La Copa Mundial: Day 3

A great man once said, "Blame the Dutch." Who was he? That's not important. What's important is the Dutch performance that stole the spotlight of the World Cup this morning.

--The Dutch looked fantastic today, beating Serbia & Montenegro 1-0. Arjen Robben took his first chance to shine on the international stage and ran with it -- literally. Robben diced Serbia & Montenegro's defense several times, scoring the only goal of the match on a breakaway. The 21-year-old attacker tucked a neat finish in the left corner about 20 minutes in to give the Dutch the only goal they needed. Serbia & Montenegro kept within arms length, but really showed limited attacking ability, which was the scouting knock on them coming into the Cup. Oh, and it can't be good for your team if the abbreviation on the TV scoreboard is "S&M." That's never good. But it is funny, if you're 12 like me.

--Mexico played incredibly well at times to trump Iran's upset bid, winning 3-1. The match was pretty sloppy for about 65 minutes, but the Mexicans began their run with a bit of luck in the form of a colossal mistake by the Iranian goalkeeper and central defender. Mexico capitalized on the poor clearance, breaking the defensive line with a through ball and taking the 2-1 lead with a sweet finish. They scored a brilliant goal a few minutes later off a nice header. They looked strong in attack and organized in midfield, but their defense will need to improve if they want to make any kind of run. Plus, today was an emotional win for Oswaldo Sanchez, who unexpectedly lost his dad two days before they were supposed to travel together to Germany. Obviously the two were close, so the win was sweet for Sanchez and his teammates. Now let's see if the story makes them the emotional favorites in Germany for the next three weeks.

--Portugal looked good for a half, then tapered off and won with a minimal 1-0 tally. Angola didn't play well for the first five minutes, giving up the match's only goal. But for the next 85 minutes, Angola was arguably the better team. They didn't capitalize on a few scoring chances, and by the end of the match they were worn out. Portugal has to pick it up in their midfield if they want to achieve great things at this Cup. Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo must play better to complement Pauleta and Simao, who were both fantastic.

--Tomorrow is the big day for the USA. The Americans head into tomorrow's match eager to turn heads and prove the critics wrong. I think they will shock the Czechs with their speed and aggression, possibly scoring early in the match. There's no way of really knowing how healthy the Czechs really are, so we'll have to wait and see. Watch the wingers for Czech Republic pace the Czech attack, and keep your eyes on Donovan and Beasley for the US. This will be the best match tomorrow.

--Japan and Australia will be entertaining, but I expect the more experienced Japanese to win.

--The Italians play Ghana tomorrow in a great clash of styles. Ghana is a team filled with crafty players and a can-do attitude. But Italy is very strong, playing with great technical ability, intelligence and experience. The Italians will have their hands full for about 50 to 60 minutes, but they should wear out the Africans and win.

That's it for today, hope you guys are enjoying the World Cup and whatever insight I can provide for you. Feel free to add comments or questions if you have any. See you tomorrow!