I've been home for a few days now and finally have managed to get my head around some issues and mentally sort my memories and experiences. Let's begin on the field:
England. I watch most of these guys every weekend in the EPL. It is shocking how poorly they have been performing. But the blame has to fall on Sven. He needs to allow the top guys to play in their primary positions and then go from there. All this experimenting is ludicrous. His tactics are simply holding back some of the best players in the world. When you see Gerrard and Lampard blazing over from 10 yards you know they are not comfortable. All the talk about results are what count is bologna. We'll see how they fare against Portugal.
USA. Two teams that are better than them advanced out of the group. End of story.
Mexico. I'm impressed. I gotta say it. They were a joy to watch against Argentina and took perhaps the best team in the tourny to the limit. Marquez was phenomenal in orchestrating the attack AND marshalling the defense. My neighbor Pedro is upset with Lavolpe's tactics but I don't care. I got the best of both worlds: I saw some great soccer and Mexico lost.
Germany. It's the same old story. Mayhem and poor results coming into a major tournament lead to excellent performances and advancement. The Germans are playing with such confidence and flair (yes, I said it) that you'd be hard pressed to write them off any time soon. The match against Argentina should be a classic.
Argentina. Que barbaro! They've managed to mix and match their players into a cohesive unit of great futbol. The only question mark has to be Riquelme. Look for Aimar to play a bigger role against Germany since Riquelme was tiring so much against the Mexicans.
Holland. No Ruud = no goals. Sorry Marco.
Italy. Are you England in disguise? Toni has been attending the Frank Lampard School of Finishing and like England Italy's talent seems to go wasted. Their draw leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Ukraine in the Quarters? It's just not fair. And I'm not even an Aussie.
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