This blog has few readers but that does not discourage me from recording that this is blog post number 450 in 3.5 years. Besides congratulating myself for telling stories largely to myself, I think that I should try and make comment on something that is more current and undeniably popular.
The largest sports spectacle in the World is at this time being held in the republic of South Africa and the initial facts show that it will be as good as any other. In the five days since, there have been some surprises, a few good matches, drab draws (like Italy vs Paraguay) and some more. So my main comment relates to the performance of the highest rated teams thus far. The defending champions are not known to start strongly but my judgement from watching Italy's first match suggests that the Azzuri is neither as organized nor as imperious as they were in 2006.
Of all the top-rated sides that have played at least a match, England were the most underwhelming in my view. Even putting aside the goalkeeping error that led to the equalizer from Clint Dempsey of the US, I think that not many people were impressed with overall performance of individual players and the whole team. Looking also at the Pool A, it is true that in spite of not winning, South Africa had a decent performance in the match against Mexico for a team regarded as the weakest host nation ever. France too seemed to punch well below its weight in terms of the calibre of players in its squad.
So with five matches played so far, the most impressive squad has been Germany. This is a surprise to many because of the substantial overhaul in the team and the absence of its long-term and dependable skipper, Michael Ballack. The self-assured demolition job against Australia a couple of days ago was impressive and may have upset the odds substantially.
In summary, I still think that there is much to go before firm favorites are confirmed and England may still reclaim its consideration by the quants here as potential champs. However, in spite of its high ranking and expectation of triumph, England does not look like champions in 2010. In all, prediction is difficult but the German teams seems to be well-conditioned and will make it to the next round.
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2 comments:
The second sentence in your first paragraph is hilarious.....I can tell you that prior to the kick-off, RSA managed to work itself into a delirium quite unlike anything I have ever been privileged to witness. The victory never came to pass, a draw was infinitely better than a loss. Alas, come 16 June, the high that everyone had been on came down with a resounding thud, and all woke up with a nasty hangover.
One can only pray that with the French team in such a shambles, even that 5-0 victory is not too far-fetched :-)
Well said Don. African teams have performed poorly but that should not have surprised all who followed their form before the tournament commenced. South Africa's total capitulation to Uruguay surprised me. The disorganization after conceding the first goal was just unworthy of hosts and a serious team. However, the first round prize for self immolation must go to the French team, if that is still even worthy of the name.
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