We here at Barnes-Leslie just had our final sales meeting of the month. We're close to moving 100 units as a store, which would place us 5th of all GM Dealers in the state of Texas. No small feat for us yahoos out here in West Texas. To the games involving English-speaking nations not called Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, or Belize! It's the Home Nations + Ireland round-up!
God, was this disappointing. It's a matter of record that I didn't think Wales had a chance, but, boy do they have a long way to go in almost every aspect of the game. I don't know if I made it clear enough in my preview, but I do think Wayne Hennessey is a fantastic goalkeeper. Although he still gets his haircuts from his mother, he played as well as you could expect him to. After him, nowhere else on the pitch was there near enough quality to trouble England even once. Wales doesn't just need Gareth Bale to come back, they need about 8 more Gareth Bales who have each individually mastered different skill sets required to be internationally proficient in defense, midfield, and attack. England, on the other hand, beat a poor team 2-0 away. We learned just about nothing, except that Scott Parker probably has a place in the team for the foreseeable future. England will qualify, Wales will not, and the focus in Cardiff returns to the RWC in September.
Brazil 2-0 Scotland
Brazil was the home team, oddly, at the Emirates Stadium. A near sell-out, it had the potential to be an excellent made-for-tv exhibition. In many ways, it was. Scotland had periods of ascendancy booked ended by what we've come to expect from Brazil. Three major points from this game: 1. ESPN's coverage of the game was terrible. Robbie Mustoe and (insert generic announcer with vague Scottish accent) were very clearly in Bristol, CT. Also, we missed the anthems. Always a no-no for an international. It was an afterthought for them after the Wales-England match, and it showed. 2. A member of the Tartan Army allegedly threw a banana at Neymar. If true, that's obviously not cool. But the banana came from the area behind Allan McGregor's goal, populated primarily by Brazilians. That's a bold person who's going to throw a banana as a racial epithet while surrounded by the people he's insulting. I have a hard time believing that this occurred in the way that it was initially reported, and thankfully the SFA are standing up for their supporters. Scottish Domestic soccer has always been populated by some of the nastier elements of society, but the Tartan Army have always been commended for their impeccable behavior abroad. 3. Neymar's really good. Like, super duper good. And he's only 19. Scotland was shown that their mission remains simply to qualify for a major tournament, not compete once they get there.
Serbia 2-1 Northern Ireland
Oh, how Northern Ireland might rue the last two results in their qualifying campaign. The followed up a draw against the Faroe Islands (by the way, check out the Faroes' home stadium. It's stunning) with a come-from-ahead loss to Serbia in front of a rollicking 200 traveling supporters and approximately 0 home fans. The match was played in Belgrade in front of zero fans after the trouble in October in which the Serbia v Italy match was called due to riots, my second favorite reason for a match being called. The first is inclement weather. I love calling anything off due to inclement weather. It's my go-to reason for getting out of work, dental appointments, social engagements that won't have a television, etc. Serbia was the better team on the night. It's difficult to avoid thinking that if Northern Ireland could've beaten the Faroes, and held on against Serbia, they'd be solidly in a playoff spot with a game in hand. They're still in a good position, but they've let some sterling silver chances slip recently.
Republic of Ireland 2-1 Macedonia
The new Aviva Stadium is beautiful. Lansdowne Road was going to be difficult to replace, but I think they've managed it. Important win for Ireland, they're now on top of their group, and look best positioned among all the other English speaking nations to qualify for Euro 2012. I didn't get a chance to watch this game, as I was, you know, working. Apparently, Robbie Keane scored on a terrible error for the Macedonian goalkeeper. I feel like it's a rule that you must make a joke about Alexander the Great when mentioning Macedonia, but not here. That would be a disappointing and warmed-over as one of Mike Ilitch's Little Caesar's Hot-n-Ready Pizzas!
PS: Mike Ilitch is Macedonian.
PPS: It's only five dollars for a large Hot-n-Ready! Not a bad deal for an average pizza!
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