after day 2 - big day for the CONCACAF

After the arrival of Greg, an old Winchester soccer teammate and friend, along with two of his college friends, we were able to truly enjoy the World Cup spirit. At the time of their arrival, the England match
against Paraguay had already begun, but we were able to catch the end of it downtown.

At Friedensplatz in downtown Dortmund, the World Cup Fan Fest has been set up with a very big TV for fans to view all games of the tournament. If time allows it, I will be trying to see as many as possible down
there. So far in the tournament, I have seen most of every single game too!

The three newcomers were thrown directly into the crowds of Swedish fans as they prepared for their Group B match against Trinidad and Tobago here in Dortmund. The yellow crowds greatly outnumbered any other group, although there were some Trinidad and Tobago fans later.

After eating ice cream dowtown, we headed to watch part of the match at Friendensplatz before going to the Stadium/Westfallenhallen to see the rest of the match. On the way, we met an anxious T/T fan, whose plane was delayed two hours. She asked for the score and we assured her that it was 0-0 at halftime. She was relieved a little before running off to the stadium.

The Sweeds were obviously dissapointed following a tie game. Heads down and their faces in their hands. The game was obviously dominated by the Swedish, but despite being a man down, the Trinidad and Tobago team showed a strong defence and a relentless effort to deny the Swedish strikers of a go-ahead goal. What a showing for the CONCACAF region!
With a strong T&T side, maybe a little more respect will comee from our North American division. I guess we'll have to see how Mexico performs
today against Iran and the United States tomorrow against the Czech Republic.

Before the Argentina-Ivory Coast match at Friedensplatz, the three American visitors were able to rightfully enjoy Germany with a Donor Kabap from Star Donor, only the best in Dortmund. Highly satisfied, we complemented our dinner with some gelato ice cream.

At halftime of Saturday's final match, the sleep was a bit too much for the newarrivees. We headed back to my apartment and settled in for the night, while watching the rest of the match on my TV.

Today we are heading to Cologne for another Fan Fest and to see the Portugal and Angolan fans partying around the world-class Cathedral.