Absolutely, Diki. That was my point in saying that the U.S. has come a long way in football. They're not the pushover of years past. But I stick by my guns in saying that England will be there or thereabouts when it comes down to the final stages. For one thing, the U.S. have three untried strikers in the squad, and why Brad Friedel was passed over in the goal in beyond my ken.

BTW: I like Dutch football and I hope they do very well, this time around. For all of the above though, I'm still thinking Argentina for the big one.