La Copa Mundial: Day 4

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get hammered. The Czech Republic dominated and annihilated the United States. It was an embarrassing day to be an American soccer fan.

--Australia surprised everyone with three goals in eight minutes at the end of their match with Japan, winning 3-1. They are physical and resilient, but they will have trouble against more skilled teams like Brazil and Croatia. Japan looked pretty bad for about 30 minutes, the final eight of that half-hour being the three-goal explosion. Or should I say implosion on the part of the Japanese? Anyway, I fast-forwarded through parts of the match, mostly because these teams will not really be contenders unless Croatia can draw or beat Brazil.

--The Americans, as I said before, played horribly and the result reflected that. But give credit where credit is due, the Czechs played extremely well after all of the questions surrounding their side. They dominated the midfield, controlled possession and scored quality goals. They will be the only challenge to Italy in this group. As for the Americans, this match is hugely disappointing. It might break their backs after just one match. The true test is their match with Italy on Saturday. The Italians will play (probably) without Francesco Totti, but they are still a great team. If the U.S. loses to Italy, they are done. But they are tough guys, and they can fight back. So we'll see how they bounce back after the disastrous loss.

--Italy played the best first match of anyone in the Cup so far. Their attacking was very well organized, despite Ghana playing a decent match. Italy will pose a serious threat to the Czechs, making their match on June 22 a marked-off event. Ghana will be tough for the Czechs, and I don't think the Czechs can match their performance against the United States, but you never know. I didn't think the Czechs could beat the U.S., and look at me now. An idiot, plain and simple.

Tomorrow's matches will be fun to watch, but more importantly, they feature Brazil.

-- South Korea will look to demolish a tattered Togolese team. Togo's coach bolted from Germany after his salary issues weren't ironed out. Now Togo doesn't have a hired coach, using their assistant as the interim head manager. South Korea is pretty good, and I expect them to play well.

--France and Switzerland play in a key match in Group G. If one of these teams loses, they are in big trouble. South Korea is pretty much guaranteed three points in my opinion, putting pressure on the two favorites in the group to play well. I think this match may end in a draw.

--Brazil's campaign begins with a tough match against Croatia. It will be Brazil's attacking brilliance versus Croatia's stingy defense and organized midfield. I expect Brazil to score at least one or two goals, so the question becomes, can Croatia keep up with Brazil? My answer would be 'no.' But don't hold me to it.

It was a disappointing day for me as a big American National Team fan, but the Cup has been so great that my home country's struggles can't keep me down. I am also an avid England fan, so their being a favorite in the Cup makes the American loss a little more bearable. Anyway, tomorrow should be fun. See ya!