The Sad Truth For African Teams

As teams prepare for their final game in group play, I have come to the very sad realization that only one African team has a legitimate shot of moving on to the knockout round. This is not only sad due to the fact that I picked three of the six participating African nations to advance, but because they probably feel as if they've underperformed on their home continent. Disappointing play, as well as bad luck, has played a part in this sad showing. To start, South Africa is the first host nation to not advance to the knockout stage. If it weren't for Mexico scoring a goal in a moment of confusion for the South African defense, the Bafana Bafana may very well have advanced. Nigeria didn't have any points coming into today's game against South Korea, but were still in position to advance with a win. They had the perfect opportunity to do so in the 66th minute, but Nigerian striker Yakuba missed possibly the easiest shot ever. Had Yakuba capitalized on the chance and Nigeria gone on to win the game, they would have moved on to the knockout stage because of goal differential. Cameroon, who supposedly had a high octane offense that was sure to produce goals, has only scored one goal in this World Cup. They were the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the tournament, which is obviously a tough pill to swallow for a team that thought they had a legitimate shot at moving on to the knockout stage. The Ivory Coast would have had a shot at advancing if they were to win their final group play game, but didn't receive any help from North Korea. Thanks to the Korean's 7-0 loss to Portugal, the Ivory Coast would have to make up a nine goal differential in order to jump Portugal in the standings and advance.

With all that being said, the hope of the African continent lies with the Black Stars of Ghana. Leading Group D, Ghana can move on with either a win or a draw against Germany. They can also lose and potentially move on, but that situation is much more complicated, and it means that their fate is decided by another team (if you would like to learn exactly what that situation is, send me an email). I think it would be a travesty if not one African team were to move on, because South Africa hosting the World Cup is bigger than just South Africa. It is huge for the entire continent, for all the nations trying to make strides in bettering their countries and becoming respected in the world. So, sorry to all you fans of Deutschland, but along with an entire continent, I will be pulling for the Black Stars tomorrow afternoon.

As for the United States, the message is simple: win and you're in, lose and you're out, and let's not even mention the word tie. Algeria hasn't showed that they are capable of offensive firepower thus far. With that being said, pulling men back to defend would be a poor decision for Bob Bradley to make. The U.S. needs to play like they did in the second half of the Slovenia game if they want to win. This is the final game of group play, and the teams that win their final game are the teams that go out and attack and come away with goals. The U.S. is fortunate enough to be more talented than their opponent, so if they go out and attack, conventional wisdom says they should come away with the win. The entire country will be watching; if the U.S. Soccer Federation wants that to happen ever again, they better hope that the United States delivers and moves on to the Round of 16.

Eventually, I will cover Wimbledon, and although we are still in the early rounds and some big names have already been knocked out (James Blake, Fernando Verdasco, Juan Carlos Ferrero to name a few), I haven't had a chance to watch any matches and thus can't give a educated analysis on the tournament. Friday will be my first chance to watch some of the tournament, so I will likely write something about it then.



- K. Becks

World Cup Preview: Groups G and H

Who is Bryce Harper? Try "the most hyped prospect in pro sports" since Lebron James. Think Stephen Strasburg has been hyped? It's not even close to the kind of hype that Harper has been receiving. He played high school baseball for two years, then as a seventeen year old enrolled in junior college in hopes of facing better competition. It apparently doesn't matter that he was the youngest guy on the field, because he tore up his junior college league as well. Harper is Ken Griffey Jr., Jorge Posada, and Joba Chamberlain rolled into one. He has a powerful bat, is very talented behind the plate, and has a cannon for an arm. I think they may already be clearing a space for Harper in Cooperstown. The bottom line is, if Harper and Strasburg end up being as good as everyone predicts they will be, then we may be talking about the Nationals as the team to beat in a few years.

Now, for my final World Cup preview, Groups G and H.

Group G
Teams: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal

Match to Watch
Ivory Coast vs. Portugal (Tuesday, June 15th)

After Didier Drogba broke his arm last Friday in an international friendly, this game got a whole lot more interesting. Portugal is essentially the "Cristiano Ronaldo Show", which he probably doesn't mind, but if Drogba's play is at all compromised because of his arm, then the Ivory Coast may have a hard time scoring. The outcome of this game could determine who moves on in Group G; and if that isn't enough to make you watch, remember that this game features arguably the second and third best forwards in the world.

Player to Watch
Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast

If any girls from my school read this blog (granted, I don't think any of them do), they will likely disagree with my pick (considering that Cristiano Ronaldo is in this group as well). However, Drogba is my favorite player in this World Cup that does not play for the United States. He plays hard, and can score against any defense on the field, especially against the ones in Group G, who (other than Brazil), are rather weak. Drogba could be a leading candidate for the Golden Boot award if his arm doesn't affect his play too much.

Final Standings

1. Brazil- They don't always get it done beautifully, but there is no denying that they still get it done. They are the favorites to win this tournament, and to Brazil, group play games are like tune-ups for the real tournament.
2. Ivory Coast- They're in the Group of Death this time around, but the Ivory Coast has about as good a shot of advancing to the knockout stage as they did in 2006. Drogba is extremely talented, but it doesn't end there. Salomon Kalou and Kolo Toure help make this team as dangerous as any in this World Cup.
3. Portugal- We will find out if Cristiano Ronaldo is capable of carrying his team on his back. It's the equivalent of Alexander Ovechkin taking his team to the Stanley Cup Finals, which as we saw, did not happen. Like Ovechkin, Ronaldo will have a tough time finding enough support to beat the likes of Brazil and the Ivory Coast.
4. North Korea- In most conversations, North Korea is not known as the "other" Korea. However, in soccer circles, they are. Unlike South Korea, the "other" Korea should just be happy to be playing.


Group H
Teams: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

Match to Watch
Honduras vs. Chile (Wednesday, June 16th)

No one is giving Honduras much of a chance, so they will likely go out and play hard, knowing they have nothing to lose. Chile, on the other hand, are many peoples' pick to move on in this group. Both teams are able to score goals, so it will be interesting to see if Chile will attack and try to score, or if they will be playing not to lose.

Player to Watch
Xavi Hernandez, Spain

This man is the backbone of a team that is looking to win their first ever World Cup. If they do, then expect this man to be the first to raise the Cup. He is possibly the best midfielder in the world, and is deadly in free kick situations. Unlike many teams, Spain won't live and die with their best player, but they will need him to play well if they expect to win the entire tournament.

Final Standings

1. Spain- This team is very solid at pretty much every position. They might as well book their hotels in South Africa past June 25th (when they play their final group play game), because they will be staying longer than that.
2. Chile- Chile is the only other team in this group besides Spain with both a solid offense and defense. They are good enough defensively to stop Honduras' offensive attack, and good enough offensively to slip a goal past Switzerland. A tie against Spain would all but end Switzerland's and Honduras' chances of advancing.
3. Switzerland- They won't excite you with their style of play, but the Swiss are very tough defensively and will make it tough on any team to get good scoring opportunities. If they can manage to put together some offensive firepower, they will find themselves with a few wins and could possibly swap positions with Chile in the final standings.
4. Honduras- As I said earlier, no one is giving this team much of a chance. However, if they somehow prevent teams from scoring at will against their porous defense, then they have the offensive weapons to pick up some points.


Tomorrow I will conclude my World Cup preview with a look at the knockout rounds, where I will eventually give my thoughts on who will be holding the Cup on July 11th.



- K. Becks