Official World Cup Thread

[Dutch_guy]

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.

[Soulforged]

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.

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.

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 .... Volveremo', volveremo', volveremos otra vez, volveremo' a ser campeones como en el ochenta y seis.

[LeftEyeNine]

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 ?

[ShadesWolf]

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.

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.

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.

[Dutch_guy]

Im looking forward to your game against Angola tomorrow.

We're playing Serbia

[Prodigal]

COME ON ENGLAND

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

[Prodigal]

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

[Louis VI the Fat]

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.

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.

Beckham IS good, isn't he? He's certainly much more than just the pretty fashion model / marketing machine some think he is.

[Prodigal]

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.

0-1 ENGLAND

[naut]

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?

Thats what I was thinking, His poor decisions and Eriksons poor decisions killed the chances of England winning by more.

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.

[scotchedpommes]

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.

[Prodigal]

0-1 ENGLAND

And...........????????

COME ON ENGLAND

[Louis VI the Fat]

0-1 ENGLAND

Point taken, mate.

I would settle for France 1-0 against whomever too, and bugger everything else.

[Rodion Romanovich]

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

[The Stranger]

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.

[Dutch_guy]

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.

As a matter of fact, the only match we're able to face Brazil would be in the finals.

[naut]

Overall pretty boring day if it hadn't been for Argentina - and the last twenty minutes shown by Côte d'ivoire...

Are you kidding, Ivory Coast was exciting and showed brilliance the ENTIRE game, they were just terrible at finishing, which Argentina are masters at.

[Boohugh]

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.

[Dutch_guy]

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.

[Boohugh]

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.

[The Stranger]

No, they'll play against the number one ( or two ) of group D, which holds Portugal, Angola, Mexico and Iran.

As a matter of fact, the only match we're able to face Brazil would be in the finals.

yeah i noticed that later. my bad

[The Wizard]

England and Germany were in shambles, yet Argentina and Holland emerged victorious in far better shape. Now to wait for Brazil \o/

[Dâriûsh]

GOAL!!!




Edit: Gaugamela all over again...

[The Stranger]

btw DG if holland becomes 2nd of the C poule they can play Brazil in the semi finals

[Strike For The South]

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

[LeftEyeNine]

SFTS, brotha, welcome to the tribe !

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.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

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

[Fragony]

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

Going to be hard, czech team RAWKS.

And I am very pleased with the dutch team, these serbs are no pushovers.

[Rodion Romanovich]

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.

[Ser Clegane]

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...