A meticulous day spent preparing Chico for Danny Page’s arrival kept me away from blogging on a jam-slammed international friendly fest Wednesday. Guess I couldn’t contain the town for long. There’ll be more local shenannigans to be had here in the cradle of Northern California on the show later this morning, be sure and stop back by to listen at some point today to see how our live broadcast went on (in the spirit of Chico State University) a college Friday.
Anyway, for the time being, let’s get friendly about some of yesterday’s happenings…
United States 3, Poland 0: The Americans looked every bit as poised as they should have been with the veteran lineup that was fielded. It was also apparent set pieces might be an interesting new avenue of offensive strength. Landon Donovan, who usually gets a reprieve from this end unlike the other part of the spectrum, flat-out pooched a 50-yard run you just can’t pooch when you’re Landon Donovan on this U.S. team at this time. A road win over a Euro 2008 side, it was, nevertheless.
France 1, England 0: Other than David Beckham doing the 100, England came into the match with little to none in terms of steam being offered. Owen Hargeaves as a fifth midfielder and Wes Brown starting, period, had to be troubling sights for the Pay-Per-View audience tuning in at kickoff as well. The French didn’t field the best of lineups, either, but did offer another whisper about how William Gallas might just take matters into his own hands in Switzerland come summer.
Spain 1, Italy 0: It remains unclear whether Fernando Torres and David Villa will share the front of the Spanish attack when things begin to count in June. If so, the team isn’t showcasing what will be a strong candidate for the tournament’s most entertaining aspect. Torres and Villa, however, have the problem of twin strengths. Ditto for the rest of the Spain attacking half that had to sit the likes of Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso and Danny Guiza in the first half. They’d be better suited with that kind of bulk on the back line. As for Italy, one shot on goal is all anyone needs to know about a side that will unimaginatively wade through the spring lull.
Croatia 1, Scotland 1: The Croats are the chic pick to excite in Switzerland, which is exactly what they weren’t able to do while often being outrun by the Scots of all teams.
Denmark 1, Czech Republic 1: Six-foot-3 forward Nicklas Bendtner put the Danes on the board first, then was showed how a towering striker really gets down when all 6-foot-8 of the venerable Jan Koller equalized for the Czechs late.
Brazil 1, Sweden 0: Among the young Brazilian talent brandished, Julio César shone brightest in net en route to pitching the shutout.
Netherlands 4, Austria 3: Great three-goal comeback or disconcerting haplessness in the first half? Marco van Basten had that to ponder on the plane ride home.
Greece 2, Portugal 1: Whatever is being said about the Greeks’ chances in Group D (against Russia, Spain and Sweden) needs to include the fact they’ve only lost once in 2008.
Germany 4, Switzerland 0:D Page and I will probably continue our debate about the German merits for being the de facto favorite to take home the European crown well into the spring. On this side, the prosecution, we need to see more evidence that Michael Ballack is still unguardable before putting our case against the defense to rest.
Mexico 2, Ghana 1: The North America-Africa rivalry is something to begin appreciating more, but the story here is how the heartache continues for the Ghanians while Tricolores aren’t yet exactly out of the woods with their struggles, either.
Estonia 2, Canada 0: The long road to the slightest of world respectability continues for the Canadians. And you might have saw the snow-covered pitch on the highlights. Most soccer fans outside of Europe know nothing about Estonia and will now associate this with the country. Hardly the scenario every January when Midwesterners drool by their TV sets watching the Rose Bowl unfold amid 70-degree temperatures in Southern California, ha?
