Earlier today the Netherlands faced Slovakia and Brazil faced Chile.  Here's my take on both.

Netherlands v Slovakia

I really like the Netherlands and wish to see them win the World Cup, but that is a bit of a stretch.  Here's why.  They are certainly a very talented squad and I think they have the skill and depth to go far in the tournament, but a friend of mine made a very good point about the boys in Orange: history doesn't favor them.  At first my reaction was "so? every game is different" but then it all began to make sense.  If you look back into the history books, the  Netherlands have reached the World Cup final twice (1974, 1978) but lost to W. Germany and Argentina, respectively.  In recent times the farthest they have made it is 4th place 12 years ago in France.  A history like this doesn't exactly give a team the confidence it needs in big games.  If you were to compare them to Brazil, who they face in the quarter finals on Friday for instance, history favors Brazil to win the entire tournament, and the Brazilians know this, as well as their opponents.  Your swagger is completely different knowing that you have been here many times before and taken the chip.  But like ESPN says, "One Game Changes Everything."  Onto the game commentary.

The Netherlands looked very, very good today against Slovakia.  They were composed and their chemistry has been exceptional all tournament.  Robben's goal was typical Robben; starts on the right, puts it on his left foot, drives left past one defender, past another, and then takes the left footed shot and this time, he beats the goal keeper with a low shot.  RvP did well with the decoy run.  However, the credit goes to Wesley Sneijder whose vision was superb and delivery was even better.

Slovakia never looked menacing and did not really test the Dutch defense.  I have said that in order for the Netherlands to do well, their defense must be exceptional, but I am yet to see a team really test their defense and expose the holes in it.  Trust a team of Brazil's quality to do that on Friday.  The second goal was exceptional for me and all the credit goes to Dirk Kuyt for being composed and having the patience to wait for Sneijder to get into the box before he played the ball in.  Unselfish play. That's what futbol is all about.

Brazil v Chile

Once, a few years ago, I was fortunate enough to eat lunch at a five star French restaurant (Le Bec Fin) in Philadelphia.  The lunch was crazy expensive and the portion was too small to even feed a stray dog, but the quality of the food was out of this world.  You could taste it.  I left there hungry and was looking for the nearest McDonalds, but the experience was unmatched.  Why am I telling this story?  Brazil just has that quality. And it was evident today against Chile.  I want to sit here and recap everything that was so awesome about Brazil, but there's just too much to name.  Their movement on and off the ball was excellent, the finishing was superb, and their defense was rock solid.  Sucks that they will be facing the Netherlands so early in the tournament, but what will be will be. It will definitely be a game to remember.

Thanks for reading, and the comments have been great! keep them coming, I love hearing what you all have to say.  Also follow us on twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol to keep up with my futbol ramblings amongst other things.

The games continue in a few hours.  Japan v Paraguay. Spain v Portugal. Exciting stuff! Have a great night/day!

First of all let me apologize for the super late blog post. I went back to work today and had to send out some shirts afterwards. maybe one day soon I'll be able to blog full time about futbol. Anyhow, the games have become more interesting!

So while most Americans on the East Coast were still sleeping or stuck in rush hour traffic on their way to a futbol-less day at work, Portugal were getting busy firing away missiles at the North Koreans in Green Point Stadium. Holy mother of futbol! if you didnt catch this game I would advise that you open a new tab on your browser and navigate to espn3.com and watch the replay. Once you finish watching, return and continue reading.

Portugal v North Korea

After the North Koreans showed strongly against Brazil and managed to squeeze a goal from the game I strongly believed that the North Koreans would be able to, at the very least, get a draw against Portugal (following their so-so showing against the Ivory Coast). boy was I wrong. The first half was ok with Portugal scoring one goal before the break. Im not exactly sure what Captain Cristiano said to his teammates in the locker room, or if they just watched some Chelsea FC matches from this past EPL season, but whatever it was had the Portugese locked and loaded. From then on it was a barrage of goals that left me feeling very sympathetic towards the North Koreans. Nobody deserves to go out that way. This, for me, has been the most exciting match thus far and to those non-believers who complain that futbol is boring because there are very few goals scored need to look no further than this game to find salvation. There was even a bit of comedy courtsey of the Diving Sensation at the end with his hilarious goal. great stuff.

Chile v Switzerland

Today we saw Chile sit comfortably at the top of Group H with 6 points. I must point out an emerging trend. South American teams are doing very well in these games, African teams are playing poorly at best and €uropean teams have been very disappointing for reasons that include reality tv show-worthy drama and heartless performances.

Spain v Honduras

Just for the sake of formality am I calling this section "spain vs honduras" because it was really the David Villa show today. Villa started on the left side and many times turned the Honduras defense inside out like shirts ready to be washed. His first real opportunity was a shot on goal that bounced off the crossbar. Villa comes right back and splits two defenders Messi-style before making a third look clueless before firing past the keeper to give the Spaniards their first goal of the tournament. Somewhere in between the first and the 2nd goal, Fernando Torres looks very unconvincing and uninspired. Villa fancies a right foot shot on the edge of the box that takes a deflection into the back of the net. For whatever reason, David Villa looks seriously upset. But then again, he always does. His perpetual mean mug is justified when he completely misses the goal on a penalty shot that would've put him level on goals with Gonzalo Higuain who already has 3 goals in the tournament.

Xavi is taken off and Cesc Fabregas comes on. Immediately he has a good chance at goal, but the ball is knocked out of bounds for a corner. At this point the game is over and I have time to wonder why Gillette hasn't given him a ring and offered him their new Pro Glide razors. He certainly could use a shave.
Anyhow, the games continue in the morning with Les Bleus taking on Bafana Bafana in a game that is very important for both sides to secure a victory if they are to advance at all.

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment, or you could follow on twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol where I update by the second during the games.

P.S. Im posting this from my mobile phone so the formatting is out of whack and my grammar is horrible. I apologize and will fix all that when I get to a computer in the a.m.