Watching U.S. fans collapse into paroxysms of despair at the sound of the whistle ending yesterday’s game against Portugal, you’d think their team had just been eliminated from World Cup contention. Whereas, in fact, the game ended in a tie, which means that U.S. hopes are still alive.
Of course, an outright win would’ve vested the United States with a Cinderella-like aura of invincibility going into its third and final game of this opening round on Thursday against perennial powerhouse Germany. What’s more, even my heart ached a little for the United States when Portugal snatched a 2-2 tie from the jaws of a humiliating defeat by scoring (Gooooaaal!) with mere seconds left … in stoppage overtime.
A win would’ve guaranteed the United States a berth into the second round, which would’ve been tantamount to winning the World Cup given predictions of first-round doom when brackets revealed that it was seeded in the “Group of Death” (along with Germany, Portugal, and Ghana).
But, having defeated formidable Ghana in its first game, the United States remains in a relatively enviable position, especially considering that England, Portugal, and defending World Cup Champion Spain have already been (effectively) eliminated.
I’m not qualified (or interested) enough to go into all of the outcome scenarios of remaining “Group” games that would help the United States advance to the next, knockout round of 16. Suffice to know that it would take an improbable turn of events (like those that saw Portugal tie them in such devastating fashion, I suppose) for the United States to be eliminated. Not to mention prevailing suspicions that the United States and Germany will collude to have their game end in a tie, which would guarantee they both advance into the next round. But I think that’s bullshit. Both teams will try to win, and let the chips fall where they may.
In any event, keep calm, America, and know that your team will carry on.
For the record, as of this writing, only Belgium, Argentina, France, Costa Rica, Columbia, Chile, and the Netherlands have won all of their games, and are assured a berth into the next round.
Like the United States against Germany, my team, Nigeria, will need a win or a tie against Argentina on Wednesday to advance. Unlike Germany, however, I fear Argentina has no need (or incentive) to collude with Nigeria to end their game in a tie, or a win for Nigeria.
So, alas, the Africans might have to work twice as hard as the Americans to earn the same result.
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* This commentary was originally published yesterday, June 23, at 4:40 pm