2014 World Cup

I'll take Spain to repeat.

USMNT fails to advance from the Group of Death. Soccer haters show their ignorance by mocking the performance.

 

Well, I had not looked at the bracket for the knockout rounds when I posited that final. But it's still a possiblity. Germans are not a slam-dunk to beat out Portugal for No. 1 in the group, and if they finished second, they'd probably get Russia and Argentina ahead of a semifinal clash with Spain or Italy. Tough, but doable.

As for Team USA, if they can beat Ghana and not get embarrassed against the Portuguese and Germany, I'll call it a successful outing.

 

Oh, stranger things have happened for sure. Brazil actually don't have the easiest of roads, as they're likely to get Spain or Holland in the second round. QF might actually be easier, probably against the second-place team in the England/Italy group.

 

That seems to be the prevailing opinion about the US, which sucks because it didn't seem that long ago that people were saying this was the best team the US ever had. Sometimes I guess it really comes down to the draw and Portugal and Germany are usually powerhouses.

 

I don't think Portugal is such a much. I could see the U.S. getting four points out of the group and advancing. Then they'd get beat.

 

Assuming Ronaldo is playing and healthy, he should kill the U.S. defense, no?

 

Ronaldo is a great player, but Portugal is a perpetual underperformer in international play. I won't say the U.S. will beat Portugal, but I think they have a chance to snake a point at least. Beating Ghana is absolutely imperative, of course.

Germany should win the group, but they're banged-up — Klose, Lahm and Schewinsteiger all sat out yesterday's friendly with Cameroon — so I worry about them in the knockout stages.

 

And, of course, Brazil's WC stadiums still aren't actually finished:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/unfinished-sao-paulo-stadium-holds-final-test-at-less-than-full-capacity-before-hosting-world-cup-opener-171306088.html

 

Don't get a seat under the second deck. Wear sunscreen instead.

 

Lower deck seats in Brazil are shitty in more ways than one.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/soccer/brazilian-soccer-fan-killed-toilet-bowl-thrown-stands-article-1.1778364

 

Was it a case of Mexico being Mexico on Tuesday?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/soccer/ct-mexico-bosnia-spt-0604-20140604,0,5234745.story

 

A few European powerhouses have shit the bed in recent World Cups.

Italy in 2010.
France in 2002 and 2010.
Spain in 1998.
Portugal in 2002.

Maybe this is Germany's year to shit the bed. Or not. Can't hurt to be wishful.