It wasn’t the recipe’s fault, it was mine. I tried to fit too many things in today, when it was already busy enough. Time management might not be one of my strongest qualities.
Point being that I am deep into testing a recipe, and I have to go get the kid from school, so this is the best I can do today.
But here’s the recipe I’m trying out…
Shame on me for not taking the two early matches seriously. Sure, France didn’t have to win today, but I thought even their backbenchers could take care of Tunisia. And then I was like, there is no way Denmark is leaving the World Cup without a win. Thus proving, yet again, that I have no idea what I am talking about.
But as for watching these two matches – Man! These were awesome!
There is a very good chance that France will win this whole thing, and if that happens, Tunisia will have to honor of saying they handed the French their only loss.
As for the Socceroos – They sure did dash Denmark’s dreams. And I am a big fan of Christian Eriksen, which just made me feel horrible for the guy, but Australia played like they wanted it more.
Now we get to the matches I was looking forward to. Poland v Argentina, and Mexico v Saudi Arabia. Drama! Drama all over the place. No one in this group is out of it, so everyone is playing for the win. Mexico is one of my favorite teams, but they do have their work cut out for them, and they also need a helping hand from the Football Gods. The whole world will be watching to see what happens to Messi today, and understandably so. I agree, I would like to see Messi get to the Knockout Round, and if he is going to lose, at least get out of the Group Stage.
My Uneducated Prediction: Argentina and Mexico advance. Just a gut feeling. And having said that… Poland and Saudi Arabia will advance in Group C.
UPDATE: Man, I was wrong on all accounts. Argentina and Poland move to the next round. Now, that was pretty fun there when Mexico had to score one more goal, or Argentina had to score another goal, for Mexico to advance. I was flipping between the two matches, seeing who would score next. Nope, Saudi Arabia got a goal, and Mexico’s dreams were dashed.
I said there would be drama, and that was drama!
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So… I caught a cold this weekend. In fact, my wife caught it, too. We were done in by our daughter, who had a cold last week, got over it, and we thought we had dodged the bullet. We didn’t. It’s not awful, but it is a cold, which meant I did watch matches over the weekend, but just didn’t have the energy to write about it.
My quick takes from the weekend:
As for today, a little surprised that South Korea lost this morning. That might push them out of advancing, but I think there is a slim chance – a very slim chance. Brazil and Switzerland could be exciting with Neymar out, which could make Brazil human for the next two matches. Then there is Portugal and Uruguay. I can see this one getting chippy, and aggressive. I can’t explain it, but I think Uruguay will pull this one out.
Let’s see how this goes.
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Full disclosure; I was running errands when this match started. (See, I needed to get the last of shopping for Thanksgiving done, which meant a run to Trader Joe’s, then to Old Navy to exchange some pajama bottoms, then to Whole Foods for a specific cheese that the wife needs for the big meal, and finally I went to neighborhood Key Foods to shop for dinner. Not that this has anything to do with anything, I just wanted to share it.) By the time I got home it was halftime, and the consensus was that Poland was holding their own against Mexico, as the score was 0-0.
In the second half, I was able to catch, what for right now is the save of the Tournament. Lewandowski was fouled in the box, which gave him a penalty kick. Standing in front of goal for Mexico was their clutch goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. I remember Ochoa from to 2018 Cup, and he kept that Mexican team together, even as they started to faulter in the group stage back then. This time around, Ochoa kept his legend alive as he blocked Lewandowski’s kick, and the huge crowd of Mexico supports exploded in cheers! In the end, as the matched in a draw, Ochoa saved his team, and has kept them alive with one point.
Looking at Group C, I never thought Argentina would be sitting at the bottom, nor did I think Saudi Ariba would be alone at the top. I know it’s early, and a lot can still happen.
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I’m excited about the World Cup, but I’m not so rabid that I would get up at 5am to watch the first match of the day. My friend Shawn might, but not me.
And then Saudi Arabia goes and creates the first upset of the Tournament. Oh, Messi, always the bridesmaid at World Cup, even with a goal in the 10th minute. But at the end of the day, props to the Saudi Arabian squad, because they clearly believed they could win.
As for other matches, I’m looking forward to Mexico v Poland. I have lots of respect for the Mexican team, as they have been the bane of Team USA’s existence. Yet, I feel a level of loyalty to our continental neighbor, as Mexico has a huge football fan base who does believe they should the first North American men’s team to win a Cup.
In other World Cup news, team Iran did not sing their national anthem at the opening of their match against England yesterday. Apparently, the team is standing in solidarity with Iranian women, and the protests back in their home country. It’s an important gesture that the team is making on the world biggest sporting stage, as we shouldn’t forget about the brave and courageous women of Iran who are standing up, and being murdered but the authoritarian Iranian regime, for demanding their basic human rights. This also shows that no matter how hard Qatar and FIFA try, you can’t stop all the protests.
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