World Cup 2010

YourValentine wrote: Jon - England vs Germany is really a classic, it will be a great match. I am looking forward to the war rhetoric of the English tabloids already :-)
reply:
as Basil Fawlty would of said "dont mention the war!" [i'll let you youtube it] lol

the omens are good for England,the Germans havent beaten us for 10 years i think... :-p

i think this time England is the better team - the Germans are very young and inexperienced. However - the Germans often outgrow their possibilities in a tounament. The fans are happy for the team to have qualified for the second round, everything else would be a bonus.  We won't suffer as much as we suffered through Germany vs Ghana :-)

I seem to remember that Germany won over England when the new Wembley stadium was opened...

YourValentine wrote: i think this time England is the better team - the Germans are very young and inexperienced. However - the Germans often outgrow their possibilities in a tounament. The fans are happy for the team to have qualified for the second round, everything else would be a bonus.  We won't suffer as much as we suffered through Germany vs Ghana :-)

I seem to remember that Germany won over England when the new Wembley stadium was opened... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't agree with that. In all areas, the Germans look superior. They can pass the ball better, have a better shape, look sharper, and their players all seem to have good close control of the ball. And they can keep possession, which England seem unable to do: look how confident German defenders are playing the ball from their own half. Compare that to Terry and Carragher! Granted, Ghana-Germany was a very open game, and Ghana were a little unlucky, but they are the best of the African teams at the WC -- not by reputation, but through their performances. I see 3:1 to Germany.

I hope you are right, Holly ;-) English fans always downplay the abilities of their team, I wonder why. German fans always believe that their team will win the cup after they won the first group match :-) This year people are happy that the team did not get kicked out in the first round, so we are a bit more relaxed than usual.

The team spirit is probably in favour of the German team : a team which is very young, even an "old" player like Schweinsteiger (75 matches in the national team) is only 25. Strikers like Müller and Ösil are u21 European champions and there is no player who plays outside of the Bundesliga. The team captain Ballack (Chelsea) cannot play , so our only international star is absent. The young players, however, seem to stick together like a real good team, playing for each other and running for each other. This is a big plus.

England, on the other side, has huge names with Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, you name them. From their class,  technique and experience they are far superior to the German team. From what we hear the team does not seem to be happy with their coach, the line-up and the strategy, this can be a big minus.

If all goes normal England should win. Of course nothing is ever normal when England plays vs Germany :) The two big "northern" teams in Europe are always rivals, even if the third Wembley goal had never happened! It's always possible that the German team wins - for example in a penalty shoot out ;-)

Looking into other groups I think the positive surprises are Uruguay, New Zealand, and the USA. Argentina seems to be the best team by far while Spain and Italy are disappointing so far. But everything goes back to start in the second round!

^lets hope there is a Russian linesman for the England v Germany game just like in '66 :-D
there was a bit of a fallout in the England camp but aparantly Francis Ford Capello sorted it out with a few beers.Trust the English to sort their problems out with a pint of lager lol
can see England exploiting the German left/right backs with Milner/Johnson and /GerrardCole too good for them and Rooney has got to hit form at some stage.looking more like the England team of the qualifiers now instead of a pub team

JoxerTheDeityPirate wrote: ^lets hope there is a Russian linesman for the England v Germany game just like in '66 :-D
there was a bit of a fallout in the England camp but aparantly Francis Ford Capello sorted it out with a few beers.Trust the English to sort their problems out with a pint of lager lol
can see England exploiting the German left/right backs with Milner/Johnson and /GerrardCole too good for them and Rooney has got to hit form at some stage.looking more like the England team of the qualifiers now instead of a pub team

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I must've been watching a different game.* In the first half, England played well, but their only stand out player was Milner. In the second half, England were hanging on. In 3 games at the WC they've had two good first halfs (not counting Green's butter fingers), one bad first half, and three poor second halfs. Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard are all playing poorly: yesterday was Terry's first good performace of the WC. Their only other on-form defender is Ashley Cole. Heskey is a donkey.

*On that subject, I copied this from another forum:

We've all had the 'Were you watching the same game as me?' sensation after taking a view on a match, only to find that everyone else in the world is calling you a know-nothing buffoon who shouldn't be allowed near a football ground ever again.

However, the punditry teams on The BBC and RTE seemed not only to be watching a different match, but a different sport. With the wrong glasses on. Upside down. And people kept standing up in front of the telly.

As compiled by The Irish Times, here are some choice cuts from their contrasting analysis of England v Slovenia:

Alan Hansen: "Once England got the goal the confidence levels surged, they were excellent."

Eamon Dunphy: "They just didn't grow in confidence at all after the goal."

Gary Lineker: "The goal really settled them, didn't it? They pushed on from there."

Ronnie Whelan: "You'd think they'd have kicked on from when they scored, but they actually got worse."

Roy Hodgson: "England's crossing has been absolutely outstanding."

John Giles: "Some of the crossing was just awful."

Lee Dixon: "A great performance."

Dunphy: "Shocking...absolutely incredibly bad...pretty awful stuff."

Lineker: "He looked more like the Rooney we know."

Whelan: "Rooney is a major worry, his form, his body language, his demeanour, everything."

Dixon: "Gerrard was outstanding."

Dunphy: "I can't believe how bad Gerrard was today."

Redknapp: "Across midfield we were top drawer."

Giles: "Barry got worse as the game went on, Milner, Gerrard and Lampard the same."

'Arry: "Bring it on! Whoever we play we'll be difficult to beat."

Whelan: "If they don't improve they'll go straight out, it was a very, very inept performance."

Micrówave wrote: Ok, I've been trying to give this soccer thing the fair shake.  I have watched several matches... in their entirity.

(See What A Fool I've Been)

There are more ties in this sport than any other.  Absolutely ridiculous.  England or US can advance WITHOUT WINNING A SINGLE MATCH.  That speaks volumes about the quality of this sport.  Let's reward teams for not accomplishing a damn thing.

Of course, if you like kissing your sister, then ignore my comments and enjoy yourselves.

In the history of this sport, no one has been smart enough to figure out that a rule change is desperately needed?  Thank God training camp is right around the corner.  I like watching sports where teams try to win games, not just survive them.  Like NFL Football, baseball, basketball, LaCrosse, volleyball, tennis, bowling, cricket, chess, kickball, marbles, tiddly winks, etc.

Even the "sport" I have a hard time calling a "sport" (NASCAR) has a checkered flag.  At least you can climb your pork skins eating, budweiser drinking ass into the car and try to win this thing.   That's a sport.  A bunch of guys running around midfield waiting for the tie is not.

Now I realize why I stopped playing soccer at 6 and moved on to something a little more complicated.  In fact, if we televised our 6 year olds playing, I think we'd be more entertained than this years World Cup.  AT LEAST THEY'D TRY TO WIN!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704629804575324972912236204.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qwza_Mha5Q&feature=player_embedded

Holly's posts about pundits reminded me of these pearls of wisdom from Gary Lineker

“The World Cup is every four years, so it's going to be a perennial problem.”

“There's no in between - you're either good or bad. We were in between.”

“If somebody in the crowd spits at you, you've got to swallow it.”

Slovakia 2

Italy 0

HAHAHAHAHA!

HA!

Ha.

That is all.

Sir GH it ended up Slovakia 3 Italy 2

I know.  I just expressed my joy part way through :-)

This couldn't go down without typical Italian melodramatics.  After the first Italian goal, an Italian player punched the Slovak goalie, got punched back, and pretended to cry in the fetal position like a baby.  I've never in my life seen a grown man act like that.  And then at the end of the match the Italian coach walked off immediately without congratulating the Slovak coach.  What a sore loser.  At last, they get what they deserve for trying to half-ass their way to the final 16 like they always do.  They didn't start to play until they were two goals down.  Too little too late.  Ciao!

Sincere congratulations to Slovakia.  You earned your four points.  Good luck against (most likely) Holland.

The world champion defeated - the Slovakian team deserved to win. What a drama. I feel with the Italian fans who love the game with a passion and who must be disappointed by their team. This time 10 minutes of great football was not enough to reach the second round.

And with that dramatic win Canada has finally come around.  Look at these fans.  Just look at them. Slovak fans?  Fans of a good old fashioned comeuppance?  People who are sick and goddamn tired of spaghetti? Who knows.  But watch some Canadians watching that amazing win below. And look at the Canada jerseys!  We don't even have a team there, but we're proud of our grass and we're proud of that 'Wavin' Flag' song and frankly we're proud of that tart we sent over to emotionally screw over that English goalie too. http://www.vuvuzela-time.co.uk/splicd.com/-RPtDT9EHGo/144/190

just need Spain to lose now and it will be a good end to the week before the Germans lose on Sunday ;-D
farewell to the Pasta Boys,a new name on the trophy this year may it begin with "E" :-p

[QUOTE]Sir GH wrote: Slovakia 2

Italy 0

HAHAHAHAHA!

HA!

Ha.

That is all. [/QUOTE]

me uninformed?  Maybe you should wait until a game is over before posting.

The oldest line in the book... a game's not over until it's over.

But then you were probably being like me.  Realizing once their team's got a lead, they just play prevent defense and NOT try to score anymore.  This was probably the first exciting game of the whole World Cup... and you missed it!!!!  Badly!!!

No, obviously not the best sport in the world.   The easiest to understand and play?  Yes.  Constant 1-0 games do not make the best sport.  90% of these games have been some of the worst soccer ever played.