Culp Reports Live from South Africa
Friday, June 18, 2010
First day of travel
MATT CULP REPORTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA
This was going to be a long day and one that I wasn't really looking forward to. While waiting for my flight at Logan Airport, I didn't notice much world cup "fever." Maybe there were a few jerseys here or there on my flight to London. When I finally arrived in London I noticed many more football fans, mainly English (soccer will now be referred to as football since I am no longer in the US). On my flight to Jo-burg many countries were well represented including England, Mexico, Spain, and Brazil. The pilot made a point that he was rooting for England. The excitement was definitely growing.
My takes on the World Cup so far:
Biggest upset: Definitely not the US drawing with England; Spain with their shabby performance against the Swiss, losing 1-0.
Best Performance: North Korea’s excellent bout against Brazil, despite losing 2-1.
Craziest Tidbit: Talk about guts…Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba is playing with a broken arm. Ouch.
Stay tuned for my next update as I head to the England/Algeria game live from South Africa.
England created this game. However, 1966 is the only time they have won the World Cup. So many times England becomes overrated despite their talent. Wayne Rooney needs to give more than what he did against the US. I have always said that England falls short with their goalkeeping. (As shown with the Green’s performance on Saturday)
Algeria looks more comfortable playing in Europe than in their home continent. Midfielder Karim Ziani needs to have an exceptional game in order to keep this one competitive. For the most part, Algeria should struggle to score and will look to counter for much of the game.
Prediction: It would be a shocking upset if the Desert Foxes of Algeria defeated the Englishmen. England wins with no problem, 2-0.
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