A nail biting game against Italy today, but we tied, keeping us in the contention to go into the second round. That sent me scrambling to figure out what everyone else has to do in our group to make that possible. Says Sports Illustrated:
For the United States to reach the round of 16, it must win, coupled with an Italian victory over the Czechs, or there would have to be an Italy-Czech tie coupled with a U.S. victory by several goals.
So next Thursday is the big day, with me hoping Italy can beat the Czechs (the Czechs already beat US and Italy only tied against the US) and we can beat Ghana (which beat the Czechs, who in turn already beat us).
So a long shot, but you gotta hope. Meanwhile, England will definitely advance, so I’ve still got my safety team 
Need a rundown on standings? Ask has a nice one here.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
The 1st US sending off was a joke, at worst it was a yellow card. US & UK press both called it a make-up call after the Italian sending off, it wasn’t needed as it was so obvious that Pope wouldn’t be on the field for long the way he was playing.
Got to say that the US team did a good job today, maybe saved Arena’s job depending on how things go on Thursday…