Never Say Die

Germany were on the brink of elimination but showed amazing character and grit in what turned into the most exciting match of the tournament so far.  Sweden scored a beautiful goal against the run of play in the first half.  After the break, Germany came out as if their life depended on it, and it did.  They scored immediately to equal the score.  Germany pressed for the game winner, but when Sweden's goal keeper made an amazing save to deny Mario Gomez's point blank header, it looked like they may survive with a tie.  When German defender Jerome Boetang was sent off for getting his second yellow card, it looked like Sweden may actually win.  Germany had other ideas and even though they were a man short, they continued to take the game to the Swedes and when they earned a free kick just outside the penalty area five minutes into stoppage time, it was Tony Kroos that struck a perfect free kick.  Germany survived a huge scare and the team unity that this created may spring them back into the position of World Cup favorites.

The current favorites must be Belgium.  They continue to dominate their opposition and play in a very entertaining way.  Today they put five goals past Tunisia including two by Eden Hazard and two by Romelu Lukaku.  They talent on Belgium's team is undeniable, but if they continue to play as a well functioning team, they will be hard to beat.  On the other had, their victims include Panama and Tunisia, hardly the top competition in this tournament and it is hard to imagine the Belgians responding to adversity with the belief that Germany demonstrated today.  There is a long way left to go this summer and Belgium will definitely have opportunities to prove their mettle. 

Mexico continued their great start to the tournament with a 2 - 1 victory over South Korea.  The Koreans were aggressive and made the game difficult for Mexico until the end.  The goal of the match belonged to South Korea's dynamic winger Son who scored a goal late to bring Korea within one goal and make the last seconds of the clock take forever to expire for Mexico supporters. 

All of today's matches were exciting and as teams fight to avoid elimination the intensity grows and grows.  The results in group F have created a scenario where all four teams have a chance to advance to the next round and all still face the thread of being eliminated. 

As expected, Kelley ends the day in first place and Gray is one point behind.  They both benefited from five Belgium goals.  Matt Snyder also had a huge day with both Belgium and Mexico moving him into the top 10.  Josh, Matt Snyder and Sharleen are the only participants in the top 10 that have another team to play in the second round.  In the important race to get teams qualified for the next round, Kelley, Rick and Rachel all have two spots guaranteed.