All the recent developments as teams make final preparations for the World Cup in South Africa have prompted me to make my World Cup analysis post. I have been cautiously optimistic about America's chances this year, and I think you will share my optimism after this analysis.First, things first... England. We play them first on June 12. That helps, as England usually starts slow. 2006 was a 1-0 win against Paraguay. 2002 was a draw with Sweden. Also, England's captain Rio Ferdinand hurt his knee today and is out of the Cup. He is their stopper. That helps. Jozy Altidore is also nursing a sprained ankle, but he should be fine for the opening match. I think this match is the key to our World Cup, and we better come out strong!
Next, Group C. USA got it's best draw EVER in the World Cup. The top side is obviously England. After that, with Algeria and Slovenia, USA automatically is favored to be runner-up in the group. However, I think we have to win the group to have any real chance to make a run in the knock-out rounds. Can we do it? Well, a strong start against England is a must. But we have to beat Algeria and Slovenia too. I think we should expect that.
So why is it so important to win Group C? Because if we are runners-up, we lose in the second round. Check out the bracket above. Group C runner-up takes on the winner of Group D. Think we have any chance of beating Germany? Me neither. So we look much better taking on the runner-up of Group D, maybe Ghana or Serbia. That puts us in a winnable quarterfinal game against overrated France. If we make it to the semis, I call it a rousing success.So the bottom line is, our first game against England is the key to our fortunes in South Africa. A win sets us up to make a run at the semi-finals. A loss will not end our hopes of advancing, but will surely lead to an early exit in the knock-out rounds.
1 comment:
I would be very, very content with a draw against England, but in all reality we're looking at 0pts from that match. Algeria and Slovenia shouldn't be overlooked either. Both are relatively unknown. I could see the USA giving up a cheap early goal to either, then watching as they just keep 11 in on defense for the remainder of the game. The USA has shown that it lacks the creativity to break down such defensive tactics. But anything can happen in the World Cup, excuse me the FIFA World Cup.
I won't speculate beyond that. Like I said, anything can happen here - especially in a one-and-done game. If we make it out of the group stage, I'll be pretty pleased as long as we don't get destroyed in round 2.
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