World Cup, 6/25

Hey everyone. I ditched church for the England-Ecuador match, so a full nugget of rich information follows ...

EARLY MATCH
England def. Ecuador, 1-0: The Brits won with a 30-yard free kick from David Beckham, who bent a lovely ball over the wall and away from Ecuador's keeper. It was a brilliant ball. England didn't look all that sharp to me, but Beckham's goal was enough this time. Using Rooney alone up top didn't do much for me. They're going to have to supplement Roo with Robo-flop next time out. Go 4-4-2 and hope for the best against Holland or Portugal.

NEXT UP FOR THESE TEAMS
England (3-0-1) plays Portugal (4-0-0) on Saturday, 10 a.m. (ABC)
Ecuador (2-2-0) is eliminated.

The old man can still make 'em sweat.
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

They always look like they're having a good time.
(AP Photo/Christof Stache)
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LATE MATCH
*Portugal def. Holland, 1-0: Sixteen amarillos and four rojos. That tells you something.

I can't think of a match I enjoyed more than this one, though I hate to see Holland bumped from the tournament. Talk about intense! Maniche scored about half-way through the first half. Netherlands played a man up to begin the second half, then gave up the advantage, then went a man up again (9 on 10) and then lost that advantage late. Holland had several great chances to equalize. There were a ton of NED fans there. The pressure was on. The team didn't perform. There are no excuses.

I want to know, though, why van Nistelrooy didn't play. One of the best finishers in the game -- certainly one of the five best in the box. He wasn't on the pitch. What is that? I hope van Basten has a great explanation for this afterward. I find this stunning.

People are going to ride the referee, Valentin Ivanov of Russia, about his work in this game. There were only a few amarillos I found improper. This was two teams playing a highly aggressive brand of football in a winner-take-all situation. It's high drama. I thought Ivanov did a fine job mitigating the emotional quagmire. This is nothing like US-Italy or France-Korea.

Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder decided to take on the entire Portugal team at one point.
(AP Photo/Paulo Duarte)

Maniche knows how to celebrate.
(AP Photo/Paulo Duarte)

NEXT UP FOR THESE TEAMS
Portugal (4-0-0) plays England (3-0-1) on Saturday, 10 a.m. (ABC)
Holland (2-1-1) is eliminated.