Black Monday

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I hate Australia.
I hate Tim Cahill.
I hate Zico.
I hate Heather.
I hate Yoshi Kawaguchi.
I hate Shep Messing.
I hate Japanese strikers.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I've never had my heart ripped out from me with bare hands, but I imagine it's probably not as painful as watching Japan hand a match to Australia.

To control the majority of the game and hold onto a 1-0 lead, and then to lose 3-1 is absolutely unforgivable. I have to give credit where credit is due, Australia took the opportunities that came to them and won, something Japan failed, nay, refused to do. But this is a match Japan should have won easily. Piss poor match management by Japan, and a horrific mistake by Kawaguchi on the first Australian goal (though he also saved the defense several times). More analysis here and here.

But I can at least solace, however small, in knowing that Japan actually looked the better team until the last 10 minutes. The same can't be said for USA, who looked completely uninspired against the Czechs. It wasn't so much the lack of quality. They looked clueless and couldn't link up the midfield with the forwards and create chances. Landon Donovan and Damarcus Beasley were nearly invisible, while the usually steady Eddie Pope and Oguchi Onyewu were far too visible, making costly errors. Everybody on the team except Eddie Johnson needs to be slapped hard.

There's still a chance for both USA and Japan to advance, but they have their work cut out for them. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.