2022 World Cup (Final)

Semifinals

Argentina 3-0 Croatia

This game was as wide open unpredictable as any match I've seen in ages, maybe like an NCAA Final with two great teams or a Masters where everyone is balling out. I had no idea what would transpire, so when Argentina was up 2-0 at the half, I still figured Croatia could win 3-2--I would not have been shocked. But, man, Messi was so fuckin' good in the 2nd half, just owned the game, took it over like Nikola Jokic: he just did whatever needed to be done like a boss. That third goal was pure Messi, thing o' beauty. I thought the PK that kicked off the scoring in the 1st half was 50/50: there was clearly contact so a replay isn't gonna change anything, I'm just so used to the keeper being given more leeway than everyone else that I'm surprised they called that contact, I thought it was even; Messi nailed the perfect finish (the one Harry Kane couldn't put away against France). Then soon after that Croatia gave up a video game goal: you're playing FIFA, you start thinking about getting an oil change or something, the computer's got the ball but he's not doing anything, you expect the ball to get poked away, it never does, now you're down 2-nothing. It was one of those, not a brilliant play but Argentina, just good ol' persistence kept the possession and went coast to coast with it. Nice work by Argentina, Messi played great, Croatia just never got lucky, made a coupla bonehead plays and that was that. 

France 2-0 Morocco

When Morocco gave up an early goal (5th minute) to France, I wasn't that worried; I knew Morocco wasn't gonna change anything about their game, though maybe they had a chance to get an equalizer. Well, Morocco really did control possession for the most part, but France's counter was pretty good. So even though Morcco held the ball and moved it well for the most part, the French still seemed more dangerous around the goal. When France got that 2nd goal (in the 80th minute), it finally let off the tension, because Morocco really could've tied that game up. Morocco was good at all phases of the game except shooting, they never really get one decent rip in the whole game, even though they held possession well and were sneaky in the offensive mid. But, France was able to overcome the chaos, got two kooky goals out of it and they're moving on. France has the home run potential of Brazil but more confidence in the midfield like Portugal or Spain, they're a good team; but if Morocco had a little more shot making up front, France might be playing the consolation game. 

3) Morocco (legit top notch defense, loved the keeper, their attacking midfield was effective against a lot of different teams; but they're goal scoring just wasn't effective enough; they deserved this run, this is a good squad, though I didn't get a feel for how old/young they are and the African teams are notoriously up and down, so not sure if they'll be nearly as tough in 2026)

4) Croatia (good team, savvy veterans, classy footballers, but they needed some luck and they did not get any against Argentina; Croatia is definitely on the map, their recent success is not a surprised, but I'm not sure this team makes it back in 2026)

Final

Croatia - Morocco

Could be a fun match. Morocco is sturdy, good in defense (though they get stretched on the counter), pretty good holding the ball. Croatia is a veteran side, patient, opportunistic but I think a little more geared toward making the big play than they ought to be. Also, gotta factor in who actually wants to play another game after losing in the semis and who is ready to just go home; I think they'll wanna play and should be rather conservative. I think I like Morocco to find the goal (maybe in OT) and I think Croatia fails to counter. I'll take Morocco.  

France - Argentina

My pre-tourney prediction was Belgium over France in the Final. Belgium did not live up to my expectations--even after they were gifted an opening game W against Canada, a team that more or less dominated them for 89 minutes and 55 seconds. But I'm not shocked to France here in the Final. They've got a ton of talent all over the field, Mbappe has been pretty great and has plenty of speed and moxy to the outside to make plays even at the highest of levels. I've been sandbagging Argentina all the way through because they didn't look special to me and I'm more used to see decline in the older teams; but then again this is the era of Lebron and Tom Brady, Federer and Nadal and, well, Messi. This team is and has been much better than I've given them credit for and their big man is feeling it. I like Argentina, I expect Messi to play the game of his life and while I expect France to be good, they look kinda half-ass to me, like they're waiting for the miracle instead of putting in the work. I think France has the better, younger talent, but I think Argentina is in it to win it like nobody I've seen in a while. I like Argentina (they're playing like they really fucking want it).

2022 World Cup (Semifinals)

Quarterfinals

Brazil 1-2 (PKs) Croatia

Brazil really let this one slip away. If they had put their effort into a for-real half court offense, controlling possession and pushing toward a ball control attack, I'm frickin' positive they would've scored goals. This would've left Croatia no hope but a searching counterattack, which I just don't think would've worked. Brazil scored first in OT but they couldn't parry the final Croatian push and then missed PK after PK (which is pretty un-Brazil, no?).  Croatia is a nice team, loads of veteran savvy and pride and while they don't have the depth of talent that Brazil possesses, Croatia was able to put together a cohesive game plan and Brazil didn't. 

Netherlands 2-3 (PKs) Argentina

Thought it was notable that all that Dutch youth wilted in OT and the Argentines dominated the attack late. Felt like the Dutch had their chance to establish the tempo early (nope) and still they could have come on late (got an equalizer, but I was thinking of a game winner or at least a dominant possession attack), but they didn't do either of those things, nor did they do anything in OT. So Argentina is moving on, the veteran savvy still getting it done (though I'm still dubious of how good they actually are). 

Portugal 0-1 Morocco

Not the most exciting game. Morocco got their goal (nice header off a long cross) and they made it hold up. I thought Portugal was old and that Morocco was underrated and that's how this match played out. 

France 2-1 England

Man, France was the better team with the deeper talent but England had their chance to extend the match but Harry Kane missed a late PK (ouch, that one's gonna hang in English lore for a long long time) and France is moving on. France has so much talent all over the field, Mbappe still has another level to get to (watch out, Morocco!), and that offense can score a ton real fast. France is the best of the remaining sides, not a slam dunk, but I'd say they're the team to beat. 

5) Brazil (this is disappointing, this team could've won it all and they didn't even score on Croatia in 90 minutes nor did they keep their advantage or shine out in PKs; Brazil has been weird for, like, 20 years now, they still got the talent, but are they ever going to find the coach that pulls it together?)

6) England (loaded with stars (but is that the same as 'talent'?), feels like they had a disappointing run but I'd say top 8 is a pretty good result; this could be one the old head teams in 2026)

7) Netherlands (good young squad, definitely could've bested Argentina, they just didn't; I'm guessing they'll still be good in 2026)

8) Portugal (one last run with the old guard, feels like this team will totally different in 2026)

Semifinals

Argentina - Croatia

Two oldhead squads that shouldn't have made it this far--and one of them is to going to the Finals! I dunno, man, this match could go in any direction, I can see either team getting hot and winning big, I can see either team stealing it late, I can see either team winning in OT or PKs. This one is wide open, I suspect the Man of the Match will be someone unpredictable. 

France - Morocco

France is the better team, Morocco's goalie has really been kinda great so far, if he can keep them in the match, then Morocco can certainly pull off the upset. But I don't think that happens, I think (unlike Brazil), France will concoct the proper game plan and will execute it to victory. Feels like France might drop bombs on the Moroccans late, we'll see, but this could an onslaught for the French.

2022 World Cup (Quarterfinals)

Round of 16

Netherlands 3-1 USA

Man, the 1st half that the Netherlands played was about the most perfect half of soccer you will ever see: they scored early, they scored late and in between they did virtually nothing and it kept the Americans running in circles. The lattice-work defense bottled up the middle and for some reason the Americans just could not shift it to the wings. The Dutch basically had two nice chances on counter attacks and they finished them both. Game over. The Americans hung around, scored a goal to make it close for a little bit, but the Dutch slammed the door soon after and that was that. The Americans have good talent, much more depth than I've ever seen in my lifetime and I'm pleased to report that the 2026 team looks well in place; that's nice, but in 2022 this was a top 16 team not a top 8 team and we all know it. As for the Netherlands, hey, man, they're better than I gave them credit for. They did so little in the group that I just kinda forgot to pay attention to them, but I was impressed with their size and speed all over the field, they're gonna be a tough out. 

Argentina 2-1 Australia

Yeah, Argentina was just better, man. The Aussies put up a game effort but they were never in this game and while this is probably the best Australian team I've ever seen....yeah....that's not saying much. There's always one team that's too old and I thought Argentina might be that team (still got my eye on Portugal and Croatia, too), but so far they've used their veteran savvy to get by. I don't think that's gonna work against the Netherlands, but we'll see. 

France 3-1 Poland

(I missed this game) Kinda seemed like the Netherlands-USA game: France was in control throughout, Poland added a late PK to make it look like a game, but I don't think it was. France is good, man, they're still in the sweet spot of their greatest generation and Mbappe is the MVP up to this point, I'd say (Messi has been pretty damn good, though). 

England 3-0 Senegal

I thought this match had some upset potential, but Senegal just never could find the upper hand. Then when England scored and then scored quickly again, Senegal was deflated. This scoreline looks like all the other round of 16 matches, but I think Senegal is better than this and I'm not convinced England is as good as they've looked so far: they caught Iran in a bad moment, couldn't get over top USA, easily pushed aside little brother Wales and got the chances they needed against Senegal. Yeah, they've won so far but I don't see them as favorite going forward. I could be wrong. 

Croatia 2-1 (PKs) Japan

Is Croatia the too-old team? Could be. But they didn't fall apart when Japan got the lead on them, Croatia stuck to their game, parried Japan for an extra 30 minutes and then handled their business in the PK round and that is impressive. I like Japan, they're smart, they play hard, they're like a really good Vanderbilt team: you know you've got more talent and that becomes your weakness because these guys will make the most of your lackadaisical mistakes. Japan is steadily improving and I wouldn't be surprised to see them as a regular fixture in the round of 16, but they've got a ways to go to reach the quarterfinals (just ask Mexico!). As for Croatia, well, I think they're getting by on guile and we'll see how long that lasts.

Brazil 4-1 South Korea

Yeah, Brazil took it easy on them in the 2nd half. Does the score look like a blowout? Man, Brazil took a nap for 45 minutes--that's how much of a blowout this game was. Does this suggest that South Korea sucks? Not at all. They are disciplined and well coached, they're good athletes and that goal they scored was fuckin' shweet! No, this is indicative of Brazil's resurrection. They've been kinda out of it for a while now, but they're gonna be tough to beat from here on out. South Korea did not suck in this game and Brazil smacked them around mercilessly before getting bored. Brazil is in it to win it this year. 

Spain 0-1 (PKs) Morocco

Not a shock. Of the eight "lesser" teams in the round of 16, Morocco is arguably the best side, they were really good in group. Spain is solid, nice mix of youth and vets, but they're not back to the 2000s form and losing to Morocco might normally seem like an upset, I thought these two were evenly matched. Indeed, it was clear fairly early in the match that it was gonna take a PK or a fluke play for either team pull it out, this had overtime written all over it. In PKs, I was little surprised that Spain missed their first three shots, felt like they'd have the veteran savvy to pull it out, but they didn't. Hey, man, not an upset, Morocco is solid. 

Portugal 6-1 Switzerland

Not surprised that Portugal laid the smackdown on Switzerland but I'm a little dubious of their overwhelming offense. They strike me as one of those teams that's too old to get it done but if they can keep this level of attack up, then they can definitely move on. Switzerland just couldn't hang; once they were forced into full attack mode, their defense got shredded on the counter, Portugal just plucked goals as if from a grapevine. 

9-16

9) Spain (Netherlands, England, France, Argentina, Brazil and Portugal all got up by 2 goals and then smothered their opponents; Croatia was able to weather the storm and get to OT but Spain couldn't get the lead and couldn't find the equalizer. They're not at their 2000s peak but the influx of young talent might be tough to beat in 2026)

10) Japan (Good team, man, they flat out beat Germany, should've beaten Croatia--Japa could easily still be in play. Japan is steadily producing better and better athletes each year, they'll be around in 2026)

11) USA (Not bad, one of those squads that forever oscillates between underrated and overrated. A nice showing against England, but should've finished off Wales, should've handled Iran and they did get housed by the Netherlands (though I suspect Netherlands is really good). So...nice tourney, not a failure but I'd like to see more confidence and looking more dangerous at the next level. USA is the host team in 2026, is USA's time finally on the horizon? 

12) South Korea (got housed by Brazil but otherwise competed well and South Korea for a while now have been passing the bus test: yeah, they look badasses getting off the bus. They're producing more athletes, they're on the up right and they'll be dominating Asia, along with Japan, for the foreseeable future. They'll be around in 2026)

13) Senegal (Senegal has a spicy offense, they produce solid athletes, just a matter of having a raft of young badasses at the same time. If they could've held off England's early offense, they might've taken that game (a mix of thinking Senegal is underrated and England is overrated))

14) Poland (They've got Lewandoski so they've definitely got for-real world class talent up front. But...there's not much beyond that. Otherwise they're just....Australia)

15) Australia (Yeah, if they had Lewandowski, I'd put them at #14. I think they're getting better and it is worth remembering that Australia is a deceptively small country, so the amount of talent produced is maybe about right)

16) Switzerland (I've been complaining about the "old" teams and frankly that's what Switzerland was. They had a coupla nice players but not nearly enough depth to even come close to Portugal (a team I'm not even that into))

Quarterfinals

Netherlands - Argentina

I'll take Netherlands, they're big and fast at every position. Argentina has the savvy but I think the Netherlands can pierce that defense, which might make the Argentine offense go haywire. 

France - England

I'll take France, they're just better. 

Croatia - Brazil

Brazil is rolling, man. They kinda haven't done anything since 2002 but this team meshes together in a way we haven't seen from Brazil since the 1990s. Throw in that Croatia is clearly one of the "old" teams and this could be a boat race. 

Morocco - Portugal

I like Morocco, if they can keep Portugal out of the box, then it can be the Moroccan counter that gets out on the break. I don't like Portugal that much but their offense has been effective, if they keep it going, they can roll up on Morocco. We'll see.

2022-23 NFL (Weeks 11, 12 & 13)

Week 11

Games I watched (some of):

Titans 27-17 Packers

The Packers tried to make a game of it, but the Titans ground out a solid W in Lambeau. I'm starting to like the Titans, their combo of strong running game and good pass rush will keep them in games and I like the coach. The Packers better get going now if they're planning on making the playoffs.

Browns 23-31 Bills

The Bills this season have dominated the 1st halves of games and sucked in the 2nd; here they kinda mixed up the formula: the Browns were good early on and late in the game, while the Bills kinda killed them in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Okay, well, at least the Bills have changed up their routine. The Browns have a nice running game and could be really good, but I think they're softer on defense than they want to admit (easy to blame the QB but I think he's fine). The Bills still have a ways to go to get back to the top tier. 

Bengals 37-30 Steelers

Fun games but a sloppy game, too. The Bengals weren't exactly great but somehow it never felt like the Steelers were gonna win (although their offense looked better than it had in weeks). 

Chiefs 30-27 Chargers

Fun game. I thought the Chargers were gonna do it, but Mahomes-to-Kelce is still the most reliable hookup in the league and down the stretch they made the plays they needed to make. The Chargers have two tough L's to KC this year; the Chiefs are still the team to beat in the AFC. 

The rest of the slate:

Bears 24-27 Falcons. Wow, people must've actually watched this game. Can you imagine?

Eagles 17-16 Colts. Eagles scrambled late to steal the W from the Colts (who did beat the Chiefs this year, if you will recall). This would've been a bad L for the Eagles, they did well to right the ship in time. 

Jets 3-10 Patriots. Punt return TD at the buzzer to win the game; impressive defenses, unimpressive offenses.

Rams 20-27 Saints. The Rams just don't care this season. Nice W for the Saints. 

Lions 31-18 Giants. Not a shocker, the Lions have a good offense and the Giants have been due for a bad game for a while now. 

Panthers 3-13 Ravens. Looks like a dull game. The Ravens have yet to play a complete game all season long. 

Commanders 23-10 Texans. The Texans are bad, the Commanders are less bad. 

Raiders 22-16 Broncos. Somebody had to win this one, I guess. The Raiders are starting to play a little better lately. 

Cowboys 40-3 Vikings. Ooof! The Vikings were ready for a letdown but this was well more than that. The Cowboys kinda dominated both sides of the ball. 

Niners 38-10 Cards. Yeah, the Cards suck and when the Niners bring their offense they're pretty good. 

Week 12

Games I watched (some of):

Bills 28-25 Lions

Not the most impressive Bills performance this year but they did what they needed to do to get the W and that's what matters. I'd love to see a complete game from the Bills instead of just a good 1st half and a desperate scramble late, haven't seen it yet. 

Giants 20-28 Cowboys

Good methodical win for the Cowboys, I thought. Not an overwhelming performance but a confident one and a winning one. 

Pats 26-33 Vikings

Fun game. More action than I would've thought but somehow it was still pretty even. The Vikings are not a great team but they are a pretty good one and they've got more talent than the Pats and that's what won out. 

The rest of the slate:

Bucs 17-23 (OT) Browns. Bucs, man, how are you not better than this?

Bengals 20-16 Titans. Strong performance by the Bengals, they needed this more than the Titans and they went and got the W. Good work. 

Texans 15-30 Dolphins. Texans suck, Dolphins are okay.

Bears 10-31 Jets. The Bears without QB Fields are possibly the worst team in the league; meanwhile, NYJ is kinda rolling.

Falcons 13-19 Commanders. The Commanders aren't great but they aren't bad and that's better than the Falcons. 

Broncos 10-23 Panthers. Man, the Broncos offense is so bad that its hard to truly appreciate how damn good their defense is. But, this doesn't do anything for the Panthers--that's how lame this L was for the Broncos!

Ravens 27-28 Jags. The Ravens are allergic to playing a complete 60 minute game. If they figure it out, they're still good enough to win it all. The Jags are still a plucky bunch of youngsters, nice W for them.

Chargers 25-24 Cards. The Chargers would be more impressive if they just went out and got wins instead of just farting around out there. The Cards are not particularly good, this is the kind of game the Chargers should win comfortably. 

Raiders 40-34 (OT) Seahawks. The Raiders have been better lately, the Seahawks are ready for a storm to weather, no?

Rams 10-26 Chiefs. Yawn. The Rams have not played football all year long. The Chiefs fucked around and handled this with ease. 

Saints 0-13 Niners. So is the Niners defense that good or has the Saints offense completely gone away?

Packers 33-40 Eagles. Back and forth action, one of those games where I'm more impressed with the loser than the winner. 

Steelers 24-17 Colts. The Colts are terrible--they've managed to not lose five games and that is an amazing overachievement for this horrible team. Yeah, the Steelers suck, too, but slightly less than the Colts. 

Week 13

Bills 24-10 Patriots

Ahhh, watching the Bills beat the Pats never gets old (especially when it's still so new). A glorious thing, though. Not a dominating performance but the Bills were the better side throughout. 

Chiefs 24-27 Bengals

The Bengals are balling right now, rounding into shape at the right time. The Chiefs are weird: they're still the team to beat but they do look mortal against the Bills and the Bengals--the two teams they need to beat! The top 3 in the AFC (hell, throw in the Titans, too) are gonna be tough to beat, only they can beat each other. 

The rest of the slate: 

Steelers 19-16 Falcons. Man, I'm glad I didn't watch this. 

Packers 28-19 Bears. Felt like the Bears were finally gonna get one against the Packers but, no, Rodgers did the discount double check and that was that. 

Jags 14-40 Lions. Not a shock: the Lions can score, the Jags can get rolled at a moment's notice. 

Jets 22-27 Vikings. Fun game! Felt like the Jets were better but left points on the table, some good defensive stands for the Vikings. After all this time, I'm still not sure what I think of the Vikings, but if this was an impressive performance for the Jets in an L, it must mean I like the Vikings...right?

Commanders 20-20 Giants. Ha!

Titans 10-35 Eagles. Good, impressive W for the Eagles. They passed the ball at will, Hurts was kinda amazing.

Broncos 9-10 Ravens. Ugh! Lamar Jackson got early on, the Ravens had to struggle against a good defense. 

Browns 27-14 Texans. The Texans are not good. The Brown aren't either, but they easily stomped the Texans. 

Seahawks 27-23 Rams. Good W for the Seahawks. They are the better team but division games on the road are always dicey. 

Dolphins 17-33 Niners. The Dolphins were due for a bad performance; the Niners lost Jimmy G, but they didn't seem to miss him today (shade of Nick Foles?).

Chargers 20-27 Raiders. The Chargers really should be winning the games that they should win. 

Colts 19-54 Cowboys. Nice bust out for the Cowboys. 

Saints 16-17 Bucs. The Bucs really tried to give this game away but Tom Brady wouldn't let them. Another game I'm glad I missed. 

(*) Dude, Germany played Spain--you think I'm watching the fuckin' Browns this week?!?

2022-23 NCAA Football (Championship Week)

(11) Utah 47-24 (4) Southern Cal

I thought Utah would be a problem for USC and that turned out to be the case. USC went up 17-3, then got outscored 44-7. Yipes! Southern Cal is set up for next year (I assume they'll be pre-season top 5), but, man, if Utah could've gotten it done against Florida way back in week 1, they'd be on their way to the playoff right now. USC is out of the playoff and deservedly so, if they'd won this game I'd be cool with them in but losing twice to Utah puts Ohio State back in play. 

(10) Kansas State 31-28 (OT) (3) Texas Christian

Only caught snippets of this game, looked incredibly even to my eye. Neither team took the upper hand until K State was able to stop TCU on the goalline in OT, which pretty much doomed the Horned Frogs. Good W for Kansas State, but not a bad enough L to knock TCU out of the playoff, which is the correct move (though I would've moved the Buckeyes to #3 to set up a Michigan-Ohio State rematch). Georgia is not unbeatable but TCU will need to bring their best offense to keep up. 

(14) Louisiana State 50-30 (1) Georgia

It was not unthinkable that LSU would put together the right game plan and that UGA would just have a dud performance. I thought LSU mostly was pretty good, but UGA did not have a dud game and the Bulldogs just ran over LSU, which was not unexpected. UGA is good, that D is almost as good as last year but the offense is capable of grinding to a halt, so as solid as UGA has looked all year, this playoff should be plenty competitive. 

(22) Central Florida 28-45 (18) Tulane

Looks like Tulane did whatever they wanted on offense. Tulane had a solid season, won their conference (regular season and tourney style) and deserved a better ranking than their final #16. 

(9) Clemson 39-10 (23) North Carolina

Yawn. Clemson finally brought their offense, good for them. UNC was a rickety ship all season long but especially down the stretch they just weren't a very good squad. As annoying as the ACC teams were this year, I gotta say Clemson is actually underrated in the final poll. 

Purdue 22-43 (2) Michigan

Yeah, that's about right. Time for the Big 10 to give up the divisions, right? Purdue was never even ranked in the top 25 all year long, they were clearly just an afterthought going into the championship. Michigan was the better team from beginning to end. 

My top 12:

1) Georgia (yup, best pretty much all season long)

2) Michigan (won all their games, including at Ohio State and the B-10 championship)

3) Ohio State (bad loss to Michigan is the only blemish on their record)

4) Texas Christian (didn't take the Big 12 Championship but otherwise weathered all the ups and downs of their conference, they had a great season and totally deserve to be in the playoff)

5) Utah (they came closer than you think of being a top 4 team and beating Southern Cal twice is pretty impressive; yes, three L's but all to ranked teams on the road, I just think they were a much better team than you realize)

6) Alabama (yeah, finishing #5 is time to panic in Tuscaloosa, let's hope they drive themselves straight to mediocrity, just as Florida State and Nebraska shot themselves in the foot back in the day)

7) Clemson (I have them ahead of Tennessee, because their brutal loss to South Carolina wasn't as bad as Tennessee's; don't get me wrong: I think Clemson's offense is not very good and the ACC was annoying at best, but Clemson righted the ship after an embarrassing L and won their championship, which is more than I can say for UT)

8) Kansas State (a sneaky good team all year long, their 3 L's are all disappointing but not unforgivable; up against Bama in the bowl game and I'm curious to see if they can hang)

9) Tennessee (good season, beat Alabama and LSU, but couldn't hang with Georgia and then got smoked by South Carolina which is actually kinda lame; nice team but they were at best the 3rd best team in the SEC, how great was that this year?)

10) Southern Cal (they should probably be higher but the fact that they had the playoff on their plate and couldn't figure out how to stop Utah brings them a bit lower; good season, set for a great return next year)

11) Penn State (well, they got clocked by Michigan and Ohio State, but they easily handled everyone else they played; curious to see how they match up with Utah)

12) Tulane (hey, man, they've got some nice W's on their resume this year and they won their conference season and tourney and that's impressive; good offense, they'll be a tough out for somebody in a bowl)

2022 World Cup (Round of 16)

Netherlands - USA (The Dutch have the pedigree but USA is producing players now that don't know they're not supposed to win; Netherlands is nice but not that great and they're coming in with the expectations; we'll see; I'll take USA (but obviously because I'm a homer))

Argentina - Australia (I thought this Argentina side might be too long in the tooth to get it done and when they got stung by Saudi Arabia in the opener, it felt like the end was neigh; but they're righted the ship and look pretty damn good again; Australia, on the other hand, is big and tough with not a lot of skill on the ball; I'll take Argentina)

France - Poland (France looks good, Poland looks okay; France has world class talent on the bench, Poland has Lewandowski up front; France is the better team but if they falter and Poland can get the ball forward, this has upset potential; but I'll take France)

England - Senegal (Senegal isn't bad while the English aren't as good as they think they are; this is toss-up, the English probably fancy themselves the favorite but I'm not sure; I'll take Senegal)

Japan - Croatia (Croatia is another team that looks old to me, Japan is sneaky and they just keep working; Croatia should have more talent, but that might doom them; I'll take Japan)

Brazil - South Korea (I like South Korea but they're not Brazil; I'll take Brazil)

Morocco - Spain (Hey, man, Morocco has played well to this point, but they may have just been in a disappointing group; Spain has moments of looking like the old magic, but I feel like they haven't played a complete game yet; I'll take Spain)

Portugal - Switzerland (I think Portugal played above themselves in group, I can see them crashing back to earth at some point; on the other hand, I don't think Switzerland has enough spice to really put in on them; I'll take Spain)

Bottom 16

17) Tunisia (man, they were good, thought they'd advance, kinda surprised they didn't; really solid on both sides)

18) Cameroon (beat Brazil, competed well against weird Euro squads, little more luck and they could've moved on)

19) Ecuador (good scorers, they were dangerous, just got unlucky down the stretch)

20) Germany (fell asleep against Japan, got lucky against Spain, finally busted out at the end of the Costa Rica match; flashes of German-ness but not enough to get it done)

21) Uruguay (still kinda scary up front, almost made it through; didn't love them but they weren't bad; last rodeo for the Suarez-Cavani combo, I presume)

22) Costa Rica (weird run, not a bad team but never got going) 

23) Saudi Arabia (beat Argentina, didn't do much else, but they beat Argentina)

24) Iran (gave away the first match but still played hard for two games; strong turnaround)

25) Mexico (just couldn't score, never seemed dangerous around the goal)

26) Ghana (nice team but didn't make the most of their chances; really should've been better, which is kinda promising)

27) Serbia (weird team, weird energy, weird group)

28) Wales (one PK was almost enough to fuck up the World Cup for USA, but otherwise they were non-existent on the pitch)

29) Denmark (I dunno, they did nothing)

30) Belgium (my pick to win it all, biggest disappointment of my lifetime; these guys sucked when they could've won the whole thing; something is seriously wrong with this team)

31) Canada (Yeah, outplayed Belgium for 90 minutes (well, 89 minutes an 55 seconds) but two games later, that seems like a major disappointment instead of a rallying cry; Canada was never particularly good on either side)

32) Qatar (Oh man, they sucked at everything! Shocking, too, because I thought they'd be kinda good and...they were not)