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Looks like Turkey got stuffed after all.
FIFA
I thought they might have thrown the book at Turkey, I never imagined it would be a library. :laugh4: :oops: :2thumbsup:Quote:
Turkey have been ordered by world soccer's governing body Fifa to play their next six home matches at a neutral ground and behind closed doors.
The punishment comes following a fracas after their World Cup qualifier against Switzerland, last June.
That is a bit harsh. The way the Turkish team and crowd behaved was ridiculous, but this punishment seems a bit out of proportion.
Hey, whatever happened to the much admired flawless reporting from Auntie Beeb?Quote:
Originally Posted by BBC article
Turkey won their second match, not their first.
yes it is, it's too harsh, six games without fans on neutral ground is about as hard as it gets...
And what kind of punishments did the Swiss team get, as they did have some part in the commotion at least...
:balloon2:
Do not get me onto the accuracy of BBC sports reporting..Quote:
Hey, whatever happened to the much admired flawless reporting from Auntie Beeb?
May I present this as an example?
:sweatdrop: :wall:Quote:
Quote:
Former Manchester United coach Brian Kidd is eager to get back into football after recovering from prostrate cancer.
The hearings showed the following results:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch_guy
1. The players Alpay, Emre (both Turkey), and Huggel (Switzerland) each are being excluded for the next 6 'point games'. In addition to that, all of the above have been fined CHF 15'000 (plus court costs of up to CHF 10'000 each).
2. The player Serkan (Turkey) and physiotherapist Stephan Meyer (Switzerland) each are banned from 2 'point games' and receive a fine of CHF 5000 and CHF 6500 respectively.
3. The Turkish assistant coach Oezdilek is banned for a year and fined CHF 15'000.
4. The Turkish FA has to play on neutral territory behind closed doors for 6 matches. Additionally, they are being fined CHF 200'000 and have to pay court costs of about CHF 20'000.
All court rulings are on a provisional basis at present with the exception of point 2, which is definite. Both parties have 30 days in which they can either accept the rulings or contest them.
All in all, it might seem harsh but personally I think it was about time FIFA got their fingers out and punished those that were involved in that match. It can't be that teams and their staff (and spectators) behave in such a fashion and get away unpunished.
For some, it might effectively end their National career, for others, it gives them time to reflect on their silliness. Tough!
Quid
.
Well deserved and even much watered down let alone harsh. :rtwno:
.
thanks for the brief summary Quid.
Have any of you been following the Africa Cup by the way?
I saw a bit of Egypt - Senegal on the news today,highlight of the match was when an Egyptian player - Mido- was substitued by the Egyptian coach for a player called Amr Zaki, Mido didn't take it very well and nearly got into a fight with his coach in full view of everyone in the stadium it would have definitely gotten worse if not for a fellow Egyptian player who got between the arguing couple.
Ironically Amr Zaki proceeded to take position in the field and score the winning goal at first ball contact...
here is the link explaining the match and scene I just described :
http://www.eurosport.com/football/eg...to829184.shtml
:balloon2:
Well, it was about time that this thread got resurrected, I mean this is the official thread.
So I presume you're all following the match ? Germany - Costa Rica ?
I guess it's an Okay first game, with Germany leading 2 -1 at the moment.
We might want to post all further soccer / football related stuff in here, although the predictions should be posted in the original threads - we owe that to the respective thread starters.
:balloon2:
German team seems to be in good shape, two nice goals. CRC counter they gave away though, what was the defence thinking standing there in the middle of the field. Costa Rica is no world cup material, very sloppy team.
Yes I agree.
The Germans seem to be playing fairly well, though their defence isn't in too good a shape - the Costa Rican goals was a costly mistake.
However It'd be interesting to see how the germans fair against somewhat better playing teams. If the word ''team'' is an appropriate one for their current adversaries...
:balloon2:
3-2, like a full stack of teutonic knights charging on peasants, how on earth did costa rica ever qualify, blatantly unworthy of a WC match. Germany doesn't impress me either, two outragious mistakes that costs them dearly. They may be saving up energy for what's comming but this isn't the diciplined german machine we love to hate, like watching a team in a national cup of little importance. I am extremily dissapointed in my dearest rival.
edit:Rediculously beautiful fourth goal, what a whopper. Lots of individual talent there in Germany but as a team they will have to do better....
That ball really moves through the air :dizzy2:
I can see keepers having nightmares over the thought of people like Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, etc whacking that at them :laugh4:
Wooh, 4-2. Exactly double my prediction :inquisitive:
As it was already obvious, Germany has an inexperienced and erroneous defesive line. It's one of the best Panzer upfront in recent years however these guys are famous for their solid and machine-like teamwork, and this genuineness starts from the defence -where Germany is suffering.
It will obviously be harder for the hosts. Hopeless Costa Rica can bag two goals and..well, they will need extraordinary motivation to meet expectations.
Waiting for the match of one of my surprise teams of the tournament, Ecuador 's game against Poland.
:ecuador: Go Ecuador ! " Si, Se Puede !! " :ecuador:
For all World-Cup-o-philiacs in the house, get your readymade match schedule below, in which you can enter the results that will automatically be processed in the relevant group's standings.
World Cup 2006 Calendar
w00t WooT !!
They were surprisingly offensive, seemed like two seperate teams, offense and defence that were not in concert at all. Not sure what to make of thisQuote:
Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine
messmatch but I doubt germany will get very far like this.
Germany played decently with some good moments of nice teamplay. The highlights of the game for me were definitely Lahm's and Frings' goals. Absolute beauties. Their defense however didn't do so well. And it showed when Wanchope scored twice. Although the second was offside.
Costa Rica played horridly for the most part. Very bad defending. - Cover your man, don't look at the ball ffs!! - Also poor offense. Biggest problem was that they didn't use their chance to counter-attack. Far too many times they stopped at midfield and gave the germans time to recover. Also they waited far too long playing the ball and tried to play with the ball too much instead of passing the ball to another player. Rarely would their tricks work.
In the end it was a nice first match to watch due to the large amount of goals, of which two were simply amazing shots.
My prediction was 3-1. For a moment it looked like it could come true... Anyway 4 goals was more than I expected from the German offensive. Looks like the team is even more offensively oriented than I thought - I overestimated defense and underestimated offense. Then again, the second Costa Rica goal was actually an offside and the fourth German goal was a bit of luck - a brilliant shot, but still any team is supposed to stop shots from such distances either at the defenders or at the goalkeeper. The player change the last minute was also interesting - that guy runs fast! With him and Ballack in the field in more important games they can get even better than they were today, and Klose was as usual playing very good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiberius
Now time for Ecuador vs Poland!
That was just pathetic ! Poland can pack and get back so can 300 000 Polish football fans. Fortunatelly soccer teams gave us so much disappointement in the past that it won't be a tragedy rather a source of numerous jokes.:shame: :wall:
:poland: Poland 0 - 2 Ecuador :ecuador: :balloon2: :balloon2: :balloon2:
Yes then, Ecuadoran underdogs made it. Absolute power of control on the ball, confident short passes, fatal dribblings and last ditch tackles brought the glorious start. :balloon2:
Men of the match : Giovanny Espinoza & Ulises De La Cruz
Though their captain Ivan Hurtado is a solid defender, Espinoza surely stands out for this match. In front of the unconvincing keeper, Christian Mora, this strong centre-back was agile and brave enough to save his storming team from any shocks. Worth watching out in the upcoming matches if he can keep up with his rocky defence.
De La Cruz is the only (IIRC) Ecuadoran that currently plays in Europe, and that proves out why he is. Ecuador's right wing was a constant threat to Polish defence, most of the attacks coming through that flank, and De La Cruz was like a lightning in shoes. It was around 80 minutes when he dribbled all along half of the whole pitch dodging the exhausted Polish. Definite one to keep a close eye on if you are the coach of the opponent.
Carlos Tenorio is another one to remark as well. He was only recently out of an injury but seemed fit enough to disturb and create a goal. I expect him to be better by the following matches.
Poland is more pathetic than Germany when compared in terms of defence. I couldn't see them doing their job at all. Thanks to Artur Boruc who is good enough to compensate Dudek's absence, Ecuador made only 2 goals. Poland's revival in the last minutes was due to the concentration loss of Ecuador who did not expect their rivals to be so soft. Pawel Brozek, a young gun I've known for the last 2 years, showed his class by taking a good control and bending a shot that ricochetted off the post. Poland can not defend, at least Brozek should be given time so that they can create more goals, he needs self confidence.
There is also a negative sidenote about Ecuador among all other pluses. Though I couldn't determine if it was a tactical move to save energy or not but Poland did not come across with much resistance until they were around Ecuador's penalty box. This may be due to their anchorman's low performance, maybe a tactical move but it will give chances to score to more talented feet -Germany has a couple of them.
Vive la France ! Allez les Bleus !!!!!!!!!!!!!!:france:
This match was a complete disaster. 2-0! The attacks of the Polish team were badly co-ordinated and played out even worse. But it could have easily been 2-1 if it had not been for that blind referee :wall:
And yes, we Poles are used to having bad football teams and even worse football coaches since the 1970s :no:
Germany absolutly dominated the poor and weak guys from Costa Rica, something like 35 shots agains 4, yet it was able to get two goals. Great offensive, great movement, fast play.The
Two chances two goals for Rica. Friedrich slept two times, causing the offsidetrap to fail, although the second goal was irregular IMHO. If Germany wants to go on it must protect it's defense better and exercise it's line movements.
Poland played stunnigly bad. Ecuador seemed like a world class team.
Wow - the opener was much more entertaining than I would have expected.
Very nice performance in the offense by Germany but I fear if they don't improve the defence very quickly they will get torn apart when they have to play a team that actual has some class :no:
Haha cheater. You posted that 15 minutes before this post ~;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaka_Khan
Fair game for Germany. Not more not less. Most important for them is a win in the first game. I don't think, however, that they can play likewise against stronger opposition.
Costa Rica...well, played to the best of their abilities, I suppose. They might still give us another surpise.
Poland...well, typical. Played well in the qualifying rounds and now are nowhere near the form they were. It was already mirrored in the test games, though. Hopefully, they will give Germany a good run for their money next Wednesday, at least.
Ecuador played close to world class. Didn't give Poland a hint of a chance until the last 10 minutes or so. Am well impressed. I didn't think they would do so well.
Quid
While I was disappointed with Poland which I thought could get at least a tie in the game, Ecuador was so impressive that they're now one of my new favorites in the tournament. I suppose that means Germany and Ecuador proceed from group A. Ecuador could perhaps even win to group before Germany. They would have either England, Paraguay or Sweden in the quarter finals, all three are teams which they could defeat I think. And I think they have pretty good chances in the semi-finals too... They probably won't win the World Cup, but they could go far ~:)
:jumping:COME ON ENGLAND
:dancing:
http://ezpiper.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/LionEng.jpg
What he said ^^ ~:cheers:Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodigal
Gah, sorry to disappoint you, British friends, but you'll get a draw today. :smoking:
Oh and Cissé 's foot is broken in that friendly against China ! What a freakin' luck ! :furious3: :wall:
Just about to sit down and watch england stuff paraguay. 3-0 i reckon, a header from terry, then a lamps then owen to finish it.
Haha funny own goal 4 minutes into England-Paraguay... Poor Paraguay :wall: Looking at this match I wonder if perhaps Sweden rather than Paraguay will take the second place in the group. England will take the first - they've shown a very good defensive work so far. I wonder what changes will be made after the half time. My 3-2 predictions doesn't seem likely at this point...
Watching England - Paraguay, the brits don't really convince me and paraguay's getting better atm; the 1 - 0 was really bad luck for them...I guess a draw will be the result in the end.
Amazing free-kick. It should have been more though, 1 - 0 is simply not enough. But that was possibly the worst refereeing I have ever seen. Terrible descisions or the lack of decisions. No. 13 for Paraguay should have been sent off multiple times.
Although I'm English and my opinion might be biased....but was that referee wearing a Paraguay shirt underneath his referee's shirt, or do South Americans Stick together?
Paraguay didn't play well its just that are second half performance was beyond belief and then bringing on downing and hargreaves who imo have no talent just summed it up. The 2nd half shambles will undermine the first half performance as we ripped them apart for the first 45 mins. We cannot afford to play like that against someone like sweden.
But we got the three points and the first game is always the hardest, smash TAT and then beat sweden 1-0 and then the 2nd round against either ecuador or Costa Rica and we should be fine
I really sympathise with the England players-it was tactical ineptitude and poor substitutions that were responsible for the poor second half performance, and that wasn't their fault.
If they can keep the standard of play they were exhibiting in the first half up, they should do well.
Not the most convincing performance from England in the second half. Our inability to kill off a game when we are dominating could cause us problems later on in the tournament.
The refereeing was a complete joke though, so much for FIFA claims it would be better this time round. Some of the decisions were just laughable, such as Gerrard being given a yellow card in the first half even though TV replays clearly show he didn't touch the player or Downing being body-checked as he ran past a Paraguayan player only for play to continue with Paraguay in possession in the second half.
Oh we stick to our brothers always ~:pat: ... And I specially hate the english football team (kidding) so my opinion might be biased too. There was no actual team dominating the match this time, it has happened many times to England during debutes in the World Cup. Though Paraguay was unlucky i think that they sincerelly didn't diserve to win this match, they played as many desperate teams play, long unprecise shots, little coherence and little game play. On the other hand England played the football that we all want to watch, though only for a few moments. All in all I think this diserved a draw. Anyway, I still think that this two are the ones who will make it to the round of 16.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ianofsmeg16
That Sweden vs T&T game was great fun. Always nice to see the underdogs do well.
It's the World Cup and most teams will have at least 15 mins of good play, which Paraguay did for part of the second half. England controlled the match and came out with the win. Result. Judging by some of the typical over-reaction in the media, however, we may as well pack our bags and leave now! Tossers.
Sweden T-T : 0-0 :wall:
Nonononono.....
Quite something indeed, especially since T&T were playing with one man less than Sweden, because of a red card in the first minute of the second half !Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro
I most certainly had not suspected T&T to last, let alone keep the Swedes at bay.
:balloon2:
Well played Trinidad and Tobago, down to 10 men and still got a draw, they are my 2nd team in the championship. Most of them are, or have played in the English and Scottish leagues. It also leaves the group wide open. Be nice to see T&T and England go through.
Oh! and RP I couldn't agree more with you. Germany, Italy etc, etc... play badly and still win, I can see the headlines in the News of the World tomorrow. Onanists.
The T&T game was great, I was really hoping they'd do well. Excellent goalkeeping from Shaka Hislop.
Excellent match by T&T well played boys.
And BTW its not Brits, its Engllsh.
Next up a victory for Ivory Coast would be great
Argentina - Ivory coast is quite an impressive match, with the former leading with 2 - 0 at half time. You might not say so judging by the score, but ivory coast is playing great, and has had at least one great chance to score a goal.
Also, the second goals was a beauty, a brilliant Riquelme moment - need I say more ?
Hope the second half 'll continue to be as interesting to watch as the first half was.
:balloon2:
Never mind, double post...
:balloon2:
Ok that was the best game Ive seen so far, I've watched 4 out of the 5 matches ( missed the Poland match as we had a power cut)
I felt IV were very unlucky, not that impressed with the defense of Argentina but they luck very quick and dangerous going forward.
I agree ShadesWolf, best match thus far.
I didn't think IC would be as good as they were, didn't really see them as a threat but I've come to my senses - they're quite dangerous in the offense.
Argentina, plays solid and always has at least one ( in this case 2 ) moments where it just sneaks in a goal, also a Riquelme - Crespo combination is deadly to say the least.
:balloon2:
Careful there, though Paraguay is not at the summit, it certainly is an experienced and respected team. In fact it didn't lose its first match since 1958.Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Peasant
Now about Argentina... Mmmm frankly it dissappointed me, I expected a lot more. The players did a lot of fouls, too many long shots, too many errors in both the defense and the offense, specially when they were in full attack and the recovery of Ivory Coast provoqued dangerous situations. This has to be solved inmidiatly. Also I think it was a grave error for Pekerman to include Gonzales at that point in the match. However Ivory Coast, though not a surprise, at least for me, did played a lot more of football than I expected at least until the 60 minutes of match. And until the end of the first half they diserved to win the match (without mentioning the penalty that the referee didn't give to them in the first half). Until now all great teams have showed that they're not at their best, all of them will improve I think. I cannot comment on Sweden vs Trinidad y Tobago because this damn cable service didn't transmited it.
Anyway :sweatdrop: .... Volveremo', volveremo', volveremos otra vez, volveremo' a ser campeones como en el ochenta y seis. :argentina: :2thumbsup:
England - Paraguay
More impressive England -quite better than I expected...until it was the second half.. I had predicted Paraguay to get one point from the game since I thought they would be rather stable and error-free in defence however the first half was a complete disaster for Paraguay backline and they were fortunate to have conceded only one goal.
Valdez is someone to trust in the attack force, he really merits being the best subsitute in Werder when Klasnic or Klose is somehow out -he has even more potential and I don't think he 'll be waiting behind those two after the World Cup, he may leave Werder provided this form. Paraguay captain Gamarra was a bit out of concentration today, creating the first goal into his own net and a couple of minutes later heading a ball back to his keeper which would nearly be completed as a goal by Owen. The subsitute keeper Bobadilla is a good keeper, by the way.
England, as always, still lacks some spirit. You look at the squad and can not keep your jaw dropping, however when it comes to wear that shirt of Three Lions, things do change. A change in the coaching team will greatly benefit this bright generation of England, me thinks. This good generation of players should win some trophy before time runs out for them.
Man of the Match : David Beckham. He is a captain, a playmaker, a dead ball expert and despite his enormous fame, still very enthusiastic. He showed his class in this match as well.
Argentina - Ivory Coast
No team without a pinch of World Cup experience could be any more comfortable and self confident than the Elephants were today against a giant like Argentina. There are many unwritten rules of football and one was valid today -"big teams do it instantly and win it". Above all enthusiasm, sheer class and confidence of Ivory Coast, Argentina is the aged wolf of these tournaments and Crespo and Saviola have killer feet.
No, Argentina is still a great team, they are the way we are accustommed to see although they may stumble in times they are integrating new "parts" to the body. However Ivory Coast is meeting and overlapping expectations indeed. I think every football fan would like to see them progressing at least to the next round. Experience is their block -and the group drawn, of course- and they seem well enough to get over it sooner than any other World Cup rookie team.
Arthur Boka and junior of the Toure brothers, Yaya Toure were the ones standing out for this match within Ivory Coast squad.
Man of the Match : Juan Roman Riquelme. Ortega or Gallardo won't be missed for too long. What's more to say ?
I watched the IC in the African Cup of Nations and was impressed. Drogba, toure and Eboue are all premier league players, so I have seen them quite a lot over the last season. If they had a quality midfield player then I think they would be a real threat. But that, for me, looses them down.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch_guy
Agentina on the other hand seem to be able to find that defense spliting pass, but the defence I felt looked quite weak. But if you score more goals than the other team who needs a defensc.
Im looking forward to your game against Angola tomorrow.
We're playing Serbia ~:)Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadesWolf
:balloon2:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodigal
Lately I've been feeling like I felt before...DREAMING of the perfect score...I keep on dreaming...Been brought up on stories that my father told, ONLY TIME THE BOYS STRUCK GOLD but I weren't born yet
Will it be a 4-4-2?
Bring the trophy home to you?
ONLY THING I'LL EVER DO FOR SURE IS SING IT FOR ENGLAND
Ooop, forgot to mention...
WILL IT BE A 4-2-4 brings the trophy home to me?
I'm getting older I should know better...
But I'm singing for
ENGLAND
What a horrid substitution by Errikson, it killed the game. England's first half performance was promising though, and with Sweden equalizing against T&T the road to the next round lies wide open.
Argentina and Ivory Coast were excellent. If I were Holland or Serbia, I'd be very worried by now. The group of death indeed.
Beckham IS good, isn't he? He's certainly much more than just the pretty fashion model / marketing machine some think he is.Quote:
Originally Posted by LEN
0-1 ENGLANDQuote:
Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
Thats what I was thinking, His poor decisions and Eriksons poor decisions killed the chances of England winning by more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ianofsmeg16
The Argentina - Ivory Coast match was a true thriller!!! Ivory Coast played exceptionally well. And the only things that really separated the sides were, the quality of goalkeeping and the use of good chances.
Was behind Trinidad and Tobago all the way - they very nearly scored a
cracking goal late on with a shot that hit the crossbar, not sure anyone has
mentioned that. Was also backing the Ivory Coast, and disappointed they
couldn't get a draw for all their effort and enthusiasm.
Looking forward to watching Serbia and Montenegro play, and win [I'll stick my
neck out, yes] tomorrow.
And...........????????Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodigal
COME ON ENGLAND
Point taken, mate. :2thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodigal
I would settle for France 1-0 against whomever too, and bugger everything else.
Both England, Paraguay and Sweden disgraced themselves yesterday... Overall pretty boring day if it hadn't been for Argentina - and the last twenty minutes shown by Côte d'ivoire... England at least seemed to have potential that wasn't shown in the game vs Paraguay, but Paraguay was way below normal standards and Sweden had a ridiculously inefficient offensive. I'm a bit disappointed that my predictions were so far off, I seldom cheer on a single team but am cheering on whichever team needs to score another goal to bring the results closer to my prediction ~:). Not that it matters, because I'm not betting any money on it, only honor ~:)
Of the remaining games of the first round, these are the ones I'm looking forward to most:
SCG:NED - probably holland wins, but Serbia isn't to be underestimated, plus it's a tight group so it's exciting to watch
ANG:POR - because it's Portugal!
USA:CZE - will USA surprise again? Czech rep is always good to watch. Is Baros still injured? If not, it'll be good entertainment
AUS:JPN - I love the playing style of Japan!
BRA:CRO - Brazil's first game!
ENG:TRI - let's see if it was Trinidad that was good or Sweden that was bad... And if England has the potential it seemed they had in last game
ARG:SCG - a nice group of death game
NED:CIV - another nice group of death game
ITA:USA - again an interesting game. Italy living up to the rumour or USA surprising again?
JPN:CRO - Japan again!
FRA:KOR - two interesting teams in an interesting meeting
ECU:GER - the only really difficult to predict outcome of game of group A, I suppose
SWE:ENG - Swedish team vs Swedish coach, always fun to see where the loyalty lies
NED:ARG - the two IMO top teams of the group of death meeting in battle!
CZE:ITA - another great game of this group
JPN:BRA - last Olympics Japan nearly beat Brazil (IMO they would have if the ref hadn't been supporting Brazil). Japan has a playing style incompatible with Brazil's playing style and the only team in this cup that I really think has a great chance of beating Brazil
Holland has to become first because the 2nd of poule C will play against the first of the poule that holds Brazil. and i think Brazil will end up first so the 2nd of poule C is dead anyway.
No, they'll play against the number one ( or two ) of group D, which holds Portugal, Angola, Mexico and Iran.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Stranger
As a matter of fact, the only match we're able to face Brazil would be in the finals.
:balloon2:
Are you kidding, Ivory Coast was exciting and showed brilliance the ENTIRE game, they were just terrible at finishing, which Argentina are masters at.Quote:
Originally Posted by LegioXXXUlpiaVictrix
Quite a good first half from Holland just now, and I have to admit they look like a very good team. I think the heat will kill the game in the second half though, in the same way it killed off the England game yesterday.
Well I guess I should be happy with the current score ( 1 -0 ), but Serbia has had it's share of chances, which is mainly due to our - at times - sloppy and inexperienced defence.
Interesting to see what 'll happen in the second half.
:balloon2:
Hmm, a lot of similarities to the Endland - Paraguay game in the way that match played out then. Still, its a good 3 points for Holland but they were definitely made to work hard for it.
yeah i noticed that later. my bad:sweatdrop:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch_guy
England and Germany were in shambles, yet Argentina and Holland emerged victorious in far better shape. Now to wait for Brazil \o/
GOAL!!! :iran: :jumping: :iran:
Edit: Gaugamela all over again... :iran: ~:mecry: :iran:
btw DG if holland becomes 2nd of the C poule they can play Brazil in the semi finals
Im additidted to this "football" it has really sucked me in (I even bought a german jersey) Mexcio won ans there were guys runnig down me street. The US has a gut czech tmrw and they will win
SFTS, brotha, welcome to the tribe ! :indian_chief:
Sorry to disappoint you but, you'll only give some hardtime to the Czechs, they will win it somehow.
Anyways, tomorrow I'm a USA fan.
:unitedstates: :2thumbsup:
On broadcast tv they show golf and reruns of dr. Phil instead of the World Cup. They aren't even showing the US match tomorrow :wall:
Going to be hard, czech team RAWKS.Quote:
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
And I am very pleased with the dutch team, these serbs are no pushovers.
Nice games yesterday. I wonder why not more teams use the type of tactics that led to Robben's 1-0 goal, and later Pauleta's 1-0 goal! The nice long pass + a fast running forward (like Robben) or tactics to fool the offside traps always seemed to me to be one of the most effective ways of scoring, accounting for about 1/3rd or 1/4th of all goals scored in the latest World Cups and European Championships, and especially effective against defensive opponents. Seems to me most teams except Brazil and Germany have worked hard improving their defensive at the expense of a much more careful offensive, after Greece won the last European Championship. So more quick attacks of the type Holland and Portugal showed will probably be necessary, unless you have the same ball control as Argentina ~:)
I'm looking forward to USA-Czech Republic today, should be one of the more interesting games in that group, which is IMO nearly as much a "group of death" as group C ~:) Italy, Czechs and USA in the same group is quite tough. How good Ghana are I don't know though.
Wow - the Czech were really impressive. The strongest team I have seen so far.
I hope they will get far this time and finally get rewarded for their performance during the last couple of years...