Wow, that was a nail biting miracle. The US held off a penalty card massacre and a tough Italian team to draw 1-1 with only 9 players on the field. The drawback? Read on....
...we haven't scored a single goal yet in this Cup. That's right, our only "goal" actually came off one of the Italian defenders. Our first real goal came late in the second half off a beautiful shot by Beasley, but it was taken back due to an offsides call. Talk about frusturating!!!
I'm extremely upset because the Americans played a tough-as-nails game, especially in the second half, and I have little doubt they would've won had Pope not gotten his second card of the First Round and been summarily ejected. What's even worse, had this been the team playing the Czech game, Czech would've lost and we'd be well on our way to advancing. Most likely Italy will beat Czech. If that happens, and if we can defeat Ghana. then we'll advance. Not that it matters because we'll have to face Brazil in round 2.
Speaking of Brazil, they just scored against underdog Australia (who, incidentally, held the Cup favorites scoreless in the first half). I will say the Aussies look good, though, and if they advance look for them to be a second round spoiler. Ecuador also looks to be dynamite and I anticipate good things from them in this Cup.
Which country, do you think, is gonna win the WC2006 ?
I don't have a frakkin' clue. Brazil could be more vulnerable than expected. At this point, based on who I've seen play, Argentina or Brazil are my favorites. Italy and Spain are capable of making it to the finals, but I have my doubts that they'll actually do so.