Krista McBlogWriter

To overcome the nuissance of having two games broadcast simultaneously, my father and I made arrangements so we could watch both at once (see left). We watch one of the games with sound, and glance back and forth during natural breaks in each game. I was surprised at how easy it was to follow both games.

I accidentally slept in this morning and missed the first halves of the Czech Republic-Italy and Ghana-USA games. No biggie, though; the more exciting matches were on this afternoon.

Japan 1:4 Brazil
Finally, Brazil, finally! And all it took was a hole out of which to dig yourselves. That was the Brazil everyone was expecting. And who better than Fatty McAnxietyAttack (aka Ronaldo) to step into the spotlight with two goals?



Australia 2:2 Croatia
I thought that I would be backing Les Bleus de la belle France with gusto and ferver, but after they put out two far-less-than-impressive performances I can now only hope that the gods of good fortune are shining down on them. What I didn't expect was to cheer for the Socceroos almost insanely. I was screaming at the televsion, clenching my jaw, covering my eyes, sitting on my hands. This match was pretty intense: the whole Australia-Croatia connection and referee Graham Poll (Cranky McCardFlasher). It started off okay... not too many cards, not quite the hackfest it was expected to be. Croatia scored quickly, after which Australia dominated possession. I wasn't impressed with Huddink's decision to replace number one keeper Schwarzer with Beanpole McBallFumbler (Kalac) - The Socceroos might have taken three points if it weren't for his blunder. The match ended well - Kewell's sweet sweet goal and lots of cards. And most importantly, Australia's berth into the Round of 16.

Speaking of which, my predictions, thus far, are proving to be okay, my rankings not so great. But more on that later.