Ghana

I specifically got on a bus that would have allowed me to get back to Zamalek in time to watch Ghana vs. Serbia, because both teams interest me. But just before the bus departed, I realized I had left some crucial documents in my office that were key to my ability to work from home rather than the office for the next couple of days. So I had to bail and catch a later bus, and as a result I only caught the tail end of Ghana/Serbia on ESPN GameCast, which is essentially a map of the field with some diagrams of what is happening, along with an announcer typing comments. (More on that in a moment.)

The upshot is, I have little idea of whether or not Ghana looked impressive in their big win over Serbia (following a Serb handball in the penalty area while already a man down). But I will say that I was quite impressed by Ghana in their loss to Egypt in the African Cup of Nations Final in February. Ghana is a young squad, but they struck me as well-drilled, serious, and emotionally mature.

And remember, this group (Ghana, Serbia, Germany, Australia) will be the first opponents in the next round for whichever two teams emerge from the England/USA group.

And if you trust the views of the ESPN GameCast announcer, it will definitely be England and the USA who emerge. He was so appalled by the quality of play in the Algeria/Slovenia matchup that he typed comments such as the following (I was laughing aloud in disbelief).

*”We seem to be headed for an inevitable draw in this one.” (In minute 40!)

*”The goal is not to put one million fans to sleep.”

*”These are both very, very poor teams.”

*”Slovenia has never won an international match, with just 2 draws and 4 losses in their 6 appearances. Why am I not surprised by that stat?” (Somewhere, Zizek is miffed.)

However, Slovenia and Algeria are the teams that knocked Russia and Egypt out of the Cup. And I think Russia and Egypt are the two best teams in the world who are sitting at home rather than in South Africa right now.