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A disappointing ending for the U.S., and Brazil now the team to fear
June 22, 2006Well, that wasn’t the plan. Sure, Italy held up its end of the bargain, trouncing the Czechs 2-0.
But what a lackluster finish to a mediocre three games for the U.S.
The game-winning penalty kick in Ghana’s 2-1 win before the half was a bunch of baloney, but the bottom line is the U.S. didn’t play well enough to get out of this group.
Landon Donovan never got it going. Claudio Reyna was banged up and there wasn’t enough power up front.
That said, advancing to the World Cup is no easy task and very commendable. And the future is very bright for the U.S. Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey, who scored the today’s goal, will be standouts for years to come. Donovan will be in his prime, and Freddie Adu should be making an impact in four years.
My friend John and I discussed at length what this subpar showing means, and we came to this conclusion.
It won’t hurt the upcoming enthusiasm with youth players coming up through the ranks, but it will probably lessen the excitement from non-soccer fans. They’ll lump this disappointment with the U.S. Olympic hockey and basketball teams.
That’s not fair, but it’s the way it goes sometimes.
And a side note on Dempsey, who’s from Nacogdoches. My high school team, Richardson Pearce, played against his undefeated one in the 1999 playoffs, and although I think he scored two of their goals, we won in a shootout thriller, 4-3, tying it up woth two scores in the final 10 minutes.
Just FYI.
Brazil not dressed to impress (but still does)
Before I ramble on about Brazil’s unbelievable game, I first must knock its uniforms they were flaunting today.
Love the yellow jerseys — but white shorts and white socks. UGLY.
I’m no fashion police, (my wife has to redress me at least twice a week before I go out in public), but even I could see that the unis were a bad combo.
Brazil’s soccer team had rolled through the motions in its first two wins. You know they are ridiculously talented, but it’s kind of like trusting someone who tells you about a blind tight-roper.
Until you see it, you can’t actually believe it.
Count me in as a believer. In true LeBron James-slogan fashion, I am a witness.
Brazil crushed Japan 4-1, and Ronaldo, (yep, the same guy that looked washed up and chunkier than hot sauce) scored two pretty goals. Their attack came in waves.
If not for Japan’s goalie making a plethora of saves early, this one could have been real ugly. This was true Brazilian soccer. Between matches this afternoon, I pondered how Ghana could actually upset the Brazilians.
No chance. It could be a 5-0 shellacking. Brazil, at least in my book, is now the team to beat.
A lively party Down Under
Australia needed a tie against Croatia to advance to the second round for the country’s first time. With Harry Kewell’s strike in the 79th minute, they got just that.
The 2-2 tie, which saw three red cards and a flurry of chances in the final 10 minutes, took the pressure off what could have been a disaster for the Aussies.
Their coach decided to start Zeljko Kalac in goal over the regular keeper, and this bloke was a joke (I’m a poet and didn’t even know it).
He almost drops a cross into his goal in the first half, and then let Croatia take a 2-1 lead in the second by letting the ball roll over him.
I couldn’t rest easy watching him play the last 30 minutes. Plain awful. And having been one myself, I’m the first to stick up for a goalkeeper.
The Aussies have played two of the most entertaining matches of the tournament. First, they score three goals in eight minutes to come back and topple Japan. And now this.
They meet Italy in the next round. That’s another great game to keep an eye on.
Stat of the day: With two against Japan, Ronaldo tied Gerd Mueller of Germany with 14 World Cup goals. Also, Brazil’s streak of four straight WC shutouts ended. Italy holds the record with five in 1990.
Looking ahead: The last round of group play concludes today, and three of the four spots are up in the air. Spain, already in, should take care of Saudi Arabia, while the Ukraine-Tunisia winner will advance in the morning games.
France must beat Togo in the afternoon match, and Switzerland-South Korea should be entertaining with a lot at stake.
My soccer-viewing quest: Watched the U.S. game over at my co-worker Andy’s house because he has two TV’s in his living room. A couple of people were a little late in showing up, so we watched it with Tivo — five minutes behind the Italy game.
My wandering eyes couldn’t help but catch U.S. scoring updates from the other game, so I knew when Dempsey rocketed a shot into the goal. At halftime, we got caught up, so it was no problem.
Posted by Zach Duncan at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
