Days 3 & 4

Day 3.  I missed the Colombia-Greece game, and the writeups afterward did not inspire me to watch a replay.  Costa Rica beat Uruguay 3-1, and the Uruguayans did not look good.  Also nice to see the rest of the world appreciate how difficult an opponent CR (and Joel Campbell) can be.  Ivory Coast beat Japan 2-1, and it was an enjoyable game.  To date this World Cup has seen a lot more "positive" soccer, which is nice for neutrals.  I'd watch the games no matter what, of course.

The best match of Day 3 was England-Italy, which Italy won 2-1.  Italy delivered a controlled, mature performance and won deservedly.  England, oddly, did not mark Pirlo, which allowed Italy to run the game at their desired pace.  Nor did England mark Italy's right winger Candreva, and he caused a lot of problems, including delivering the cross to Balotelli that resulted in the winning goal.  I presume Rooney was supposed to mark (or at least occasionally trouble) Candreva, but he didn't.  Indeed, Rooney was quite poor overall, except for a beautiful cross to Sturridge that led to England's goal.   England tired badly in the second half of the second half, but wouldn't have beaten Italy even at full fitness.  I'm still bullish on England, because they played considerably better than they have in past tournaments.  I think England will go through ahead of Uruguay.

Day 4.  Switzerland-Ecuador was not particularly exciting until Switzerland scored in the 93rd minute to win 2-1.  I don't see either team beating France, who looked very, very good in beating Honduras 3-0.  The Hondurans were brutish as always, and Palacios was sent off after two yellows.  France has a lot of talent, and, in contrast to South Africa, appears unified and tranquil.  Total score of the last three France matches: 15-0.   Admittedly, their victims were Norway, Jamaica, and Honduras, but still.

Today is Day 5, and the most important USMNT match in four years kicks off at 5pm CT.  In the last three Cups, the USMNT has won ('02), lost ('06) and tied ('10) their first match.  I remember all three matches vividly: the pure delight of 2002, the sickening disappointment of 2006, and the guarded optimism of 2010.   That's the thing about USMNT World Cup matches: you never know whether it's going to feel like Christmas or a funeral.  I predict Christmas!