Wear Red, White & Blue July 1 - USA vs Belgium

My two teams, the USA and Colombia, are moving on to the round of 16 in World Cup matches. Previously I wrote that our U.S. team needed to beat or tie Germany in order to guarantee that they move on. And we lost to that European nation 1-0.  However, probably thanks to Ghana kicking two players off their team, Portugal won against them and with the point system gave us second place in group G.

In our match against Germany I thought that we played well. Though I am not a fan of viewers who blame the refs, I will make an exception this time. It seemed to me the officiating of Ravshan Irmatove from the Republic of Uzbekistan was very much pro-Germany. Others thought the same. Of course I watched the game in Colombia with Colombian commentators. On two different stations the announcer also stated the referring was unbalanced. Later on Colombians congratulated me on our team advancing. Many also mentioned they thought the referee had been one-sided.

On Tuesday July 1 we face off against Belgium who won Group H. Yes, a country of only 11 million people goes up against the USA. But, do not discount them. My Colombian friends tell me it will not be an easy match. These people known mostly to Americans for the waffles is a formidable team. In group play they won every match. 

Despite all of that I expect the USA to be victorious. It will be necessary for us to step up our aggressiveness in play some and avoid those mistakes we made against Portugal.

But always support is important. So join me Tuesday, July 1 in wearing your red, white and blue. Watch the game if you can, but if you have to work still sport your colors. Let's see the first ever World Cup trophy in America.
 

Joe is a 1968 graduate of Fenton High school and freelance writer living in Bogotá, Colombia. He and his wife write about that South American country and other parts of the world on their blogsite.