4 Teams Move On...

...and 4 go home. No surprises really, although there was a chance that if England beat Sweden and T&T beat Paraguay, the Soca Warriors could have eked out 2nd place. No such luck, as Paraguay ends on a high note and wins 2-0. T&T played hard, but didn't score a goal in 3 games. Tough to advance w/ those kind of numbers.

Another CONCACAF team goes down as well, w/ Costa Rica dropping a 2-1 decision to Poland. You know the foreign soccer press is going to talk about the relative weakness of our region, as well as Africa and Asia, so be prepared for it, folks. They laid low after the last Cup because of the success of the U.S. and South Korea, but unless one of these teams, or Ghana, goes far into the tournament, the debate and whining will begin again...

Now, onto the other games of the day. Don't read too much into the Ecuador beatdown by Germany. The Germans are playing at home, had a chance to win the group and avoid England, and were really fired up. They're playing quite well, getting the 3 wins in 3 games. The shaky defense from the first game against Costa Rica seems to have been solidified, and after some rumors the 2 were fighting behind closed doors, Podolski and Klose sure seemed in sync today. Ecuador's performance was nothing to write home about, but they had already secured passage to the next round, were facing the home team today, and played cautious so as to avoid any injuries or yellow card suspensions for Saturday's matchup w/ England. This is still a dangerous team.

So will England EVER beat Sweden? Doesn't feel like it, does it? They had the lead late, and Paul Robinson makes a mess of things to allow the Swedes to tie and clinch 2nd place. I picked England to win this whole thing at the start, and although I'm not going to change my mind, I think if/when they get eliminated, it'll be because of Robinson. That being said, who else could they put back there? David "Calamity" James? I think not.

So, moving on to Saturday's games:

Germany vs. Sweden - I originally had Sweden winning this and sending the Germans home early, but not now. The Germans are playing great soccer on both sides of the ball right now, and could very well wind up in the Final once again. Sweden still has the potential to be offensively dangerous, but I haven't seen it in 3 games.

Prediction: Germany 2 - Sweden 0

England vs. Ecuador - This is a trap game for the English. Delgado and Tenorio have proven to be a lethal combination so far, so Ferdinand, Terry, and the rest of the English defense will have their hands full. On the other end, Rooney and Crouch will need to put pressure on Ecuador's stingy defense, which will prove to be tough to crack. When all is said and done, this game will be won in the midfield, and as I said at the beginning of this thing, England's got the best.

Prediction: England 2 - Ecuador 1

I'll get to C and D after the games tomorrow. Thanks for reading!