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!!!