And The Pace Picks Up: Driving Through The Group Stages

You have to give Marina credit: it wasn't until the fifth day of the World Cup that my evening marathon of three soccer games back to back to back drove her out into the streets, seeking shelter and cocktails among her friends. We won't mention the fact that she actually actually fled the country before the start of the Cup and was gone for the first two days.

But she might have a point in that the utter dedication to every detail, boring or not, might have bogged some of my recent blogs--and therefore, some of my evenings--down a bit.

So from today, I'm making a slight modification to my description of the games. My attempts at live blogging were unsatisfying, and were in fact distracting me a little from watching the games with my full attention. So now, I won't try to devote an entire entry to each game, and I will be more relaxed about the content. This is also a result of the fact that I might not get to see every game, having to record them in the morning and then try to watch at night. So far, I have only seen parts of Ghana-Serbia and Italy-Paraguay.

On to the summaries the other two games from yesterday:

CAMEROON VERSUS JAPAN

ORIGINAL PREDICTION: CAMEROON 1-0

This was totally flipped on its head. Japan looked more creative and more enterprising throughout the first half, and deservedly took the lead when Keisuke Honda snuck to the back post and made a great first touch from a strong cross from Matsui before driving it past the keeper.

I had high hopes for Cameroon. Well, not to advance from this group, but to look better than they did. They came out totally flat, without any sort of creative idea for moving the ball through the midfield and up to the strikers. Japan did pack the center of the pitch with five midfielders, but if Cameroon wanted to challenge for the group, they needed this win, and they didn't show the spark needed to do so. Far too often they appeared to be relying on their physical advantages.

In the second half, Cameroon came out with a lot more fire, but it was not enough. They never took advantage of the wings until Geremi came on as a substitute. A well-struck shot by Mbia rattled the crossbar, but they succumbed, and Japan thoroughly earned their first World Cup victory away from home soil (in 2002).

Cameroon will need a couple of shocks against Holland and Denmark in order to advance. They look doomed to disappointment.

ITALY VERSUS PARAGUAY

It was almost midnight by the time I sat down to watch this one, and I just didn't have the interest. No Pirlo--injured for this game--and no Giuseppe Rossi--not selected for the team. For some reason, this made me less interested in Italy. They are still my third favorite team, due to genetics, but I can't say I'm too worried.

I do have to feel proud for picking a draw with Paraguay, even if my original prediction of 0-0 was a little too pessimistic. It finished 1-1 instead, which was a great result for Paraguay.

Also worrisome for Italy is the injury to Buffon, the star goalie. It makes my prediction of Slovakia and Paraguay to advance from the group to seem not as far-fetched.

And now for the summaries from today:

NEW ZEALAND VERSUS SLOVAKIA

New Zealand has been in the World Cup once before, in 1982, but Slovakia is debuting as an independent nation. A battle of minnows, it has been called. I really don't think New Zealand has a shot, but that's why you play the games on the pitch and not on paper, to succumb to a motivational cliche for a moment.

ORIGINAL PREDICTION: SLOVAKIA 2-0

Before the game, there was a brilliant bit on the Daily Show between Jon Stewart and John Oliver regarding the US-England draw.

The first half is interesting, but not much to separate the two teams. New Zealand actually has had the best of the chances. Both teams have been a bit clumsy at times, poor touches on the ball causing problems and killing chances. A 0-0 draw seems accurate for the feel of the first half, that feels more like a friendly.

AND SLOVAKIA FINALLY FINDS THE GO-AHEAD GOAL IN THE 50TH MINUTE, A WELL-TAKEN HEADER BY ROBERT VITTEK AT THE END OF A GRACEFUL CROSS THAT GETS PAST THE NEW ZEALAND BACK END! Replays hint that it might have been offside, but the flag stayed down.

I have to root for Slovakia, if for no other reason than for that of my bracket. I predicted Slovakia to pull off the upset and make it to the round of 16 at the expense of Italy.

The pace of this game has been maybe a third of the pace that Germany maintained in thrashing Australia. This does not bode well for either team; Slovakia should be able to take control. Maybe they are complacent; maybe they play down to the level of their opposition. Either excuse does not exactly stir hot embers of hope.

AND THEN, OUT OF NOWHERE IN STOPPAGE TIME, NEW ZEALAND SNAGS A TYING GOAL OFF A HEADER BY WINSTON REID!

That is an incredible result, and New Zealand has already done much more than they were expected to do. It kind of undercuts the whole upset prediction of mine, with another upset, ironically enough. Their first point in the World Cup, ever! Good job, Kiwis!

This is a great start to the day, and now we are on to:

PORTUGAL VERSUS IVORY COAST.

Didier Drogba is starting on the bench, apparently. It will be tough for Ivory Coast to get the result I picked, a 3-2 win, without him. However, their nickname: the Elephants; my shirt at the moment: depicting an elephant. I'm going to assume that is an omen.

Give Cristiano Ronaldo credit for maturing. It is a full 7 minutes into the game before he blatantly dives to embellish a collision. It was certainly a rash challenge by the defender, but still. It's as if someone decided to do a remake of "John Tucker Must Die" called "Cristiano Ronaldo Must Dive." I never saw the first movie, but you can just tell it is an abomination against nature. So is Ronaldo's diving.

And then, no sooner do I write about that than Ronaldo displays a bit of magic, driving the ball against the post from 35 yards out in what was almost a goal of the tournament for sure. Is it any wonder I feel so conflicted about him?

He picked up a yellow card after an Ivorian defender took exception to what he thought was a dive, and a heated confrontation ensued. I'm not sure that was the right call by the referee, not on that incident. Ronaldo, as you can see, is a lightning rod for my opinions. That's how he earns the big money, I suppose.

Ivory Coast looked more attack-minded in the first half than Portugal, which is a bit surprising to me. And this was without Didier Drogba.

I think Didier Drogba will make an appearance today, ala Willis Reed. The game just seems to be setting itself up for that sort of drama.

Let it be known that I typed that a couple minutes before Drogba began warming up. This is not a case of revisionist insight. Of course, if Drogba scores to win the game, you have to start questioning whether it is paranoid to think that everything in life is scripted a bit. And then you would have to wonder if that would be such a bad thing. Life seemed pretty nice in The Truman Show, for instance.

But life is never really that interesting. 0-0 draw. Not what I predicted, not what I wanted. Oh well. Neither team was consistently dangerous going forward. Maybe it was first game jitters.

BRAZIL VERSUS NORTH KOREA

I'm kind of hoping for a solid Brazilian win, because I want nothing that could be taken as propaganda for the crazy North Korean dictatorship.

ORIGINAL PREDICTION: BRAZIL 4-0.

FANTASY PLAYER UPDATE: LUCIO, BRAZIL'S CAPTAIN, STARTS ON DEFENSE.

Thoughts on the first ten minutes? Brazil looks bigger, faster, stronger than North Korea. Plus, they are Brazil. They made a couple of half-chances, but nothing of the sort of invincible magic that is one's first expectation of the men in yellow.

North Korea is organized. Brazil is not running rampant, and certainly doesn't have the entertaining rhythm that we saw from Germany. It's 11:22 p.m. and I'm tired. That's when I remember that I'm not contractually obliged to watch every single game to the conclusion.

Apparently Brazil only won 2-1. So now that insane lunatic in North Korea is going to feel justified torpedoing more ships and daring the world to punish him for it. Oh, and even worse, Lucio conceded a goal, so only got 1 point for me today. Boo.