Messi made it happen today.
Five goals in one game! What is this World Cup coming to? I don't know how many people saw this kind of Argentine explosion coming after the way South Korea shut down Greece. Gonzalo Higuain finished very well in front of goal, notching a hat trick -- but really it was Messi, Tevez, de Maria, and later Sergio Aguero who deconstructed the Korean defense. A big result for Nigeria, too, who (if they can beat Greece, even 1-0) now have a major goal-differential advantage over South Korea heading into their final match.
In honor of Argentina, some links and rankings:
* More Maradona vs. Pele. Including Diego's allegation that Pele "lost his virginity to a man." Nice.
* The continental standings so far, including the Argentina-South Korea result. I don't love to say it (OK, I kind of love to say it) but the play so far favors my early, cold-blooded instinct: South America up, Africa down.
South America: 5-0-2 (12 goals scored, 2 goals allowed)
Europe: 4-4-5 (11 goals scored, 9 allowed)
Asia: 2-2-0 (5 goals scored, 6 allowed)
North America: 0-1-2 (2 goals scored, 3 allowed)
Oceania: 0-1-1 (1 goal scored, 5 allowed)
Africa: 1-4-2 (2 goals scored, 7 allowed)
* Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl takes an early stab at World Cup Power rankings. My top 10 so far (based on both pre-Cup reputation and actual play):
1. Brazil: Until they lose, they'll remain the favorite in my book.
2. Argentina: "Maradona starting to look like a bit of a Svengali," says ESPN's Ian Drake.
3. Germany: The USA did score 3 vs. Australia in a pre-Cup friendly, so its hard to say how much credit the Germans should get for their dominance.
4. Netherlands: With Eljero Elia in the second half, they finally began to look the part of favorites. And Arjen Robben may be the best player in South Africa yet to play in a game.
5. Spain: The Swiss did well, but Spain really did play poorly yesterday.
6. Italy: Even without Buffon, they're in great position to top Group F. Crazy to count them out already.
7. England: Draw against US was unlucky, but not devastating.
8. Chile: Could have had 2-3+ goals vs. Honduras. Problem is their group, which now looks just as strong as so-called Group of Death with Ivory Coast and Portugal.
9. Uruguay: In great position to take Group A and have a manageable route (vs. Nigeria or South Korea) to the quarterfinals
10. Switzerland: In a defensive tourney, their 5 straight World Cup clean sheets might set them up for a dangerous/irritating run. Plus, modern defensive football apparently originated with the Swiss -- even before Italian catenaccio. Another reason to root against them, in my book.
In honor of Argentina, some links and rankings:
* More Maradona vs. Pele. Including Diego's allegation that Pele "lost his virginity to a man." Nice.
* The continental standings so far, including the Argentina-South Korea result. I don't love to say it (OK, I kind of love to say it) but the play so far favors my early, cold-blooded instinct: South America up, Africa down.
South America: 5-0-2 (12 goals scored, 2 goals allowed)
Europe: 4-4-5 (11 goals scored, 9 allowed)
Asia: 2-2-0 (5 goals scored, 6 allowed)
North America: 0-1-2 (2 goals scored, 3 allowed)
Oceania: 0-1-1 (1 goal scored, 5 allowed)
Africa: 1-4-2 (2 goals scored, 7 allowed)
* Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl takes an early stab at World Cup Power rankings. My top 10 so far (based on both pre-Cup reputation and actual play):
1. Brazil: Until they lose, they'll remain the favorite in my book.
2. Argentina: "Maradona starting to look like a bit of a Svengali," says ESPN's Ian Drake.
3. Germany: The USA did score 3 vs. Australia in a pre-Cup friendly, so its hard to say how much credit the Germans should get for their dominance.
4. Netherlands: With Eljero Elia in the second half, they finally began to look the part of favorites. And Arjen Robben may be the best player in South Africa yet to play in a game.
5. Spain: The Swiss did well, but Spain really did play poorly yesterday.
6. Italy: Even without Buffon, they're in great position to top Group F. Crazy to count them out already.
7. England: Draw against US was unlucky, but not devastating.
8. Chile: Could have had 2-3+ goals vs. Honduras. Problem is their group, which now looks just as strong as so-called Group of Death with Ivory Coast and Portugal.
9. Uruguay: In great position to take Group A and have a manageable route (vs. Nigeria or South Korea) to the quarterfinals
10. Switzerland: In a defensive tourney, their 5 straight World Cup clean sheets might set them up for a dangerous/irritating run. Plus, modern defensive football apparently originated with the Swiss -- even before Italian catenaccio. Another reason to root against them, in my book.