2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

[Cujo]

And the Mexican meltdown begins.

2-0 Diego & Co.

[RedRenesis]

Well at least the second goal was legitimate

[Viper]

El Tri was screwed; now they're just f ed.

[Cujo]

Well at least the second goal was legitimate

Higuaín is an absloute stud. Up to this point, he has got to be the rontrunner for the Golden Boot.

And they way Mexico's going, it's just a matter of time before this becomes an all-out freight training.

[Seadragon76]

Dude, it already IS a freight train job man.

Now, if you think about it... It's possible that South America could have half of the Quarterfinalists for this tourny (Uruguay, Argentina, the winner of Brazil-Chile, and Paraguay). The other four? Three from Europe (Germany, the winner of The Netherlands-Slovakia and the winner of Spain-Portugal) and one from Africa (Ghana).

Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself here.

[dfwabel]

Blue pants and socks with their Albicelestes for Argentina?

It is not a good look. I thought that Veron was the pacesetter for the team, but since he did not start, I am taken aback. Not much of a change.

[RedRenesis]

It's happened enough times in this World Cup including the first goal for Argentina that Im going to throw this out there, removing offsides below the 18? I dont see a good reason why the Argentine goal needs to be waved that close to the goal or the disallowed US goal against Algeria.

[RedRenesis]

The Argentine runaway 3-0

What a gorgeous goal that was

[lordsketor]

Brillant goal by Tavez!

[tBBP]

Okay---THAT was a shot. As well as that second goal I alluded to earlier. 3-0 now.

[Cujo]

The Argentine runaway 3-0

What a gorgeous goal that was

NOW it's a freight training.

[Cujo]

FIFA referees: "The score is 3-0. What horrendous call?"

[lordsketor]

FIFA referees: "The score is 3-0 3-1. What horrendous call?"

Fixed

[Cujo]

Did anyone else just hear the british announcer guy on ESPN allude to assassinating today's referee? Umm WHAT!?

[BrySmalls]

Did anyone else just hear the british announcer guy on ESPN allude to assassinating today's referee? Umm WHAT!?

Sorry I missed that as I was putting away my 45mm*.

* I don't really have a gun.

[tBBP]

Game over...3-1, Argentina.

Of course, the headline from this game is going to to be that first goal. If there's a second, it'll be the skirmish on the sidelines after the first half. Outside of all that, the Argentines did exactly what they needed to do and pulled it out.

This now sets up what could well end up as a classic clash versus Germany after it's all said and done. That one gon' be good.

Two things, though: one, Romero better get it together before the next match--El Tri caught him sleeping a couple times back there in that nets--can't be doing against the Germans. And two, the Argentines better not even think of clashing their kits again like they did today.

[TFoA]

This now sets up what could well end up as a classic clash versus Germany after it's all said and done. That one gon' be good.

It's really a shame that they've got to meet in the quarterfinals. Those have been 2 of the best teams in the World Cup so far, and one will go home before they even get to the semis.

But I'm not complaining, gonna be a hell of a game.

Terrible day for the officials, though...again. England got robbed of a goal, & from what I've heard (haven't watched the entirety of Mexico/Argentina) Argentina got away with offside on the 1st goal. Refs having a terrible time of it out there.

[epper]

Well the Mannschaft came through with flying colours today. They dominated about 85 of the 90 minutes and overall just looked faster, more athletic and more disciplined than the English. I'm thinkin' maybe I should have got a Müller jersey instead of Klose (despite his gorgeous first goal ) because he's gonna be a fixture on this team for the next 3 or 4 World Cups.

Argentina will be by far Germany's biggest test of the tourney so far. None of their Group opponents or England had anywhere near the firepower of Messi, Tevez, Higuain et al.

But I'm still so pumped. It's so refreshing to cheer for a team thats actually GOOD.

(I'm looking at you: Jays, Bills & Raptors.)

[OMMF]

Did anyone else just hear the british announcer guy on ESPN allude to assassinating today's referee? Umm WHAT!?

If you are talking about the .45 comment, it was in reference to the way the player dove. The line was something along the lines of "I don't see anyone with a .45 in the crowd, do you?"

[ninersdd]

This is the last post I'm gonna use on the United States Men's National Team. While I'm not gonna say "I told you so", I told you so!

Going into their game against against Ghana, who were arguably the worst team to qualify for the Round of 16, you KNEW the let-down was going to happen. It never fails when Team USA is favored to win. They played uninspired, and were more than ready to pack their bags and call a trip to the Knockout Stage a 'success'. No defense in the first half. the only thing stopping the Ghana attack, was their fatigue in the 2nd half. The also USA had many chances in the 2nd half while Ghana was catching their breath. While Kingson who was superb, most of it was due to USA's laziness and inability to finish (I'm looking at your Altidore and Bradley!). With teammates like that, Landon Donovan has got to wish he were born in Europe.

In the end, the team who deserved to advance did, and America's interest in soccer goes back into another 4-year hiatus.

My initial thoughts about the US team's run was that it was a moderate success. They didn't lose in group play, they won the group, and the team showed that they would never quit. If you had told any US fan going in that they'd win Group C, they probably wouldn't have placed money on that happening.

Then I thought about the entirity of the US team's run. They got a flukey bounce to tie an English team that had a lousy tournament run, and just lost to Germany by 3 goals. The US then got down 2-0 to a Slovenian team that had no business being up 2 goals on the US, and managed to scrape out a draw. It then took 92 minutes to score a goal against an Algerian team that was one of the 2 or 3 worst teams in the tournament. The whole group was soft, and if the US were in any other group...they'd be lucky to advance, and sure as hell aren't winning the group. Considering the hype the US team had, and the way the tournament played out for them, it was more disappointing than inspiring.

That said, I think Bob Bradley should get to stick around. Considering what he's down with the team over the 4 years, I like what he's done with the US team. I've never seen the team quit, the team rarely gets blown out, and the team is on better footing now than it was four years ago.

I pretty much agree with you guys except probably Korea or Slovakia are worse then Ghana(teams that made the last 16)