Quick Draw Thought

I've got twenty minutes before all speculation becomes moot, but after reading Marc Connolly's piece on why the U.S. should want to face Germany out of all the "seeded" World Cup squads, I felt like I needed to weigh in.

Connelly's point -- and it's a good one -- is that the familiarity the Americans have with the Germans is more of an upside than playing in German is a downside. However, there's an additional element to that argument, with the caveat that it infringes on that territory that you don't want to necessarily step in six months or more ahead of the fact. It's like talking about the playoffs halfway through the season. You don't want to jinx it. However, nothing ventured, no chance to prove yourself right gained.

If we're in Germany's group, and we advance, we wouldn't play them -- at home -- until the World Cup Final. Any advantage they get from being at home is going to be intensified after group play, to the point where it might make them more formidable in the late stages than some of the other powers. I'm not saying it's an infallible notion, but just some more food for thought.