Official World Cup Thread

[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.