Copa Mundial

The World Cup so far has been amazing to watch this past week. We're only halfway through group play and already I have seen some phenomenal matches. The goal counter is up to 45 right now and there have been some great ones, but the saves have been just as good. It really is incredible how the world comes together for this magnitude of an event. I desperately wish I was there in Germany to cheer on the U.S. and German national teams (I've followed Germany since I started playing soccer as a kid). I had planned on it, but things didn't work out and now I have to be content to get up early each morning ready to go. It has been really nice having ESPN play all the matches; I've pretty much gotten to see all the ones I have wanted to. I still haven't been able to catch a German match though; looking forward to them and Ecuador.

A few other thoughts:

The U.S. team's first match against the Czechs was embarrassing. Going into it, I was worried and I figured that this would be the only loss we suffered in group play. However, I did not expect to lose 3-0 in the manner we did. Sure the Czech Republic is #2 in the world, but we #5 and a damn good soccer team. They way they played, it seemed that nobody wanted to be out there on that pitch. A lot of the players talked a big game before the start of the World Cup but they delivered on none of that talk. Landon Donavan especially has been a huge disappointment. He is the face of American soccer and he was a none factor. I still think we can do some damage and still make it to the final 16, but the players need a change in attitude fast for Italy on Saturday. Whatever the outcome, I will be in a public place cheering them on, very loud and obnoxiously.

Even with two wins, I would not be very happy if I was an Englishman. That team has played about as flat as the U.S. in both of their wins. The game last Saturday against Paraguay was awful and one of the worst matches I've seen in awhile. England seemed content to turn soccer into a kickball game and today against Trinidad & Tobago they didn't really play well either. And I still don't understand why Beckham is captaining the club; surely they could have made a better choice than that.

This might seem a bit corny, but I love the commercials that have been playing for the World Cup. The one featuring clips of the U.S. team playing abroad amongst anti-America protests to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is pretty heavy. I'm not going to lie, the first time I saw it I got a little teary-eyed. The other commerials with the U2 songs are nice too. It's nice to hear about the Ivory Coast stopping a civil war to play in the tournament. I think it is crazy how much of an impact the game of soccer has on the world and how the World Cup shuts everything down for a month. Not even the Olympics can boast that. With the Olympics, every country gets in, so it's not such a big deal. When a tiny little country makes it's first World Cup appearance in decades or even ever, that is something special.

Ecuador, Spain, and Italy are three very scary-looking teams. I would hate to be an opposing scout or manager and be forced to gameplan for these clubs. I think one of these three will go far in the tournament.

I am now officially a huge Trinidad & Tobago fan. This little club has completely won my heart. They came into this tournament with absolutely no chance of advancing to the next round and everyone expected Sweden and England to slaughter them, putting up huge goal totals. The opposite has held true. Their first match against Sweden was superb; probably one of the best and most entertaining soccer games I have seen. Time and time again they shut down the Swedish attack and held on to tie it 0-0, earning themselves a point. Shaka Hislop put up one of the best goalkeeping performances I have witnessed. I cannot praise him enough. And then after that upset, the experts and analysts wrote that game off as a fluke and promised a big loss to England. But Trinidad & Tobago held tough, almost scored on England in the first half, and played hard before tiring. Sure they gave up a goal to Crouch in the 83rd minute and a second one shortly after, but they hung around and scared the crap out of English players and fans for 82 minutes. Stern John and Cornell Glen were fantastic; what a great pair of lightning-quick strikers! I went from high to low when they scored that goal in stoppage and then had the offsides call wipe it out. I would be extremely proud to hail from Trinidad and/or Tobago after their play in these first two games. I really hope they are able to play strong against Paraguay and take home a win for their fans back home.