
The first two World Cup games this morning were both draws, 1–1 between Slovakia and New Zealand, and 0–0 between Portugal and the Ivory Coast, but you’d have to be awfully determined not to like soccer not to have enjoyed both of them immensely. The endings of both matches were thrilling. In the first game, Winston Reid, who’s actually a citizen of Denmark, scored an equalizer goal in the 92nd minute to give New Zealand (generally considered the worst team in the Cup) a tie with Slovakia. Then, in the second game (the first in the Group of Death), Ivory Coast just missed a goal from injured star Drogba in stoppage time, keeping the game against Portugal scoreless. This afternoon’s game, at 2:30 p.m., is highly unlikely to be a draw: It’s co-tournament favorite Brazil against North Korea. Yes, that North Korea, the mystery team from the mystery country.