Quick Reaction After the First Weekend

Due to family issues, I probably won't be blogging as much this week. I'm sure the three of you who read this will be disappointed. Don't fret. I'll be back.

Some quick thoughts:

1.) I'm 6 for 8 on my picks. Not too bad if I do say so myself. Two of my boldest picks, for South Africa to draw with Mexico and the US to draw with England, both panned out. Good for me.

2.) Either Germany is really good or Australia is really terrible... or both. That was a good old fashioned ass kicking, and the Socceroos now have their best player on a red card. If I'm an Australia player, I'm probably not getting to comfy in my hotel room.

On the other hand, Germany was speedy and dynamic. It's hard to pass judgment after one game, but the Germans came to play, and I will probably eat my words about them underperforming. I guess Klose and Podolski didn't get the memo about how much they suck.

3.) U-S-A! U-S-A! That draw is a great result for us. England had us up against a wall a few times, but that's when having a top goalkeeper pays off. No team is going to take Rooney out of the game for 90 minutes, but we kept him out of the game for at least 70 and that made a huge difference. Frank Lampard, as usual, wandered the pitch like a lost puppy. How can a guy be so good at the club level and so easily vanish when his country needs him?

After Gerrard sliced up our backline early on, the US played great team defense for the rest of the game and kept England from controlling the game for long stretches. I think we'll see a different US team against Slovenia. Look for Torres to see some time in the middle with Bradley and maybe Buddle up front instead of Findley. The goal, I think, will be to possess the ball more and control the game rather than to play in a defensive shell. Getting a point is great, but now we have to go out and get 6 over the next two matches and that means creating more chances and putting the ball in the net.