Official World Cup Thread

[Splinemodel]

OK. It's about 24 hours until the madness officially begins, so that means it's high-time for prediction time. I am part of a Thursday night gentlemens' betting organization known as the PPC (nothing to do with PowerPC), and I have assembled a list of popular bets with odds (http://www.clubnozza.com/stuff/PPCWCR1.pdf) that will be used in tonight's meeting.

So here goes:

Outright Winner:
England, Italy, Netherlands

Top Scorer:
Van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Shevchenko, Gerrard, Luca Toni

Groups:
A - Germany wins, Germany & Poland go through.
B - England wins, England & Sweden go through
C - Netherlands wins, Argentina & Netherlands go through
D - Portugal wins, Mexico & Portugal go through
E - USA wins, Italy & USA go through
F - Brazil wins, Brazil & Australia go through
G - Switzerland wins, France & Switzerland go through
H - Ukraine wins, Spain & Ukraine go through

Most Group Goals:
A - Poland
B - England
C - Netherlands
D - Portugal
E - Czech
F - Brazil
G - France
H - Ukraine

Most Cards in Group Play:
Mexico, Ghana, Argentina


I am also going to go ahead and proclaim that the Semifinal matches will be:

1. Netherlands v. Ukraine
2. England v. Brazil


Enjoy!

[Bergermeister]

Group F: If they get their act together after their last game, Japan will go through with Brazil. Japan is the only team in the group to give Brazil any trouble.

[Splinemodel]

Group F is hard to predict. Japan definitely has better chances than a lot of people estimate. Their team is well coached and very well conditioned.

[MarcUK]

Great opener. Germany have defense troubles, but what goals!!!

Looking forward to England getting totally stuffed by Paraguay tomorrow.

Have a couple of students from Holland working with me for 6 weeks, so im officially supporting Holland this time.

[Bergermeister]

Yes, a very nice opener. I so wanted to see a tie, though.

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by MarcUK
Great opener. Germany have defense troubles, but what goals!!!

Looking forward to England getting totally stuffed by Paraguay tomorrow.

Have a couple of students from Holland working with me for 6 weeks, so im officially supporting Holland this time.

There's an English-themed pub nearby that is putting on a breakfast tomorrow (we are five hours behind GMT). I might go, since it's a two minute walk from my apartment.

Peter Crouch hat trick! ;)

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MarcUK
Great opener. Germany have defense troubles, but what goals!!!
...
Actually, Germany have Klose, Ballack and Lehmann. This is, what counts
in the end, boy. ;)

Finale:
Germany vs. Argentinia
Germany wins 3:1

Semi-Finale
Brasilia vs. Italy
Brasilia wins 4:2

Mark my words.

[segovius]

I'm with Barbara - was thinking Brazil would win but after watching the match it is clear Germany have a great chance.

It's not so much the attack or the dodgy defence - it's that they have somehow finally rediscovered the old German spirit. The 'we cannot lose we are Germany' vibe.

And they can only get better.

[Gilsch]

I don't know about Germany. That a weak team could score 2 goals and almost mount a comeback (at 3-2)against them is testament of how weak Germany is. I've maintained it all along.

That said...Segovius could be right. It's a short tournament and any of the powers could get on a hot streak and then...lookout.

Germany could certainly grow and win some matches and then get into the knockout stage and somehow manage to win.... ugly...or via penalty kicks. With just enough.

My prediction of teams that could get hot like this....Germany, Brasil, France, USA (yeah), England and the argies.

I want someone who's never won it to win....if Brasil doesn't win it that is.

[Bergermeister]

Germany got a bit physical and tried rather direct body checks against CR, only to have their own players drop to the pitch... it looked to show a bad precedent for how things are going to go, but the result was rather funny.

I agree that Costa Rica really gave them a go; perhaps Germany is not the real powerhouse some people think. (They were outclassed by Japan recently in a rather big way). I jjust hope they don't go completely physical and lead the entire tournament that way.

[midwinter]

Is it my imagination, or was CR's second goal actually a German own-goal?

Edit: oops. Caught a different angle. It's clearly not an own-goal.

[midwinter]

Originally posted by Gilsch
I don't know about Germany. That a weak team could score 2 goals and almost mount a comeback (at 3-2)against them is testament of how weak Germany is. I've maintained it all along.

But both of CR's goals were because they were stupidly running an offside trap that failed. And Germany dominated the entire game.

Just because the score was close doesn't mean the game was.

[backtomac]

FWIW I really like the Czechs. I'm tipping Nedved to do for the Czechs what Zidane did for France in 1998.

[mmbarthez]

Go Italia!

Italy 3 Brazil 2 in final

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by mmbarthez
Go Italia!

Italy 3 Brazil 2 in final

I'm not sure if it's possible for Italy and Brazil to meet in the final. I'll run through it again, though.

[segovius]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
I'm not sure if it's possible for Italy and Brazil to meet in the final. I'll run through it again, though.

Interactive Predictor (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/shared/spl/hi/predictor/html/football/world_cup_06/default.stm)

[MarcUK]

Originally posted by segovius
I'm with Barbara - was thinking Brazil would win but after watching the match it is clear Germany have a great chance.

It's not so much the attack or the dodgy defence - it's that they have somehow finally rediscovered the old German spirit. The 'we cannot lose we are Germany' vibe.

And they can only get better.

I think if Germany sort out their defense they could go all the way, but if they have a defense like that, against a better opponent, they would get hammered. Costa Rica had what? 3 shots on target, and scored 2 of them.

[segovius]

Originally posted by MarcUK
I think if Germany sort out their defense they could go all the way, but if they have a defense like that, against a better opponent, they would get hammered. Costa Rica had what? 3 shots on target, and scored 2 of them.

It partly comes down to the new ball though doesn't it?

Did you see the way it swerved on Frings goal? Not even Ronnie usually hits them like that - when he gets in free kick positions :wow: But I digress....

I'm not saying the German defence isn't dodgy or the ball was responsible for the goals but more that FIFA have maybe stacked it a bit so there are exciting attacking games. World Cup openers are usually 0-0 - maybe most games this tournament will be high scoring and teams that focus on attack and don't worry so much about defence will be favoured.

Remember both Brazil and real Madrid have traditionally had this attitude -if they score two, well score three. Maybe Germany have consciously adopted this style.

[MarcUK]

^^^

As long as it makes exciting games, Im all for it. Go Holland!!

[Bergermeister]

Halftime England vs. Paraguay and it stands at 1-0. Looks like the high favorites are havign a hard time making ends meet against a much lower-ranked team.

The crowd is amazing: they boo at everything, possibly even their own booing. They were even noisy during the Paraguay anthem.

[segovius]

Originally posted by Bergermeister
Halftime England vs. Paraguay and it stands at 1-0. Looks like the high favorites are havign a hard time making ends meet against a much lower-ranked team.

The crowd is amazing: they boo at everything, possibly even their own booing. They were even noisy during the Paraguay anthem.

I don't think we we've seen the world cup winners there.

Paraguay were very, very poor.

[soulcrusher]

Outright Winner:
Argentina, England, Spain

Top Scorer:
Ronaldinho, Rooney, Shevchenko, Klose, Messi

Groups:
A - Germany wins, Germany & Ecuador go through.
B - England wins, England & Paraguay go through
C - Argentina wins, Argentina & Netherlands go through
D - Portugal wins, Mexico & Portugal go through
E - Italy wins, Italy & USA go through
F - Brazil wins, Brazil & Japan go through
G - France wins, France & South Korea go through
H - Spain wins, Spain & Ukraine go through

Most Group Goals:
A - Germany
B - England
C - Argentina
D - Portugal
E - Italy
F - Brazil
G - France
H - Ukraine

Most Cards in Group Play:
Mexico, Ivory Coast, Argentina

[soulcrusher]

Ecuador and Paraguay are better than Poland and Sweden respectively, I don't know why people think otherwise!

[segovius]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Ecuador and Paraguay are better than Poland and Sweden respectively, I don't know why people think otherwise!

:err:

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by segovius
:err:

oh right, it's the eurocentrism.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by segovius
I don't think we've seen the world cup winners there.
...
:D :D I don't think so too.

[Bergermeister]

Paraguay wasn't that good, but then neither was England, whom I should have more clearly called the favorites in their group. Neither will take the cup.

Two questions about proceedures:

1) How is it decided which team will stand still and which team will walk during the initial handshake?

2) In the WC, do players who get yellow cards (England got two!!!) miss the standard one game?

Gotta go watch Sweden vs. Trinidad and Tobago. Thank god today is Sunday (kickoff is 1:00am here).

EDIT: What's with all the trash on the screen (S vs. T&T)? It's sometimes hard to tell which blob is the ball and which is trash.

[Splinemodel]

England vs. Paraguay. . . what can I say. . . It looks like England had a case of Real-Madrid-itis. In other words, they were trying to score the perfect goal and were over using the flanks. Why Sven took out Owen and Joe Cole is beyond me, considering that Joe Cole was the biggest spark out there today. Gerrard had a few opportunities that he wasted by passing rather than shooting, but Lampard did have a couple of very nice shots and he forced the keeper to make some very good saves.

It's too early for me to write-off England, but there's certainly a lot of room for improvement. One thing that really upset me, though, was the young, Mexican referee who showed us that he doesn't know how to call a game of top players. There were several clean tackles which he chose to whistle down, most notably a Crouch tackle at center field. In the Mexican league, a lot of players are out for blood, but I would hope that there's a little bit more mutual respect among national teams playing in the World Cup. He might wind up England more than any of the teams they face.

As for Ecuador and Paraguay being better than Sweden and Poland, Ecuador did beat Poland, but you'd be hard pressed to find an unbiased voice that agrees with that sentiment. Sweden has some very high-caliber players at elite clubs, and whether you like it or not, as long as the money in Europe is better, it will always attract the best from around the world. . . especially in its top leagues.

Lastly, next game I watch I'm going to turn off the sound and listen to the English (BBC?) commentary from Sirius radio. I hope there's not too much lag.

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
As for Ecuador and Paraguay being better than Sweden and Poland, Ecuador did beat Poland, but you'd be hard pressed to find an unbiased voice that agrees with that sentiment. Sweden has some very high-caliber players at elite clubs, and whether you like it or not, as long as the money in Europe is better, it will always attract the best from around the world. . . especially in its top leagues.

No one is arguing that the South American leagues are better than the European.

What I am arguing is that Ecuador and Paraguay as national teams are better than Poland and Sweden. It might be the case that player-by-player Poland and Sweden are better but that does not make them a better team.

Look at Spain, always underperforming in international competitions when most of its players play in the top teams of the top leagues.

Ecuador beat Poland in a fair game, Ecuador is better than Poland.

We will see how Paraguay vs. Sweden goes.

[soulcrusher]

And now that Sweden cannot even beat Trinidad and Tobago, I am positive that Paraguay is the better team.

European football just sucks.

[MarcUK]

England were utter shite, thats why I cant get excited about supporting them.

After watching the last 25 minutes of Tinidad Tobago vs Sweden, thats the sort of spirit England miss. A great exciting game. England are so boring. Hopefully T&T play like that against England and give them a good thrashing.

[MarcUK]

Hopefully Ivory Coast thrash Argentina. Hand of God still hurts :lol:

[Bergermeister]

Ugh. That was pitiful. The first red card of the Cup, too.

Sweden had nice control, but screwed up every time they tried going in the middle in front of the goal. Otherwise, both teams were very passionate.

It's 3:00 am; shouldn't have stayed up to watch that. Sad, but looks like England will take the group fairly easily. (No, I don't like England. Period.)

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
England vs. Paraguay. . . what can I say. . . It looks like England had a case of Real-Madrid-itis. In other words, they were trying to score the perfect goal and were over using the flanks. Why Sven took out Owen and Joe Cole is beyond me, considering that Joe Cole was the biggest spark out there today. Gerrard had a few opportunities that he wasted by passing rather than shooting, but Lampard did have a couple of very nice shots and he forced the keeper to make some very good saves. The game was boring and bad. England were awful IMO. They were lucky to "score". Neville and Ashley Cole were "horripitiful". And Erickson is one of the worst managers of any national team in the world(I've said that for years). With so many good players at his disposal, this team should be much better.

And I agree about the ref. He was calling the game like an AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization for our foreign friends) game.

[Vox Barbara]

Great play, Argentinia vs. Cote d'lvoire. (2:1)
Argentina wasn't that uber-team, everybody was suggesting.

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Ecuador beat Poland in a fair game, Ecuador is better than Poland. . . European football just sucks.

If they played ten games, then you'd have a point.

European football is far too defensive for its own good, but with players like Ronaldinho going to the press about how the refs should protect him (and they do) European teams have to be defensive. (For the record, I have a lot less respect for Ronaldinho after I heard that.) FIFA needs to learn a lesson about officiating from rugby -- not that rough play should be awarded, but that the referee shouldn't have to put up with appealing, and that he should expect play to be gentlemanly rather than brutish. In the 3rd leagues this might not work, but for the World Cup there no excuse to be stopping play every thirty seconds just because weak-kneed players can't hold on to the ball when they should have had the sense to get rid of it.

As far as European football sucking, we will see which team wins in a few weeks. Hint: it's not going to be a South American team aside from Argentina or Brazil, which play a higher class game than the rest of the nations in south and central america. It's not even through round one of the group stage yet.

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Great play, Argentinia vs. Cote d'lvoire. (2:1)
Argentina wasn't that uber-team, everybody was suggesting.
Argentina played alright, but Ivory Coast just played better than anyone expected, I suppose. Ivory Coast has a really solid team, and that was the match that I had circled for the weekend as the one that would probably be the best. So far, it was. An african nation will win an upcoming World Cup before a central american nation does.

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
it's not going to be a South American team aside from Argentina or Brazil

I could have told you that much.

An african nation will win an upcoming World Cup before a central american nation does.

Not surprising, as Africa is many many times larger in population than Central America. Plus, some of the african players play football for their survival, literally.

I also wonder how long it will take for this to happen as, until now, African teams have failed to be consistently good over the years. African football, as a whole, has been improving but where are the African teams that participated in the previous world cups?
What happened to Cameroon? Nigeria? Senegal?

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
...
I also wonder how long it will take for this to happen as, until now, African teams have failed to be consistently good over the years. African football, as a whole, has been improving but where are the African teams that participated in the previous world cups?
What happened to Cameroon? Nigeria? Senegal?
Africa as a whole brought up some very very talented
guys. But you know, the team organisations are missing some basic
skills. What a piti.

[segovius]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Africa as a whole brought up some very very talented
guys. But you know, the team organisations are missing some basic
skills. What a piti.

Yeah, would have loved to see Eto'o there.

[backtomac]

I think people are rushing to conclussions based on a few results. Yes England looked anemic against Paraguay, but they got 3 points. Sweden actually looked better than England,IMO, yet only get 1 point. I thought Argentina looked the best team of the day, but they needed to play well because IC is a very difficult match for anyone. It's early no one really stumbled that badly. Even Sweden should still make it through.

[SpcMs]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
I am also going to go ahead and proclaim that the Semifinal matches will be:

1. Netherlands v. Ukraine


Not saying I can make better predictions, but no way that will be the semifinal. I'm glad the Dutch left home some of their more annoying players, but still. And Ukraine doesn't have the tradition to make it to the semifinals.

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by SpcMs
Not saying I can make better predictions, but no way that will be the semifinal. I'm glad the Dutch left home some of their more annoying players, but still. And Ukraine doesn't have the tradition to make it to the semifinals.

I do not know about that. Ukraine is the eastern european team with the striker.

They are like Bulgaria (Stoichkov) is '94 and Croatia (Suker) in '98.

Both teams had as much tradition as Ukraine and yet they made it pretty far.

[Bergermeister]

Half time Mexicon-Iran. This is a great match, full of passion, speed, and skill. Both side are very hungry to win and are playing very well. If all the matches were like this!

Edit

Full time: Mexico won 3-1
What a match!

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Bergermeister
Half time Mexicon-Iran. This is a great match, full of passion, speed, and skill. Both side are very hungry to win and are playing very well. If all the matches were like this!

Edit

Full time: Mexico won 3-1
What a match!
Yeah what a piti the iran keeper botched
the potential win.

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by SpcMs
Not saying I can make better predictions, but no way that will be the semifinal. I'm glad the Dutch left home some of their more annoying players, but still. And Ukraine doesn't have the tradition to make it to the semifinals.

You have to consider that there always seems to be a dark horse in the semifinals: I picked Ukraine for that role.

These teams met in the U-21 World Championships Finals, which, yes, doesn't say that much, but they are both very young teams that will be in excellent fitness as the tournament progresses. Ukraine also has a few things going for it. First, they have the best striker in the world. Second, most of their team comes from Dynamo Kiev, and they have been playing together for a long time. Third, Ukraine has been playing competitive soccer for longer than Germany.

Plus, they're the ONLY well organized team in an easy group. Spain has starpower, but is not organized. I will be interested to watch Spain v. Ukraine on Thursday (I think it's thursday). Cesc Fabregas was great in the Champions League, and I hope he can bring that game to the World Cup.

[segovius]

Anyone think we could see a surprise package in the USA later? They've got to be in with a big chance of getting out of that group.

I really think they will win this evening, I'll be supporting them all the way and if Italy slip up against Ghana - which is more possible than many people seem to think, Ghana are a good side - then the group could be wide open.

[backtomac]

Originally posted by segovius
Anyone think we could see a surprise package in the USA later? They've got to be in with a big chance of getting out of that group.

I really think they will win this evening, I'll be supporting them all the way and if Italy slip up against Ghana - which is more possible than many people seem to think, Ghana are a good side - then the group could be wide open.

I think if they got a point out of this match they should be happy. Get another point from Italy and then 3 from Ghana and they might make it through to the next round. Still a long shot though, all are good in this group.

[Splinemodel]

Bergermeister must be sore after that Australia v. Japan match: reminded me of the Milan v. Lyon match in the Champions League. Three late goals: maybe Japan does have the problems Nakata hinted at.

[soulcrusher]

Nah, Japan's problem is in the attack.

Did you see how the japanese players dribbled past the Australian midfield?

If they could extend that type of play to the front they would have done better.

Hiddink won the game. He made the right changes and Zico failed to counter.

[Bergermeister]

Japan just lost a very exciting game to Australia, which they were winning for most of the time. It was a nail-biter, and a depresser for us here.

Begin rant:

Australia won the foul game, too: 22 to 11. Right up there with the likes of Mexico (25) Angola (29) and Iran (21) (though M-I was an exciting match, it was dirty) and the Netherlands (23). England had 13, Germany had 11, Poland and Sweden have 9.

None of the other teams pull and throw players like Australia did and even just shoving from behind (then raising his hands as if wondering what was wrong with that!). The crowd even booed when Japanese players fell injured.

Sorry for the rant, but even if I wasn't rooting for Japan I would have ranted, it was so blatant, and I personally do not like dirty play (not to say that Japan didn't get some dumb yellow cards).

Unfortunately, some Japanese soccer official the other day said the same about A, so they were pretty pissed off according to the media, so the Roos will feel vindicated.

Rant complete. Hope Japan does better next game, and they then meet Brazil after that... ugh. Australia meets Brazil next, so hopefully they will get trampled!

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by Bergermeister
Japan just lost a very exciting game to Australia, which they were winning for most of the time. It was a nail-biter, and a depresser for us here.
Japan needs to be more confident. After Australia tied it up, Japan gave up.

Australia didn't come off as dirty to me, as much as they came off as rough. Rough play is more obvious to the opposing team and doesn't usually result in injury. Dirty play (watch mexico) is like tripping from behind, suspiciously high tackles. . . things that cause injuries because they catch players off-guard. As long as rough play is called when it should be (which it was), I don't have any problem with it. Dirty play should be red carded on the spot.

In other words, if you play soccer long enough, you'll fracture a wrist since there will inevitably be some douchebag who tackles you from behind when you least expect it. It happened to me a year ago. :grumble:

[Bergermeister]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
Bergermeister must be sore after that Australia v. Japan match: reminded me of the Milan v. Lyon match in the Champions League. Three late goals: maybe Japan does have the problems Nakata hinted at.


Arrrrgh! See rant above for all the illogical comments I wish to vent.

Japan's goal keeper (Kawaguchi) had a couple of real nice saves (including the double early on). Wow. He had us on the edge of our seats. Fifteen minutes to time, and we were saying, "We've got it." That's when the bottom fell out, and you know the rest.

Japan has some work to do. There is trpouble amongst the ranks as well as trouble connecting with the goal (today there was some lame crossing whcih could have otherwise ended in scores, as well as a couple of lame shots). Japan's defense was not where they needed to be at the end, and that was all it took.

[Bergermeister]

Perhaps I am calling rough dirty and dirty rough. To me they are rather similar, but your explanation was a good one for showing a difference.

I come from a background in track and field, sailing and rowing, all of which tend to lack dirtiness and roughness.

[MarcUK]

USA GO HOME! haha

[Bergermeister]

Well, I am kinda glad I am not a USA supporter: 0-2 to the Czech Republic at half-time.

Why is it that soccer doesn't gain popularity in the US? It caught on big time in Japan when the J-League was created in 1992 (first games in 93). In the following 14 years, Japan has made it to the World Cup three times (out of four tries), really raising the popularity of the sport here.

[MarcUK]

I think its too complicated for them.

[reg]

Down 0 -3 with 10 minutes to go. Listless and no real attack. Hope the Italians forget how to play.

reg

[Bergermeister]

Ouch. That hurt.

[reg]

We get German and English Premier league play where I live. How are the Italians? Are we (US) looking at 0-3 for this cup?

reg

[backtomac]

Well so much for my scenario for the USA making it to knock out round. Will see game when I get home on TIVO. From what I've seen on internet team USA looked outclassed and out of it's league.

[segovius]

Originally posted by backtomac
Well so much for my scenario for the USA making it to knock out round. Will see game when I get home on TIVO. From what I've seen on internet team USA looked outclassed and out of it's league.

Yeah - I retract my earlier foolhardy naivete too....

[Splinemodel]

That was the best I have ever seen Czech play. They dictated an extremely fast pace, and they played much, much better than they did in the qualifiers over the last year. That totally changes my perspective of the Czech team, which, as far as I can tell, came off as more impressive than any of the teams I've seen thus far.

Arsenal did well to land Rosicky. I don't give up all hope, as I think Czech has a very real chance at beating Italy. (Go Ghana!)

With that said, Eddie Johnson has one hell of a strike: maybe he can get it on goal in the next two matches.

Originally posted by MarcUK
I think its too complicated for them.
It's because American men are fat, out of shape, and even go so far as to mock people who walk or run as a means of transportation or fitness. They can't identify with a sport where you have to run for 90 minutes instead of 6 second bursts interspersed with time sucking from an oxygen tank. When they finally do give it a chance, they have to watch MLS. I'd bet, though, that the broadcasting of EPL matches has done more to boost interest here than anything else.

[MiMac]

Australia played well today I thought. 3 goals in the space of 7 minutes... they finished well. Japan's goal was pretty controversial and should have been disallowed anyway as there was clearly a foul.

England should do well but they are so boring to watch! Really think Brazil can win. Spain are the dark horses of this world cup... keep an eye on them ;)

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MiMac
...
Spain are the dark horses of this world cup... keep an eye on them ;)
Speaking about Spain is beatin' up dead horses. ;)

[backtomac]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
That was the best I have ever seen Czech play. They dictated an extremely fast pace, and they played much, much better than they did in the qualifiers over the last year. That totally changes my perspective of the Czech team, which, as far as I can tell, came off as more impressive than any of the teams I've seen thus far.



I like Nedved. Can't wait for Ghana game, Nedved vs. Essien in midfield will be a WAR.

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by backtomac
I like Nedved. Can't wait for Ghana game, Nedved vs. Essien in midfield will be a WAR.

:)

If they play at the pace they did today, it may well be a war, but in the same sense that Rommel dashing tanks across the desert was a war. I am recording the Italy v. Ghana match and will watch tonight (only have time in the day for one two-hour lunch). Gattuso v. Essien may also lead to some interesting battles.

[backtomac]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
:)

If they play at the pace they did today, it may well be a war, but in the same sense that Rommel dashing tanks across the desert was a war. I am recording the Italy v. Ghana match and will watch tonight (only have time in the day for one two-hour lunch). Gattuso v. Essien may also lead to some interesting battles.

I heard Gattuso was injured and not playing. If he does play that will also be a great battle.

[MarcUK]

Based on tonights performances, i predict Italy will beat USA 5-0 and Ghana will beat them 2-0. USA are absolutely the worst team in the competition.

[Bergermeister]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
:)

(only have time in the day for one two-hour lunch)

Where are your priorities!?!?

Have to admit the lack of sleep is beginning to hit me already (some of the matches start at 1:00a.m. our time). For some reason, I cannot record games and watch them later, perhaps because I would already know the score and that spooils the fun.

Starbucks do deliver, don't they?

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MarcUK
Based on tonights performances, i predict Italy will beat USA 5-0 and Ghana will beat them 2-0. USA are absolutely the worst team in the competition.
No we'll see a completely different US Team at next match.
If they get a grip on themself, you know...

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by MarcUK
Based on tonights performances, i predict Italy will beat USA 5-0 and Ghana will beat them 2-0. USA are absolutely the worst team in the competition.
Don't be a troll. After watching Italy, I am confident that USA can beat them. The Americans lack a good striker, which was painfully evident at the lightning pace the game was played at today. Hell, the Italians looked flat, the English looked flat. . . the only team I've seen so far that looked razor sharp has been the Czechs. I was actually impressed that USA could maintain 60% possesion through the first 60 minutes. With the added motivation of a must-win situation, it will be interesting to see what happens against Italy on Saturday.

[dojobi]

Originally posted by MiMac
Australia played well today I thought. 3 goals in the space of 7 minutes... they finished well. Japan's goal was pretty controversial and should have been disallowed anyway as there was clearly a foul.

Yeah that was definitely a foul, so shouldn't have been a goal, but I think Schwarzer was in the wrong position to save it anyway.

Regarding the dirty/rough play - I felt the ref was calling Aus on plenty of fouls that weren't fouls and Japan got off on a lot as they got rougher as the game progressed (maybe in response to Australian rough play?)

Australia took 12 shots on goal versus Japan's 2, so I think the final score reflected the match, even if Japan did hold out REALLY well and actually lead for most of the game.

I hadn't seen much of Japan play before last night, but afterwards I was really impressed with them.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by dojobi
...
Regarding the dirty/rough play - I felt the ref was calling Aus on plenty of fouls that weren't fouls and Japan got off on a lot as they got rougher as the game progressed (maybe in response to Australian rough play?)

Australia took 12 shots on goal versus Japan's 2, so I think the final score reflected the match, even if Japan did hold out REALLY well and actually lead for most of the game.

I hadn't seen much of Japan play before last night, but afterwards I was really impressed with them.
Japan is definitely a team you have (had;)) to count with.
I think 3:1 against them is a little bit over the top,
anyway, Japan have to come over with it, have to gather
all their spirit, strength and force (hopefully they are strong enough to
manage this loss) then they will fight back. I didn't give them up still.
Japanese People never give up, same spirit like German People.

However, let us bet the plays of this day:


21:00h (Europe/Germany Timezone)
Brazilia vs. Croatia (2:0)
Brazilia is one of the Top teams, sure a no-brainer.
But Croatia is surely on the ball. ;) They are on the ball, really,
and Brazilia can get a nasty surprise, if they don't pay attantion.


18:00h
France vs. Switzerland (2:3)
I bet, Switzerland will surprise us all;) They are on the ball too.;)

15:00h
Korea vs. Togo (1:1)
I can say pretty nearly nothing about these two teams.
Someone else shed some light...

[dojobi]

Brazil vs Croatia - 2:2. Brazil is a top team, but so is Croatia. Everyone predicts that they're going to destroy every team, but I just get the feeling that Croatia is going to hold out (don't ask me why :))

France vs. Switzerland - 2:1
My money's on France. An ELO ranking (www.eloratings.net) of 5 vs 25 is a fair mismatch, so I'll go with the odds here.

Korea vs. Togo - 2:0
Korea should win this fairly easily imo.

[Hassan i Sabbah]

Brazil are looking awesome. They're going to win the World Cup and they're going to batter Croatia, methinks. I can't see Croatia holding them; traditionally Brazil start their World Cups by mullering their first opponent...

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by dojobi
France vs. Switzerland - 2:1
My money's on France. An ELO ranking (www.eloratings.net) of 5 vs 25 is a fair mismatch, so I'll go with the odds here.

Keep in mind that Switzerland won their qualifying group, which included France, and that included two 1-1 draws against France.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
Keep in mind that Switzerland won their qualifying group, which included France, and that included two 1-1 draws against France.
Absolutely, the two of them know each other inside out.
Likely gonna be another draw, but i am crossing my
fingers for Switzerland. (I love this country;))

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Absolutely, the two of them know each other inside out.
Likely gonna be another draw, but i am crossing my
fingers for Switzerland. (I love this country;))

Me too. I wasn't able to get Cup tickets, but I am going to try to go to Euro 2008, which is in Austria & Switzerland. I would really like to see Switzerland, so it would be a double bonus.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
Me too. ...

:) :)
Originally posted by Splinemodel
...I wasn't able to get Cup tickets, ...

:wow:

half time 0:0

An all exciting match, chances on both sides,
France with slight advantages over Switzerland.
But defense of Switzerland bears up.

My bet is whoever manages the first goal
will win.

[segovius]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
Me too. I wasn't able to get Cup tickets, but I am going to try to go to Euro 2008, which is in Austria & Switzerland. I would really like to see Switzerland, so it would be a double bonus.

I'll be there with the Welsh team who should make an enormous impact as a surprise package once we get through our qualifying group which we should do with ease....

[Vox Barbara]

0:0

Draw, Switzerland go go go :D

France seemed to be very exhausted, well, with all respect,
what do you expect, if elderly guys kick the ball
like paying homage to splendid '98. No dice, if you ask me.

And lurking for free kicks doesn't fix a wonder.
:D

[segovius]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
0:0

Draw, Switzerland go go go :D

Worst game I've seen so far though....

[New]

off to see Brazil now, sun is shining. hoping for some real samba!

[segovius]

Brazil are playing 4 -2 -2 -2 tonight!!!!!!

This should be beautiful - now we will see the men sorted from the boys....

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by New
off to see Brazil now, sun is shining. hoping for some real samba! Yeah, the guys...

[Gilsch]

Brasil has been awful so far. Except for the Kaka goal. Why is Ronaldo even playing? Is a goal scoring record more important than winning the championship to Parreira? Ronaldo is walking on the field. Adriano can't control a single pass and no magic from Ronaldinho yet.

Cafú is looking very old and slow and his side is where Croatia attacked ALL of the half. Boring, boring so far.

[Vox Barbara]

half time
Brasilia scores 1, Croatia scores, ahmm, zero.

The match is pretty often stalled by tactical fouls,
by and large Brasilia is slightly better, a few fast paced moves
gave a glimpse of their power, basically in the beginning.
Brasilias attack (Ronaldo and Adriano) is a mere ghost shadow,
hence very simple to defense. Danger and real hazard comes
from Ronaldino and Caca, well sometimes.

Funny. but Croatia was closer to score the first Goal than Brasilia.
Well, off to second half...

EDIT:

The match is over, Brasilia wins (as EVERYBODY expected). BUT
the victory over Croatia doesn't represent the true course of the
game. I think a draw would have been more justly.

Anyway, now looking ahead to tomorrow.

Predictions please;)

Germany vs Poland
2:1

Spain vs. Ukraine
2:3

Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia
1:1

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by segovius
Brazil are playing 4 -2 -2 -2 tonight!!!!!!

This should be beautiful - now we will see the men sorted from the boys....
How true in the end;) Ronaldo, anyone;)

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
Me too. I wasn't able to get Cup tickets, but I am going to try to go to Euro 2008, which is in Austria & Switzerland. I would really like to see Switzerland, so it would be a double bonus.

For half the prize you can probably go to Copa America and get to see much better quality football.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
For half the prize you can probably go to Copa America and get to see much better quality football. :lol:

[Hassan i Sabbah]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
For half the prize you can probably go to Copa America and get to see much better quality football.
Mmm... have you seen the European Cup? It's pretty awesome.

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
Mmm... have you seen the European Cup? It's pretty awesome.

Yep, all the time. And none of the ones I've seen has been as impressive as the 1997 Copa America.

Now, the question for you is, have you ever seen Copa America?

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
For half the prize you can probably go to Copa America and get to see much better quality football. Uhhh, yeah right. I've been to Copa America tourneys before....3 powers...Uruguay, Brasil and the argies against crappy, totally overmatched teams. Some tournament.

And Vox...it's Kaká not Caca. lol

[dojobi]

Well I think I should stop predicting results :) You guys were right about Switzerland.

[soulcrusher]

I do not know where you guys get all this crap about every American teams being crap except for Argentina and Brazil.

1997 Copa America final, Bolivia vs. Brazil
2001 Copa America, Honduras vs. Brazil
1998 World Cup, France vs. Paraguay
2005 Confederaciones Cup, Mexico vs. Brazil
2002 World Cup, USA vs. Portugal
Colombia's qualifying to the 1994 World Cup, including 5-0 win vs. Argentina

And most recently, we have seen Trinidad and Tobago tying with Sweden, Ecuador beating Poland, Paraguay losing because of an own-goal agains England.

I am not arguing that every American team is better than every European team, what I am saying is that you are underestimating them.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Please. That's your proof??? Give me a break. Here, let me break it down for you in numbers that actually mean something.

Most winners Copa America.

Uruguay 14
Argentina 14
Brasil 7
Paraguay and Peru 2
Bolivia and Colombia 1

Uruguay, argies, Brasil = 35 wins.
All the rest: 6

:lol:

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Gilsch
Please. That's your proof??? Give me a break. Here, let me break it down for you in numbers that actually mean something.

Most winners Copa America.

Uruguay 14
Argentina 14
Brasil 7
Paraguay and Peru 2
Bolivia and Colombia 1

Uruguay, argies, Brasil = 35 wins.
All the rest: 6

:lol:

I am not saying that Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are not the best, because they are. What I am saying is that the rest are not total crap.

That's like saying that just because only Germany, Italy, France and England have won the World Cup, then every other European team sucks, including Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, etc., which is not true.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
That's like saying that just because only Germany, Italy, France and England have won the World Cup, then every other European team sucks, including Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, etc., which is not true.

There is no comparison. I can't believe you're actually arguing this. Any of the teams you have mentioned above are consistently stronger than any of the teams in South America with the exception of Brasil, Uruguay( though these guys have been in a steady decline for years now) and arg.

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Yep, all the time. And none of the ones I've seen has been as impressive as the 1997 Copa America.

Now, the question for you is, have you ever seen Copa America?

Yes: it's not as exciting. You have picked a bad argument, since most of us don't write off the South American teams. FIFA doesn't appear to either, since they gave Mexico the 4th ranking and an undeserving seed in this year's Cup. But in reality, American teams have a hard time beating European teams when it really counts. The problem they seem to have is that so few American teams possess big weapons. In other words, there's not enough diversity in goal scoring to cause a threat to any of the top teams -- every goal has to come from great passing, which is admirable, but it sure is nice to have a big-man than can hold the ball or crack a shot from 30m. All of the top teams the world over are dangerous as soon as they get in the attacking third, and sometimes as soon as they cross the half-line. Mexico is not. Paraguay is not. Costa Rica is not. Most of the big European teams are. Even England, who have been ridiculed for their poor performance, were able to score in a way that only Brazil can match -- a near-perfect direct kick from 40m.

[Gilsch]

Another couple of points when "comparing" Copa America with a world cup. You actually have to qualify to a world cup. At least 2 years of competition just to get to a tournament that's played every four years. So yeah, if they're sometimes a little more conservative it's because it's a huge deal to get out of the first round and move through the knockout stages. One mistake could mean wasting years of work.

No qualifying for Copa America. South American countries plus a couple others by special invitation. Played every 2 years (it's been played yearly, every 2 years, every 3 years, every 4 years even etc.) And most telling of all....quite a few times, the top 3 countries have sent their B teams to the Copa America.

Finally, a little bit about that 97 Copa America. Bolivia only made it to the final because they had the advantage of playing at home. What advantage? Playing at VERY high altitudes. How high? Try 13,000 feet.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gilsch
Uhhh, yeah right. I've been to Copa America tourneys before....3 powers...Uruguay, Brasil and the argies against crappy, totally overmatched teams. Some tournament.

And Vox...it's Kaká not Caca. lol
Well, it is hard to remember all these different names
of different players of different countries correctly.
But of course it is Kaká.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Predictions please;)
...

Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia
1:1

Well, i am gonna shift the result toward
3:1 ;)

[Vox Barbara]

Arghh... still 8 hours to wait, i've got that fever,...

Germany, roll it.

http://www.parafilm.de/ai/flagge.gif

[dojobi]

haha, yeah it's hard isn't it. It's even worse for me in Australia as the games are in the early hours of the morning, so I spend the day at work thinking about it, and then stay up to watch them. By the next day I'm dead at work from no sleep and the cycle repeats :)

[segovius]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
How true in the end;) Ronaldo, anyone;)

yes - can you believe that the coach is going to start him again on Sunday???

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by dojobi
haha, yeah it's hard isn't it. It's even worse for me in Australia as the games are in the early hours of the morning, so I spend the day at work thinking about it, and then stay up to watch them. By the next day I'm dead at work from no sleep and the cycle repeats :)
Yeah, i *knew* the Aussie team would be a serious
player in the game, but i didn't expect them that powerful.
Now they are my insider tip. If they can repeat
their performance of their first match, they surly
gonna give Brasilia a nasty gift.
(Though, i don't think they will smack Brasilia,
yet crossing my fingers...;))

[dojobi]

Well I'm hoping for that too. I think they CAN do it. Whether they do or not, is another question :)

[Vox Barbara]

Das Lied der Deutschen (3. Strophe)
Text: Hoffmann von Fallersleben
Melodie: Joseph Haydn

http://www.parafilm.de/ai/hymne.gif


Sorry guys, i couldn't resist (Resistance is futile anyway);)

[Hassan i Sabbah]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Yep, all the time. And none of the ones I've seen has been as impressive as the 1997 Copa America.

Now, the question for you is, have you ever seen Copa America?
I've seen clips from some of the games over the last 34 years of my life, yeah, and it looks really good. I guess it's as difficult for you to get as excited in the Euro Cup without knowing the countries and the teams as it is for me to get involved in the Copa, but I suppose if you prefer football from the Americas that's cool, I can see why you might.

Now let's talk about the World Cup, which is on my TV right now. :) Spain are looking super sharp. I'd have expected them to beat Ukraine (I only really know one of their players and he's below his best) and it looks as if they will.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
...

Now let's talk about the World Cup, which is on my TV right now. :) Spain are looking super sharp. I'd have expected them to beat Ukraine (I only really know one of their players and he's below his best) and it looks as if they will.

Half time, Spain dominates Ukraine very easily.
I thought Ukraine would have been stronger
than they have presented themself in the first half.

Ukraine haven't found a gap to go through yet. And
i doubt they will. Ukra team seem to be exhausted.
(I can't stretch why.)
Tchetchenko is entirely left in the dark by his team players.
What a piti.

Spain is playing at full blast, so to say. I doubt they can
hold this pace in the second half. 30° Celsius, it is a hell
of a heat, is it not? Maybe Spain can beat the heat better
than Ukra, because they are more used to high temperature.

Off 2. half...

[Vox Barbara]

Hell! Penalty to Spain, what the F**K!
Sorry but these referees are sucking very much. stark-blind!!!

Goal. 0:3

EDIT:
End result 0:4 (losing a fortune;))

Spain is the winner, and i have to admit this spanish team
is in a pretty good shape. Ukraine was disappointing all the way.

[segovius]

You see this Spanish performance really puts things in perspective. Forget England's 'heat' excuses - this was the most energetic performance so far in probably the hottest conditions.

Torres was awesome - so was Puyol. Once Fabregas gets going I think we are seeing genuine contenders here.

[soulcrusher]

Puyol is the best defender in the world right now.

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
FIFA doesn't appear to either, since they gave Mexico the 4th ranking and an undeserving seed in this year's Cup.

Not only that but you can have up to half of COMMEBOL coming to the World Cup, as it should be.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Puyol is the best defender in the world right now.
Maybe, but Ukras Attack was pretty weak too.
Whether Puyol is the best defender will reveal
when he is confronted with attackers who are on
par with his amazing skills. ;)

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by segovius
You see this Spanish performance really puts things in perspective. Forget England's 'heat' excuses - this was the most energetic performance so far in probably the hottest conditions.

Torres was awesome - so was Puyol. Once Fabregas gets going I think we are seeing genuine contenders here.

It does. This was good for the spanish: hopefully it will build some confidence for them. It's always painful to see them underperform, and maybe this year they will buck the trend.

With that said, they clearly deserved the game today, but I felt the referee was protecting them with the (obviously) dubious red card as well as a number of suspect offsides calls. If Ukraine can take anything from this, it's that they have the uncanny ability to (paritally) make up for bad passing with ruthless attacking of 50/50 balls in the midfield. For that I can see how they held Italy to 0-0, and thumped Costa Rica 4-0 in the warm ups. Spain earned the victory, but were lucky to have a 4-0 victory. I hope Ukraine can somehow appeal to the red card, which happens all the time in the club leagues, but I have no idea if it's permissible in the World Cup.

Slightly off topic:
I think John Terry is the best defender in the world.

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
dubious red card

I do not know about that. FIFA has been very explicit about NOT PULLING from the uniform. And we are not talking about hard pulls but any sort of pulling.

The referee saw the Ukraine guy pulling from the shorts, that's a foul. It was inside the box, that's a penalty. Last man, that's a red card.

The defender would have had a better chance of getting away with it by doing a hard tackle as that is not necessarily a foul.

The only thing the Ukrainians can appeal is that the pulling might have been outside the box.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
I do not know about that. FIFA has been very explicit about NOT PULLING from the uniform. And we are not talking about hard pulls but any sort of pulling.
...

If you apply strictly, you know...
I saw a lot of slight pulls;)

The referee saw the Ukraine guy pulling from the shorts, that's a foul. It was inside the box, that's a penalty. Last man, that's a red card.
Nice lesson in applied logic ;)

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
The referee saw the Ukraine guy pulling from the shorts, that's a foul. It was inside the box, that's a penalty. Last man, that's a red card.

No, because the referee appropriately played advantage -- nothing the defender did caused a change of possession, or even a stutter. When [Villa ?] shot, he was moving very quickly and lost his balance. The referee wasn't very close to the play, and I can understand that it looked like a foul from where he was, but in the replays it is a very clear non-foul. The defender shouldn't have to sit out of the next game for that.

This is a great thread, by the way: everyone seems to have different views and opinions.

[SpcMs]

Originally posted by SpcMs
Not saying I can make better predictions, but no way that will be the semifinal. I'm glad the Dutch left home some of their more annoying players, but still. And Ukraine doesn't have the tradition to make it to the semifinals.

I don't like to quote myself but...


:-P

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by segovius
yes - can you believe that the coach is going to start him again on Sunday??? It's unbelievable. I've been reading a couple of Brasilian newspapers and the online polls want Ronaldo to start....on the bench.

I only remember him running ONCE the time he spent on the field. Once.

A commentator said that Brasil started the game with only 9 players since Ronaldo and Adriano didn't play. lol

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
I can understand that it looked like a foul from where he was, but in the replays it is a very clear non-foul.

You can see in the replays that the Ukrainian was pulling Villa's shorts. The referee saw that and then he went up to the defender and made the pulling gesture.

Pulling from the uniform is a foul, that's it, doesn't matter if it affects the play or not.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Not only that but you can have up to half of COMMEBOL coming to the World Cup, as it should be. Ok, we're gonna have to disagree here. Half of Conmebol (not Commebol...at least get the terms right)???

I guess you didn't know that almost half of CONMEBOL gets the chance to qualify.The fifth position in the south american qualifiers gets to go to the "repechaje" against the winner of the Oceania qualifiers....

The minnows of Uruguay lost to Australia. So if Uruguay is not good enough to beat Australia.....

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by SpcMs
I don't like to quote myself but...


:-P

Oh, they'll make it. If they make it out of the group, which isn't unlikely still, they get to play a crap team from group G. Then it's the QFs.

Originally posted by soulcrusher
Pulling from the uniform is a foul, that's it, doesn't matter if it affects the play or not.
There was a lot of uniform pulling [all but that incident] that went uncalled. I highly, highly doubt that the very mild tug on the shorts was even the impetus for the penalty. And following up on Gilsch, half of Conmebol does go to the World Cup, most of which promptly exits.

[MarcUK]

well that was a few seconds of excitement in the germany-poland match.. at 89 minutes 2 shots off the woodwork and a disallowed goal, all in 10 seconds....and as I type they score 91st minute!!!!

[Vox Barbara]

Germany, my heart is Beating and beating

Jeez, what a match, finaly8)

[soulcrusher]

I guess you didn't know that almost half of CONMEBOL gets the chance to qualify.

Dude, that's just what I said.

most of which promptly exits.

Let's look at the last 5 World Cups

(# of CONMEBOL teams that qualify/ number that go to second round)

Mexico 1986 - 4/4
Italy 1990 - 4/4
USA 1994 - 4/2
France 1998 - 5/4
Japan/Korea 2002 - 5/2

So, in only one of the last 5 world cups did most of CONMEBOL promptly exit.

[Vox Barbara]

http://www.parafilm.de/ai/20-d.jpg

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
So, in only one of the last 5 world cups did most of CONMEBOL promptly exit. I apologize, as I mistakenly lumped in Concacaf, since the discussion originated as "American" teams. Even so, there's a disturbing trend there. Who will qualify this year out of America? Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico? There's a good chance that might be it.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gilsch
...

A commentator said that Brasil started the game with only 9 players since Ronaldo and Adriano didn't play. lol
As i said: Shadows of them self

[soulcrusher]

I believe that there is a high chance for all CONMEBOL teams (Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador and Argentina) to go to the second round.

CONCACAF is known for its crappy football so I do not expect much from them. I still wish that Costa Rica beats Ecuador tomorrow.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MarcUK
well that was a few seconds of excitement in the germany-poland match.. at 89 minutes 2 shots off the woodwork and a disallowed goal, all in 10 seconds....and as I type they score 91st minute!!!!
Uhmm... now, i think there will be the inevitable match

Germany vs. England

in the next round. Wow.

[soulcrusher]

actually, I have a question about that.

For the english, is there a greater rivalry between England and Germany or England and Argentina?

[MarcUK]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
actually, I have a question about that.

For the english, is there a greater rivalry between England and Germany or England and Argentina?

Germany, but I hope Germany win. Also hope T&T beat England tomorrow.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
actually, I have a question about that.

For the english, is there a greater rivalry between England and Germany or England and Argentina?
England and Germany
It is always like an endgame.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MarcUK
Germany, but I hope Germany win. Also hope T&T beat England tomorrow.
How comes?

Germany vs. England is not sure, but chances are;) I am assuming
that England will lose against Schweden, and come in second. ;)

[MarcUK]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
How comes?

Because this country is shit, and so are most of the people living here.

And our players are a bunch of overpaid, underachieving pussies.

Go Holland!

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MarcUK
Because this country is shit, and so are most of the people living here.
Well, i love this country, especially the south-west
and welsh part. It is so beautiful and so the people
are. I spent a good time hopping from castle to castle.
Once i met an elderly true lady, who was/is running a bed an'
breakfast. We're still in touch with each other, writing cards
once in a while.

Aberystwith in the very west is amazing.

[MarcUK]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Well, i love this country, especially the south-west
and welsh part. It is so beautiful and so the people
are. I spent a good time hopping from castle to castle.

hehe I live in the south-west. I just hate people generally :lol:

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MarcUK
hehe I live in the south-west. I just hate people generally :lol:
Uhmm well i just have no arguments against that,
except the ones you've probably heard 1000 times
before. Anyway, cheers... I am collapsing NOW;)

[dojobi]

No comments on the Spain game? That was crazy! Spain are looking deadly. I've got a friend who put $100 on them to win the cup. I'm not sure what the odds were before the cup started though. Since they have this habit of collapsing/choking and have never won it before, I'd say the odds would have been good.

EDIT: OK, there were plenty of comments on it. This thread moves too fast for me ;)

[Frank777]

Originally posted by MarcUK
Also hope T&T beat England tomorrow.

I can't believe Marc and I are on the same side of an issue. :D

If Trinidad does the unthinkable tomorrow, you'll hear the cheering across the planet.

[Bergermeister]

I said it above, and a couple of people are saying similar things. I don't like England, period, so I hope T&T win 5-0.:D

Sverige will beat England, and that will put them aqt the top.

[segovius]

Originally posted by Frank777
I can't believe Marc and I are on the same side of an issue. :D

If Trinidad does the unthinkable tomorrow, you'll hear the cheering across the planet.

Prepare for more shock and horror: I'm on board too :D

Go T&T!

<rant>Mrs Segovius is German and yesterday we settled down to watch the build-up to the game. You know, talk of the teams, gossips from the camps, review of the possibilities ahead etc and you know what? You guessed it - virtually no build up at all practically every single minute of pre-match airtime about ENGERRLUND :mad: :mad:

Why God why?

They even do this in my home country Wales ffs :no:

This is why I want them out - so we can at last have some discussion of other teams in the tournament. It's pathetic.
</rant>

Another thing: on the BBC they have this dickhead pundit called Alan Hansen who was a very bad player and is an even worse analyst. Ok, fair enough - he's Scottish (though he is one of those Scots that want to be English - from Edinburgh - and for whom everything English is a gift from God) BUT whatever happens, he cannot find a good word to say about Germany.

He even named them as one of his worst teams of the tournament!!!!

I think T&T will draw this afternoon - England play very badly against such teams and there are many in that side who know the English style well - especially if (when) they resort to hoofing the long-ball up field and chasing it.

England are also psychologically very frail as well as a bad side and there is always the issue of the press waiting to pounce on any mistake., This always contributes imo - remember Northern Ireland :D

I think 1-1 then Paraguay/Sweden draw 1-1 also.

Paraguay win by more than one (or T&T win!) and Sweden beat England in the next one and it's hasta luego :D

[segovius]

Just hearing on the radio Ronaldo has been taken to hospital - looks like he is suffering from a similar thing to the last WC where he blacked out before the big game.....

[Bergermeister]

Double posted.

Rumors in Japan say lots of the matches are suffereing form bad refereeing. Not that I know much about it, so was wondering what everyone thinks.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Bergermeister
...
Rumors in Japan say lots of the matches are suffereing from bad refereeing. Not that I know much about it, so was wondering what everyone thinks.
This is just a rumour. In nearly all cases (what? 14 matches
until yesterday?) the referees were right. Well, almost always.
I don't want to go over the top though. ;)
Amazing, but true. The only exception was the play
between Ukraine and Spain. But you know, referees are
human, too. This is a trivial argument, but so true in sports.
;)

Generally and over all, and this is that counts, these black (uhmm, yellow)
guys blew a whistle pretty good so far. Don't believe the rumours in Japan.

EDIT:
I just got the hunch that Japanese journalists threw a monkey wrench...

:lol:

[Vox Barbara]

Just wanted to let you know, that i put the beer
into the fridge right now.

Argggggggg... still another 2 hours ...

England there is a lot at stake today.:err:

[Hassan i Sabbah]

I really want England to win, because everyone in the place I live and all my friends will be very happy.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
I really want England to win, because everyone in the place I live and all my friends will be very happy.
Really?:wow:


;)

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by segovius
Just hearing on the radio Ronaldo has been taken to hospital - looks like he is suffering from a similar thing to the last WC where he blacked out before the big game.....

The fatty was probably stuffing himself with candy. Too much sugar in his blood and he passed out.

[Vox Barbara]

Now playing England and T&T...

min 3: Jones lost his right shoe, takes one minute to put in
on again ...

some tv shots are showing desperate fans

min 8: England plays long passes all the time, they all
don't reach other players.
England seem to be a wee bit confused...

[segovius]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Now playing England and T&T...

min 3: Jones lost his right shoe, takes one minute to put in
on again ...

some tv shots are showing desperate fans

min 8: England plays long passes all the time, they all
don't reach other players.
England seem to be a wee bit confused...

If they don't stop talking about Rooney every five minutes I'm going to go doolally.....

[Hassan i Sabbah]

Originally posted by segovius
If they don't stop talking about Rooney every five minutes I'm going to go doolally.....
Segovius, just stop watching. Watch with the sound down. Watch in Spanish.

[segovius]

Reckon T&T had the best of the half there.

Still don't see any justification for the hype, England look so ordinary - I just can't see it.....

[Gilsch]

Man, I have to laugh at how pitiful England are playing. I think it's a reflection of how awful Sven is as a coach. His player selection makes Gerard Houllier look like a genius.

How many games did Ashley Cole play prior to the cup coming from injury? Same with Owen.

Crouch is not a goal scorer and he's not as dominant in the air as one would think. Carragher shouldn't be a starter on any elite teams. And Sven wanted to play him as a ball holding midfielder (???). Keep in mind I'm a huge Liverpool fan...but neither Carra nor Crouch should be starting.

Then we have Beckham....I'm 50-50 on this one. This guy used to be able to make 50-60 yard passes with millimetrical accuracy....

Sven is leaving after the WC. Too bad for England it's coming 2 years too late. :lol:

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by segovius
Reckon T&T had the best of the half there.

Still don't see any justification for the hype, England look so ordinary - I just can't see it..... I agree....but I don't think T&T played better than England. The score could very easily be 1-0 to England if Owen hadn't done...what he did that rebound and Crouch hadn't done...that awful thing...with the goal at his mercy.

Should be 2-1 to England. If one is generous with this boring, mediocre half.

[Frank777]

I would pay to hear an MP3 of what's being said in the English locker room right now.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
The fatty was probably stuffing himself with candy. Too much sugar in his blood and he passed out. As good as an analysis as your Copa America's. :no:

[MarcUK]

Another crap performance by England. Useless.

[Gilsch]

I don't think this English team in particular is very vocal...except for maybe John Terry. Owen's quiet, Gerrard same, Lampard same, Beckham same...Terry's probably in disbelief of how bad they actually are as a team....and wanting to tear Sven's head off.

[Vox Barbara]

Hey MarkUK, what do you think? TT presses England
into their own half. A bunch of cobblers, postmen and
halftime country players versus a 100.000.000$ Team.
Amazing.

[Gilsch]

Props to T&T for a great game. They did what they had to do and even came close to sscoring!

Gerrard's goal was something else. Props to Stevie G. who has got to be exhausted after 63 plus games for Liverpool this season alone. 63!!

Crouch finally scored on a header. Crouch should be a sub in my opinion. He's someone who can give you a totally different dynamic in a second half. Lennon made Jamie C. look ordinary. AGain, as an LFC fan I love Carra, but he shouldn't be starting.

Beckham...what can I say...great cross for Crouch's header but little else for 90 minutes. His crosses were horrendous except for one or two...and when that is what he's in there for, it's not good enough.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gilsch
...

Beckham...what can I say...great cross for Crouch's header but little else for 90 minutes. His crosses were horrendous except for one or two...and when that is what he's in there for, it's not good enough.

The entire english Squad looked tired and worn out, if you ask me.
The play was a blamage for England.

[MarcUK]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Hey MarkUK, what do you think? TT presses England
into their own half. A bunch of cobblers, postmen and
halftime country players versus a 100.000.000$ Team.
Amazing.

I think England are a bunch of cocks and TT did themselves proud.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MarcUK
I think England are a bunch of cocks and TT did themselves proud.
Well. In this condition i believe Germany will
have a walk-over (assuming E vs GER in the 2. round.)

[MiMac]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Speaking about Spain is beatin' up dead horses. ;)

Hmmm... shall I warm up that humble pie now or wait :p

God, Brazil look as if they aren't even trying so far. :???: Boring!
I like your tone Marc :lol:

[Vox Barbara]

Hey guys
1. what are decent squads in the tournament?
2. And what is the sleeper team of the tournament?

1. Argentinia, Spain, Tzech, Germany

2. Ecuador, Italy;)

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MiMac
Hmmm... shall I warm up that humble pie now or wait :p

God, Brazil look as if they aren't even trying so far. :???: Boring!
I like your tone Marc :lol:
Hey get a grip on yourself, England is beautyful
(maybe not that team;))

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by MiMac
Hmmm... shall I warm up that humble pie now or wait :p

Uhmm, well i mull over...

[Splinemodel]

After that match, I think England are going to win the whole thing.

That has to sound crazy as all hell... but I get this feeling that regardless of who they are against, England are a team that will play just a little bit better than their opponent. England will beat Sweden 1-0, then beat Ecuador 1-0, etc, making them the most boring team to win the Cup. ever. Blame Sven.

Brazil didn't look any better against Croatia, so it's not like there's any runaway team out there aside from maybe the Czechs, who probably don't have enough strike power without Baros to easily beat a top team. I hope that they manage to get back at least Koller for the Italy match.

[segovius]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
After that match, I think England are going to win the whole thing.

That has to sound crazy as all hell... but I get this feeling that regardless of who they are against, England are a team that will play just a little bit better than their opponent. England will beat Sweden 1-0, then beat Ecuador 1-0, etc, making them the most boring team to win the Cup. ever. Blame Sven.

Brazil didn't look any better against Croatia, so it's not like there's any runaway team out there aside from maybe the Czechs, who probably don't have enough strike power without Baros to easily beat a top team. I hope that they manage to get back at least Koller for the Italy match.

:no:

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
After that match, I think England are going to win the whole thing.

That has to sound crazy as all hell... but I get this feeling that regardless of who they are against, England are a team that will play just a little bit better than their opponent. ...
:lol:

[MarcUK]

Originally posted by Splinemodel


That has to sound crazy as all hell... but I get this feeling that regardless of who they are against, England are a team that will play just a little bit better than their opponent. England will beat Sweden 1-0, then beat Ecuador 1-0, etc, making them the most boring team to win the Cup. ever. Blame Sven.


Tis possible that is what they are doing, I did wonder it, perhaps they are playing as needed in a cold corperate manner, saving their energy for later games.

I'm not a big footie fan really, but I always thought it was meant to be a game of spirit and passion. I'd rather support a no hoper team that had spirit and passion than a £100 million corperate entity.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by MarcUK
I'm not a big footie fan really, but I always thought it was meant to be a game of spirit and passion. I'd rather support a no hoper team that had spirit and passion than a £100 million corperate entity. Well, the English players have got to be exhausted. Maybe there is a little bit of "saving themselves" for the latter stages....if any just a tiny little bit. The Premiership has too many teams and they play too many games....not to mentioin how physically demanding it is. Heck, when everybody else is resting during X-mas the English league is the only league in the world that keeps playing.

The Liverpool players for example, have played in excess of 60 games. Think about it...60 games. The Chelsea players played a lot of games too.

And about the corporate entities...it could be worse. You could be a Brasilian and your team selection could be heavily influenced (dictated?) by Nike. I.e Ronaldo.

[Hassan i Sabbah]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Well. In this condition i believe Germany will
have a walk-over (assuming E vs GER in the 2. round.)
Nah. It won't be a walkover considering the history that England and Germany have in the World Cup and England's traditionally slow start in the competition.

I think that Spain are going to win, by the way.

[New]

Spain looks strong. One of my other favourites for winning is Argentina.

They are on in 10 minutes!

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by New
Spain looks strong. One of my other favourites for winning is Argentina.

They are on in 10 minutes!
NOW;)

Btw, if Brasilia get rid of "Round"aldo, than you
have to count them with.

[New]

oh.. :wow:

1-0 after 6 minutes...

[Bergermeister]

Argentina just got their second goal... wonderful passwork, best of the tournament maybe.

Still in the first half.... will this end at under 4-0?

[Vox Barbara]

3 Goals in one half, each goal beats the other! Jeez.
Argentinia shows tremendous powerful football.
I am puzzled entirely. Heck, who can beat them?

[Hassan i Sabbah]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
3 Goals in one half, each goal beats the other! Jeez.
Argentinia shows tremendous powerful football.
I am puzzled entirely. Heck, who can beat them?
They look really good, although Serbia and Montenegro aren't the most aggressive team. I think Holland might be able to beat them, if they're organised enough, and I think Spain might, because they're capable of outscoring them, if anyone is... Brazil could, because they're pretty awesome, but I can really see Argentina doing damage to the Brazilian defence.

And then of course, there's England...

oh nothing.

[Hassan i Sabbah]

OK, scrub that: Argentina are really good.

[Bergermeister]

6-0

'nuff said.

[segovius]

Messi

:D

[segovius]

Uh-oh, if England don't win their group - ie lose to Sweden - they will be in the same half of the draw as Argentina and meet them if they get through to the quarter finals.

I suppose they would have to beat Ecuador or Germany first (which is far from likely on current form so far) but it does put all the hype in perspective.

I liked the headline in one of today's German newspapers: "Rooney fails to walk on water".

:D

[Bergermeister]

Netherlands-Ivory Coast are on now.

N play dirty (including pathetic play-acting) as hell, IC are trying hard.

We are rooting for IC.

[Vox Barbara]

Ivory is out. Damn what a piti!

[Gilsch]

Yeah, the argies are the real thing. It's a mediocre WC and I think so far there's only 3 teams that have looked good. Spain, Czech Rep. and the argies.

Ivory Coast should've tied the argies and beaten the dutch. Shame that they're out so early.

Netherlands looked worse than I thought they would. A lot of really childish mistakes on defense.

[Bergermeister]

Ivory COast is out but they gave a whole-hearted try.

The Netherlands crowd also was booing almost as badly as the English fans. Sad. Real sad. We cut the sound off because it was so bad.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gilsch
...
It's a mediocre WC and I think so far there's only 3 teams that have looked good. Spain, Czech Rep. and the argies.
...

This WC is far from mediocre. I don't no what you mean.
Spain Czech, Argentinia and who else?;)

[reg]

The US did not play.... so I am not sure how good the Czechs are. The Argies did not really play that well against the Ivory Coast, who have now lost twice. Still 6-0 is hard not to take notice of. The 3 teams that I believe are the best are Spain, Argentina and Ecuador. My final is Spain beating Argentina. Still most of the South American teams are not tall and could lose if some of the taller EU teams start crossing the ball with some accuracy. My only bet is Mexico making it further than England. Both should make it to the second round, England coming out second in their group then losing to Ecuador. Mexico winning their group and beating Netherlands. I love three matches aday.

reg

[segovius]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
This WC is far from mediocre. I don't no what you mean.
Spain Czech, Argentinia and who else?;)

I can;t understand the mediocre view - it's got to be one of the best World Cups for decades so far. Usually the group games are shadow boxing - we've had none of that.

You've got to put Italy on that list and Ecuador are a revelation - we're only just on the second group matches remember....

Anyway, imo, it is miles better than last time in Japan when teams like Korea were not progressing on merit and no-one packing a whistle was above suspicion.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by segovius
I can;t understand the mediocre view - it's got to be one of the best World Cups for decades so far. Usually the group games are shadow boxing - we've had none of that. For decades? I didn't know you were that old. :) I meant mediocre talent wise...in general. Collectively look at Germany, England, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Brasil.... so called "powers". Entertaining it has definitely been. We'll see who's right after a few more games or rounds. Anyway, imo, it is miles better than last time in Japan when teams like Korea were not progressing on merit and no-one packing a whistle was above suspicion. I agree there. Japan/Korea was very mediocre...especially after the argies and french were eliminated in the first round. And that german team that made the it to the final...shouldn't have. They were lucky to beat the US who outplayed them a couple rounds earlier.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by reg
My final is Spain beating Argentina. Still most of the South American teams are not tall and could lose if some of the taller EU teams start crossing the ball with some accuracy. Spain is well known to have good teams and then....how can I put it mildly....to choke. And crosses did bother argentina in a recent friendly vs. england....but argentina didn't have ayala who despite being relatively short can really jump.

[soulcrusher]

I wonder why Serbia & Montenegro lost so badly against Argentina, do these guys have any experience against South American teams?

Argentina played really well, fast short passes into the box and then GOAL. That's very classy.

I wonder what Pekerman can say from today's performances by Tevez and Messi. Granted, they are great players and both scored but they came in when the match was already won. The ability of Tevez or Messi to turn around a game and win it is yet to be seen. At least they showed they are able to handle the pressure of the World Cup much better than RIbery. Neither one will be in the starting line-up against the Netherlands, Crespo and Saviola are good enough.

I think Mexico's tie against Angola is fair. And I noticed that Marquez is very good. His style is awfully like Cafu's, very neat.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gilsch
...
I meant mediocre talent wise...in general. ...

I still don't no what you mean. I don't want to
bother you with that stunning list of names, that already exists.
Pick it up by yourself.

I saw a couple of teams, which comprise some very
compelling talents (individuals) AND who
are working together brilliantly as a team.
That's what i call talent.

[soulcrusher]

Originally posted by soulcrusher
I wonder why Serbia & Montenegro lost so badly against Argentina, do these guys have any experience against South American teams?

Quote from the S&B coach:

"Today also shows that the qualifiers and the World Cup finals are two completely different things. You have to face different types of teams and the results are there for all to see. I’m not blind. "

[Gene Clean]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
I still don't no what you mean. I don't want to
bother you with that stunning list of names, that already exists.
Pick it up by yourself.

I saw a couple of teams, which comprise some very
compelling talents (individuals) AND who
are working together brilliantly as a team.
That's what i call talent.

The WC is mediocre so far. Heck, Euro 2004 was far better.

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
I still don't no what you mean. I don't want to
bother you with that stunning list of names, that already exists.
Pick it up by yourself. Well, I thank you for not bothering me. :)
I saw a couple of teams, which comprise some very
compelling talents (individuals) AND who
are working together brilliantly as a team.
That's what i call talent. There you go. "A couple". Thanks for making my point for me. I'm sure you didn't see any teams full of "names" who are playing like crap as teams? That's what I would call mediocre.

Soulcrusher: Marquez has grown into a great player. No wonder he's so important to the european club champs. In today's game I think we could see that he easily rates a little higher than the rest of his compatriots.

The argies are looking good to do a lot of damage.... I don't know if anyone noticed but the schedule has been extremely kind to them allowing them to play their 3 first round games in 11 days. Others like Brasil and Spain for example will play 3 games in 9 days.

Then in the next round they'll play weak teams (at least on paper and from what they've shown so far) such as Portugal( perpetual underachievers) or Mexico.

Even though it's a little too early to tell,as of right now.... I think it's their WC to lose.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gilsch
Well, I thank you for not bothering me. :)
There you go. "A couple". Thanks for making my point for me. I'm sure you didn't see any teams full of "names" who are playing like crap as teams? That's what I would call mediocre.

Soulcrusher: Marquez has grown into a great player. No wonder he's so important to the european club champs. In today's game I think we could see that he easily rates a little higher than the rest of his compatriots.

The argies are looking good to do a lot of damage.... I don't know if anyone noticed but the schedule has been extremely kind to them allowing them to play their 3 first round games in 11 days. Others like Brasil and Spain for example will play 3 games in 9 days.

Then in the next round they'll play weak teams (at least on paper and from what they've shown so far) such as Portugal( perpetual underachievers) or Mexico.

Even though it's a little too early to tell,as of right now.... I think it's their WC to lose.
:lol: well

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gene Clean
The WC is mediocre so far. Heck, Euro 2004 was far better.
in your humble opinion.

[Gene Clean]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
in your humble opinion.

It's as humble as yours. And no amount of ethno-centrism will make it look better.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Gene Clean
It's as humble as yours. And no amount of ethno-centrism will make it look better. :err:

[Vox Barbara]

USA vs. Italy
stunning 1:1 after first half
American squad seems to be changed entirely,
excellent effort as a team. fight against italy at full blast.
If they had a really good top scorer, they would have
scored 2 or 3 more goals.

Uhhh, i've forgot to mention that both of the teams got
a red card for really bad fouls, well.

Off to 2. half, exciting...

[Gilsch]

Originally posted by Gene Clean
It's as humble as yours. And no amount of ethno-centrism will make it look better. Ouch.

USA USA USA! Gutsy performance by the boys. Could've gone either way. And after today's performance by Ghana...it's gonna be hard. Sets up a very nice last day of play for this group though.

[New]

That was the most hilarious game so far...

[Bergermeister]

Yes, the Americans were like a different team.. couldn't have gotten worse than the last match, though, so they had only one way to go.

However, this match was really pathetic in its fouls, red cards and funny-faced coaches. Fouls everywhere with players throwing up their hands trying to claim it wasn't them who had done it.

A sad, sad, sad game for soccer. Nobody who watched that game as their first soccer game would ever takea liking to the sport.

We were not rooting for either teams, but early on thought the US was looking good and Italy was loking snobby, so we started rooting for the US. After a while, however, we started rooting for red cards.

How many players can get sent off and still have the game continue?

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by Bergermeister
...
How many players can get sent off and still have the game continue?
If there are just 6 players left, than the ref. finishes the game.
I don't no, what's going to happen than, but there is probably
a rule for that case;)

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by New
That was the most hilarious game so far...
Hilarious in what sense? Hilarious faces, hilarious decisions?
I'd say it was just weird and somewhat edgy

[Gilsch]

Hilarious how? :???: It was a fun game to watch. Both teams tried to score...sure the fouls were dirty and there was some diving...but why is that so surprising? It was the italians who were playing after all. The italians and the argentines are the masters of diving and trickery...Gattuso is funny in that regard. Touch him and he'll fly like he stepped on a land mine.

A little harsh on your criticism there Bergermeister.

As for the number of players....I believe the rules state that it's a minimum of 7 players.

[New]

Originally posted by Gilsch
Hilarious how?
It looked more like hockey than soccer in the end. The US really made the italians look like a bunch of overpaid primadonnas... I wish I could say good game, but it wasn't.

:)

[Splinemodel]

I don't know where to look and say "this is the reason why the officiating has been so miserable." I'm not so sure it's the officials themselves. If anything, the "edict" sent by the German co-ordinators is to blame. It was foolish, foolish, foolish to make said edict and expect the rules to be enforced well all of the sudden -- I feel like Nike has paid off FIFA so that everything plays into their [absolutely moronic] "Joga Bonito" campaign.

Lastly, one of the main points in the edict has been no diving. When a player slides in with a boot high, I am glad that it's an abrupt yellow, but so far, no cards for diving. If there were, half the Italian team would have been sent off today. (some exaggeration, yes.)

Originally posted by New
It looked more like hockey than soccer in the end. The US really made the italians look like a bunch of overpaid primadonnas... I wish I could say good game, but it wasn't.
:)
It was a milestone US performance. If you're American, you have to at least look at this in a positive light.

[reg]

I was with a group of about 40 to watch the games today. To say emotions were flying would be an understatement. When the Italian got the red card first most thought that we (US) had the game in hand. After the second US red I was glad we were not at my house. Everyone was jumping around and beer was spilled like summer thunderstorm. Still being a man down for almost a full half, the US played better and had more chances than Italy. To come out with the tie was great. I feel like I will be horse for a week.

reg

[Bergermeister]

Had a meeting and just turned on the J-C game a minute before half-time. The highlights sadly don't pose well for Japan; C is really working them. However, Kawaguchi is earning a pay raise with his saves. On BBC's site there is a poll over Kawaguchi. 43 percent think he's too small for the big time. Sorry, but British football isn't ready for him; he is outclassing them all.