I'm still just coming to grips with what I saw yesterday.
The Germans have themselves to blame for not reacting sooner to the lunatic Spanish ref who showed six yellow cards for the first six fouls in the game. Klose has been around long enough & played in enough World Cup games to know better. Still nine yellow cards were shown & maybe two at the most were legit.
I can't really blame Poldi for the weak penalty attempt though, because these things happen from time to time, but he is a striker that has been struggling all year & I can't help but feel that Schweinie, Oezil or Khedira should have stepped up instead.
I still think the Germans will finish top of the group in spite of the loss.
As for the Yanks, well they can blame the ref all they want for the blown call, which it clearly was, but they really only have themselves to blame.
It was a collective sleepwalk that put them down by two goals in the first half, forcing them to produce one of the most furious comebacks we'll likely see at this World Cup, or any other for that matter.
They went from disaster to hope in the second half. Then they were robbed. If they had played that furiously from the start, they would not have needed the Edu goal, which was surely legitimate.
The ref has not yet explained his call, nor has FIFA, other than stating that it was for a foul in the box & not an offside call. One thing is for sure, nobody will see the ref from Mali in the second round. He will surely be sent home — no explanation, of course.
Then there was that horrid England performance, or lack of one I should say. How can a team with so much talent play so poorly? They sure could learn a thing or two about teamwork & fighting spirit from a bunch of second rate players from the U.S. of A. Now they have it all to do against Slovenia, who will likely be a tougher opponent than either of the Group C teams England has already faced.
If they do manage to beat Slovenia they will need to hope that the Yanks lose to Algeria (which is quite possible) or they will finish 2nd in the group & have to face the Germans in the next round. The Americans (myself included) will be pulling for a draw or England to win, as that would give us the top spot in the group (provided we beat Algeria, of course). Don't be surprised if Slovenia & Algeria are the actual teams to advance from the group however.
And this is a goal no matter how you look at it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGc6Kld7nzc[/youtube]
Today's predictions:
Holland 2, Japan 0
Ghana 1, Australia 0
Denmark 1, Cameroon 1