3 On/3 Off: Matches Two-Four

Day two of the World Cup saw more highs through beautifully headed goals, and more lows through dubious officiating. We sum it all up in our "3 On/3 Off" Post


ON: Miguel Herrera--We don't know if Miguel Herrera has a twitter account, we don't know if he cares what the world thinks of him (running Mexico and benching Chicharito...probably not). But the man seemed to have every soccer fan on the planet giddy today, as he endured rain and poor refereeing to be a regular source of amusement in an otherwise blase game.
OFF: Wilmer Roldan and Colombian Referees
Not watching the game, I couldn't say for certain, but judging by Twitter's near incessant explosions and vows of violence against them, I would wager that the game was not judged well...bad news for zebras, whistle blowers and FIFA employees everywhere.

ON: Robin Van Persie--the magical strike before half time swung the game's momentum radically and permanently, and Van Persie's moment of glory will likely have repurcussions far beyond a delighted home crowd and obsessive twittersphere.

OFF: Iker Casillas--He came into the match looking to break a World Cup record for most minutes without allowing a goal. He left a broken shell of what he once was...and that's not me being hyperbolic, he really looked utterly lost and woebegone, like the whole backbone of Spanish soccer crumbled into dust in 50 minutes.

ON: Tim Cahill's Legs--Aged though he is, Tim Cahill still has some ups, and he used them to great effect, pulling Australia single handedly back into their game. The Socceroos may be the most overmatched team in the Cup, but Cahill won't let them go down without a fight
OFF: Chile's Beat-Around the Bush Offense--Sure La Roja won, but their dominance in attacking should have yielded a score much closer to Holland's +4 than their paltry +2. The blame for that lies less on Australia's defense (which often looked shaky), and more on Chile's tepid attack, which relied on playing back for set up after set up that went no where.

Today's is overloaded with goodness, kicking off with Colombia/Greece, then Uruguay/Costa Rica, the big show: England/Italy, and wrapping up with Ivory Coast/Japan