USA Defeat Czech Republic, Argentina & Di María Destroy Germany, England Snorefest

Yeah, not what we'd want to do on a Wednesday night in London, either...

Whew! We looked up and Argentina were beating Germany by the score of 4-0. It ended 4-2, but the point had been made. What if Di María had played in Brazil? Sure, the German squad was weak, but what if Di María had played in Brazil? He scored a goal and had three assists last night. What if Di María had played in Brazil? Conrad Leach was at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf and filed this report. Raphael Honigstein takes a closer look at the German World Cup Hangover in this fine article.

And what of the United States? They had a little party in Prague and beat the hosts 1-0 thanks to a goal from Alejandro Bedoya. It was a pretty entertaining affair, actually. Some good end-to-end stuff for a fair amount of the match. To be fair, the Czechs pretty much dominated the second half, and per usual, the Yanks had a great goalie performance (this time from Nick Rimando) to thank for preserving the win. Here's your lot:

Brian Straus: Philosophy key in U.S. victory 

Jeff Carlisle: U.S. aggression key to win

Grant Wahl: Three Thoughts

Doug McIntyre: Three Points

Player Grades

We know you'll all be shocked to hear that England's match against Norway sucked. It was drab, boring, labored, whatever synonym you want to throw in there. Sadly for Daniel Taylor, he was there and forced to file this report. You want more on that match? What is you, loco? OK, fine. You get Phil McNulty and this: England need to win their fans back.

There are two matches of interest today: France vs. Spain and Italy vs. Netherlands.

There were some matching in MLS last night. Philly, Seattle, and New England were victorious. Here's a wrap.

And finally...Mario Balotelli's new crib has a helipad.

Onward!!

-SSN