The FIFA World Cup began to heat up toward its knockout stage today, with a few teams going home and a few teams marching on. For the host country, it was a tear between agony and jubilance.
South Africa went into today's match needing a win along with a lot of help. They preferred a Uruguay victory, but either way, a series of complicated circumstances required them to make up a large goal differential in addition to beating France. Before the midway point of the first half, though, things suddenly looked possible. South Africa took a 2-0 lead and was pressuring all game long, making it seem as though something special actually could happen. But France added a goal in the second half, and the lead never grew any larger. The South Africans collected a world cup win on their home soil, but they were eliminated at the same time as the cards fell the wrong way down the road. Uruguay defeated Mexico simultaneously, 1-0, and ended the South Africans' hopes. From Group A Uruguay and Mexico both move on to the knockout round, while France and South Africa end on very different notes, both still leaving the tournament.
In the later games, Argentina did battle against Greece while Nigeria simultaneously kicked off with Korea Republic. In the first-mentioned match, Lionel Messi was still in search of his first goal of the world cup. Messi has played great soccer, but he hasn't put the ball in the net yet -- and he didn't today, either. Nonetheless, his play created some goals for his teammates, and Argentina stormed through to the next round (to no one's surprise). They defeated Greece, 2-0. Meanwhile, Korea Republic earned a 2-2 tie with Nigeria and brought their record to 1-1-1. This gave them 4 points, edging Greece by 1 point and claiming the 2nd spot in Group B. From Group B, Argentina and Korea advance, while Greece and Nigeria say goodbye.
Tomorrow, the big day arrives at last for the United States. They play their huge match against Algeria tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM EDT, and England and Slovenia will kick off at the same time. The US can advance with a win. With a draw, they will need some help. A loss will eliminate them from the tournament. Either way, by about noontime tomorrow, we will all know who moves on from Group C. We can only hope our Americans are one of the two teams marching forward.
US forward Jose Altidore missed practice today with illness. Altidore was the USA's leading goalscorer during world cup qualifying. Despite the missed time, though, experts believe Altidore will be starting tomorrow for the Americans.
Tomorrow, the big day arrives at last for the United States. They play their huge match against Algeria tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM EDT, and England and Slovenia will kick off at the same time. The US can advance with a win. With a draw, they will need some help. A loss will eliminate them from the tournament. Either way, by about noontime tomorrow, we will all know who moves on from Group C. We can only hope our Americans are one of the two teams marching forward.
US forward Jose Altidore missed practice today with illness. Altidore was the USA's leading goalscorer during world cup qualifying. Despite the missed time, though, experts believe Altidore will be starting tomorrow for the Americans.
Glad to see France go. So many countries that didn't make it in would kill for the chance and they wasted it with protests and missed training sessions. I was sad to see South Africa go though, as they are the first host nation to not make it to the knockout round. There's such a stark contrast between the two teams; France, a country that seemingly couldn't care less about representing their country and South Africa, a country who, despite being ranked very low in the world, came with in a couple goals of advancing, fighting tooth and nail the whole way.
ReplyDeleteMessi will find his stride when it matters most. I can't wait to see what the "Playstation Player" can do when he's facing some of the elite teams in the soccer world. Sad to see another African country in Nigeria eliminated, however, after the elimination of South Africa. With Algeria and the Ivory Coast on the brink of leaving, and Cameroon mathematically out, it's sad to see that Ghana will most likely be the only African nation making it to the round of 16.
I'm anticipating the US game vs. a tough Algeria team. Altidore needs to start for the US, as starting games has been their weak point in this world cup. I think if they can survive the first 15-20 minutes without conceding a goal and are able to play their style of game from then on, they can advance to the round of sixteen and beyond.
I agree. Good to see France go, they were causing so many problems and didn't deserve to advance. Would have been nice to see South Africa move on at home, but they just didn't have enough on their squad.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the US too. If they can survive the beginning of the game, they should be good to go. They seem to be one of the best 2nd half teams in the tournament.