no man, ecuador are shit hot.
they played their 'c' team against germany, otherwise it would have been a different game.
if that wasn't argentina or holland's first team i watched then comparing basically every other team to either of them now seems pretty silly to me. once these two teams have their first team out, who is going to stop them apart from brazil or germany? fuck, any match between those four teams is going to be immense.
for a laugh, i'd like to see (fifa ranked 5th) america go through today.
((Germany World Cup 2006))
382daniel robert chapman wrote:gio wrote:even though the USA has looked pretty awful so far, I'm considering ditching work tomorrow morning to watch the game. There's still a shred of hope to cling to.
Yeah, but how much does the USA really want to win?The New York Times wrote:If you’re an American reading this blog, we know how you’re preparing for today’s U.S.-Ghana match: by hyperventilating, scarfing down heart medications, rocking back and forth, vomiting uncontrollably and so forth. Fair enough. But how are they preparing for the big game over in Ghana?
Not surprisingly, there’s a fair amount of emphasis on the vital nature of the match. As Ghana Web reports from the Black Stars camp in Wurzburg, “The players are aware of the physical nature of the Americans and the importance of result to the continent and have resolved to die for the maximum points.”
Ghana Web is not just making this up. The Black Stars’ Serbian coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, has this as part of his tactical preparation for the game. “The Americans will suffer to be able to match us,” he said on Monday. “We are prepared for any team and the boys are more than willing and ready to die for a good result.”
One of the pundits the other day mentioned how two South American countries apparently went to war in the 60s over the world cup!
I haven't been arsed checking up on this so do drop in any info if you've got it.
((Germany World Cup 2006))
383Earwicker wrote:daniel robert chapman wrote:gio wrote:even though the USA has looked pretty awful so far, I'm considering ditching work tomorrow morning to watch the game. There's still a shred of hope to cling to.
Yeah, but how much does the USA really want to win?The New York Times wrote:If you’re an American reading this blog, we know how you’re preparing for today’s U.S.-Ghana match: by hyperventilating, scarfing down heart medications, rocking back and forth, vomiting uncontrollably and so forth. Fair enough. But how are they preparing for the big game over in Ghana?
Not surprisingly, there’s a fair amount of emphasis on the vital nature of the match. As Ghana Web reports from the Black Stars camp in Wurzburg, “The players are aware of the physical nature of the Americans and the importance of result to the continent and have resolved to die for the maximum points.”
Ghana Web is not just making this up. The Black Stars’ Serbian coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, has this as part of his tactical preparation for the game. “The Americans will suffer to be able to match us,” he said on Monday. “We are prepared for any team and the boys are more than willing and ready to die for a good result.”
One of the pundits the other day mentioned how two South American countries apparently went to war in the 60s over the world cup!
I haven't been arsed checking up on this so do drop in any info if you've got it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_War
((Germany World Cup 2006))
384half time results:
usa - ghana 2:1
czech rep - italy 0:1 (czechs are ten men team now)
it's not looking good for the czechs <sad face>. as for now they're going home.
nedved's wife. he will be the least upset about going home of all czech players.
usa - ghana 2:1
czech rep - italy 0:1 (czechs are ten men team now)
it's not looking good for the czechs <sad face>. as for now they're going home.
nedved's wife. he will be the least upset about going home of all czech players.
((Germany World Cup 2006))
385If Brazil meet Ghana in the second round, it could be a fascinating match.
Even without the suspended Michael Essien, I wouldn't bet against the Africans staging a major shock.
England have Wayne Rooney, who combines great awareness and vision and a competitive will to win (like that of Roy Keane)
The only footballing reason for David Beckham keeping his place in the team is his dead-ball ability. The man was either unwilling or unable to run in recent matches.
England should still beat Ecuador.
Even without the suspended Michael Essien, I wouldn't bet against the Africans staging a major shock.
England have Wayne Rooney, who combines great awareness and vision and a competitive will to win (like that of Roy Keane)
The only footballing reason for David Beckham keeping his place in the team is his dead-ball ability. The man was either unwilling or unable to run in recent matches.
England should still beat Ecuador.
((Germany World Cup 2006))
386daniel robert chapman wrote:gio wrote:even though the USA has looked pretty awful so far, I'm considering ditching work tomorrow morning to watch the game. There's still a shred of hope to cling to.
Yeah, but how much does the USA really want to win?
[etc...]
Yeah... I think they lack the passion to really win at futbol. The women have it, but the men don't.
Team Ghana, though... they were throwing themselves at the ball. I think I saw like four guys carted off the field on stretchers in the second half. Meanwhile, DaMarcus Beasley jogs towards a loose ball and trips over his own shoelaces...
George
((Germany World Cup 2006))
387gio wrote:Yeah... I think they lack the passion to really win at futbol. The women have it, but the men don't.
The passion was there in 2002, and it was there against Italy. My guess is that the US were utterly exhausted after the Italy match.
Team Ghana, though... they were throwing themselves at the ball. I think I saw like four guys carted off the field on stretchers in the second half. Meanwhile, DaMarcus Beasley jogs towards a loose ball and trips over his own shoelaces...
Ghana weren't throwing themselves at the ball. They were throwing themselves on the ground. The Portugal/Mexico match was pretty bad, as far as diving goes, but Ghana were even worse. The stretchers were not needed at all; Ghana were trying to run down the clock, which is also why their keeper took forever to take goal kicks and why their players acted as if they had been shot every time a US player brushed up against them.
Don't get me wrong: the US were pretty awful, and Donovan, McBride, and Reyna were the most worthless of the bunch (Beasley played pretty well, I thought). It broke my heart to watch the US sucking so badly. But it was even worse to watch them lose to a bunch of diving, play-acting cheats.
((Germany World Cup 2006))
388HOUSTON_M wrote:If Brazil meet Ghana in the second round, it could be a fascinating match.
Even without the suspended Michael Essien, I wouldn't bet against the Africans staging a major shock.
On the subject of Essien: while he's a talented guy, he's also one of the dirtiest players in the game. He's a cheat with Chelsea, and he was a cheat today (for, at the very least, his dive just outside the penalty box in the first half).
A few days ago, I felt that Ghana were the plucky underdogs, and I would have been happy to see them progress. Now I consider them a dirty team that doesn't belong in the tournament. What we witnessed this morning was appalling. It was as dirty a game as I've ever seen.
I'm not that keen on Brazil this time, but I really hope they beat Ghana. Badly.
((Germany World Cup 2006))
390The Guardian are pretty good at this, sometimes:
The Guardian minute by minute match report wrote: 84 min This is brilliant end to end stuff. Srna sends in a curling cross from the right; Emerton clears with the best diving header I've seen since the 1987 FA Cup final.
85 min: Red card Simic is sent off. He picks up a second booking for swiping Kewell's legs from under him.
86 min This is fantastic stuff. Tudor manages to beat the hapless Kalac with a shot while lying down... but Moore clears off the line.
87 min: Another red card evens things up! Now Emerton walks for a second yellow: a deliberate handball.
88 min Kalac catches the ball cleanly!
89 min This is all Croatia, who are swinging crosses into a nervous Australia box from either side.
90 min: Another red card! But... Graham Poll, who is a stupid bastard, is not getting the final, we can tell you that for nothing. After fouling Kennedy, Simunic is booked for a second time. He walks... then comes back when he realises Poll isn't going to show red. Ho ho hoh dear.
FULL TIME: Croatia 2 - 2 Australia Ha ha ha, Graham Poll is a complete clown. After a scramble in the box, Viduka sets about forcing the ball home for Australia... but Poll blows up for full time, Clive Thomas style, with the ball about to cross the line. He disallows the goal - not that it matters - but then he decides to book Simunic for a third time - and sends him off. He then blows up for full time AGAIN... before driving off the pitch in a car with square wheels.
Honk! Honk! The doors have just fallen off Poll's car, and there are jets of steam coming out of the engine. Let's hope nobody agrees to smell his funny flower!
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