Belgium 1, Russia 0; Algeria 4, South Korea 2; Portugal 2, USA 2

Belgium boringly qualified for Round 2. …

Hats off to the Algerians. Their fourth goal was especially well-crafted. And hats off to the Koreans for trying all game long. …


The U.S. came within a minute of qualifying against the mediocre Portuguese. I roared with pleasure when Silvestre Varela scored the tying goal.


Now Ghana and Germany, the better teams, are poised to qualify instead of the U.S.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

This morning, before I walked to work, I checked the forecast: 0% chance of rain … and then a downpour caught me as I was waiting for a train to pass. I called Martin, and he kindly brought dry clothes.