Anyone else finding the constant drone sound of the Vuvuzela to be a distraction from the enjoyment of the games themselves ? News has emerged today that FIFA World Cup officials are considering banning them from being used inside of stadiums, given that the atmosphere so far has been almost none existent aside from the constant buzz from the thousands of vuvuzela's being played. It seems that complaints from the players themselves - who claim they can't even hear each other on the field - will be enough to tip the balance in the minds of the organisers. It would be a shame to see a unique symbol of the South African World Cup banned but there simply might be no alternative.
The highlight of day 2 was by far the clash between England and the USA. I was of the opinion beforehand that the game would be far from easy for England. There were two reasons for coming to that conclusion.
First, that most teams regardless of their status or expectations start the tournament with a certain amount of anxiety. If you look back at the history of the World Cup, the vast majority of upsets have happened in the opening games - Argentina losing 1-0 to Cameroon in 1990 or France losing to Senegal in 2002. Despite getting an early goal, England rarely looked at ease and were always conscious of the threat that the USA posed and the potential upset at stake should they take a lead. With that in mind, England had a defensive mindset - a defensive player who liked to break forward such as Ashley Cole rarely advanced into the opposing third of the field.
The US national team also now has a significant proportion of players who are competing at the highest level internationally. There are a bunch of guys playing in the English Premier League, for example and with that comes experience and a greater understanding of any opposing international players. Before Landon Donovan came to England in January for a three month loan period, I was sceptical of his ability but in that time he proved he was capable of playing against some of the best players in the world. At the same time he was able to play against some of the guys who he was up against last night and that can only be advantageous.
That said, the game will be remembered mainly for the incident that gave the US team their equalising goal. A goalkeeper will rarely be remembered for the outstanding saves that he makes but more often, for the notoriety that comes with making a mistake of the type that Robert Green did yesterday. Part of the beauty of sport is its unpredictability and mistakes - just as with moments of sublime skill - play their part in creating that element of surprise.
Both teams will remain confident of progressing into the second round and while Slovenia picked up their first ever World Cup win today, I still expect England and the US to finish 1-2 in Group C.
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With odds of 14-1 against them winning the World Cup, Germany could easily be considered an underdog entering the tournament this year. Given their experience and reputation however, only a fool would bet against them reaching at least the latter stages so it comes as no surprise that they picked off an easy win against Australia in their opening game. The victory was expected and the scoreline doesn't flatter the Germans - they were worthy of their four goals.
They may have lost their captain Michael Ballack to injury, the Germans are still stacked with talent throughout their squad. One of my favorites is Miroslav Klose, the Polish born striker who has become one of Germany's most prolific goalscorers. With more than 90 appearances to his name, his credits include scoring five goals as Germany reached the 2002 World Cup final and for finishing the 2006 tournament as the leading scorer.
Their movement, pace and positional awareness were a class above the Australians. With games against Ghana and Serbia to come in Group D, it almost seems inevitable that Germany will win the group with three wins out of three. |
