World Cup Update, June 22

Yesterday's Results:
Argentina 1, Iran 0
Germany 2, Ghana 2
Nigeria 1, Bosnia-Herzegovina 0

Three thoughts on the games
- Admittedly, I skipped this game. I didn't see any way Iran would hang with Argentina. I was wrong, as it took over 90 minutes for Argentina to score, almost entirely thanks to the individual brilliance of Lionel Messi. Hat tip to Iran, I did not believe they had it in them.

- Well, I feel somewhat better about how the US played in their win over Ghana after watching Germany-Ghana. I was critical of how the US essentially parked the bus after scoring in the first minute of the game. Germany also got the first goal of this game (early in the 2nd half). And true to form, they did not pull back and go into a defensive shell, they encouraged the game to get wide open so they could counter-attack. Ghana, however, didn't roll over like Portugal did, they used their speed to strike back, and they notched not one, but two goals. Germany later equalized (congratulations to Miroslav Klose on netting his 15th career World Cup goal, tying Ronaldo (the Brazilian, not Cristiano) for most all time) and perhaps the most enjoyable second half of the tournament so far ended with the teams level.

For the US, the result was fine, but not ideal. A Germany win would have been better (as it would leave the US more likely to get points in their game against the Germans), though if the US can defeat Portugal tomorrow, the point will be moot as they will move on.

- One one hand, Nigeria's win was a just result. Both teams played well,both teams got double-digit shots on net (a rarity), Nigeria simply was able to poke one of their chances past the Bosnian keeper. On the other hand, this result was entirely unjust. Bosnia had a legitimate goal taken away on a terrible offside call. I cannot begin to defend the assistant referee who made the call: he was in position and he simply blew it. And then Nigeria's goal came after a very debatable no call where the forward used his physicality to knock the defender off the ball before setting up his teammate for the goal. I believed the upper body contact was legal, but the forward did clip the defender's legs which is what got him to the ground, and that contact looked illegal to me. But it was not called and it led to the only goal in this game.

Today's Games: 
Belgium vs Russia (12:00 PM, ABC)
South Korea vs Algeria (3:00 PM, ABC)
United States vs Portugal (6:00 PM, ESPN)
note, all games are available streaming on ESPN3/the WatchESPN app

Updated Tables
A reminder: the number in parentheses next to each team name is the latest FIFA World Ranking.

Qualified for Knockout Round: Netherlands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Argentina
Eliminated from the Knockout Round: Cameroon, Australia, Spain, England, Honduras, Bosnia-Herzegovina

GROUP A
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GD	GF	GA	PTS
Brazil (3)	2	1	1	0	2	3	1	4
Mexico (20)	2	1	1	0	1	1	0	4
Croatia (18)	2	1	0	1	2	5	3	3
Cameroon (56)	2	0	0	2	-5	0	5	0
GROUP B
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GD	GF	GA	PTS
Netherlands (15)	2	2	0	0	5	8	3	6
Chile (14)	2	2	0	0	4	5	1	6
Australia (62)	2	0	0	2	-3	3	6	0
Spain (1)	2	0	0	2	-6	1	7	0
GROUP C
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GD	GF	GA	PTS
Colombia (8)	2	2	0	0	4	5	1	6
Ivory Coast (23)	2	1	0	1	0	3	3	3
Japan (46)	2	0	1	1	-1	1	2	1
Greece (12)	2	0	1	1	-3	0	3	1
GROUP D
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GD	GF	GA	PTS
Costa Rica (28)	2	2	0	0	3	4	1	6
Italy (9)	2	1	0	1	0	2	2	3
Uruguay (7)	2	1	0	1	-1	3	4	3
England (10)	2	0	0	2	-2	2	4	0
GROUP E
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GD	GF	GA	PTS
France (17)	2	2	0	0	6	8	2	6
Ecuador (26)	2	1	0	1	0	3	3	3
Switzerland (6)	2	1	0	1	-2	4	6	3
Honduras (33)	2	0	0	2	-4	1	5	0
GROUP F
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GD	GF	GA	PTS
Argentina (5)	2	2	0	0	2	3	1	6
Nigeria (44)	2	1	1	0	1	1	0	4
Iran (43)	2	0	1	1	-1	0	1	1
Bosnia-Herzegovina (21)	2	0	0	2	-2	1	3	0
GROUP G
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GD	GF	GA	PTS
Germany (2)	2	1	1	0	4	6	2	4
United States (13)	1	1	0	0	1	2	1	3
Ghana (37)	2	0	1	1	-1	3	4	1
Portugal (4)	1	0	0	1	-4	0	4	0