Ellas Did!

Did not see that coming, but a red card changes everything.  Zito h Ellas!

Clearly the red card against Nigeria, one that was deserved since the players were out of bounds AND he showed his spikes, changed the momentum of the game after Greece gave up another early and weak goal.  But the best part of the game for me was that Greece attacked.  

Red card or no red card, Ellas deserved to win that game.

My soccer high is muted by the horrible foul/off sides/whatever call versus the U.S. late in their game versus Slovakia.

The U.S. came out with purpose in the second half - and unlike Greece did not need a red card to wake up the team's competitive spirit.  We took it to Slovenia (which sounds weird considering we have 300 million people and Slovenia is the size of Connecticut) in the second half and deserved a win instead of a tie.

As folks know, the frustrating thing about the Greek team is their fatalism and inability to fight back.  For the U.S. the flat starts are equally vexing.  How a team playing on a stage like the World Cup can come out flat is beyond me.  

Perhaps it's as simple as the line up.  At halftime coach Bob Bradley replaced Findley and Torres, and the U.S. was much better with Feilhaber and Edu in the lineup.  I guess we'll see next week when we play a critical match against Algeria, who surprisingly tied England today.

Our group is still wide open.  The good news is the U.S. controls its destiny.   A win over the former French colony means we advance to the knock out round.  

Greece, as it is with its huge debt, needs help to advance. But Ellas can still make it out of the group stage.  Best bet for Greece is that Ellas ties Argentina (doable since the Albicelestes may rest their best players after clinching their group with the rout of South Korea), and a win by Nigeria, playing for pride, over Korea. That would leave Argentina with 7 points (assuming a tie), Greece with 4, with Korea and Nigeria with 3.

So go USA, Greece, and Nigeria!

Do or Die for Ellas

Tomorrow's game versus Nigeria - Thursday at 10 am eastern time - is a do or die game for Ellas.  It will be interesting to see how Greece responds after a lackluster performance versus Korea.  Hopefully Rehagel will make some long overdue changes to our line up, and Greece shows some thrasos versus Nigeria.


Specifically, I hope King Otto inserts Sotiris Ninis, the young and speedy Panathinaikos player and Liverpool's Sotiris Kyrgiakos, neither of whom got off the bench versus South Korea, into the starting lineup.  Greece could really use Ninis' energy and creativity and Kyrgiakos' presence (anyone is better than Louis Vyntra who really stunk versus Korea).  Finally, Rangers's Antonis Samaras needs to play as energetically as Fanis Gekas did.  Those two, along with Ninis, need to pace the Hellenic offense against Nigeria.


And we desperately need offense.  In four World Cup games Greece has yet to score, let alone lead or sniff a win.  But it's still doable.  Nigeria is no big deal, played a lackluster game versus Argentina, and are without their leading scorer.


But the real Greek key is if Ellas fights rather than display the annoying fatalism that has held us back, at least in Europe but not in the United States, since the fourth Crusade of 1204. Seven minutes into the game versus South Korea the fatalism took hold, and the game was over despite 83 minutes being left on the clock.  I think Ninis and Kyrgiakos can help hold the fatalism at bay, at least long enough to pick up 3 points.


Greece has to win versus Africa's largest country if they hope to even think about advancing out of their group.  Best case for Ellas is to defeat Nigeria and somehow tie Argentina next week, and finish with four points.  Even then, Greece needs lots of help to advance.  Korea has to lose to both Nigeria and Argentina.  If that happens Argentina will finish with 7 points (2 wins and a tie versus Greece), Greece with 4, Korea with 3, and Nigeria with 3 (their win over Korea).  


Of course, if Greece manages to defeat Nigeria AND upsets Argentina they should be home free with six points.  Looking at that scenario leads me to one logical conclusion: GO USA!

• If our goalkeeper, Tim Howard, is healthy I like the US's chances to make a deep run in the World Cup. A hot goalie can take a team a long way.
• A couple of Slovenian players have been talking a little smack prior to the game versus the U.S.  Note to Slovenians: I know we don't care about soccer, but invent rock and roll, jazz, baseball and basketball; have a Bill of Rights like ours; and develop TV shows like The Simpsons and Seinfeld before talking smack to the United States. 

Speaking of the United States, the baseball team representing our nation's capital seems to have hit a wall.  Prior to Straburg's call up, starting pitching was a strength of the Nationals.  But Lannan, Livo, and Atilano are in a collective funk, and J.D. Martin has not make anyone forget Scott Olson (how damning is that?).  The only good news is that after leaving Detroit the Nats host the White Sox and Royals, so a 6-game winning streak, potentially kicked off by Strasburg on Friday night, could be around the corner.

In addition to improved starting pitching I'd feel better about the Nats if Manager Jim Riggleman dropped Guzman and Morgan down in the order (to seventh and eighth, respectively).  Neither get on base enough - a real problem when you consider that Zimmerman, Dunn and Willingham have great on-base-plus-slugging numbers in the 3, 4 and 5 spots on the order. 

I say give Desmond and Bernardina a chance at the top of the order.