World Cup 2006

[loner]

Yes, I'm impatient. It's a month away, but I'm impatient. The Soccer Thread is dead, so this will have to do.

The deadline for handing in the names of the squad is May 15th. So far, the biggest story is England's boy wonder Wayne Rooney, who is in metatursal hell and will be injured for 6-8 weeks. His team manager Alex Ferguson had repeatedly said that it'll take a miracle for Rooney to come back in time for the summer showcase, but without Rooney England probably don't have a chance against the world's best teams. In Euro 2004, Rooney carried England to the quarterfinals, but once he went down with an injury against Portugal, the team folded and became completely defensive-minded, allowing Portugal to come back and force penalties, which eventually resulted in England's elimination. I'm not saying England doesn't have any good players capable of carrying the team besides Rooney. But it appears England's manager Sven Goran Eriksson doesn't believe they have a chance without him. What's even worse is that Michael Owen, England's other ace striker, just returned from a very long injury layoff and looks very rusty. He'll definitely make the squad, but how much he can contribute to the team is very doubtful. Can England rely on players like Defoe, Bent, Beattie and Crouch to carry them through?

So anyways, here are the groups:
A: Germany, Poland, Costa Rica, Ecuador
B: England, Paraguay, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago
C: Argentina, Ivory Coast, Holland, Serbia & Montenegro
D: Portugal, Mexico, Iran, Angola
E: Czech Republic, USA, Italy, Ghana
F: Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Japan
G: France, South Korea, Switzerland, Togo
H: Spain, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine

So come and cheer for your teams!

[Dirty Harry]

GO NETHERLANDS!

I always cheer for the Netherlands because my Oma raised me believing they were football gods. So yeah, I'll be watching the cup this year.

^__^ USA is BALLS.

[soundchazer]

I just don't see why you have a man crush on England. The only time they won the WC was in their territory and with the help of the referee calling a very doubtful first goal which changed the whole dynamics of the match.

If they are lucky they will reach the quarterfinals.

[loner]

Eh? I have no mancrush on England, but you have to admit Rooney's injury is the biggest news that involves the World Cup at this moment. I would say that if Messi can't make it, that'll be even a bigger loss, but it looks like he'll be fine, since Pekerman named him to the training camp.

You must admit that England have some very good players. Steven Gerrard led his Liverpool team to victory in last year's Champion's League final. Frank Lampard was second only to Ronaldinho in World Player of the Year voting. And Rooney is a great talent. They have some of the best defenders in the world such as Terry and Carragher. However, i agree with you that they'll be lucky to reach quarterfinals without Rooney, not because they don't have the talent to do so, but more because of Eriksson's coaching.

Although, we should remember that they've done much more in World Cups than Mexico ;)

[C0MPL3X]

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/c/o/com5006/Red%20Devil.jpg

[soundchazer]

Although, we should remember that they've done much more in World Cups than Mexico ;)

Let's see:

- Where do players earn more money: England
- Which of the two leagues has better foreign talent? England
- Which regional nations cup is better?: The Euro cup
- Which regional club championship is better?: The Champions League

If that is not enough reason for them to do better than Mexico, the I don't know what is. The fact is that with less resources, Mexico has left a better impression than England since USA 94. The British are perenial underachievers.


More Mexicans would be in Europe right now if the European clubs weren't trying to buy their services at the equivalent wages that Americans pay illegals to pick their fruit and wash their toilets.

[oompa loompa]

GO GERMANY!!!!!!!!!!!!

[A-R@D]

I am rooting for Germany too and the USA. Those are my teams.

[Akimichi Choji]

I think it's Germany's year. They finished second in 02' and now they have homecourt advantage. Other guess's: England second, USA fourth, Mexico 8th. Its a shame Turkey or Senegal didn't qualify, otherwise they would be in my top four.

*Third place is unclear to me, but I am guessing a Latin American team(Portugal maybe?)*

[soundchazer]

I think it's Germany's year. They finished second in 02' and now they have homecourt advantage. Other guess's: England second, USA fourth, Mexico 8th. Its a shame Turkey or Senegal didn't qualify, otherwise they would be in my top four.

*Third place is unclear to me, but I am guessing a Latin American team(Portugal maybe?)*

Have you watched Germany lately? They have been awful. I don't care how good Ballack is, they just don't have the talent to get them past the quarterfinals.

As for the U.S., that is an intriguing team, but I think in a European World Cup, European teams are going to be too much for them. I'm more interested in seeing if other than the really good order they display, knowledge of the system Arena uses and speed in counter attacks, they have any real talent.

Portugal is not in Latin America, they are a European country, neighbors to Spain.

[Ninja Realist]

I kind of chuckled when I realized that the team from Serbia and Montenegro is the S&M team.























* Ninja Realist crawls in a hole and dies.

[loner]

To be honest with you SC, I'm not sure if Mexico has left a better impression than England in the past WCs. The best they've ever done in WC history is the quarterfinals, even though they've qualified 13 times before. Several players, such as Blanco, certainly did leave their mark, but as a team they should be able to do more. I do agree that England has been a perenial underachiever in the past decade. They should do much more than quarterfinals with Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, David Seaman, Tony Adams, Paul Ince and David Beckham all emergin in this era, and they've certainly failed to capitalize on Andy Cole's prime days in Manchester United.

Choji, I think you need to look much further than last World Cup's results to decide who should be the winner. Like SC has said, Germany has been god awful lately. They weren't that good in 2002 either, and managed to sneak into the finals thanks to Oliver Kahn and other powers seriously underachieving. Now Kahn has regressed so badly that he won't even be a starter next month, and the whole team has taken a step backwards talentwise. Ballack is basically carrying this team on his own shoulders, and as shown by Euro 04, that won't cut it. They'll make out of their group easily, but it could stop right there. Senegal was a Cinderella team in 2002, but they seriously overachieved that year and they had a great coach in Metsu. Now Metsu is gone and that team couldn't even beat Togo. TOGO. They'll get slaughtered in the first round even if they made it. Turkey likewise has taken a huge step backward. They failed to qualify for Euro 04 because they lost to Latvia in the playoffs. LATVIA. They won't do much even if they make it either.

Funny how we haven't heard Brazil so far. Since they're perhaps overwhelming favorites to destroy everyone and win this whole thing.

[Moe]

go saudi arabia woot!!!

also go czech rep.!!! woot!!!

edit: brazil is overrated...

[Yurika Star]

I think Brazil will win D:

Unfortunately they have 0 good players, just amazing synergy and team-work.

Rooney not playing will suck the salty one... big time. He is our attacking creativity.

I mean, Lampard and Gerrard are ****ing soldiers, they do all they can all the time and don't question it. They will play 90 minutes every game. They may even score some beautiful goals, but they aren't creative and tricky like Rooney.

Owen is a striker, not a forward. He'll probably play well with Lamps and Gerry, if he isn't to rusty, but the link up with Rooney is what would make it great. Rooney is are Midfield-Striker linking, goal scoring and creative master-mind. We have brilliant players, just not tricky players.

England probably have the best Defence in the tournament in my opinion. Probably one of the strongest central-midfields to. Joe Cole could take the world by storm on the flank, but I just can't see them being good enough to win the World Cup with out Rooney.

When it comes to them playing Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Italy or Spain I don't know how well it will go. I can't see many goals getting past England, but unles Joe Cole/Rooney are playing, all the mighty soldiers in the world won't score us enough goals in this tourney.

I want to see Spain do well, just once. Please do well for once.

I think Brazil will win, and I think there are about 5 teams who could come 2nd depending on how the draw goes. If England have Rooney, Owen and Joe Cole playing well (if at all) we should edge past the rest of the pack and challenge for the finals.

Of the teams in the toruney I think Brazil are best, then England and Argentina with Italy and Spain just behind. Holland, Mexico, France, Portugal, Czechs and Sweden will do well in my opinion. And I think Iran, Ghana, Australia and USA could do well. Iran or Ghana could get pretty far IMO.

A: Germany, Poland, Costa Rica, Ecuador - Germany then Poland or Costa Rica. Germany are lucky, if they were in another group, Brazils, Mexicos or Argentinas for instance, I think they may not have got through.

B: England, Paraguay, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago - For me England should eb first, then Sweden, but Paraguay could push both of them for the top, or atleast second.

C: Argentina, Ivory Coast, Holland, Serbia & Montenegro - Argentina and then Holland. I think Holland could shine this year, and hit atleast qaurters.

D: Portugal, Mexico, Iran, Angola - This is one of the hardest groups to call IMO. Money would be on Portugal and Mexico to go through, but I really don't think Iran are that far behind them iskill wise, it could just take one bad game from Mexico or Portugal and they're out.

E: Czech Republic, USA, Italy, Ghana - Another very tough group, all the teams in here have the potential. Italy and the Czechs are for me the all-round most talented teams in the groups. In terms of skill and solidity in the rest of the positions. Ghana have some individualy good players, and in Essien they have one of the best Midfielders in the World (aslong as he doesn't lose his head). And USA have some good players, and like the Czechs they have solidity through out the side, just not solid enough for me.

F: Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Japan - Brazil through first with out a doubt. Australia and Japan fighting it out for second IMO. Japan have some good players, Australia have atleats one player in Defence, Midfield and Attack with alot of experience and who are Premiership qaulity. Now they've finaly qaulified I think they could do well.

G: France, South Korea, Switzerland, Togo - France and South Korea for me. France, although not what they were 8 years ago are still good. They have the best striker out side Brazil in Henry. One of the best defencive-midfielders in the world in Makelele, this guy could swing it for them. And every single one of the players will want to make this an amazing Cup, if not only because it's Zizous last outting. I think this fact could push them far. South Korea are prety much what you saw last time. They were very lucky then in my opinion, but they still have a good team. I think they'll qaulify but it depends who they're against next round.

H: Spain, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine - Spain to win it. Saudi Arabia for second, but Ukraine or Tunisia could push them a bit. I think Spain ahve what it takes to do well this year. One of the best keepers in the world, one of the best strikers in the world, and alot of good talent down the flanks. There center is strong, they're a very well rounded team. They should go far... but how many times have we said that?

Also, will the Polish **** this up for everyone.

Polish football is almost more about the fights than the football lately, and alot of fighters from Poland are going to be streaming over the border looking purely for violence. This could be bad. England have a bad reputation, probably the most notorious hooligans in world football but with recent police, interpol and FA actions alot of this shit from England has been stamped out, and most of the people aren't going to get over. But with Poland we have alot of unknown people from a country where football violence is notorious with easy access to Germany. This could be bad.

Also, I hope S. Korea face England. There's a Korean guy I know who are watching this together and we're waiting for a match!

[Kaikyaku]

I think Brazil will win D:
I hope so! I'm in Brazil right now and if they win it's going to be totally nuts down here!

Too bad I don't know anything about soccer :P Time to start learning...

[Akimichi Choji]

Portugal is not in Latin America, they are a European country, neighbors to Spain.

Wow, I'm an idiot. Thanks for telling me before I said that in public and get chastized for it. No wonder I failed Geography.

ANd I know Germany has been doing poorly lately, but I stick by my pick. And Brazil better not win again, they don't need another freaking cup.

[loner]

Tell the Brazilian people that. If Ronaldo doesn't win the Cup, he better not return to Brazil anytime soon or every piece of lard on his body will be teared out.

[soundchazer]

Best excuse ever:

"A member of the Iranian Football Federation is worried that Mexico may put witch doctors on the payroll to help put a hex on Team Melli.


FFI Executive, Ali Pour even went on to suggest that recent injuries to Ali Karimi, Vahid Hashemian, and Mehdi Mahdavikian could have been influenced by this withcraft.

“Mexico are experts at psycholigical warfare, and may even use medicine men. This sorcery could have effected some of our players and may be related to the injuries of Karimi, Hashemian, and Mahdavikian in the Bundesliga.” Luckily for Iran, the players’ faith will help them ward off these evil Mexican spirits.

“We have taken adequate measures to counter this type of trickery, and we beleive that true beleivers will never succumb to this type of magic. The Iranian team has a very profound faith, which will protect them like an unpenetrable fortress.”"

They should be preparing their players instead of coming up with lame excuses. If the public in Iran believes that, then they are dumber than a doorknob.

[loner]

Ah the wonderful paranoia that precedes World Cups. It never runs out of good, fun stories. All we need is one or two creative streakers to light up the mood even furthere ;)

[Major Tom]

I don't follow sports, but since this is the first time Australia has been in the world cup in 30 years....I might keep an eye on things.

Yay Australia!

Only problem is that Japan and Croatia are in the same group, 2 countries I have particular attachments to. Damnit, I'm gonna have to get me a Austro-Japano-Croatian hat!

[Yurika Star]

England's World Cup sqaud has been revealed.

England squad:
Paul Robinson (Tottenham), David James (Manchester City), Robert Green (Norwich); Gary Neville (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea); David Beckham (Real Madrid), Michael Carrick (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham); Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

Stand-by: Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Young (Charlton), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace).

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=385352&CPID=4&clid=114&lid=13&title=England+name+World+Cup+squad


Ok, inhteresting. It seems VERY hit and miss, especialy up-front. I don't like the depth on either side of defence either. I think midfield is fine, centraly, defencively and on the wings.

But upfront.. interesting. Rooney, currently injured. Owen, injured since christmas. Crouch, lanky barstard and slowly dicovering a scoring touch. Walcott, never played in the premiership, one for the future, he could blow out or suprise alot of people... who knows. I wanted to see him in the sqaud, but I'm a bit wary as two of the other options aren't looking to fit. Crouch and Walcott could make an interesting pairing if we're through the group stages with a game in hand.

[loner]

I don't understand Eriksson's infactuation with Crouch. The guy's a taller and thinner version of Heskey, both sterile in the international stage to boot. He can hold up the ball well and open up room for his strike partner, but you are basically laying the burden on that guy to score. As it is now, Rooney will likely only return in the quarters, Owen won't be that fit. So you are putting all the scoring burden on that poor kid? He needs to have a Rooney-esque arrival to the international stage if England is to succeed.

But you never know. Van Basten have thrown kids who only played 3 or 4 professional matches their entire career, and only played reserve and youth games until that point, directly into the national squad, and they don't look out of place. Don't know if Walcott is made of the same mould as Emmanuelson, Vlaar, Maduro and Babel though.

[soundchazer]

It seems to me that Eriksson's group will be doomed because of the lack of scorers. If you have 2 players with little possibility of excelling because of injuries like Owens and Rooney, you should go for some proven scorers from the Premiership instead.

[loner]

Alright, 2 days before the Cup. Here's something to get everyone excited about the Cup:

http://cellar.org/iotd.php?threadid=10935

On a more serious note, nepotism seems to be threatening to derail the preparation of both former Yugoslavian teams, Croatia and Serbia & Montenegro. Croatian coach Zlatko Kranjcar included his son Niko in the squad, which led to media outcry who claim Niko is unfit and called him "Fatty". Serbian coach Ilija Petkovic also tried to include his son Dusan in the squad, but Dusan was forced to withdraw after media outbursts. I've never heard of Dusan Petkovic so I can't say much in the Serbian case, but I do know that fit or not, Niko Kranjcar is probably the best Croatian player right now and his playmaking skills could be Croatia's no. 1 chance of achieving something in this tournament. Since apparently the media was angry that he WASN'T included in the squad for Euro 04, I find their reaction right now rather hypocritical.

[PsychoSaiya-jin]

I'm personally hoping Italy drop out as soon as possible. They make football boring.

[Rove]

If the idea of soccer-ants doesn't excite you enough, perhaps you'll be even less excited after visiting this site: World Cup Widows Club (http://www.worldcupwidowsclub.com/index.php). One of the most odd (and still PG-13) I've seen in recent days. Make sure you visit their forums and bleed your eyes out in pain.

On more World Cup related news, the other teams have absolutely no chance of defeating Argentina this time around, cause we've got Saber on our side!

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3314/sabersoccer5vs.jpg

(I just found this image in a blog, and just had to share it! BTW, I have no idea if it's photoshopped or not -seems likely- and I have no idea who made it if that's the case).

[PsychoSaiya-jin]

If the idea of soccer-ants doesn't excite you enough, perhaps you'll be even less excited after visiting this site: World Cup Widows Club (http://www.worldcupwidowsclub.com/index.php). One of the most odd (and still PG-13) I've seen in recent days. Make sure you visit their forums and bleed your eyes out in pain.

On more World Cup related news, the other teams have absolutely no chance of defeating Argentina this time around, cause we've got Saber on our side!

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3314/sabersoccer5vs.jpg

(I just found this image in a blog, and just had to share it! BTW, I have no idea if it's photoshopped or not -seems likely- and I have no idea who made it if that's the case).
Of course it's shopped. There's no way our King of the Britains would be playing for the Argies!
[those colours were probably chosen because they're close to her armor-colours..]

[Finnf00]

I'm personally hoping Italy drop out as soon as possible. They make football boring.I think the recent scandals have been rather refreshing. ;)

Seriously though. I'll put my money on Croatia. They're a more skilled version of Greece in Euro 2004 and a very tought team to play against. Ivory Coast might shock and go through to the second round, leaving one of the favourites (Argentina or Holland) on third spot. My semi-final teams would be Croatia, Germany, Australia and Italy. A two out of four correct would be a real shocker.

We'll just have to see.

[Rove]

Of course it's shopped. There's no way our King of the Britains would be playing for the Argies!
That just goes off to prove you that even The King joins our team!

And what is this Argies you speak of? Do you perhaps mean to refer to the band Argies (http://www.argies.net/) or this (http://www.twochapstalking.com/dictarchive/000220.html) Argies? Just gotta love the 'Two Chaps Talking' Dictionary... and I do know which one you're referring to, no need to explain any further.

[soundchazer]

Watching PSJ and Rove arguing brings me Flashbacks of myself going into the Aztec Stadium for the England vs. Argentina match in 1986 and watching a bunch of Argentinian hooligans (oh the irony!) burning Union Jack flags.

[Akimichi Choji]

You all see the friendly between England and Jamaica. Crouch, just getting more godly every game. Although Rooney may be out, I think Crouch and Owen will pick up some much needed slack. And Beckham with those assists, just showing us all he's still one of the best in the world. And being a HUGE Liverpool supporter, I am exceedingly proud of Crouch for his hat trick. I still think Germany has it, but if anyone but them wins, it's the Brit's. Jolly good mates jolly good.
<<<<<<can say such stupid things cause he's half british :3

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Buddy, it's JAMAICA.

[Akimichi Choji]

Never the less, still a very impressive win.

[kLaUS]

im going with germany this year,, i know that everyone is saying that they dont have a chance, but i think is just speculation.. Go GErmaNY !!!!!!
but been realist, any good european team is gona take the cup , of course if they take out brazil (is not impossible), like england, or italy...

Go GErmaNY !!!!!!

[loner]

Again, buddy, it's JAMAICA!!!! As in clumsy defenders who don' t know how to handle beanpoles like Crouch. But you can be sure that Olof Mellberg, who is his old teammate and have dealt with him numerous times, will know. Owen still looks unfit. Maybe this means Crouch will score a hat trick against Trinidad. Granted we can't even be certified of that. Trinidad qualified from an abysmally weak CONCACAF region. Jamaica couldn't even get into the second round of qualifying of this abysmally weak CONCACAF region. I count this victory as about the same level as Germany's romping against Luxembourg and Brazil's fun-filled afternoon against New Zealand. Good for morale-boosting, confidence and getting some workout to improve fitness, but means squat in predicting a team's performance in an actual WC match.

[soundchazer]

Although Trinidad & Tobago does suck and blow at the same time, they do have a very competent coach in Leo Beenhaker, and are a bit better than their reputation.

[Shinomori]

My World Cup predictions (I can't be bothered to type out the group stages):

The Last Sixteen

Match a - Group A winners Germany beat Group B runners-up Sweden
Match b - Group C winners Holland beat Group D runners-up Mexico
Match c - Group B winners England beat Group A runners-up Poland
Match d - Group D winners Portugal beat Group C runners-up Argentina
Match e - Group E winners Italy beat Group F runners-up Japan
Match f - Group G winners France beat Group H runners up Ukraine
Match g - Group F winners Brazil beat Group E runners-up Czech Republic
Match h - Group H winners Spain lose to Group G runners-up Switzerland

The Quarter-Finals

QF 1 - Match a winners Germany lose to Match b winners Holland
QF 2 - Match e winners Italy beat Match f winners France
QF 3 - Match c winners England beat Match d winners Portugal
QF 3 - Match g winners Brazil beat Match h winners Switzerland

The Semi-Finals

SF A - QF 1 winners Holland lose to QF 2 winners Italy
SF B - QF 3 winners England beat QF 4 winners Brazil

3rd/4th place

SF A losers Holland lose to SF B losers Brazil

The Final

SF A Winners Italy lose to SF B winners England

2006 FIFA World Champions

England :D

[loner]

Everyone is welcome to drop by #footytalk on IRC during the World Cup and have fun discussing/hyping/dissing whichever teams!

[Nicotine]

I don't know who I'm rooting for this year. I think I'll be neutral and just sit back and watch. Usually my family roots for Nigeria (we're from Nigeria) but the didn't qualify this year ;__;. I kind of feel sorry for the people in Brazil's group. I think as long as the have Ronaldo it's going to be hard to take them down.

[Rove]

I kind of feel sorry for the people in Brazil's group. I think as long as the have Ronaldo it's going to be hard to take them down.
Quite the contrary, I think. Ronaldo has not played well for quite some time now and he is more of a figure than an actual good player. Ronaldinho and Adriano are IMO the strongest players in Brazil's team. Plus, according to several not-in-English newspapers, poor Ronaldo has a flu/cold due to temperature changes, so he has not been able to practice. And I'm just a tad bit sad that he couldn't get that flu/cold in a week or so, when he actually has to play. :rolleyes:

[Yurika Star]

Yea, there's been alot fo speculation around Ronaldo's fitness.

Best case scenario for Brazil; he's not completely fit and this is worst because of his weight, but generaly i believe he will play better than he has this season because of Brazil's playing mentality and the fact that he's playing at international level for Brazil. We've said Ronaldo hasn't had it for the last 2 World Cups, lets not say it again and cry when he gets the Golden Boot.

ALSO, the most possitive thing from the England v Jamaica game was seeing Croush SET A GOAL UP BY USING HIS STUPIDLY HUGE BODY. If he does this more he's doing his job.

[Nicotine]

Looks like people better watch out for Germany. Coasta Rica needs to beat up their goalie. -_-

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Er... exactly which of Lahm's amazing freekick, Klose's conversion of a pass through the box, Klose's conversion of a rebound from an already great save, or Frings' blast from 30 yards was the keeper exactly supposed to save but didn't?

[loner]

Goalie was decent. Unless he's elastic-man, there's no way he can save Lahm and Frings' wondergoals. And Klose's goals there's even less he could do about them. That was just horrible marking from his defenders.

Germany played a good game against Costa Rica and looked good in attack. They can take a lot of positives out of this game. But this is an expected result. If anything, other powerhouses will look at their very questionable defence with their flopping offside traps and Arne Friedrich playing everyone onside. Costa Rica was mincemeat, and the other teams in Group A probably won't be able to take much advantage of that later, but once they get to the knockout rounds, England and especially Sweden will kill them for that.

[soundchazer]

I actually think that Germany didn't do that good. Given that Costa Rica has an aged team, and that they are playing in Germany, the difference between the two should have been more notorious.

[Yurika Star]

+ Sharper attack then I expected. More goals than i expected. More creativity than I expected with out Ballack.

- It was Costa Rica. They played well, but not exceptionaly and it was Costa Rica. A defence with more holes than Swiss Cheese.

[loner]

Poland was extremely disappointing. I know they are a mediocre team, but I thought they were one of the better ones that can grind out a result against lesser oppositions. Turns out they are old, sluggish and stationary in defence. They played just like any other mediocre Euro team, kept the ball and do nice short passes and stay organized, but offer nothing when actually attacking and boring overall. Zurawski was toothless and they wasted so many balls.

Ecuador on the other hand looks really good. Agustin Delgado used to be better, but they don't need him to be great. They are opportunistic goal scorers and pounced on the chances that came to them, and good strikers do that. Their defence was rock solid, the best defensive effort I've seen from the 4 teams that played today. I've heard of Espinoza but I'm convinced that he's one hell of a defender from his performance today, and Ivan Hurtado seems to get better with age. They have question marks over goalkeeping maybe since Mora was a bit reckless on a few plays, and their distribution can sometimes be found wanting, but they play with great energy, something Poland sorely lacked. I don't even think they've showed all their cards in this game. I've seen a few highlights from their qualifiers, and their midfielders, especially Edison Mendez, can rip them from any distance. That would be a great hidden weapon to utilize if the strikers don't get enough chances.

[soundchazer]

England - Yawn
Paraguay - 0

If that is the best England can do, they will have a hard time making it to the quarterfinals.

How about Trinidad & Tobago?

So far, the European teams have been boring, predicatble and more about strength than technique. Again... boooring.

[loner]

I actually thought Germany was quite entertaining. Both in their spectacular goals and comical defending. That game against Costa Rica was rather fun IMO. But yeah, Poland, and apparently England and Sweden (I didn't see those 2 games), were all rather drab. England I expected because of the Sven factor, Sweden's strikers seem to have died and Poland is just mediocre. I think Holland and Portugal will be way more fun.

Argentina vs. Ivory Coast was a good match though. Argentina looks very capable, but Ivory Coast matched their level of play throughout the game. What Ivory Coast lacked however was Argentina's clinical finishing. Kalou had 2 chances in the first half that he should've taken, but he completely fluffed his lines. In any other group, they could challenge for the top spot, but in this group this one fault could be a huge difference. Pekerman surprised me with his selections once again, but Saviola looks very good. His goal was a brilliant play that completely destroyed Ivory Coast's offside trap. Riquelme was also excellent. He's the epitome of Argentina: looking ponderous, slow and listless for stretches of the game, then suddenly delivering a few killer touches and before you know it you are down by a few goals. In fact, when they actually take the game to the opponent, Argentina actually plays a lot worse.

England needs strikers, but strikers they don't have. Owen looks unfit and Crouch was crap. I guess it's time to throw on the wild card.

[soundchazer]

Argentina showed 2 faces really. They were great on the first half but dissapeared on the second. That is the problem with Riquelme... he is not consistent, and if he is having a bad game, then Argentina has a bad game. I see Argentina having a hard time making things happen when a good team does good marking, just like Mexico did in the last Confederations Cup (with Argentina using practically the same players).

[Yurika Star]

Saviola looks very good. His goal was a brilliant play that completely destroyed Ivory Coast's offside trap.
By being offside.

Ivory Coast vs Arg was an ace game, good through out. Wanted The Elephants to win but... offside.

Englands and Sweedens games were not great. Both teams never looked like conceeding, but neither team looked like scoring that many (if any). But Paraguay aren't a BAD team, but England lacked a creative spark and Sven did nothing to change that really. Joe Cole moving to the center worked well for about 10 minutes, but the 5 in midfield with Crouch as the solo striker wasn't gona work, especialy when Joe Cole went off cause of a niggling injury through a tackle. Owen wasn't fit either. And in the last 20 minutes Sven resigned him self to a 1-0 win through an OG, evident in bringing on Hargreaves insted of Theo, Lennon or Jenas. Our midfield and defence looked solid through out (except one mistake by A. Cole when he slipped over and conceeded possion on the flank), but our attack looked lacking, we need Rooney.

T+T though.... watching that game, a more clinical strike force should've scored, they had alot of opportunities but nothing ever came of any of them, except one where Hislop pulled off a fine point blank save. Where as the one or two chances T+T had looked like they could've gone in, hitting the bar for instance.

Roll on Holland, Portugal and Mexico v Iran. Portgual should breeze it, Holland should win it and I hope to see Mexico beat Iran, but don't under estimate Iran, EVEN AFTER THE MEXICAN WITCH DOCTORS DID THERE THING!

[soundchazer]

They must be confusing us with Haiti.

And Saviola was not offside... Crespo was and he did not participate in the score, so it was legit. I saw like a gazillion reviews of it, and Saviola did start his run legit.

One thing I noticed is that England's undoing might come at the hands of their keeper. The few times he was tested, he always appeared to do the wrong thing and had to be bailed out by the defense. Mark my words on that one.

[loner]

His performances over the past 4 seasons doesn't correspond to your assessment SC, but this is Paul Robinson's first big tournament, so we never know. Maybe a bit too much pressure? Still, he's very capable usually and can make out of this world saves, so I wouldn't just judge him after one game. Still, England can't worry about him right now, since their other options are Calamity James and Liverpool's third string keeper Carson. English goalkeeping is going a downhill, and they better hope that Paul Robinson can step up. He's still young so they can ride him for 10 years or so if he stays at a top level.

And SC's right. Saviola was not offside, Crespo was. It's the passive offside rule. I don't think it's a good rule, but it's a rule and Argentina made good use of it. You wonder if Crespo is really not active in the play. He served as a perfect decoy to break that trap, since the Ivorian defence looked at Crespo when they set the trap and was undone by it. He was actually part of the play, but according to the rules he is not, and that's all Argentina need. Saviola made a perfect run, and he is so fast that by the time the ball from Riquelme came, he was already in front of Crespo and scored the goal. Don't ever underestimate the Little Rabbit's pace. Unlike the earlier traps that was broken, this one was actually set up well, but was undone by the Argentine's creativity.

[soundchazer]

Mexico 3
Iran 1

Mwahahahaha

[PsychoSaiya-jin]

Interesting. Been watching a few of the games here and there and alot of matches have been alot less clinical than you would have expected. Portugal v Angolia for example.
Maybe its because of the heat, but it looks like some of the african teams could've given us some big upsets if they were luckier or more polished.

I'm happy with England's performance sofar, but I have a feeling that a racking up of injuries and yellows will become a big problem further down the line.

There's supposed to be a big clamp-down on diving this tournament but I've already seen some spectacular ones already. Anyone want to nominate outstanding observations on "Dive Watch"? :D

[soundchazer]

If playing on a tempreature of 26C is considered hot for the European teams, then they are a bunch of pu$$ies.

Try playing at 40C, which is not unheard of in Mexican matches (most teams over here play during daytime).

After watching the matches,I'm less worried about Portugal, and a bit more about Angola that I was before the match.

As fas as the Netherlands vs. Serbia Montenegro, there were some moments here and there of nice football, but for the most part they were just fouling each other to stop any clear advance. Netherlands were not that awe inspiring (although that goal was a nice team play).

Once more, the European teams have been quite underwhelming.

[loner]

Actually, no team have been awe-inspiring so far, and the best team I've seen so far have been Holland. Argentina looked good, but their lackadaisical approach could be a problem. Germany's back four is leaking. Portugal still look inconsistent and unconvincing, though if they could get Figo going that could be a huge bonus. They're missing their main playmaker Deco, and once he comes back they'll be much better IMO. England needs to stop blaming the heat and get their act together, as well as finding a striker who looks like he can score. Mexico did well to beat Iran, a team that I do rate since, but there are still a few things to think about. They looked out of it until a Iranian mistake allow them to pounce and take the 2-1 lead, and then got in the momentum and got another one. They'll easily get out of this group now, but in that game they lacked inspiration until Zinha got it going, so there's some worries here. Borgetti's injury will be a huge problem. Bravo looks very good, but Franco and Fonseca never really got into the game. And for all your hyping about Franco, SC, he doesn't look all that great in the few games I saw him. Maybe he'll get it right soon, but so far I can see why Argentina never bothered with him. Why didn't Zinha start? He was the most impressive player in that game even though he only played half of it.

I don't think you need to be awe-inspiring to win the Cup. Holland knows that especially. They've been very impressive in the past but haven't won anything except a Euro. A few nice plays is all you need to win games, and Arjen Robben is very capable of making nice plays. However, he was a bit of a ball hog and need to look for his teammates more. Van Basten drop this kind of players since he is very much a team guy. He already dropped a LOT of stars in favor of team players. Nevertheless, Serbia is a very good team with solid defence, and they weren't bad today either. They just lack any punch at all up front. They need to try the 6'8 Zigic from the start of the game next game instead of the old, rusted Milosevic.

I guess we'll just wait for "awe-inspiring" stuff from Brazil.

[soundchazer]

Franco has been injured, and never really got to train at full speed until about 2 weeks ago. He does however looked much better today than he did in the friendlies, which means he is getting to a good level when needed. Plus, he was part of the reason Mexico got the first goal, and that counts a lot.

[Yurika Star]

Arjen Robben vs Group C.

Ohh yea, only saw the Holland game last night, the other games were 12 and 3am and I had to teach in the morning.

BUT NOW, they changed my time table and I only teach 4 lessons a week... world cup here I come.

[Akimichi Choji]

England - Yawn
Paraguay - 0

If that is the best England can do, they will have a hard time making it to the quarterfinals.

How about Trinidad & Tobago?

So far, the European teams have been boring, predicatble and more about strength than technique. Again... boooring.
Well considering Rooney is still out, they didnt do to bad. And hey, at least they won.

[soundchazer]

The problem is, Rooney has not been playing at all. Even if they put him in, will he be fit for a game and game-speed ready?

I don't care how good he is... he is still human.

At least the England of McManaman, Platt, Seaman, etc. was fun to watch, even if the talent wasn't supposedly as good as this team's.

[Nicotine]

Man, putting in Cahill was a really good idea for Austrailia...so many goals in the last few minutes @_@. I thought the Japanese goal was fine though...I didn't really think the Australian goalie got fouled, but oh well.

[Two-twenty]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/Twotwenty/aaa.gif http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/Twotwenty/aaa.gif http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/Twotwenty/aaa.gif http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/Twotwenty/aaa.gif

[Sorrow-kun]

I thought the Japanese goal was fine though...I didn't really think the Australian goalie got fouled, but oh well.You're kidding, right?

Glorious game of football, one that I don't think I'll ever forget. Australia really is now a genuine chance of getting out of the group stage.

[Nicotine]

You're kidding, right?

No, I'm not.

Anyway, it's going to be interesting to see them play against Brazil. I don't remeber if they play them first or Croatia.

[Rove]

Brazil will be playing against Croatia tomorrow. Other than that, congrats to the Aussies, that was certainly unexpected.

[soundchazer]

Not a surprise to me, if you have been watching at the Aussies lately. They have become a real pain the butt lately. I recall a match against Mexico a couple of years ago, and boy, they were tough.

[ShinoMatrix]

* ShinoMatrix dances around.

Yeeeeeeaah!

[Moe]

and the czek beat the USA 3-0 what a game... poor poor usa...

[A-R@D]

USA looking completley outmatched. The Czech team I think had too many elite vetrans for the USA to deal with. Both in size and positioning the Czechs showed their experience, while the USA's inexperience was clear.

[soundchazer]

Well... this happens when your team gets younger. Except for Reyna and Donovan, most of the midfield and defense are brand new, and it showed.

I expected more of a match out of the U.S., to be honest.

[kLaUS]

so,, italy won,, and it looks like they arent that great... i really thought they were gonna be favorites but after this match against ghana who played really awfull, they are obviously not winning agaisnt stronger teams like germany and brazil.

GO GERMANY !!!!

[Major Tom]

It's been all over the news on all the channels, taking up well over half of the usual half hour time slot for morning news. Australia 3, Japan 1. What a great result. I did not forget about the game laast night. Honest. It was.....on too late. Yeah, didn't want too stay up too late >.>

This was a very important win for Australia, being our first appearance in the world cup in over 30 years, and our first ever win in a world cup final. Next we play Brazil on....Sunday, I believe. The experts here at home are not expecting us to win against Brazil, but they reckon we will give them a real good run for their money. Australian sports teams have a don't give up attitude that, like SC said, is a real pain in the arse for other teams.

Oh, and those who said the goalie didn't get fouled, look again. He was pushed down by 2 players, and add to the fact that the referee actually apologised after the match for not awarding the foul...well, if you think otherwise, you're smoking something.

Anyways, as the fanbois are shouting, Bring on Brazil!

[Finnf00]

Not a surprise to me, if you have been watching at the Aussies lately. They have become a real pain the butt lately. I recall a match against Mexico a couple of years ago, and boy, they were tough.Same here. That's why I think they'll be among the top four teams this year. Anyone watching Premier League matches this year, will know the importance of the Aussies to their respective sides. Most obviously Cahill for Everton.

I also still believe in Croatia's chances of going through. It'll be tough between them and the Aussies for sure. Too bad they couldn't capitalize on the many opportunities they had agaist Brazil. The poor Brazilians looked somewhat outmatched on occasion in the second half. If there's any team that could beat Brazil, it would be a team like Croatia. Very physical, yet possessing more talent than a team like say, Australia. I also think the Swiss will go far this year, possibly even reaching the semi's. It's a very young team, filled with talent and relentless attitude. If only the entire team keeps defending like they did in the match against Frace it'll be a very tough team to beat.

[Yurika Star]

The one match I decide to miss so I can play DotA and it's 4-0 to Spain.... i suck.

[Moe]

man... saudi vs tunisia... tunisia tied the game in the added time... it was a good game... ending score 2:2

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

And Germany pulls one out at the death. Wow. Still, I suppose they definitely deserved the game, but it really should have been 3, 4-0. At least 2.

Ukraine, I am decidedly underwhelmed, but I still think they can pose trouble for teams later on.

[Finnf00]

And Germany pulls one out at the death. Wow. Still, I suppose they definitely deserved the game, but it really should have been 3, 4-0. At least 2.Too bad for Poland. They really would've deserved a point for such fantastic defending. Jelen was in my mind the man of the match. I mean this guy looks destined to leave his current "no-name" team in the near future. He ran more than the entire German team put together and seemed pretty composed whenever he got the ball. What worries me is that Finland will face Poland in their opening match of the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers. Since they probably won't qualify from the group, they'll probably be looking for a consolation after a dissapointing World Cup. And this spells trouble for our team.

[Akimichi Choji]

Well at least the US isn't the most disgraced loser, thankyou Ukraine. Well Impressive win by Ecuador 3-0 against Costa Rica. England plays Trinidad in about 10 minutes so looking forward to that.

And I think if the US pulls it together for saturday, they got a good shot at beating Italy.

[loner]

Hmm, these past 3 no-internet days have been painful...

First of all, on the Japan goal against Australia. Absolutely torrid call. That was not a goal, period, and the ref himself admitted that. Keepers are protected species in the 6 yard box. You don't touch him period, and both Yanagisawa and Takahara bumped Schwarzer down on that play. No goal. But even with that help, Japan look listless and tired. I'm really sick and tired of the heat excuse. EVERYBODY is playing through it, and you had 2 weeks to prepare for stuff like this. If you can't deliver, you can't deliver. Even with the heat wave, the Japanese's fitness level was shockingly low, which makes me wonder what kind of workouts Zico is making the team do. They are obviously not working.

Another team that really disappointed me was the US. I thought they had something going, that they were going uphill and improving. They took a major step back against the Czechs. Czechs are an aging side, but still outworked and outplayed the much younger, physical and faster Americans. SC, there's an impressive European team for you. Rosicky is a steal for Arsenal, as long as he doesn't get into one of those season-ending injuries again. I hope Jan Koller could come back soon. A friend told me Onyewu is tall enough to mark Koller. When I saw the match with the two side-by-side, Koller is taller than Onyewu by a head. And he wasn't marked very well, since he easily scored.

The Aussies really impressed. I was a bit worried after seeing their friendly results, but they showed sheer tenacity throughout the game, and it paid off. I feel for Kawaguchi who had been one of the better Japanese players in that game, but that was a mistake that he will never be able to forget. Tim Cahill will be a big star in a few more years. He is very near a complete midfielder right now, and will develop into Lampard/Gerrard/Ballack-esque star turn as long as he stays healthy. Like all Hiddink teams, this side have a lot of heart. Sometimes that's all it takes to be successful.

Poland improved a lot after their disappointing opener, but that team has a habit of tanking until it's too little, too late. Jelen does look pretty decent, but one man doesn't make a team, and overall they still lack sharpness in front of goal. Germany benefitted from a red card and a last minute play. They need to drop Friedrich. So far he had been dreadful. Use Odonkor more, or try Marcell Jansen. Maca, I could think of scarier teams than Poland to face. I think Poland can be beaten by quality sides quite easily, but Finland needs to improve itself before it can worry about others.

Ukraine was sad. I had higher hopes for that team, Sheva or not. They defended well as a good, organized unit during qualifying. They looked like a mess out there yesterday. And ZOMG, Carles Puyol. He needs to make more charges up front if he can repeat those kind of plays. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia both look distinctly a class beneath the rest of the teams in the tournament. That match was mistake-ridden and both sides are filled with gaping holes. The match itself was exciting enough, since both teams keep creating dangerous situations for themselves. If Ukraine can rebound from their Spanish setback, they can take these two out pretty easily.

Ecuador has also qualified from Group A now. They really impressed in this tournament. They are one of the more well-rounded teams in the tournament, with a very good defence, a decent midfield, and good strikers who take their chances. A team to watch for sure.

Nobody said this yet, but France was horrible. Absolutely dreadful. I intentionally missed that match because I suspected what was going to happen. And I was right. A dreadful match. Switzerland is young and full of energy, and could cause a few more upsets. Their defence look very solid, but I've seen enough of Senderos to know that he is rather inconsistent. They need to find a better striker than Frei though (unfortunately I don't think they have one). He missed so many chances that he had to resort to using his fist to score. Too bad he didn't realize that Djourou was right behind him and would've scored if his fist wasn't in the way. Anyways, a match between two defensive 4-5-1s definitely doesn't make good matches. Zidane looks old, Ribery lacks composure, Henry looks paralyzed and the rest lack any creativity. This team looks moribund.

Finally, a shout for a very brave Croatian side. Maca ain't making things up, this is a good team. I feel they need a bit more creativity and finishing to really be a force to be reckon with, but they gave Brazil a mighty scare. Brazil needs to be better. People say they are just warming up and there's no problem, but I wonder. Ronaldo's form inversely proportional to his weight, and I don't know if he'll get any better. Adriano has also been in poor form the past season, and looks rather ponderous in that game as well. Ronaldinho had a muted game, but he will get better. Kaka was good. Robinho did good things coming off the bench, but had more flashes than actual finishes. People say it's pretty much their cup to lose, but they have a lot of holes to be exploited. They have all the best players in the world, yes, but Real Madrid's past 3 trophy-less years show that a bunch of great players != great team.

[soundchazer]

Hey Loner, I never said I dislike European football, just that many of the teams were too hyped and have been underwhelming.

One country that has definitely benefitted from finally sending players to other countries is Spain. The pace that is kept in Great Britain has added that extra something that they have been missing for years. Still, I wonder if this match against Ukraine was a mirage or not. It is true that everything was going Spain's way, but I find a bit hard to figure out if it was because they were really THAT great, or Ukraine just stinks. Of course, playing most of the second half with 10 men (undeservedly so) must have taken any fighting spirit out of them.

As for the Czechs, while I love them dearly (and have done so since the Euro Cup in 96), I think they will have a hard time making it all the way because most of their key players are already old (I wish we could clone Medved, who is just a treat to see in action). While age is not very noticeable during the first matches, it is VERY noticeable once you reach the knock out phases of the tournament. This same argument could be an achilles heel for Brazil too, who relies on two old wingers (Cafu and Roberto Carlos) and an overweight forward. This is probably the most vulnerable version Brazil has taken to a World Cup since 1990 (and the most boring since the 1994 version, which coincidentaly was also a Parreira team).

As for the U.S., it is time for them to start looking outside the U.S. for their next group of coaches. Given their natural inclinations, maybe a Dutch coach would be great, since they rely more on shifts on the field and speed, than a midfield virtuoso. Seriously, Arena's apathy during the match shows me he is not the guy to take them to the next level. Pointing out fingers in public is probably the second worse thing he could do at this point. Overall, he has been one of the most overrated coaches out there. I would be surprised if anyone gives him a vote of confidence after this World Cup. And again, I think the collegiate system from which they extract most of their players should also be revisited, or their entire program will crash. For once, they should realize that when it comes to soccer, not everything is best done in house. Mexico is a good example, since the team did not start having any success in the international level until Menotti went there to change the perspective of the Mexican player.

[loner]

Well SC, you were saying Euro teams so far have been boring and predictable, so I merely pointed out a Euro team that has impressed with free-flowing football that displays great passing and can score a variety of goals from different sources. The Czechs have the pace to attack from the middle and outrun defences, can send crosses from the flanks to their huge strikers in the middle, and have players who are very capable shooters from long distances. The only problem I thought they have were their age, but they have young, dynamic players like Rosicky who'll be a nightmare for any team.

I must say, England got lucky again. They were held by Trinidad and made no good chances until Rooney came on. Rooney didn't do anything really, but his presence was a huge morale boost. It seems that this team thinks they can't beat anybody without Rooney, but thinks they can beat everybody with him. It's a bit sad that a team with so many talented players is completely dependant on one kid who looks like a Geordie hick.

Sweden is pretty much through to the next round too, thanks to a late Ljungberg clincher. Ibrahimovic is in the crapper right now. He can't do anything right. And Larsson don't score now. Their midfield of Kallstrom, Ljungberg and Wilhelmsson look very impressive, but they need to find goal scorers. I wonder why they are confining Marcus Rosenborg on the bench. Maybe he can find a goal for them.

It's only the second round of matches in the WC, and already 3 teams are starting to pack. Hopefully not too many more will join them in packing, so we can have some entertaining matches in the final round.

[Sorrow-kun]

What concerns me about Australia is that we truly are in the group of death. Watching Brazil and Croatia, both teams played better than Australia did against Japan. Brazil has the infinite talent and Croatia showed courage and tenacity in a match they eventually went down in. Australia needs to draw against at least one of them (if not both), and that's going to be a tough task given the form those two teams are in... let alone beating one of them. I can't help but be veeery veeery nervous (although I prefer this nervous feeling to the one the nation has had for the last 32 years, lacking a team to follow in the tournament).

Let's not dwell on how pathetic Ukraine was, Spain were seriously impressive in their absolutely dominant performance. Of all the matches I've seen so far, I don't think any team has destroyed their opponent as thoroughly as Spain did against Ukraine (I didn't see Czech v USA). If I had to pick an early favourite on form in the first round, it'd be Spain.

Equador will beat Germany. Germany have been rather underwhelming in both their victories, particularly against Poland. Even after Poland got reduced to ten men, Germany struggled to score their winner. Germany have just done nothing to impress me, and I think they'll struggle to make the quarter-finals. Equador, on the other hand, were good. I think they've silenced their critics who said they'll struggle away from home, and they were very respectable against a Costa Rica team that wasn't all bad.

[Akimichi Choji]

I must say, England got lucky again. They were held by Trinidad and made no good chances until Rooney came on. Rooney didn't do anything really, but his presence was a huge morale boost. It seems that this team thinks they can't beat anybody without Rooney, but thinks they can beat everybody with him. It's a bit sad that a team with so many talented players is completely dependant on one kid who looks like a Geordie hick.

Oh yeah, when Rooney came on thats some of the best cheering Ive heard in years. And the Crouch Rooney combo did far better then Crouch and Owen. Plus AMAZING assist by Beckham, showing again he is possibly the best player in the world right now(Screw Ronaldino). And Crouch after missing that first headers gets a nice one in there. Plus Gerrard(should be England's captain) gets a beautiful kick in there. Plus my Dad being from Liverpool gives me a great boost since both scorers(Gerrard and Beckham) play for Liverpool.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Yep. David Beckham. Liverpool.

Crouch's one strike (and really, he didn't even have to do anything) does not atone for his eight or nine misses, not to mention that volley where somehow, the ball didn't even make it over the goal line. Beckham makes one good cross, and he's the best player in the game? England are tremendously lucky that a) John Terry's on their team, and b) it was Trinidad. A better team could have easily converted a few times on that English 11 by halftime.

As for Gerrard being the captain, he was invisible until his goal, and his goal only happened because Trinidad abandoned their D to push for an equaliser. If anything, Terry should be captain.

[loner]

David Beckham best player in the world? He made a few good chances and crossed a nice ball. I can count 100 players in the world who could do that. Better than Ronaldinho? How many trophy have he won in the past 3 years? Ronaldinho has 1 Champions League trophy, 2 La Liga titles and twice World Player of the Year. Beckham have won zilch since moving to Real Madrid. And in that game, he made that assist while being pushed back to right back. Go figure.

I don't know if you understand my post. I'm saying that if England's hopes hang completely on Rooney, their chances of success are very slim. Peter Crouch cannot be relied on to score. He had 10 chances against Trinidad and scored only one, and one that he had to tug the defender's dreadlocks to score. He won't get so many chances against superior teams with defenders that know how to deal with a 6'7 beanpole who can't finish worth shit. The worth of Crouch is that he can hold up ball and create chances for others. However, Owen is completely out of it while Lampard and Gerrard are content ballooning the ball way into the stands. Wayne Rooney won't need Crouch to create chances for him. Basically, he will be just a random beanpole that stands there looking hapless against sides such as, say, Italy.

[Finnf00]

Hehe, Argentina. Wow, and here I thought the Serbs and Macedonians wanted to put in a fine last effort before being split up. I know it's all about the attitude with the Balkan teams. Sometimes they like playing football, and sometimes they like pretending to be playing. I'm still not 100'% sure about Argentinas chances later on though. I mean facing a bunch of six year olds running wildly around without any kind of tactic can hardly be seen as real test for them. Argentina did make Maradona happy though.

Too bad for Ivory Coast. They really should've deserved at least a point in that game. The Dutch defence looked completely out of it throughout the game. They'll be in real trouble against fast and technical South American sides.

[loner]

Calling S&M that is rather harsh. Look at their qualifying records. They had the best defence and conceded only 1 goal. They were one of the most well-organized sides in Europe coming to Germany. Of course, they didn't really show much of that yesterday, but in the first half they were simply played out of the park by the Argentinans. Argentina's passing was simply flawless. They one-touched and backheeled their way to some of the most brilliant team goals in this tournament. Argentina forced Serbia into submission and made them play at their pace. Whenever Serbia tried to do something at their own tempo, Argentina simply took control again and imposed their will on them again, until the Serbs finally gave up. Granted, the Serbs don't know the meaning of "offence," but this was the most impressive performance by any team in this tournament. They played with an air of arrogance and confidence that they did not possess in 2002.

Right now the most scary aspect of Argentina is their depth. I think Pekerman will keep with the same starting XI for the rest of the tournament, provided there's no injuries. And that starting XI was very impressive in the first half. They play at a slow, ponderous tempo and will suddenly pass their way to the goal. With Riquelme pulling the strings, they can easily dominate the pace of the game. However, superior teams will try to run at them and force them to play faster and therefore make more mistakes, as Ivory Coast tried to do with limited success in the first game. Tevez and Messi showed that Pekerman can call on a Plan B however if the starting XI can't do the job, or start to get lazy after taking the lead (they do that quite a bit). These two inject instant pace and skills that will disrupt the other team's flow. Messi especially, since you almost can't stop him without fouling him. This means that Argentina can quickly fix the one flaw their starters have if they need to. And if Riquelme's slower paced game would be a problem, they can even replace him with Aimar, who's faster distribution will speed the game up if they need to.

This is a team to watch out for. Their defence haven't really been tested much though. Let's see how they do against Robben. It would be a good test for them.

[Finnf00]

So what kind of tactic do you call having your best target man benched while the midfield is splashing long-balls one after another? In truth Serbia Montenegro had to play two good matches to qualify for this years tournament as Belgium really weren't any good. So they drew twice against Spain. Well done. Their hyped defence seemed lost out there. If S&M had used their physical edge to eliminate guys like Riquelme, they might have been able to match their opponents. But when big guys just stand around doing nothing it's pretty easy to make any team look techincally outstanding. Compare to how the Croatians eliminated the Brazilian offence by actually doing something (instead of just standing or running around pointlessly). That's the kind of play you need from the entire team to beat a technical side like Argentina, and quite frankly the praised Serb defence did nothing of this kind. Backheels and other tricks wont go well down against a mobile team.
This is a team to watch out for. Their defence haven't really been tested much though. Let's see how they do against Robben. It would be a good test for them.If the Dutch defence continues to suck as a bad as it did against the Ivorians, Argentina will probably score around 15 goals in that game.

[loner]

Well, they are missing two of their Fabulous Four, but it must say something that they had zero replacement for Vidic and Dragutinovic. They shouldn't go from 0-0 specialists to 6-0 laughingstocks just because they are missing two guys. They had zero depth whatsoever. Maybe Ilija Petkovic wasn't just being a good father when he called up his son. Nevertheless, the most glaring mistake this defence had made was made by Krstajic, the supposed rock of this team. I praised this guy before because he looked good when he played for Werder Bremen and was our defensive talisman, and he was apparently even better at Schalke. How he could be stupid enough to hold up the ball when Saviola is around him leaves me flabbergasted.

A mobile team will deal with the slower passing build-ups of the Argentinians, but they will be tortured by Messi and Tevez. There's your Plan B.

Oh, and it's the Serbians and the folks from Montenegro that are splitting up. Macedonia already split up and formed their own country 10 years ago. Granted, this team have only one Montenegro-born player, Jevric, and he's a Serb nonetheless.

[Sorrow-kun]

Ghana v Czech R.

Holy crap! What an extraordinary match of football. That was such a dramatic spectacle. Match of the tournament so far, IMO. Both keepers were brilliant, but that sequence of events at and around the penalty was insane.

Big thumbs up to Ghana for playing very attacking football for the entire match, even after getting their early lead. However, on another note

Calling S&M that is rather harsh.When you get six goals scored against you, you deserve any insult levied against you.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Hey, it's not like it was their fault on any of the goals.

Thank you Czechs, you just cost me more money. Still, if you told me to bet on Ghana before hand, I would have asked for proof of your divine assistance.

[Moe]

man... i really wanted to see the czechs win... oh well...

and Italy ties with the US 1:1.... The US still have a chance... but a poor one at that... at least they're not out yet...

woo!! Go USA!!!

[A-R@D]

well, the US Italy game was great game with both sides playing very well for stretches of time. The only problem was that the refs pretty much ruined a great game by handing out way too man red and yellow cards. Only a few of the yellow cards were warranted and the only red card that was deserved was the elbow to the head of McBride.

[Sorrow-kun]

Holy crap, two incredible games in one night. USA v Italy. That's the first time I've ever seen three red cards in one match. It did turn into a fairly enjoyable match by end as well, with the ref putting the whistle away in the last twenty minutes after virtually dominating the match before then. I didn't see the Yanks play the Czech R., but I have to say they were pretty brave in this match to hang on to a draw. But now Group E has turned into arguably the most tantalizing group of the tournament, with two highly unexpected results today. I wouldn't be brave to put good money on who will progress from this group.

[Mouse]

The Italy vs. USA game was utter crap. I don't know what the Italians were doing. They can play better than that. And the refs... such BS. >:[

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

I can't tell if you want Italy to win or not, since the Americans got the brunt of the reffing against them.

[Mouse]

Well it wasn't that I wanted the Italians to win over the USA, but I did expect them to whoop their asses. I think the US was lucky the Italians didn't show up today, but unfortunately the refs were working against them (both teams really)... meh- doesn't matter though right? We'll see how they do against Ghana.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

If forms hold true, and since the US is also down two key players, Ghana should wallop the US. Any team that can make the Czechs look that bad deserves to move on.

[Mouse]

If forms hold true, and since the US is also down two key players, Ghana should wallop the US. Any team that can make the Czechs look that bad deserves to move on.
Hahaha, my thoughts exactly. They're my new favorite team for a huge upset. :P

[loner]

Hmm last night's matches certainly were very exciting, especially after a drab affair between Portugal and the badly-crippled Iran. First, I never expected Ghana to have that in them. The coach made a great decision in dropping their most famous player Kuffour. Their defence look much better that night, even though they played two inexperienced defenders. It was a great team effort though, as they punished the Czechs with their mobile and physical play. They completely disrupted the Czech's flow and forced them to make very uncharacteristic mistakes. This is a very good team that deserve to make the second round, and they are now in a very good position to do so.

The Czechs need to regroup. That was a huge letdown after a good win against the U.S. Vratislav Lokvenc was a huge step down from Jan Koller. Koller may look clumsy with his height, but he has good feet and is deceptively fast for a guy that tall. Lokvenc don't move and was completely useless that game. Bruckner should have a second gameplan instead of relying on Lokvenc to create havoc, and should have taken him off for Heinz at halftime. Nedved was anonymous and wasted more chances than he created, while Rosicky was effectively eliminated by the brilliant Ghana marking. They are in grave danger now, since Koller and Baros won't make it in time for Italy. They will have to improve a lot to get anything from Italy, or else face a very disappointing early exit.

The Italy-US match was a weird one. Italy's defence was shockingly shaky, and Zaccardo's mistake was elementary. The U.S. had much more spirit and was much fitter than their first game. They were much better prepared and defended with great spirit towards the end, though they need to give Kasey Keller a huge bonus for his heroics. Italy lacked rhythm as well, and they need to rebound as well. Their match against the Czechs will be interesting, since both teams are looking to improve. Finally, the ref completely changed the face of the match with his cards. De Rossi was deservedly sent off for a very cynical elbow. That's a straight red no matter what. But Mastroeni's red seems to some kind of make up call that wasn't needed. Pope was 2 yellows, and you can't argue much against the second yellow since he did catch his man from behind. The U.S. are still in trouble without their two defensive stalwarts against a Ghana team that showed great speed in attack.

[Akimichi Choji]

The Italy vs. USA game was utter crap. I don't know what the Italians were doing. They can play better than that. And the refs... such BS. >:[
The refs have sucked this WC. All except for the Demarcus Beasly offsides call the refs were terrible. And during the Ivory Coast vs. Holand game they were even worse.

Czech better loose to Italy, and the USA better beat Ghana.

[Sorrow-kun]

Japan 0 - Croatia 0

That's an almost ideal result. I couldn't be more pleased with that.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

What sheer abysmal finishing. It's disgraceful.

EDIT: Apparently, Sven has decided on the following 11 vs Sweden.

Robinson - Carragher - Ferdinand - Terry - A. Cole - Beckham - Hargreaves - Lampard - J. Cole - Rooney - Owen.

Yep. Hargreaves for Gerrard and Rooney for Crouch. The two goal scorers.

[Shinomori]

What sheer abysmal finishing. It's disgraceful.

EDIT: Apparently, Sven has decided on the following 11 vs Sweden.

Robinson - Carragher - Ferdinand - Terry - A. Cole - Beckham - Hargreaves - Lampard - J. Cole - Rooney - Owen.

Yep. Hargreaves for Gerrard and Rooney for Crouch. The two goal scorers.

I think it's a good idea to leave out Gerrard and rest him for the important matches coming up. However, playing Rooney completely contradicts that decision. I think it might've been a good idea to leave out the players with yellow cards as well to make sure they don't face a ban in the last sixteen.

Also my predictions have completly gone to shit already :migrane:

[Nicotine]

The Italy vs. USA game was utter crap. I don't know what the Italians were doing. They can play better than that. And the refs... such BS. >:[

Basically what I think in a nutshell. I don't care for the US; hopefully Ghana will beat them.

I thought Australia had many chances today but I guess they just didn't come through. They could have beaten Brazil if they wanted to. I don't see the point of letting Ronaldo start...he isn't that great this year. :(

[AqueousMessage]

After watching the Korea - France game, I've decided that the ref's need to get off their knees, 'cause they're blowing alot of games. They need stop making so many contraversal calls and let the kids play.

[kLaUS]

well,, its like we all tought.. francia sucks... anyway too bad today for nihon, they doesnt have a chance now, and i dont know whats going on with brazil, but they`re not playing as they should. argentina is the one that is playing really great !!

GO GERMANY GO !!!

[(V)]

I just watched karea and france game... ehhh

[General Suburbia]

Korea vs. France

The only reason I watched the game was because I'm Korean and I was pressured into watching it from my frenzied buddies. I fell asleep the first half, and in general was pretty disappointed by the way both teams played. Very lucky that Korea was able to score at all.

[C0MPL3X]

Who cares man, we're going to top16! And fluke out portugal, italia, spain again!
*flaps my red devil wings*

[soundchazer]

Hmm last night's matches certainly were very exciting, especially after a drab affair between Portugal and the badly-crippled Iran. First, I never expected Ghana to have that in them. The coach made a great decision in dropping their most famous player Kuffour. Their defence look much better that night, even though they played two inexperienced defenders. It was a great team effort though, as they punished the Czechs with their mobile and physical play. They completely disrupted the Czech's flow and forced them to make very uncharacteristic mistakes. This is a very good team that deserve to make the second round, and they are now in a very good position to do so.

The Czechs need to regroup. That was a huge letdown after a good win against the U.S. Vratislav Lokvenc was a huge step down from Jan Koller. Koller may look clumsy with his height, but he has good feet and is deceptively fast for a guy that tall. Lokvenc don't move and was completely useless that game. Bruckner should have a second gameplan instead of relying on Lokvenc to create havoc, and should have taken him off for Heinz at halftime. Nedved was anonymous and wasted more chances than he created, while Rosicky was effectively eliminated by the brilliant Ghana marking. They are in grave danger now, since Koller and Baros won't make it in time for Italy. They will have to improve a lot to get anything from Italy, or else face a very disappointing early exit.

The Italy-US match was a weird one. Italy's defence was shockingly shaky, and Zaccardo's mistake was elementary. The U.S. had much more spirit and was much fitter than their first game. They were much better prepared and defended with great spirit towards the end, though they need to give Kasey Keller a huge bonus for his heroics. Italy lacked rhythm as well, and they need to rebound as well. Their match against the Czechs will be interesting, since both teams are looking to improve. Finally, the ref completely changed the face of the match with his cards. De Rossi was deservedly sent off for a very cynical elbow. That's a straight red no matter what. But Mastroeni's red seems to some kind of make up call that wasn't needed. Pope was 2 yellows, and you can't argue much against the second yellow since he did catch his man from behind. The U.S. are still in trouble without their two defensive stalwarts against a Ghana team that showed great speed in attack.

I disagree... Mastroeni went directly towards the Italian's ankle. That is a red card every single time if you have a good referee. I saw the replay in 4 different channels (from Spain, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, of course, to keep it unbiased), and all agreed that was a good call.

Italy has the same problem they have every world cup... all muscle, little creativity. Ever since the days of Bruno Conti, Scirea, Cabrini and Paolo Rossi, Italy has been afraid of putting 2 creative people at the same time. Yesterday was a good indicator of it. They had one more person on the field for almost all of the second half and gave their only creative player (Del Piero) only a few minutes to work his magic.

Seriously, I think the referee had less to do with the match than the players themselves. The Americans calling the match a war before it even began set the tone for what happened. Had the referee not given those cards, this would have been a slaughter, as it was fairly evident that things were escalating out of control.

I still believe the U.S. needs to find a new playmaker, as Reyna is already too slow for the game, and the Americans have basically no one else around to make their game more than guts and physical presence (which doesn't take you anywhere in a competition of this caliber).

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Who cares man, we're going to top16! And fluke out portugal, italia, spain again!
*flaps my red devil wings*

Fear the Suisse.

[A-R@D]

I still believe the U.S. needs to find a new playmaker, as Reyna is already too slow for the game, and the Americans have basically no one else around to make their game more than guts and physical presence (which doesn't take you anywhere in a competition of this caliber).

I think Landon Donnovan was being hyped as that guy, but to me it seems to a serious case of overhype. He played well in the last world cup, but to me he doesnt seem to be a guy that can seriously lead a team offensively.

[Nicotine]

Seriously, I think the referee had less to do with the match than the players themselves. The Americans calling the match a war before it even began set the tone for what happened. Had the referee not given those cards, this would have been a slaughter, as it was fairly evident that things were escalating out of control.


I agree in some ways. I think the reason cards were thrown everywhere was because the ref had a feeling it would be a very physical match and he didn't want it to get out of hand. Fortunatly, the Italian guy that elbowed the US guy is probably not going to play for the rest of this World Cup, at least that's what they said on TV...

[Sorrow-kun]

I thought Australia had many chances today but I guess they just didn't come through. They could have beaten Brazil if they wanted to. I don't see the point of letting Ronaldo start...he isn't that great this year. :(What Australia lacked in execution in front of goal, we certainly made up for in courage. I'm happy with the performance, even with the loss, since we certainly can claim we were very competitive against the pre-tournament favourites. Given the draw between Croatia and Japan, we only need a draw against Croatia (unless Japan beat Brazil by three goals, in which case we need a win), so we've been given every oppurtunity to go through. And Croatia weren't exactly great against Japan, which gives me lots of reasons to be optimistic.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

I agree in some ways. I think the reason cards were thrown everywhere was because the ref had a feeling it would be a very physical match and he didn't want it to get out of hand. Fortunatly, the Italian guy that elbowed the US guy is probably not going to play for the rest of this World Cup, at least that's what they said on TV...

De Rossi is out for the last game due to the red, but there's no way the suspension should go further. His action wasn't deliberate, but an armswing to try to get more height. Of course, he should be responsible for his body, but there's no way that merits a tournament ban. ABC should send its analysts home.

[soundchazer]

De Rossi is out for the last game due to the red, but there's no way the suspension should go further. His action wasn't deliberate, but an armswing to try to get more height. Of course, he should be responsible for his body, but there's no way that merits a tournament ban. ABC should send its analysts home.

It is all up to the evaluating commitee from FIFA to decide, although he did go and apologized to McBride after the match, and did tell him he did not intend to elbow him (which I don't believe for a second, because on that same action, he also kicked him while on mid air, so he did intend to cause some damage, maybe just not as bad as how it turned out).

It seems from all different sources, including the Italians, that they expect De Rossi to be out more than just a match. It is far too blatant to just let it go as an "incident". So the analysts from ABC can stay and analyze from one more match, since I think they are calling this one right.

[(V)]

I am German so i want germany to win but, being an American citizen i feel and obligaion to want America to win.DDD:

[loner]

Well, I don't think that merits a ban from the tournament. They save that for much more serious stuff, like Maradona's pot. FIFA do have every right to ban him an extra match though, since it was a cynical elbow. Which is what i think will happen.

So far I don't think the reffing's that bad though, compared with 2002 at least. The no-goal call in the France-Korea game was tough to see, since the linesman's view was completely blocked by Lee Won-jae's body, and there's no way he could have conclusive evidence to raise the flag. The ref's view was blocked by numerous players so he couldn't see either, and the fact that no French player complained showed that they didn't know the ball was in themselves. Domenech and Henry's comments about it afterwards were just sour grapes.

In truth, France have a lot more to worry about than questionable reffing. First, Domenech is a horrible coach. The subs he made after the Korean goal was simply idiotic. If you want to win this, you should bring on a striker and go for it. He brought on a defensive midfielder in Dhorasoo (he to Domenech is like Hargreaves to Sven I suppose). Dhorasoo is a creative player, but with Zidane and Henry on the field, do you really lack creativity? Well they actually sorta do since neither was playing very well but another striker in the box would do much more damage. Bringing on Trezeguet in stoppage time when it's way too late to do anything just underlines his stupidity. If you want him on to increase offence, why do you do it this late, when you could have done it much earlier? It seems more like he is playing for the draw so that Korea wouldn't score another and win this one, which is ridiculous since they had more of this match and are the superior side. Trezeguet smiling slyly while putting the captain's armband on must be one of the most comical scene in this WC....

...which is only surpassed by Yanagisawa's humiliating finishing in the Japan-Croatia game. A wide open goal, and he decided to shoot back towards the keeper, and ended up putting it through the mini-goal between the keeper's legs, but missed the big one by 5 yards or so. I laughed so hard. SO hard. Japanese fans cheering after the match also made me laugh. Are they cheering for their premature exit from the World Cup? Sure, they still have a shot at making the next round. But they MUST win against Brazil by a large margin and hope that Australia don't win. Sure, Brazil may rest their starters, but the prospect of facing the likes of Robinho, Juninho and Cicinho who all have a point to prove after rotting on the bench or playing as second fiddles.

[C0MPL3X]

Fear the Suisse.
No problem, we'll go to final 16 with strategy A: protecting a ball for 90 minutes.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a258/L4lN/plancopy.jpg

and my spams VV

why korea will go to final 16 (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a258/L4lN/devilscopy.jpg)

why japan can't go to final 16 (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a258/L4lN/whyjapanlost.jpg)

[Major Tom]

Just finished watching the Brazil/Australia game. Thank goodness that SBS is replaying it, otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to watch it.

Overall, an impressive performance by Australia, even with a couple naff calls by the ref. We made Brazil work very hard for that win, it's unlucky that none of the chances we created delivered the goods. I think thats partly because most of the shots at goal were from outside the goal square, we should have gotten closer in.

Now we play Croatia, and at the least hold them to a draw. I think we can do it, and get ourselves a spot in the second round, in fact I'm feeling so optimistic, I'm putting my finger on Australia 1, Croatia 0.

Bocsánatot kérek Horvátország (oprostite Hrvatska), national pride comes first, so here's to you losing!

[ShinoMatrix]

*sigh*

I had hope till before the first goal... afterwards I figured it was too late already so I just went to bed. I was acting more optimistic than my brother was when we were watching it, but really, I didn't have as much hope as I was showing that Australia was going to win that one.

Nonetheless, the first half was indeed a thrill to watch as it seemed the Australians were in prime positions for most of the game, sometimes with one Brazilian surrounded by up to four. Odd the defence didn't hold out longer...

[Major Tom]

I actaully missed the first goal, but the second goal we were caught with our pants down. Perhaps we were pushing too many men forward, but when the ball came back to our side, there was nobody there....

[Finnf00]

When I returned from my two day drinking binge I couldn't believe the results. I seriously thought the Vodka was making me see things. Italy, Mexico, Croatia and France drew against inferior sides while the Czechs were beaten by Ghana. Good thing I haven't invested any money on betting this year.

Hmm, the Swiss seem to be leading after the first half, so they'll probably advance to the next round. I'm hoping to see more from both Tunisia and Ukraine today. Lets' say a draw between Spain and Tunisia and a win for Ukraine.

[loner]

Well the Swiss win 2-0, and now Group G is a mathematical mess. France must score at least 2 goals to have any chance of going through. Switzerland has put themselves in a good position though with their superior GD over Korea, and their defence look very well organized. I'm especiall impressed by Tranquillo Barnetta. he made great progress this season with Leverkusen, and he did all the good things in this match. He is one Swiss youngster that has really come through.

[C0MPL3X]

Somebody give those damn euros to Togo, just make them beat the crap out of france, or we'd have to beat swiss o_0

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

When I returned from my two day drinking binge I couldn't believe the results. I seriously thought the Vodka was making me see things. Italy, Mexico, Croatia and France drew against inferior sides while the Czechs were beaten by Ghana. Good thing I haven't invested any money on betting this year.

Unfortunately, I have. Would have made some good money if not for Angola. Stupid Mexicans... *mutter grumble*

I can't believe Croatia though. They had ELEVEN corners, and went into the game boasting about how they would use their massive height advantage.

France plain and simple didn't deserve the win, although they certainly did merit the draw. I don't know, they just don't look polished or very confident, and subbing Zidane... that's not something you do to a shaky team.

By the way Finn, you know where I can get a copy of Talvisota with English subs and no cuts?

[soundchazer]

Kuzu,

had you asked for my advice, I would have told you Mexico was most likely to tie with Angola than any other team in the group phase.

Mexico plays the best against teams that play open soccer. Whenever Mexico plays against a team that puts 7 or 8 men on their side of the ball, they have a hard time scoring. They don't have a Messi or a Ronaldinho who can crack a stout defensive effort.

A piece of advise though, don't bet against them for that Portugal match. That type of rival is the one that Mexico loves to play against. At the very least, it will be a tie, and there will be goals scored.

[angelic_error]

the us team got screwed by that retard of a reff ...he gave TWO RED flags for no good reason....there was something that happend, but a yellow flag would have made ppl say "I don't know about that" those red flags made the annoucer say "I hope he gets fired"

[Akimichi Choji]

I have to say this is the second game Brazil has played without that usual Brazilian talent. I mean, so they won, but not the Brazil way(if you know what I mean). They really need to pull it together, cause if they can't be the Brazil they should be come elimination round, they might just get eliminated.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

the us team got screwed by that retard of a reff ...he gave TWO RED flags for no good reason....there was something that happend, but a yellow flag would have made ppl say "I don't know about that" those red flags made the annoucer say "I hope he gets fired"

Flags eh?

Well lets see... Mastroeni lunged in and two footed Pirlo right on the ankle. That's definitely a yellow, and given FIFA's emphasis on eliminating two foot tackles, I wasn't shocked to see the red. Would I have given it? Maybe not. Was it justifiable? Sure.

Pope, his second yellow was a bit light, but he went from behind. The ref had no choice.

[soundchazer]

Pope was pretty much dismissed not only because of that specific foul, but because he had done plenty of them throughout the game. Whenever you have been warned with a yellow card before, going at it like he did was suicidal. It was a matter of time before he was sent off after accumulating to yellow cards.

And Kuzu, the Pirlo tackle would have been red regardless of the latest FIFA interpretations. The excessive use of force, where the ball is no longer involved, hurting a player who will not be able to avoid the tackle and where the studs are aiming at the body of the player are an automatic red. Unfortunately, too many referees lack the stones to call it.

To put it bluntly, had Pirlo's leg been carrying the full weight of his body at the time, Mastroeni would have fractured his ankle and probably end his career.

[loner]

I wouldn't bet against Mexico for Portugal match on the basis of Portugal's performance so far alone. Mexico look rather lacking in creativity against Angola, but Portugal doesn't have much going for them either, except Crissy's mad dribble skills that always ends up with him hitting anywhere but the back of the net.

The hell is a red flag.....sigh.....this is not American rugby....And I didn't like the decision to send off Mastroeni because I know that the match will then be dictated by that decision. However, going by the rules, the ref have the right to send Mastroeni off. Two-footed tackles are one of the things that FIFA is telling its refs to crack down in this tournament. You see Kezman already getting a straight red for something close to this. The ref sending off Pope again changed the game with one decision, but again going by the book that's a straightforward second yellow card. People that complain that "the ref should be fired" (or call red CARDS "flags") needs to watch more real football.

* loner shrugs
I just don't like seeing a game being completely controlled by the ref's whistles and cards. There have been too many cards shown in this tournament. I especially don't like the yellow for shooting after the ref blew whistle for offside. Most of the times it's because the players can't hear the whistle, and of course they are going to try and score when they get a chance.

Spain was back to typical Spain yesterday, almost raising eyebrows by losing to Tunisia. I dislike Fernando Torres. A lot. He is overrated. I'll give him credit that he makes a lot of his chances himself, but he wastes 9 out of 10 chances. He is still a decent striker because he can make that 1, but he is definitely not world class. It's good to see Klose score 2 today and take his place as the top scorer, since I can't stand seeing him winning the Golden Boot.

[Nicotine]

* loner shrugs
Spain was back to typical Spain yesterday, almost raising eyebrows by losing to Tunisia.

Spain won. ^^; 3-1

[soundchazer]

Sometimes the final score gan be misleading, Nicotine. The kind of play from Spain yesterday can give them headaches down the road.

After all, they say that the REAL world cup starts in the knockout phase. A first half like the one they had yesterday won't be good enough down the road.

Loner, I agree with you on the yellows after shooting when being offside. I know the logic behind it, which is to keep the public from getting too riled up against the referee for disallowing the goal once they shoot it, but realitically, there are many spectators that carry their own whistles to the stadium, making it hard for the player to realize if the play was disallowed or not. If I were the player, I would shoot anyway, just to be on the safe side, just like a defender must continue to mark a player even if they feel the player is offsides and are waiting for the flag to be raised.

[Nicotine]

Loner, I agree with you on the yellows after shooting when being offside. I know the logic behind it, which is to keep the public from getting too riled up against the referee for disallowing the goal once they shoot it, but realitically, there are many spectators that carry their own whistles to the stadium, making it hard for the player to realize if the play was disallowed or not. If I were the player, I would shoot anyway, just to be on the safe side, just like a defender must continue to mark a player even if they feel the player is offsides and are waiting for the flag to be raised.

I agree, it made me mad when Ronaldo was carded for that. I would shoot too. I forget what game it was now, but there was a game where a player had the ball and kicked it out on purpose because he thought he was offsides. The ref never called it so he could have carried on, which sucked terribly. XD

Anyway, after watching the games so far today, I think Germany has a good chance at winning the whole thing. It might be too early to say that, though.

[Yurika Star]

Ughhhhhhhhhh, Tragic Defending.

[loner]

That Joe Cole is one awesome player, perhaps England's best so far in the World Cup. Beckham's been decent so far, but all the excitement and energy comes from the left side. England really need to worry about their defending at set pieces though, as well as Owen and Rio's injuries. Rio can be replaced, but if Owen goes down, and Walcott really is injured and not just being frozen out by Sven, England are down to two strikers, one just coming back from a metatursal and far from his best, the other Crouch.

Nicotine, I said "almost raised eyebrows." If Spain did lose that match, every Spaniard's eyebrows would not be "almost raised", but pulled all the way to heaven. 3-1 was a very deceptive scoreline, since Spain was abysmal for most of the match until Tunisia lost their mettle and let Spain come back. SC is absolutely right that a first half like that will earn them a quick exit from the World Cup once they meet teams that actually dare to keep attacking them after taking the lead.

[Rove]

Kuzu,

A piece of advise though, don't bet against them for that Portugal match. That type of rival is the one that Mexico loves to play against. At the very least, it will be a tie, and there will be goals scored.
Lets hope that Kuzu didn't follow your advice, the only part that was actually accurate was the last, "and there will be goals scored". All in good fun SC. :D

* Rove waits for SC to defend Perez from here to Judgement Day and point fingers relentlessly at the evil Argie coach D:<

In 40 minutes or so the Argentina vs. Netherlands match will start, hopefully Argentina will win so we can get to play against Mexico next time. >_>

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

I hate you all, especially Omar Bravo.

[soundchazer]

The reality is Mexico shot itself in the foot today. The first 25 minutes were awful, specially since Marquez started in a different position and the defense was not as solid without him.

Bravo could not score through a rainbow today, and the second yellow for Perez was deserved. I'm only pissed off at the fact that Italians, Argentinians and even Portuguese players have been diving like crazy in the cup and no yellow has been flashed to them.

All in all, this should have at least been a tie, but we do not have the most precise strikers out there.

The funny thing is Mexico had more clarity going forward today than in any of the previous matches. It is ironic that while doing so, Mexico lost the match too.

I still believe Mexico can do a good match against Argentina or Holland, but hopefully they will keep the errors to a minimum.

[NausicaaBoy]

Go Japan!!!!

[Nicotine]

Go Japan!!!!
Yeah, they'll be going home soon. XD

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Hey hey, they could:

Beat Brazil by 2 goals AND have Croatia win by one goal but below 3-2. (advance based on 3 GF to HRV's 1)
Beat Brazil by 3 goals AND have Croatia and Australia draw. (advance based on GD of +1 to 0)

I think the little sticking point is the whole "beat Brazil" bit though. ^.^

[Nicotine]

I think the little sticking point is the whole "beat Brazil" bit though. ^.^

You think? Beating Brazil by two goals? I'd pay big bucks to go see that...if it were to happen. Maybe if the sky turns green :P

[Yurika Star]

I shall be watching the Brazil v Japan match intently to see if Kuzu's predictions come true.

I BELIEVE IN YOU KUZU.

And GG @ Penalty.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

I shall be watching the Brazil v Japan match intently to see if Kuzu's predictions come true.

I BELIEVE IN YOU KUZU.

And GG @ Penalty.

You and the entire nation. Although the nation may have a different motive than you.

[C0MPL3X]

If japan goes through there will be blood in china and korea

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

If japan goes through there will be blood in china and korea

Not to mention Brazil.

[loner]

I don't think most people in Korea and China care that much if their football team performs a miracle. I myself will say "good on them" if they do. However, blood will flow in Brazil, certainly.

However, that possibility is approaching zero.
* loner points to his profile
Yanagisawa and Takahara will "defend" all of Japan's chances for Brazil.

[kLaUS]

do you know where they really do care ???, in ecuador, in there people are not even going to work because they move on to second round, is a nacional party ... of course now they dont have a chance against england. anyway im still supporting them !

GO GERMANY GO !!!!

[Nicotine]

do you know where they really do care ???, in ecuador, in there people are not even going to work because they move on to second round, is a nacional party ... of course now they dont have a chance against england. anyway im still supporting them !

GO GERMANY GO !!!!

If Equador puts their mind to it and plays a good game, they can beat England. What is so amazing about England? >_>

[kLaUS]

If Equador puts their mind to it and plays a good game, they can beat England. What is so amazing about England? >_>

well , maybe they havent play their best, but they have great players like beckham, owen, rooney, and they play a really good game. They have a chance to win if brazil dont start to play well... (im still cheering for ecuador)

GO GERMANY GO !!!!!!!!!!!

[Nicotine]

*waves goodbye to the US* ;)

[loner]

England doesn't have Owen any more. He is out for 5 months after hurting himself yet again. And what so good about him? He was probably the worst striker of them all in this tournament. The only great assets he had were his pace and his finishing, both of which probably deserted him forever after repeated injuries. I'm afraid he'll never be good again. And it doesn't matter how good Beckham and Rooney are, if Sven continues to be inept in coaching and put his team to asleep at half time with his drowsy talks, Ecuador will have a very realistic chance to beat England. They are the type of team that England will underestimate at their peril, and a team that can hurt England.

England's best players are obviously Gerrard and Joe Cole right now. The team must be run through these two. Beckham can still whip in a decent cross, so he must settl