Now the Tournament Begins

It has only been two weeks since Brazil and Croatia opened the 2014 World Cup, but it seems like it has been much longer than that. 

In those two weeks we have seen Spain's dominance over world soccer end with a resounding thud. Holland, Brazil, Germany, and Argentina all look like the favorites that they were coming into the tournament. Meanwhile teams like Italy, England, and Portugal all failed to make it out of the group. We have also seen three CONCACAF teams advance to the knock-out rounds for the first time in World Cup history.

For the United States, they are winners already. Coming out of the group of death when not many gave them any chance has made this World Cup a success whether the dream ends on Tuesday or not. From here on out, everything is gravy for the Americans, who have played well in all three of their group games. 

Watching the post match coverage today, Michael Balik, the former Germany captain made a great point. The United States won't be afraid of playing Belgium next week. Sure Belgium won their group, but the US has already played so many strong teams, and have had success, so there is no reason for the Americans to feel that they are going to be run off the pitch by Belgium. 

There is no way for me to be unbiased when looking at that game, so I won't even pretend to make an actual pick. If the US can find a way to get past Belgium, they would have a quarterfinal date with Argentina on Saturday, July 5th. 

I think there are a couple of really intriguing matchups in the round of 16.

First, I think Brazil better be very careful against Chile. Brazil went out in the round of 16 four years ago when they fell to Holland and with Chile's attacking style, they will be able to score against the host nation. The key is whether or not either team can play just a little bit of defense in order to secure the victory. If I had to bet money I would pick Brazil, but it won't be easy.

Sunday's matchup between the Netherlands and Mexico is really interesting. After having a horrible 2013, Mexico has rebounded nicely in this World Cup, making it to the round of 16, but I think they are going to get smoked by the Dutch. 

Costa Rica were a huge surprise in winning their group, and their reward is a comparatively easy matchup with the defensive-minded Greeks. Be honest, did you had Costa Rica making it to the quarterfinals? If you said yes, then you are lying. 

While I don't think France or Germany will have any trouble with their round of 16 games, the idea of those two facing off in the quarterfinals is absolutely titillating. There is enough entertainment in the World War II jokes alone to make it through the game and extra time if needed. 

There are no games tomorrow, so you have one day to get ready for the knockout rounds. No more worrying about points, draws, or goal differential. From here on out you only have to worry about the team in front of you on that given day. No more draws means that any game that ends in a draw after the 90 minutes will play 2 15-minute periods where there is no golden goal (you play out the entire extra 30 minutes, the first goal doesn't win). If the two teams are still tied, we see one of the greatest, and most terrible exhibitions in sports, a penalty kick shootout. 

There will be no shortage of drama, but hopefully there will be no more biting, I'm looking at you Uruguay, as we head toward crowning a World Champion.

An American Victory!

My pulse is still racing after watching the end of the US/Ghana game. There are plenty of things to worry about going forward, but tonight there is only celebration.

Amazingly, American captain Clint Dempsey scored in the first minute of the game with an amazing piece of artistry.

Just minutes later, American striker Jozy Altidore goes down with what might be a tournament-ending injury, and the US is forced to try and hold on for dear life until the 83rd minute.

People who watch the game a lot could have told you the Ghana goal was coming. You can't just play defense for that long without having at least one slip up. It was a great goal by Ghana, and it looked like the US would have to hold on just to earn a draw.

What happened next can only be described with one word: American.

Fabian Johnson gave extra effort to earn a corner kick. A great ball is played in, and then John Brooks, who was only on the field because of an injury to Matt Beasler, heads the ball into the back of the goal and reclaims the lead for the Americans.

A captain with a bloody nose. Players limping around at the point of absolute exhaustion. Trying with all their might to earn three points that they have been working to earn for the past two and a half years. The American spirit was alive in Brazil tonight. If you are a soccer fan, if you are a sports fan, if you are an American then your head should hit the pillow tonight with pride because our team represented us with honor.

If that was the first time you had ever watched a game, then welcome to soccer fandom. That was the beautiful game at its absolute best. Nerve racking, painful, depressing, and finally, exhilarating.

Please, please, please tell me that game earned another. Sunday night, 6pm. USA v. Portugal with an American victory all but putting them through to the knock out round.

Group G Preview and 5 BOLD Predictions

The World Cup might have started today, but we are still four days away from kickoff in the Group of Death. Here we go.

My feelings about this group have evolved over the past two months. At first, I agreed with the international assessment that the United States would find it difficult to make it out of the group. However, after seeing the run up to the World Cup, I am convinced that the United States is going to be the surprise team of this tournament. Let me explain why.

It all starts with beating Ghana. Love Klinsmann or hate him, you have to give him credit for doing and saying what he actually believes. He is on record saying that the US can’t win this World Cup. He didn’t include Landon Donnovan on the roster. Also, he has said that the US must beat Ghana in the opening game.

So when the Americans take the field Monday night, they are looking for three points and nothing less. They are going to play to win from the opening whistle, and they are going to be playing with a desperation that most teams don’t have in their first game. Most of the time, you get a timid first game because players are nervous. The players would rather do nothing good than do anything bad, so they play tight and you get a lot of low-scoring draws. Klinsmann has announced to the world that his team will not be playing tight in their first game, and that they must win the game outright or else it is a failure.

I think the US are going to get the three points against Ghana, winning the game 2-0.

Okay, keep your pants on, but I think the US are going to beat Portugal as well. How? Well, Portugal are a good team with a great player. However, Germany will defeat Portugal in their opening match, which means that all the pressure is going to be on Portugal in the Amazon on June 22. By the time the US and Portugal kick off in Manaus, Germany will have beaten Ghana in their second game on June 21^st, meaning that Portugal would be eliminated from the knockout rounds with a loss to the United States. Go look up Portugal in big games. They come up small.

The only reason that anyone thinks that Portugal is a great team is because of Ronaldo. But if you watched any of his matches with Real Madrid at the end of the season, including the Champions League Final at the end of May, you would see that Ronaldo isn’t Ronaldo right now. He still has moments of brilliance, but he doesn’t have the speed and ability to create that he has had in the past because he has been struggling with injuries for the last couple of months.

I think the US will get an early goal, and then basically park the bus in the second half, winning the game 1-0.

Now, just to show you that I am not crazy, I don’t think the US will get a win over Germany, but I do think they will earn a draw. If my scenario plays out, then both the US and Germany will have already qualified for the knockout round before this game ever kicks off. The funny thing about the third game of the group stage is that you never know what players might be missing this game because of picking up two yellow cards in their first two games. I think both teams will want to win the group, but I don’t think either team will take too many risks. A 1-1 draw will force the group to be decided by goal differential, and with a +3, the United States will not only advance to the knockout round, they will win the Group of Death.

Winning the group is more than most American fans can hope for, so no one has given much thought to the fact that by winning the group, the US would draw the second place team out of a weak Group H. I’ve picked South Korea to be the team that comes out of Group H as the runner up, so that would mean a South Korea/US match up in the round of 16. That would be a favorable match up for the Americans.

Again looking ahead a win in the round of 16 as the Group winner of Group G, would mean a possible match up with France in the quarterfinals. Just let that marinate for a few minutes…

Now, all of this could fall apart by about 7 pm on Monday night if the US defense gives up an early goal to 

Ghana, but I truly believe that Klinsmann has this team ready to do something special. Making the quarterfinals in 2002 was special. If the ball bounces right for the US in Brazil, the Yanks might just do a little bit better than that in 2014.

Now, even though one game is in the books, let me take a quick minute to make 5 BOLD Predictions:

1. .Brazil will NOT win the World Cup. So much pressure, so many expectations, and such a weak defense.Not only will Brazil not win the World Cup, they won’t make it past the quarterfinals.
2. The United States will win Group G.
3.  England will win Group D and Wayne Rooney will finally score a goal in the World Cup.
4. Spain will not repeat as World Champions, and they will not play in the semi-finals.
5. Argentina will win the World Cup, and they will win the World Cup going away. Everyone knows about Messi, but Kun Aguero will play a huge role in winning the tournament. Argentina will win every game they play in this tournament.

Enjoy the first weekend of games, and be ready to go all in on Monday night!!!

Group Previews: Part 2

So I’ve been struggling with doing the group previews for the World Cup. Even though I enjoy the event, and soccer in general, I can’t say that I am familiar with Croatia’s midfield or Iran’s options at striker.

But the reality of the World Cup is that only a handful of teams have a legitimate shot at winning the tournament, about 25 teams expect to get out of their group, and the rest are just happy to qualify for the World Cup.

I won’t focus too much on tactics, but here are my group previews for groups E through H minus group G.

Admittedly, these aren't the most exciting groups to talk about, but the eventual World Champion could come out of these groups, so we moved forward nonetheless. 

Group E: Ecuador, France, Honduras, Switzerland

This is the first group where you could see any of the four teams advancing to the knock out round, not because of the strength of the teams, but because of their weaknesses.

Four years ago France was a disgrace, with their players basically going on strike during the tournament and refusing to practice.

Before the recent injury to French star Franck Ribery I would have picked France to win this group, but now, who knows. Let’s just go crazy.

Prediction: Switzerland and France advance to knock out round (not so crazy I guess)

Group F: Argentina, Bosnia, Nigeria, Iran

Argentina are going to win this group by sweeping all three games in the group, so the only question is who will finish second?

It will come down to Nigeria and Bosnia because Iran will just be glad to be making the trip. After watching Nigeria play the US in the Yanks final send off game before the World Cup, I wasn’t very impressed with the lack of ability to finish in the final third by the Nigerians. Against an inexperienced back four for the United States, Nigeria managed no real chances until the US started subbing in replacements late in the second half.

Meanwhile, Bosnia is a curse on the commentators for their games. Just look at their roster and you can feel Ian Darke shudder all the way from Brazil. The crazy part of this group is that whoever does manage to advance as the second place team from this group is going to get a very favorable draw against the winner of Group E, so the two teams that advance from Group F could both end up in the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Argentina and Nigeria advance to knock out round

Group G: Algeria, Belgium, Russia, South Korea

Belgium are an up and coming team with a lot of talented individuals. They are also the likely opponent for the United States in the round of 16 if the Americans can advance out of the group stage.

Belgium are definitely the class of this group but the real question, as it is in so many groups, is who will advance as the second team out of the group?

Algeria played very well in the last World Cup and were a bit unlucky not to advance to the knock out round.  Russia have a strong squad and an experience coach in Fabio Capella.  South Korea made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2002, and have a good squad again this year.

If Belgium win all three of their games, as they will be favored to do, then it will probably come down to the winner of the Russia/South Korea game. I haven’t been very bold in my predictions, so I’ll try and be bold now.

Prediction: Belgium and South Korea advance to knock out round

Group Previews Part 1: Groups A - D

So I’ve been struggling with doing the group previews for the World Cup. Even though I enjoy the event, and soccer in general, I can’t say that I am familiar with Croatia’s midfield or Iran’s options at striker.

But the reality of the World Cup is that only a handful of teams have a legitimate shot at winning the tournament, about 25 teams expect to get out of their group, and the rest are just happy to qualify for the World Cup.

I won’t focus too much on tactics, but here are my group previews for groups A through D.

Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

It is hard to imagine any team in any sport coming into a tournament with higher expectations that Brazil have coming into this 2014 World Cup. Brazilians expect to win every World Cup, but this one in particular. The only other time that Brazil hosted the World Cup, in 1950, Uruguay upset the Brazilians in the final, so there is also a chance for redemption in 2014.

Brazil have a manageable group and advancement is an afterthought. (Although the repercussions of Brazil not advancing to the Group stage are a little fun to think about.) The real question in this group is whether Mexico can regain their form of 2012 and put 2013 behind them.

The Mexicans have been through 3 coaches in the last year, and some of their best players, haven’t been factors for the national team. There seems to be a divide among the players that play in Europe and the players that are based in Mexico’s domestic league. Croatia will be the main competition for Mexico as they fight for second place behind Brazil.

Prediction: Brazil and Croatia advance to knock out round

Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia

This group is a perfect example of what I said in the opening. Spain and the Netherlands played in the 2010 World Cup Final. Spain would expect to be back in the same position again in 2014, while the Netherlands would definitely expect to advance out of the group. Chile are an up and coming team that will go forward constantly. Australia is so excited to get a two week vacation to Brazil, and their plane tickets are probably already purchased to head back to Australia after the group stage.

Spain return many of their key players from their 2010 championship team, but they aren’t the dominant side that they were four years ago. The biggest question for the Spaniards will be who will be their striker. Diego Costa was spectacular for Atletico Madrid this season, and he has since been purchased by Chelsea, but he was unable to play in the Champions League Final a few weeks ago and it isn’t clear just how healthy he is. 

Four years ago, David Villa was a scoring machine for Spain. If Costa isn’t 100%, will Villa get the chance to repeat his World Cup heroics of 2010?

Meanwhile, Netherlands will hope that they can again be as strong as the sum of their parts, just like they were in 2010. There are a lot of star players, like Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie on the Dutch squad, but they are perennial World Cup underachievers. With Spain remaining a powerhouse and Chile being a team on the rise, this group might be too much for the Dutch to overcome.

I can’t say that I know much about Chile, other than each time someone talks about Chile they talk about them attacking non-stop, so I’m looking forward to watching their games because it sounds like they will be wide open affairs.

Spain lost their first game in 2010, and then won out to win the title. They won’t have that luxury in 2014. The key to this group is going to be winning your first game and beating Australia. If any of the three contenders fails to get three points against Australia, that will be the difference in advancing and going home.

In the end, I think the experience of the Dutch, and the strength of their strikers against a Chile team that would rather go forward than defend will be the difference in this group.

Prediction: Spain and Netherlands advance to knock out round

Group C: Columbia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan

Ok, I don’t know much about any of these teams. The last time Columbia had this much hype coming into a World Cup was 1994. To say that the ’94 World Cup was a disaster for the Colombians is an understatement.

They failed to get out of the group after losing the United States, and a week after the World Cup their best player, Andres Escobar was murdered.

Greece are probably the most boring team in the tournament as they would be content with three scoreless draws. They focus on defense and put 11 players behind the ball making it nearly impossible for opposing teams to score.

Ivory Coast has the clock ticking on their greatest generation as players like Yaya Toure and Drogba are on the downhill side of their career. (Ok, maybe not Toure, but I just don’t like him.)

Japan, apparently has a national team and they have qualified for the World Cup and everything… huh.

Prediction: Columbia and Ivory Coast advance to knock out round

Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, Italy, England

You want to talk about a difficult group, this is it. Costa Rica finished second to the US in their qualifying group and they have no chance of getting out of the star studded group.

What is amazing about this group is the amount of story lines. England and Italy have a storied rivalry, and the Italians eliminated the English from Euro 2012, in penalty kicks of course. Italy’s best striker, Mario Balotelli played in the Premiere League two seasons ago with Man City and was constantly having problems on and off the field. Luis Suarez led the Premiere League in scoring last year, but two years ago he was suspended for biting a Chelsea player, and three years ago he was suspended for racist comments made during a game.

Uruguay come into this World Cup looking to repeat 1950 when they won the World Cup in Brazil. If Luis Suarez is 100% then Uruguay are a favorite to win the tournament, and if he isn’t they might not make it out of the group. Suarez is one of the best players in the world, and while Uruguay have other players that can contribute, they don’t have anyone that can replace the quality and scoring of Suarez.

Italy are always a contender when the World Cup comes around, and they will expect nothing less this year. The Italians lost to Spain in the final of Euro 2012, and won the World Cup in 2006.

England have underachieved for years now. They have a strong team, but they just come up short when it gets around to the knock out stage of the World Cup. The biggest question surrounding the English team is will they play an attacking style that can produce goals, or will they play conservative and risk coming up short again. With players like Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin that have the ability to create scoring chances, along with the Old Guard veterans like Rooney, Lampard, and Gerrard, this might be the best chance in years for England to make a legitimate run in the World Cup.

Prediction: Uruguay and England advance to knock out round

Understanding the Basics

Hopefully, I have convinced you to take in the US’s first game a week from Monday against Ghana. For some of you, this might be the first soccer match you have ever seen, so a little Soccer 101 is in order. Let’s start with the basics. Here are some general soccer terms that you will need to know to understand what’s going on during the game.

Pitch: this is the term generally used to describe the field itself.

Penalty Area: an 18 yard box around the goal. If a foul occurs on the defense in their own penalty area then 

the result is a penalty kick for the offensive team.

Penalty Kick: Any player on the field may attempt a one on one shot with only the goalie from the penalty spot. Following the shot, it is a live ball, so even if the goalie makes a save on the initial penalty shot, other 

players could score on a rebound.

Penalty Time: this is time that is added on at the end of each 45 minute half to account for time lost during stoppages in play.

Tie or Fixture: both of these terms can be used referring to a single game.

Table: a list of the standings in each group.

Getting a Result: this term is used to describe earning points in a game. You earn points by either winning the game outright or in the case of a draw.

Going Through: this term will be used to describe teams as they mathematically qualify for the next round of the tournament by accumulating points in their first round games.

Yellow Card: a warning card that is giving for fouls that are deemed abnormally dangerous or aggressive. Two yellow cards in a single game would result in a red card.

Red Card: given when a player is ejected from the game. A red card could be the result of two yellow cards given throughout a single game, or a “straight” red could be given for a play that the referee deems to be severely dangerous or illegal. If a player receives a red card they are ejected from the game, and their team must finish the game with only 10 men.

Extra Time: during the knockout phase of the competition, if two teams are tied at the end of 90 minutes, they will play two 15 minute periods. If, after both 15 minute periods the teams are still tied then we would go to….

Penalty Kicks: Probably the cruelest way to decide a sporting event in the world. Each team selects five players to take one penalty shot each with the entire world watching. The team that scores the most goals wins. If the teams are still tied after five penalty kicks each, then the rest of the players that were on the field at the end of the game continue taking penalty kicks until one team scores a goal and the other team misses. If you want to compare it to something, think about having a free throw shooting contest to decide a basketball game that is tied at the end of overtime.

Now that you will have some idea of what Ian Darke is talking about as he commentates the US/Ghana match on the 16^th, it’s time to understand the World Cup tournament itself.

32 nations from around the world have spent the past two years making it through regional qualification to reach the World Cup Final which is being held in Brazil this year.

The 32 teams have been divided into 8 four-team groups. Each team will play three games each in the first round, against the three other teams in their group. You get 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and no points for a loss. If there is a tie on points after each team has played their three first round games, the tie breaker is determined by goal differential (either a positive or negative number which is determined by subtracting the number of goals allowed by the team from the number of goals the team scored).

The top two teams from each group advance to the knock out rounds, and from there it’s a 16 team tournament to determine the champion.

The groups for the 2014 World Cup were drawn back in December. Here are the groupings:

Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia

Group C: Columbia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan

Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy

Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras

Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria

Group H: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, United States

Group G: Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea

Each World Cup there is a great deal of talk about the “Group of Death.” This year is no different as there are three groups that could be argued to be the most difficult. Group B features the two teams that were in the final in 2010, Spain and the Netherlands along with a strong Chile team that attacks constantly.

Group D is another candidate for this year’s title, featuring Uruguay, who come in as a potential champion, Italy who won the World cup in 2006 and played for the EURO 2012 title, and England who have a young core of players that will bring a much more attacking style of soccer to this World Cup.

However, the most difficult group, and thus the “Group of Death” is the United States’ group. Germany are a world power and perennial favorite. Portugal feature one of the best players in the world, Christiano Ronaldo, along with a solid squad, and Ghana are perhaps the strongest African team in the world. Most expect Germany and Portugal to advance to the knock out rounds, but just one slip up, and the United States and Ghana will be right there to pull off the upset.

I hope you are starting to get excited, the World Cup starts in just one week with the first game: Brazil v. Croatia. 

From Skeptic to Fanatic

In less than two weeks, the world will converge on Brazil and start the month –long experience that is the FIFA World Cup. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I am as excited about the start of the World Cup as I will be in late August as we approach the college football season.

My hope is that through this blog, I can convince as many of my friends as possible to give soccer a chance over the next month, and hopefully, you will be able to appreciate and enjoy the most popular sport in the world.

I understand the skepticism that you are probably experiencing right now, that is, if you haven’t already closed the page and moved on with your day. For most of my life, I felt the same way you do. I didn’t understand how people could get so excited about a sport that produced one, maybe two scoring moments per game. Soccer seemed boring, with most the entertaining aspect being the funny way the commentators spoke.

My personal journey to soccer fandom started with scattered memories of the 1994 World Cup played in the United States. I remember watching the opening ceremonies, I remember the United States playing better than people thought they would, and I remember Brazil winning the World Cup in a penalty kick shootout.

Four years later, I watched a good bit of the World Cup because I was home on summer vacation and there was nothing else on television. While I followed the tournament, most of the time was spent kicking a balloon around my room pretending that I was playing for England (the US only scored 1 goal in the tournament and lost all three of their matches). France defeated Brazil in the final winning their first World Cup title in Paris.

Of course, I was enthralled in the 1999 Women’s World Cup just like everyone else in the United States. I watched every moment of the final between China and the United States, and I rejoiced when the US finally won on penalty kicks. Even though I enjoyed the victory, my enjoyment was more about patriotism than it was about soccer.

2002 was an amazing experience. I can’t say that I was paying much attention the World Cup, but I spent 10 days that summer on a mission trip to Rio, Brazil. The World Cup was being played in South Korea, so when Brazil defeated England in the quarterfinal the entire city took to the street in the middle of the night to celebrate. They shot off fireworks, danced, and sung for hours. I bought a Brazil jersey and cheered for the Brazilians as they went on to a victory in the final over Germany. Obviously, I missed out on the greatest run by an American squad in the modern era. The Americans, led by Landon Donovan, shocked Portugal in the group stage to advance to the knock out rounds, and followed that up with a victory over rival Mexico in the round of 16. Even though the Americans lost to Germany in the quarterfinals 1-0, their performance left many excited about the future of American soccer.

That optimism died a painful death with a horrendous performance at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The Americans lost their opening game 3-0 to the Czech Republic and then played well against group favorite Italy, earning a 1-1 draw. The Americans were in position to advance to the knockout rounds by beating Ghana, who were playing in their first World Cup. The United States lost that game 2-1, and all of the progress that was made in 2002 disappeared.

2010 was the turning point for me. I watched all three of the United States’ group games, and I was watching as perhaps the greatest moment in US Soccer history happened right before my eyes. The Unites States again found themselves in control of their own destiny heading into the final game of the group stage. 

A win versus Algeria would mean the Americans would advance to the knockout stage, and depending on what happened in the England/Slovenia game perhaps even win the group. However, through the first 90 minutes of the game, the Americans weren’t able to cash in on multiple chances to score. With four minutes of added time tacked on at the end of the second half, the Americans were minutes away from going home when this happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k29wBfLmNP0

That is the moment when soccer made sense to me. The tactical struggle that lasted 90 minutes before that moment made the moment even more special. The missed opportunities throughout the game, the pressure of the moment, the razor thin margin between success and failure all combined in one instant to provide a moment that will live forever.

Watching this game live was excruciating, but the excitement of watching that goal scored under those circumstances made me jump off my couch, and yell with everything inside of me. I can’t guarantee a moment like this for the Americans in Brazil, but I can guarantee there will be moments like this over the course of the next month. The stakes of the World Cup, the passion of the players and fans, and natural drama that is produced by the game of soccer will create moments that will live forever.

The Americans fell the Ghana in the round of 16 a few days after Donovan’s goal, but for me, the seed was planted. Over the past four years I have followed the English Premier League as well as the UEFA Champions League consistently. Most of my excitement around this World Cup revolves around the fact that I am so familiar with the nearly all of the stars that will be putting their talents on display in Brazil.

The United States has been drawn into the “Group of Death” along with Germany, Portugal, and Ghana, so even if the Americans play well in Brazil, they could find themselves going home after only three games, but there are so many different story lines heading into this World Cup that an early American exit won’t ruin the experience.

My challenge to you is this: buy in for one game to start with. June 16^th at 6 pm the United States will take on Ghana in their first game. Give me two hours on a Monday night to see if, like me, you are a soccer fan without even knowing it.