Quarter-time: Damn hydration breaks (though, in fairness, they have probably helped England). Some random thoughts. Lumen Field (Seattle Stadium) normally has artificial turf, and the grass on this pitch looks artificial. But I haven't read about any player complaints about the surface, so I assume it is OK. Belgium deserving the lead - they have looked the better team. The US have looked nervous. And I don't think they are anywhere near as good as all the US pundits and coverage would suggest. It comes across as arrogance, and Belgium had already been overlooked before the game started - even though I think this game is a toss-up.
Half-time: apparently the US are the only team I've seen at the World Cup that are actually a free-kick threat. But didn't take long for Belgium to respond. The US defense looks very shaky. The presence of Chris Richards reminds me that there are so many Crystal Palace players, both former and present, at this World Cup, This fact has even come up in US commentary at times. Nice. It seems like a weird atmosphere in the crowd. Almost a disbelief that they're losing. It's where having a passionate, knowledgeable and natural fan base is lacking. These are mostly fair weather fans, especially knowing how much many of these people paid for their tickets. Ludicrously expensive. Fox persists in using Alexi Lalas in their studio analysis of the game at half-time - even though everyone hates him. But then what do you expect from Fox who are also trying to shove James Cordon's post-show down our throats, even though everyone hates him as well.
Three-quarter time: soft, soft goal to concede. Don't see the US coming back now. To be honest, grown a little bored of the game, and got distracted by my iPhone. My friend was downtown today, and said that the bars were the most crowded he has ever seen. And he has lived in Seattle all his life. I think I'm at an age where uncomfortably watching a game in a packed pub doesn't appeal to me in the same way it used to. I'd much rather watch the game in front of the telly with a small group of friends. I think what this game needs is a bit more edge. The problem is that neither of these teams excel at the dark arts. As much as I hate them, they are part of the game - and a big part of why Argentina are so good. It also made the France-Paraguay game a lot more interesting than it should have been!
Full-time. Wa-wa! Goodbye USA. You were not good today. Be interesting to see the reaction. Someone will take the blame - probably the manager. And I'm also curious what happens after all the US hype has evaporated. This could be a big blow to "soccer"'s popularity in the US - the US people don't like losing. Even though they had absolutely no realistic chance of winning the World Cup. Seattle will now be known as the location of one of the biggest failures in US soccer history. I say Trump and FIFA should be blamed. After all, they gave Belgium more motivation than a team talk could ever do.
