World Cup Preview: Group B

Argentina
Nickname: The Albicelestes, after their white and sky-blue shirts
FIFA ranking: 7
How they got here: Made hard work of things, including a humiliating 6-1 loss to Bolivia, but eventually qualified thanks to narrow wins in their last two games.
Record in previous tournaments: Have won twice before, in 1978 and 1986. Lost to Germany on penalties in the quarter-finals in 2006.
Manager: Diego Maradona, formerly known for being the Best Player in the World^TM and scoring against England with his hand. Now known for having gastric bypass surgery and running over reporters with his car.
Players to watch: Leo Messi, aka the new Maradona and the reigning Best Player in the World^TM, who can do absolutely ridiculous things with the ball at his feet. They've got plenty of other talent, too, with players like Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, and Diego Milito all fighting for a place in the lineup. Somewhat inexplicably, Juan Sebastian Veron is back in the quad, while Juan Roman Riquelme has been left at home, along with Champions League winners Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti. Captain Javier Mascherano will be spending the tournament trying not to get sent off for cursing at the referee.

Greece
Nickname: Traditionally known as the Galanoleyki (the blue and whites); they also picked up the nickname of "The Pirate Ship" in 2004, which is baffling, considering that their style is hardly what you'd call swashbuckling.
FIFA ranking: 13
How they got here: Finished second in their qualifying group and then beat Ukraine in the playoffs.
Record in previous tournaments: Have made it to the World Cup only once before, in 1994, when they lost all three group matches and failed to score a single goal. They did win the Euros in 2004, although it wasn't pretty.
Manager: Otto Rehhagel, who led them to their European title and coached in the Bundesliga before that.
Players to watch: Bayer Leverkusen striker Theo Gekas, the top scorer in UEFA qualifying.

Korea Republic (aka South Korea)
Nickname: The Taeguk Warriors. (The taeguk is apparently that yin-yang symbol in the middle of the Korean flag.)
FIFA ranking: 47
How they got here: Were undefeated in qualifying from their group in Asia.
Record in previous tournaments: Made it to the semi-finals at home in 2002, but were knocked out at the group stage in 2006.
Manager: Huh Jung-Moo. Who? Yeah, me neither.
Players to watch: Midfielder Park Ji-Sung, nicknamed "Three-Lung" by Manchester United fans for his indefatigable workrate.

Nigeria
Nickname: The Super Eagles
FIFA ranking: 21
How they got here: Squeaked into the tournament with a 3-2 win over Kenya in their final game of the qualification rounds.
Record in previous tournaments: Failed to qualify in 2006. Their best-ever finish was the round of 16, in 1994 and 1998.
Manager: Lars Lagerback, who previously managed Sweden but took over with Nigeria after the Swedes failed to qualify for this tournament.
Players to watch: Plenty of pace up front with Obafemi Martins and Aiyegbeni Yakubu. But they'll miss the strong presence of Chelsea's Jon Obi Mikel in midfield.

Verdict on the group
Maradona is constantly changing his tactics, has made some bizarre choices for the squad, and doesn't seem to know how to get the best from Messi.
The team is like a Ferrari being driven by a retarded, drug-addled monkey.
Despite that, I'd still expect them to top the group, because they've just got too many good players. How far they get beyond that depends on how well they can rise above Maradona's limitations as a manager and really play as a team.

As for the second team to come out of this group, I don't think South Korea will be able to reproduce their dark-horse form of 2002, which leaves Greece or Nigeria. I'm voting for Nigeria, partly because of their quasi-home field advantage and partly because watching Greece makes me want to poke my eyes out with a shish kebab.

Women's World Cup: Day 4

The most notable result from this round of games was England holding Germany to a scoreless draw. It was a thoroughly disciplined performance by England, as the defence stifled the German attack while Kelly Smith, leading the line on her own, harried them at the other end. England allowed Germany very few clear chances at goal, and keeper Rachel Brown was equal to those they did have, including an excellent save late in the game.

Argentina were Germany's victims in their first match, but they put on a much better show against Japan -- possibly heartened by goalkeeper Romina Ferro replacing the unfortunate Vanina Correa. Japan thoroughly dominated in terms of both possession and shots but couldn't seem to score, while Argentina could only muster up one shot on target. The one and only goal came late in the game, Yuki Nagasato pouncing on a rebound in stoppage time to give Japan the win.

That leaves Germany and Japan level with four points atop Group A, although Germany have a far superior goal differential. England trail with two points, but they still have a chance to move on to the next round if they win their next game and beat Argentina by more goals than Japan did.

In Group B, the USA bounced back from the disappointment of their draw against North Korea to defeat Sweden 2-0. Once again it was Abby Wambach (in this case, her presence rather than her absence) who made all the difference as she scored both goals for the USA, from a coolly taken penalty in the first half and a super half-volley in the second.

North Korea also won their second match 2-0, beating Nigeria thanks to two goals in the first half from Kim Kyong Hwa and Ri Kum Suk. Both goals came from set-pieces, the first directly from a corner that looped into the net over keeper Precious Dede (best. name. EVER). The Koreans and the USA are tied and lead the group with four points each; they face Sweden and Nigeria, respectively, in their third game, with both teams knowing that a draw will be enough to see them through to the quarter-finals.

Group A
Argentina 0-1 Japan
England 0-0 Germany

Group B
Sweden 0-2 USA
Korea DPR 2-0 Nigeria

Women's World Cup: Day 1-2

Last summer in the men's World Cup, Germany v. Argentina was one of the best games of the tournament. Not so much with the women's version. This was a blowout. A score you'd usually associate more with, say, Germany v. San Marino. The Germans were helped by some terrible goalkeeping by Vanina Correa, who put the ball in her own net twice, as well as some equally atrocious defending by Argentina; the back line might as well have not even been there for all the good they were. I think they just kind of gave up after the first five goals or so. But even so, it takes a pretty good team to score eleven times in the space of 90 minutes, including hat tricks for both Birgit Prinz and Sandra Smisek. WIR SIND DEUTSCHLAND. WIR SCHTOMPEN ON DIE PUNY SOUTH AMERICANS MIT UNSERE BIG SCHTOMPY BOOTS.

Fortunately, the other matches so far have been much closer. In the other Group A match, Japan scored first with a free kick from Aya Miyama, before England equalized and then took the lead with two quick goals from Kelly Smith. But in injury time, Miyama scored from another free kick on the edge of the box, leaving both teams with a share of the points.

(I'm not going to do the bad hair awards for this tournament, because most of the players just have ponytails, which is boring. But I have to mention Japan's Eriko Arakawa, who has a truly spectacular fro. How do you even head the ball with that?)

Group B, meanwhile, is wide open, as both of those games also ended in a draw. North Korea surprised the favoured Americans with two goals in the space of five minutes, both scored with the USA down to 10 players while Abby Wambach was off having a nasty head wound stitched up. I'm not quite sure why that took the team up so much, though -- if you're going to be missing a player, wouldn't you want it to be a striker?

And finally, Nigeria's Cynthia Uwak scored a late equalizer to give her team a deserved point against Sweden, who'd taken the lead early in the second half with a goal from captain Victoria Svensson.


Group A
Germany 11-0 Argentina
Japan 2-2 England

Group B
USA 2-2 Korea DPR
Nigeria 1-1 Sweden

Women's World Cup Previews: Group B

SWEDEN
Nickname: Blågult (the blue-yellow)
Current world ranking: 3
Coach: Thomas Dennerby, who took over from Marika Domanski-Lyfors in 2005 after being named Sweden's coach of the year in 2004.
How they qualified: Won their UEFA qualifying group, with a 7-1-0 record.
Past record: Have qualified for every tournament and are perennial contenders. Their best showing was as runners-up to Germany in 2003, when they lost in extra time.
Other results: European runners-up in 2001; 4th place at the 2004 Olympics.
Why they could win: Dennerby has instilled a new tactical flexibility in the team, as well as bringing in some new blood, and it seems to have worked, as they racked up an impressive 32 goals in qualifying. But the team has been since hit by a string of injuries.
Key players: Strikers Hanna Ljungberg (no relation to Freddie) and Victoria Svensson led the line for Sweden in 2003, but with Ljungberg struggling with injuries, newcomer Lotta Schelin will have to step up and fill her boots.
Predicted finish: Quarter-finals

USA
Nickname: USWNT (wow, just as boring as the men's side)
Current world ranking: 1
Coach: Greg Ryan, who took over from April Heinrichs in 2005 and has a virtually flawless record with the team since then.
How they qualified: Won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in November 2006.
Past record: Have won the world title twice, in 1991 and 1999, but were knocked out by eventual winners Germany in the semi-finals in 2003.
Other results: They've won just about everything you can win in women's football, including the Olympics (twice) and the Gold Cup (three times).
Why they could win: Let's face it, they probably will. The USA recently regained their #1 world ranking, and they'll be out to avenge the loss to Germany in the 1999 World Cup. They've brought up a new generation of players who are probably even better than the squad that won the title before.
Key players: Striker Abby Wambach has 77 goals in 96 games; she's tall and strong, sort of like a female version of Didier Drogba, except blonde and less inclined to falling over. She'll be teamed up front with veteran Kristine Lilly, appearing in her fifth World Cup.
Predicted finish: Winners (much as I hate to say it)

NIGERIA
Nickname: Super Falcons
Current world ranking: 24
Coach: Effiom Ntiero, who took charge in 2006 after coaching the U19s at the world championship in 2002.
How they qualified: Won the African championship in November 2006.
Past record: Have qualified for all four previous tournaments; their best finish was reaching the quarter-finals in 1999.
Other results: Five-time African champions.
Why they could win: Nigeria has monopolized women's football in Africa, and they've got plenty of talent in the team. The core of the squad from 2003 has returned, plus some stars from the U20 team.
Key players: Young striker Cynthia Uwak, who has great pace and skill on the ball, and fellow centre-forward Perpetua Nkwocha, the 2006 CAF Women's Footballer of the Year.
Predicted finish: First-round elimination

KOREA DPR (NORTH KOREA)
Nickname: None that I could find, but the men's team are known as the Taeguk Warriors
Current world ranking: 5
Coach: Kim Kwang-Min, an experienced coach who took over in 2005.
How they qualified: Finished third at the Asian championship in July 2006, but earned the region's second spot at the World Cup because winners China had qualified automatically.
Past record: Qualified twice before, in 1999 and 2003, but failed to progress past the group stage both times.
Other results: Won the AFC title in 2001 and 2003. The U20 side also won the world championship last year.
Why they could win: The Koreans are well organized and work hard, with plenty of speed and stamina. But they've been going through a rebuilding phase recently, and I suspect that they're missing that spark they need to progress.
Key players: Striker Ri Kum Suk is the team's captain and best-known player. She won the golden boot in the 2003 AFC championship, with 15 goals, but her scoring record isn't quite so impressive at World Cup level.
Predicted finish: First-round elimination

Group Predictions
The USA should top the group easily, and I expect Nigeria to be at the bottom – although they're the best team in Africa, they usually disappoint at the World Cup. Second and third place, though, are a bit harder to predict. When I originally looked at the groups back in April, I picked Korea to go through, but now I might be leaning towards Sweden. Either way, the runners-up here will probably have to face the mighty Germany in the next round. Lucky them.

U20 World Cup: Quarter-finals

Austria 2-1 USA (aet)
Spain 1-1 Czech Republic (3-4 on penalty kicks)
Chile 4-0 Nigeria (aet)
Argentina 1-0 Mexico

I finally got to see one of the games live: I went to USA v. Austria on Saturday. It was a great game to watch, too, aside from the fact that it rained the entire time. This is not fun in an open stadium. I'm sure the guys outside selling rain ponchos made a fortune that day.

Anyway, I sort of feel like I should apologize to YNBA and goalscoring robot for cheering for Austria and jinxing their team, but I really didn't think the Austrians were going to win. Especially not after they gave up a goal in the first 15 minutes. They pulled one back just before halftime though, with the US keeper spilling a shot (blame it on the rain, as both Milli and Vanilli would say) and Ruben Okotie pouncing on the rebound. That was pretty much the only useful thing I saw Okotie do all game; he had a terrible first touch, and I can't figure out why he started the game instead of Erwin Hoffer, unless it was deliberately planned so that Hoffer could do his super-sub thing once again.

Hoffer came on as a sub in extra time (and I should point out here that he has his nickname shaved into the side of his head, which is an excellent reason for y'all to make fun of him), and just as he did against Gambia, he bagged the winner for Austria. It had been a very physical game, with a total of 41 fouls and 12 yellow cards -- and two of those yellow cards went to the US left back Anthony Wallace, who was sent off in the 103rd minute. The resulting free kick pinged around the box before Hoffer scrambled it into the net, sending his team into the semi-finals.

I only saw bits and pieces of the other matches, but I did catch Spain reverting to form (i.e., choking) against the Czech Republic on Saturday night. Both teams failed to score in regular time, although Spain's Adrian Lopez missed a tap-in on an open net near the end of the game. In extra time it was much the same, with the score level at 1-1 and Spain again wasting a great chance to win the game. Instead they went to penalty kicks, Manchester United's Gerard Pique had his shot saved, and the Czechs won their second straight game on penalties.

Chile and Nigeria were also scoreless after 90 minutes, but then the game exploded in extra time. Jaime Grondona scored what would be the winning goal for Chile just five minutes in, but the Chileans also scored a penalty in the 114th minute and followed it up with two more goals, just to pour salt in the wounds, as Nigeria pushed forward desperately in search of a goal.

Argentina v. Mexico was the only quarter-final match that didn't go to extra time. The two teams largely nullified each other, with the decisive goal coming from the pocket-sized Maxi Moralez (seriously, he's shorter than I am; that is short) just before halftime. These were two of the best teams in the competition so far, and the Mexicans may feel they were unlucky to meet in the quarter-finals. But it'll be Argentina v. Chile in Toronto on Thursday, while Austria fly to Edmonton to take on the Czechs on Wednesday.