SARCASM ALERT: I sit down to write the following blog post with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, much like Kevin Alston (seriously, go look at any action shot of him). If you don’t have quality sarcasm detection, beware.

I’m not typically one to heap praise upon myself (unless it’s in a completely dry, sarcastic and self-deprecating manner) but I’m going to go ahead and give myself a huge pat on the back right now, and let me tell you why.

Last week, prior to the massive Group C opener between the United States and England, I asked fans to write in their predictions for the match, including final score and goal scorers if it so suited them. Along with that, I gave my prediction, and here’s what I wrote …

“As an optimist and a diehard U.S. Soccer supporter, I certainly can’t predict the Americans to lose. As a realist, I can’t bring myself to predict a U.S. victory over an England side many believe has the goods to make a run at the title. So, I’m going with a 1-1 draw.

I think the U.S. takes the lead late in the first half - a scrappy, hardworking goal finished off by former Rev Clint Dempsey. They hold tight until the 75th minute or so, only to see Steven Gerrard level the score with a long-range bomb.

My key to the game is relatively obvious, but it’s a strong start for the U.S. Should the Americans go down early, I’m not sure I like their chances.”

OK, so I was far from perfect in my prediction. England scored first, followed up by an American equalizer, so I had that wrong. I also said I didn’t like the United States’ chances if they gave up an early goal, and look how that turned out after England took a fourth-minute lead.

However, I did get both the score (1-1) and the goal scorers (Clint Dempsey for the U.S. and Steven Gerrard for the English) correct, so I must give myself some credit.

Considering the accuracy of my prediction, I figure that the only logical explanation is that I have unearthly powers and my predictions have the ability to actually decide the outcomes of World Cup matches. I just don’t see any other options. The chances that I just happened to pick the correct score and goal scorers simply could not have been coincidence, even given my selection of a common score line and two of the most likely goal scorers for each team.

So, we’ve clearly determined that I have the power to essentially “decide” the outcome of games. You can’t really argue against it (or at least if you do, I won’t listen).

With my “abilities” so apparent, I’m tempted to predict a score line of about 20-0 for the United States’ next match against Slovenia on Friday morning, since I know it would come true if I did. However, that would just feel greedy, so I’ll go with this …

My prediction for U.S. - Slovenia is 2-0 to the Americans. Landon Donovan opens the scoring midway through the first half when he uses his speed to expose the Slovenian backline, while Robbie Findley (yes, that Robbie Findley) polishes off the scoring after the halftime break. Goalkeeper Tim Howard is rarely troubled but shows no signs of the rib injury he suffered against England. After England tops Algeria by a 3-0 score line, both the Americans and the Brits are on the brink of qualifying for the knockout rounds.

There you have it - my prediction for the U.S. - Slovenia game, a.k.a. what must now certainly be the final outcome.

Even though I’ve already told you what the final score will be, I want to hear what you think. What are your predictions for Friday morning’s game? Remember to get detailed if you can, giving goal scorers, etc. Have fun with it!