Bring It On, England

Boy, what a week! Shortly after the World Cup Draw, yours truly was sitting planning my next blog entry when I was kidnapped by aliens. Don't believe me? It happened. I swear it on Cristiano Ronaldo's life. Anyways, I don't want to bore you with tales of my adventures through time and space with Zorglon, Master of the Seventeen Known Universes, just to apologize for missing my last deadline. Upon my return to your reality, I see that there are a mere 42 Standard Earth Days until Mexico and South Africa kick off the first game of the World Cup. Zorglon would have had some serious explaining to do if I had gotten back after the tournament, but for now he'll just have to deal with e-mails from my outraged fans.

So, on to the Draw. The U.S. was drawn into Group C with England (!), Slovenia, and Algeria, who we will play in that order. It may not be the easiest group, but it is by no means the hardest either. I for one could not be much happier with it, if only for the England matchup. The English are widely regarded as one of the best teams in the world, and there is no doubt they will present a tough challenge. However, I want to look past the hype surrounding them, past the marketing machine that has made Rooney, Gerrard, and Lampard household names around the world, and recognize that the U.S. can beat them. The English have the starpower, one of the best leagues in the world (also see Machine, marketing and Foreign, the best players in that league are), and an intimidation factor because of all this. They also have enormous pressure from their own media and fans and a history of underperforming on the big stage. This has been called a 'golden generation' of English players, yet they failed to even qualify for Euro 2008. They have problems in the locker room. John Terry was stripped of his captaincy this year for having an affair with an ex-teammates baby mama. Wayne Bridge, the ex-teammate, has said he will not go to South Africa. Everything the team does is and will be under intense scrutiny. The media circus surrounding the so-called WAGS is enough to disrupt any team trying to focus on making a serious Cup run. Throw in the fact that the world thinks we have no chance and therefore have nothing to lose, and England is going to be feeling the heat when the teams walk out onto the pitch on June 12. I can think of few teams I would rather beat in the World Cup than England and I think most soccer fans in this country would agree. We are winning the Cup series history 1-0, former colonies have in the past made a habit of beating their old rulers, and we won the Revolutionary War. Bring. It. On.

Slovenia and Algeria are less well known, and neither has ever burned down the White House, making bloodthirsty calls for revenge a little out of place. Both teams survived playoffs against favored opponents, Russia and Egypt repectively, showing grit and mental strength to do so. Russia was many people's dark horse candidate to make noise in the tournament after an impressive Euro 2008. Algeria won an extremely tense winner-takes-all match against two-time defending African champ Egypt in Sudan. The Algerian team claimed its bus was attacked before the game and several players were injured. Damn. That team is tough. Neither team will be pushovers for the U.S., but we are capable of getting at least a win and a draw against them if we play to our capability.

Outside Group C, Group G looks tasty, with Brazil, Portugal, Cote d'Ivoire, and North Korea set to face off. Brazil and Spain must be listed as early favorites, with Argentina, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Portugal bracketed just under them, along with an admittedly struggling France that would be nonetheless unwise to write off. Go figure.

A month and a half 'til the World Cup. The European season is wrapping up, with Bayern Munich and Inter Milan set to contest the Champions' League Final. Fulham and Clint Dempsey, Cinderella 2010, will meet Atletico Madrid in the Europa League Final. Good luck to Dempsey, who by my five second research of my brain would be the first American to win a European cup should Fulham succeed. Scotty K will run naked through the streets of Methuen if that happens. The Premier League is looking down to the wire between Chelsea and Manchester United (please no four-peat), La Liga between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and France and Germany are still up for grabs. Arsenal is building titanium skeletons for its players so Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas can play soccer a lot next year. The Celtics head to Cleveland tomorrow for Game 1 of what should be a good (scary) series. I'll be keeping an eye on all that, and barring any unforeseen cosmic happenings I will be back shortly.

Hambani Kahle, amigos