So according to the stats form my web host, the more I talk about soccer, the fewer readers I have.  So, I guess every 4 years I’ll just have to deal with a dip in traffic.

For those folks who aren’t International soccer buffs, here’s a quick overview of what has transpired over the first 5 days of the World Cup, and what it means.  (Remember, every one of the 32 teams gets 3 games no matter what.  The top 2 teams in each 4 team division move on to a 16 team single elimination tourney.)

1) Who Exceeded Expectations

• Switzerland (Group H) – No one, and I mean no one, expected Switzerland to beat Spain.  Getting 3 points from that game was gigantic.  You kind of expected that Spain would win all 3 of their games, Honduras would lose all 3 of their games, and the Chile vs Switzerland game would decide second place.  The Swiss win probably puts the most heat on Chile.  This was one of those games where Spain dominated and Switzerland got a pretty lucky goal.  Assuming Switzerland scores against Honduras (no guarantee there) you could see this group end up with 3 teams at 2-1 and Honduras at 0-3.  Then it comes down to Goal Differential.  And so Switzerland is still going to have to find a way to score a goal to advance.
• USA (Group C) – The tie with England was huge for a variety of reasons.  But most importantly, it gives the U.S. a realistic chance of winning the group.  You win Group C, you see Serbia or Ghana in the second round.  You finish 2nd and you see Germany and book your ticket home.  So aside from the whole national pride and an awesome comeback to annoy Englishmen for the next 40 years, this game helped the U.S. with their long shot at winning Group C.
• Ghana (Group D) – Again probably just a slight upset, and it took a stupid penalty to make it happen, but Ghana’s win puts them in nice position.  If they beat Australia, they advance.
• New Zealand (Group F) – New Zealand stinks.  How Slovakia let them get a tie is baffling. 
• Paraguay (Group F) – Italy always under-performs in the opening round.  But Paraguay helped themselves by sneaking out the tie. 
• South Africa (Group A) – Small nod here.  Mexico is not that good, and no host team has ever lost their first game.  But they did get a tie against a team better than them, and put themselves in a spot where no matter what, the 3rd game will matter.
• North Korea (Group G) – They lost to Brazil.  But they only lost 2-1.  I think we were all hoping they would lose 6-0.  

Who Matched Expectations:

• Teams that won who should have: Korea, Argentina, Slovenia, Germany, Netherlands, Japan
• Teams that tied that probably should have: France and Uruguay, Ivory Coast v Portugal
• Teams that lost that you expected to lose: Greece, Nigeria, Algeria, Australia, Denmark, North Korea, Honduras, Cameroon

Who Made the Next Two Games Difficult for Themselves

• France and Mexico – Their fans “expected” them to win their games.  As it stands now, it looks like only the winner of this game will advance.
• England – They *should* beat Slovenia and Algeria.  But if the U.S. does as well, they need to not just win, but win by more goals than the U.S.
• Italy – Typical, but now they can’t mess up.
• Spain – Tough loss since they dominated the game.  But they should still beat Chile and Honduras to advance.
• Serbia – It’s hard to lose your first game, still have Germany on your schedule, and expect to advance.