Finally the Final... PREDICTIONS!

First of all, thanks to everyone who voted in the poll. I think we can all safely say that Marc Dadigan is Arjen Robben's twin separated at birth.

Secondly, what a fun World Cup. I've had the opportunity watch most of the games, some of them twice, and this tournament has not disappointed. I'm very happy to see that there will definitely be a first time winner in the competition, and that one elite team will get another notch in its belt.

To start, I'm going on record as picking Uruguay to upset Germany for 3rd. Watching the Spain game, I realized that Germany is a team that need its opposition to make mistakes, and Uruguay was able to go deep into this World Cup by making very few of them. I predict Uruguay eeks it out by a goal.

Prediction: Uruguay 1 - 0 Germany

Now onto the final. I've been saying from the beginning that I really like the Dutch, and nothing has changed on that front. But Spain... Spain is so classically brilliant. You come to expect a certain level of proficiency from Spain and even though the passing and close control they have is ridiculous, they look so calm doing it that it feels almost pedestrian. Plus, it doesn't generate as many goals as well calculated counter-attacking football, so it's easy to understate just how difficult it is to play the way they do.

It certainly helps that lots of guys on that team play their club football together, in particular to the two midfield maestros, Xavi and Iniesta. Spain's precision, possession, and quick passing will definitely give the Dutch back line trouble... I think Spain could score first but...

That being said, I'm still going with the Dutch. Spain will have the better 11 on the field, but the two best players on the pitch will be Dutch. Sneijder has been terrific, and his distribution will be more than good enough to help Dutch attackers find space behind the Spanish midfield. On top of that, Robben is going to spend the game running headlong at Joan Capdevilla, who is definitely the weak link in that Spanish back line. One on one, he's no match for Robben, meaning Puyol and Pique will find themselves wider than they care to be trying to keep Robben's left foot away from the goal.

Additionally, I think the Dutch midfield, with Van Bommel as the enforcer, will keep Spain from holding the ball as much as they did against Germany. As I said, Germany needs to wait for you to make a mistake, but the Dutch are mature enough to force you into the mistake.

Prediction: Netherlands 2 - 1 Spain

But either outcome is ultimately fine by me. In 2006, I didn't really feel like Italy deserved to win. This time, I think both these teams have played really well and have been fun to watch. If you had asked me before the tournament what final match I'd want to see (excluding the US), I probably would've said this one.

The Great Dadigan / Dutchmen Debate!

Okay, blogsphere, a controversy has come to my attention and only you, the voting public, can solve it. Marc Dadigan, it appears, has a Dutch football doppleganger. But public opinion is split over which Dutch superstar is actually Marc's long lost twin. All three men are skinny, sweaty, and bald. But let's look deeper, shall we? First, Dadigan himself.


Adorable, isn't he? Some say Marc's brother of a Dutch mother is the wiley and sometimes theatrical winger, Arjen Robben, whose inside out style of play has stifled even stout defenses. Don't let him get the ball on that left foot, folks.

Okay, that's Robben. Now onto the dazzling midfielder Wesley Sneijder whose vision, long passing, and goal scoring ability makes him an asset to club and country. You don't want to be on the wrong end of a counterattack with this man sending the passes upfield.

Well, what do you think, internet? Robben or Sneijder? Sneijder or Robben? Only your vote can decide!

Perspective on the US

So... it's taken me a couple days to get over the loss. That stings to be sure. But Ghana played a better game and deserved to win. We didn't get our asses kicked, but we did get beat. That's the way it goes. I have way too much to say about the US team for one post, so I'll keep tonight's comments to one simple topic: Bob Bradley.

Considering how little the guy says, Bob Bradley is a fairly polarizing figure among US fans. No one, not even US Soccer, had him as their first choice to be coach after Arena got the boot. But here he is nonetheless.

Some criticisms are easy: He gave too many chances to guys who didn't earn it (i.e. Sacha Klejstan); he played too many of the same guys over and over again when he had better options (i.e. starting Ricardo Clark over Maurice Edu); he didn't give our creative attackers enough opportunity (i.e. Jose Francisco Torres).

Others are probably not his fault: He took a B Team to Copa America and flopped; he took a B Team to Gold Cup and got spanked in the final. Truth is, the federation and clubs heavily influence who plays when and where. If it was up to Bradley, I'm sure he'd want his best players all the time.

But here is some hard-to-refute evidence in his favor: He coached the US to the top of CONCACAF qualifying; he took a raggity-ass B Team to the Gold Cup Final; he took the US to its first ever major international cup final at the Confed Cup; he is the first US coach to win the group at the World Cup since 1930.

In my opinion, Bob knows how to win and how to coach in tournaments. In 2006, Bruce Arena didn't make changes and adjustments even as games were getting away from him. When the US needed a spark or a set of fresh legs, Bradley consistently brought the right guys in off the bench to positive effect. Injuries forced him into hard choices, but he made those choices and won the group.

I wanted to beat Ghana as much as anyone, but as is so often the case, one play can make all the difference. If we take a good, honest look at the US men's national team, can we really say that we're player for player much better than Ghana? We're probably on par with them, which I'd gladly take because they're not an elite team, but they're pretty damn good. By that analysis, the team didn't under-perform.

Unless the federation has someone else in mind, someone who is a proven national team coach, I can't see any wisdom in a coaching shake up. I guess what I'm saying is, barring something unforeseen... FOUR MORE YEARS!

Group Play Round-Up and Bring on the Knockout!

So, in case you're wondering how I fared with my picks, the answer is not very well. I correctly picked the outcome of 23 out of 48 group play matches. Group F really did me in. I only picked one match correctly. I gave Italy way too much credit and Paraguay way too little . Groups D and A were also brutal. I underrated Mexico and Germany and paid for it.

On the upside, I picked 12 out of the 16 teams in the knockout round. I didn't get the right order of finish, but I don't mind being wrong there, particularly in the case of the US winning its group.

As for the round of 16, I'm very excited. Obviously, I'm on the edge of my seat about the US-Ghana game. It should actually be a really good match up. I

Here are some quick thoughts and picks for the Round of 16 games:

Uruguay v South Korea: South Korea showed they can pick the lock on tough defenses. But Uruguay has defended really well as a team won their group in decisive fashion. The difference maker here I think is Uruguay's offensive machine Diego Forlan. I think he gets it done. Pick: Uruguay

USA v Ghana: This will be a good test of the US defense. I'd like to see us clear our lines convincingly and show forward movement and control in the middle of the park. Ghana plays pretty compact D and has real speed on the wing, but they can get disorganized at times, and the burden will be on our big game players not to let those chances get away. Pick: USA

Germany v England: Well... Germany isn't as bad as I thought they were before the tournament, but this is still a really inconsistent team. But not as inconsistent as England. I don't see Rooney getting enough of the ball for them to be a threat. Pick: Germany

Argentina v Mexico: As much as I dislike Mexico, I think they are a squad with a lot of potential... potential for kissing my ass after they lose HAHAHAHA! Pick: Argentina

Netherlands v Slovakia: Good for you, Slovakia, making it this far. Now, pack your bags. Pick: Netherlands

Brazil v Chile: Chile plays tough, but I don't think it will be enough. Brazil started shaky but they're starting to his their stride. Pick: Brazil

Paraguay v Japan: Upstart against upstart. Japan has really gone after it this tournament and scored some great goals. Can't bet against them in this game. Pick: Japan

Spain v Portugal: The Iberian showdown. Interesting these teams would meet so early in the tournament because this is one of those games where some really great players are definitely not advancing. I think the difference here is defense. Spain has it and Portugal doesn't. Ronaldo and company will need to be aggressive in pressuring the ball. They'll also need to be perfect in dead ball situations to get chances because they won't be getting in behind Puyol and Pique like they did with North Korea. Pick: Spain

One more thing: U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Wow

Well, I'm back. Thanks to all who sent Jess and I nice messages over the past week. It really helped.

And... HOLY SHITBALLS!!!!!! That was absolutely magical. I had the US placing second in our group. Never been happier to be wrong. Landon Donovan had disproved pretty much everything negative people have said about him. I used to heckle the guy when he would come to RFK to play United. Never again. That man is a hero.

Certainly, though, Clint Dempsey deserves a lot of credit for the win. He worked his ass off, got a great goal disallowed and took an elbow in the face. I don't know why the US can't catch a break with this officiating, but it's childish to complain. Besides, we don't have to complain. Bottom line: Bring on Ghana.

So I'm 6 for 8 so far on teams making it to the knockout round, though I haven't always predicted the correct order of finish. Once the group games wrap, I'll look back over the whole round and see how I did.

Here's some non-US related thoughts:

Weird stuff in Group D. Talk about a bunch of schizophrenic teams. Never could tell who was going to do what... and yet, Germany and Ghana seems like a really pedestrian outcome for such an exciting group. Oh well, I probably didn't give Germany enough credit, but I don't think anyone would say that team's not beatable.

I hate Mexico. I'm an Argentina fan until further notice.

France... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

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.

Day 1 Thoughts

Considering that no one has won a game yet and one game didn't even have a goal, it was a pretty exciting day. For a brief moment, I was 100% on my picks. I'm down to 50% now, which is probably as high as my percentage will be for the rest of the tourney. Today was a nice reminder that predictions don't mean much when it's time to play the game.

If I had to pick who had the best day, I'd have to say South Africa, but I can't help but feel like they left two points on the table with a bad defensive miscue.

Team by team thoughts:

South Africa - If there is such thing as a moral victory, they had one. They showed they belong in the tournament as much as any team. They caught a little luck in the first half and were overly-reliant on last ditch defending. They paid for it on Mexico's equalizer when the captain, of all guys, didn't push up with his back line and kept three Mexican attackers onside. But the energy is there. Can they keep it up?

Mexico - Same story we've been seeing from El Tri. Lots of possession, excellent skill on the ball, but not getting goals when they need them. If they can't break down South Africa, it raises questions about how they'll do against teams they don't outmatch at nearly every position. Also, did anyone else see Blanco just taking up space out there? He didn't a chance to show off his trademark diving and yelling at the referee. He reminds me of General Zod's goon from Superman II.

Uruguay - Well, that's defense for you. Forlan carried the whole load offensively today, and managed to generate a chance or two. They'll need to do more than that if they really want to score goals, but in this group, shut down defense might be enough. I don't know much about this team, but what I saw today was almost mistake-free defensive soccer. The performance today bodes well, but they can't feel two good about the number of cards they got, including a deserved red for a dumb-ass late challenge.

France - Franck Ribery played terribly. His speed was there, but his service and vision were amateurish. New captain Patrice Evra earned his pay today, but he might be the only one. They looked better after Malouda got into the mix, but you get the sense that if Ribery isn't going to step up, this may be a team that needs two forwards.