World Cup, 6/22

Hey everyone. USA plays Ghana this morning for a possible trip to the knockout round. I'm pretty into this, call it patriotism, so I'll be providing in-game updates.
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LATE MATCHES
*Brasil def. Japan, 4-1: Ronaldo, "Fatty" to much of the world, scored twice and now is tired with former German star Gerd Muller as the WC's all-time goal scorer. Impressive. Brasil looked excellent throughout. That's the first time I've said that in a while.

*Australia and Croatia, 2-2: This draw allowed the Socceroos to move into the knock-out round. Australia fell behind in the second half but a controversial goal by Harry Kewell around the 80' mark equalized. Kewell took a header pass to his right leg and blasted it far corner for the goal. Replays showed that Kewell was offsides at the time. This play will be disputed in Croatia for years. A mild hose job.

Harry Kewell was offside when he scored, but who's counting?
(AP Photo/Daniel Maurer)

NEXT UP:
*Brasil (3-0-0) plays Ghana (2-1-0) on Tuesday, 10 a.m.
*Australia (1-1-1) plays Italy (2-0-1) on Monday, 10 a.m.
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EARLY MATCHES
*Ghana def. USA, 2-1: Claudio Reyna, who isn't good anymore, lost the ball in the back and that lost ball landed in the net about five seconds later. Reyna was carted off with an apparent injury. USA equalized on a short blast from Clint Dempsey, set up by a through ball from DeMarcus Beasley. At 48', Ghana was awarded a PK for a completely imaginary foul just inside the box. Laughable. That restored the Black Stars' one-goal advantage. That was enough.

I wasn't satisfied with the US effort in the first and last games of the WC. The Italy game was fine. There was intensity. The problem is that we don't have star-caliber players. Landon Donovan and Beasley are soft like a dinner roll. We need more people like Brian McBride and Dempsey. US didn't deserve to advance, and didn't.

NEXT UP:
US (0-2-1) is eliminated.
Ghana (2-1-0) plays (Brazil) on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Clint Dempsey has some intensity, unlike most of his teammates.
(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

*Italy def. Czech Republic, 2-0: Italy scored on a corner header. CZE played a man down due to a first-half red card. I didn't see the second goal.

NEXT UP:
Italy (2-0-1) plays (Australia/Croatia/Japan) on Monday at 10 a.m.
Czech Republic (1-2-0) is eliminated.
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Here's a few cheesecake pictures for your enjoyment since you took the time to surf in.

EDIT: Added two this afternoon.

Less aggressive, but excellent in their own manner.
(AP Photo/Christof Stache)

They seem aggressive and coy: Croatia fans.
(AP Photo/Daniel Maurer)

She looks happy and bright.
(AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Soccer chicks are good for the soul, part II
(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)