We are finished with the first weekend of World Cup play, and it has been great so far. I wanted to post here my first impressions, things that were satisfying, things that were disappointing, and perhaps even some surprises after the first eight games.
I will start with my overall impressions so far. I have only been alive for six World Cups, but even more than that, I've only watched three (02, 06, 10). So far, this has been the best start to any of the tournaments I've seen in the past. All of the games have kept me interested and have had some sort of particular excitement in them. I was very happy that the first goal that was scored this year was scored on behalf of South Africa by one of my favorite players: Simphewe Tsabalala. It put South Africa up 1-0 against a strong Mexican team, and even though Mexico would bring the game to a draw, South Africa proved in their first 90 minutes that they can contend and play against any team.
Another thing I have been very happy with so far has been the great defense that has been played. Through the first seven games of the 2006 World Cup, there were 16 goals that were scored. Going into the eighth game this year, there were only 9 goals scored. Defenses have been playing VERY strong so far and it makes the game much more tighter and exciting. Obviously, the Germany game finally changed everything (and I figured that this tight/close gameplay may come to an end once we start seeing Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Italy, and Spain start to play) but for the most part, every game has been exciting and close. Oh and on a side note: FEAR GERMANY. Big time. I told everyone that they could still dominate without Ballack...I guess I was right.
As a USA fan, I was of course, pumped about the draw against England. This puts us in a great position for hopeful wins against Slovenia (who won their first game) and Algeria (who lost to Slovenia). The USA losing these games would be devastating to them and the fans. If they can win the next two games, they should have no problem getting out of group play.
Finally, I was very happy to see South Korea come out and dominate the Greeks. I was initially throwing my support behind Greece, but after the first goal was scored by S. Korea, I swung over to their side. They are a fast, disciplines, and very efficient team who could go very far (2002 4th place? *cough cough*). Vincent Enyeama
I really don't have much to be disappointed about so far this year. I was initially upset that Greece got their butt's whooped, but as I've said, was glad to see S. Korea come out strong. Australia's defense today was, as they might say, "Bloody" awful. Yea, Germany won 4-nil, but it could have easily been 10-nil if they had put in all their close chances. I know that Australia was down a man for the last 35 minutes, but Germany could have done all of that regardless...they were for the first half. Finally, I was disappointed with Nigeria. I was hoping their offense would be a tad stronger, but thank God for their awesome goaltender: Vincent Enyeama. The game ended 1-nil in favor of Argentina, but if it wasn't for Enyeama and what he did, it would have been much more. Yea, Messi might have taken around 14 good shots on goal, but guess what? None of them went in because Enyeama was there to deny him. Good for him. But c'mon Nigeria, help him out and score some goals.
The biggest surprise thus far: Fouls and Penalties. Holy God, the refs and officials are leaving nothing on the field. We have already seen four red cards (three JUST today!) and countless numbers of yellow cards (up to around 7 just for the Uruguay/France match). I am surprised, but also happy that the refs are bringing the ax down. We also saw the first penalty kick of the World Cup this year that helped Ghana beat Serbia 1-nil.
So I guess this is where we are so far. Tomorrow has a couple of good matches in the morning that I am excited to see: Netherlands v. Denmark and Japan v. Cameroon. I have watched all 720 minutes of the Cup so far, and am excited to see the rest of it. Thanks for readin...
-Adam
No comments:
Post a Comment