Any opportunity to watch Rooney is a good one! I didn't appreciate his mad soccer skills in 2006, but surely do now.
On the U.S. side, I am a big fan of Landon Donovan since watching him really step up on the U.S. team. He was huge in the qualifier I watched in person in SLC, though I'm so glad he choked on that PK against RSL for the MLS Cup!!!
The favourites
England: The Three Lions have never won the FIFA World Cup on foreign soil but travel to South Africa believing the adventure will go beyond the quarter-finals this time. Confidence is high after an impressive qualifying campaign from Fabio Capello's side who finished as 34-goal top scorers in the European Zone, winning nine of ten matches. Wayne Rooney hit nine goals and can have a galvanising effect – indeed, while his World Cup bow four years ago ended with a red card against Portugal the same thing happened to Diego Maradona and look how he responded. Add the Capello factor – the Italian has brought discipline and focus – and England will expect to win this group and prosper.
USA: The United States contest their sixth successive finals and will fancy their chances of advancing from the group stage for the first time since their quarter-final run in 2002. Bob Bradley's team can also take heart from their efforts at the FIFA Confederations Cup on South African soil in 2009 – they stunned Spain in the semi-finals and led Brazil 2-0 in the final before succumbing 3-2. They will hope centre-back Oguchi Onyewu will have recovered from his knee injury in time to join a squad that will again look to Landon Donovan for attacking inspiration in his third FIFA World Cup.
Good morning. A quick -- and potentially rude -- question: Why did you opt to "follow" my 2003 blog, Babble & Buzz? I have never courted or recruited anyone to sign up for that feed, and, frankly, as an adoptee at birth I feel a bit stigmatized by the fact that you are my sole follower. I do not care to "block" anyone, but I am interested as to what your reasoning was. It has the effect of minimizing, in my opinion, most of what I say -- especially since I have chosen not to write about such personal matters. I thank you in advance for your reply. /Barbra/
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