World Cup Round of 16 – US goes down to Ghana, Uruguay Wins

First two matches are in the books and the scores were:

• Uruguay 2 – South Korea 1
• Ghana 2 – USA 1  (match went into extra time after locked at 1-1 after regulation)

For game 3 in the group stage, I expected both US and Ghana to top their groups so they wouldn’t face each other but, alas, Ghana didn’t hold up their end of the bargain and my two favorite teams had to face off in the round of 16.  Bitter-sweet moment.

Originally expecting Ghana, Ivory Coast, and possibly any of [hosts] South Africa, Nigeria, or Camaroon to qualify from Africa, it was really disappointing that only Ghana did.  I thought Ivory Coast would’ve earned a draw against Brazil and forced Brazil’s hand against Portugal who trounced North Korea 7-0 after leading 1-0 at half-time.  That, of course, didn’t happen and Ivory Coast was eliminated… becoming one of the best eliminated teams.

So with only one African team moving on beyond the group stage, they became a favorite of mine, along the USA in this years tournament.

It was nostalgic, but such is life.

Who next to move on to the quarters?  Brazil? England?  Germany? Argentina?  Spain?

The Round of 16

My Picks

Biggest/Most Anticipated Matches of the Round of 16

Before the Round of 16 began, these were the most antipated matches of the round of 16, ranked from 5th to 1st.  I didn’t rank #6 through #8.

#5… Brazil vs Chile —  big-time South American matchup.  Chile is not scared of Brazil.  They know each other.

#4… Argentina vs Mexico — Argentina won world cup in Mexico’s Mexico City in 1986

#3… USA vs Ghana — Ghana elimnated the USA in 2006 world cup during group stage

#2… Spain vs Portugal — the European neighbors who can almost taste it… almost doesn’t count.

and the #1… England vs Germany — heard a World War 2 joke about the US, France, Germany & England

What’s your 5?  Take the poll to the right.  It expires when the last Round of 16 game has been played on Tuesday June 29, 2010.

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