Jen loves Clark!

Just a quick update to squee over yesterday's consolation final, which just may have been the match of the tournament. It helps of course that Germany won, but it was more than that. With nothing to lose, the two teams both played aggressively, with back-and-forth action that had me enthralled.
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So now its on to the big game. I think Spain is vulnerable because of their inability to score a lot of goals, meaning the other team will always be hanging around. And the Oranje have always looked to be one of the best teams at this tournament, even if they haven't quite clicked yet. I'm thinking this one may well be a 1-1 tie through over-time, and it might well come down to penalty kicks. I'm hoping the Dutch will pull through.

First off, thank you to tyffi, duskwillow, tallihensia, twinsarein and tasabian for the lovely profile gifts. I now have 5 footballs, matching the number of goals in the England-Germany match. (I wonder if I'll now get a sixth from an England supporter, for reasons that will be very obvious to anyone who even casually is following the Cup.)

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Friday turned out to be a disappointing day at the World Cup, especially considering that the top 3 teams in the world were playing. But that's sometime how it goes if teams don't need to do much in order to advance, making me appreciate the earlier play of Argentina and the Netherlands all the more.

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But now the playoff brackets are set and the real nail biting can begin. The US plays Ghana today (@2:30 EST) in what I think will be a very entertaining match. The US must consider itself lucky to have escaped Germany in the draw, and will have visions of making it to the semi-finals. On the other hand, Ghana is the lone African nation left in the tournament and should effectively have home field advantage - never to be underestimated in a football match.

The other match has Uruguay going up against Korea in what is expected to be an easy win for the South American team. Don't expect a lot of goals in this one.

( playoff bracket )

No surprises as the 3rd round of group play began in groups A and B. The teams we expected to see win and advance to the round of 16 did so. And a one-time favourite that looked on the verge of self destruction succumbed, to the grief of some and the amusement of others.

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The Samba Kings ruled the pitch and served warning to the rest of the contenders. While the African teams have largely been a disappointment, and the European teams have yet to show their best, the South American teams look formidable.
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Yay! After a week of mostly sluggish play, today was the day the World Cup really heated up. It seems that Germany isn't the only team interested in winning this thing!

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World #1 Brazil versus North Korea - should be a goal scoring bonanza, right? I wish!

( World Cup update )

But first, the amazing Zenyatta going for a modern day record of 17 straight wins. Watch and marvel!



( and now for the World Cup )

Being Canadian, football (soccer in the US and Canada) isn't exactly in my blood - my favorite team sports are American football and, of course, hockey. But the World Cup is something I've always enjoyed immensely. The joy of yet again not qualifying for the World Cup final is that I can pretty much pick and choose which teams to support. England is my default team followed by Germany, but I reserve the right to change my allegiance as the tournament goes on based on quality of play.

( daily update under the cut - mostly for my amusement )