World Cup Roundup Day 15: The bracket has been built

All group play is over. It is now win and your in, lose and you go home trophy less. The end of group play has produced some very interesting results. Some people will call this tournament wild or wacky, but in truth it just shows that the sport is globalizing at the top level and that the altitude of most of the venues is affecting the ball and players. The group of death did kill a very potent and good Cote d'Ivoire squad. It is sad to say that Africa only qualified one team for the knockout stage. On the other hand the power of South America was on full display as they qualified all five teams that came to the tournament. South Korea and Japan, qualified for the second round showing the progress of Asian soccer since the 2002 tournament. The way that the bracket is laid out the United States could make a deep run to the semifinals if they can beat Ghana and then defeat the likely favorites Uruguay. A semifinal run would be rather great for American soccer and would probably lead to another generation picking up the sport and progressing it further. There is a distinct possibility that the American squad could be even playing in Johannesburg on July 11th for all the title. We already made this run last year in a smaller tournament that no one expected us to win. This all possible only if the defense remains stout and begins to shut down teams more than in the group stage. I should probably make my pick for who will win the world cup at this point. I am going to make two picks since I am an American and believe that we can it all with some luck. If I had to act as an impartial analyst my pick would be Argentina. They have the fire power in Messi to score goals and the emotional leadership of none other than Maradona to guide them through this journey. They have looked unstoppable in group play. The other team that I look forward to watching is the Netherlands; this may be the year they can achieve the goal that has so long avoided them.