Group stage update: 1/3 games played

Group A:
Brazil and Mexico lead with 4 points each, but have played 2 games already!  Croatia and Cameroon are last with 0 points.  Brazil and Mexico are poised to advance, but if Croatia beats Cameroon and Mexico (not easy, but very possible) they'll still make it through.  Cameroon (my pick for 2nd in the group) look terrible, and will play Brazil last; they're pretty screwed at this point.

Group B:
Netherlands and Chile lead with 3 points each, and Spain is tied with Australia at 0.  Both Spain and Netherlands still play Australia, which is almost a guaranteed 3 points for each of them.  Spain will need to beat Chile to have any hope at advancing, but things could get interesting if Chile/Spain/Netherlands end up doing a rocks-paper-scissors thing and beating each other; that would leave all three on 6 points, and would come down to goal difference.  Most likely, Netherlands will beat Chile and it'll come down to whether or not Spain can do the same.

Group C:
Columbia and Ivory Coast, with 3 points, lead Greece and Japan, with 0 points.  This looks like cruise control for Columbia and Ivory Coast, and their match against each should decide who takes the first seed in the group.

Group D:
Italy and Costa Rica are first with 3 points, and England is tied with Uruguay on 0 points.  Costa Rica threw a wrench in Uruguay's plans with a HUGE upset in their first game.  They still probably won't advance, as they'd have to beat or tie England or Italy, but Uruguay will have to win outright against both heavyweights to have a shot.  Given that they're missing their best (only?) defensive midfielder for a game due to a mindlessly stupid red card, they have a long uphill climb.  Italy should cruise, beating Costa Rica and probably Uruguay to lock in top of the group.  If England can take a point or more off Uruguay and beat Costa Rica, they'll lock in the 2nd spot in the group.

Group E:
France and Switzerland 3, Ecuador and Honduras 0.  Nothing to report here, just the two heavyweights slugging it out for top seed.

Group F:
Argentina 3, Iran & Nigeria 1, Bosnia 0.  I still see Bosnia advancing, and Iran/Nigeria did them a favor by drawing to prevent a direct front-runner.  Bosnia should beat Iran and Nigera to advance, while Argentina takes the top seed.

Group G:
Germany 3, USA 3, Ghana 0, Portugal 0.  See my other post for how awesome this is going so far for team USA.  Assuming that Germany beats Ghana, and USA doesn't lose by 4 goals to Germany, USA will need to not lose to Portugal while Portugal needs to beat BOTH USA and Ghana to come in second.

Group H:
Belgium 3, Russia and South Korea 1, Algeria 0.  Belgium had to win late over a scrappy Algerian team, but they'll need to be better to take points off both Russia and South Korea to advance.  This one is still wide open, but Algeria has a lot of work to do.

Brazilian for a day: Brazil v Mexico

Today's highlight was the Brazil-Mexico game, which was played in Fortaleza's Estadio Castelao.  We found a 'FIFA Fan Fest' on the beach, and watched Belgium's 2nd-half comeback against Algeria as tens of thousands of people streamed into an area a couple football fields long.  We blended in nicely in our Brazil gear.

I couldn't believe how many people came out to the group viewing, it was absolutely absurd.  We were about a third of the way back, so imagine twice as many people were behind us.

Mexico was pretty well represented in both quantity and fervor, but all of the banter between fans was good natured.  That was probably wise for Mexican fans, the entire city seemed to be out to support Brazil.  This fan was my clear favorite.

The game itself was well-fought, and pretty entertaining for a 0-0 draw.  Brazil probably deserved to win, and they had at least 5 great opportunities that were either directly at the goalie or well-saved.  Neymar was particularly sharp, and led the attack for all 90 minutes.  I was pleased to see Fred taken off, as he was only good at holding up the ball and didn't do much else; his replacement, Jo, did just about the same thing.  Brazil really needs to figure out how to sharpen the tip of their spear before the knockout rounds.  Mexico also looked threatening, and had 4 or 5 good opportunities that narrowly went over the bar.  They were weak on the flanks, particularly their right, where Marcelo found plenty of space to create opportunities for Neymar.

This was a good result for both teams, leaving Brazil to progress if they beat Cameroon (which is likely).  Mexico will need to beat Croatia, but could also draw with them if Croatia doesn't beat Cameroon.  Nothing is decided in group A, but it's looking like Brazil and the winner of Mexico-Croatia will progress.