World Cup in Brazil....My two teams are still in it!!!

If there is any other major sporting event, that will keep me from following my favorite sport tennis too closely, it would be the World Cup....this year held in Brazil.

My two favorite teams, Germany and the US, were put together in Group G (also known as the Group of Death).  While I had no doubt what-so-ever that Germany would advance, I was a bit nervous for the US.  This was mainly due to the fact that 2 other strong teams (Ghana and Portugal) were in this Group as well, and only 2 of the 4 teams could advance.  Assuming (logically of course), that Germany would most definitely lead the Group, the US had a 33% chance taking the runner-up spot (maybe even less, per the naysayers).

I had high hopes for the US, mainly because i) they hired one of my favorite former German players (Juergen Klinsmann) as coach, who had previously coached the German national team successfully back in 2006, and ii) the team is comprised of a more diverse group of players, with experience playing for international teams.

I defended this notion numerous times in the days leading up to their 1st game on Jun 16th, that the US will advance, and was met with a lot of grins and eye rolls.  I said that the US would FINALLY defeat Ghana.  I was hoping and believing the unimaginable, but was sooooo thrilled when it actually happened.

Of all the matches played within Group G, I predicted the winner correctly for all, except for the Germany vs. Ghana tie (I thought for sure Germany would win), and Portugal's win over Ghana (here, I had predicted a tie).

I watched the Germany vs. US match with mixed feelings (yes, it was during a week day at lunch time, and yes, I took a rather long lunch break ;), but so did a bunch of others.  I wanted a tie, but knew that Germany would in the end beat the US.  Germany is in a league of its own.  My only hope was that Germany would be gentle (i.e., only 1 pt differential), and that the Portugal vs. Ghana match occurring at the same time would lead to a result that would be beneficial to the US.  Thankfully, it happened.  It really did happen.  I am very happy for the US team (and especially for Juergen Klinsmann....I get to see more of him :).

The Round of 16 takes place for Germany on Mon, 6/30 and for the US on Tue, 7/1.  I predict that Germany will win that one quite easily vs. Algeria, and that the US will defeat Belgium.  If that doesn't happen, then so be it, but I BELIEVE and HOPE that it will.  And I will be wearing black/white on Monday, and Red/Blue/White on Tuesday.  So there.

Who do I think (objectively and rationally) will ultimately win the World Cup title?  Germany.  It's high time, though they will have a few hurdles to overcome (assuming that France, Brazil, and Argentina will each advance up to the point where they face Germany).  But I think it can be done.  So let's see, and enjoy the rest of games.

A special thanks to Univision, who has been kind enough to air all the games on TV, for those WHO DO NOT HAVE CABLE :)