Group H Action

SIGNS IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY

I knew it was going to be a shitty day when I slipped on my cat and fell down the stairs this morning. I had a paper in one hand and a bowl of warm oatmeal in the other. I opened the basement door, took one step right on top of my cat, and took a tumble for the ages. The stairs were covered in oatmeal, I was covered in oatmeal, the cat was covered in oatmeal. Seriously, it looked like an oatmeal bomb went off. To top it off the cat thinks I tried to kill him, ten years of trust ruined by one misstep. I also put a hole in the wall and was lucky not to break anything, and I have scars, yes scars from tripping on a cat and getting smothered in oatmeal. Do you want to see my scars?

Sign number two it wasn't going to be a good day was this: To get the oatmeal out of my shorts I submerged them in the sink, with my cell-phone still in the pocket. WA WA WAAAAAAH!

So basically I had the worst day ever, which is my excuse for not blogging Group H match reports. I did watch some of both games though.

Spain 4 Ukraine 0: Ukraine's legendary striker Shevchenko was recently in danger of joining the list of "greatest players never to play in a World Cup," which includes such legends as George Best, George Weah, and Ryan Giggs. Well, Ukraine qualified but after today's result maybe he wishes he'd stayed on that list. Ukraine's players and coaches complained about the heat beforehand(Germany is undergoing a heatwave) but excuses aside, they got lit up today. Apparently they had a player sent off in the second half but they were already trailing 2-0 if I am not mistaken. Ukraine were everybody's favorite dark-horse in this tournament as they were actually the first European side to qualify. This begs the question: Are Spain that good, or are Ukraine overrated? The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle but Spain's passing was incredible today and they have joined the official list of tournament favorites with this performance. But please, the Spanish must not be made aware of their favorite status or they will play like shit and get knocked out.

Tunisia 2 Saudi Arabia 2: Not one of the more anticipated matches of the finals but apparently a very entertaining one. Saudi Arabia will be happy to have scored, as like France they were goalless in 2002. Tunisia actually have France 2002 coach Roger Lemerre in charge, who is probably relishing his former team's continued goal drought. Some people have tipped Tunisia for the second round and the way Ukraine played today that's entirely possible. They have to feel they missed an opportunity today against the unfancied Saudis. Then again I didn't see the whole game so I don't know if this was a deserved result or not. Any thoughts?

Extra: The Saudi monarchy have offered huge financial incentives to the team both for wins and a second round berth. You just know the Saudi squad are on the phone right now asking what they get for 2 goals and a tie.