Morality Play?

Bolton has signed a new sponsorship deal.  They call it a partnership these days, but it's with a company from Korea called Hanwha to be a new sponsor at the Reebok.  Hanwha will be placing advertisements around the stadium espousing their advances in solar energy.  Sounds good right?  Wanderers can always use the money from something like this.  There is a problem though.  Hanwha produces landmines.  Or to be fair, they produced landmines in the past, and may still do so.

No matter what one's political affiliation, I think we can agree on landmines being one of the most horrible inventions in human history.  South Korea is one of the few industrialized countries in the world that still allows the production of landmines, although the government claims none have been manufactured since 2000.

Either way, questions remain.  Are Hanwha's profits blood-money?  Should Bolton Wanderers not only accept that money, but enter into a "partnership" with this company?  Have Hanwha done anything wrong in manufacturing a product to meet worldwide demand?

Bolton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion (or That Damn Peter Odemwingie)

The Nigerian striker will be fit again to play Bolton on Boxing Day.  He is pivotal to what West Brom do, and will make things difficult for the Wanderers.  Not only does he score (6 goals in 11 matches), but his presence and intelligent movement creates space as well as opportunity for the Baggies' midfielders.

If I am honest, Odemwingie (pictured, right) is exactly the type of player Bolton tend to struggle against.  Of course, we have only kept one clean sheet all season, so I think it would be fair to say we struggle against most strikers.

These two clubs played to a draw a couple months ago, in a wide-open attacking match that was one of the finest spectacles of this season.  West Brom will have had two weeks to prepare for this match because of weather-related postponements, while Bolton are coming off an away loss in one of only three matches played last weekend.  Whether this provides an edge to either side on Sunday I am not sure, but going into a run of four matches in eleven days, we may see some squad rotation on both sides.

Uruguay v. South Korea

I really like both of these teams. They are fun to watch, hard-working, and have just enough talent to make things interesting. A lot of people will be picking Uruguay in this match, and with good reason. They have a rock solid defense, as they have yet to concede a goal in this tournament, and a talisman in Diego Forlan, who will be the most gifted footballer on the pitch in this match. I think that is important.

When all else fails, Argentina can turn to Messi, Holland can turn to Robben, the US can turn to Donovan, Spain can turn to Iniesta, and Uruguay can turn to Forlan. It doesn't always have to be a goal either. It can be a pass, a run to create space, even a defensive play. The point is, big time players win big time games.

This is the knockout stage of The World Cup. Every game is big time. Every game is the Super Bowl, Game 7 of the World Series, and Game 7 of the NBA Finals all rolled into one. We all know who can handle it, cause everyone else shit their pants, and are on a flight home to change their underwear.

However, there is a difference between handling it and owning it. Park Ji-sung can handle it. He has been in huge matches before, and he will perform admirably, I have little doubt of this. South Korea can win this match, and Park can lead them there. They are that good. But in the 115th minute, when everything is on the line, when it is do or die on the biggest stage in the world, who will provide that moment of absolute brilliance, that ball that only a few players in the world would dare attempt? For me, in this match, it is Diego Forlan.

Uruguay 2, South Korea 1.

Into the Knockout Stages

Today Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, and South Korea went into the final 16 of the tournament and found out who they will play.

Uruguay will face South Korea. The South Americans have more talent, particularly on the front line, and let's face it, that continent has dominated events thus far. However, the Koreans are well organized at the defensive end, and like to play on the counter attack, where they display their own formidable talent, as well as pace. I like the South Korean team, and I wrote in my predictions that they could possibly make a run deep into the tournament, but Uruguay is a tall order. Uruguay are so sound defensively (they have yet to concede a goal), and Korea has shown a tendency to let their opponents score, so it is hard to see anything but a Uruguay victory. I will say 2-1.

Mexico and Argentina played each other at this stage of the 2006 World Cup in Germany as well. It was a very close, hard-fought match that went into extra time. The deciding goal was an amazing strike by Maxi Rodriguez, who took a ball down off his chest and volleyed in from about 25 yards out. It was a fabulous strike, and happened very late in the game, giving Mexico no chance to recover.

Both teams are more talented now than they were in 2006, so we should see another great match, with a rare brand of attacking football on display. I am afraid Argentina will be too much for Mexico, which is a shame, because I think that with a better match-up, Mexico could have made a deep run, maybe as far as the semi-finals. Unfortunately for El Tri, there will just be too much of Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez for them to handle. I predict a match for the ages, and a 3-2 Argentine victory, behind a Tevez hat-trick.

So, South America should continue to dominate, with at least two teams into the quarter-finals.

Who has been most impressive so far?

Germany won 4-0, but that scoreline is misleading, the Germans scored two late goals after Australia had their leader sent off with a very questionable red card.

South Korea and Holland both won 2-0 and looked good doing it.

Ghana and Japan played fairly well in 1-0 wins.

Argentina and Nigeria both looked good going forward and questionable at the back, and the South Americans managed to edge it.

For me, Ghana may have been the most impressive team overall. They looked good going forward, despite some questionable finishing, and very solid at the back. I still think Serbia will have some say in that group, and Germany are more than likely to go through. Australia will be without Tim Cahill for one match. It has to be said that at this point Ghana are in a very good position.