Truly Epic Wins

Download Stateside Soccer's World Cup Knock-Out Round Bracket HERE. Fill it out in pencil or in pen, share it with your friends, enjoy the great soccer that is yet to come.


What a finish for Group C!!! You could not ask for more drama, suspense, or beauty in the USA's story. Robbed of two goals, both disallowed in objectionable circumstances during pivotal matches, only to come back in the 91st minute of the final game to win the group. Beautiful. There are hardly words. And I can't forget to mention England's showing, which was just as well done, holding off Slovenia's attacks for a clean 1-0 final. Magnificent.

Now that we are closer to the Final 16 I'd like to share with you the reusable, printable bracket I made. It's hosted on Google Docs for all the world to see and print here.

As a reminder, here are the standings so far:

Group A:
1. Uruguay
2. Mexico

Group B:
1. Argentina
2. South Korea

Group C:
1. USA
2. England

Group D:
1. Germany
2. Ghana

Also guaranteed a spot:
Group E, Netherlands and Group G, Brazil

Group D plays their final games today at 2:30pm EST. Can Ghana beat Germany and hold onto the top spot? Will Australia come from behind to get the win required to go through?! [Edit to Add] Yeah, that didn't happen...Germany and Ghana are through.

It's all terribly exciting!!

In case you missed it, Ms FootyNut is guest blogging here to give a layperson's view of footy and the World Cup.

World Cup Week One Round Up

Three England fans looking only slightly less ridiculous than their team (Telegraph.co.uk)

As we're coming to the end of the second weekend of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we find ourselves faced with a compelling final five days of group stage games. And even with 29 of 48 group matches played, only the Netherlands and Brazil have guaranteed themselves a spot in the next round. Needless to say, my predictions have almost all been thrown out the window.

Draws Dominate Crucial Group C Games
Through almost freakishly unpredictable circumstances, three draws in the opening four games of Group C have left Slovenia on top of the group table with four points. The United States sits in second place with two points, edging England to third on account of goals scored.

After leaving their first match against England with a well-deserved 1-1 draw, the United States showed the spectacularly gritty nature of its team character when they fought back from a two goal deficit at half time to draw and nearly beat a slick Slovenian side in their second match.

England, on the other hand, apparently forgot to eat their Wheaties and struggled to produce any sort of attacking threat in a 0-0 draw in their second group stage match against Algeria.


World Powers Stumble, Self-Destruct
Spain, the reigning European champions and a prominent favorite to win this year's world cup found themselves on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline against a lucky and well organized (imagined that) Swiss side.

After pummeling a lackluster, befuddled Australian side 4-0 in their opening games, tournament regulars Germany lost 1-0 to a stalwart Serbian side.

Defending World Cup winners Italy not only came from behind to salvage a draw in their opener against Paraguay, but they found themselves in need of a similar performance to salvage not only a point but their dignity from their second game against a spectacularly organized New Zealand side. The Azzuri now sit on 2 points going into the final day.

If it wasn't enough that France all but cheated its way into a spot in South Africa, they opened their tournament with an uninspired 0-0 draw against Uruguay. Then the French proceeded to fall apart in a 2-0 loss to Mexico. The self-destruction continued into the weekend when forward Nicolas Anelka was sent home, the French players refused to train and many of the coaching staff simply quit.

And as ESPN the Magazine's World Cup preview so astutely put it, "There will always be an England and it will always disappoint." And with a goalless draw against Algeria of all teams, the Three Lions of England have surely disappointed.


Quality of Refereeing Goes from Amazing to Appalling
The refereeing of the opening dozen games or so was nearly impeccable. The most prominent example of the outstanding refereeing came in the opening match of the tournament when Mexico's Carlos Vela was correctly called off side against the protests of about 85% of the matches viewers, including the ESPN commentating crew.

However, come Friday, the wheels starting coming off the refereeing cart. Germany's loss came within the context of Spanish referee Alberto Mallenco's 10 cards, including the sending off of the German's World Cup Talisman, Miroslav Klose. Then, with only 10 minutes to go in the US's match against Slovenia, Malian referee Koman Coulibaly disallowed a US goal by calling a foul that remains unfathomable in the face of dozens of slow motion replays.


Regardless of what the past 10 days have brought us, they are sure to bring exciting match-ups and edge-of-your-seat moments. Will New Zealand pull off the unthinkable and follow Paraguay out of the group, leaving the Italians behind to ponder what might have been? Will the US and Slovenia leave England equally befuddled by elimination? Will the cards fall just right for Australia? Will it be Portugal or the Ivory Coast who advances from the group of death? Will an African team be able to make it to the knock out stages in the first tournament held on African soil?

We'll just have to watch some more to find out.

Who Are Ya! Who Are Ya! ...Cheering For?

Missed Ms FootyNut's first post? Find it here.

Photo: Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

I have officially been bitten by the World Cup bug and I'm infecting several people I work with. Huzzah!

Like World Cup die-hard fans I've been trying to keep up with all the games. I can't watch them at work, but I do scan the news feeds for updates and once I know what their uniforms look like, I'm pretty good at playing the game in my head - Pass, pass, pass, pass, tackle, ball out of play, throw in, pass, pass...you get it. You may ask, "How is that satisfying?" Usually I just keep hoping anyone and everyone will score. I think that stems from growing up in Hockey Town where games are relatively "high scoring".

But now that I know a little bit more about this game, and the teams, I keep myself interested by always picking a side. I am one of those people that if I don't have an allegience, I always root for the underdog. For me this is also true in politics - I voted for Nader in '08.

This most recent round for Group B, I was rooting for South Korea because Park Ji-Sung is on that team, but also plays for Manchester United - Mr. FootyNut's Premireship team. And in Group A I was rooting for Mexico because, well, no one should be rooting for those dirty cheating French.

During the Greece/Nigeria game there was a short discussion on The Guardian's Minute By Minute about how South African fans are rooting for any African team because to them, a win for that team equals win for the continent (according to the comments on the Guardian). This is not a phenom that we've seen elsewhere, particularly Europe. A win for Germany wouldn't necessarily be highly celebrated in Spain or even England. Would we be happy if Mexico won? What about Canada (if they'd made it)? I haven't noticed this African bias with the Algerian game, anyone else?

While Mr. FootyNut and I are on a media black-out today (so we can watch the Group C games uninterrupted later tonight) debate these questions with us.

What do you think about the African bias? Are there other allegiances out there I don't know about? Who do you vote for when "your team" isn't playing? OR, is that tempting fate and you secretly wish there was a lose-lose option for everyone else?

Contributing Blogger - Meet MsFootyNut

Hello Blogosphere, I’m so pleased that Mr. FootyNut has invited me to blog with him. He thinks my perspective as an "outsider" may be amusing. I think he's barking, but if you bear with me, you can be the judge.


To give you some background, I was never a huge fan of soccer. I played in elementary school, sure. I spent many semesters and summers in the UK as a young adult and thought I would very much like to understand soccer, but I never made the effort. Then when Mr. FootyNut revealed he was a fanboy, I knew it was all about to change. I can’t really call myself a huge fan now, but I watch the important games and I cheer when a team scores, and yell when they get fouled or robbed of what was obviously going to be the most spectacular shot evar!! And I try really hard to understand the idiosyncrasies of the off-side rule.


As Mr. FootyNut previously wrote, his head exploded on June 5th when the USA met Australia. While I too have a mushy place in my heart for that continent "down under", my head stayed intact. It was just a friendly after all. However, this will all change tomorrow when the US meets England.


I guestimate that more than half of my heart lies with England. In 2006, ROOTS had a sale of all the World Cup stuff (after it was all over) and I bought an England t-shirt. I don't even remember if they had a USA one made! And this year, when purchasing some fan gear in preparation for this little tourney, I chose an England scarf over the US scarf – if only 40% because it was easier to find!


Don’t get me wrong, I really want the US to do well in this race. I really want to show our country that soccer does matter!! But on the other hand, England deserves to win again. It's been a long time, and they're more likely to go all the way to the finals than anyone else in C group – did I also mention I'm of Arab heritage and am secretly routing for Algeria too? I'm a complicated woman. Slovenia, you’re on your own.


Anyway, this ain’t no friendly game of footie here!! This counts towards that shiny gold thing Morgan Freeman is so fond of! So on Saturday afternoon I may be the only one in our pub supporting the "limeys" over the "yanks" and I'll just have to be ok with that.

Cheers.

World Cup Predictions: Group C

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

Players to Watch:
Wayne Rooney (England)
Jozy Altidore (USA)
Karim Ziani (Algeria)
Milivoje Novakovic (Slovenia)


Match to Watch:
England vs. USA
June 12, 2:30 P.M. (ABC)


Predictions:

England vs. USA
June 12, 2:30 P.M. EDT (ABC)
For US fans this match can be summed up in one word: "Epic." Both Number 10's have had a hell of a past 12 months. England is looking to make good on its ever elusive birthright of a second World Cup. But England never makes anything easy for itself and drama almost always ensues. I'm predicting either a humdrum 1-0 win to either side or an explosive 3-2 win for England. And since I'm feeling risky today, I'm going with the 3-2.
Result: ENG 3 - 2 USA

Algeria vs. Slovenia
June 13, 7:30 A.M. EDT (ESPN)
It would be easy to write off Algeria and Slovenia as lost causes and means to and end for England and the USA ... but I'm going to take the easy way out. Algeria will have discipline problems when a well-ordered deep midfield would probably suit them better. They'll be struggling for goals let alone points.
Result: ALG 0 - 2 SVN

Slovenia vs. USA
June 18, 10:00 A.M. EDT (ESPN)
This match is crucial for the US. No matter what happens in their opener with England, the US will need to take full points from their ecounter with Slovenia in order to remain the masters of their own fates going into the final group match.
Result: SVN 0 - 1 USA

England vs. Algeria
June 18, 2:30 P.M. EDT (ESPN 2)
If England can't win this game, they have more problems than whose baby mama former captain John Terry has nailed.
Result: ENG 3 - 0 ALG

Slovenia vs. England
June 22, 10 A.M. EDT (ESPN)
Believe it or not, this game may be the most important match that the US won't play. Depending on how the points have fallen, this game may either decide if the US places first, second or third in the group. England may falter a bit in the face of stiff continental opposition.
Result: SVN 1 - 1 ENG

USA vs. Algeria
June 22, 10 A.M. EDT (ESPN 2)
This game is the very definition of a "must win" scenario for the Yanks. In fact - I'll be one of the first to say it, Landon Donovan's US international legacy may depend on the outcome of this game. If the US finds themselves in the need of an all-out team performance and he doesn't step up in the leadership role we all know he should be able to fill and the team misses out on qualifying for the knock-out rounds, questions will arise.
Result: USA 2 - 0 ALG


Final standings: