A few impressions at the conclusion of the first weekend of the 2010 FIFA World Cup:

Best performance (team): Germany

Not exactly groundbreaking analysis, I realize, but I don’t think enough can be said about just how dominant the Germans were in their 4-0 win over Australia Sunday. I honestly don’t think Australia played that badly – aside from Lucas Neill, who had a shocker. Germany was just that good. Lukas Podolski was great and linked up with Miroslav Klose beautifully. Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil were both terrific in midfield. Philipp Lahm’s cross to Klose for the second goal couldn’t have been placed any better. And Manuel Neuer didn’t show any nerves in goal in his first World Cup start, which is certainly more than can be said for a few of his counterparts.

Worst performance (team): Greece

Take nothing away from South Korea, who played well in its 2-0 victory Saturday. But the Greeks weren’t up to the challenge: completely lacking in attacking ideas, and at times all over the place defensively. Loukas Vyntra was particularly dreadful in the back. Georgios Samaras was non-existent in attack. Striker Theofanis Gekas was the only who looked like he cared. The further we get from Greece’s Euro 2004 win, the more implausible it becomes. Otto Rehagel’s grace period for orchestrating that feat may finally be running out.

Best performance (individual): Vincent Enyeama

You could make a good case for four or five Germans, but it was truly a team effort, so I’ll go with the Nigerian keeper. Lionel Messi again did not score for his country, but you can’t blame him this time – he was the second best player on the pitch Saturday. The best was Enyeama, who turned away two smashing efforts from Messi with even better saves. Gonzalo Higuain was also denied twice from close range by Enyeama, who would have stolen a point for his team had the attack converted one of the good chances it had in the last half hour of the match.

Worst performance (individual): Lucas Neill

Robert Green is too easy, and he cost his team just one goal. Neill, the Aussie captain and defender, was responsible for at least two by playing German forwards onside. His play on Germany’s fourth goal was inexcusable, keeping Ozil onside and then not bothering to run back after Cacau sprinted past him for the goal off Ozil’s cross.

Best match: Argentina-Nigeria

The Argentines were all over Nigeria in the first half, but when the Africans went into the half down only 1-0, they had the belief they could turn it around in the second. And they did in what became an enthralling back-and-forth encounter. Obafemi Martins and Kalu Uche both had good chances to equalize in the final 20 minutes, the former forcing a save from Sergio Romero and the latter stinging a 15-yard volley over the bar. Nigeria exposed Argentina’s frailties in the back and can’t be counted out of qualifying from this group.

Worst match: Algeria-Slovenia

Not all 1-0 matches are the same. While Argentina-Nigeria was full of good attacking football, this Sunday morning snoozer was almost completely bereft of it. There were a few decent individual performances – Algeria left back Nadir Belhadj comes to mind. But, overall, this game was horrendous. And the blunder by Algerian keeper Faouzi Chaouchi was every bit as bad as Green’s.

Biggest surprise: No refereeing controversies (yet)

All eight matches thus far have been well refereed. Uzbekistan’s finest, Ravshan Irmatov, set the tone with an excellent display in the opener between South African and Mexico, and his counterparts have generally followed suit. Matches have been allowed to flow, and it’s hard to argue with many of the bookings or major decisions. The closest to controversy so far was Julian Rodriguez Santiago’s giving a straight red card to Australia’s Tim Cahill early in the second half against Germany. For me, the decision was spot on – Cahill slid into Bastian Schweinsteiger from behind and was nowhere near the ball. Contrary to what Ally McCoist will tell you, that’s a sending off offense, every time.

About Mark Goodman

Mark Goodman is a U.S.-based writer for World Soccer Reader covering La Liga in Spain, where he has attended five matches in person. Follow Mark on Twitter at markgoodman10, or email him at Goodie011@aol.com.