WC 2010 Group Stage over

U-S-A! U-S-A!



Props for using the great Rudy soundtrack as well.



Official FIFA highlights [here].

Back to my World Cup picks...

As of last Saturday, I was a very mediocre 10-16 (.385).

Here is what has happened, beside the American victory, since:

Group A
Tues. June 22 My pick: Mexico ties Uruguay. Incorrect. Uruguay 1, Mexico 0.
Tues. June 22 My pick: France ties South Africa. Incorrect. South Africa 2, France 1.

Group B
Tues. June 22 My pick: Nigeria ties South Korea. Correct. Nigeria 2, South Korea 2.
Tues. June 22 My pick: Argentina over Greece. Correct. Argentina 2, Greece 0.

Group C
Wed. June 23 My pick: England over Slovenia. Correct. England 1, Slovenia 0.
Wed. June 23 My pick: USA over Algeria. Correct. USA 1, Algeria 0.

Group D
Wed. June 23 My pick: Germany over Ghana. Correct. Germany 1, Ghana 0.
Wed. June 23 My pick: Serbia over Australia. Incorrect. Australia 2, Serbia 1.

Group E
Thurs. June 24 My pick: Denmark ties Japan. Incorrect. Japan 3, Denmark 1.
Thurs. June 24 My pick: Netherlands ties Cameroon. Incorrect. Netherlands 2, Cameroon 1.

Group F
Sun. June 20 My pick: Slovakia ties Paraguay. Incorrect. Paraguay 2, Slovakia 0.
Sun. June 20 My pick: Italy over New Zealand. Incorrect. Italy 1, New Zealand 1.
Thurs. June 24 My pick: Slovakia over Italy. Correct. Slovakia 3, Italy 2.
Thurs. June 24 My pick: Paraguay over New Zealand. Incorrect. Paraguay 0, New Zealand 0.

Group G
Sun. June 20 My pick: Brazil over Côte d'Ivoire. Correct. Brazil 3, Côte d'Ivoire 1.
Mon. June 21 My pick: Portugal over North Korea. Correct. Portugal 7, North Korea 0.
Fri. June 25 My pick: Brazil over Portugal. Incorrect. Brazil 0, Portugal 0.
Fri. June 25 My pick: Côte d'Ivoire over North Korea. Correct. Côte d'Ivoire 3, North Korea 0.

Group H
Mon. June 21 10a Chile ties Switzerland. Incorrect. Chile 1, Switzerland 0.
Mon. June 21 2:30p Spain over Honduras. Correct. Spain 2, Honduras 0.
Fri. June 25 2:30p Spain over Chile. Correct. Spain 2, Chile 1.
Fri. June 25 2:30p Switzerland ties Honduras. Correct. Switzerland 0, Honduras 0.

Overall, on my Group Stage picks? 22-26 (.458). Not terrible.

My selections for teams making the Round of 16?
A: Mexico, Uruguay
B: Argentina, Greece
C: England, USA
D: Germany, Serbia
E: Netherlands, Cameroon
F: Slovakia, Italy
G: Brazil, Portugal
H: Spain, Chile

So, I got 12 of 16 correct and properly guessed 5 of the 8 group winners.
All 4 of my semifinal teams remain in the tournament.

Tomorrow:

United States

vs.

Ghana

-

2:30pm (EDT) on ABC

The Bottom Six teams of the tournament? A bit of a shocking list with three African teams plus France: North Korea (0 pts.; -11 goal differential), Cameroon (0 pts.; -3 goal differential), Honduras (1 pt.; -3 goal differential, zero goals scored), France (1 pt.; -3 goal differential), Algeria (1 pt., -2 goal differential, zero goals scored), and Nigeria (1 pt., -2 goal differential).