The first round of the World Cup is over. I always like this round best, even though it means struggling to watch three (or more!) matches in a single day—knowing that some will be lackluster. But it’s my favorite part of the event because each match can surprise. Here’s a short list of my favorites:
- France imploding. I think everyone (except the French) enjoyed that one.
- Switzerland stunning Spain (which needed a wake-up call)—then failing to advance to the next round.
- New Zealand’s heroic performances against Italy & Slovakia.
- Slovakia sending off Italy (the defending champions).
- Landon Donovan’s last-minute goal against Algeria to advance.
- Portugal’s goal-scoring clinic against North Korea.
- Uruguay showing echoes of their glory days.
The next round looks to become interesting, particularly for Latin America. Of the 16 teams left in the tournament, 6 are from Latin America (only Honduras didn’t make it). That includes traditional powerhouses Brazil & Argentina (who look deadly). But also some surprisingly good & entertaining teams that could make a run for it: Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay.
Less than half of the European teams that entered remain. And a number will go out early, yet again: England & Germany face each other in their first knock-out game. Ditto Spain & Portugal.
Meanwhile, the US is still alive. And thanks to the shake-ups of the groups stage play, have what looks like a promising chance to reach the quarterfinals. If the US beats Ghana (who beat them at the groups stage 4 years ago), they can move on to the quarterfinals to meet the winner of the Uruguay v. South Korea match. That means the US could make it to a semifinal match w/o having to face a soccer “superpower” on the way. Not an easy task—against any of these teams—but it’s an easier road than many other teams have to face.
Nice roundup. You think the South American qualifying stages prepared those teams better than the qualifiers did for the European teams? Brazil and Argentina had some tough games, even against Bolivia.
One minor quibble - Ghana knocked the US out at the group stage in 2006, but your sentence could be interpreted to mean it was in the second stage.
Yes, I fixed the confusing language.
And to your comment about South America v. Europe: Maradonna has made the argument that South America's qualifying process is more rigorous, and therefore better prepares teams. Not sure if that's the explanation. I suspect that has something to do w/ it, but another is that some of the European coaches have been terrible (look at the selection/tactical choices made by France & Italy!). The South American teams seem to play w/ more cohesion & joy.
Go back to 1970, and you'll find that of the quarter finalists it was Europe 4, South America 3, North America (the hosts, Mexico), 1. These things come and go in a cycle. Note that 1970 was the last time a South American side other than Brazil or Argentina made the last four (Uruguay), and Peru were the last to make the final 8, in 1978.
In Europe, it's fair to argue things are competitive due to the fact professionalism is pretty uniform these days, plus the fact distances are shorter and travel easy. In all other confederations, vagaries of weather, distances, etc all come into play.
I don't think anyone expected France to do well, and many Italy fans didn't expect to do much either! Spain, on the other hand, were everyone's red hot tip to win it, and with good reason.
South America is unique in that it has no minnows and 10 competitive teams. If England or any other major European side had to go to Ecuador, Peru or Bolivia, for instance, there's a decent chance IMO of them not winning.
But definitely, for this year's South American entrants, the stars seem to be lining up. Uruguay's team is totally revamped from their qualifying defeat to Australia, Paraguay not as dour as they used to be, and Chile playing a carefree style.
Yep, these things do come in cycles. But I think a lot of the explanation has to go to coaching & team dynamics. You get a sense from the first minute that the Latin American teams are a cohesive unit, the players trust each other, and seem to genuinely enjoy playing w/ each other.
Which given the dispersion of most South American countries' squads throughout the football world (primarily Europe) is no mean feat.
Spain I believe have yet to step up a gear- they will do so in the later stages and this might be enough for them to win it!