Groups C & D After One Round

Group C:
Colombia: 3 +3
Ivory Coast: 3 +1
Japan: 0 -1
Greece: 0 -3

My picks: Colombia, Ivory Coast

Exactly what I expected.  Colombia handled the Greeks (though they struggled a bit at times) and Ivory Coast was a bit better than Japan.  No surprises here so far.

Group D:
Costa Rica: 3 +2
Italy: 3 +1
England: 0 -1
Uruguay: 0 -2

My picks: Uruguay, Italy

On Wednesday I said:

The only reason this isn't the Group of Death is that nobody really thinks Costa Rica can take points off the other 3 teams while Ghana could in Group G. 

Um, yeah.  About that.  Turns out that not only can Costa Rica take points, they can do it in dominant fashion over the team that might have been the favorite going into the WC.  I did not see that coming.  Uruguay has dug quite a hole for itself and there's no easy way out.  England - France played out about how I expected, except the conditions weren't as bad as feared.  The heat and humidity wasn't much worse than playing in Orlando or Houston at this time of year.  Assuming similar conditions next Sunday night the U.S. won't have too much trouble with the weather.