The Changing of the Guard

I have to say that I am handling Spain's defeat very well. If you were with me while I was watching the game you would have seen me freaking out and imposing an embargo on the use of my cell phone. I was focused on seeing what the defending champions would do. It became clear that the precise passing that we have become accustomed to with Spain was just not working. Coupled with more goal keeping errors by Casillas, the task of winning was just too insurmountable for the Spaniards. I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with the Chileans. They played incredibly well and pressed the Spaniards for the entire game. I loved that they were not intimidated by the Spanish and had fun while playing.

It is apparent that there is a recurring theme throughout this World Cup, underestimating teams. As has been seen, this is the World Cup for a new champion to rise and for many "underdog" teams to impress. People thought that the Australians were going to suck. I have to say that I was impressed by how well they played against the Dutch. Tim Cahill probably scored one of the best goals of the tournament thus far and they came out at the get-go pressing the Dutch and providing pressure. The Dutch's defeat of Spain was impressive but I was not really impressed with their performance today. They seemed slow and lacked creativity, surprising with the great midfield they have. It seemed that they were too confident and didn't really approach their opposition with respect. Luckily for them they didn't loose because of this. I think the game against Chile will be very entertaining. The Chileans will not be afraid to send their whole team forward and attack the Dutch with great energy and speed.

The Spanish loss is proof that it is time for a new Champion to be crowned. So far many teams have played like they deserve to win. Surprisingly, Brazil is not one of them. I think that the Germans could tear them a part and Messi could easily score 50 goals if he felt like it. What I do know is that I am happy that I have not chosen to gamble on any of games in this World Cup or I would be pretty broke. I will stick to having a heart attack every game and aging 20 years by the end of this thing.