Sports

The day has finally arrived. The United States square off with the Desert Foxes of Algeria in a match that will decide their fate here at World Cup 2012. Win and they move on. Lose and they go home. Draw and, given a set of circumstances, they hang around.

You’ve all seen or heard the scenarios. The simplest way for the US to avoid any doubts and possibly win Group C is to simply w-i-n.

How do they do that Kirk? Well curious reader, here are the three players that are going to do it:

1. Landon Donovan

It goes without saying, but Landon Donovan is the barometer of this team. Another big day from him and the United States can start preparing for whomever emerges out of Group D. If he disappears like he’s been known to do in big games, its another disappointing end to the World Cup for the United States. Landon sparked the US in the 2nd half against Slovenia and looked brilliant for the second :45 minutes. Lets hope he’s got more in store for us today.

2. Oguchi Onyewu
There’s no way to describe how awful Onyewu was against Slovenia. I’ll cut him a little slack because he’s still working his way back from injury, but if he continues to be a defensive liability, Bob Bradley has got to make a change. Algeria will be looking to push the pace today and Gooch will be key to making sure the back four hold steady against barrages from the Desert Foxes.

3. Whatever midfielder is paired with Michael Bradley
So much has been made about who the United States’ second striker should be, that people forget that the US’ main guy hasn’t put a ball in the net yet. Jozy needs to get on the scoresheet today. Maybe pairing him with Donovan or Dempsey up top (and letting Stuart Holden or Benny Feilhaber take over duties on the wing) would give him a more confident player up top to feed him chances.

Then again, what do I know? More than Alexi Lalas.

After scoring a 24 (that’s right Mac… 24) on Vuvuzela Hero, I’m once again in the mood to offer up some World Cup picks.

After today, we’ll know the fates of Groups A and B. The final slate of group matches get underway today with four intriguing contests. To prevent tomfoolery, matches within the same group are being played simultaneously, so be prepared to do some channel flipping.

France v. South Africa (10am)
The French side made headlines for refusing to practice on Sunday. The player-led protest was sparked by the dismissal of Nicolas Anelka. The French striker was let go after a verbal confrontation with coach Raymond Domenech.

To Domenech’s credit, Anelka shouldn’t have been on the team anyway… he’s not that good. I’m still shocked that Karim Benzema and Sam Nasri were kept off the squad… those guys make Anelka look like a chump.

All this whining and striking has brought to light just how miserable Les Blues have performed at this World Cup, scoring 0 goals in two matches and looking lifeless in the process.

Bafana Bafana will be looking to give their country some form of hope by pulling off the three points today. I wouldn’t be surprised if the French walk off the field before the game is over.

Prediction: South Africa wins

Uruguay v. Mexico (10am)
Both teams advance with a draw, and they know it. But, Argentina lurks in the second round for the team unfortunate enough to finish second in the group. With spectors of Messi dancing in their heads, you can imagine that there will be a strong incentive for both sides to win.

Prediction: Draw

Argentina v. Greece (2:30pm)
La Albiceleste have already punched their ticket to the knockout stages by running roughshod over Group B. The Greeks, tied for second with South Korea, are looking for a chance to sneak their way into the final 16.

Even with some of its starters resting, I still don’t see a lot of let up in Maradona’s squad. Greece isn’t a team well adapted to creating its own attacks, I just don’t see how they intend to muster up the offense to get by Argentina.

Prediction: Argentina wins

Nigeria v. South Korea (2:30pm)
Despite two losses, Nigeria would like you to believe that they still have a chance to make it out of the group stage. Sorry, not going to happen. Given their goal differential, Nigeria would need to win today and have Argentina beat Greece.

Now that I think about it, that isn’t too unlikely a scenario. The Super Eagles looked much better against Argentina than the South Koreans did. Crazier stuff has happened.

Prediction: Nigeria wins

Portugal v. North Korea (7:30am)
The question isn’t who will win, its by how much. Portugal needs all the goals it can get to assure it advances out of the group.

Prediction: Portugal wins 3-0

Chile v. Switzerland (10am)
The Swiss looked good against Spain in their first match. When you play in between soccer powerhouses Italy, Germany, and France, its easy for people to forget about you. I like how their defense was able to slow Spain’s otherwise torrid attack down and the Swiss had a number of good scoring opportunities in that game.

Prediction: Switzerland wins

Spain v. Honduras (2:30pm)
Spain needs to get back on its horse and start winning games again, Honduras is the perfect opponent for that occasion.

Prediction: Spain wins

No predictions yesterday, but trust me, I would have been right. Another great slate of games features the defending champions AND the return of the Group of Death.

Paraguay v. Slovakia (7:30am)
I’m having trouble keeping it straight between Slovakia, Slovenia, and Serbia. These Europeans need to be more creative with their names.

Paraguay is fresh off a hard-earned draw with Italy, while Slovakia struggled against a lesser New Zealand squad. I think the South Americans are the better team, and they’ll prove it today.

Prediction: Paraguay wins

Italy v. New Zealand (10am)
New Zealand shut Slovakia down with a frustrating defense and a late equalizer. Still, I think the Italians will be more composed than the Slovakians were. Everyone is ripping on Italy for being over-the-hill, but I still think they’re a squad capable of making noise.

Prediction: Italy wins

Brazil v. Ivory Coast (2:30pm)
This is a tough match to pick. Drogba looks healthy and will get the start, but he struggled against Brazilian defender Lucio when the two met back in Champions League play.

Brazil didn’t look overly impressive, struggling against North Korea before winning 2-1. Kaka has been a disappointment in the midfield for Real Madrid and continued his poor performance in the opening match. While Robinho looked good against North Korea, I’ll take his dismal showing at Manchester City as the better indicator of how he plays against top flight competition.

Prediction: Draw

Slovenia star Charles Brown will miss this match after being injured kicking field goals

If the US team was flying high after their draw with England, they were likely brought back to earth by the late goal which gave Slovenia a 1-0 over Algeria and an advantage atop the standings of Group C.

The US now finds themselves in the unfortunate position of needing a win. A draw will likely kill their chances of making it out of the group. A loss certainly nixes their hopes for the knockout round.

Slovenia is not a pushover. Just ask Russia. The Slovenes are known for their defense and have been in top form long before this tournament started. While the Americans might be the favorite, the Green Dragons are more than capable of pulling off an upset.

So what exactly does the United States have to do in order to pull out the three points they desperately need? After the break I’ll discuss three things they should do and three key players to watch for while you’re swilling beer and pretending to care about soccer. (more…)

Week two of the World Cup is officially underway. Boy what a first week its been. Argentina have looked dominant, Spain has looked impotent, and the French looked… well… French. Lots of important games are still to be played in the group stages, especially today, as the United States and England fight for their lives in a pair of Group C contests.

This guy knows the Germans make good products

Germany v. Serbia (7:30am)
I don’t know how I feel about the decision to put this Group D matchup before the two Group C contests. I had hopes of killing time at the office by watching this on ESPN 3.

Poland’s err, Germany’s strikers, Lukas Podolski and Miroslov Klose demonstrated their ability to shred a defense by taking Australia to the woodshed in the opening matchup. Everyone seemed ready to hand the group over to the Germans after their 4-0 win.

Not so fast. Australia’s defense isn’t that good… and the way they marked, they deserved to lose 10-0. Germany will face a tougher task in Serbia. The Serbs fought tooth and nail with a scrappy Ghana squad before falling on a late penalty kick. They’ll have desperation on their side as they attempt to play their way pack into consideration for the knockout stages.

Prediction: Germany wins

Slovenia v. United States (10am)
Slovenia through this entire group into flux with their late goal against Algeria. As group leaders, they can sit back and play their trademark defensive style of play. I am not exaggerating when I say that the Slovene defense is stifling.

Still, the US has the better stable of players. At some point, that has to count for something.

Prediction: Draw

This James Carr is a true American. WUOG's James Carr... not so much

England v. Algeria (2:30pm)
Englishmen and women everywhere will spend their day in the pub anticipating England v. Algeria when they could be doing more productive things, like going to the dentist.

Benedict Carr will likely be somewhere watching it. He may have burned his bridges at Royal Peasant, but that’s what he gets for expecting a huge English ex-pat community to exist in tiny Athens, GA.

Algeria’s best shot is if team advisor Zinedine Zidane steps on the pitch for them. Then again, England might be the kind of team to let another win slip through their fingers.

Prediction: England win

Great post from Mac Little about the art of the flop. For those of you complaining about the flopping that takes place on the pitch, I have two words for you: Paul. Pierce.

I got rocked on my picks yesterday. I’d like to send a hearty “thanks, jerk” to Diego Forlan and the entire Swiss team.

Luckily there are some sure things today.

Argentina v. South Korea (7:30am)
South Korea looked very good in their opening round match against Greece. But, come on, this is the Argentines we’re talking about. Maradona won’t screw it up until the quarterfinals, at least. Prediction: Argentina wins

Greece v. Nigeria (10am)
To say that Greece played poorly against South Korea would be an understatement. The Greek defense  was pitiful at marking and seemed to have never seen a through ball before. If Nigeria can win this one, they’ll set up a do or die contest with South Korea to determine who makes it out of Group B. Prediction: Nigeria wins

Mexico v. France (2:30pm)
I don’t know why this one was made the prime-time game. Mexico is overrated and France looks like it would rather be watching existential films. If the French decide to show up, they can win this match. I don’t think they do. Prediction: Draw

Chile v. Honduras (7:30am)
The general rule of thumb is that South American teams are way better than Central American teams. That’s the case in this one.

Prediction: Chile wins

Spain v. Switzerland (10am)
Someone at the FIFA offices loves Switzerland. In 2006, the Swiss found themselves in an easy group with France, Togo, and South Korea. Switzerland opened play by drawing the French and went on to win the group.

This Spanish side is a little banged up, but I don’t see them having the same kind of troubles with the Swiss.

Prediction: Spain wins

South Africa v. Uruguay (2:30pm)
This is a tough one to put a finger on. South Africa looked very good against Mexico last Friday. Meanwhile, Uruguay looked sluggish and downright disappointing in their opener.

It’s Youth Day in South Africa, commemorating the start of the 1976 Soweto riots, when South African police opened fire on a group of black South African school children.

This as an important day in South Africa and Bafana Bafana will be looking to celebrate in style.

Prediction: South Africa wins

Another day, another slate of games for me to correctly predict. Day 5 looks to be the best day of this World Cup so far. Today we’ll see the debut of fan-favorite Brazil, some ridiculous hair, and the opening of the Group of Death.

No word on whether these two will be in the starting lineup

New Zealand v. Slovakia (7:30am)
This one seems pretty straight forward, New Zealand isn’t that good. Still the Kiwis are the style of team that may be able to give Slovakia trouble. I don’t think this is going to be the blowout everyone is expecting it to be.

Still, with Paraguay and Italy drawing yesterday, a win would put Slovakia in a great position to make it out of the group. This game hinges on the uber talented Marek Hamsek is the key to this game. New Zealand hasn’t seen a guy as crafty and dynamic as him. If the mohawked maestro has a big day, Slovakia coasts to a win.

Prediction: Slovakia wins

This is why your girlfriend is watching the World Cup

Ivory Coast v. Portugal (10am)
To say that this is the most talent-laden opening game would be an understatement.

This opening salvo to the Group of Death lost a lot of luster when Didier Drogba went down with a broken arm in a pre-tournament tune-up. The tournament’s best striker has been cleared to play with a protective cast on his arm, so we’ll see how effective he can be. Even without Drogba, Cote d’Ivoire is still blessed with top-shelf talent. Salomon Kalou and Yaya Toure are part of a talented young squad with loads of European experience.

Portugal is suffering from the loss of their front-line winger Nani. They’re going to need someone to step up and compliment superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Speaking of the hair-gelled Ronaldo, Portugal will be looking for him to finally score a goal. He was held scoreless throughout qualifying and there are concerns about when he’ll finally get on the board.

Prediction: Draw

Had to un-sexy this blog somehow

Brazil v. North Korea (2:30pm)
For those expecting to see the open and expressive offense Brazil is known for, you’ll be leaving this game disappointed. Brazilian manager Dunga has scrapped Joga Bonito in favor of a defensive minded counter-attacking strategy. The result has been a return to success, including the 2009 Confederations Cup title.

This new strategy hinges on Kaka, a guy who disappointed in his stint at Real Madrid this season. If he’s able to feed the ball up front to Luis Fabiano, the Brazilians are certainly the favorites.

North Korea will be an interesting team to watch. They aren’t very good, but their coach has information relayed to him by Kim Jong-Il via a covert earpiece. It’s also suspected that the North Koreans will employ an 8-1-1 formation in an attempt to avoid a blowout.

If anything, watch for the zaniness that North Korea provides.

Prediction: Brazil wins

Hey guys, I’m back for another day of World Cup picks. I’m working on some other things, so today’s picks will be shorter than recent editions.

Denmark v. The Netherlands (7:30am)
Has the opportunity to be the best game today. Lots of top shelf talent on both sides. Denmark has Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner. The Dutch lay claim to Real Madrid’s Rafael van der Vaart and Bendtner’s Arsenal teammate Robbie van Persie.

The two squads have a lot of experience with one another, so there’ll likely be no surprises.

Prediction: Netherlands wins

Japan v. Cameroon (10am)
Cameroon.

Prediction: Cameroon wins

Italy v. Paraguay (2:30pm)
The defending champions kick off play in Group F against the Paraguayans. Paraguay gave the English some group-play trouble in 2006 and might prove to be a feisty group mate for the Italians.

Good thing this is a late night game in South Africa, because these two defenses will put people to sleep.

Prediction: Draw