June 24 FIFA World Cup Open Thread

A few quick thoughts before I post the scenarios and the schedule.

• Cheering for a clutch player named Donovan is an odd sensation that I am enjoying for the first time in my life.
• Aspeaking of Eagles references, dear oh dear what ever happened to my Super Eagles of Nigeria? The fact that they only played 1 complete half of soccer in 3 games and yet still found themselves a couple of atrocious misses away from advancing out of a group with South Korea and Greece competing for the same position really speaks volumes to how wacky group play can be.
• I love Argentina. I loved them in 2006 and I love them again in 2010. Lionel Messi is absolutely amazing even if he is not scoring, and that whole team is an absolute blast to watch. Diego Maradona is awesomely entertaining and hilarious as a coach, and it appears as if he may be on to something with this team as well. Now how much of the decisions are Maradona's and how much he is just there as a figurehead coach, I cannot say for certain, but him and his team continue to entertain me beyond belief and if there is one team outside of the United States that I want to win the World Cup, it is Argentina.
• Now to Argentina's polar opposites: the French. Argentina are a team that play for each other and are successful, whereas French soccer is now beyond a complete disgrace. The F.F.F. can thank me for that compliment later.

Clinching scenarios for Group E

Netherlands: Clinched
Japan: Win OR Draw
Denmark: Win
Cameroon: Eliminated

Clinching scenarios for Group F
Paraguay: Win/Draw OR Lose and Slovakia-Italy draw OR Lose and Slovakia win provided Paraguay maintains goal differential edge
Italy: Win OR Draw and Paraguay win OR Draw and Paraguay-New Zealand draw where Italy is ahead on goals scored OR Draw and Paraguay-New Zealand draw by the same score and Italy has the lucky lot drawn.
New Zealand: Win OR Draw and Italy-Paraguay draw and New Zealand scores more goals than Italy OR Draw and Italy-Paraguay draw by the same score and New Zealand has the lucky lot drawn.
Slovakia: Win and Paraguay win/draw OR Win and New Zealand win that sees Slovakia ahead in goal differential.

Group F: Slovakia vs. Italy 10:00 AM (Johannesburg EPS) (ESPN - Ian Darke and John Harkes)
Group F: Paraguay vs. New Zealand 10:00 AM (Polokwane) (ESPN2 - Jim Proudfoot and Roberto Martinez)
Group E: Denmark vs. Japan 2:30 (Rustenburg) (ESPN - Adrian Healey and Ally McCoist)
Group E: Cameroon vs. Netherlands 2:30 (Cape Town) (ESPN2 - Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe)