World Cup Day 5: USA Slays Some Demons

The highlight of day five was clearly John Brooks's 86th minute header that won the match for the USA against Ghana. The goal came mere minutes after the Black Stars equalized when Andre Ayew received a pass at the top of the box and slotted a shot passed Tim Howard. The USA had been hanging on in full defensive mode ever since Clint Dempsey scored the fasted goal in US World Cup history when he found the inside of the far post 29 seconds in.

The atmosphere at Thomas Magee's with the American Outlaws- Detroit Chapter was electric right from the get go. Chants were being belted out well before kickoff.

Thomas Magee's shortly before kickoff.

There is nothing like watching a World Cup match in a bar packed full of fans. Thankfully, we were all allowed to go home happy after Brooks's late headed threw the entire establishment into bedlam.

The USA were far from perfect despite the 3 points. They allowed Ghana far too much possession for me to feel comfortable heading into a match against a more skilled Portugal team. If they allow Portugal that much of the ball, they will break down the American defense plenty faster than Ghana did. And the USA might not get as many counter attacking chances either.

One argument for why Ghana had so much possession was how the first minute goal changed the complexion of the game. That goal allowed the United States to play more defensively and not take as many chances up the pitch. This is true, to a certain extent, but with so much time to play, I don't think the USA should have played so defensively. In this World Cup, teams that have played with the intent of not conceding goals have gone on to lose games. Just ask the Japan. They scored early, and the more skilled Ivory Coast team eventually broke down their conservative play. The USA will have to be careful not to be overly defensive against Portugal.

While the midfield played well behind the ball, they have some work to do if they want to get a result against Portugal. Michael Bradley, in particular was hardly present at all last night. Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman, despite man of the match level defensive performances, both hardly did anything to facilitate US possession. The only midfielder who played well the whole match was Clint Dempsey, someone who is rarely asked to play defense.

The USA also have injury woes to deal with all of a sudden. Jozy Altidore had the look of a man who's World Cup was over when he was stretchered off with a hamstring injury just after the 20 minute mark. Matt Besler also had some hamstring issues causing him to be subbed out for the previously mentioned John Brooks at halftime. Clint Dempsey suffered an incidental kick to the face that broke his nose, but finished the game strong and should play full minutes against Portugal.

Speaking of the Portuguese, they will be desperate for some points after they got slaughtered by Germany 4-0. The Germans played their game the whole way through and took advantage of some very dumb mistakes by their opponents. Portuguese defender Pepe was sent off in the first half for a silly headbutt on Thomas Muller. He will miss the USA match. Other center back Fabio Contrao will likely miss that one as well with a muscle injury that forced him to be stretchered off early in the second half.

The lack of strength in the Portuguese defense should allow the USA more chances to score, assuming they can wrestle the ball away from Ronaldo and Portugal's strong attacking threat.

Ronaldo was pretty much a non-factor in the match against Germany. That shouldn't make any Americans comfortable. You can't expect the second best player in the world to be non-existent for two consecutive matches.

The other match of the day was the first draw of the tournament as Nigeria and Iran both failed to score a goal. Not much to really say about this relative dud, but Nigeria did have more chances. The main point to come out of this one was that it looks like Bosnia-Herzegovina should have no problem taking on these two sides on route to a second place finish in Group F.

Today's matches see the conclusion of the first round of group stage games and the return of the favored host nation of Brazil.

Starting at noon, Belgium starts their World Cup quest against Algeria. The Desert Foxes from North Africa haven't scored a World Cup goal since 1986, and likely won't find one against group favorites Belgium. I am calling for a 2-0 Belgian win. At 4pm Brazil returns to action against Mexico. In what figures to be the toughest test for the tournament favorites, I expect them to hang on, barely, with a 2-1 win. Finally, at 7pm, the first round of play concludes with Russia taking on South Korea. For a game that won't get much hype, this one should be fairly entertaining. Two teams that have very few familiar players can often play great football. Russia won 2-1 in a friendly back in November, but I think Korea gets a result this time around. The teams share the points with a 1-1 draw.

While nothing can beat the excitement of last night for the home fans, today should still be a ton of fun. So enjoy the games and I'll be back here tomorrow.

World Cup Day 4: Late Winner and Messi Being Messi

Day four might not have brought us anything unexpected, but we certainly saw plenty of excitement. It began with the first match of the day between Switzerland and Ecuador.

In what was sure to be a 1-1 draw, Switzerland managed to get a break at the 11th hour. In the final minute of stoppage time, Ecuador's star Antonio Valencia found Michael Arroyo in the top of the box, but he was unable to get a shot away. The Swiss quickly gained possession and hauled down the pitch. After the ref played advantage on a foul, Ricardo Rodriguez found himself wide and swung a perfect cross to Haris Seferovic who only needed one touch to find the roof of the net. If Robin van Persie's first goal against Spain was the most impressive goal of the tournament, this one had to be the most exciting, so far.

France took care of business like many thought they would against Honduras. Karim Benzema showed why he has plenty of hype by netting a pair in the 3-0 rout of the CONCACAF minnows.

In the night cap, Argentina played out a predictable score against newbies Bosnia-Herzegovina. The highlight of the match came in the 66th minute when Lionel Messi showed why he is the best player in the world. He evaded four Bosnian defenders, including one that tripped him up. Messi easily could have flopped to the floor for a foul, but instead he carried on, set the ball on his right foot and tucked a shot in off the near post. Just, you know, Messi being Messi.

Bosnia-Herzegovina also scored in their World Cup debut. In the 84th, Vedad Ibisevic slipped a shot between the legs of Sergio Romero to make the score 2-1. The monumental moment was not enough, however, as that ended up the final score.

Despite the defeat, Bosnia have plenty of reasons to be proud of their first World Cup experience. They controlled play for significant portions of the game, and even threatened to take a point in a match against one of the favorites to win it all. I certainly think Bosnia-Herzegovina will make their way out of Group F and into the knockout rounds.

Goal scoring continues to double the pace of 2010. Another day of goals saw the total rise to 37 through 11 matches, compared to only 18 four years ago. Will today's action follow suit?

We open with a real cracker as highly touted Germany play Portugal in the opener for Group G. Despite being less than 100% with knee tendinosis, Christiano Ronaldo will play for Portugal. I doubt even his presence will be enough, I call for a 3-1 German victory. In the middle, we get Nigeria and Iran. Nigeria could make a run at second place in Group F and a win against also-ran Iran would be a good start. The African side wins this one 1-0.

Finally, tonight we see the opener for the United States. They go up against the team that eliminated them from each of the previous two tournaments, Ghana. This is the most winnable of the USA's three games, and they certainly have to take all three points if they hope to advance from this highly challenging group. I think they have what it takes to get the job done, but my head will not let me pick them to win outright. I am thinking a 1-1 draw here. I dare the USA to prove me wrong though! I'll be out with the American Outlaws Detroit Chapter tonight, so give me an exciting match culminating in American victory!

Enjoy the games everyone, and be back tomorrow.

World Cup Day 3: Giant Slaying

Coming in to the tournament, Uruguay was expected to mirror the success of their 2010 semi-final run, maybe even go one step further. Only this time around, they were considered more of a favorite compared to their also-ran status in South Africa.

Their plans have been put on hold at the hands of Costa Rica, however. In what most people, myself included, thought would be a simple Uruguayan victory, Los Ticos shocked everyone. The only goal they allowed came from a justified penalty in the 24th minute.

Costa Rica's attack still didn't look extremely threatening for the remainder of the half, even after falling behind. It wasn't until shortly before Joel Campbell's equalizer that they looked capable. Three minutes after nearly scoring on a header, the Arsenal kid found himself on the receiving end of a cross in space. He had the time to take a first touch to set his shot before drilling it past a clueless Fernando Musera.

The tie score would last no more than three minutes when Christian Bolanos headed in a free kick to give Costa Rica the 2-1 lead. Just for fun, they decided to add a third in the 84th minute to finish the upset.

Uruguay certainly look a little weak in the back and seem to have an issue finding goals without Luis Suarez, who rode the bench while still recovering from knee surgery. At first, I figured they didn't want to risk their best player against the perceived weaker opponent. Instead they wanted him healthy for the more important matches against England and Italy. I thought that after the first goal went in Suarez would at least make an appearance. And certainly after Los Ticos took the lead. But the Manchester City star striker stayed seated, and Uruguay stayed behind.

The tournament is hardly over for Uruguay. They can still beat England and Italy and find themselves in the knockout stage, but they have quite a bit of work to do if they hope to make it that far.

Elsewhere, Columbia scored a little more than expected against Greece, earning a well deserved 3-0 victory. Greece staged a few assaults on the Colombian goal, but never really threatened at all. Columbia rode their 1-0 halftime lead to two more goals in the second.

England and Italy was all the match we had hoped for. After an injury in warmups, the Azzurri were without star keeper Gianluigi Buffon, forcing me to change my prediction of a 1-0 Italian win to a 1-1 draw. That scoreline held after Antonio Candreva opened the scoring and Daniel Sturridge equalizing for England. Mario Ballotelli made sure I was wrong with a wonderful strike in the second half to give Italy the full three points.

Finally, Ivory Coast converted two headers in the second half to come back from an early goal from Japan to take em' all in their Group C opener.

Goal scoring continues to be on the rise in the 2014 World Cup. We have had 28 goals through eight matches, up from 13 in 2010. More than double the goal scoring has led to quite a bit of fun from the first three days. Many teams have emphasized attacking football and I feel that will continue. Defensive teams like Japan and Greece both fell because they were overwhelmed with strong attacks and not countering at all. Japan, in particular, turtled heavily after taking an early lead allowing Ivory Coast to run their offense. The Samurai Blues dared them to breakdown their defense and when you dare a skilled team to do something, they almost always will do it. Look for more attacking minded play going forward.

Also of strange note, there has not been a single draw in the first three days of action. This, for some reason, comes as a surprise to me. Especially considering we have had a matchup like England-Italy, two high profile teams that might not have much between them. I'm sure the tie games will come, but I won't complain with having a winner to every game.

Today's games should certainly bring more offense. At noon, Switzerland and Ecuador open the action in a key Group E mathcup. The Swiss are slight favorites, but I am thinking Ecuador plays them to a 1-1 draw. At 3pm, France and Honduras finish Group E's first day. Unless France does something very... well... French, they should handle the CONCACAF minnows. I am thinking a 3-0 score. Tournament giants Argentina get their campaign started at 6pm in an intriguing game against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Argentina are expected to take group F, so I expect them to win this game, but not without a strong showing from the Bosnians. I am predicting a 2-1 win for Argentina.

Enjoy the games everyone, hopefully the goals and upsets keep on flowing.

World Cup Day 2: Dutch Delight

The Netherlands were the main headline of yesterday's action as Arsenal traitor and current Manchester United star Robin van Persie gave us an early nominee for goal of the tournament. The two time Premier League Golden Boot winner turned himself into The Flying Dutchman to equalize with Spain. While the header was beautiful, we cannot forget the perfect pass from Davey Blind. Without his picture perfect delivery, van Persie never would have wowed us with his world class skills.

The Dutch were hardly done. Early in the second half Arjen Robben joined the fun with a highlight reel goal of his own. Stefan de Virj then scored his first ever national team goal with a header off a corner. van Persie and Robben would each add seconds to complete the 5-1 rout of Spain.

This is a disappointing opening for the defending world champs, but it isn't the end. They lost their opener in 2010 and that turned out alright for them. That said, they will need to switch things up a bit if they hope to make a run at a repeat. First thing might involve the benching of goalkeeper Iker Casillas. He had a poor showing yesterday and the 33 year old's age might just be catching up with him. Even a new keeper won't solve the lazy center back play, though. Spain will struggle against a heavily attacking Chile squad that made Australia look silly.

Speaking of the South American dark horses, they have to be believing in themselves after a thorough dismantling of the Socceroos (btw, Australia wins the award for best nickname of the World Cup). Their attacking style means that they will challenge Spain's suddenly suspect defense. Should Chile handle Spain on Wednesday, we could see a heck of a match against the Netherlands for the group title.

The other match yesterday saw more officiating errors that thankfully didn't affect the outcome. In a rain soaked affair, Mexico had two goals called back on questionable offside calls. The first came when Giovanni dos Santos thought he had opened the scoring on a beautiful cross, but was called offside in error. The second, also against dos Santos, was a little murkier. On a Mexican corner, the ball appeared to take a deflection off a Cameroon defender, with dos Santos, in an offside position, there to put it in he net.

Oribe Peralta made sure that those calls were irrelevant as he buried a rebound to give Mexico a 1-0 lead in the 61st minute.

The referee mistakes that highlighted the first two matches of the World Cup will hopefully be overshadowed by more beautiful goals like van Persie's and Robben's as the tournament goes forward. Despite this, these problems still remain a black stain on what has otherwise been quite an entertaining first four games. With an average of 3.75 goals per game, nobody can complain with the lack of scoring so far. With more attacking teams taking the pitch in day three, we can hope for that number to increase.

Day three brings us Columbia against Greece at noon. The Greek defense should limit goals in this one, but I expect Columbia to find a way through for a 1-0 victory. Offensive minded Uruguay against minnows Costa Rica at 3pm. Even with Luis Suarez on the bench with a knee injury, Uruguay wins easily 2-0. One of my five matches you have to watch comes at 6pm with England against Italy. This match can go either way and very well could decide who moves on and who heads home. I predict a narrow Italian victory, 1-0 EDIT: Gianluigi Buffon is reported to be out for Italians. The loss of their starting keeper means England are more likely to score. I'm switching to a 1-1 draw. Finally, at 9pm Ivory Coast takes on Japan. These two teams each have a lot to prove and I doubt much will separate them. I call for a 1-1 draw.

Enjoy the full slate of matches today, and I'll be back with more tomorrow.

World Cup Day 1: Host Nation Referee Special

It didn't start the way Brazil wanted it to. Croatia actually looked like they belonged on the same patch of grass as the hosts. They put one into their own net less than a quarter hour in. It almost couldn't have got any worse.

Then Neymar happened. The brightest young star in the game buried the equalizer and to get Brazil back on terms.

This game won't be remembered for that strike. Or for the surprising fight shown by Croatia. It will be remembered for the "penalty" called on Croatia's Dejan Lovren in the 69th minute and the subsequent flop by Fred.

Neymar, of course, nailed the penalty. But not without it going right through both hands of keeper Stipe Pletikosa. The ball almost didn't lie.

Some will say that the defender should never throw his arms over the summer of a player, daring the ref to make the call. The visitors couldn't reject to get the benefit of the doubt against Brazil, in Brazil. Many more will say that the flop was what got the call and it should have been let go.

In the World Cup, players need to be allowed to play. Penalties need to be few and far between, and called when obvious. A soft call like that can turn a game upside down.

And this one did. Brazil had energy and Croatia looked defeated. Oscar's goal in stoppage time had to happen. Both because Brazil had momentum and looked sure to score again. Also, to make sure that weak call wasn't the only difference between those two teams.

Many of us may have under estimated Croatia before today, but we won't anymore. If they play this week against Mexico and Cameroon, they will certainly escape this group.

In the end, after all the talk, after all the build up, the World Cup is here. The first game went about as we expected. Brazil won, and comfortably. Thankfully, this is only the beginning abs we have a whole month of this left.

Sports Desk Podcast Episode 82

I've got the fever... and the only prescription is... MORE WORLD CUP!

Lot's of World Cup fun this time around and to make sure Greg doesn't get lonely, I let him talk NASCAR for a bit.

Sports Desk 82

Sports Desk Podcast Episode 81

Greg is unhappy at the weather, but he isn't going to let that dampen his enthusiasm for the Stanley Cup Final, or the World Cup, or whatever Sprint Cup crap is going on. Anyways, we make our picks for the Cup and the Cup, but not that other Cup I mentioned.

Sports Desk 81