How'd I Do?

Group play is over in the 2010 World Cup and we're on to the one-and-done portion of our show. No more playing for a tie, because the winner moves on and the loser is out.
The group stage was shocking on a lot of fronts, most notably the incredible failures of France (I know, I know) and Italy. No one expected Spain to lose, but it did. People expected more from the African nations, but only one has moved on, which is too bad. And what about South America? Five teams qualify, five teams are still alive. That's really remarkable.
We've seen some thrilling games, a few great goals, some fabulous goalkeeping, and some really bad reffing.
All that is behind us now, though, as we move on to the most exciting part of the tournament. But, now's a good time to look back at my pre-tournament predictions and see how I did. ...it's not good. But I stand by what I write, so this is what I said, and what actually happened:

Group A
What I predicted: 1. France; 2. Uruguay; 3. Mexico; 4. South Africa
What happened: 1. Uruguay; 2. Mexico; 3. South Africa; 4. France
What was I thinking?: OK, I failed miserably here in picking France, but come on, did any of you really expect a failure of that magnitude? I mean, to the point where France wouldn't even practice? I know many of you thought I was nuts to pick them to go so far, and it turns out you were right, but I don't believe anyone quite expected that complete of a meltdown. So, yeah, France was a disaster. Uruguay, on the other hand, was not a disaster. It wasn't great, but it was good enough. It defended well, Diego Forlan was excellent and it showed that it's not a flashy team, but it's a pretty good one. Mexico had its struggles but took advantage of France's horribleness to claim the second spot ahead of a South Africa team that showed much better than I expected.

Group B
What I predicted: 1. Argentina; 2. Nigeria; 3. Greece; 4. South Korea.
What happened: 1. Argentina; 2. South Korea; 3. Greece; 4. Nigeria.
What was I thinking?: OK, so I was half right. Argentina looked very, very good, and I'm enjoying watching Maradona look like he's having fun, the only coach in the entire tournament to not look like he's headed to his funeral. Argentina is a definite contender as it attacks from everywhere and defends well. I was wrong about Nigeria, which was not as good as I'd hoped. It's too bad things didn't come together better for the Eagles because this was an opportunity to take a step forward, and it didn't happen. Greece was every bit as unentertaining as I expected but what about South Korea? They just run teams into the ground, which is kinda fun to watch. They have more talent than I thought and just keep working, and there's obviously something to be said for that, so congrats, good to see them make up for the 2006 disappointment.

Group C
What I predicted: 1. England; 2. United States; 3. Algeria; 4. Slovenia
What happened: 1. United States; 2. England; 3. Slovenia; 4. Algeria
What was I thinking: Turned out to be a more balanced group than I expected, and how about those Americans? No, they didn't look great, but they were hard-working and clutch, and that was fun to watch. The match against Algeria will be the one that is remembered but the comeback against Slovenia was just as big. People may not quite fathom how impressive it is that the U.S. won its group, particularly a group that features England, but it's enormous. England squeaked in and wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be. It just goes to show how important it is to have a good keeper (how can England not have one top-flight keeper? Not one?). Slovenia was a solid side and maybe deserved to move forward. Maybe in four years. Algeria was Algeria, combative, not particularly good, not particularly bad, not good enough.

Group D
What I predicted: 1. Germany; 2. Serbia; 3. Australia; 4. Ghana
What happened: 1. Germany; 2. Ghana; 3. Australia; 4. Serbia
What was I thinking?: Germany was clearly the class of this group, and that was predictable from the start. The Germans are just a good, balanced team that has attacked well (Mesut Ozil is really good) and defends strong (though it can get caught out of position from time to time). As always, it's clearly a threat to go a long way. Serbia must be disappointed, though, after beating Germany only to finish last in the group. Some predicted Serbia could be the group winner so to finish in the basemen has to be quite a blow. But I'm glad I was wrong, because it wasn't that exciting a team. Australia I got right, but I'm surprised it recovered from the 4-0 shallacking it took from Germany in the opener. What happened there? The Australians have to be disappointed as well, after returning the bulk of the 2006 team that made it out of group play. I didn't buy into the Ghana hype but I was clearly wrong, as this is a fun, exciting team with great speed that attacks well. I thought this would be a disasterous tourney for Ghana but instead, it's the only African nation still alive, which is both a disappointment and says a lot for Ghana.

Group E
What I predicted: 1. Netherlands; 2. Cameroon; 3. Denmark; 4. Japan
What happened: 1. Netherlands; 2. Japan; 3. Denmark; 4. Cameroon
What was I thinking?: There was no way Netherlands wasn't going to win this group, and it was never seriously challenged. There's two reasons for that. First, this didn't turn out to be a very good group. Second, Netherlands is really good. As always, this side attacks and is dangerous on offense, but the midfield was stronger than I thought defensively. This is definitely a team to reckon with. Cameroon was a big disappointment, as I thought it would show much better but was in over its head. Denmark finished where I thought, almost getting through but not quite, and not doing a lot to make anyone outside of Denmark take notice. Japan is the real story, as I thought this would be a team that was out of its league but instead it simply outworked Japan and Cameroon and showed some real flashes of greatness on offense. This could turn out to be a dangerous team. With South Korea and Japan advancing while playing away from Asia, this could be a real breakthrough for that region.

Group F
What I predicted: 1. Italy; 2. Paraguay; 3. Slovakia; 4. New Zealand
What happened: 1. Paraguay; 2. Slovakia; 3. New Zealand; 4. Italy
What was I thinking?: From top to bottom, probably the most surprising group in the first round. There isn't a person out there - no you didn't, liar - that thought Italy fail to advance, much less finish last. Yes, this was an old team that probably wasn't going to win it all again, but this was still a strong team that was the clear group favorite. I mean, this was a weak group! So to finish last, wow, we're going to see some major changes for that side, and fast. Instead, Paraguay took advantage and just played well. Justo Villar was outstanding at keeper and the team just played steady and earned the group win. Slovakia, my new favorite team thanks to the Sounders, was the Cinderella story. This is its first World Cup appearance and early on looked over its head but just played steady and then pulled off the shocker against Italy. This team may not go any further but just wait four years. New Zealand, to me, was one of the real stories of the tournament. I thought this was by far. ...by far. ...the worst team in the entire tournament and probably wouldn't even score. I mean, this team only has a couple of really, truly pro soccer players, and I mean that literally. But they just kept tying, and that's great! Good for them. I hope this leads to some added interest in soccer for New Zealand.

Group G
What I predicted: 1. Brazil; 2. Portugal; 3. Ivory Coast; 4. North Korea
What happened: 1. Brazil; 2. Portugal; 3. Ivory Coast; 4. North Korea
What was I thinking?: The one group I got entirely correct. It wasn't that hard. It was clear Brazil would win the group, and it did. This team is dynamite. It defends, it attacks with its usual style, has an excellent keeper and plays with more confidence than any two teams combined. It's the clear favorite, sorry Spain. It was also obvious before the tourney, and even moreso during the tournament, that North Korea was the worst team in the Group of Death. This just wasn't a good team, and there's probably plenty of countries not in South Africa thinking, "What the heck?" So it came down to Portugal and Ivory Coast. Outside of embarrasing North Korea 7-0, Portugal wasn't that impressive, and took diving to a new level. I mean, they went down every time anyone even looked at them. Too bad, too, because there's obviously talent. Ivory Coast missed a fully-healthy Didier Drogba - though it was nice to see him out there, and he showed some real heart - and really, what it came down to is one team bullied the group weakling more than the other, so that team moved on.

Group H
What I predicted: 1. Spain; 2. Switzerland; 3. Chile; 4. Honduras
What happened: 1. Spain; 2. Chile; 3. Switzerland; 4. Honduras
What was I thinking?: The one prediction I'm really happy I got wrong. I thought that Chile's defense and youth would be exposed and while it would be close, it wouldn't quite make it through. I was wrong. The defense was outstanding for most of group play despite usually only having three guys in the back. It made up for it with some of the most impressive attacking in the field, led by Alexis Sanchez, and was one of the most impressive teams in the tournament, despite the loss to Spain. Speaking of Spain, what a shocker it opened up with. But talent won out eventually and there's no questioning this team's talent. But Switzerland did everyone else a favor by showing that Spain is beatable and can't just show up and be crowned. Do you realize how close we came to a Brazil-Spain Sweet 16 match? What a surprise that would have been. Switzerland got great play from its keeper but didn't have too much else, which is good news for the Sounders, who will get Blaise Nkufo sooner rather than later. Honduras had some supporters early on but just didn't have enough talent to keep up with the three other teams in the group.

So, 10 out of my 16 picks are moving on, which isn't that good of a percentage. But Chile and Slovakia are moving on and the United States actually won its group, so I'm not complaining. It should be a fun run to the end!