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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
Quote:
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.
it's not going to be a South American team aside from Argentina or Brazil
I could have told you that much.
Quote:
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?
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
Comments
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.
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.
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.
European football just sucks.
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.
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.)
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.
Argentina wasn't that uber-team, everybody was suggesting.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Edit
Full time: Mexico won 3-1
What a match!
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.
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.
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.