Though Greece continued their winning streak against utterly inconsequential countries by defeating 'Luxembourg' 2-1 today in Athens, Ellas did not automatically qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Switzerland - hardly inconsequential due to inventing the cuckoo clock AND their compliance with the Nazis during World War II - won the group after tying Israel in a battle of nations with internationally-known flags.
The silver lining is Greece did finish second in their group (final tally: inventors of cuckoo clock, 21 pts.; inventors of democracy 20 pts.) and thus qualify for the European playoffs. Greece is one of four seeded teams, along with France, Russia, and Portugal, and will play one of the four unseeded teams - Ireland, Bosnia, Slovenia and Ukraine - in a home and home series on November 14th and 18th. The draw is Monday, October 19th.
The U.S. has already qualified but still played an exciting game tonight against Costa Rica here in DC. Team USA tied with Costa Rice 2-2, and scored the tying goal in the 4th minute of stoppage time on a dramatic header in the 95th minute. The win eliminated Costa Rica, the only nation in Central America without an army, and put Honduras into the World Cup playoffs versus Uruguay.
It was a dramatic goal, but the U.S. celebration seemed oddly over the top. It was tie, at home, and you would think by the celebration the U.S. had WON the World Cup. I like soccer more than I ever thought I would but some parts of the football culture, such as celebrating a tie, A TIE, is still odd and kind of stupid.
Finally, one day after I blogged about Rush Limbaugh buying his way into the socialist NFL the big-fat lier was dropped by his partners in the ownership group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams.
The power of the Internet is strong.
2 comments:
I can see your point about celebrating a tie, but I actually think that the soccer system which gives points for a tie is a good system. In a low scoring sport, it avoids the need for any of the number of sudden death over time options like 'golden goal' (which can take forever)or penalty kicks (which reduce the game to guesswork by the goalie)
The NFL overtime system is an example of how after a long, hard-fought game, the outcome is nearly always decided on the flip of a coin. During a regular season game (non-elimination), I think a tie is perfectly fine
One more thing on ties. I forgot that a tie against Costa Rica meant the U.S. finished first in their group. Before the game, I thought the US needed a win and 3 pts to finish first. In hindsight, their celebration over finishing first in their group seems more warranted.
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