Well this is a shame. Before the United States takes on Ghana on Monday, they were supposed to have a closed door warm-up scrimmage against Belgium. The match had been arranged to allow unlimited substitutions, giving coach Jurgen Klinsmann one final, complete look at his side against a strong Belgian team before deciding on a starting XI for Ghana.
Klinsmann and Belgian coach Marc Wilmots agreed to cancel the match, citing severe traffic congestion in Sao Paulo. The United States' training base is in Sao Paulo, but the Belgians have been training 30 miles away in Mogi das Cruzes.
There's currently a subway worker strike in Brazil, forcing legions of cars onto already dense streets. Workers are seeking to use the World Cup as a platform to demand better employment benefits and improved safety conditions. Thursday is a national holiday in Brazil, but on Friday, the strike will resume.
Wilmots couldn't be bothered to mess with the traffic, saying "I don't want to sit in a bus for five hours." For anyone who's ever taken a bus anywhere for more than an hour, Wilmots' concern is totally legitimate. Buses suck, and so does waiting in them.
Good luck to anyone trying to navigate those Sao Paulo streets. ESPN's Pablo Torre might still be lost somewhere in the mire.
