Thunderstorms and Communists

This was the day that I missed my first match of the 2010 World Cup. We went on a ride down to the coast of Maine which is always a nice thing. We ended up getting caught in a huge thunderstorm which was really fun. We went into a store to get some snacks and when we got out it was full on storm mode.

I'm not too worried about missing the game even though it ended up being one of the higher scoring affairs with Brazil beating Ivory Coast 3-1. It was a vital match for Brazil as it put them through to the next round. For Ivory Coast it was heartbreak as they now must wait for Portugal's result against North Korea tomorrow. I honestly thought Ivory Coast had enough in their squad to get decently far in this tournament even with their extremely tough draw. In the end they underperformed and likely won't be moving on. Sadly I'm not sure that any African team will be making it into the next round after many poor performances. Sad times for the continent on it's first hosting duties. When Asia hosted the cup for the first time they had a semi finalist and another round of 16 participant.

The first match of the morning was pretty straight forward. Paraguay faced off against Slovakia and put them down with ease at 2-0. There wasn't very much that the Slovakians were able to accomplish. They never looked particularly threatening to the South American side. Paraguay are enjoying one of their best World Cup runs ever and are likely to make the next round if they manage to take down the Kiwis.

Which brings us to the biggest game of the day. New Zealand vs Italy. A huge gap in terms of quality of players and the national leagues and really just about anything. Italy's national sport is 100% soccer. For New Zealand it's probably rugby, in which they've won the Rugby World Cup back in the 80s. So despite the Kiwis drawing against Slovakia in the opening round this match was certain to be pure destruction. But the Italians were shocked when they gave up a goal early on. They managed to pull their shifty tactics and get a penalty kick which they converted to pull the game to 1-1. After coming back from half time everyone expected the Italians to make up for their early blunder but they just couldn't do it. I was on edge wanting to see that pack of cheaters suffer such a humiliating result. At the final whistle nobody was able to score again and New Zealand got the biggest upset in their history in international soccer. It was a wonderful thing to watch the faces of the Italian fans in utter shock. The big boys are falling down all around the tournament... the European big boys anyway, South American teams are looking frighteningly strong.

Based on early form I expect to see a South American team in the final and maybe even win the thing. European teams are proving to be extremely shaky in this tournament, losing and drawing matches all over the place. I firmly believe that the United States can get to the second round thanks to the horrendous performance by the English squad. All we need to do to move on is to beat Algeria, which is a task our players are certainly capable of doing. Landon Donovan is lethal at the moment and if he maintains this form he'll lead this team to the quarterfinals at least. I'm actually pulling for America in sports, I'm honestly shocked. If there is one thing that these American soccer players don't represent it's the giant ego, self importance and greed of major American sports stars. They do have the heart that is present in all of our favorite historical winners. The miracle on ice was great because they were selfless amateurs. America, as does any smaller team in this tournament, represent a strong team spirit and heart for the wins. It's about the team and sacrificing to do what's best for everyone, not just the individual. Even so one of the most selfish teams in the world, Brazil, is performing strongly. Let's hope America don't have to meet them in the knockout rounds.

Tomorrow sees Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Honduras, North Korea and Chile in action. I'm expecting big things out of Spain after their opening loss.

Today's link is A Blog About History. If you know anything about me then you know I'm a huge history buff. I went so far as to minor in History in college. What that gives me is an inexhaustible insight into human history and the development of the modern world. I'm very passionate and interested in many different aspects and areas of history. So this blog is one I find particularly cool. It really is more about archaeology than it is straight history and it's presented in a way that combines recent discoveries with information it's contemporary time. Any news story that might fly under the radar but pertains to discoveries about history and such can be found here.