Reflections on the 2006 World Cup Days 5 & 6

Same deal as always, only with the second game for two teams, I'll be doing a little Grade Point Averaging too.

South Korea: A-
Congrats to the Taeguk Warriors for their first World Cup victory outside of their own country! They controlled the pace of the game, having a 64-36% possession edge and not getting rattled by being down at the half.

Togo: C-
A decent debut. Held a lead at the half, but had a very costly foul that put them down a goal and a man too. Unfortunately, this was probably their only chance to win a game in the tourney. A draw, on the other hand, could be quite possible...

France: C-
Since the French and Swiss have made it a habit. Now, for those of you who aren't obessive and followed qualifying, let me tell you that I am not surprised. France and Switzerland were both undefeated in European play, but so was the third place Israel since no one could beat each other (the only loss in the top four was Ireland's to France).

That being said, France should be putting up more goals. France should have put David Trezeguet in near the end (no excuses; they didn't even use up all their subs!) in some desperation. They get a bump up since they had a handball not called, and as an American who remembers my team getting screwed in '02 by a non-call I give some leniency.

Switzerland: C+
Probably more pleased by the resulted the Les Bleus, still a disappointment to go scoreless in game 1. They did have the shots on goal edge. Need a little more discipline; 5 yellows as a team is the most for any team in their first game in Germany.

Brazil: B+
A win, but a less than expectations would have guessed. All Ronaldo needs to do to be a cow on a pasture is to eat the grass, since all he seems to do is stand around all day (Insert your own "Ronaldo is fat" joke here, if you're so inclined). They had some holes, and are lucky Croatia couldn't pull the trigger. Still, all their opponents should look here to see what they need to do against the Brazilians.

Croatia: B+
Played an extraordinarily close game against the massive favorites. Dado Prso played wonderfully, and had to make Rangers fans feel proud. The Japanese and Aussies should watch out.

Spain: A+
Best performance of the tourney.

Ukraine: F
Goods news for the United States: They're not last anymore. Really horrible, never controlled the ball. Although the red card wasn't even a foul.

Saudi Arabia: B
Were unlucky to have that second goal scored at the closing minutes. That would have put them in excellent position to advance. Still, they did a nice job offensively, especially in the second half.

Tunisia: B-
Battled back nicely, not conceding defeat. The Saudis controlled most of the play in the second half, but the Carthage Eagles still got a point.

Poland: B-
(GPA: 1.833) Almost had that tie wrapped up. Nice job by Boruc, who was my man of the match.

Germany: B
(GPA: 3.335) Not as strong an effort, but they came through in the clutch.