What You've All Been Waiting for...

Well, Walsh and I took the weekend off to rest up for what will undoubtedly will be a busy month. Now we're not saying we'll post every day until July 11th; I'll be at the beach for the 2nd week of games, and will be enjoying them with more than a few cold ones. Not sure if it's a smart thing for me to drink and blog, but we'll see. Pat does it all the time, though (sorry, that was too easy). Pat will put up his Group C and D picks tomorrow, while I get 1st crack at 'em today. And let's start with Group D and hold off C for last since it's the U.S. Gotta keep y'all in suspense.

Oh, yeah, the 3rd team we put money on? Netherlands, in case you haven't read our earlier blogs. That makes us 3 for 3 in the injury department when it comes to wagering on World Cup teams for us. Enjoy that money, Vegas!

Group D - Germany, Serbia, Ghana, Australia

Germany vs. Australia - I thought this might be a good match, but the more I read, and then having watched Australia's terrible dress rehearsal against the U.S. on Saturday, I think the Aussies are going to have a tough time. Germany is a great tournament team, and even without Ballack, should be just fine in Game 1.
Germany 2 - Australia 0

Serbia vs. Ghana - This is another one of my top 5 1st round matches (I'll reveal the others in Thursday's column). I really liked Ghana going into this Cup, and thought they could do some damage, but the loss of Michael Essien kills them on and off the field. SI's Grant Wahl really thinks Serbia is a darkhorse in this tournament, and he's got a pretty good track record.
Serbia 2 - Ghana 1

Germany vs. Serbia - The winner of this match probably avoids a really tough Round of 16 matchup (who will be revealed later in this column). I think both teams will be cautious in this one, fearing the other's counterattack. Whoever gets the first goal will be content to sit back and defend, but it won't work for 90 minutes.
Germany 1 - Serbia 1

Ghana vs. Australia - After losing their 1st game, both teams will have to go all out to try to pick up 3 points, as the result from the earlier game puts them both 4 points back of the leaders. This will be a wide-open affair with lots of chances from both sides. The last team with the ball might win it, but the tea leaves say this'll end with a draw.
Ghana 2 - Australia 2

Ghana vs. Germany - Again, the Germans would be content with a tie, as it will guarantee them a place in the next round. Ghana is once again forced to come out swinging, and will leave acres of space for the German counterattack to pounce upon. Germany scores early, and then puts 2 more in to give them a good enough goal differential to win the group. A late goal from Ghana makes the result in the other game interesting.
Germany 3 - Ghana 1

Serbia vs. Australia - The Serbians, like the Germans, will be keeping a close eye on the other's game, as it may (probably?) come down to goal differential for 1st and 2nd. The difference is that Serbia doesn't have the weapons offensively that the Germans have, so they won't score enough.
Serbia 2 - Australia 1

Final Standings:

Germany - 7 pts. +4 goal diff.
Serbia - 7 pts. +2 goal diff.
Ghana - 1 pt. -3 goal diff.
Australia - 1 pt. -3 goal diff.

Group C - England, United States, Slovenia, Algeria

England vs. United States - As badly as I want to do so, I won't go into lengthy details about what the U.S. has to do to win. Suffice it to say that if playing chess was the equivalent to coaching, Fabio Capello could spot Bob Bradley his Rook and his Knight and still have checkmate in 6 moves (Walsh and I worked on that one)...However, England's suspect goalkeeping could keep this interesting.
England 2 - United States 1

Slovenia vs. Algeria - I'm still stunned Algeria got past Egypt to get here in the 1st place, as they are easily Africa's weakest qualifier. Slovenia beat the favored Russians to get here, and although they have the smallest population of the 32 countries in South Africa, they certainly don't play that way.
Slovenia 2 - Algeria 0

Slovenia vs. United States - Although it's game 2, this could be make or break for both teams. A win puts the U.S. on the inside track to 2nd place, while a draw or win by Slovenia puts them in the driver's seat. I keep going back and forth with this one, trying to go with my head instead of my heart. In the end, though, I AM going with my head and saying this game comes down to talent and desperation. The U.S. has the edge in both categories.
United States 2 - Slovenia 1

England vs. Algeria - Wayne Rooney has an excellent chance to win the Golden Boot (most goals) in this tournament. I think he scores both against the U.S. and adds another 2 in this one, as the English essentially wrap up 1st place going away.
England 4 - Algeria 1

Slovenia vs. England - As mentioned before, England has the 2nd round secured by this time and might want to rest a few players. Slovenia can advance with a draw, depending on the U.S. game which occurs simultaneously, but they can't afford to take that chance. They go all-in for the 3 points but are stymied by the English organization and counterattack.
England 1 - Slovenia 1

United States vs. Algeria - Like Slovenia, the U.S. needs to go for 3 points to assure safe passage to the round of 16. On paper, this game should be a win for the Yanks, but the rest of the world hates us and will be rooting for Algeria, whose disappointing World Cup campaign can be salvaged with a win over the evil Westerners (am I going overboard just a tad? Seriously, this game means a world to Algeria if they were to beat us)
United States 3 - Algeria 2

Final Standings:
England - 7 pts, +4 goal diff.
United States - 6 pts +1 goal diff.
Slovenia - 4 pts, +1 goal diff.
Algeria - 0 pts., -6 goal diff.

So, according to my results, 2nd round matchups are:

England vs. Serbia
Germany vs. United States

Tune in tomorrow to read Walsh's take on the 2 groups, and keep checking all this week as we have a ton more info to throw at you. As always, thanks for reading!