World Cup Quick Hitters: 6/14/10

It’s time to get to today’s quick hitters for the 2010 World Cup, as we had some exciting action taking place on the pitch. Group E was the main focus, and we certainly got a few unexpected things out of that group. Then the defending World Cup champs kicked off their campaign by looking nothing like the defending World Cup champs. Let’s get right to the news and notes!

– Probably the biggest news of the day deals with the USA team, as goalie Tim Howard has been cleared to play in what is now a big showdown between the U.S. and Slovenia on Friday. Since Slovenia picked up the three points in the win over Algeria, the U.S. now has some work to do. This is a must-win game for them, because if Slovenia wins, they’re moving through to the next round. Which means that either the USA or England will be on the outside looking in.

– The second biggest news of the day was on Didier Drogba, who may or may not play tomorrow against Portugal. Drogba has to wear a cast on the broken arm, but now he has to see if FIFA will let him play with it on. You can bet that Ivory Coast is really hoping he’s out there, because he will be responsible for the bulk of their scoring. If he’s not out there against Portugal, they will struggle to pick up any points, and with Group G being loaded with talent, they need all the points they can get.

– The first game on the schedule today was the Netherlands taking on Denmark, and really no surprise with the 2-0 victory for the Dutch. This wasn’t an overly impressive performance by the Netherlands, but three points is three points. Before the tournament started, they were my second favorite to win this thing behind Brazil, and while it wasn’t a dominating win, they still got what they needed to get out of this match. Denmark was considered a sleeper team by some, but I don’t see them having a shot at advancing.

– But then we got the upset of the day in the second contest, as Japan knocked off Cameroon in a 1-0 decision. Though it was clear entering the cup that Japan was a team on the rise, I didn’t think they had a shot at gaining any type of ground in this group. I predicted a fourth-place finish, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen now. The stat of the game: Japan had two shots on goal. Two shots. It’s not a shots on goal contest though, and now they’re sitting pretty as both Cameroon and Denmark now have some work to do if they want to advance to the knockout stage.

– And in the last game of the day, we saw the winners of the 2006 World Cup take the pitch…..and well, look much different from the team that won it all four years ago. Italy did not have the same type of speed or efficiency that we’re use to seeing from them, as they struggled to force the draw with Paraguay. Since Paraguay is my sleeper pick of the tournament, I was happy with this result, though they’ve still got some things to work on if they want to make it and advance in the next round. Who knows what will happen with Italy from this point forward, as this group is now officially up for grabs.

– Tomorrow’s schedule:

New Zealand vs. Slovakia – 7:30 AM ET, ESPN
Ivory Coast vs. Portugal – 10 AM ET, ESPN
Brazil vs. North Korea – 2:30 PM ET, ESPN

If you want to get ready for those matchups, check out our Group F and Group G previews, and check out my predictions for the games.

It should be another great day of action from South Africa!