You've Heard Of The Hand Of God...

Now, thanks to News Of The World, we have:

Yes, it's only the first weekend of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but so far I'm happy with the results. Four of the five teams I care about have played their first matches, and the USA vs England counts for two of them. In no way did I expect the USA to win this game, and fully expected that England would walk away with three points. Player per player, England have the better team, except, as the match proved, in goal. Here's all the proof we need:

It's not the best clip on Youtube as far as quality, but I had to use it as it's the only one that shows it in slow motion, and rewind, clearly showing Robert Green's blunder. Mr Green, you can't collect the ball with closed fists. As a USA fan I thank you, as an Argentina football fan I'm rolling on the floor laughing at your fists of stone.

Now, I would have been happier with a US win, but the single point should give Bradley's men confidence going into their next match against Slovenia, who just polished off Algeria 1-0 as I write this.

Meanwhile, Maradona's Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 off a Gabriel Heinze header. Lionel Messi played well, but still seems to try too hard when he's dressed for La Albiceleste. Yes, Nigerian keeper Vincent Enyeama came up with the match of his life, but Messi had the one chance that he could have easily chipped over the on rushing keeper, as I've seen him do plenty of times for Barcelona. Instead, he let loose a blast, which failed to burn a hole through Enyeama. La Pulga needs to relax and play as if the weight of Argentina's hopes and dreams didn't rest on his shoulders. It's only then that he will be able to bare that burden.


Of the four a fore mentioned team, that leaves Mexico, who had the honor of playing in the first match of the tournament against hosts South Africa. Mexico went into the game heavy favorites, but the South African's held their nerve and managed to hold on for a 1-1 draw. As a USA fan, I'll celebrate every point that Mexico drops, especially when their playing perceived lesser opponents.



So, of the four teams, two got favorable results in my favor, and two were disappointed, but still in my favor...

Oh, and the fifth team I care about in this World Cup? That would be Brazil, who with be playing Korea DPR (North Korea) on Tuesday. I'm really hoping for a draw here. I'd be routing for a Korean upset, but, as a US Citizen, that could almost be considered treason.

So, for those of you keeping track, that's the USA and Argentina I'm pulling for to do well, and Mexico, England, and Brazil I'm hoping get knocked out in the first round.

Edit:
Here's the picture of "Clemente" that Juan provided the link to:

 Looks just like Robert Green...