"Landon Donovan saves America!!!!!" by Ronald Carthen

Thank you Landon Donovan for scoring the game-winning goal in the 91st minute (stoppage time) to help USA defeat Algeria 1-0 and advance to the second round of the World Cup. Not only did they advance, they finished on top in Group C. This was the first time they won a group since 1930. Can you believe this is their first World Cup win in eight years? It was a long time coming but man it was worth.

It didn't matter if you were drunk at a bar or watching it at home, we were all nervous in the last few minutes of the game. I have to admit, when England defeated Slovenia 1-0, I thought time was running out for the Americans and they were going to be eliminated again. I'm so happy that four minutes of extra time was added on in this game. It didn't take them long to realize that they had to hurry up and score right now.

Donovan brought the ball upfield and Jozy Altidore's shot on the breakaway was tipped by Clint Dempsey into Algeria goalkeeper Rais Bolihi. Then all of our prayers were answered when Dononvan had the rebound and scored from eight yards to give us the biggest moment in soccer in years or maybe ever.

Once the whistle blew and the game was over, you saw the emotion from players, coaches, and fans as we rejoiced and celebrate an amazing victory that you can tell your grandchildren for years to come. It just feels like the team and all of us won this game. While the team prepared in South Africa, we set our alarms to get out of bed and make a sacrifice to wait almost two hours to finally see a goal. It didn't matter if we were at work, at a bar getting drunk with your friends, or called your job and pretend you were sick, we all believe that this team can win this game.

I'm not sure what will happen when they face the runner-up of Group D (Germany, Ghana, Serbia, or Australia) on Saturday, but we all hope this team can get closer to the golden ball. They made it to the quarterfinals in 2002, but that was their best finish in the WC since 1930, when they finished in third place. From this point on they'll be the underdog for most of their matches, but it could be a good thing because expectations won't be so high. This team has the potential to be the best team we've had in years, but we have to play well in the Round of 16.

I'm so glad we don't have to sit through any more draws this weekend. This is the way I like it win or go home and I sure hope the Americans win and we continue to party.   

"World Cup Predicitons Round of 16" by Ronald Carthen

I can't wait to set my alarm in the morning and get ready to watch the first World Cup match of the day between South Africa and Mexico. I enjoy watching 32 soccer teams and many soccers fans show great passion to the greatest sporting event every four years. Today we take a look at who I think will win the 2010 World Cup. A couple of days ago I chose the top teams of each group that'll move on to the second round. I can't wait to show everyone who I think will take home the golden trophy and brag for the next four years how they took some of the best soccer players around the world. Here are my predictions and let the debates begin.

Second Round
(1C) England over (2D) Ghana
(2B) Nigeria over (1A) France 
England will meet Nigeria in the Quarterfinals 

(1G) Brazil over (2H) Switzerland
(1E) Netherlands over (2F) Paraguay
Brazil will meet Netherlands in the Quarterfinals  

(1B) Argentina over (2A) Mexico
(2C) USA over (1D) Germany
Argentina will meet USA in the Quarterfinals

(1H) Spain over (2G) Portugal
(1E) Italy over (2E) Cameroon
Spain will meet Italy in the Quarterfinals

Quarterfinals
(1C) England over (2B) Nigeria
(1G) Brazil over (1E) Netherlands
England will meet Brazil in the Semifinals

(1B) Argentina over (2C) USA
(1H) Spain over (1E) Italy
Argentina will meet Spain in the Semifinals 

Semifinals
(1G) Brazil over (1C) England
(1B) Argentina over (1H) Spain
Argentina will meet Brazil in the Finals

Finals
(1B) Argentina over (1G) Brazil
Argentina wins the World Cup for the first time since 1986!!!!!

"2010 World Cup Group Stage Predictions" by Ronald Carthen

I'm so excited that it's three more days until the World Cup in South Africa. Every four years I look forward to watching 32 teams battle on the soccer field to prove who's the best in the world. Today I'll break down who will be the top two teams in each group that will make it to the Round of 16. On Thursday, I'll predict who'll win the World Cup. Get ready soccer fans for a great event and let the debates begin.

Group A

1) France
- Forwards Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka will look to avenge their 2006 World Cup defeat over Italy and win the country's first WC since 1998.

2) Mexico
- Mexico has advance in the second round in thier last four World Cup appearances, but have they have not advance out of the second round since 1986. 37-year old Cuauhtemoc Blanco will have to lead the charge with great young players Carlos Vela, Giovani dos Santos, and Efrain Juarez, who all played for the 2005 U-17 World Cup team.

3) Uruguay
-  This will be their first WC appearance since 2002 and they haven't advance to the quarterfinals since 1970, when they finished fourth. Forwards Luis Suarez and Diego Floran will have to come up with big goals in the match in order to make the round of 16.

4) South Africa
- A host country has never failed to reach the second round, but I think South Africa will be the first. Steven Pinnear and Katlego Mphela will have to bring their European experience to this event.

Group B

1) Argentina   
- Lionel Messi, world player of the year will try to lead Argentina to their first WC title since 1986. Coach Diego Maradona led the team to the WC in '86 and now must lead his country to the grand prize.

2) Nigeria
- Nigeria missed the World Cup in 2006. Obafemi Martins and Ayegbeni Yakubu will look to send Nigeria to the second round for the first time since 1998. This is the club's fourth WC appearance.  

3) South Korea
- Park Ji-Sung and Ki Sung-Yong are looking to give South Korea the same success they had in the 2002, when they finished in the semifinals as the co-host of the WC.

4) Greece 
- This is only the second WC appearance for this club. I don't think Georgios Samaras and Theofanis Gekas will have enough fire power to succed in this tourney.

Group C 
1) England
- Losing captain Rio Ferdinand was a big lost for England, but I think Wayne Rooney will make it out of the quarterfinals for the first time since 1990, when they finished fourth in the WC.  

2) USA
- Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey will look to avenge their terrible 2006 WC and make it back to the round of 16 like they did in 2002, when they made it to the quarterfinals.

3) Slovenia
- Goalkeeper Smir Handanovic and Slovenia's defense allowed only four goals in 10 games of the qualifying group. They haven't made the round of 16 since 1990, when they were Yugoslavia.  

4) Algeria 
- This is Algeria's third WC appearance and their first since 1986. Antar Yahia and Yazid Mansouri will not be enough for this team to advance.

Group D
1) Germany
- Michael Ballack is out of the WC, but forwards Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski will score enough goals to get out of this group and look to give Germany their first WC title since 1990, when they were East Germany.   

2) Ghana
- Ghana made their WC debut in 2006 and advanced to the second round of the tourney. Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari will try to make this team become the first African to make it to the semifinals.

3) Serbia
- This will be Serbia's first WC as a seperate nation. Dejan Stankovic and Milan Jovanovic will look take this team to the second round for the first time since 1998.    

4) Australia
- This will be Australia's third WC appearance. In 2006, they made it as far as the second round. I don't expect Tim Cahill and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and help this team to get out of this tough group.

Group E
1) Netherlands
- Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben will look to give this country their first ever World Cup. They haven't advance out of the second round of the World Cup since 1998.    

2) Cameroon
- Cameroon hasn't made it to the second round since 1990. Samuel Eto'o and company are looking to make a great run after missing the WC in 2006.

3) Denmark
- This will be Denmark's fourth WC appearance and their first since 2002. Denmark has always made it out of the first round but I think Nicklas Bendtner and Denmark will miss the first round for the first time.

4) Japan
- Japan has made it to the World Cup three times since 1998. Shinji Okazaki and company will not advance in the second round like they did in 2002. 

Group F
1) Italy 
- The defending WC champs will play well in this group. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and midfielder Andrea Pirlo will keep this team in line for another WC title.  

2) Paraguay
- Paraguay has never made it past the second round of the WC. Oscar Cardozo and Roque Santa Cruz will help this team advance to the second round, but will they advance to the quarterfinals is the big question.

3) Slovakia
- This will be Slovakia's first WC since 1990 and their first as an independant country. Robert Vittek will look to give this team the first WC title but they won't get pass Paraguay. 

4) New Zealand
- This will be New Zealand's first WC appearance since they made their debut in 1982. Ryan Nelsen and Shane Smeltz will look to give their country something to watch but it won't last.

Group G
1) Brazil
- Brazil is the only team to play in every World Cup. Kaka and Luis Fabiano will look to give Brazil their first WC since 2002. I hope they play better then they did in 2006, when they lost in the quarterfinals.

2) Portugal
- Cristiano Ronaldo will look to give Portugal their first World Cup title. They finished fourth in the 2006 WC.

3) Ivory Coast 
- Didier Drogba's broken arm will hurt the Ivory Coast's chances in this tourney. I don't see them playing well without him in their second WC appearance.

4) North Korea  
- This is North Korea's second World Cup and their first since 1966. Hong Yong-Jo and his squad don't stand a chance. 
Group H
1) Spain
- David Villa and Fernando Torres will look to win Spain their first WC. They should have no problem getting out of this group.

2) Switzerland
- Switzerland has made it to the second round five times but hasn't made the quarterfinals since 1954. Tranquillo Barnetta and Alexander Frei will pass Chile and make it to their third straight second round appearance.

3) Chile
- This will be Chile's first World Cup since 1998. Alexis Sanchez and Matias Fernandez will not be enough to get pass Switzerland and move to the next round.

4) Honduras
- This is only Honduras's second WC appearance and their first since 1982. Carlos Pavon and David Suazo will not be enough to get pass this group.     

2010 World Cup Preview (Group B)!!!!! by Ronald Carthen

Today we continue with part two of our World Cup preview with Group B of the 32-team tournament. We take a look at Lionel Messi and Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, and South Korea. This will be one of the toughest groups in South Africa. Take a look on who I predict the top two teams will move on to the 16-team second round of this tourney. Here are my predictions and let the debates begin.   

   

1) Argentina (FIFA rank: 7th)

- Argentina will be one of the favorites to win the World Cup. It took them the last game of the qualifying tournament to qualify with a 1-0 win over Uruguay in Montevideo, where they havn't won since 1976. They will be led by coach Diego Maradona, who scored five goals and led Argentina to a WC final victory in 1986. This country hasn't won the WC since then but coach Maradona is ready to give this team the golden ball. The team will be led by forward Lionel Messi, the best player in the world in my opinion. The Barcelona forward was the 2009 player of the year and led his team to the Summer Olympic gold medal in 2008. He scored 34 of 49 his goals with Barcelona in the Spanish Primera Division (8 in the UEFA Champions League). Midfielder Javier Mascherano is the team's national team captain. Mascherano has won gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. He's the defensive midfielder for Liverpool in the Premier League. Another striker you want to watch out for is forward Carlos Tevez. Tevez has made 50 appearances with the national team. He scored 23 of his 30 goals with Manchester City in the Premier League this season.

 






2) Nigeria (FIFA rank: 21st)  
- Nigeria defeated Kenya 3-2 to advance in the World Cup thanks to a lost earlier in the qualifying tournament when Tunisia lost to Mozambique in their final game. The team will be led by coach led by former Sweden coach Lars Lagerback. The 61-year old coach led Sweden to knockout rounds in the WC in 2002 and 2006. He will be the team's 23rd coach since 1949. Forward Obafemi Martins has scored 16 goals in 21 international appearances. He scored six of his eight goals for Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga. Yakubu Aiyegbeni will be the team's best striker in the tourney. Yakubu scored 16 of his 20 goals with Everton in the Premier League this season. Peter Odemwingie will be a good swingman for this team. Odemwingie scored six goal and six assists for Lille in the French Ligue 1.

3) South Korea (FIFA rank: 47th) 
- South Korea finished first over Japan and Australia in the Asian zone group to advance in the World Cup. This will be their eighth appearance in the WC. They only made it out of the first round once, when they finished fourth in the WC as the co-host country with Japan. The team will be coached by Huh Jung-Moo, who became the coach in 2007. He guided the team in 1998 in the WC and said he'll step down after the tournament no matter what. Midfielder Park Ji-Sung will play in his third WC. The Manchester United Midfielder scores three goals in the Premier League. His experience will be huge for this team. Ki Sung-Yueng scored five goals for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. His accuracy will be big for this team. Lee Chung-Yong will be a good swingman for this tourney. He plays for Bolton in the Premier League and was a member of the 2008 Olympic team.

4) Greece (FIFA rank: 13th)
- This is will be Greece's second World Cup appearance. Their last appearance was in 1994 when they were eliminated in the first round. They made it to the WC with a group that featured Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg. The team will be led by 71-year old coach Otto Rehhagel, the oldest coach in the WC. This will be Otto's first WC appearance and man does he have a tough group. Theofanis Gekas scored 10 goals in the European qualifying group and will be a striker you will have to watch out for in this tourney. Georgios Samaras scored 10 of his 13 goals for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. Georgios was eligble to play for Australia but he decided to stay.

2010 World Cup Preview in South Africa (Group A)!!!!! by Ronald Carthen

Today we begin our preview of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa which begins on June 11th. 32 teams around the world battle for the biggest prize in soccer. You only get to see this every four years so you better enjoy while it last. We begin with the Group A which features France, Mexico, South Africa, and Uruguay. I'll preview each team and let you know in each order how they'll finish as the top two teams in each group will move on to the 16 team knockout stage. Enjoy my predictions and let the debates begin.

     

1) France (FIFA rank: 9th) 
- The 2006 runner-up was very lucky to get past Ireland thanks to defender William Gallas' extra-time goal to finish second to Serbia in qualifiying Group 7 Stage. Captain and forward Thierry Henry will always be remembered for using his hand to set up the game-winning goal against the Irish to move on to the WC, but he's one of the best forwards in soccer. Henry will be the only player from the 1998 World Cup championship team to play in this event. The Barcelona captain could be playing on the bench since coach Raymond Domenech uses a 4-3-3 formation. Midfielder Franck Ribery is one of the best wingman from German Club Bayern Munich. Ribery will be able to get his goals and set up great shots for his players to get the goals his team needs. Forward Nicolas Anelka is one of the better scorers on this squad, but has never scored a goal in the WC. Anelka has scored 11 of his19 goals from Chelsea in the Premier League this season. Defender William Gallas will have to be a force a defend any forward that's ready to hurt their chances at the cup. Forward Yoann Gourcuff emergence will have to be a key as well. Gourcuff scored eight goals and 11 assists this season with France and Broaduax.

2) Mexico (FIFA rank: 17th)
- It took Mexico three coaches to advance to the WC. Coach Javier Aguirre came back to the team after Hugo Sanchez failed to qualify the team to the 2008 Summer Olympics and Sven-Goran Erikson coaching the team to only 13 games and six defeats. Aguirre lead the team to five straight wins to advance to the WC. Mexico has reach the second round for times and that's as far as they go. They havn't made the quarterfinals since 1986 and they are ready to take the next step with this football club. 37-year old forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco came back to Mexico and missed the 2006 WC after having differences with then coach Ricardo La Volpe. 21-year old forward Carlos Vela will bring great youth to the squad. He's not seeing much time with the team but he's was the leading scorer for the U-17 WC team in 2005. Defender Rafael Marquez will play a big role on defense to shut down forwards in this event. The Barcelona defender has won two UEFA Champions League titles, two La Liga titles, a Spanish Super Cup and the Catalonian Cup.

3) Uruguay (FIFA rank: 16th)

- Uruguay made the tournament after a qualifying fifth out of a 10-team South American group with 62-year old coach Oscar Washington Tabarez will coach for this team for the first time in 20 years. Uruguay missed the last WC in 2006 and was out hasn't reach the second round since 1990. The team will be led by forward Diego Forlan, who scored 18 of his 22 goals this year with Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Primera División this season. Forward Luis Suarez, the captain of Dutch club Ajax, scored 35 goals this season and will be a huge striker for this team.              

4) South Africa (FIFA rank: 83rd)
- This will be the biggest soccer event in this team's history. They are the host country so they already automatically qualify. They may become the first home country to not advance in the second round. The team is led by Midfielder Steven Pienner, who plays for team Everton, is the biggest profile name on the squad. Midfielder Aaron Mokoena has played in the most country appearances and will surpass 100 this year. Forward Katlego Mphela scored two goals againt Spain in the third-place game of the Confederations Cup and will not be overlooked in the WC this year. 

NIKE WORLD CUP COMMERCIAL (cameos from KOBE BRYANT and ROGER FEDERER)!!!!!!