More World Cup Musings

Could the United States win the World Cup after all?

Maybe not, but they're playing with such determination and passion that they're outshining many of the European teams right now. The French team is failing so badly to gel, it's become a national crisis back home. England has played so haphazardly, they're acting more like the losers of 1066 than the winners of 1966. And the Spaniards lost to Switzerland, which actually isn't as embarrassing as Germany losing to Serbia.

The Americans could have lost to Slovenia 2 to 0, but came back in the second half of that game to tie it and avoid utter humiliation. They couldn't avoid a disallowed goal that would have given them a winning point, and they still have no idea why Malian referee Koman Coulibaly ruled against them. But given all the jostling and shoving that preceded Maurice Edu's goal, I'm not entirely sure it was a fair shot. No one's sure of the exact reason, and Coulibaly isn't explaining. Meanwhile, the American team is trying to put it in the past in concentrating on what should be an easy win against Algeria tomorrow.

Except that Algeria forced England into a scoreless draw.