Cup Crazy - 21 June

Day 13 was a tad predictable, but we're just brimming with anticipation for tomorrow's action. Brian's excited, and you should be too...

A Bit of a Snooze
Not much drama today in either Group C or Group D. In Group C, we already knew that Argentina and the Netherlands were going through. It was just a matter of who would finish first and who would be the runner-up. Both teams rested key players, including Crespo and Saviola for the Argentines and Robben for the Dutch. The game finished scoreless, but it was certainly one of the more entertaining 0-0 games one could hope to see. Argentina was attacking throughout, and van der Sar had to make a few superb saves. The Dutch finally turned it on late in the game, but neither team found the back of the net. In Group D, there was a bit more drama. A Mexico loss and an Angola win by a three goal margin would have seen the Africans move into the Round of 16. Even without Deco, Pauleta, and Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal outplayed the stagnant Mexicans over 90 minutes. In the other game, Angola made things mighty interesting when they took a lead over Iran, but the Iranians equalized late in the second half. It then became clear that the Mexicans, despite looking just awful so far in this World Cup, would finish as group runners-up. So, all in all, not much excitement today.

As for Bryce...
Our very own Bryce Campbell attended the Angola-Iran game today. Tomorrow he'll be taking in USA-Ghana. Look forward to his first-hand accounts when his German computer cooperates or when he sobers up. If you are attending, keep your eyes open for the Bookable Offense California state flag!

Looking Ahead to the Round of 16
Today's results gave us two very intriguing match-ups in the Round of 16. Argentina, so far the best looking team in this World Cup, will play Mexico, who are quite lucky to be in the Round of 16 considering their uninspiring play. But Mexico has talented players and could prove to be a bit of a banana skin for the Argentines. Stranger things have happened. On the other side of the bracket, we'll have a Euro 2004 semifinal rematch with Portugal and Holland. This should be one of the best games in the Round of 16. Portugal hasn't been very exciting, but they've been extremely effective and Big Phil will have them well prepared. Holland is of the same ilk, playing effective, winning football. Whoever's stars show up for this game - Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco for Portugal, Robben and van Nistelrooy for Holland - will likely be the winner.

Tomorrow's Predictions
I got three out of the four results correct today - another respectable day. Tomorrow is a tough one for me. I have an obvious bias, which you'll see in one key selection. I don't even want to preview said game because I'm just too nervous about it. Anyways, here are the predictions:

Italy 2, Czech Republic 0
USA 2, Ghana 1
Croatia 1, Australia 0
Brazil 2, Japan 0

Goodnight now.

Pics courtesy fifaworldcup.yahoo.com and california.form-a-corp.com. Email us at bookableoffense@gmail.com.