In a previous post, I made my selections of who I thought would advance to the second round of the World Cup. I’m happy to say that I picked 13/16 correctly. The teams that let me down were Poland, the Czech Republic, and Tunisia (I don’t know what I was thinking when I picked them). Also, 15 of the top 16 teams in my power rankings made the second round.

Above are my picks for the second round. There are some really tough match-ups, including Portugal vs Netherlands and France vs Spain, which could go either way. Australia will have their hands full with Italy, but hopefully they can get the victory. If they do, they will have a good chance of beating either Ukraine or Switzerland.

The game between Australia and Croatia was an absolute heart-stopper. As an Australian, I would have to say that yesterday’s match was one of the most important sporting events in Australia’s sporting history. I can’t believe that the man who played a big part in getting us to the World Cup, Guus Hiddink, almost cost us the opportunity to advance. Starting the reserve goalkeeper, Zeljko Kalac, instead of Mark Schwarzer was a decision that looked like it would cost Australia dearly. While it’s debatable if Schwarzer would have been able to prevent Croatia’s first goal (I personally believe he would have), there is no way that Schwarzer would have allowed their second goal. After the ball bounced over Kalac and in to the back of the net, I was shocked. I get pretty emotional over sport, but this was without a doubt the most emotional I have ever been, and the biggest disappointment, sporting-wise, I can remember. Kalac’s display was the worst by a goalie in the entire World Cup. The goalie in the local Under 6’s team could have stopped it.

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Disgraceful

If Kalac starts against Italy, Australia will have absolutely no chance of victory. For Hiddink to say that Schwarzer was dropped because of ‘past performances’ is a bloody disgrace. If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty of the situation, Schwarzer has really only allowed one goal in the whole tournament, and that came in the 90th minute against Brazil. He was clearly fouled when Japan scored in game 1, and the goal should not have stood. Ronaldo was offside before he received the ball and passed it on to Adriano, for Brazil’s first goal in game 2. Not to mention the one legitimate goal that Brazil did in the 90th minute after the ball deflected off the goalpost, leaving an open net for Fred to score. I hope Hiddink has learned his lesson and puts Schwarzer back between the posts - where he belongs. Australia needs him to have any chance of further advancement in the tournament.

Australia’s last group match, against Croatia, is less than 14 hours away. As it gets closer, my nerves are starting to grow. I know that the Aussies can beat Croatia, but the Aussies have had big games before (World Cup qualifiers, etc.), and we have fallen at the last hurdle. I know Guus Hiddink has instilled a new attitude within the team, and I hope it pays off in the upcoming match.

The Aussies have already impressed a lot of people. UK’s ‘The Times’ voted the Aussies the team that is achieving the most above their expectations.

I’ll be cheering the boys on - yelling at my TV and generally going nuts. I hope that anyone who reads this will do the same!

We have another front-runner for goal of the tournament. Joe Cole’s stunner against Sweden yesterday was incredible.

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I don’t know if anyone was as disappointed with today’s match between Argentina and the Netherlands. It was unfortunate that neither team had anything to play for because this could have been one of the best matches of the tournament. Instead, it was an absolute snoozefest and ended up in a 0-0 draw.

Despite a 2-0 score, Australia took it to the defending World Cup champions yesterday. The score in no way reflects the action in the game, and I dare say that Australia were more deserving of the victory. In the first half, the Socceroos contained the Brazillians with beautiful defence, and in the second half, their attack was inspiring, but unsuccessful. Brazil’s first goal should not have been allowed, since Ronaldo was in an offside position, and their second goal came in the 90th minute after the Australians were pressing for an equaliser. Harry Kewell had his chances after coming on to substitute Tim Cahill early in the second half. His best opportunity came after the Brazillian keeper, Dida, went up for a clearance and missed, leaving Kewell with an open net. Unfortunately, he sent his shot flying over the crossbar. Later in the game, he had a speculative shot from 40 metres out after he noticed Dida standing out from his goal - once again this shot went barely over the crossbar. Both Australian captain Mark Viduka and Marco Bresciano also chances on goal, but Viduka’s late chance agonisingly landed on top of the net, while Bresciano’s chance produced a great save from Dida. Also, I don’t know how the referee could call fouls on Australian players when the fouls were committed by the Brazillians? I know they are the World Champions, and with that title comes respect, but this is the World Cup - not the NBA. Games should be called fairly and with integrity - just because they’re Brazil doesn’t mean they’re perfect.

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You can clearly see Ronaldo offside in the replay

Australia is still in the driver’s seat to make it through in the second position from this group. Their final match is against Croatia, which should be a tough match. The Aussies only need a draw to make it through, but I would like to see the attacking style of football they displayed in the second half of the game against Brazil. Australia are a phenomonal team when they play that style of aggressive soccer. They have the fitness to get back in defence, so they should be able to play attacking soccer.

France were robbed of a victory yesterday. Up 1-0, Patrick Viera headed a ball that was defended by the South Korean goalkeeper. The only problem with this is that the ball had crossed the goalline and that the keeper was behind his own line when he deflected the ball.

This shot resulted in the ’second goal’ for France

It would be hard to imagine that the South Koreans would have come back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match. If France had won the match, they would have had 4 points and been pretty much assured of making the second round considering their last match is against Togo. Although it is still possible for France to make it through to the second round, they have to rely on goal differential if South Korea draws with Switzerland. Ideally, Switzerland will beat South Korea and France will beat Togo. This means that the two most deserving teams from that group, France and Switzerland, will advance to the round of 16. A mistake like that ’second goal’ can potentially cost a team the chance to advance, pointing out the need for an instant replay system for goal situations that are too close to call.

When you share your opinions for eveyone to read, sometimes you’re going to be wrong. As much as I hate to admit that I’m wrong, part of having a site such as the BBQ is admitting when you have made a mistake - and I have made a mistake. So I’m offering an apology to the U.S. soccer team right now. I was wrong to have criticised you the way I have leading up to the World Cup and during it. Although I still believe your world ranking is inflated and undeserved, you thoroughly outclassed Italy in your match today, and with a different referee you would have won the match convincingly.

Referee Jorge Larrionda reduced the Italians to 10 men after Daniele De Rossi was sent off for deliberate elbow to American striker Brian McBride’s face. The game went downhill from here. The referee, whose performance was absolutely awful and should not be allowed to officiate again this tournament, decided he would ‘make-up’ for sending the Italian off and dismissed two American players - Pablo Mastroeni, for a challenge that connected with an Italian player’s legs at the same time the ball was at the player’s feet (a clear yellow card) and Eddie Pope, after he picked up his second yellow card from a challenge that should have been a foul and nothing more. There are only two reasons I can think of that he would have sent these players off - #1 he was making up for the earlier WARRANTED dismisal of the Italian player, or #2 he just got out of the institution and forgot to take his medication.

The second of three red cards dealt out by the referee

Even down 10 players to 9, the US looked the better team and had some excellent opportunities to go up 2-1. They did find the back of the net, but unfortunately for the Americans, McBride obstructed the Italian goalie from an offside position, negating the goal.

Action from yesterday’s games included Argentina demolishing Serbia & Montenegro 6-0. The second goal was absolutely beautiful: 23 total passes and a quality finish. It wasn’t the most jaw dropping of goals, but the teamwork involved will make this goal hard to top. Argentina has the Netherlands next, and that game will be a good gauge of how well the Argentina team is playing, but currently, in my opinion, they are the team to beat.

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Joga Bonita

I don’t know what Jonah Freedman from SI.com is smoking, but it’s obvious to me that he didn’t even watch the match involving Australia and Japan before making these comments in his World Cup Power Rankings.

Horrible and lost for the first 83 minutes? It’s like this fool looked at when Cahill scored the first goal and decided that the Socceroos must have been asleep prior to that. Australia had the best opportunities for the entire match, but were unable to capitalise on them. Viduka had two great opportunities from close range, and Kewell had a nice effort from long range. The Japanese, on the other hand, had one legitimate shot on goal that was just wide of the post. Their goal was hardly a shot, more like a cross that wasn’t saved because of interference.

If SI.com is in search of someone who has actually watched ALL the games and can provide commentary, analysis, and power rankings, they can contact me through this website.

France still hasn’t scored a goal in World Cup competition since winning the 1998 Final 3-0 against Brazil. Yesterday they drew with Switzerland 0-0 and looked very ordinary in the process. They have Korea next, who looked (from my view at least) surprisingly strong in their 2-0 victory - fair enough it was against Togo, but they should still prove to be a good challenge for a struggling and aging French team.

Defending champions Brazil also had their first match yesterday and looked thoroughly unconvincing in a 1-0 victory over Croatia. Ronaldinho had his moments and was unlucky not to score on a header that was stopped by a fantastic save from the Croatian keeper. Ronaldo looks like a shadow of his former self, a much larger shadow at that. His play looked lathargic and uninspired. With that being said, he had one chance to score what would have been an incredible goal, but it just went over the crossbar. I don’t know whether Brazil’s performance should inspire the Australian team, who face them on Sunday, or strike fear into them. I have a feeling Brazil is going to come out with all guns blazing and really take it to the Socceroos, if they manage to scrape a draw out of the game it will be a fantastic result and should almost guarantee a passage through to the second round.

One U.S. commentator, former U.S. player Eric Wynalda , said that after Croatia’s performance against Brazil, he expects Croatia to make it through the Group stage in the second spot. Don’t read too much into that though - he’s the same guy that said Kasey Keller was the best goalie in the world.

The best 10 minutes in Australian soccer history resulted in Australia coming back from a 1-0 deficit in the 82nd minute to score 3 goals in 10 minutes, defeating Japan 3-1.

Thanks to Scott for this image that was efficiently sent after the completion of the game

Up until the the 82nd minute, it looked like Japan was going to steal one from the Aussies who were the much better team for the majority of the match. Japan’s only goal came from an absolutely disgraceful referree mistake in the 26th minute of the match. Japan’s Shunsuke Nakamura crossed the ball into the box, and while he was going up for the save, Australian goalie Mark Schwarzer was fouled by Japanese players and the ball went into the net. Unbelievably there was no foul called on the play, and the referee allowed the goal to stand. Earlier in the match, Mark Viduka had been called for a foul against the Japanese goalkeeper for a play that involved less contact than what Schwarzer received.

Then the match went back and forth again with the Aussies continuing to be the better team with better opportunities. It wasn’t looking like the Aussies would be able to pass the Japanese goalkeeper, who was making some pretty decent saves. After a John Aloisi free kick was deflected out, the resulting throw-in was directed into the penalty area, where the Japanese goalkeeper charged the ball and missed terribly. It was left to Tim Cahill to direct the ball through traffic into the empty net. After this goal was scored, I went nuts, so I can only imagine what the atmosphere in pubs and houses around Australia must have been like. I thought that a draw would have been a good result considering the Aussies trailed for most of the match, so when Tim Cahill scored his second and what is now my front-runner for best goal of the world cup, I was yelling at the top of my lungs. Cahill took an offload from Harry Kewell, balanced himself, and sent a sweeping shot towards goal. The ball curled away from the Japanese goal keeper, striking the upright and finally going in. John Aloisi’s goal was no sloucher either - a beautiful left foot strike that rocketed past the keeper to complete a wonderful comeback in a match that Australia HAD to win to have any shot of making it to the second round.

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In another of today’s matches, the U.S. were completely outclassed by the Czech Republic. I predicted that the U.S. would not win any matches in the World Cup, and so far that prediction is holding strong. Unfortunately, in the U.S. the same media that built the team up into a group of World beaters are now coming down on the team like they are a bunch of easybeats. Soccer suffers in the U.S. because the media puts undue pressure on the team to perform at a level it isn’t ready for. Soccer can only succeed in the U.S. once the media realises that the U.S. is not going to win the World Cup anytime soon. They need to come to terms with the fact that making it out of the group stage would be a great result for the team. The sport needs support - even in the tough times. It doesn’t need to be forgotten about after every bad result.

What a big weekend for sport! World Cup Soccer, French Open Finals, the British Formula One race, and the NBA Finals.

So far in the World Cup there have been a few exciting games, but there were far more games that were lacking excitement. The team that has really stood out so far for me is Argentina. Riquelme looked dangerous every time he touched the ball against the Ivory Coast, and I believe that without him in the lineup, the Ivory Coast probably would have won that game. What I haven’t liked so far is the form of the English team. I thought Beckham had a good game, but apart from him, the team looked very flat and they will need to turn things around if they want any chance of competing for the championship. Apart from the first ten minutes of their match, Portugal looked very average also.

So far, this is the goal of the tournament

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In the French Open Finals, Justine Henin-Hardenne won her third French Open title in straight sets, 6-4 6-4. Good thing she wasn’t trailing early in the second set, otherwise she may have gotten ’stomach cramps’ again. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in 4 sets, 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6. Federer came out on fire in the first set, and things really looked good for him. I really can’t explain what happened in the second set, but he totally lost his game and confidence. The third and fourth sets could have gone either way; unfortunately for Federer they didn’t go his way, and he’ll have to wait another year for the elusive French Open title he desperately wants.

Fernando Alonso won his third straight race at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It’s looking like the championship is all but decided - especially considering he hasn’t finished any worse than second this year. It was another disappointing day for Australia’s Mark Webber, who didn’t even finish a lap after he was taken out by Ralf Schumacher, who lost control after Scott Speed nudged him while taking a corner. Speed called it a ‘racing incident’ and that he was in front of Schumacher going through the corner. I call BS on that. Speed was nowhere near in front of Schumacher going in to that corner and as a result of his ill-adviced move, he took 3 competitors out of the race.

Dallas has taken a surprising 2-0 lead over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. What is even more surprising is the fact that Shaq has been a non-factor in the series. Shaq is normally bad from the free-throw line, but 2-16 is bad even by his standards. Add that to his 22 points COMBINED in both games and that spells trouble for Miami. It will be interesting to see if they can turn it around now that the series is moving to Miami for the next two games.

Australia’s first World Cup match in 32 years is 7 hours away. I’ll be up early and late to work so I can cheer the boys on - I hope all you other Aussies will be cheering too!

I can’t believe I’ve been hyping up that World Cup for the past couple of weeks and neglected to even mention who I think will progress from the group stage into the second round. Although I’m writing this post after the first two games have been played, with Germany defeating Costa Rica, and Ecuador defeating Poland, I will give the predictions that I thought prior to these games being played.

from the official World Cup site. I got rid of the crappy Budweiser advertising - none of that crap on this site!

In Group A, I liked Germany and Poland to advance to the second round. Unfortunately, I would have to say after Poland’s effort today they will most likely not be advancing.

From Group B, I have to take England (because I picked them to win the whole thing), and I think Sweden will make it through also.

I’ve seen a lot of ‘experts’ pick the Ivory Coast to advance from Group C, and one fool picked Serbia and Montenegro to make it to the second round. Two of the world’s top ten teams are in this group, and I don’t think there will be any surprises here. The Netherlands and Argentina will make it through.

Group D has the potential to produce an upset. Portugal is a lock to make it through, but I think if there is to be an upset it will be Angola advancing instead of Mexico. I’ll stay safe though and go with Mexico, but if Angola makes it through - remember where you read it!

In the U.S., Group E is being referred to as the ‘group of death.’ It isn’t - Group C is the group of death in this tournament. The U.S. are overrated and won’t make it through to the second round - I’m going to be bold and say they won’t even win a game. The media is predicting that the U.S. will make it through in place of the Czech Republic - that won’t happen. The Czechs have the best goalie in the world in Petr Cech ,and they’ll make it through to the second round, along with the Italians.

Now to the group that I’m most interested in - Group F. Brazil is guaranteed to make it through this stage, but the other three teams will provide very competitive matches. Who am I kidding? Australia makes it through and even holds Brazil to a draw!

Group G will have France finishing on top. I’m going to go with Switzerland to pick up the second spot - I just don’t think South Korea will repeat their effort from 2002, when they made the semi-finals.

Group H provides a really nice draw for Spain, who will advance. Tunisia will join them in the second round.

There you have it. It will be interesting to see how many I get correct. If you have any comments about my selections, please share them.