Skip to main content

World Cup - Group E overview

Not getting a result against the Czech Republic really hurt our chances of advancing through the group stage (only the top 2 of four advance). The minimum number of points that the USA need is 4. To achieve four points we must tie and win in our next two games. A Loss all but eliminates us from contention (if Ghana beat the USA, and USA beat Italy, and the Czech beat Italy and Ghana, there would be a three-way tie for 2nd place, which would be broken by goal differential - not in our favor at the moment.)

Best-Case Scenario: (realistically)

- The USA win both matches, giving us 6 points and 2nd place in the group.
- The Czech win their remaining two games, giving them 9 points and 1st place.
- (If the Czech lose to Ghana, the US and Czech would be tied for 1st place, given the US would
beat Italy and Ghana.)
- (If Italy were to beat the Czech, Italy would have 6 points as well)

"2nd-Best" Scenario:

- The USA tie Italy and beat Ghana, giving us 4 points. (A 3-0 or 4-0 win against Ghana would
be helpful, but that is not likely.)
- The Czech win their remaining two matches. (vs. Ghana, vs. Italy)
- The Czech need to win their match against Italy by at least 2 goals to help us out in the goal
differential area.
- The USA and Italy tie for 2nd place with 4 pts. each. The USA having thumped Ghana 3-0 and tied Italy 1-1, and the Czech having beaten Italy 2-0, this would level goal differential. We need an extra goal somewhere.

It will be interesting to see what takes place. It could get very exciting.

Popular posts from this blog

Player Evaluation from game vs. Czech

I am extremely embarrassed and disappointed. This is to understate my emotions toward the game today. Saying that, I do realize that the Czech are a powerhouse. They are without a doubt a top-3 team in the world. Pavel Nedved was brilliant; Cech was barely tested. Here is a grade for each player based on performance. Feel free to leave comments to vent or dispute. GK - Keller: Only had one save in 4 chances (shots on goal). Not much to say here, all 3 goals were spectacular! [B- -] D - Eddie Lewis: Quite possibly the worst game i've ever seen him play. Never looked comfortable. He seems to have forgotten how to play the ball on the ground. Totally ineffective. [D-] D - "Gooch": Possibly our lone bright spot all game. He did have a defensive error that led to the first goal, but that mistake was shared by Pope and caused by Lewis (left his area). Overall, very impressive. Should see a big payday after the Cup. [B] D - Cherundolo: Even though he scared me to near death sev...
Read more

Duck...Duck...(Oh Shoot!)

I don't often consider my life buzzworthy for personal stories, but I must make an exception for this one. I have worked lawn maintenance for 6 summers now, but no experience quite compares to this one. My crew was at the mall for the day to mow, trim, blow, pull weeds, and pick up 9 billion cigarette butts (which reproduce faster than an asexual insect). I was in the middle of a juniper bed, doing my best to weed-out wiregrass and the like. The juniper was almost knee-high. It was such a mundane activity that i didn't give it any second thought. Generally speaking, I am pretty aware of my surroundings. This time would prove to be an exception however. I was walking in the middle of the bed making my way to the far side, when as I stepped and reached for a weed, a UFO (denotatively, an "unidentified flying object") came from the juniper. A frighented moan ensued. (I'm not exactly sure how to describe the noise which proceeded from my mouth. I'm glad it was a s...
Read more

Time with Josh

Since Josh (Chandler, my friend who was severly injured in a car accident on June 2nd - chandlerupdate.blogspot.com) was moved to Charlotte for rehabilitation, I had not had the opportunity to see him, primarily since Charlotte is 3.5 hours from Rocky Mount. On the way back to school (figure it out), I passed right through Charlotte. Since I had no reason to be at school early, I had plenty of time to stop by the rehab. hospital and spend some time with Josh. As I drove through downtown Charlotte, I began to think about all that Josh had gone through. Sometimes, I am still tempted to ask questions regarding why Josh had gone through all of this. I'm sure part is sin and part is my finite being. However, I cannot view this "accident" through the lens of chance or "bad luck." God is SOVEREIGN. He performs all things after the counsel of His own will. (This would be God's sovereign will -- It cannot be thwarted, and not you and I can do nothing to change it.) M...
Read more