The USMNT Won With Flair. Can It Win A Grind? (opens in new tab)

There were a number of intriguing discoveries to be made from the first round of matches in Group D of the World Cup, or as it is coming to be known, the Group Of Deaf. Such was the torrent of nearly hysterical praise directed at the United States team after its nearly ritualistic beating of Paraguay Friday night. No U.S. team had ever been so demonstratively superior in World Cup history, and no team had the level of semi-journalistic and marketing hysteria driving home that point. In other ...