The World Cup

[Adam Pettman]

Don't worry, we will bore them to sleep then pop one in the net and celebrate very quietly so the game ends 1-0.

If we get the kick off we should just get Gerrard to shoot straight away, if the keeper gets his hands to it they will probably come off!

Absolutly he has scored some absolute screamers!!!

 

[Eracer]

Yes, there can be some exciting 0-0 ties, but I prefer watching offensive teams such as Brazil and Argentina that play an aggressive offensive game.

I understand. It's human nature to value offense over defense. And I certainly enjoy a free-flowing match more than a game of "keepaway". I must admit I would rather see a well-played 3-3 match than a well-played 0-0 one. But the worst kind of match is the 4-0 or 6-1 blowout (the kind Argentina and Brazil are ALWAYS capable of playing). Jordan making a 30 footer at the buzzer to win is good. Jordan scoring 40 points in a 20 point win is boring.

 

[ualtim]

Wow! Spain looked awesome yesterday. Down 1-0 at the 70 minute mark in the rain and then they exploded to a 3-1 victory. I may have to adjust my final four if they can keep that up.

 

[Eracer]

Wow! Spain looked awesome yesterday. Down 1-0 at the 70 minute mark in the rain and then they exploded to a 3-1 victory. I may have to adjust my final four if they can keep that up.

Spain looks very good this year. Argentina looks awesome. Brazil may just surprise people by bowing out early this year. I just don't see the magic. England is winning, but they need to step it up. I like Portugal to go deep this year. Germany looks good, and they have the home field advantage. If Ghana can play the way they played against the Czechs, they will go the semis at least - Brazil or no Brazil. The June 27th match, if Brazil wins Group F and Ghana is 2nd in Group E (as I predict) will be the match of the Cup.

My picks are:

Final four:

Argentina vs. Ukraine
Spain vs. Portugal

Spain beats Ghana on July 1 (after Ghana pulls the upset of the century by beating Brazil on June 27th), then beats Portugal (who just get past Holland and England) on July 5th to advance to the final.

Ukraine shocks both Switzerland and Italy, only to lose to Argentina, who have easily defeated Mexico and squeaked past a very tough Germany.

Argentina to beat Spain 3-2 in the final.

 

[ualtim]

Germany looks like they are gaining momentum. It should be a good game against Sweden on Saturday. England looked awesome in the first half and flat in the second half. They are not going to get so lucky in the later rounds to pull off a tie.

I am thinking:

Germany 2 : Sweden 1
England 1 : Ecuador 0

 

[EnglishGolfer]

I am thinking:
England 1 : Ecuador 0

i smell an upset! We've got no good fit strikers and Ecuador (somehow) are playing some good football despite having no superstars. It's obvious they will just go for it against us and could embarass us.

I would like to state for the record that I think in a few years it will all come out that Sven was taking back handers. He's left behind proven players such as Defoe and Bent, even Wright-Phillips (but Lennon does look good), the players he couldn't get away with omitting he plays out of position, Owen Hargreaves (need I say more?), the two main strikers are knackered, we only took four strikers in the first place! Finally he plays the dullest most uninspired football I've seen which is unbelievable when we've got some of the best players on the world. It's almost like he drains all the flare and confidence from our lads.

Phew, feel a bit better now. I just wanted to get it out of my system before we are knocked out when everyone will be saying the same.

 

[IrishGolfer]

i smell an upset!

It won't be an upset. England are playing sub-standard football and getting away with it. Once they meet a decent team they will get a thrashing unless they start playing 100% better. I would like to see them play well but they look very one dimensional at the moment. They have some great players but no idea how to gel. I thought Owen's injury just highlighted a shit strategy in the first place.

iSven was taking back handers. He drains all the flare and confidence from our lads.

I doubt it is backhanders. I think it is just complacency. This guy get paiD a fortune. imo He is greedy and lazy, spending more time on himself than on the team and already thinking about his future beyond England.

As i said it is a pity but the only way England will win this world cup is on Playstation.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Well, Ghana certainly ended figuring heavily into the US equation. Did they look like the Brazilians in that match against the Czechs, or what? Maybe the quality of play (missed passes, etc.) wasn't up to snuff, but they certainly played a tactically sound game, and the players showed great field awareness and creativity.

I'm still too pissed to really comment about the US-Italy match. WE WERE ROBBED! That ref should never touch a field again. McBride offside on Beasley's game-winner? OK. But should Pope have gotten a yellow card two minutes into the second half? No way. And Mastroeni's red card was simply insane. Insane...

I did finally get a chance to watch the US-Italy game. I would agree the ref should probably not touch the field again. From what it sounded like, this happened with him in the World Cup years ago. I did have the advantage of watching it from a recorded DVD. McBride was clearly off sides and was a large part of the play, so that may be one of the few instances where I would credit the ref. I thought both Pope yellows were probably deserving in themselves, however whether he should be calling it that closely on the second is another question, but he seemed fairly consistent and fair in his bad calls. At first the second seemed undeserving but after view it a number of times, although he came in from the side of the direction of the play he in fact came in from behind the player, so I'm not sure I would fault him too much, although the ref seemed to want to have an impact on the game, which is just wrong. The Mastoeni red card was just flat out wrong, and probably not deserving of a card much less a red. I think that call is why the game started to get out of hand. It may be one of the worsts calls I have seen in World Cup play. All in all, those calls may have had a big impact on the outcome had the US had an extra man for the second half, but in all honesty, had it not been for what may have been the worst call in the game, the US would have been down and possibly lost 2-1. The ball that ended up in the US net on an Italian offsides and a partially blocked shot was clearly not offsides. After reviewing it quite a few times, Keller made no play on the ball, and I am not sure that it was a result of the whistle or flag from the side, I think it was because of the deflection. Had that call not been made, I think the US would probably have walked out with a loss.

Personally I think Bruce Arena made one of the bigger mistakes in ending the game with a Substitution in his pocket. They are playing a man down for an entire half, and only 9 on the field. They actually probably showed more than the Italian team in the second half until about the 85th minute. At that point they seem physically exhausted and simply tried to hang on for dear life with a Substitution left. Had they lost that game in the last 5 minutes or during extra time, I would have a hard time blaming anyone but Arena. I think Keller dug him out of that problem on at least 2 occasions.


On another note, Argentina looks pretty darn good. I really didn't give them much credit going into this one, and though the Netherlands to be my favorite. They are lucky to have held Argentina off this long.

 

[Eracer]

Good comments Jayhawk. To me, the bottom line is that the refs in the Italy game did not control the players (and that is their job - to control the player's adherence to the rules), they controlled the outcome of the game. Cards were given freely for some tackles, and fouls were completely ignored for others. Offsides were correctly called in some cases, and completely blown in others. That Paraguayan ref was banned from the a previous World Cup because of FIFA sanctions for "irregularities". He was given another chance in this World Cup, and has proven that to be a horrible mistake. Could Arena have played his subs better? Absolutely. Could Beasley have played hard when he was subbed into the game, instead of jogging aimlessly around the field? Yep - and he should not be allowed to play in future US Cup games. Could the US have won that game? The ref made certain that we'll never know the answer.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

To me, the bottom line is that the refs in the Italy game did not control the players (and that is their job - to control the player's adherence to the rules), they controlled the outcome of the game.

As one who played the sport my entire life up until 5 years ago, this is by far the key to me, for a ref trying to actually impact the game as though they are an actual part of the game, and not simply there to call it the way it should be called. I can really think of few instances in my playing where a game got out of hand and it was not a direct result of the ref's actions. It was one of the most frustrating things to see as a player, and simply led to ill feelings on the field. Since you cannot take it out on the ref, it usually ends up directed towards the other team during the course of play. I think on one of the injuries to an Italian player you could see it coming to a boiling point, with 3 Italian players around the ref. As the captain, Reyna really got in the refs face and to the best of my lip reading ability, his comments looked to be to the effect of "take control of this game before it gets out of hand". In all actuality, the game was really not that fierce, the ref just made it seem that way by going on a card handing frenzy.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Well, it's that time. Hopefully things pan out here and we get some help from the Italians. Unfortunately the Italians only need a tie to win the division, and avoid a first match with Brazil. Then again, the Czech already attack a great deal and needing a win to avoid Brazil, maybe they will drop their defenses a little.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Well, Beasley redeemed himself, but what an absolutely horrendous call in awarding a penalty kick and the 2nd goal for Ghana during stopage time.

 

[Eracer]

No way. Beasley didn't redeem himself at all. He slothed around the field for most of the match. Granted, he made a great steal and even better pass to Dempsey for the goal. Donovan absoultely sucked. I blame Arena for putting Donovan in the ridiculous formation. 4-5-1? When your attacking midfielders need to be forward? But Donovan played very poorly in this match, as did a number of the US players. Lewis played well. Olsen came in as a sub and did his job. Beasley, Donovan, and Eddie Johnson? Useless. Reyna? What was he thinking trying to dribble out of that spot? And did anyone learn that defensive headers should be played forward...and not chipped to your keeper? Bocanegra? Hello?

The ref again ruined this match with horrendous decisions, especially the penalty kick.

But Arena and the US Team's key players are really the only one's to blame.

I give credit to Ghana for playing a good match. I support them the rest of the way.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Turn out the lights. I doubt the 2nd goal would have made much of a difference, as Ghana probably knew pretty early they only needed a tie with Italy up 2-0 with the Czechs a man short. Ghana is actually a pretty impressive team, the quality of their defense and not necessarily their offensive speed is what impressed me.

Not to take anything away from their performance, as they were very good. I have never been a fan of the dive, and unnecessary squirming around afterwards. It has always been the one thing in the sport that disgusts me and one of the few complaints people have that rarely watch the sport that I would find hard to refute. I actually think Fifa should further review this situation and take the necessary steps to deture that behavior, which an occasional yellow card is not enough. I doubt I have seen a match this World Cup with as many players tanning on the pitch, sometimes two at a time. If not for my love for the game, had I not been a fan of watching the sport already, I certainly could understand people's relunctance for wanting to watch the sport after see todays game.

I mean there were guys that clearly took a dive, already got their penalty, and proceeded to lie on the pitch for 2-3 minutes. In 2 halfs there was more than 9 Minutes of Stopage time, and I would not have been surprise to see 9 just in the second half.

Again, sorry for the rant, and not to take anything away from their performance, but that may have been the worst I have seen in many years.

 

[Adam Pettman]

Unlucky US seems it just wasnt meant to be this time.