Hussah! Ireland into the second round! (Sorry to all of you cheering for Cameroon). Unfortunately it looks like they'll be facing Spain in the first match, so that's probably as far as they'll go.
Germany is looking pretty scary for the next round. Though I'm not sure how many of they're players will be suspended for their first game. There were a TON of yellows thrown around in their last game.
France exits the tournment having failed to score a single goal. I'm going to guess there are a lot of broke frenchmen running around right now.
Senegal takes the second spot in group A, despite almost collapsing against Uruguay. I was watching the replay of the game this morning, and started watching the tape of Denmark / France at halftime. Imagine my surprise when I stopped the tape for a second and it was 3-2!
Group B isn't looking so interesting, Spain is already in, and South Africa has ways of getting in even if they lose and Paraguay wins, since they have a 3 goal differential advantage right now.
Group F, on the other hand, has Sweden, England and Argentina all within a point of each other, though it's likely England goes through to face Denmark and the winner of Sweden / Argentina faces Senegal.
I LOVE THIS FORMAT! Makes me wish I lived in a country that was good at Soccer. 75th in the world! Right between Congo and Liberia / Kuwait! KUWAIT!
"Go for the eyes, Boo! GO FOR THE EYES! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" - Minsc, Baldur's Gate.
Well... the U.S. has to lose SOME of the time. Besides, being Canadian makes it difficult to root for any American team. I make an exception for the Forty-Niners (since there's no Canadian NFL team) and the Colorado Avalanche.
Ike
"Go for the eyes, Boo! GO FOR THE EYES! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" - Minsc, Baldur's Gate.
The USA aren't doing too badly in the tournament so far though. They convincingly beat Portugal, for the first half at least. They also drew with the hometowners, which is no mean feat given the INSANE support that South Korea are getting. With four points in the bag, they're odds on to take Poland and move into the last sixteen of the Championship. If they win the group the get Italy and if they happen to be runners up they get the on form Mexico. With Blanco looking sharp, it will be a tougher game than the Italians will provide. Italy have had a horrible run of luck as of late, with just about all their *really* important goals being ruled out to offside.
Now onto Mick's Boys. After the Roy Keane saga during the buildup, Damien Duff, Matt Holland and Gary Kelly have stepped up as *the* men to take Ireland to the next stages. With the Robbie Keane/Niall Quinn partnership reaping rewards upfront, it seems that Ireland will have at least half a chance against the Spaniards. With Raul looking his sharpest, Ireland will have to use Staunton and Breen to their full potential and have them working deep.
Now, Ireland if they go through, will take on the winner in Italy's second round game. If you have been reading *ha* you will know that it's odds on to be either Italy or the United States.
Better get the betting going lads, the Coupe de Monde has just begun.
I just got back from a vacation in Ireland, and the spirit there is unlike anything I've seen before. And they play passionate football. Even if they can't get past Spain, I'll definitely agree that "you'll never beat the Irish." There is no quit in that team.
And Spain can be beaten. Despite the 9 points, they didn't look all that strong against South Africa. Spain just hasn't had much of a challenge yet.
Repeating my earlier claim, I'm still cheering for "Anybody but Italy." Come on Korea!
Except that, certainly in my limited experience, these stadia have some of the best links to public transport you'll find. So lots of people still choose to drive. There is such a thing as a designated driver.