Argentina & Brazil Sent Home By Germany & Holland

Frankly I was rooting for South American powerhouse teams Argentina and Brazil in their losing battles with European bigshots Germany and Holland, so it wasn't much fun to see both teams whipped by large margins this morning and yesterday.

However I wasn't really rooting for Argentina coach Diego Maradona,he of  the notorious "hand of God" who scored a critical goal against England way back when that many said was a handball.

If memory serves me, Maradona also was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in disgrace after testing positive for cocaine.  The press, then and now, seems to eat him up because he's always good for some juicy ridiculous comment.

Another player from 1994, Dunga of Brazil, is now his team's coach as well.  As I recall he was certainly a lot less controversial than Maradona, serving brilliantly as goalie and captain of the team that year.  And if I remember correctly Dunga was the "old man" of his team--in his thirties--and his World Cup appearances marked the end of his playing career.

U.S Knocked Out of World Cup!

What a disappointment!  Just as I'd checked into my room across the street from the San Miguel (El Salvador) bus station and turned the TV on for the U.S.-Ghana match, Ghana broke a 1-1 tie in overtime to knock out the Yanks in what must be a shocking disappointment for a team that certainly had higher hopes.

But even European powerhouses (and former champions) Italy and France were knocked out in this year's event in South Africa, so is it any wonder?  The U.S. can take some comfort in the knowledge that it's never been a world class soccer power, but still it must hurt.  I've heard that the U.S. teams improve a little bit at every World Cup.

I think this might be why it's such a popular sport:  even relatively poor countries like Ghana and Slovakia can knock out the mighty rich countries while lowly Honduras can hold rich and powerful Switzerland to a scoreless draw.

In Choluteca Everyone Wears Honduran Blue

I'm writing from Choluteca, Honduras where I just watched perhaps the most exciting 0-0 draw ever between lowly Honduras, fighting for its life in the World Cup against European bigshots Switzerland.  Today's prime time match comes after another hard-fought 0-0 contest between Portugal and Brazil this morning.

In Chinandega, Nicaragua where I saw the Brazil match, everything in town stopped while people gathered in the cafes to watch perennial favorites Brazil.

The Honduras match was just beginning as I crossed the border this afternoon.  Though I don't know enough about the standings to report much here, I'm pretty sure that Honduras's valient effort today won't help it to gain a spot in the "knock out" round.  But boy!  The last 20 minutes or so, which I watched in the lobby of my hotel with some locals, was non-stop action, back and forth across the field, as both teams expended their utmost as if it was the most important match in the world.

Afterwards, when it was done, the players lying on the field collapsed in utter exhaustion, the quiet streets of this southern Honduran town filled with locals going about their business, many of them dressed in their team's blue jerseys.