World Cup

It's safe to say that when World Cup time rolls around, I get pretty excited. I've only really been aware of three World Cups before this one--France 1998, South Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006. USA 1994 was, surprisingly and unfortunately, mostly off my radar.

So far, South Africa 2010 has been a great tournament. Of course people are complaining about this that and the other thing, but the football itself has been pretty entertaining. The big teams have all had a few stumbles to make things really interesting, and South America's teams have really stepped up to the plate to give it a real go. I haven't seen every single match, but I've seen most of them, and these are my thoughts as the group stages wind down and the round of 16 starts to shake out.

Chile look like a great side, and one to watch in the future. They play quick, attractive football. Their only issue is finishing and scoring goals. Putting away one chance of many against Switzerland was okay, but if they want to beat Spain, I think they need to find more firepower up front. Nevertheless, I think they'll go through, because all they need to do is hold Spain to a tie. And they deserve to.

USA finished top of their group, ahead of England, the first time they've topped their group since 1930. The US players individually aren't stars; you don't have Liverpool's and Chelsea's captains in the starting lineup, no Wayne Rooneys or Frank Lampards to headline the squad. But the US as a team work hard, play like a unit, and don't give up. I think, in some ways, the team has benefited from the lack of popularity of football in the US--it gives the team a rallying point, a motivation, a unifying factor that the big teams like England don't have. The US also have a decent chance at getting through the round of 16--Ghana are tough opponents, but not as daunting as some of the teams on the other side of the bracket.

Germany were machine-like in their first match against Australia, though not quite as convincing in their second and third matches. There's some real quality in the squad, and I think it's really just a matter of consistency for the Germans. If they can reach that higher plane of performance like the Australia match and maintain that intensity and precision, they'll be a favorite to win it all. The unfortunate thing is, they get England in the round of 16, and if they advance, they face the winner of the Argentina/Mexico match. Hardly an easy route to the final.

Argentina, Spain, and the Netherlands all have a decent shot at the final as well. Argentina and Spain didn't perform all that well in the group stages, but you would expect them to up their game for the round of 16 and beyond. The Netherlands have been rather quiet yet confident in the group stages, but for them it's a matter of not peaking too early in the tournament. Argentina faces the unfortunate prospect of going up against England or Germany if they can get past Mexico; Spain, depending on how they fare against Chile, will probably face Brazil or Portugal. The Netherlands may end up facing Italy in the round of 16, but Italy have looked fragile at times, and I think the quick-attack style of the Dutch would get the job done.

It's unfortunate that BBC sees the imminent advancement of at least one smaller team through to the round of 8 as a disappointment. From their live commentary yesterday: "Tonight's result, by the way, means that one of the United States, Uruguay, South Korea or Ghana are guaranteed to be semi-finalists. That's what it would have meant to England had they won the group. Ho hum."

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the point of the World Cup was to ensure an easy route to the finals for the biggest and "best" teams. And considering the uninspired performances England gave in the group stages, there's no guarantee England would have even made it through that field. Fuck off BBC, you arrogant pricks.