Brazil loses against USA, will still probably get wild card

Brazil backed itself into a corner last night, at the U-20 World Cup of Soccer. The normally swift and often enigmatic team was stumped in Ottawa as Team USA (of all teams) won a huge 2-1 upset. Both the Americans and Poland (which also shocked Brazil in Montréal last week) move on the Sweet 16, and Brazil must hope something happens in the other five groups to allow it to claim one of the four Wild Card spots.

If the team in the familiar yellow jerseys can't pull through it will be a huge shock. CONMEBOL, the South American conference, is supposed to be as strong as UEFA (the European conference) which is why it gets a disproportionate number of entries in the tournament. And unlike the US and Canadian all-star teams which only have a few weeks to practice most of the other teams have months, even years, to work together and know each other. But maybe that familiarity also breeds complacency.

Still, let's face it, the men's tournaments are rigged in the draw from the start to ensure either an all Europe or a Europe vs South America final since those are the two strongest conferences. And even when an underdog manages to get to the second or even third rounds the refs always conspire to ensure a Cinderella story doesn't happen (witness last year's dive by an Italian player that led to Italy beating Australia -- on the team's way to winning the World Cup).

So watch the remaining games this weekend ... and what the refs will do to keep Canada from scoring enough goals against Congo to make sure Brazil gets the final Wild Card. FIFA demands fair play from its players -- how about its referees for a change?

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