Day 2

The Netherlands demolished Spain 5-1.  Van Persie's headed swan-dive goal is the goal of the tournament so far.   I have long been a fan of Spain but predicted this tournament would be the end of their run (although I tapped England to do the honors).  Spain are still alive, of course, and could very well beat both Chile and Australia and advance.  But, like last year's 3-0 defeat to Brazil, this game showed Spain's expanding vulnerabilities.  They are slower, more easily fatigued, and considerably worse on defense and in goal.  The classy Casillas was awful, which is not a complete surprise, given his deteriorating club performance over the last two seasons, but still: yikes.

Chile 3, Australia 1.  Chile is a joy to watch, and at first it looked like they might beat Australia 10-0.  But after furious 20 minutes, the game settled, and Australia found its way back into the match.   At no time was the game conservative or closed; bell-to-bell it was an extremely open match and was really fun to watch.  I don't see Chile going far in the tournament because I don't see how they will defeat strong counterattacking sides (like Brazil, who Chile rates to meet in the round of 16).  But I hope they go far, because every minute of Chile contests are exciting.   I also hope Arturo Vidal recovers fully, because he was clearly still injured in this game, and he's a super-exciting player. 

FF

Drinking is good but not for officials

The first two matches of Brazil 2014 were Brazil-Croatia and Mexico-Cameroon.  Both had horrifically bad officiating. 

Croatia came out with an aggressive lineup and it paid off.   Eleven minutes in, Marcelo misplayed a low cross into an own-goal, Croatia went up 1-0, and the stadium fell silent.  Neymar equalized at 29' on a shot the Croatian keeper probably should have saved.  After the break, interestingly, the Croats had quality possession; they looked a threat to score, and, at the very least, they were not going to go quietly.  The game-changing event was Yuichi Nishimura's decision to award a penalty for an imaginary foul on Fred in the box.  That penalty call was, to borrow from Didier Drogba, a "total f*cking disgrace."  Neymar (barely) converted the penalty and Oscar added a goal in injury time (which, incidentally, was the direct result of an uncalled foul on a Croatian player).  Brazil played poorly -- Dani Alves was near-embarrassing --  but still won 3-1 on the back of atrocious refereeing.  If Brazil continues to play this way, they will not win the Cup.

As a USMNT fan I (of course) dislike Mexico.  But for them two (!) legitimate goals against Cameroon were negated as offside.  Perhaps the insanely driving rain blinded the officials.  But both goals were clearly good.  Mexico (rightfully) went on to win 1-0, although Cameroon was utterly terrible.  Terrible.  Given the reputable clubs many of their players play for, it was surprising how bad Cameroon were.  I hope Ghana plays as poorly.

Spain-Netherlands up next.  Here's hoping the officiating improves.

FF

The time is now, the place is here, the whole damn world is fillled with cheer

Another four year wait, over.  The 2014 World Cup starts tomorrow.   Some predictions, of varying distance from the consensus:

• Brazil wins, and if not them, Argentina.  Neymar will win the Golden Boot, but Messi will have a better tournament.
• England will surprise and make the semis, beating Spain along the way, with Raheem Sterling having a breakout performance.
• The United States will go through (with five points), along with Germany.  Michael Bradley will make the all-tournament team.  There will be clear instances where Landon Donovan will be missed.
• Mathieu Valbuena and Paul Pogba (the soccer versions of Fred and Ted) will impress neutrals.
• Several of the above predictions will be embarrassingly wrong.

FF