Some Playing For Pride, Some For Prize

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

Before starting today's post - congratulations go out to the Carolina Hurricanes who beat the Edmonton Oilers last night to win the Stanley Cup. More on this later.

So the World Cup's group stage is drawing to a close - with four games per day being played now. In today's action, there are two games with implications, and two games that won't mean anything in terms of advancing.

Playing for pride today will be:

Costa Rica 1 - 2 Poland - the Poles have been one of the bigger disappointments in the tournament, they salvage something from the tournament with a win over the Costa Ricans.

Paraguay 1 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago - Paraguay is another team that came into the tournament with high hopes, and will leave bitterly disappointed. Trinidad & Tobago's tournament was made with the draw against Sweden.


Playing for the prize today will be:

Ecuador 2 - 2 Germany - the Ecuadorans have been a pleasant surprise in the tournament; a tie against the Germans gives them 1st place in their group on the basis of goal differential. They have the talent and, most importantly, the speed to cause the Germans headaches.

Sweden 2 - 1 England - this game is a tricky one, because England will likely be resting Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, both of whom have yellow cards - yellows are wiped out in the round of 16. Talk on English messageboards is that the team would be better off finishing 2nd, for a more favourable draw in the knockout stage (ie. they would avoid Portugal in quarter finals). Whatever the case, the Swedes take today's game a bit more seriously that England.

There you have it. Have a great one peeps!

HAZEL'S TUESDAY HOROSCOPE
Look for a little adventure. By spicing up your life, you will increase your enthusiasm for other things as well. Travel plans should be in the works. If what you gain by making the journey teaches you something, you will be that much further ahead. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - for the teams that will be going home after the opening round

Lagrima - Amalia Rodrigues

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!