2014 World Cup open thread: A big one — and the big one

The games

All times Mountain Daylight Time

10 a.m., Germany v. Portugal

The two behemoths European sides in our group will present unique challenges for our country. Will Germany rise above what might be a more defensive Portugal side? Will they draw and give us a real gift of an opportunity? This is undoubtedly one to watch.

1 p.m., Iran v. Nigeria

Iran is an unknown quantity, but it's probably not particularly a huge quantity, even if we can't be certain about that that. This one will be interesting, but drawing anything beyond that will be difficult.

4 p.m., USA v. Ghana

The big one. The huge one. The massive opener to our 2014 World Cup against an opponent we know all too well. Let's go after it.

What we saw yesterday

• Our first late, late, late winner of the group stage: Switzerland scored right at the death. It was end-to-end stuff and terribly exciting.
• France running over Honduras but never looking really spectacular
• Argentina struggling against a surprisingly good Bosnian side, but winning eventually regardless

Coming up tomorrow

Belgium v. Algeria, 10 a.m.; Brazil v. Mexico, 1 p.m.; Russia v. South Korea, 4 p.m.