European Soil Does Make a Difference
Weird things seem to happen whenever a World Cup is held any place other than Europe. Big teams are sent home earlier than anticipated (see Argentina, France in 2002) and the common wisdom given is that the players just aren't comfortable outside of Europe. Well, so far, there seems to be some truth to that, as all the traditional powers have come out of their first games victorious (France's draw is the only notable exception) and appear well on their way to advancing to the knockout round.
No Shortage of Goals
That new ball moves, no doubt about it. Keepers hate it, but the fans and FIFA love it. The lack of spin causes the ball to knuckle and tail, infuriating the men who man the area between the posts. Goals scored by scored by Philipp Lahm, Torsten Frings, Tomas Rosicky, and Andrea Pirlo bear witness to that fact, and I would expect many more to come.
Africa Goes 0-For-5
Angola and Togo put out brave but non-threatening performances in their two losses. The Ivory Coast and Ghana have shown they have the talent to compete against the heavyweights (Argentina and Italy), but need to display they possess the mentality, as well. The lone African team not to lose still managed to disappoint, as Tunisia needed an injury time equalizer just to draw with lowly Saudi Arabia, who were bounced out of the last World Cup by a combined 12-0.
Upstarts Still Have Long Way to Go
The bar was set rather high for the United States, and the Ukraine wanted to show they belonged. Both failed to meet expectations, losing by a combined 7-0 to established powers Spain and the Czech Republic.
But There Were a Few Cinderella Stories
Trinidad and Tobago did the unthinkable and earned a draw with European heavyweights Sweden. Ecuador proved they don't need the altitude to wear down their opponents, defeating Poland in a stadium that was packed with Polish fans expecting an easy win.
The Superstars Are ... Where?
Going into the World Cup, the media ... hell, I saturated you with names like Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Andriy Shevchenko, Francesco Totti etc., and the truth is none of them have shown their full arsenal of tricks. Ronaldinho was pedestrian. Henry unimaginative. Shevchenko and Totti get a pass because of lingering injuries, but so farm this has not lived up to the billing of being a tournament of the stars.
Still, This Has Been a Great World Cup
Despite the absences of the superstars, the games have still been enormously entertaining. Matches have been wide open — heck, even Italy is trying to score. The average is almost two goals per game. I believe because of the added dimension the long range strike poses (thanks to that new ball) team are not content to just sit back and hang on for a victory. They must try to get that two goal margin, and it's making for some great TV. I only hope this trend continues for the rest of the World Cup.
June 16, 2006
Jeff Pohlmeyer:
Where are the superstars? They’re named Miroslav Klose, Arjen Robben, Tomas Rosicky, and after today (I know this was written before today’s matches) Lionel Messi and Hernan Crespo can be added to the list. I know it’s not the huge household names, but those players were expected to do just as well.