So I've been watching a lot of World Cup. Last night I saw two bad games, France vs. Denmark and Germany vs. Cameroon. France got destroyed. They totally sucked. There's no getting around that. They got thoroughly shut down, as effectively as they themselves shut Brazil down in the 1998 Finals. The Danes were content to remain in their half of the field for most of the game, and were even content to let the French maintain possession most of the time. It became rapidly clear that was the correct strategy, as the French didn't know what to do with the ball. They knew they had to do something, as their midfield defenders and fullbacks pressed upfield to provide attacking support. This pressure might have been a good strategy had the strikers and forward midfielders been able to convert, but they repeatedly tried the same slow, short passing strategy up the middle. With ten of eleven Danish players back on their own side playing defense, the French got stripped of the ball over and over without being able to convert. Even worse, with so many defensive French players pushing forward, the Danes mounted strong counter-attacks, two of which resulted in goals. The legendary Zinedine Zidane, hero of the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 World Cup, was clearly still suffering from the injury that had kept him out of play so far. When the ball came to him, he generally quickly passed it on to a teammate, only rarely showing the flashes of talent that made him twice the World Player of the Year. The French were waiting for him to lift them up, but he was unable to sustain the whole team by himself. He was inexplicably named "Man of the Match" by the FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG). The Danes had strong defensive play, especially from their goalie Thomas Sorenson, who saved over a half dozen shots with potential. He would have been a far better choice.
The German game was no more enjoyable, though for different reasons. The game was a physical one from the start, and rapidly degenerated in spite of a referee who handed out yellow cards like a Vegas dealer (so eloquently stated by the ESPN commentators). Indeed, at least a third of the 16 yellow cards handed out in that game were undeserved. Four of those yellows were to two players, one on each team, with the result that the game was completed with only 10 players per side. In spite of the flurry of yellow cards, the referee still managed to miss an incident when, in the air, German striker Miroslav Klose knocked down Cameroonian defender Rigobert Song and then landed with his cleat on the Cameroonian's face, causing a bloody nose. The incident was replayed in slow motion, and it was obvious Klose (later named Man of the Match) could have easily avoided stepping on Song. Later in the match, Song threw an elbow Klose and then stepped on his head, but again the referee missed it. Even more incredibly, the commentators didn't pick up the connection to the previous incident. Germany won 2-0, incidentally, but I'm not going to be rooting for them anymore. There was no "beautiful game" at work in their play. They were, well, jerks.
With France out of the running, and Italy soon to join them, my personal picks will be (in order): Brazil, Spain, and Portugal (they redeemed themselves very well against Poland, and hopefully they will defeat Korea). Of course the United States is a sentimental favorite, but for them to survive the second round would be nearly impossible, though getting there now looks likely. I would also like to see Turkey advance, which they will do if they defeat China by two and Brazil holds Costa Rica scoreless, as well as in other possible scenarios. Sweden is a good team, but they don't really grab me. England and Mexico similarly uninspirational for me. I would like to see Japan and Belgium advance from Group H; I just don't like the Russians. Nor do I like Croatia, but I expect them to defeat Ecuador to advance. Finally, I am hoping against hope that Italy defeats Mexico, which would be enough for them to advance.
After watching a good 15 or so games so far, I'm pretty certain that I would want to be a professional soccer player over all other sports. Given choice of countries (excepting the US, of course), I'd pick Italy, Spain, or France. And, while I'm wishing, I think I'd want to be a midfielder or a goalie. Maybe in my next life.