Having watched each team play more than once, here are my bracket predictions from here on out. (I know, I know. I cheated a bit by not doing this for the group stages, too. But, I mean, who would have predicted France and Italy being sent home, Ghana being the only African team to advance, and the US winning its group? No one. That’s who. So, let’s go with what we know now.)
Round of Sixteen
Uruguay/South Korea - Uruguay is playing too strong for the Koreans right now. Uruguay wins, 2-1.
USA/Ghana - A tired US squad will ride it out on the momentum of that amazing goal (replays of which I’ve watched like 1,452 times now) and will defeat an also tired Ghana squad - but only because Ghana hasn’t been able to score on anything but penalty kicks so far this tournament. US wins, 2-0.
Germany/England - England gets their act together and takes down a too young German squad. England wins, 3-2 in overtime.
Argentina/Mexico - This will be the most fun game of this round, and Argentina’s strikers will prove too much for Mexico. Argentina wins, 3-1.
Netherlands/Slovakia - I’d say no brainer, but look where no brainers got us in the group stages. Netherlands win, 1-0.
Brazil/Chile - Here’s my big upset prediction: Chile comes out firing and catches Brazil off-guard, just like the US did to Brazil in last year’s Confederations Cup. Only this time, Brazil can’t hang on and Chile pulls it out. Chile wins, 2-1.
Paraguay/Japan - Uh, really? Paraguay wins, 2-1.
Spain/Portugal - Spain has shown they are vulnerable, and Portugal has shown some flashes of brilliance. Portugal, 2-0.
Quarterfinals
Uruguay/USA - This is my biased pick of the bracket. Uruguay runs out of steam against a US team that is just barely hanging in there. Game full of blown chances, but the US manages a late score (this is assuming they don’t let La Celeste score in the first minute or so). USA wins, 1-0.
Netherlands/Chile - Chile has what it takes to overcome Brazil, but not a disciplined Netherlands team. Netherlands win, 2-0.
Argentina/England - Rooney is still asleep at the wheel, Messi comes alive. Argentina wins, 2-0.
Portugal/Paraguay - Love that, somehow, Paraguay ends up in the quarterfinals…but that’s where they stay. Portugal wins, 3-1.
Semifinals
USA/Netherlands - Do I really have the USA in the semis? Yup - the bracket plays in their favor. However, history repeats itself and the US finds itself in the third place game. Netherlands win, 2-0.
Argentina/Portugal - It’s a crazy game, but the World Cup is the one major tournament where strikers alone can carry a team. Argentina wins, 4-2.
Third Place
USA/Portugal - I’m not gonna put a lot of thought into this. Portugal wins, 2-0.
Final
Argentina/Netherlands - A sort-of rematch from group play in 2006. This time, Argentina comes out on top. (In all honesty, I wouldn’t have put Argentina - my fav team - in the finals before seeing group play. But we’ve seen their big players come together a bit, Maradona has been kinda brilliant and not batshit insane, and European squads have largely underperformed. Assuming it’s not Brazil they’re playing, this tournament is Argentina’s for the taking.) Argentina wins, 3-1.
Am I dead certain about much of this? Hell no. Do I think all of these scenarios are highly plausible and would I like to see it go this way? Absolutely.
![In continuing with “WTF? When did Tony’s Tumblr become a World Cup Tumblr?” Soccer Theme, I decided to wear my Boca Juniors training jersey to kickball tonight.
Which calls for a little storytime! Specifically: Why I like Argentina. Well…
Back in my undergrad days, I wanted to study abroad something fierce, but none of the standard options (Europe, Europe, Europe, and Europe) really appealed to me then. I wanted to go somewhere, but not somewhere everyone around me was going. Also, being a film student at the time, I learned quickly that I hated Asian cinema - and you get a lot of Kurosawa shoved down your throat - so that turned me off of the Eastern options right quick. There really weren’t any African programs relevant to my study at the time, and Oceania wasn’t on my radar. However, I did really love Latin American film. Memories of Underdevelopment was (and still is) one of my favorite foreign films. Certainly, The Hour of the Furnaces will stay with anyone who watches it. And, on a completely different note, Gilda-set in a fictionalized Buenos Aires at the end of WWII-was my favorite Hollywood film ever until Children of Men (directed by a Latin American director [duh], Alfonso Cuaron) bumped it to #2. (Oh, and, as horrible as it is, I totally loved The Three Cabelleros when I was a kid.) In many ways, my cultural affinity for Latin America set the stage for the day a certain email rolled across my University of Minnesota email account: “Study Language and Culture in Buenos Aires, Argentina!”
I knew before I even opened the email that I was going. There was never a question. I applied immediately. Sure enough, that next fall semester I found myself on a plane to Argentina, where I lived for 4.5 months. Many (many, many, many) other stories aside, I crushed hard on certain beautiful Argentine girl who worked the front desk at the hotel where we lived. Fortunately for me, the crush was mutual (though chaste and, uh, from afar…mostly). We struck up a friendship (as, sadly, she was married for 4.25 of the 4.5 months that I was there), and I discovered her father worked for Boca Juniors. For those unaware, Boca and River Plate make up the heart of football in Buenos Aires - the town is literally split in two - you’re either a fan of blue and gold, or red and white, and there are no in betweens. We’re talking 100 times more serious than even the most serious Man U/Arsenal rivals. Deathly serious business.
Being in that environment piqued my interest, and the girl helped it along. Eventually, I visited Boca’s stadium in the wonderful La Boca neighborhood, and made the trek out to the far suburbs to see the Juniors play Quilmes. I hadn’t seen anything like a Latin American football match - all the myth and hype is true. The energy was off the charts. We had to glue ourselves to the back and keep our mouths shut lest we be discovered as Americans, and, despite doing so, a fellow student-abroad got her jewelry ripped right off her neck on our way out, cheap gold chain links and fake diamonds flying everywhere. I heard, firsthand, what a truly authoritative “puta” sounds like. I was scared shitless, stupid little American boy that I was. I loved it. A defining moment for me trip-wise, and probably life-wise. Since then, I’ve been a football (soccer, futbol, whatever) fan.
Oh! And I was also there when Tevez played for Boca…and when he made the controversial move to Corinthians in Brazil (eventually, he wound up in England, playing for West Ham, Man U, and now Man City). The politics and public reaction to his move, relatively unprecedented for a player of his standing (as the best Argentine players usually do not pass Go, collect millions of dollars, and go directly to Europe, so his move to Brazil was seen as a sort of cultural betrayal) was fascinating.
Also, I was living there when the US re-elected Bush. As you can guess, on those nights when I wasn’t pretending to be Canadian (or, on one extremely drunken occasion, Norwegian [by cranking up the MN accent and trying not to laugh]), I, as an American, wasn’t very popular. But football was a great way to hedge - they hated our politics (and so did I!), but, you know, the Argentine national team could absolutely crush the United States’ team. So, on some level, I guess we were even.
And that’s pretty much where I stand today: I’ve got even love for the US and Argentina. I always give some happy nods to Mexico and Portugal, and this year South Africa! (we’re all secretly pulling for an African team this time around, aren’t we? ZA won’t bring it home, but Côte d’Ivoire could do it, and I’ve got outside hopes on Ghana, especially since they aren’t in the same group as the US this year). But, above all, La Albicelestes and the Americans are what drive me to drink at 6:30 AM, for better or for worse.
And I have Argentina to thank for it.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3gpuvuYyr1qzxliso1_500.jpg)
