I felt like that last guest at the party. The one that stays drinking the beer and watching the TV whilst you clean up around him but can\’t take the hint that it\’s time to leave \’cos you have to get back to work tomorrow. Manaus\’ role in the Cup was over. It\’s three games played, most of the guests had moved on to other places and it was time to stack the chairs and unplug the DJ.
Chants aside, this was yet another well contested exciting game in what, in my opinion, is a really really good World Cup. The quality of football is unbelievable. You have to chuckle, though, as you try to explain to Americans why they should get excited by a 1:0 loss. It\’s just un-American – bah Gawd! Our man Gonzales was outstanding in the center of defense. Easily man of the match by virtue of his series of well timed, penalty box tackles in the first 20 minutes when It could easily have been 3:0 Germany and game over. Howard, Beasley, Zuzi and Jones continue to impress, but the Germans did a great job of isolating Dempsey up front. Bradley showed a little more of his capabilities but I have no idea what\’s going on there. He must improve for the knock out stages. Bottom line: the big teams like Germany take a higher percentage of their chances when they come along – which is exactly what they did. Nice goal. I predict the US will get by Belgium to the quarter final. If Switzerland can contain Messi in the other side of that bracket then the US has a path to the semi\’s by beating the Swis. But I don\’t see it. Messi is player of the tournament for me so far and I think we\’ll face him and the rest of Argentina in the quarters. That will be a great outcome for the US but let\’s keep behind them. The semi\’s aren\’t out of the question.
So this morning, we finally took the hint and said thanks and goodbye to our hosts for the World Cup party in Manaus. A few minutes after take off, the lights below went out and, for the next two hours, we flew over the darkness of the rainforest below, reminding us that, despite its size and the generosity of its people, this is a remote place.
What! Scotland Qualified!!! 