Going off what you guys have been talking about, it seems like I made the right choice going with the Nigeria-South Korea game, which was tense and definitely worth watching through to the very end. I'm not sure if any of you saw it, but what about Yakubu's miss!!?? Sure, he redeemed himself with the penalty (sloppily given away, South Korea's dethroning moment of the game) but... wow. My Dad was going crazy at the TV, having played and watched football for the greater part of his life. The pundits shared similar feelings too, and they're mostly former players that played for a long time.

But it was a good game. I was going for SK, though again it sucks to have another African side to leave the tournament - come on Ghana! Like some of you guys here said, the SK side is fun to watch: they're fast, and they've made great work of their set pieces. They tend to run out of steam quick I've found, but I think they can still surprise in the second round.

Knowing about Greece's defensive streak and the strong possibility of an Argentine victory, I stayed away. Well done to Argentina though for the perfect nine.

For NEVR et al: England definitely have the skill to beat Slovenia, and I don't just say that because I'm English. Slovenia have likely surprised more than a few since the tournament started, but I think it's doable, if they get start fucking talking to each other and focus on playing football. I don't want another shambles match - it was almost as if they were scared to commit to anything for trivial reasons (don't want to get booked/sent off, fear of another Green mishap, worrying too much about players like Gerrard coming across too much, etc.).

Bear in mind with my predictions though, I had it in my head that the Algeria game would be a real points/goals gold mine. Whoops.

At 6/22/10 05:21 PM, Scarab wrote: I'm not sure if any of you saw it, but what about Yakubu's miss!!?? Sure, he redeemed himself with the penalty (sloppily given away, South Korea's dethroning moment of the game) but... wow. My Dad was going crazy at the TV, having played and watched football for the greater part of his life. The pundits shared similar feelings too, and they're mostly former players that played for a long time.

Yeah I've seen it and it was just ridiculous how he missed that chance. I remember in a former match some other Nigerian missed a shot at open goal as well, just after a one on one situation against the goalie.

Now I've been playing football for a very long time myself and I know everyone blunders sometimes, but... from a professional player that plays for a national team, you can at least expect them to score when they're in front of an open goal.

Im still trying to make sense of the Greek tactics, my understanding was that they needed to win 2-0 against Argentina to guarentee passage. Instead they decided to dedicate one player to smother messi and the rest to simply defend incredibly rigidly while occasionally feeding the ball to that ladyboy Samaras. At the start of the match it made sense

But why did they not modify their tactics to try some sort of dynamic offense in the 2nd half?

A team that ensures a game is destined to be extremely fucking boring even though they actually must win it should be banned from attending the world cup finals - in future if Greece qualifies for the finals of the World Cup they should be stripped of their place which should then be assigned to Scotland, for no justifiable reason!

At 6/22/10 05:21 PM, Scarab wrote: For NEVR et al: England definitely have the skill to beat Slovenia, and I don't just say that because I'm English.

Of course I agree that England have the skill deep down (perhaps very deep down, lol), but if they're struggling at the group stage then it seems to me to be an indication that either they don't deserve to go through to the knockout stage, or they simply don't have it in them this time around.

Either way, I'll be watching the match tomorrow and hoping that England can pull their collective finger out.

Bear in mind with my predictions though, I had it in my head that the Algeria game would be a real points/goals gold mine. Whoops.

As did I, man.

At 6/22/10 06:13 PM, NEVR wrote: Of course I agree that England have the skill deep down (perhaps very deep down, lol), but if they're struggling at the group stage then it seems to me to be an indication that either they don't deserve to go through to the knockout stage, or they simply don't have it in them this time around.

Ah yes, but also bear in mind that teams have done horribly in the group stages only to scrape through and power on to get far in the last 16. I think the so called "weak" teams in Englands group have made the placid and lazy. If Holland or Argentina were in their group they'd play a lot better [I like to think] as top teams tend to bring out the best in each other, as they know they have to work harder, and thus, do.

At 6/22/10 06:13 PM, NEVR wrote: Of course I agree that England have the skill deep down (perhaps very deep down, lol), but if they're struggling at the group stage then it seems to me to be an indication that either they don't deserve to go through to the knockout stage, or they simply don't have it in them this time around.

It's going to be very tight, definitely, and they need to start showing some consideration for that. At the third match, they really shouldn't be thinking, 'Oh, I hope we don't face Germany next!', but rather just focus on getting through! I was impressed with Slovenia and the USA in their match (as much as it should've been 3-2 of course, but we'll leave that can of worms at the side here...), and while Algeria have been less than interesting to watch for the most part, it's tricky, but not a last breath for success ordeal.

I'm expecting an American victory tomorrow. Will it be hugely influential on England? Who knows, this World Cup is full of surprises, as always!

Either way, I'll be watching the match tomorrow and hoping that England can pull their collective finger out.

Me too, if only just to get an exciting game out of it. I don't know if Capello will respond to the problems so far via formation and pickings sufficiently - as they've said, he's a picky guy. A strong manager who knows what he's doing, but stubborn also. They need to try and ignore the media and so on too, all of them. If the fans are booing you at the World Cup, then something's wrong - never mind whether or not the fans were in the right. Rooney and his outburst were just silly! I was like, 'Dude, you've just had one particularly dire game, and another subpar one, lol.' Out of frustration warranted maybe, but this stuff will be blown up. This John Terry rebel, 'revolution' business is stupid too, similarly.

Although it did introduce the thought of the England players throwing copies of The Communist Manifesto at Capello while 'psycho' Stuart Pearce goes crazy at them.

These sorts of things can be added ot my brief list from earlier, along with stupid, more general excuses like the ball and the vuvuzelas.

Bear in mind with my predictions though, I had it in my head that the Algeria game would be a real points/goals gold mine. Whoops.

As did I, man.

I think the BBC summed it up in one of their many, many montages of England playing:

'Why does it always have to be such an ordeal to watch England play?'

Credit to them for getting BRIAN BLESSED in the most recent one. That'll get them up and running!

At 6/22/10 06:45 PM, Viridis wrote: I think the so called "weak" teams in Englands group have made the placid and lazy. If Holland or Argentina were in their group they'd play a lot better [I like to think] as top teams tend to bring out the best in each other, as they know they have to work harder, and thus, do.

Well you never know. I'm more of a cynic and kinda think that better teams would have just crushed England more efficiently ;P

Come on England for fuck's sake!

Nigeria-South Korea was definitely the match of the day. Two teams fighting with everything they had because everything was on the line. Very back and forth first Korea looked like they couldn't keep up, then they came back, then Nigeria put the heat on again. With all the close chances it could have been a very different story for both teams. Fitting to see it end up a tie after both sides fought so hard, I was rooting for Nigeria to clinch the next round for an African team, but at least it wasn't Greece. I don't know why they'd play so defensively. On paper it was probably their best hope of getting anything against Argentina, but it shows a lack of confidence and I think that affects the player's mentality. They should have brought the same heart and desire to go for goals that they showed against Nigeria (granted it took Nigeria being a man down for them to come out of their shells).

Tomorrow will be another interesting day. I know I shouldn't be overconfident, but I don't see Algeria beating the US team. Even with our tendency to make defensive blunders Algeria just doesn't have a strong enough finish to their attacks to convince me that they have more than the slimmest of chances at getting anything past the goal. They can't afford to be defensive enough to keep us out and with all the chances they gave England it was at least a little bit of luck that their game last Friday ended in a draw.

England-Slovenia is probably going to be a pretty low-key game until the second half. Since a tie is all they need I expect Slovenia to rely on their defense to stifle the English attack and only counter strong when they see a clear opening in the defense. I think it's going to depend mostly on England's ability to bounce back from a disappointing start, something I wouldn't put past them. If they play like they did against Algeria it's over, if they can finally play like the team of world-class players they are they should be able to break through the Slovenia defense.

I'd like to see Ghana take out Germany or at least tie and not just because it will make my team's life that much easier should the move along. Germany not having Klose will definitely be a boon, but I wouldn't expect that to cripple Germany. Germany will be fighting for a win knowing that a Serbian win would keep them out of the finals should they tie and Ghana isn't quite as strong as they were four years ago at the last World Cup. In my eyes not being able to get more than a draw against a 10 man Australia indicates that they're not ready to take on a full German team.

I know on paper that it's likely that Serbia will be take out Australia, but if I had to choose an upset team before the competition it would have been Australia although realistically after having troubles in every other match they're really going to have to stage a solid comeback.

At 6/22/10 06:01 PM, DingoTheDog wrote: Im still trying to make sense of the Greek tactics, my understanding was that they needed to win 2-0 against Argentina to guarentee passage.

No, it all depended on the result of the other match..well, almost all, they still needed not to lose and not let Argentina score (because of the goal differences and all that)

A team that ensures a game is destined to be extremely fucking boring even though they actually must win it should be banned from attending the world cup finals - in future if Greece qualifies for the finals of the World Cup they should be stripped of their place which should then be assigned to Scotland, for no justifiable reason!

Of course you're forgetting the part where a team plays however the fuck they want, and where you're not forced to watch the match if you don't want to.They only wanted to get results out of the match (and they failed-but the intention was that), not display mad football skillz.
Also, lol Scotland.

And here are some predictions so everyone can laugh at how wrong I am later on.

SLV 1 - 2 ENG
USA 2 - 0 ALG
GHA 1 - 2 GER
AUS 1 - 1 SER

man, England and Germany are seriously in danger of not making it through...if England ties with Slovenia and the USA wins, they're out. and if Germany ties with Ghana and Serbia beats Australia, they're out too.
i know that they will most liekly make it through, but still...they gotta watch out.

At 6/22/10 09:38 PM, portalwarpedJP wrote: man, England and Germany are seriously in danger of not making it through...if England ties with Slovenia and the USA wins, they're out. and if Germany ties with Ghana and Serbia beats Australia, they're out too.
i know that they will most liekly make it through, but still...they gotta watch out.

All of the European powers need to watch out. It will not be a walk in the park for Spain against Chile, and my trust in the Azzurri dwindled after their draw with New Zealand, of all teams.

No matter what happens tomorrow, at least Team U.S.A. will finish ahead of France.

What happened to France? Not being able to adequately replace Zinedine Zidane is one thing but WTF?

They even lost to China at one point.

I can't wait for Italy to win.

At 6/22/10 10:12 PM, Cericon wrote: I can't wait for Italy to win.

Just hope they don't play a team as skillful as New Zealand

I hope that China would be able to play World Cup someday in the future!
Support Asian football teams forever! Go,Go,Go!

Argentina will win!

Argentina v Netherlands would be a great match.

At 6/22/10 10:07 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: No matter what happens tomorrow, at least Team U.S.A. will finish ahead of France.

What happened to France? Not being able to adequately replace Zinedine Zidane is one thing but WTF?

They even lost to China at one point.

After what happened to the Irish, they deserve to get their asses kicked.

Also, who's pissed about the ref discrediting the 3rd US goal in the US v SVN game ???

All these talk about England not passing is getting on my nerves.

Look here's my point of view:

England for what I can see is having some sort of backstage minor issues (Not even close to France in terms of magnitude), they are not at their 100% right now for some reason, they need to get their shit together and start playing like they care about this tournamnt. Gerrard and Lampard haven't showing even half of what they are capable, Rooney is a ghost and don't even get me started on Heskey. BUT they have the experience needed for a tournament of this caliber, they have the quality, they fucking invented football. I don't want to sound all mushy and shit but this is coming from a South American that has been rooting for England since 98 because our national team has never been to a WC. At the level they have showed the last 2 games they will definitely not go through the First Round.

Like someone else said before (Damn it I couln't find the post but I know it's somewhere).

Possible? Yes.
Probable? No.

End of Rant

Can we talk Argentina for just one sec?

Who else here is rooting for them? I can't be the only one.

At 6/23/10 12:15 AM, LatinoRalf wrote: Can we talk Argentina for just one sec?

Who else here is rooting for them? I can't be the only one.

Oh no, I can assure you you're not alone. I've been following Argentina for as long as I've been alive and I'm pumped because they really look like this year is their year to win their third trophy. However time will tell

I don't think we (England) will get through either. Don't get me wrong I'd love for it to happen but our team seems to be as un-united as France, so I just can't see them working together and playing properly. Certainly if Capello keeps Gerrard on the right and doesn't play Joe Cole when we need a new player on to mix things up.

It's stupid.

So yeah, I don't know.

At 6/23/10 12:44 AM, Ship wrote:

At 6/23/10 12:15 AM, LatinoRalf wrote: Can we talk Argentina for just one sec?

Who else here is rooting for them? I can't be the only one.

Oh no, I can assure you you're not alone. I've been following Argentina for as long as I've been alive and I'm pumped because they really look like this year is their year to win their third trophy. However time will tell

We need another moment even remotely close to this.*

Yeah....Orgasmic.

What I don't understand is why the NY Times mentions goals differential on their website for the standings. I thought teams were pitted against number of goals scored compared to the other team that has the same points. For example, if the USA and England both had 0-0 draws tomorrow, will the USA advance over England or will they be equal because they both will have a goal differential of 0?

At 6/23/10 01:09 AM, Malachy wrote: What I don't understand is why the NY Times mentions goals differential on their website for the standings. I thought teams were pitted against number of goals scored compared to the other team that has the same points. For example, if the USA and England both had 0-0 draws tomorrow, will the USA advance over England or will they be equal because they both will have a goal differential of 0?

If that happens USA will go through as they've SCORED more goals in the 3 games altogether.

USA 1-1 England
USA 2-2 Slovenia
England 0-0 Algeria

If they both record a 0-0 tie, then the Slovenia and the US will advance.

If for example, England records a 3-3 tie and the US records a 0-0 tie then Slovenia and England advances. England has to make up for the amount of goals scored (Goals for); the US has 3 compared to England's 1 with all else being equal.

At 6/23/10 01:22 AM, reverend wrote: If they both record a 0-0 tie, then the Slovenia and the US will advance.

If for example, England records a 3-3 tie and the US records a 0-0 tie then Slovenia and England advances. England has to make up for the amount of goals scored (Goals for); the US has 3 compared to England's 1 with all else being equal.

so in short, the NYtimes added an entire column for no good reason.

Well yeah, you can say that. It's just there to give people a quick look at a number instead of having to do simple math. Goal Difference is the second tiebreaker so people what to see that at a glance.

At 6/23/10 01:08 AM, LatinoRalf wrote: We need another moment even remotely close to this.*

Yeah....Orgasmic.

Have you seen the Messi goal a couple years back that was almost exactly like that? It was amazing. But this year is the year for la albiceleste. Thank goodness I'm not alone in my support.

At 6/23/10 01:51 AM, Ship wrote:

At 6/23/10 01:08 AM, LatinoRalf wrote: We need another moment even remotely close to this.*

Yeah....Orgasmic.

Have you seen the Messi goal a couple years back that was almost exactly like that? It was amazing. But this year is the year for la albiceleste. Thank goodness I'm not alone in my support.

Yes, yes and yes.