In today's first match Germany handed England their collective asses in a 4-1 win. Now I'm sure their are a lot of England fans out there who are going to be adamant that had England's second goal have counted, which it should have, that the remainder of the game would have been different. Funny, I seem to remember a similar complaint about a certain goal scored against them that, had the referee or lineman spotted a certain Hand of God... Whatever, you lost, get over it already.
If you didn't see the non-goal, England's Frank Lampard blasted a shot over the Germany keeper Manuel Neuer 's head that grazed the bottom of the crossbar, dropped down to bounce about a foot or two inside the line, then out where Neuer collected it. The lineman missed it, the referee missed, but the cameras certainly didn't.
I'd post a clip off Youtube, but FIFA has been funny about such, and while there is one up now, I doubt it will survive for long. Instead, here's a still shot that was posted by a Facebook friend:
The second match begs the question, if Argentina manages to win the World Cup now, does Diego Maradona suddenly become a genius of a coach? D10s has his men playing well, and despite there still being defensive lapses, they are now being looked at as favorites for the title.
Mexico didn't exactly roll over for them, but they couldn't deal with the quality of Argentina's attack, losing 3-1. Again, there was controversy as the first goal of the match, scored by Carlos Tevez, was off sides. There were a few tense moments as the Mexicans' argued with the referee and responsible lineman, and then the Argentine's having their say as well, but in the end, the goal was allowed.
Lio Messi still has yet to score, but he has been instrumental in setting up several of Argentina's goals, and as long as he can do that they should go far. Well, baring the fact that the winning teams from today's matches will have to face each other in the Quarterfinals.
Being as they have been the two most entertaining sides in this World Cup, it's a shame that one of them will have to be eliminated before the final. In my heart I'm hoping La Albiceleste can beat Die Mannschaft, even while I do have to acknowledge that the Germans have a stronger defense. Either way, it should be a great match.
Still, I'm getting ahead of myself here, as the second round isn't over. Tomorrow we have another two match ups, as the Netherlands face Slovakia and Brazil face off against Chile.
My picks? I have to go with Netherlands over the Slovaks, while, on a wing and a prayer, I'm hoping for a Chile upset over Brazil. How can I not cheer on Chile? Marcelo Bielsa (a legendary coach with Newell's, for those who might not know) is coaching them, and their playing Brazil...
Dale el equipo de Bielsa!
Dale Chile!
Chau chau, Brazil!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment