Stardate 100619.2

Captain's Log,

Yesterday didn't turn out at all like I was expecting. I was deeply disappointed. I had been look forward to that day above every other day in the group stage, because Germany, USA, and England were all playing on the same day.

Then what happens?

Germany gets sidled with a ref who doesn't know the difference between a foul and a yellow card offense. Klose is sent of before 40 minutes are up, and Germany, playing with 10 men, concede a goal and can't pull back into the game.

The toughest result to take was the United States game. They actually won their game, but due to some very ridiculous and poor refereeing, the last goal was disallowed. The last time I saw refereeing that came close to being that dastardly was when France qualified for the World Cup on Henry's hand-ball. What a heart-breaking result for the United States who staged an epic comeback in the second half, only to be thwarted by the most absurd of calls. Shocking.

And finally, England. This was the worst played game of the day. England didn't look ready to play at all. They looked tired and lackluster the whole time. Wayne Rooney, who spent the whole 90 minutes on the pitch, looked like he didn't care if he got the ball half the time. There was very little movement up front, and aside from a couple scant chances, England came nowhere near scoring.

It was just a horrible day all the way around. Not at all what I was expecting. Germany defeated by Serbia due to an unnecessary send off in the early stages of the game, United States robbed of a well-earned victory, and England playing disjointedly and poorly. All three of these teams play on the same day again--next Wednesday--and hopefully, the world won't be stunned again by some of the heavy favorites crashing out of the Cup.

Well, that aside, there are three more games today.

The Netherlands are first, and they are a fun side to watch. Very fast and very talented. It will be interesting to see how they do against Japan; a team who is not ranked very high where FIFA is concerned, but who put up quite a fight in their first game of the tournament. Though, beating Cameroon is one thing, and beating the Netherlands is quite another.

Ghana will face an Australian side who got shown the door in the first game by a German side who looked like they could win it all. Ghana won their first game and expect to win this one as well.

The final game of the day is Cameroon against Denmark, and the Danes might be worrisome for the Cameroonians. Denmark did well against the Netherlands for a while and looked as if they may have scored a couple of times. Should be an exciting game. Of course, the three games yesterday should have been an exciting game, and only one of them turned out to be worth watching.

So for the picks today

June 19

Netherlands will win the first game
Ghana will win the second game
Denmark will win the final game

I must say, I am doing horribly on my record for predictions this time around. So many upsets and disappointments. Oh well, that's the way it works, and to some degree, that's what makes the World Cup so exciting.

Until next time,

Lorimer