A World Cup Marathon Weekend

It has been a long weekend filled with a lot of soccer and some Father's Day thrown in there. Out of the seven games played this weekend what I have come away with is that watching a lot of soccer really can tire you out and that anything can happen in this World Cup. Though not on par with the travesty that was Spain's defeat, Uruguay's loss to Costa Rica was a HUGE upset. We all know that Luis Suarez was not able to play but a team that has Cavani and other great players should not loose to a team not of the same caliber (Sorry Costa Rican fans). Maybe Uruguay's defeat is another example of the ushering in of new national teams into the spotlight. Who knows? What is obvious from the game is that this will not be the last we see of the baby celebration and Joel Campbell. Besides being memorable for his celebration, I was thoroughly impressed with how well he played and how many problems he caused for the Uruguayan defense. I guess Arsene Wenger and Arsenal agree with me because Campbell will finally be returning to the Premiere League after being on loan for three seasons. Guess humiliating Uruguay was good for one thing.

Celebrating in style 

Next up we have the England vs Italy game. Can't lie I was kind of excited to see if England could actually impress on a world stage. I can't deny that they have some great players and have the best domestic soccer league, but England have failed to show up in recent World Cups. After hearing all the buzz about the team being filled with younger players I was excited to see a "new" England play. I pray that yesterday's team is not what Roy Hodgson considers to be new... It was plainly obvious that England were not able to keep up with Italy physically. While many of England's players fell pray to cramps in response to the crazy humidity of Manaus, Italy strolled around like it was a day in the park. And lets not forget that England's team was filled with relatively young players. Raheem Sterling, age 19, was one player who writhed around on the floor in pain. In comparison Andrea Pirlo, 35, looked like he could have stayed on that field all day. He demolished England's midfield and defense with passes that caught the team completely unaware and that saw him completely free and devoid of pressure. And the dummy he used to set up one of Italy's goals was insanely good. I can't talk about this game and not mention Rooney's blunder of a corner kick. It sums up much of what the last half of the game was like for England though Sturridge's goal was a beauty.

Yup... pretty much sums up the last half

Today's games once again brought many goals. I was happy that Switzerland was able to get the last minute winner but my heart goes out to Honduras. Watching a team that is clearly out matched struggle after going down to 10 men is heartbreaking. I hope they are at least able to score one goal during their World Cup campaign. What made it all better was watching Messi score a great goal. I've watched him play hundreds of times and every time I am awed by how good he is. I have to say though that Bosnia were still impressive and I honestly see them as being a dark horse in this World Cup. I think they will go pretty far and do some damage to other teams.

And... Happy Father's Day Padre! Messi's goal was my gift to you!