So Paraguay and Italy tied at 1-1 on their first group game. Big deal? Well, actually, it is a big deal. Italy, after all, are the current World Champions. However, we need to look at a couple of things before we go proclaiming that the King is dead (and/or long live the King)…
Italy doesn’t seem to do well in the group stage. I believe the have the same syndrome that Mexico has. They play the bad teams bad and the good teams great. Remember back in 1994? They lost 1-0 to the Republic of Ireland. They barely beat Norway 1-0. And then they tied Mexico 1-1. Not a really good group showing, right? But they made it to the final only to lose to Brazil in a penalty shootout.
(Go cry me a river, Baggio... Cry me a river!)
And what about Corea/Japan 2002? They beat Ecuador 2-0, lose to Croatia (CROATIA!?) 2-1, and then, just like in ’94, they tied Mexico 1-1. I remember that game. I remember screaming at the screen as Italy and Mexico just decided not to play once they knew the score of the Croatia-Ecuador game. They would later lose to co-hosts Korea.
(Korean food is much better than spaghetti, manicotti, ravioli... And, in 2002, they were better at soccer)
That Korean food doesn’t beat Slainte Pub‘s, though. Try the breakfast while watching the morning matches. (Menu here.)
In 2006, Italy were a little stronger in the group stage. They beat Ghana 2-0, tied the USA 1-1, and then finished the group stage by beating the Czech Republic 2-0. They would go on to beat Australia, Ukraine, and hosts Germany, before facing France in the final. Who can forget that final with Zidane head-butting Materazzi over some Italian comment about Zidane’s mother (maybe).
(Indeed.)
So what’s next for Italy? Certainly, they will play better. The weaker teams (Slovakia and New Zealand) are coming up in the group stage. We’ve seen Italy climb out of adversity before. Surely, they will do it again.
Right? Right?
***”Paquinho” was born and raised in Mexico until age 10, when he came to the States and has been living the dream. When not writing about soccer, you can find him rambling on about infectious diseases.***
Tags: Group F, italy, Paraguay, tie, World Cup
