American Tune – Paul Simon
America, Fuck Yeah – Team America: World Police
USA 1 – 0 Algeria
Slovenia 0 – 1 England
What a game! What an exciting day to be a fan of American soccer! I watched the match in an awesome beer garden out in Astoria, with a bunch of other folks who were just as tense and concerned as I was. It’s a strange experience, to be surrounded by people on the edge of their seats, jumping up in unison, screaming at the screen, castigating our players with one breath and then heaping praise on them with the next. I have no idea if soccer is going to “make it” in America, or even what that means. All I know is that I had one of the great shared sporting experiences of my life today, reveling in the goal that took 91 minutes of dominance to finally come.
I’m not going to go into details on the games today, because I was simply too amped up to really pay attention to precisely who did what and where. I know that the US looked great, apart from an absolute inability to finish. Bradley in particular seemed to be a rampaging force, creating near-goals, stopping Algerian attacks cold, and generally dominating the midfield. Still, the finishing…
At one point in the middle of the second half I sent a despairing text to a friend saying “right now the US could have a penalty kick with an open goal and would still miss,” but looking back I’m not even sure I can remember all the chances that were spurned. All I know is that Donovan finally put one into the net. And I remember that the initial act that got things started was Tim Howard hurling the ball a good 50 yards to land right at the feet of his target–and how we all commented on the astonishing strength and accuracy. It’s an underrated part of goalkeeping, but Howard showed today why it matters.
And, of course, the disallowed goal! I can understand why the linesman made the decision. It was very close and you have to call it like you see it. But still. Another decision against the US, one that almost sent us out. I was ready to consider all the conspiracy theories by the 80th minute, that FIFA didn’t want the US to qualify, that the world was out to get us, etc. But since it all worked out and we topped the group, I’m just going to forget that it happened and look forward.
As for Algeria, all I can say is booooooooo! They gave three teams a very VERY hard time in the World Cup, but in the end all they can show for it is a total of zero goals, and a record of playing shockingly defensive football into the dying minutes of a game that they absolutely had to win. They even subbed out their best attacking players, as far as I could tell, in order to better frustrate the opposition. Apart from France, they have to be the most disappointing team in the tournament since they seemed to show some genuine ability to play the game on the few occasions they strayed forward. You have to take some risks, my friends.
As for the other game, Slovenia looked atrocious. Really, apart from the first half against the US they’ve looked pretty awful the whole way around. Which, of course, puts the US and England records into a bit of perspective. As elated as I am right now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. England were serviceable, playing about as well as they did against the US. But, since there was no major goalkeeping error, they got a clean sheet out of it and qualified. This means they hype machine will rev up again a bit, but I think the proper assessment would be right where people were thinking after the first game. This is a strong, but deeply flawed, team that might beat anyone if things break right but simply isn’t good enough to expect to win against top level competition with any regularity.
They might beat Germany–I haven’t decided yet who I rate as favorites–but if they do they’ll face another very tough team in the quarters (Argentina, or maybe Mexico) and it seems extremely unlikely they’ll get further than that. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to really comment about the big issues (do they look better with Defoe, is Rooney carrying an injury that has made him rubbish, how did their shape look, etc.).
Ghana 0 – 1 Germany
Australia 2 – 1 Serbia
I didn’t watch these games. I don’t know what happened in them, except that Serbia might have been hard done by in being denied a goal that would have put them ahead 1-0 and might have changed the complexion of the rest of the game. And even if it hadn’t, a 2-2 draw would have sent them through. But I don’t even know the details. I might try and watch the replays of them tomorrow, but with four more games on, the chances are low.
These results set up some VERY interesting games in the top half of the bracket. The US plays Ghana, who knocked us out (effectively) in 2006, thanks in some part to another slightly dodgy refereeing decision. Those two teams are fairly evenly matched and I don’t know that there’s a clear favorite. Probably Ghana gets the nod, but it’s close. What’s truly interesting is that the quarterfinal matchup for the winner of this game would be Uruguay or South Korea: both good teams, but both eminently beatable. I’m not saying that the chances are good, but there’s probably something like 15-20% odds on the US reaching the semifinals right now. That’s amazing.
On the other side, you’ve got an all-time classic of England-Germany, which will be IMMENSELY entertaining for the neutrals, and will feature some tremendous false bravado from England fans. And you’ve also got Argentina-Mexico, where Argentina is a clear favorite, but both teams are great, and quite pleasing on the eye.
You’d have to favor Argentina to be the representative in the semifinals from this side of the bracket, but…it’s a funny old game as they say.
Anyways, I have a lot more thoughts running through my head about the magical moment when the goal was finally scored, but I need to get to sleep. DDW starts tomorrow, and I’ve got the opening lecture!
Predictions for tomorrow:
- Slovakia 0 – 1 Italy
- Paraguay 2 – 0 New Zealand
- Denmark 3 – 1 Japan
- Cameroon 1 – 1 Netherlands
Once again, I’m messing with my pre-tournament predictions. I initially had both Group F games ending in listless 0-0 draws, but now that I know Italy need to win to be sure to go through, I think they’ll sneak a goal. Similarly, since New Zealand have a genuine chance to advance, I think they’re going to get antsy and expose themselves at the back, letting in a couple goals as they chase the game.
In Group E, Cameroon has nothing to play for but pride, while the Dutch only need a point to ensure winning the group. Denmark need to beat Japan to get through, but they’re much better than Japan, so this will probably happen.