Robben Ignites The Dutch Oven

It was the Arjen Robben show this morning for the Netherlands, as they took down Serbia and Montenegro by a score of 1-0. He was a pain in many S&M asses this morning, controlling the ball, creating plays, and scoring the day's only goal. Serbia and Montenegro had their chances, but came up with some weak shots in clutch situations. As a result, the entire country is going to be divided in half.

In the later game, an entertaining first half gave way to a Mexican-dominated second half, as our neighbors to the south hammered Iran by a score of 3-1. In a game between two nations, who, for various reasons, detest either the United States' soccer team or the United States as a whole, the Mexicans clearly had the better of it. Now all they'll need to advance is a win against lowly Angola.

In other news, Michael Ballack will be back in the line-up for Germany when they take on Poland on Wednesday. German coach Jurgen Klinsmann held him out of the first game, and there was talk of some beef between Ballack and Klinsmann over the decision. And the German defense did look a little shaky against Costa Rica.

Mexico 3-1 Iran [Soccernet] Serbia & Montenegro 0-1 Holland [BBC Sport] Ballack wins Germany recall [Sky Sports]