SOCCER: France vs. Spain

I considered recommending some tennis today. But it's raining at Wimbledon and I don't even know who's playing. Maybe later in the fortnight. Instead we turn again to the World Cup. The round of 16 has already seen some great play. Both England and Argentina won their games by amazing goals, Portugal advanced in a game setting a record for fouls, Italy triumphed with only 10 seconds left in its match, and Ukraine yesterday eliminated the Swiss after 120+ minutes of scoreless play in a thrilling shootout. In hopes of another exciting game, today's one to watch is the matchup of France and Spain.

I'm sure each of these counties doesn't like the idea of being eliminated by its neighbor across the Pyrennes. France won the World Cup in 1998 led by Zinedine Zidane but hasn't done much since. A loss today would likely be the aging star's last game in international play. France looked less than impressive in advancing to the 2nd round this year with a 1-0-2 record and only scoring 3 goals. On the other hand, Spain has been dominant so far. They have a perfect 3-0 record and have outscored their opponents 8-1. I don't know much about soccer, but Spain seems to be the clear favorite here.

My pick: Spain. Eric Wynalda (one of the best jocks-turned-analysts I've recently seen) described Spain as the Boston Red Sox of the World Cup. That means they should win this game but are also very capable of finding a way to lose.



So that's what I'll be watching. What will you be watching? Spain vs. France? Or would you still rather watch the Brazil game?