Does anyone need a change of pants? I do.

Can it get any more exciting than the games the last few days? Nigeria v. South Korea, France v. South Africa, USA v. Algeria, England v. Slovenia, and did I mention USA v. Algeria? All these games in the last two days had you on the edge of the seat. It looked like the Mighty Yanks might not pull this game out, especially considering the bevy of chances in both the first half and the second- Gomez's blast, Dempsey off the post, Buddle header straight at the 'keeper, Jozy blasting the ball over the bar, Clint snuffing a shot straight at the keeper, Bradley's fierce free kick, Clint's fantom offside goal in the first hald and others I'm forgetting. It must be said that Algeria played a very negative game (they committed 21 fouls) and didn't deserve to get anything from this match. The USA thoroughly deserved the win, outplaying Algeria in every facet of the game. Perhaps this is some soccer karma for the shall we say interesting refereeing decisions that plagued the USA's earlier matches. As a soccer fan in the USA I am glad the referees did not affect the outcome in the group as I fear that may have set soccer back in the USA for quite some time, in addition to inciting country-wide outrage. It has to be said- Coach Bradley played this game well- early substitutions for offense over defense in the second half and not waiting until too late to put on players that can change the game (Buddle, Feilhaber, Beasley). Well done, Bradley!

As an England supporter I happy for both the USA and England, who progressed with a 1-0 win over Slovenia (Defoe latching on to a nice cross midway through the first half). I am nervous about England for several reasons. Wayne Rooney had several chances he most certainly would have taken whilst playing for Manchester United yet he hesitated on several show attempts, allowing the defense to poke the ball away from behind. In addition he had a fantastic chance on a volley that they goalie did well to parry off the post. Additionally with three central midfielders playing in the 4-4-2 there is no natural width. The more I think about it the more a 4-5-1 makes sense (thank you Ryan for your suggestion). A midfield of Cole and Lennon on the wings, Gerrard playing the withdrawn striker position that he's famous for at L'Pool, with Barry and Lampard providing cover and passing in the middle. Ryan wisely pointed out the Rooney excels in a 4-5-1 with United where the wingers are heavily involved in link up play. We all know Rooney's unselfishness and the addition of Cole and Lennon on the wings with Gerrard able to link up with him seems to allow a more balanced scoring attack than relying on Heskey to knock the ball down to Rooney, Lamps, or Gerrard for a chance on goal. Then again, I am not the manager of England.

Here are my BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR ROUND 2:

Uruguay v. South Korea: 0-1

United States v. Ghana: 2-1

Argentina v. Mexico: 3-1

England v. Germany: 2-2 during regular time. England win 4-3 on penalties, revenging years of heartbreak to the Germans.

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