Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Wednesday at the Cup

Kind of a tepid day for the World Cup.  The only drama we had for a team that was not guaranteed a spot in round two was Mexico trying to get a last spot.   Angola had a mathematical chance to get in, but had to win to do it, and they didn’t.  They tied Iran 1-1, but they showed pretty well for a team that most pegged as the worst in the entire field.

Mexico proved how little of a roar they are going to make at this competition by losing the Portugal.  Next up: Argentina.  Yikes!

The next set of games formed an ironic pair.  I say ironic because the game that meant something, i.e. Argentina and Holland played for the chance to top the group and play Mexico instead of Portugal.  That game ended in a 0-0 tie, with some good run of play, but no brilliance in the box.  Not that surprising, considering all the players that both teams chose to rest.  The drive to not have to play Portugal apparently wasn’t all that important.  I guess if you can’t beat Portugal, you can just kiss any chance of beating actual contenders to the crown goodbye.

The other game between the Ivory Coast and Serbia was for nothing, as both teams had no points and crashed out of the cup after two games.  However, that game was a cracker (as the English keep saying), the Ivorians winning 3-2.  They didn’t get far, but the Ivory Coast certainly entertained.

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