Official World Cup Thread

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Edit: the ref from the US-Italy game was truly excellent. All his major decisions were correct.

He was suspended in 2002 and not allowed to ref in the last world cup...of course they play it up more on american tv but he was certainly inconsistant.

I don't think the game result would have been different, but it would have been nice. The game itself was poor to watch, set piece goals are boring and the US made a lot of bad passes which was a letdown after watching Ghana.

[drone]

Mastroeni's red card was a poor decision by the ref, should have been a yellow at the most.

Hell of a game though. Even though their finishing was crap, at least the US showed up. Though if Arena plays Beasely against Ghana, he should be fired. With fresh legs and his pace, he just didn't do anything. All his teamates spent in the second half, and Beasely just stood around, didn't challenge any balls, didn't seem to put any effort in at all. Hopefully his last international performance, he doesn't deserve another.

Go Italy, go USA. Pretty entertaining group. Ghana looks tough though, wouldn't surprise me if they win the group outright.

[InsaneApache]

I disagree, Mastroeni's tackle was mis-timed and two footed. He clearly played the man not the ball (he'd get a warning in the backroom for that ) furthermore it was completely unnecessary just in front of the Italian penalty box. What did he think he was doing?

Aside from that, a great game of footy. Lots of passion and commitment. The US had to run their legs off to stay in the game and rose to the challenge, kudos to them.

The Italians (much like the Portuguese) got more and more frustrated and it affected their moral as it became obvious that they were not going to break down the US defense. Keller, IMO, kept them in the WC with a cracking one handed save at the end.

Originally posted by InsaneApache
There's more chance of a creationist embracing Darwinism.

I'm glad I didn't say I'd eat my hat, I dont like bacon, eggs, fried bread and trilby.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Damn I missed Italy-USA... It seems like I missed out on a great game...

Ghana 2 - Czechs 0 was both a disappointment and a pleasant surprise. Ghana deserved the victory but I had hoped the Czechs would be better than they were. As it seems now, they aren't that good, and it's even doubtful if they continue to 2nd round - Italy and Ghana probably will instead (Ghana have USA left to play while Czechs have Italy left to play, Ghana has 3 points and Czechs have 3 points, plus Ghana won internal meeting between Czechs and Ghaha).

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Damn I missed Italy-USA... It seems like I missed out on a great game...

Ghana 2 - Czechs 0 was both a disappointment and a pleasant surprise. Ghana deserved the victory but I had hoped the Czechs would be better than they were. As it seems now, they aren't that good, and it's even doubtful if they continue to 2nd round - Italy and Ghana probably will instead (Ghana have USA left to play while Czechs have Italy left to play, Ghana has 3 points and Czechs have 3 points, plus Ghana won internal meeting between Czechs and Ghaha).

You think the Czech's are going down? Did you see them play against the United States? They're amazing. They're one of the only teams, in my opinion that can take on Brazil. They will not lose out.

[Rodion Romanovich]

You think the Czech's are going down? Did you see them play against the United States? They're amazing. They're one of the only teams, in my opinion that can take on Brazil. They will not lose out.

Yes they're amazing, but now their top 2 scorers are injured - Koller and Baros. I saw them win vs USA, and USA then did a tie with Italy (which I didn't see), while Italy beat Ghana. So there might be a circle of incompatible tactics meaning that Czechs losing to Ghana doesn't mean they're worse than Italy even without Koller and Baros. But I must say the Czechs looked a lot weaker with Koller out. Even when Koller doesn't score in an attack, the threat he poses usually draws a lot of defensive strength away from others that it opens the paths for other skilled scorers. And Baros has the speed required for scoring in quick breakaways. The good news is that both Koller and Baros are back for quarter or semi finals, but the way there will be tough for the Czechs - they need to beat the spaghettis first , then they'd need to take on Brazil in the 2nd round IIRC. Would be a shame if the injuries of Koller and Baros prevented the skilled Czech team from reaching the finals.

Edit: btw if Italy got many warnings and match penalties from the earlier two games it's possible the Italians won't be able to field a good army for the crucial encounter next weak, in which case even a by injury weakened Czech team will have good chances of wining the crucial victory needed to advance.

[DukeofSerbia]

Mastroeni's red card was a poor decision by the ref, should have been a yellow at the most.

Hell of a game though. Even though their finishing was crap, at least the US showed up. Though if Arena plays Beasely against Ghana, he should be fired. With fresh legs and his pace, he just didn't do anything. All his teamates spent in the second half, and Beasely just stood around, didn't challenge any balls, didn't seem to put any effort in at all. Hopefully his last international performance, he doesn't deserve another.

Go Italy, go USA. Pretty entertaining group. Ghana looks tough though, wouldn't surprise me if they win the group outright.

Mastroeni's red card was clear. He tackled with both legs. New rules say that is immediately exclusion


Italy - USA was one of the best game so far in World Cup, especially second half.