What have we learned so far?

I spent the better part of Saturday amongst friends and the wifey watching the USA/England game and then embarking on a marathon bar brawl through Carmel, IN. The cool part was the fact that the bar where we watched the game was full and it was full for the game, not for some other reason. That being said, it was a young crowd, maybe because it was a bar or maybe because the younger generation(s) have more of an interest in the game as we have grown up in a more tech friendly/internet, globalized, everything all the time place and have been exposed to more international football. Another argument for another day.

Anyways, onto football...

USA 1, England 1. If you are American, for the most part, it felt like a victory, taking a point from the English. The English media had really talked up their team and did not seem to take America seriously. Too bad for them. USA created some decent chances and were a couple of Robert Greene saves away from winning 3-1 or 3-2. England also had their chances, but Tim Howard had a massive massive game and showed why he is one of the highest regarded keepers in the English Premiership.

The sad thing about this game is that it is going to be remembered for Robert Greene's "howler," as the commentator put it...rather than a game where USA played tough, created some good chances and were generally able to shut down Wayne Rooney. Or a game where England started brilliantly, looked dangerous in attack in certain moments, but had trouble breaking down USA and Tim Howard. Nope, it will be the Robert Greene game, especially if somehow this result enables USA to finish top of the group and dodge Germany in the round of 16. I know, I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but thats the way this thing could be viewed...you never know.

I'll pile on and be 'doom and gloom' even though it may not matter. Lets not forget that the bulk of this England team is the same England team that failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Maybe...GASP, they aren't that great. Maybe they are and maybe the manager has made a difference and they are just off to a slow start. Like I said earlier, you never know...at least at this point in the competition, but, I think its worth pointing out that this team and the Euro team are quite similar.

There has been lots of talk about the ball (jabulani) and about the Vuvuzelas. The ball is the ball and everyone had the chance to train with it, get used to it, etc. So, boo-hoo, get over it. Complaints about the ball happen at every major tournament. As for the Vuvuzelas...unless your TV is specifically tuned to this sound, it just sounds like bees buzzing in the background, let it go...it is a part of the tournament experience in South Africa...if you don't like it, don't schedule the tournament there. I'd rather hear that than hear English fans singing away the game against USA, maybe not, but you get my point. Also, FIFA had a chance to address this issue during last summer's Confederations Cup and chose to take no action during or after the Confederations Cup. The players were aware that this horn would be in use by the fans. So Leo Messi, I know it makes communications tougher, but perhaps Mr. Maradona should have practiced with an elevated noise level prior to the World Cup. Teams from all sorts of different sports practice with pumped-in noise in order to better simulate a stadium environment...and every World Cup team had a chance to do that prior to the tournament.

Germany 4, Australia 0

USA better hope they win their group, because Germany looked terrifying. Great finishing, ice water veins in front of goal, and stout defending have made Germany the most impressive team so far...Brazil and Spain have yet to play. Podolski (Cologne) and Klose (Bayern Munich), who had terrible seasons for their club teams in Germany, scored the first two goals of the tournament for the Germans. It makes Low look like a genius of a manager and atones for not bringing the in-form Kevin Kuranyi to South Africa.

Aside from the Germany game, this has been a low low scoring tournament with 11 of the 26 teams that have so far failing to score a goal in their opening match. There have also been two 0-0 encounters (France/Uruguay, Ivory Coast/Portugal). Some have blamed the ball for the low scoring due to its unpredictable ball flight, but by that rationale one could also argue that the unpredictable ball flight should or could confuse goal keepers and lead to more goals. I think we'll know a lot more of how this tournament is going to unfold in terms of goalscoring once we see Brazil and Spain play and notch another round of group games.

I will admit my first wrong prediction. I had Japan finishing bottom of their group...which could still happen, but now that they have three points, they are in the drivers seat to advance. Honda's goal was well taken and poised. He collected the ball, kept his composure and was able to score the goal; well done and I eat my words.

I'm not surprised by Italy's result, they are historically slow starters and credit must be given to Paraguay for hanging on and not conceding a second, momentum had swung in Italy's favor. The injury to their keeper, Gigi Buffon worries me because if his nerve problem is as bad as it sounds, we may not see him for the remainder of the tournament, which is a shame because he's one of the very best in the world and is entertaining to watch. Age and ability to score the necessary goal look to remain Italy's major concerns, but they've been here before and should be able to handle the stress of the tournament, I still like them to make it out of their group.

I didn't get to watch the Ivory Coast/Portugal game, but it must have been a drag to watch two of the best goal scorers in the world (Drogba and Ronaldo) fail to find the back of the net. If Brazil get the points against North Korea, that group is well on its way towards being a slam dunk for Brazil. The race for 2nd could be very very interesting.

Thats all for now.