After the first round of group games...

Contenders
- Germany - clearly the most impressive so far with 4 effortless goals.  The German machine is at work again.  Ballack who?
- Brazil - took over a half to breakdown N Korea's 7 man defense but their 2 goals are among the best so far.  Maicon had no angle for his goal and Robinho's pass threaded the entire defense over 30 yards to reach Elano in stride.
- Argentina only scored 1 but hey, a win's a win. Still waiting for a Messi golazo to really get the tourney going.  (Or today's 4 goal outburst will do as well).
- Netherlands didn't impress, didn't depress.

Pretenders
- France and Uruguay played a drab draw.  Domenech show again that he's the most imbecilic manager ever for not starting Malouda.
- England was forced into an ugly game by US.
- Italy's draw reveals the need for some offensive imagination.
-Portugal will only go as far as Ronaldo can take them.  And all he's doing is diving.  Its embarrassing.

Disappointers
- Spain - Villa and Torres need to get it going.  Midfield is giving them plenty of chances.
-African teams: Cameroon didn't show up.  Algeria gifted Slovenia a win.  Ivory Coast couldn't muster an attack.  Only Ghana managed to win. And host country...
- South Africa should've had a win vs Mexico with the eyes on the world watching.  2 mistakes stood out, the stupidity of their CB to hold 4 Mexicans onside cost them a win.  They also had an injury time shot that clanged off the post.
- Serbia was a favorite to advance but hurt their chances with a handball of the most daft kind.
- N Korea was surprisingly resilient defensively.  Also, they weren't emaciated and playing in rags.  A note to the emotional north korean - dude, your homeland is dominated by a totalitarian and paranoid maniac who thinks he's a god.  Wait, maybe that's why Tae was crying.

Surprisers
- Switzerland - Swiss coach revealed that he studied Bradley's tactics to upset favorite Spain on the biggest stage.
- S Korea outplayed an overrated Greek team by showing their industry, speed and fitness.
- Japan won for the first time outside of Asia over a favored African side (Cameroon).

Contenters
- USA - happily take a draw against England any day of the week.
- Uruguay - Forlan looked primed and ready to explode, as we found out yesterday.