I also have been bored with the games..... Uruguay did score 3 goals... alas, the overall level is quite pathetic. I also agree that it cannot get worse...

Lets see how Messi & Co. do tomorrow against FC Kimchi.... :D

Looks like teams are starting to open up a bit now with their second matches which should improve the overall quality of play.

Impressive performance (minus the first half stoppage time) by the Argentine side today against Korea. I don't care who you beat..winning 4-1 at this level is impressive.

Even if Messi doesn't score more than 1 or 2 at this tournament I don't think it will affect his standing in the world. He's been brilliant and done everything except put the ball in the back of the net..and the way he's playing it's going to happen really soon.

Congrats on advancing to the Round of 16

Yes a better show all round although a defensive blunder like that could cost them the match in the future....glad it happened today and not against superior opposition.
At least the game showed that there is someone else other than Messi who can score goals. I thought Tevez had a good game...the best I've seen him for a while in a Argentina jersey.

I liked their play better than against Nigeria..... but still, the entire defensive team give me the spooks......

I hope that Maradona uses the next match to rest some players and maybe give Aguero some more playing time... the few minutes on the field today were quite impressive - he seems eager to prove that he earned his spot on this team and thats a good thing. I would not mind Aguero taking the place of DiMaria..... an experiment yes, but I think it would work out well.

I agree that today was a good day to have this kind of a mistake..... alas, Demichelis is not guarantee.... but I dont know who on the roster can do a better job, so maybe at this point I have to pray that he doesnt make these mistakes going forward.

Also, the second yellow card for Jonas Gutierrez is good... I havent liked his play..... what really has me worried is Samuel, I hope he can recover in time for the round of 16 game...

Mexico just gave me a nice winning bet..... France looked just horrible. Here is where my money is for the next games....

Germany is a good bet against Serbia tomorrow... paying 1.5 odds.

Im also looking for Argentina to win both halves and score at least 3 goals against Greece.... the odds are not as good as against Korea but still interesting.

Good odds very poor performance.

This is a very strange World Cup.

Both games today are a classic example of things getting screwed up when the referee becomes a factor in the game. No way Klose should have received a red card and it cost the Germans big time. Then the disallowed goal that would have put the US up cost us two points (can argue whether we deserved a win given our first half performance but that's another story).

That was a very strange decision. I'm not sure whether it was the linesman or the referee who spotted something going on.......I certainly never saw anything wrong but sometimes TV can be deceptive.

I really hope the USA go through.

Aren't they all? ;)

Argentina playing well and suddenly the qualifying round scare seems a very long time ago and hard to remember or believe.

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Greece is being tougher than I expected.... 0-0 at half-time....

I didn't much care for the Greece tactics. :td:

Second half it opened out more and Messi started to play...he was unfortunate not to score one or two.
Not a great performance but considering the team was changed not a bad one either. My man Palermo scored a goal as well.
Mexico in the next round I believe?

The german team is very young this year and might not make it very far BUT I bet they will be a team to watch out for in 4 years time when they are all a bit older and much more experienced after another trip to the euorpean cup.

As to the referees - well we have seen several teams fighting with refs who are actually interfering with a game to such an extent that they are playing a role in how it ends and that is a sad and sorry case for the FIFA World Cup.
This will need to be reviewed once the Cup is over and I would hope that a way can be found to reduce this kind of Carded Game.

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Germany has shown nothing after an initial practice 4-0 game against FC Nobody. I cannot believe they did soooo poorly after such a start, maybe the young guns let this victory get to them and they lost focus...?

England, even despite their lackluster 1st round games is IMO looking stronger and will advance to the QF to face (I hope) Argentina. Mr. Rooney put in a solid match the last time around and Im looking for him to lead the Brits to victory against the Krauts.

Italy got what they deserved.... a shameful 2006 Champion that always played anti-football had to face reality at some point. It was a disgrace that such a non offensive team could have gotten away with winning the last WC, actually it was probably Zidane that handed the Cup to them with his childish sending off.

Brazil seems to be doing what it always does, which is going from playing so-so to OK to getting better as the WC develops. I think its going to be interesting to see what they do against Portugal, although of course they can lose and still glide through to the next round.... and considering all the upsets for some draws coming in second in the group may be easier than being the group winner.

Japan has been a huge surprise for me..... they thrashed Denmark with some great play... I have to say I want this Honda guy for River Plate... only if we could afford his salary... :( I understand Brazil has been sending a lot of players and coaches to work in the Japanese Premiere League, I guess this is paying off.