Recaps
Jimeny Christmas, what a day yesterday was.
Germany vs Portugal
Totally didn’t see that one coming. Germany DESTROYED Portugal yesterday 4-0. And frankly it could have been worse than that. An impressive display by the Germans, for sure. Portugal not only lost by a large score, but had two starters go down to injury and a third out for a red card. I think Portugal may be done for the tournament unless they can somehow make a miraculous comeback. They are in a worse position than Spain (who also got destroyed in Game 1) simply because of the lost players.
It doesn’t look like Ronaldo is quite 100%, and further the team didn’t really seem to gel with him that well. It could be simply because of the German defense, but I think he just isn’t integrating well. It wouldn’t be the first time a star hasn’t quite fit in.
Video Highlights (espnfc.us)
Iran vs Nigeria
Haven’t seen this match yet, but it’s already infamous for being the first draw in the 2014 World Cup. 0-0.
Video Highlights (espnfc.us)
Ghana vs United States
Another unexpected twist. This was the worst game I’ve seen the US play in probably over a decade. Overall, they were AWFUL. I mean really, really, really, really awful. The US started out like gangbusters, exactly the way you’d script it if you could. Then Altidore got hurt and that seemed to deflate the US a little. Then Dempsey got hurt and now they are playing almost a man down. Then Besler got hurt and now to start the second half you’ve used two subs you didn’t intend to use and the 3rd sub you need to keep in your pocket in case Dempsey just can’t breathe anymore. And now Ghana is pushing and pushing, and since we couldn’t string more than two passes together we kept conceding more and more space to Ghana until finally they got the equalizer.
There’s so much I’d like to write in here, but due to time constraints I’ll hold off for now, and hopefully write a separate article on the game later.
To add injury to insult, we lost Altidore in the first 20mins with a hamstring injury, then Besler gets a bad hammy too, then Dempsey gets kicked in the face (not an accident, IMO) and has a broken nose, and then Bedoya gets some sort of injury as well. Altidore is probably gone for the tournament, judging by the way he went down I’d say its an injury that lasts a few weeks, not days. That was no simple cramp like Besler had, I think he tore some muscle fibers there. Dempsey, I have no idea the recovery time for a broken nose. It doesn’t exactly affect your play, but it does make it very hard to breathe and therefore affects your endurance. Indeed, in this game Dempsey was not much of a factor after his broken nose. Bedoya’s injury I’m not overly concerned with as it seemed minimal and Zusi can step right in.
I’ll take the win, any way we can get it, but this was a really bad start for the USA.
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Preview
Belgium vs. Algeria
I know little to nothing about both of these teams, other than Belgium is usually pretty solid and Algeria is the team Donovan beat in the last World Cup. My prediction? Someone will win.
When: Noon. EST
Where: Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
TV: ESPN (English), Univision and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.)
Brazil vs. Mexico
Match of the Day. Brasil is favored, but they didn’t exactly impress against Croatia and if anyone can step up to giants, it’s Mexico. Don’t be surprised at an upset here.
This marks the start of the second game of each group.
When: 3PM. EST
Where: Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza, Brazil
TV: ESPN (English), Univision and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.)
Russia vs. South Korea
“I can see Russia from my house” Is this the softest group in the World Cup?
When: 6PM. EST
Where: Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba, Brazil
TV: ESPN (English), Univision and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.)