Yes, I know it's a year until the world cup, but with all of the little cups this summer we're getting a nice preview of things to come. The absence of my usual winter staple (hockey) allowed me to watch a lot more world football than I usually do.
I was very excited with the USA - Cuba result last night (4-1), in that it showed our boys can rebound from a flat start against a lesser team content with a draw. This didn't used to be the case. I think USA will make it to the quarterfinals again.
I think the semifinalists will be England, Germany, Brazil, and Ukraine. Obviously, the draw might not let this be possible, but I think this would also result in the most interesting semis and finals. Ukraine is the wild card, but they have a lot of talent up front even without Shevchenko. Germany is the home nation, and I would expect them to make some tactical changes between now and then to address their recent inability to defend. Their defense was really unimpressive in the Confed cup, but I expect it to mature in a year's time, considering that none of the defensive first-team is older than 22. There's nothing to say about Brazil other than the fact that they have a dominant team that usually underperforms in Europe. I would love to see a final between Brazil and England, who has easily the most stacked midfield of all the national teams, and by then will hopefully have relieved the aging Beckham with the more exciting Shaun Wright-Phillips. And as much as I can't stand John Terry, I hope he can dish it to that punk Ronaldinho as was the case in the Champions League series between Chelsea and Barcelona. You've heard it from me first: Kaka will be bigger in 2006 than Ronaldinho.
I was very excited with the USA - Cuba result last night (4-1), in that it showed our boys can rebound from a flat start against a lesser team content with a draw. This didn't used to be the case. I think USA will make it to the quarterfinals again.
I think the semifinalists will be England, Germany, Brazil, and Ukraine. Obviously, the draw might not let this be possible, but I think this would also result in the most interesting semis and finals. Ukraine is the wild card, but they have a lot of talent up front even without Shevchenko. Germany is the home nation, and I would expect them to make some tactical changes between now and then to address their recent inability to defend. Their defense was really unimpressive in the Confed cup, but I expect it to mature in a year's time, considering that none of the defensive first-team is older than 22. There's nothing to say about Brazil other than the fact that they have a dominant team that usually underperforms in Europe. I would love to see a final between Brazil and England, who has easily the most stacked midfield of all the national teams, and by then will hopefully have relieved the aging Beckham with the more exciting Shaun Wright-Phillips. And as much as I can't stand John Terry, I hope he can dish it to that punk Ronaldinho as was the case in the Champions League series between Chelsea and Barcelona. You've heard it from me first: Kaka will be bigger in 2006 than Ronaldinho.
Cat: the other white meat
Cat: the other white meat
