The Day After

Italy celebrates upon hearing that only Australia, Switzerland and the Ukraine stand between them and the semis. This means they won't even have to pay off the refs.

Wow, what a day yesterday was in the World Cup! Not only did the US crash & burn (at least US soccer is consistent with US basketball, baseball, hockey...), but a European powerhouse was eliminated (the Czechs), the most intense & dramatic game of the Cup was played (Australia-Croatia) and soccer refereeing nosedived to a new low (so many yellow cards have been shown that Graham Poll literally lost count of yellow cards yesterday, showing three to Croatia's Josip Simunic - can't wait to hear Beckenbauer's thoughts on that one). A quick recap for you as the first round finishes up just a few hours from now:

The US blew it, Markus Merk submitted his formal application to the Byron Moreno Hall of Shame, and Bruce Arena's reign ended with a whimper - the US-Ghana game had plenty of newsworthy stories. On the plus side, when Arena gets back to the States and finds out that Eric Wynalda has unleashed an all-out campaign for Arena's public lynching, we could have a coach vs commentator throw-down not seen since, er, Ozzie Guillen called out Jay Mariotti.

The Czechs, after looking so strong against the Americans (who apparently weren't nearly as tough to beat as everyone thought), are headed home. Your author's crystal ball showed this team in the semis, but that damn ball is less trustworthy than Fox News. A sad end to Pavel Nedved's career - it looks like his best shot at international glory came in Euro '04, when the Czechs bowed out in the semis to eventual champion Greece. And a surprising collapse for a team that, although decimated by injuries to Jan Koller, Milan Baros, and Vladimir Smicer, is still stacked with talent, from Petr Cech in goal to playmaker Tomas Rosicky. The Czechs will be back, but they'll have four years to point to a poor effort against Ghana before they get an oppportunity to redeem themselves.

Australia-Croatia was easily the best game we've seen thus far. Two teams fighting for their lives, with plenty of history between them for added drama, an appalling refereeing performance, goals aplenty, approximately 32 yellow cards, and see-saw action that left the Aussies in round 2 and the Croats making summer vacation plans. And wouldn't you know it, but Guus Hiddink does it again! After taking South Korea, in 2002, and Holland, in 1998, to the World Cup semis, Hiddink has worked his magic once again (and no, even though he'd be a fantastic candidate, he can't become the next US coach because he's already signed on to manage the Russian national team - doh!).

How sad it is that even the best refs can't be trusted. It's one thing for refs like Egypt's Gamal Ghandour to blow calls, but for Europe's best and most experienced pros to completely fall apart in the biggest games is devastating for the sport of soccer. I have defended their performances in this tournament thus far (Larriondo's calls against the US were legit, the flurry of yellow cards was ordered by FIFA and is only meant to protect the 'jogo bonito' we all want to see, and other than France, few teams can really claim that they got jobbed), but yesterday was a debacle. From Poll issuing three yellow cards to Croatia's Simunic - which is really taking the "don't be afraid to show cards' edict to a new level (in light of all the yellows being dished out, I thought Beckenbauer had just decided to give every player an extra one) - to Merk awarding an inexplicable and game-changing penalty to Ghana, yesterday was all too reminiscent of the 2002 travesty. Here's hoping things change - and fast - but I am not optimistic. Don't be surprised if Sweden finishes their match with Germany with five players - you heard it here first.

No team in the world should be happier today than the Azzurri., and all this after the Serie A scandal reached a fever pitch back home. After two uninspiring performances against Ghana and the US, Italy needed a win against the Czechs. Not only did they run out 2-0 winners, but they won Group E and will now face Australia in round 2. Australia should be exhausted after their win over Croatia, they will be missing influential midfielder Brett Emerton (suspended for cards, of course) and must be feeling thrilled just to have qualified for the second round. Meanwhile, Italy gets a chance to gain revenge on Hiddink, whose South Korea team (with some serious help from the aforementioned Moreno) eliminated the Italians four years ago. And if Italy beats the Socceroos, a quarterfinal game against the Ukraine, Switzerland, France, or (who else) South Korea, awaits - none of those opponents, save maybe the French if they find a way to hit the rewind button to 1998, should be too tough. Compare that to the road that, say, Portugal faces, and it's a far easier path to the semis: Portugal, having taken maximum points from the first-round games and won Group D, now plays a fantastic Holland team in round 2, followed, in all probabilty, by England in the quarterfinals. Argentina, who also looked excellent in winning Group C, must play Mexico in round 2 and then in all likelihood face their German hosts in the quarters. The bottom line is that success in these tournaments, while obviously not possible without an excellent team, depends in large part on favorable match-ups. As I said a few days ago, there's always a team that starts slow, never looks like world-beaters, but gets some easy match-ups and waltzes into the semis - this year's lucky winners: Italy.

Back tomorrow with a preview of round 2...