first goal. 3-1 USA. Agoos beaten badly in the air. Bad clearance by O'Brien to follow and Agoss not covering his guy. God, beaten twice in one play. Well, I wouldn't have Agoos on the field, but that's me. Defense is getting lax. We need to generate some offense to counter the pressure. Sanneh schooled by Figo. Yikes. Danger from a corner in the 45th.We've got to get to half at 3-1. Did it. Great and unexpected half for the US!

Stewart out and Jones in at half. More speed, don't know if Jones adds much else. Stewart tweaked a groin apparently, that's why the change was made. Friedel now captain. Donovan fouled; yellow card shown to Petit. McBride holds position and wins free kick at top of box. Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Agoos skies it. Terrible shot. Geez, I could've made that. Most of the kids I had at St. Francis could've made it. Jones messes up a fast break. Oh baby. We screwed up a corner in the 55th. Lucky that wasn't a goal. Hejduk didn't pull out; kept the guy on. Free kick for Portugal in the 57th. Too high, too bad. Free kick in the 59th minute headed wide by Portugal. Defensive chaos in the 61st by the USA. Again in the 63rd. Corner for Portugal in the 65th. Lots of pressure here. Man, we could use one more goal. Jack Edwards is just awful.

Agoos hands it away in the 68th. Can he be more of a liability? Only if they had scored. Well, he's done it. Agoos scores an own goal in the 71st minute. Good God Almighty. I've been saying this for the entirety of qualifying: I'm sorry he didn't play in '98, but this time around he should not be on the field. 3-2 USA, I hope we don't give up 2 goals in the final 20 minutes. That would suck.

Portugal has made a couple of subs in the last minute or two. Hopefully their fresh legs won't hurt us. Agoos beaten down the middle but Friedel covers. Corner to Portugal in the 74th. Joe Max-Moore in, Donovan out. Keough says Beasley is cramping. Minute later, it doesn't look like it. Free kick to USA. Moore to keeper, keeper starts their break. Ugly free kick. Forward line has started to drop into midfield. Hejduk with the foul. Another dangerous free kick in the 77th. We're playing 11 men back with 13 minutes to go. Too early if you ask me. Pope down and cramping. Carlos Llamosa coming in for Pope. Too bad about Pope since he's been our best defender. Portugal subs too. That's it everybody has used all their subs. About 11 minutes left in regulation.

Nine minutes to go. Lots of pressure. Seven minutes: Free kick to Portugal at half. Shot missed wide. Six minutes: We're packing, and they're playing long ball. The US is icing the puck like in hockey. Five minutes to go in regulation. Four minutes: Hand ball on Portugal. Three minutes: McBride wins a free kick. He's been awesome today. Two minutes: We're still packed. Portugal is running out of steam. They could still do something, but it's gonna be tough. One minute in reg: We're killing clock. Jones, with relatively fresh legs is doing well holding by the corner flag. Two minutes stoppage time. Free kick for the US. We're killing more clock. Corner kick to the US. Should take it short. Terrible pass by Mastroeni. Jones killing more clock. One minute left. One or two more attacks for Portugal. USA wins the header. Beasley killing clock. 20 seconds. Throw to US. Yellow card to Beasley. THAT'S IT! IT'S OVER! US WINS! US WINS! US WINS! 3-2!

USA postgame: McBride gets my pick for Man of the Match. He scored the game winner, but more importantly, he held the ball up top, distributed like a master, and worked like a dog. Donovan also had a good game, though one has to concede that his goal was really lucky. Joe-Max Moore, who subbed for Donovan in the second half was a non-factor.

In midfield, Beasley was outstanding, Mastroeni was good but not great, O'Brien was terrific, and Stewart was fair before departing injured at halftime. Jones ran well, and killed clock nicely at the end. I don't think there can be any complaints about the midfield play. They really did about as well as we can expect against a team like Portugal.

Defensively, well, let's see: Hejduk was all right. Couple mistakes here and there, and I confess that I don't have a lot of confidence in his touch, though I like his hustle an awful lot. Pope was superb and really held things together in back. He deserves huge kudos. Sanneh got burned occasionally, but his runs forward were helpful in relieving the pressure on the back, and his cross on the winning goal was marvellous. What to say about Agoos? He had an utterly terrible game, almost single-handedly tossing away this effort. He was beaten on a header (and subsequently lost his man) for the first Portugese goal. Just about gave up goal number 2 in the 68th minute before deciding to score it himself in the 71st. He is a massive liability in back, and, honestly, does not belong on the field. I would much prefer to see Llamosa and Pope in the middle, and I hope Arena makes that change for the Korea game. Friedel was solid in goal. Assuming they're healthy, I replace Mastroeni with Reyna, Friedel with Keller, and Agoos with Llamosa vs. Korea.

All that aside, what a great victory for the US!

Germany 1, Ireland 1: Ah, the luck of the Irish. They spent the whole game fighting off a superior German side, only giving up one goal on an admittedly brilliant play in the first half. Then, in the 92nd minute—stoppage time—Ireland splits the defense down the middle and slots it. Thirty seconds later we get the final whistle and the happy, drunken Irish fans (and I've saw them first hand in 1990 so trust me "happy, drunken" is right on) erupt in celebration. They still have an outside chance at second round, but I think it's unlikely. I continue to like Germany and Cameroon.

 June 4, 2002

 
Costa Rica 2, China 0: A game of two teams going nowhere. Well, OK, maybe Costa Rica could do something. Having seen Brazil v. Turkey, I don't think so. China has Bora as coach, meaning they'll pack back and counter attack. Costa Rica has suffered some tough injuries and isn't nearly as good as they would otherwise be. I expected this to be a pretty lame game, and nothing in the first half occurred to prove this expectation wrong. Paulo Wanchope is thankfully returned from injury. Gomez scored a nice goal (after a making a brilliant pass, too) in the 60th minute, but it was a painfully boring hour leading up to that flashy moment. Pretty header in the 64th makes in 2-0. Those goals not withstanding, this game is my current my pick as the worst game of the Cup.

ESPN is reporting a starting US lineup of Brad Friedel in goal, Frankie Hejduk on the left, Tony Sanneh on the right, Pope and Agoos in the middle; Stewart, Mstroeni, O'Brien, Beasley in the middle; McBride, Donovan as forwards. This is unconfirmed to the best of my knowledge; Arena has made no formal announcements of which I'm aware.

Belgium 2, Japan 2: A much better game than I anticipated, though neither team is headed anywhere special. Japan was quite poor in '98, and I confess that I didn't give them much chance of being all that improved this time around. I was wrong. They run forever, they mount strong attacks, and they play with heart (in part because they're the home team). The end of a highly entertaining second half saw a 2-2 tie, but you can't tell me Japan didn't get robbed of a third goal in the 85th minute. We won't see Russia or Tunisia until tomorrow night, but don't discount these teams making second round. They won't advance beyond that, but this group is weak enough that they could both sneak through.

South Korea 2, Poland 0: I don't really care who wins as much as I care that these two teams are in the United States' group, and we'll need to beat one or both of them. Early play highlights some weaknesses in both defenses but nothing as dramatic as the US' defensive flankers. I have the sense that unless this represents early nerves we'll get our chance offensively against both teams. After about the 15th minute, the Koreans kicked it into overdrive and controlled the run of play. Poland's defense is lax; the US will have scoring chances. Korea is probably too speedy for us, and I'm betting they score on us when the teams play. I think we'll beat Poland.

Korea ought to be an exciting game for US fans. Or perhaps "terrifying" is a better word for it. Like Japan, SK is a team that is improved so dramatically you don't recognize it as the same team as '98. 2-0 over Poland is their first World Cup victory ever. I knocked their automatic host entry into the '02 Cup, but they have more victories ahead, and my fear is that one of them will be against the US. US v. South Korea will probably decide who goes second round.

 June 3, 2002

 
Mexico 1, Croatia 0: I can never watch Croatia play without thinking of everything their country has been through and how a rough-and-tumble soccer match is nothing in comparison. Like most spectators, I was greatly impressed by their third place finish in '98. They're an older squad in '02, and some wonder if they're too old to do much.

The first half of play was dominated by Mexico who, happily, look like a strong North American representative. For portions, Mexico had Croatia under enormous pressure, but Croatia defense is very strong and not easily breached. In the 60th minute Croatia gave up a penalty and had the guilty defender sent off. I didn't think it was a red card offense, but yellow would've been fine. Either way 1-0 Mexico in the 60th. The game didn't fall apart in the remaining 30 minutes, with Mexico getting several good chances and Croatia taking several corner kicks. Except for the red card, the official did well, but his linesmen called numerous offsides that were incorrect. Hard to say if it would have changed things as Mexico dominated, but it was unfortunate anyway.

Brazil 2, Turkey 1: Brazil are almost perennial heartbreakers at this point. They're remarkably talented offensively and are close to guaranteed to deliver an interesting game. At the same time their defense is always questionable. Here, they gave up a goal in extra time just before half despite dominating the opening 45 minutes. Given this defense, Brazil will not win the World Cup this year unless their offensive talent lights it up like we've never seen. It's possible, but unlikely. Turkey will make second round I think, but I don't see them going anywhere. In the 50th minute, Rivaldo to Ronaldo, and "Oh my God what a goal!" Man, I hope Brazil makes second round. I just love to watch them play. That said, a crappy penalty call gives Brazil their second goal. Red card? No way. Yellow, OK. In the box? Nope. Brazil deserved to win (for their dribbling if nothing else), but not like this. Officiating not so great, but Turkey gets a deserved red card just before the end.

Italy 2, Ecuador 0: The Italians look very strong. Ecuador isn't exactly top flight competition, but I'm not sure that with Christian Vieri playing up front it matters what level Italy faces. The Italians are going to go deep in this Cup. Ecuador, well, hope they enjoy the first round, because they won't be leaving it.

 June 2, 2002

 
Argentina 1, Nigeria 0: The Nigerians played a very tentative first half allowing the favored Argentines to control the run of play. There were several good chances, but the game really didn't pick up until Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta scored a header in the 63rd minute forcing Nigeria to attack. The game was interesting from that point on with some good chances for both sides, though Argentina's defense was still very strong. Nigeria has serious problems in the air from the wings, the keeper looking particularly vulnerable. Given their group, I don't expect Nigeria to win a game and certainly don't see them going to the second round. Too bad, but they're young (average age 23) and will be back stronger in 2006. Argentina remains a team to watch in 2002.

Paraguay 2, South Africa 2: South Africa started well with nice possession, but they faded about 20 minutes in after Paraguay started to attack more. Paraguay's first goal was a pretty header (and thanks in part to an awful goalkeeping blunder), but we'll see if their sweet touch and excellent skill at set pieces (see Paraguay's second goal) is sufficient offense for later rounds. Defensively Paraguay seemed to uncharacteristically wither under the pressure South Africa supplied in the second half. I would have much preferred that Paraguay continue to attack, and in that respect, I think they got what they deserved, though the penalty kick call that allowed South Africa to tie the match looked nonexistent to me. (Check a slow-mo replay to see what I mean. Did the keeper even touch the player? I say no.)

Paraguan keeper and star Jose Luis Chilavert was suspended for this match; how far the team goes will depend on how much better Paraguay is with him on the field.

South Africa showed well—better than I expected anyway—but only once they started sending men forward. I still don't expect that they will clear the first round.

England 1, Sweden 1: Ah, English long-ball, how I've missed thee. Here I was getting used to quick, tight passing from South American teams and African Brazil-wannabee nations, and you appear on the scene. And in both teams too. Well, I can live with it if it's well done, and England and Sweden play this style as good as anyone. Good enough in fact that I think Nigeria can kiss their Cup hopes goodbye because I don't think Nigeria will beat either of these two. The Argentina v. England and Argentina v. Sweden games ought to be great though.

England scored in the first half on a header from a great corner kick from Beckham, showed some nice flash, and held the Swedish at bay. The increasingly desperate Swedish team cranked up the attack for the second half and the English defense wilted under the pressure. After a lousy defensive mistake yielded a goal, England were rattled for several minutes forcing their keeper David Seaman to come up big repeatedly. This lack of composure does not bode well for their long-term chances—not that Sweden's defense was any better. At the same time, I suppose it's worth mentioning that these are two high powered offenses, and most other teams may not be able to bring this much attacking pressure to bear. Both are good enough to go second round, but with Argentina in the group, that's unlikely. Group of Death, indeed.

This game featured a wonderful second half with chances for both teams and some very exciting play. At times it almost seemed like a tennis match game with teams volleying back and forth, so dramatic was the action. Don't know if it will be rebroadcast, but if so it's worth seeing.

Spain 3, Slovenia 1: The Spanish were underachievers in '98, and from the looks of the first half the trend would continue until Raul's goal in the 43rd minute. Given that Slovenia played a 4-5-1 for the entirety of the first half, chances for Spain were limited. Slovenia came out attacking in the second half, but they were outmatched, and a very pretty goal in the 75th minute sealed their fate. Slovenia isn't bad and did well with their goal in the 81st minute. Too bad about the crappy penalty call against them in the 87th. In another group Slovenia might be able to advance, but I'm picking both Paraguay and South Africa to beat them.

I watched exactly 5 minutes of Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals between the LA Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. Shaq was on the bench for the first couple minutes, came in for a few, committed two blatant offensive fouls that went uncalled, and I changed the channel in disgust. Apparently the Kings were complaining about the officiating after the game, and one can hardly blame them. I keep hoping that a run-and-gun team like the Kings might rekindle my interest in the NBA, but with the officials controlling the game (and clearly favoring LA), I quickly end up repulsed.

I've been happy in the last couple of years to transfer my sports interest this time of year to NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, and given how jaded I've become with the NBA, that may be a switch that's permanent. I continue to enjoy NCAA March Madness basketball, and I enjoy playing the game. I suppose that will have to do.

 June 1, 2002

 
Cameroon 1, Ireland 1: A rather boring first half saw Cameroon control the run of play and finally get rewarded for it on a nice dribble through the side of the defense by Patrick Mboma. At least one Irish back is a little slow-footed and was made to pay for it.

Refereeing in the first half was iffy, with several questionable calls including one yellow card. The Senegal-France game was well-officiated so I'm hopeful that, despite this weak first half, the refs will be substantially better than World Cup 98 where they were, on the whole, terrible.

Ireland, down at half, came out firing in the second and was rewarded seven minutes in on a very nicely placed ball in corner of the goal from straight away about 25 yards out. The second half was much more free-flowing and exciting soccer with numerous chances for both sides, but unless their full talent wasn't on display (and in Ireland's case, lacking Roy Keane, it wasn't) neither team will go far in the knockout rounds—assuming they can get there. With Germany also in Group E, odds are one of these two won't make it.

Sidenote: Spanish-language advertising on Univision is featuring a lot of happy pregnant women. I wonder what prompted this trend in Hispanic media.

Denmark 2, Uruguay 1: Best game of the Cup so far, with plenty of attacking chances. Uruguay has some undeniable talent, but their right defensive back Mendez is a problem. (Think Agoos on the flank but with more violence to his play.) The Danes took advantage late in the first half for their first goal. The Uruguans equalized two minutes into the second half on a beautiful volley, but ultimately the Danish attack brought too much pressure for the Uruguans to withstand, and an exhausted defense conceded a header in the 83rd minute.

This was a very good game—one of those that makes me glad I got cable. I don't know if ABC will rebroadcast later this weekend, but if so, look for it.

What this means for Group A is that Denmark and Senegal sit atop the standings. Do I see either winning the group? Well, Denmark certainly could if they can tie France. It will be interesting to see what Senegal does against Denmark and Uruguay. If they pack the back like they did against France, they could pull two draws which might be sufficient to send them into the second round. I think it's unlikely though. I expect both Uruguay and Denmark to beat Senegal, and France to beat both Uruguay and Denmark. My earlier pick of Uruguay and France to go through looks like a bad joke at this point, but I think I'll end up half right: Now I'm liking France and Denmark.

Germany 8, Saudi Arabia 0: A game that was over almost from the opening kick off. Germany dominated a vastly inferior Saudi team, scoring more goals in a World Cup game than any German team in history. All were quality finishes, but the game was like watching pros take on a college team. The outcome was never in any doubt, something that rapidly drained both tension and interest from the game. The announcers seemed to think this game indicated that Germany had returned to the forefront of the world soccer stage; I think they just beat up on a terrible team. If you like goals, I suppose it was all right. I like good games, so I didn't think it was much fun.

 May 31, 2002

 
Patrick Roy is one of the greatest goalkeepers in NHL history. Which is why this evening's 7-0 shellacking by the Detroit Redwings was so disappointing. One really hoped for more than Roy to let in 4 goals in the first period. The Colorado coach pulled Roy at 6-0 midway through the second period, and Roy's replacement gave up one in the third. Worst Game 7 loss ever in NHL playoff history, and a really disappointing effort from the Avs, but clearly they were spent after facing the Sharks and Redwings in two seven-game series.

I think it's worth mentioning, as a former high school sports coach, that seeing a great player have a terrible day helps put all sports efforts into perspective. Sometimes it just doesn't go your way no matter how talented you are.

Senegal 1, France 0: OK, packing the back doesn't make for very interesting soccer. But if you're vastly outmatched playing the defending World Cup champions in the opening game of the 2002 Cup, it's a heckuva a good idea. In this case, a winner (resulting in a major upset).

Senegal played a 4-5-1 to France's 4-4-2 formation and looked for opportunities to counter attack. Senegal's chances were few and far between with almost 20 offsides calls against their lone forward, but the French defense was beaten on the left just about 30 minutes in, and some tragic goalkeeping (I've never cared much for Barthez) handed the result to the Lions. It came against the run of play which France controlled most of the game, but without Zidane in the middle the French seemed to lack intensity. With two shots off the posts and something like a 10-0 edge in cornerkicks it's not like France didn't have chances to score, but it's certainly fair to say they did not play well.

Notable: No team to lose their opening first round game in 1998 made it to the second round. France can and should still make it, but they will need to kick it up a gear against Denmark and Uruguay.

 May 23, 2002

 
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (December 2001) I listed my early picks for the first round winners of World Cup 2002. Now that we're only about a week from the start, I thought I'd revise my list in light of injuries, recent matches, and a Ouija board I consult on all important matters.

So here are the groupings with my picks to advance in bold:

Group A: France, Senegal, Uruguay, Denmark
Group B: Paraguay, South Africa, Spain, Slovenia
Group C: Brazil, Turkey, China PR, Costa Rica
Group D: South Korea, Poland, USA, Portugal
Group E: Ireland, Cameroon, Germany, Saudi Arabia
Group F: England, Sweden, Argentina, Nigeria
Group G: Croatia, Mexico, Italy, Ecuador
Group H: Japan, Belgium, Russia, Tunisia

In Group A, France is a lock and it will be between Uruguay and Denmark for second. I like Uruguay's defense—as mean and dirty as it is—so I'm going with them. France was beaten in their last friendly, but they should have more than enough gas in the tank to come out first in this group.

Group B is very interesting. On paper one has to like Spain, but they're traditional disappointments at the Cup. Well, I'm picking them to advance anyway. Paraguay would be an odds-on favorite to advance but their dynamic keeper José Luis Chilavert is suspended for a game which makes life anxiety-filled for Paraguan fans. I still think they'll advance over Slovenia and South Africa. The former has an outside shot at making it since striker Zlatko Zahovic is always dangerous, but South Africa's chances are somewhere between slim and none.

The healthy return of Ronaldo will easily push Brazil into the second round, and in this group the only question is who gets second. I'm changing my earlier pick of Costa Rica to Turkey, since injuries have badly hurt the Ticos. Former US coach Bora Milutinovic directs the Chinese squad, but the general consensus is that Chinese just don't have the talent to play at this level.

The USA's group, Group D, is very intriguing. Is the slow-footed (and somewhat dim-witted) back line of the US sufficient? Not for an extended Cup run surely, but perhaps for first round. Early fav Portugal have seen lots of injuries, but I still think they'll pull it out. South Korea has home field advantage and they've played very well recently, including a 1-1 draw against mighty England. Poland has seen a lot of internal dissent, but they've got a great goalkeeper and good striker up top. My pick of the US might be more wishful thinking that rational thought, but I'll stick with it.

We can start off Group E by saying that Saudia Arabia ain't goin' nowhere but home. Of the other three teams, I like Germany and Cameroon to advance, but I always cheer for the Irish, so I'll be hoping Ireland gets lucky.

In Group F, England and Argentina should both advance, but if there is a "Group of Death" for 2002, this is it. Nigeria has several very good players, but I don't think it will be sufficient to topple either Argentina or England. Sweden is not bad but will probably finish fourth. Some commentators are expecting surprisingly good results from the Swedes, but not having seen them play, I've got to go elsewhere with my picks.

In Group G, Italy will advance and Croatia, assuming their World Cup 1998 showing was no fluke, should place second. The wild-card here is Mexico, who always seem to overachieve at Cup time. They could pull second round, but I like Croatia.

In Group H, four lousy teams square off and the two least worst advance. The two winners there will serve as cannon fodder in the Round of 16. I'm picking Russa and Belgium, but Japan—with home field advantage like South Korea—may surprise.