Official World Cup Thread

[Zalmoxis]

Argentina all the way, since Romania will never again qualify, I chose the team I liked best at the beginning. Now I'm hoping they can take down Germany

[Gealai]

I can't understand all the fuss about giving red-cards. IMHO both Lukic and Heinze made stupid errors but still errors which deserved the yellow-red and the direct red card. The rules are clearly stated and have to be followed as closly as possible, starting with the group phase. If they are not and "good sense" takes over all becomes a free game of interpretations.

Said that it is clear that a good deal of countries lack really good referees, given the absence of high-class football. It is common knowledge that the big european nations - even if Germany and Italy suffered ref-scandals -had and have the best ones, but are unable to send more of them by the FIFA policy. So we must observe guys with little big game experience making terrible errors.

[Red Peasant]

I'm sorry, but a good referee should be like an orchestral conductor, not an officious, bumptious traffic warden. It is easy to destroy a game of football with an over-zealous application of the 'rules'. Rules are guides, not holy commandments.

And as for refs coming from the best leagues, well the English Prem is the biggest, richest and supposedly best in the world, and all we could send was Graham bloody Poll !

[Rodion Romanovich]

2- 1 for Argentina ... so now it's Germany vs. Argentina on Friday.

This should be an interesting game

two of the teams that have IMO been in best shape and both of which I'd like to see go far having to meet so early Same goes for Portugal-Holland game in two days from now...

Probably will end Germany 2 - Argentina 1 and Portugal 2 - Holland 1

[Gealai]

Red cards don't have to destroy a game as Italy-USA proved. The can give a game a very dramatic turn and charge it up emotionally.

The main problem is that the , IMHO right tough use of the rule is not enforced in the everyday football life. The players are simply not used to it. Football is mostly about instinct and reflexes grown over the years. Kinda hard to replace them for two months...

[Rodion Romanovich]

It seems like this years world cup has got a final round that is quite open to different results and very unpredictable:
England - Ecuador, Portugal - Holland, Brazil - Ghana, France - Spain could all go both ways...

[Red Peasant]

Well, Gealai, I'm not saying that there should be no rules! For instance, I agreed with all of the cards in the US/Italy game, they were for dangerous play of various kinds and well-deserved. However, the refs are repeatedly booking players for minor infringements, consequently disrupting the flow of games and having to send players off for technicalities. It's bloody frustrating, especially if you are a neutral and want to watch a competitive game. And, God help us if Michel Platini achieves his ambition to become FIFA president because he would lead the drive to eliminate all contact in football.

[InsaneApache]

Todays game makes me want to laugh. Can you imagine what would happen to Nat Lofthouse these days if he'd bundled the Man Utd. keeper into the net ala '58 cup final?

[Fragony]

Wow ze germans, sweden had a terrible defence but let's not throw the germans pwning them on just that I was right all along, the germans are going to win the cup. Their heimat fuels them, I suspect they have ancient magic runes buried all over the place. Nasty red card by the way, the wissleboy really seemed to enjoy giving it. Let's bring in the heavie's....

[Rodion Romanovich]

Finals will be:

vs

[Fragony]

God I love football

[Rodion Romanovich]

Maybe the last two pics were a step too far... time to return to the topic, eh?

[Big_John]

yikes, ecuador looked awful. england didn't look too hot either. weak game. can't see england fairing well against either portugal or holland. hopefully that will be a good game.

ecuador.. get a new goalie.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Argentina all the way, since Romania will never again qualify, I chose the team I liked best at the beginning. Now I'm hoping they can take down Germany

No one will take down Germany

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Finals will be:

vs

Who vs. who?

Germany vs. ____?

[InsaneApache]

I thought Rooney was a bit under par, he might be a handful when he's firing on all cylinders. Pretty standard fare from Beckham, his goal could have been a bit tidier though. Anyroad we're through to the next round, so 'bring 'em on....'

[L'Impresario]

Who vs. who?

Germany vs. ____?

Brazil. The second pic shows a EE-T1 Osório.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Who vs. who?

Germany vs. ____?

Panzer vs Osório

Edit: Damn you beat me to it

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Panzer's are better.

[Red Peasant]

I thought Rooney was a bit under par, he might be a handful when he's firing on all cylinders. Pretty standard fare from Beckham, his goal could have been a bit tidier though. Anyroad we're through to the next round, so 'bring 'em on....'

Hmm, but Rooney produced some special plays in the second half and seemed to get stronger if anything. The defenders were backing off him by the end. I thought that Carrick was great at the centre of midfield with a good range of long and short passing as well as timely interventions. He should stay in. Could we be the 'New Germany', quietly grinding out results without being overly impressive yet going far in the competition ... we shall see.

[InsaneApache]

Understatement dear boy, understatement.

[Red Peasant]

Wanted:

Frank Lampard's shooting boots.
Big reward from all England fans.
Reply to England HQ Baden-Baden

[LeftEyeNine]

Gah.. I sometimes really hate football..

Stand clueless for the entire match, get a freekick, let your handsome boy do it and steal away the match.

I wish England can not progress one more round further. I'm so disappointed with Ecuador letting the game slip away from their hands in which England did not make a single organized attack until Beckham's freekick.



Anyways, for their courage and quality Ecuador still deserves my respects.

[Red Peasant]

Gah.. I sometimes really hate football..

Stand clueless for the entire match, get a freekick, let your handsome boy do it and steal away the match.

I wish England can not progress one more round further. I'm so disappointed with Ecuador letting the game slip away from their hands in which England did not make a single organized attack until Beckham's freekick.



Anyways, for their courage and quality Ecuador still deserves my respects.

Lol! You're having a laugh, aren't ya?! Ecuador were rubbish, they were playing for extra-time and penalties.

And, as indifferent as they were, there was only one team really trying to win that match. England.

Where's ya Turkey gone! Where's ya Turkey gone!

[Kralizec]

vs in 20 minutes.

If we win it will be us against

[LeftEyeNine]

RedPeasant, I seriously doubt that we watched the same match. I recommend you to cool down off the happy emotions of victory and watch the match again. Until the freekick England has no single serious chance of goal crafted.

Where's ya Turkey gone! Where's ya Turkey gone!

..Trying to be more meaningful to you since you are a British : [SomePaperHeadline]Turkey is roasted long ago.[/SomePaperHeadline]

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

While England were perhaps not as good as I would have liked, to say Ecuador played with 'courage and quality' is really wishful thinking. Decrying Beckham's excellent free-kick as somehow 'stealing' the match also seems like a rather sore-loserish thing to say, it was a lovely ball. It wasn't his fault the keeper was rubbish.

Based on his performance in the last ten minutes, I think Sven should play Lennon from the start in the next game. Rooney is also looking much fitter, and if they play someone else up front with him so he isn't so isolated he could really start earning his pay

[Red Peasant]

No problem LEN, I was not happy with the England performance, although it had its moments and some patches of decent play, but to make the claims that you made for Ecuador showed the extent of your bias against England. Also, I can only feel that we can get better. You need to build slowly in World Cups and I'm an optimist.

[Rodion Romanovich]

I think England played really well, but had a weakness in Lampard and Gerrard. They never seemed to get the crucial passes through, and Lampard shot poorly even when he had good chances. Rooney got better by every minute, no doubt the man of the match IMO. Ecuador played well from start but got worse from 30th minute or so. I think England deserved the win, even if Ecuador had some great chances and played very well in earlier games, they simply weren't as good in this game IMO.

Portugal - Holland will be a nice game to watch! I think Portugal might be slightly better, but it should be quite even. I don't know which side I'd rather want to continue to the quarter finals - Portugal with their swift beautiful football, or Holland with their funny orange pyjamas - both are a pleasure to the eye...

[Dutch_guy]

I found the England - Ecuador match to be quite boring really, especially as the match neared it's end, Ecuador just didn't seem to want to win and England's players were all exhausted - Beckham nearly passed out from what I saw.

Ecuador played much and much better in the previous matches but this just wasn't their day, they could have hurt England more had they been in their previous form - why they didn't ,I don't know.

England played a decent first half, a great tackle by Cole in the 11th minute saved the English from a disastrous start, that was Ecuador's chance to force a lead - would have been a very different match had Ecuador scored that early goal.

Well, going to watch Holland - Portugal. Thinking it's going to be a 0 - 1.

But I surely don't hope so.