Aces for Argentina

Showing fluid, attacking style of play Argentina (or should I say "the new Brazil," a nomiker which will surely make Maradona chuckle and Pele grimace - more on that later) dismantled a hapless South Korea 4-1 on Thursday with Gonzalo Higuain on a hat-trick.

The Argentines had a lucky break to start when Park Chu-Young turned the ball into his own net off of a dangerous dead ball play by Messi. It then became the Higuain and Messi show with the two combining in a sort of sublime Thelma and Louise act robbing the Koreans of possession at every turn and converting on most of those chances.

Higuain added another in the 33rd minute, only to have Lee Chung - Yong claw one back for the Koreans in the dying minutes of the first half. But the enterprising Argentine duo finally put the match away with two goals in quick succession, though, for a neutral observer, the game was never in dispute. Argentina's class was simply too much.

Higuain's profligacy in front of goal heralded the arrival of free flowing Albiceleste football in South Africa. With Jonas Gutierrez and Gabriel Heinze's marauding runs forward and Angel di Maria's control of the midfield, Argentina finally fulfilled the promise of its potential.

Higuain's efforts in front of goal also gave the Real Madrid striker his fifth international goal in seven caps and the first hat trick in the World Cup since Pauleta put in three for Portugal against Poland in 2002. In the poaching, opportunistic vein of great strikers before him (e.g. Mueller, Ronaldo, et al) Higauin has staked in claim to this tournament's golden boot.

World Cup Round Up: Uninspired Underperformers

One has to wonder what Deco was thinking when he criticized manager Carlos Queiroz's tactics immediately following Portugal's exercise in futility against the Ivory Coast. Calling your coach out publicly is never in good form, but doing so on the biggest international stage for your sport is especially ludicrous.

Even if your comments were said "in the heat of the moment," as Deco later claimed his were, the resultant media furor surrounding the possibility of discord in your dressing room will become as great a distraction as if there were actual disunity. Heat of the moment or not, a veteran like Deco should know that the Portugal's chances diminish as the talk of them as a fractitious, fraught side increase. Disharmony off the pitch has a way of percolating on it and that is the last thing Portugal needs going into a must-win match against the well-organized North Koreans.

Not to be outdone in inane criticism of current coaching tactics, we have the Spanish, who, after their embarassing defeat at the hands of a defensive, if opportunistic Switzerland, had their former manager, Luis Aragones (of questionable motivating tactics and Euro 2008 noteriety) throw his ever illuminating two cents into the lot. Aragones was quoted as saying that "the better team didn't win, just the better organized one."

Well Louis, hate to break it to you but good organization seems to be the crucial criterion that separates the mediocre from the meteoric sides in any competition. To understand the premium put on pinpointing the appropriate formation for a side, you only have to look at the case of the English FA, which paid Fabio Cappello 9 million euros to reconceptulaize the Three Lions' formation (ed note: the fact that the impotent English cannot capitalize on their new organiational arrangements does not detract from the prime importance of such considerations). Bottom line: a well organized team is always the better team. The Swiss were well organized as were the Spanish, the essential difference is that the former were able to put their chances away.

Perhaps Luis should heed the wisdom of his former charge, Xavi Hernandez, the Euro 2008 player of the tournament and midfield maestro for Barcelona, who rightly noted that Spain wasn't "decisive enough around the goal" to win against Switzerland. Suffering under the severe misfortune of multiple missed opportunities, Spain became the seventh European Champion in in nine World Cups to lose its opening match. Where their Iberian neighbors, Portugal, didn't create many chances to begin with, Spain did not capitalize on their numerous opportunities in front of goal and are now in the uncomfortable position of having to win out to even hope to qualify for the knockout stages.

A Class Act (Finally)

Never one to disappoint, especially on a big, international stage, true tournament favorites Germany dismantled a hapless Australia in the most impressive performance of the World Cup so far.

Goals galore and quality chances a plenty, die Mannschaft quickly established their dominance going 1-0 up in the eighth minute on Lukas Podolski's screamer and added a second before the half-hour mark with Klose's fine finish. It is widely known that the pair have yet to replicate their NT form for club, but Podolski and Klose have never disappointed in their country's colors.

The contributions of the veteran players were matched by that of the German youth in the second half, with Thomas Mueller and Cacau scoring in quick succession. In fairness, the game was far out of reach before that and the Socceroos seemed particularly disheartened when their leader, Tim Cahill, sent off on a soft red in the 56th minute. A difficult fixture on paper, the ancient Australian side was outmatched and outclassed in every aspect of the game. Particularly effective was Mesut Ozil in the middle, heralding the new Germany in more ways than one.

Argentina were fine in their opener, but Germany have set the bar among the favorites. The message was clear; it is up to Brazil, Spain et al to take notice.

Now for the Other Side

England's anguish is perhaps matched only by American excitement at Saturday's result. Whereas the Three Lions experienced incredible hype in the build-up to South Africa, the US is now able to bask in the glow of increased (and again unreasonable) expectations after Saturday's draw. That an undeserved 1-1 tie is able to generate such optimism regarding American chances is indeed incredible in and of itself. But the one thing for the serious football supporter to take away is that as bad as England was, the US was worse.

American media please note that rather than abrogating the fluke that was last year's Confederations Cup performance, yesterday's flukish tying goal only reinforces it.

Not only did the Americans lack the ability to creatively build up through the midfield, but, beyond Dempsey and, on a few occasions, Altidore, the Americans' skill level on an individual basis was also woefully inadequate, save for Tim Howard who was pretty brilliant I must admit. Tactically and technically, the Americans pale in comparison to the world's elite (e.g. Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy [well not so much post Euro 2008, but they are still world champs], and Argentina). Indeed, if England's parts are greater than the whole, neither America's parts nor its whole is all that great.

I wish the Yanks had a better team, and I will still root for them while they are a work in progress. But, make no mistake, I will not delude myself into believing that they warrant a tenth of the increased expectations they garnered after Saturday. In fact, no serious American footie fan should.

Slippery Hands, Slipping Hopes

I have lived in England, and, for as much as the press there does harass the NT when they do not meet expectations, they also build them up far beyond their collective capabilities, when they so much as threaten to come close to reaching their potential. It always has been thus, and it likely will always be.

So keep in mind the general chorus heralding England as favorites (see the usually objective June FourFourTwo cover to see how far the delusion had spread) was based in fact: England did have a near faultless qualifying campaign. Yet, even this triumph must be put in proper perspective, for it was not but two years ago that the Three Lions did not even qualify for the European Championships and a mere four years (with many of the same players) that they embarrassed English football in Germany.

Yes, the manager has changed. Yes, the formation is now better suited to the English personnel. Nevertheless, the English still suffer from three main faults: 1) poor goalkeeping; 2) star players* whose sum is somehow always less than their individual parts; and 3) a mental deficiency that causes the Three Lions to panic and abandon their game plan when something does not go their way in the course of a game (see: Robert Green's bungle and England's impotency thereafter).

As the game against the Americans aptly shows, none of these issues have been remedied. And no one, least of all England, is going to go on to international success without a top class goalkeeper and a shoddy, patched up defense unable to protect said subpar goalie. In England's case, this is especially true, as they also lack the ability to outscore the opposition, despite the individual brilliance of their offensive weapons.

For the English to have ever thought differently (i.e. that they had a realistic chance), suggests a level of self-dellusionment that is still surprising, even if it has become routine.

Though England still have a good chance to advance past the group stage, the papers will continue to (hysterically) decry Saturday's events. However, the truth is that England always was a second/third round team, so when they exit at that stage no one should be surprised.

*Above star players refer to Gerrard, Terry, Lampard, most anyone that is, except for Rooney, who Capello should've definitely subbed (instead of the hard-working Heskey) in the second half. The English's unabiding admiration for Rooney has always amazed and confused me, given that he has never shown up for country on a big international stage. To my further dismay, they exalt Rooney's play, when, in fact, his brutish style can serve only as a general affront to the sensibilities of those who love the beautiful game.

Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but Rooney's is a brilliance that has always been surpassed by that of Messi and Ronaldo. Simply put, the attempts to elevate him to that class level are consistently shown to be absolute rubbish every time he steps out on the pitch. He plays with heart to be sure, but Rooney simply lacks the skill to be the best player in the world. Period. To my mind, it is fair to say that he is the one star whose individual level of NT play is consistently on par with England's collective level of incompetence.