Zidane's Headbutt Discussion and also some stuff on that FIFA World Cup 2006 thing [Archive] - Page 3

Resha

06-23-2006, 07:21 PM

Spain really oughter've gotten more goals. Great goalkeeping from the Saudi goalie, though, so kudos to him. Felt a bit sorry for Joaquin. As for the Ukraine -- Tunisia game -- I dunno, I really didn't think it was a penalty. Seemed a dubious decision to me.

France - Togo and SK - Switzerland soon. Whatever happens in the SK - Swiss game though, France have to win. Zidane's not playing -- GLEE!! He's really scary and I don't like him much. He seems to be at the bottom of every single dispute and squabble within the squad; fighting with Domenech, arguing with Thuram on the pitch that day. :/ It's just unpleasant and sinister. Ribery's awesome, I expect great stuff of him today. Hopefully. And Henry.

South Korean fans are crazy :heart: but they make the games so so fun and nice. Crazy and loud.

Croyles

06-23-2006, 08:46 PM

Half time: Togo 0 - 0 France
It really looks like the French team could go out once again.

06-23-2006, 09:00 PM

France and Togo have put on a good show so far. I get the feeling that France are going to win this one, but Togo have looked threatening at times, and if they get the first goal they'll be sure to pack the defence and make things difficult for the French. Also, well done to Phillipe Senderos for scoring a top header against South Korea, and potentially winning the group for his side.

Croyles

06-23-2006, 09:02 PM

Yeah and he didnt whine about the blood!

06-23-2006, 09:14 PM

Vieira's put France one up on his birthday, with a great shot on the turn. I think France will go on to score one or two more with the confidence boost this gives them. They're certainly looking fired up now.

The goal was provided by Franck Ribery, who's had a very odd tournament so far. At times (like just now) he's looked pacy and creative, and he keeps getting into good positions all over the pitch, making him difficult to pick up. On the other hand, he's been pretty crap in the final third, and had a horrible time against Switzerland. I suppose he's still yet to reach his peak, but if this is the best they have to offer, I'd be pretty worried about the future of the French national side...if I cared, that is. :D

EDIT: 2-0. Vieira knock-on stabbed home by Thierry Henry.

Croyles

06-23-2006, 09:18 PM

2-0
I spoke too soon.
I want South Korea to go through instead of France! But in a way I also dont want the French to go out, since they nearly deserve to. I dont want Switzerland to go either, aahhhhh damn.

Resha

06-23-2006, 09:53 PM

Happy birthday Viera :) What better way to celebrate than to score? And yay Henry too.

Ah, I feel a tad bad for the South Koreans. It would've been nice to have them in there, but Frei's second goal just about cinched it....and now it's done. 2 - 0. Haha, Senderos got thoroughly beaten up in this game, but what a brilliant game it's been for him nonetheless.

The French meet Spain, and augh. Scary.

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-23-2006, 10:27 PM

whatever did Jonathan Pearce mean by drawing lots to decide who tops the group in a tie-break situation?
I'm glad France went through but I would have rather seen them do it with a last minute scrappy goal from William Gallas which almost certainly would have made the dying seconds more interesting

Endless

06-23-2006, 10:45 PM

The French meet Spain, and augh. Scary.

The Spanish are sooo going to kick our asses.

Croyles

06-24-2006, 12:04 AM

whatever did Jonathan Pearce mean by drawing lots to decide who tops the group in a tie-break situation?

This is for all the world cups:

5. The ranking of each team in each group will be determined as follows:

a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;

b) goal difference in all group matches;

c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows:

d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;

e) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;

f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;

g) drawing of lots by the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™.

6. The two teams coming first and second in each group qualify for the second round.

tomamar04

06-24-2006, 07:56 AM

Anyone heard the latest England team news?

Carrick is expected to play the holding role with Hargreaves at right-back, leaving Carragher on the bench. Ferdinand is 50-50 to play.

jesteranimefreak

06-24-2006, 01:49 PM

Um.... question here... FIFA has layed down two major suspensions and I'd like to request some clarification:

ITA Daniel De Rossi was given a 4 game suspension for elbowing USA Brian McBride

USA Pablo Mastroeni was given a 3 game suspension for a tackle from behind in the USA-ITA match.

OK, is this in addition to the match they have to sit for a red card? I mean every media outlet I've seen is giving conflicting information.

All of the media I've seen says that Mastroeni will serve the 3 game suspension out of the World Cup because the US was eliminated. Understandable and follows the premise of this 3 game suspension being tacked on to the one game for the red (vs. Ghana).

However, all the media is saying that De Rossi, should Italy reach the finals, will be able to compete in the finals. Yea, but only if you include the last group match that Italy had (Czech Republic). because if you don;t that means that there are only four knockout stages INCLUDING the finals.

So is Mastroeni getting a 4 game suspension disguised as a 3 game suspension? Or is it De Rossi getting a 3 gamer for 4? Or am I just totally confused?:( :choc2:

Croyles

06-24-2006, 01:50 PM

Well im totally confused thats for sure.

jesteranimefreak

06-24-2006, 02:07 PM

Well im totally confused thats for sure.

That's not a good sign! You're in Europe! you should know this! I'm from the US... I'm the one who should be completly and utterly stumped!

dragoonknight_kain

06-24-2006, 03:06 PM

It's four games, not 1 and then another four. De Rossi didn't play against Czech Republic, so he will be out in the next 3 games, then he can play. The same for Mastroeni. He'll be out in another 2 games, as he didn't play against Ghana.

Resha

06-24-2006, 04:52 PM

The Swedish story gets increasingly tragic. Sad. But well deserved by the Germans. >_< Podolski didn't get the first goal -- that unfortunate Lucic did. Bah.

Croyles

06-24-2006, 05:52 PM

Germany 2 - 0 Sweden
Both goals in the first 12 minutes.

Well Sweden were dissapointingly bad, but I thought Germany played well.
Podolski's first shot was on target before it hit Lucic, so i doesnt make it an own goal.
I really hated the second half though. Germany took their time a bit too much and some of the fouls they were looking for were just awful, the waving of imaginary yellow cards etc, dont do that again Germany, please.
I was hoping for more goals, especially when Sweden only had 10 players 10 minutes before half time.
Swedens only chance to get back was that penalty (what a stupid foul that was), and they screwed that one up.
Poor Sweden, I was expecting a bit more of a fight.
Anyway, waaaahhheeeeyy!

06-24-2006, 08:47 PM

Gabriel Heinze is the luckiest man in Germany.

Awesome game!

Edit: Another really bad game from the referee, here. Argentina have got off lightly on numerous occasions and Mexico have been treated harshly. The game has slacked off largely, although Mexico just wasted some excellent play. A lovely nutmeg from Pineda. But yes. Borgetti looked extremely dangerous in the first half but he's lost the plot now, his touch is bad and he's not playing well. Argentina very much looking like the more likely to score. COME ON MEXICO

Edit2: Amazing goal. But come on, Mexico! I have faith.

Psychotic

06-24-2006, 10:41 PM

Poor Mexico. This is why I put them on the poll. They gave the Argentinians as good as they got, in my opinion, and it was a wonder goal that was the difference in the end.

Heinze should have been sent off in the first half, but then Messi's goal should've counted at the end because Aimar was not offside, so that evens it all out.

The Germans are actually looking better than I initially thought they were, and are a very efficient team. I wasn't too keen on their attitude, though, what with encouraging the ref to send Lucic off, and various time wasting (that began in the first half) and continuing play when Swedes went down injured.

Podolski, Marquez and Crespo are all in my Fantasy Football team! :D However...I forgot to set the formation to include players in today's game. I hate myself. :whimper:

Time to add another strike through on the poll. Bye Mexico, you came good in the end, but it wasn't enough.

JaytodaP

06-24-2006, 10:51 PM

Im surprised at the amount of missed penalty kicks. there is no reason for you to miss one. no excuses. You are given a gift but you dont take it. You are such a small distance away and have such a big target. YOU DONT NEED TO PUT POWER OR SPIN! people want to have the great goal and miss PKs too often. Put it in the top corners only if youre already winning. left, right or low and hard will probably get the goalie every time. Its only youre fault if you miss the net and players deserve to be booed and ridiculed. If the goalie saves it, then its a good save, not a bad miss.

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-24-2006, 10:56 PM

Never thought I'd see two chest/volley goals in this World Cup. Brilliant technique from Rodriguez. I also enjoyed seeing shades of the Serbia match when Tevez linked up with Messi and tore apart the Mexican defence in extra time. I think Mexico deserved to go through as much as Argentina did and I did end up feeling remotely sorry for them. I also think the atmosphere in that match was top-notch, which makes me wish I was a regular Argentina supporter so I could swing my shirt with everyone else in the stands. I wouldn't have to by a tumble dryer and just take my washing down to the pitch every Saturday.

Two powerful footballing nations meet again. The favourites (in my opinion) against the hosts :)

JaytodaP

06-24-2006, 11:06 PM

I just thought of a crappy analogy for taking PKs.

Getting a penalty kick is like getting a bunch of free ingridients to make food. you could make something easy and great tasting, like grilled cheese, or you could make something thats very difficult and confusing to make which might come out sloppy and gross in the end.

06-24-2006, 11:18 PM

The decisions went in the favour of Argentina, though. The referee gave a yellow (to the wrong player, even) for a challenge that barely touched the Argentine player, then when the number Seven for Mexico went past two players and then a third just ran into him and fell on him, right infront of the ref, there was no card. And how he missed that guy brutally flooring Marquez in Extra Time when Mexico had the free kick and it was right in front of his face, I'll never know. D:

Croyles

06-25-2006, 12:47 AM

The Germans are actually looking better than I initially thought they were, and are a very efficient team. I wasn't too keen on their attitude, though, what with encouraging the ref to send Lucic off, and various time wasting (that began in the first half) and continuing play when Swedes went down injured.

I definitely wasnt too keen on it either, I hope they dont do that again. But other teams, such as Italy, Argentina, France etc have all done the same.

Im a tad annoyed about the stereotypes popping up in the british media again, but we have already pleasantly surprised people so im not really bothered :p
I just wish I was in Germany at the moment :( I nearly managed to get tickets for the final too!!!

Come on Germany! Pull something amazing out of your pockets and beat Argentina!

-N-

06-25-2006, 02:17 AM

Madonna

06-25-2006, 02:59 AM

A penalty kick is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get...except maybe chocolates.

Yamaneko

06-25-2006, 03:34 AM

Maxi's goal against Mexico was the best one of the tournament so far. Mexico played hard (I was hoping they'd win), but Argentina deserves to go on.

tomamar04

06-25-2006, 07:54 AM

Great game, but how Heinze didn't get sent off is beyond me. It ruined what could of been a great game.

06-25-2006, 12:11 PM

Last night's game was one of the best so far, in my opinion. How Crespo was awarded that goal I'll never know, but as he's in my team, I'm not complaining. :cool:

Tonight's game is extremely important for England, not just because it's a knockout game, but because it's our last chance to really find our form before we have to start playing quality opposition. Whether we get Portugal or the Dutch, we've got a tough quarter final ahead of us, and we're going to beat the likes of them, let alone Spain or Argentina, we're going to need to start showing what we're capable of now.

Jack

06-25-2006, 01:36 PM

I'm going to the pub to watch England today. I think it's also important because they need to show that they are a TEAM, rather than hype. We've lost some good players, and as such are playing a unconventional formation. To be fair, it's Sven's fault in only taking 3 strikers (Walcott doesn't count since he'll never play), 2 of which were massively un-fit. Still, I hope we win. Convincingly please guys.

I'm annoyed France got through. The only time they've played with real verve is against Togo. No offence against Togo, but they were not World Cup winning material are they? I want Spain to spank them. I think it could be Spain's year, since they have the players but in previous tournaments they lacked the team. This year, it seems that they do.

Germany versus Argentina?! Pity I'll be getting ready for my Prom.

06-25-2006, 06:05 PM

OK, that wasn't bad. Sure, it's only Ecuador, but for the first time in the World Cup we actually looked comfortable throughout the game. There were one or two dodgy moments in the first half, but nothing that can't be ironed out in training, and simply seeing England players getting forward in the second half was a breath of fresh air. On top of that, Rooney looked more like himself, and with a second striker we'd surely have created more chances. I still don't know if we can beat Holland or Portugal, but at least we've made the quarter finals relatively trouble-free.

06-25-2006, 06:06 PM

Frank Lampard is making me sad. :(

Jess

06-25-2006, 06:22 PM

Lampard makes me sad, too. However, Lennon makes me extremely happy! Glad to see that Rooney is getting back on form. Throughout the game I thought that Gerrard should have gone upfront with Rooney and Lampy should have been pushed back, but meh.

Job done - but only just enough done, tbh. I think that we should of performed better. The first half was absolutely awful but the second was fairly good.

1-0! Quarter finals here we come. Hopefully Holland will knock out Portugal out tonight as I think they'd be the harder opponents. :jess:

Psychotic

06-25-2006, 06:23 PM

OMG YAY! WE KEPT POSSESSION! DID YOU SEE THAT?! ENGLAND KEPT POSSESSION WELL!! HURRAY HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD! THIS IS THE GREATEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!! oh we won too. Yay for that I suppose.

News in brief: Thank you, Michael Carrick. :love: Wayne is back. :love: Drop Lampard for the Crouchatron now please thanks! What was wrong, Joe? :( Sven, don't ever try that Carra to right back and Hargreaves in midfield stunt again. It's suicide. Despite how shaky he looked, I was genuinely alarmed when Robinson went down injured, but only because that would mean David James. I didn't like all the time-wasting either, especially as it meant we had Carra playing at right-back on a yellow, which I thought was going to be our downfall. As it happens, Ecuador looked tame. Disappointing from them. Oh Aaron Lennon, where have you been all our lives? :love:

And now it's Netherlands v Portugal to decide which team gets the right to knock England out on penalties! :p

dragoonknight_kain

06-25-2006, 07:02 PM

The English players rely too much on long passes and crosses, and if they keep playing like this, only luck will get them to the penalty kicks.

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-25-2006, 07:23 PM

Destroy the orange guys!!!!

tomamar04

06-25-2006, 07:29 PM

I thought England played well. We kept the ball better and if it wasn't for Lampard's poor finishing, we could of won 3-0.

Good to see Rooney and Lennon do well.

Outer Heaven

06-25-2006, 07:40 PM

I hope England gets eliminated.

Croyles

06-25-2006, 07:46 PM

Orange is just so awful! No wonder Netherlands never have any luck!

War Angel

06-25-2006, 09:02 PM

Brazil. That's why when you bet on it and win, you only get 20% more than what you betted on. :)

dragoonknight_kain

06-25-2006, 10:03 PM

A pathetic showing from Holland. Go home, you cheaters!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jess

06-25-2006, 10:06 PM

Awful, awful match there from Portugal and Holland. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

06-25-2006, 10:06 PM

Ugh, what a mess. At times this looked like being the best match of the World Cup, but the sheer number of bookings ruined it. Still, I suppose facing Portugal without Deco is better than facing them at full strength.

Yamaneko

06-25-2006, 10:06 PM

Eighteen cards shown in 96 minutes. It was an amazing game!

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-25-2006, 10:23 PM

I know Dirk Kuyt is wanted by English clubs but I don't want to see his face around the premiership. The guy is overreacts to fouls especially in a game which doesn't need any more foul play.

Doomie

06-25-2006, 10:36 PM

Fun game, though it's sad to see Holland go.

Croyles

06-25-2006, 10:42 PM

That was so chaotic.
It broke the world record of number of yellow cards shown in any single game, and it also broke the record of the amount of yellow cards in any World Cup. Abolutely awful, for all i know, both of them should be disqualified, if it wasnt for the fact that one of them had to play england (which is now portugal), which their gonna lose now anyway.

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-25-2006, 10:43 PM

Terrible desplay of the referee the guy should be fired!!!!

A well deserved win for Portugal even with 9 players we dominated!

dragoonknight_kain

06-25-2006, 10:48 PM

I don't know if England will beat Portugal. A victory like this, with all that effort, really strengthens a team. Maybe Portugal will be in trouble because of Deco's red card, but if they can get a good replacement for him, and if C. Ronaldo plays, England will have to watch out.

black orb

06-25-2006, 11:00 PM

>>> Lol, Beckham was England`s SAVIOR by scoring the only goal in the game..
But everyone hates this guy so much that no one even mentioned Beckham goal here.. lololololol

Psychotic

06-25-2006, 11:02 PM

It broke the world record of number of yellow cards shown in any single game, and it also broke the record of the amount of yellow cards in any World Cup. It broke the record twice? ;) Actually it equalled the yellow record, and broke the red one. What a war! Great fun to watch, and even the diving made me laugh after a while. But then what do you expect with a match featuring the likes of Robben and Figo?

Another disappointing tournament for the Dutch. As an England fan, I have a message for Luis Felipe Scolari: You don't want to be our manager. That's cool. I can accept that. BUT PLEASE LEAVE US ALONE AND STOP KNOCKING US OUT OF TOURNAMENTS :(

Although maybe the last sentiment is a bit premature. There will be no Deco, who in my opinion is Portugal's best player and no Costinha (So I predict Portugal's midfield will be Tiago, Petit and Maniche, and so that means Scolari only has the option of Hugo Viana coming on in central midfield, and Newcastle fans can tell you how good he is :p) and perhaps Figo will be suspended for that headbutt, and C. Ronaldo could be injured. Even if they are, Simao and Boa Morte are both able deputies.

I hope England play 4-5-1 again. Unlike the last game, England also have a decent plan B: Lennon and Crouch, and one of either Downing and Walcott. Of the three Eriksson v Scolari meetings, this is the one in which England have the greatest chance of winning. Either way, England or Portugal in the semi-finals is exciting, because it hasn't happened in a long time.

Of tomorrow's games, I am definitely looking forward to Italy v Australia. While Italy are definitely the favourites, I can't see Hiddink and the Aussies going down without putting up one heck of a fight.

Croyles

06-25-2006, 11:14 PM

Terrible desplay of the referee the guy should be fired!!!!

A well deserved win for Portugal even with 9 players we dominated!

Are you joking? If the referee gave yellow cards to everyone who deserved it, there would have been more than 20. After a while it just was not possible to keep track because there was stuff going on everywhere. Giving Deco a card was a mistake, but other wise, i thought he didnt do too bad despite not being able to control the situation, which ive never seen a referee do in that sort of crisis.
Both teams had 9 players in the end.

Id say a poor display of the players on both teams!

Shoden

06-25-2006, 11:16 PM

If Hugo Viana is playing Portugal are going down, I can tell you that much.

06-25-2006, 11:16 PM

Looking forward to England V Portugal. Time to put Euro 2004 right. :D

Russielloyd

06-25-2006, 11:25 PM

Terrible desplay of the referee the guy should be fired!!!!

A well deserved win for Portugal even with 9 players we dominated!

Are you joking? If the referee gave yellow cards to everyone who deserved it, there would have been more than 20. After a while it just was not possible to keep track because there was stuff going on everywhere. Giving Deco a card was a mistake, but other wise, i thought he didnt do too bad despite not being able to control the situation, which ive never seen a referee do in that sort of crisis.

Id say a poor display of the players on both teams!

Deco deserved his cards and should of even been sent off before that.

Anyways, Holland packing their bag already! haha nevermind ehy!

Ranked what, 3rd you say? b*ll*cks!

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-25-2006, 11:28 PM

Nop i desagree and the referee helped Netherland a lot!!!

Personally it´s gonna be a difficult task to beat England withought Deco but with Maniche and Figo the englishmen will have a problem!!!And come on guys Hugo Viana doens´t suck that much i prefer him then Tiago.But there is one guy that i don´t want to see in the field and that´s Pauleta...god he sucks can´t even see the ball:mad2:

Russielloyd

06-25-2006, 11:33 PM

Shoden

06-25-2006, 11:48 PM

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-26-2006, 12:02 AM

Pauleta can only score with the field completely open and stil he only as 50% of scoring.

Croyles

06-26-2006, 12:15 AM

I think the referee helped Holland just as much as Portugal.
Deco's sending off wasnt deserved because when Cocu (i think that was his name) just chucked Deco to the floor Deco got a yellow card for it instead, you cant say that was deserved!

Psychotic

06-26-2006, 12:18 AM

Croyles

06-26-2006, 12:20 AM

I think the referee helped Holland just as much as Portugal.
The referee made a vital mistake when Cocu (i think that was his name) just chucked Deco to the floor and Deco got a yellow card for that, you cant say that was deserved!Deco got a yellow card for picking the ball up for apparently no reason, not because he was tripped.

Apparently no reason? He got chucked to floor and the referee blew the whistle didnt he?
But anyway, what a chaotic game. My friend, who usually only watches rugby, kept on saying at the beginning of the match how he just wanted some fights to break out, lo and behold. He jinxed the game :p

Psychotic

06-26-2006, 12:24 AM

Deco picked the ball up, and then he was chucked to the floor, or at least, that's how I remembered it.

Yamaneko

06-26-2006, 12:32 AM

He tried to hide the ball.

The ref gave all those cards even if they were not all warranted under normal play because this game was anything but normal. After it escalated the ref had no choice but to card players for the smallest things.

Croyles

06-26-2006, 12:38 AM

Russielloyd

06-26-2006, 06:51 AM

Yeah ok i see the replay Deco did pick up the ball.
But the referee, at the start of the game he gave it away for the smallest things. At the end they definitely werent small things, unless your used to watching Rugby or Olympic Diving.

Deco was wasn't giving the ball back when the Cocu tried to get the ball, meaning he was deliberately wasting time and we all know its has been heavily stated enough by FIFA that a player time wasting should be cautioned. It was obvious Deco was doing that, so it means he got a 2nd yellow card and sent off, which he should of been earlier before that in the 2nd half.

Pauleta can only score with the field completely open and stil he only as 50% of scoring.

You actually know anything about football? You seem to talk alot of nonsense.

Resha

06-26-2006, 09:58 AM

Why DID Deco pick the ball up? I was a bit surprised when he gave the yellow to Deco, I thought Cocu would've gotten it for decking Deco. Decking Deco. Deco was decked!

What a fiasco of a game. :p It sort of descended into...well, I don't know. It was kind of funny xDD England are very lucky. :p Playing a Portugese team without Deco, Costinha and possibly Cristiano Ronaldo? Very lucky. And Holland's 20-something shots on goal to Portugal's 10! How immensely lucky are Portugal, to get through? xD

Edit: I hope Figo isn't suspended for...er..head-butting van Bommel -- or else the game (Engand - Portugal) will be a bit of a boring no-show. imho. It's just all so ridiculous :laugh:

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-26-2006, 11:13 AM

Resha

06-26-2006, 02:35 PM

Um, watching the replays fifty million times...and yeah, Deco sorta pushed Cocu out of the way as well. I guess I get it now. O_O

Jack

06-26-2006, 03:34 PM

Now that was dirty. At least it gives England more of a chance to get through, but I suppose that won't happen till we remove Lampard and get 2 strikers up front. Rooney had noone with him...

Good luck to Australia.

tomamar04

06-26-2006, 04:33 PM

Australia have started well, even though Italy should of scored.

tomamar04

06-26-2006, 05:10 PM

Materazzi's been sent off for Italy...

Come on Australia! Knock 'em out...

Doomie

06-26-2006, 05:54 PM

Wow. Wow. Wow. Fantastic. What an ending. Go Italy. I love you Totti.

Russielloyd

06-26-2006, 05:55 PM

Australia have just been robbed! That was NEVER a penalty! And out of all the players to be given against, it had to be a Blackburn player.

Doomie

06-26-2006, 05:57 PM

His tackle didn't even touch the ball. Ever. It would have been a foul anywhere on the field. Just our luck that is was where it was. :p

*ETERNAL FANTASY*

06-26-2006, 05:57 PM

un-friggen believeable how the hell was that a penalty!? The guy bloody tripped...could not come at a worse time either...

Russielloyd

06-26-2006, 06:00 PM

Doomie

06-26-2006, 06:01 PM

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-26-2006, 06:02 PM

Is Totti a baby or a daddy?

Russielloyd

06-26-2006, 06:05 PM

Resha

06-26-2006, 06:05 PM

I didn't think that was a penalty -- not on watching the replay. The guy -- I actually didn't see who it was o_o Grosso (what a name)??-- just tripped over Neill's body. Italy didn't entirely deserve that, but perhaps the Aussies should have capitalised on their 40 minutes against 10 men. Italy are so unbelievably lucky, it's unbelievable. Italy had a much better first half though, indisputably. But Jesus Christ, five seconds before the final whistle.

Metarazzi (sp?) red-carded -- how incredibly stupid of him. With Nesta out injured, Italian centre-back woes are just beginning.

I am sorry :( *huggles gor-gor* I think it really oughter have gone into extra time. Bah.

Doomie

06-26-2006, 06:08 PM

His tackle didn't even touch the ball. Ever. It would have been a foul anywhere on the field. Just our luck that is was where it was. :p

He didn't even touch the player, it wasn't a pen, he played for it! Italians cheating as usual.

Awwww, someone's bitter. :p I didn't hear you complaining about Diego Maradona. :D

Why am i bitter? because the Italians suck and need to cheat to win! Isn't cheating in your own league enough?

How the hell would you her me complain about Maradona? I was 2 years old! :confused:

You're bitter because Italy won. :p You're bitter because Australia can't beat a 10-man squad. :p So I figured you'd still be bitter for when Maradona handed the ball in. :p

EDIT: And for the record, the call wasn't made by the Italian team itself. If you don't like it, take it out on Spain. :D

*ETERNAL FANTASY*

06-26-2006, 06:15 PM

i do think the red card on point was a bit much but Neil was on the ground already..after watching the replay the guy just fell over him!

Russielloyd

06-26-2006, 06:18 PM

His tackle didn't even touch the ball. Ever. It would have been a foul anywhere on the field. Just our luck that is was where it was. :p

He didn't even touch the player, it wasn't a pen, he played for it! Italians cheating as usual.

Awwww, someone's bitter. :p I didn't hear you complaining about Diego Maradona. :D

Why am i bitter? because the Italians suck and need to cheat to win! Isn't cheating in your own league enough?

How the hell would you her me complain about Maradona? I was 2 years old! :confused:

You're bitter because Italy won. :p You're bitter because Australia can't beat a 10-man squad. :p So I figured you'd still be bitter for when Maradona handed the ball in. :p

Annoyed that Italy cheated...again, god have mercy if anyone does it to Italy but if Italy do it it's alright!

So let me get this straight, you think i'm not complaining about Maradonna, now i'm bitter about it, make your mind up.

EDIT: And for the record, the call wasn't made by the Italian team itself. If you don't like it, take it out on Spain. :D

Probably paid the ref off, but sent off Italy's best player to make him look genuine.

Dodgy Italians.

06-26-2006, 06:19 PM

Penalty or not, Lucas Neill didn't deserve to be the man responsible for Australia's exit. He's played brilliantly in the centre of the Aussies' defence, and to concede a penalty as the very last action of your World Cup must be horrible. Italy were probably the better side (even with Materazzi off, they looked competitive), but you've got to hand it to the Australian squad for getting this far. See you in 2010, lads.

dragoonknight_kain

06-26-2006, 06:21 PM

The Shoeless Hobo

06-26-2006, 06:22 PM

;_;

Resha

06-26-2006, 06:26 PM

The ref only gave the penalty because he knew he had made a mistake by sending off Materazzi(sp). He was afraid of blundering against Italy again, so he gave the penalty. There's no way he didn't see that Grosso tripped on Neill.
I dunno. Materazzi's (sp?? xD) challenge was pretty bad. And to be quite honest, I didn't see that Grosso had fallen over Neill until the replay from a different angle, and the referee only saw it once. :p

I agree with Cz -- Neill was sterling throughout the game, and he didn't deserve that. But good of Grosso to press on.

dragoonknight_kain

06-26-2006, 06:34 PM

I don't know. But it's the second time mistakes help the Italians. Against Ghana, Simon (the referee) ignored 2 penalties against Italy. Coincidence?

06-26-2006, 06:39 PM

I don't know. But it's the second time mistakes help the Italians. Against Ghana, Simon (the referee) ignored 2 penalties against Italy. Coincidence?Of course it's a coincidence. You're not suggesting that there's some huge worldwide conspiracy to guide Italy to the World Cup, are you? The Italians have been rather fortunate at times, true. But they've also had two players sent off in the tournament so far, and have generally played a good standard of football. If you ask me, they would have gone on to beat Australia in extra time anyway, so it's hardly as if the Italians have progressed solely because of poor decisions.

Russielloyd

06-26-2006, 06:43 PM

Well they have, haven't they.

Doomie

06-26-2006, 06:44 PM

Wow, nobody likes Italy, huh? I guess I'm alone to defend them.

1. There isn't play by play. Referees have one look, and they go by that one look. Don't complain that Italy are cheaters because referees are human. And we both know that had the same call been made for YOUR favorite team, then you'd probably be doing what I'm doing right now.

I don't know. But it's the second time mistakes help the Italians. Against Ghana, Simon (the referee) ignored 2 penalties against Italy. Coincidence?

Actually yes, considering that that chances of both "penalties" of capitalizing in goals was very slim. There have been much worse calls made.

The fact that the Italians have so much going on aside, and can still manage to play the game is worth something.

The Australians had FORTY minutes to score a goal on a bad. Italy was down one player and they couldn't score. Neill played a great game, but was in the wrong place. Every commentator/analyst/(ME) would agree with the call.

Note: although the last one may have been biased. :p

dragoonknight_kain

06-26-2006, 06:45 PM

Doomie

06-26-2006, 06:46 PM

It's obvious it's coincidence, but it's already 2 games they only won because of mistakes, out of 4. And I doubt they'd win in extra time, as they're were playing with only 10 players. Maybe Australia wouldn't score, so the game would probably be decided on p.ks.

They didn't win against Ghana because of mistakes. They won against Ghana because they ACTUALLY played the better game.

dragoonknight_kain

06-26-2006, 07:00 PM

The better team doesn't always win. Argentina vs Ivory Coast showed us that. Argentina had 3 chances, scored twice.

Anyway, I guess everyone wants Italy out:p. It'll be Italy vs Switzerland/Ukraine, if I'm not mistaken, so it's their problem now.:D

Resha

06-26-2006, 10:24 PM

I wish someone would score already. This game is singularly boring in its lack of goals. :(

Agh, and the ref. is almost unbelievably lenient. I can't believe he didn't give a thing for that blatant handball by Voronin (sp?). Why is Senderos not playing? Either way -- I hope Switzerland win. It's looked a pretty even match as far as I could tell -- maybe the Swiss are slightly better. I'm biased. :p

Edit: PENALTY SHOOT OUTS. AAHEGHAAGH. Finally.

06-26-2006, 10:31 PM

Why is Senderos not playing?Injury, I think.

A poor game from start to finish, but a penalty shootout is always interesting viewing. I'll go for the Ukraine in this one, even though it's pretty much all luck from here on. :D

Doomie

06-26-2006, 10:32 PM

Dullest game so far.

Resha

06-26-2006, 10:33 PM

HAHAHAHA SHEVCHENKO :D *glee*

Edit: Ugh if this turns into a penalty shootout deadlock ;___; I will kill.

Old Manus

06-26-2006, 10:40 PM

Didn't I say on the fantasy football before the tournament even started 'UKRAINE FTW'?

06-26-2006, 10:43 PM

You don't see many penalty shoot-outs like that, that's for sure. :D

Resha

06-26-2006, 10:46 PM

The Swiss are going home without having conceded a single goal. O_O

Ah muck, I wanted the Swiss to go through. Sad to see Djourou subbed off so early -- he didn't look injured, and he was looking a tad peaky in defence. Poor guy. Senderos has been brilliant for the Swiss this World Cup though -- yay! Awesome stuff from him throughout, and a shame he missed this game.

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-26-2006, 11:00 PM

For some reason I enjoyed that. Frei substitutued??? Shevchenko bottles his penalty!

Psychotic

06-26-2006, 11:01 PM

If any team deserved to win Italy v Australia, it was Italy. Australia had an absolutely golden opportunity to beat Italy, and even progress to the semis, as soon as Materazzi was sent off. But instead they seemed content to play for extra time and penalties, as evidenced by their use, or lack thereof, of substitutions. Aloisi on in the 80th? Pssh, Hiddink should've brought him and Kennedy on a lot sooner, and then hurled themselves at the 10-man Italians. It's not like they had much to lose after Italy resigned themselves to playing 4-2-2-1.

Hiddink was clearly overconfident of making it to extra time as soon as the red card, and possibly even when the game began. A rare error, but a bloody huge one. It seems to me that Australia without Kewell are like England without Rooney: Sound enough to knock it around a bit, but lacking a real spark. It looked that way against Brazil until he came on, too.

Italy played well, and dominated until you-know-when, and then gave a textbook example of how to defend with only 10 men. I'm confident that if they had stayed at 11 men, Italy would've won.

As for the penalty, it was deserved as much as Materazzi deserved his red card. ie, it would be lucky if Australia/Materazzi got away with it, but harsh if it had been given. That's football.
The Swiss are going home without having conceded a single goal. O_O Live by the sword, die by the sword. :) What an absolutely terrible match. And you know who we have to blame for that? Greece. After they won Euro 2004 by defending and being boring, other teams have decided to copy their style. Serves you right, Switzerland, and as for you, Ukraine, didn't you learn your lesson against Spain? Wasn't that attacking football you played against Saudi Arabia much better? Play like that against Italy, and you're going to get smashed, boys.
Senderos has been brilliant for the Swiss this World Cup though -- yay! Awesome stuff from him throughout, and a shame he missed this game.Yeah, he has been good. I was disappointed when I read about his injury yesterday.

And finally...
I love you Totti.I'm never going to let you forget that you said that. :D

Doomie

06-26-2006, 11:06 PM

To be fair, I said that after Totti scored the game-winning goal against Netherlands in WE9.

Croyles

06-26-2006, 11:21 PM

Totti hasnt managed to get rid of his thumb sucking habit. :)

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-26-2006, 11:24 PM

Totti hasnt managed to get rid of his thumb sucking habit. :)

I suits Luis Garcia better IMO. Who copied who?

amratis

06-26-2006, 11:53 PM

Portugal will beat us and everyone will :cry: I have foreseen it.

Psychotic

06-26-2006, 11:59 PM

You forgot the crucial detail of "On penalties". And since when did you like football? :p

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-27-2006, 12:32 AM

Humm i don´t know but i sure hope we beat you!This way there will be another guy jumping of a statue:D

Blitz Ace

06-27-2006, 01:12 AM

Well, the whole of Australia is quite obviously pissed at the moment... not so much at the fact that we lost the game (i was completely willing to accept defeat), but the way we lost!!! so much hope and anticipation that we had a real chance for victory, and then it was taken away in the final few seconds... absolute heartbreak.

Now, i know that Australia failed to convert any of the chances we had, because Italy defended so dam well... playing against ten men is of no advangtage if they are one of the best defensive sides in the world (and Australia are not the best at converting possesion into goals)...

Fact: EVERY game Australia has played at this world cup has been significantly affected by the ref, not always to the point where we lost the match, but still greatly affecting the game... its just so frustrating. now i know that everyones saying, well italy didnt deserve the player sent off, and i prob agree, but it still feels like crap losing it in the last few seconds (its like the ref couldnt be bothered to ref for an extra 30 min, so he found a way out of it).

The comments made by the coaches of Japan and Brazil leading up to the world cup influenced the minds of all the referees about Australia, causing us to be affected by one of the highest foul counts of all 32 teams... if only we could dive as well as italy (and others), maybe we would have recieved more...

Still, very proud of the Aussies, and i hope people respect us as a football playing nation from now on.

Croyles

06-27-2006, 01:46 AM

Still, very proud of the Aussies, and i hope people respect us as a football playing nation from now on.

You can be sure of that!

JaytodaP

06-27-2006, 03:51 AM

Italy through on a diving contest as usual. I just watched the replay of the "penalty" and Grosso or whoever, puts the ball aside to avoid neils tackle, and then deliberatley trips over him, and pretends to be hurt. Bad call but hey, what else is new? Yeah, I do agree that the aussies shouldve captalized on there chances instead of slowing down constantly and letting the defense set up. Diving is just completly disrespectful. and its funny how italy can only win off of complete bullcrap.

I liked the ref for the UKR/SUI game. He didnt stop every two seconds to give a card. Thats a first. He actually let them play, and there was no diving really. Great saves by both goal keepers in the games and PKs. But theres no reason why the guy from SUI should have hit the crossbar. I wouldnt care as much if the goal keeper saved but its not that hard to put it on target.

Malboro_Menace

06-27-2006, 11:41 AM

The Australian's dive was like 2m in front of the Italian with the ball. He aimed for the ball. Isn't there a rule that if you strike the ball before contact occurs, the man with possession is deemed as tripping over of his own accord?

Now I know alot of unco people in the world but for smurf sake you can't be so unco that you run 2m and fall over someone. Jump the fuck over the bloke. If you watch closely another Italian near the incident fell over on his own, with no support just to milk the trip more.

Sorry but FIFA is full of bull<img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif">. They organized this whole load of <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> refereeing. Seriously. It's always the same. The powerhouses always get through when a 'lesser team' should get in. Why not have a final with say Brazil/England/Argentina/Another powerhouse vs a 'lesser team'. What if the 'lesser team' won. Wouldn't that be an amazing game to watch?

But no we get a corrupted crap FIFA who likes to knock out the teams who may have a reason to win, may cause some upsets and may even win the damn thing.

Croyles

06-27-2006, 03:05 PM

Sorry but FIFA is full of bull<img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif">. They organized this whole load of <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> refereeing. Seriously. It's always the same. The powerhouses always get through when a 'lesser team' should get in. Why not have a final with say Brazil/England/Argentina/Another powerhouse vs a 'lesser team'. What if the 'lesser team' won. Wouldn't that be an amazing game to watch?

But no we get a corrupted crap FIFA who likes to knock out the teams who may have a reason to win, may cause some upsets and may even win the damn thing.

Thats the biggest load of bs i've heard in this thread so far, imo.
Since when are Ukraine and Switzerland Powerhouses? France didnt top their group. Ecuador came through instead of Poland. We only need to wait for more to happen in the 2nd round. Stop your conspiracy babbling :p

Loony BoB

06-27-2006, 03:18 PM

Oh, yeah, that whole voting thing. *votes for Spain* I just know a vote by a Man Utd fan on some FF message board will be what brings Torrest to us, of course. But yeah, Spain have impressed me more than most teams so far... certainly well enough to earn more than a single vote in the poll (before I voted). I'm really looking forward to seeing how they manage against France.

-N-

06-27-2006, 03:23 PM

Bull<img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> dives and unfair play can only take Italy so far. Why do you think they haven't won since '82? That being the only time since 1938? Italy is far from being a Cup-winning team, and pretty much everyone watching the World Cup knows it. I still pleasure myself recalling the ways they exited in '94 and '98. PKs are, after all, the only part of a football game where you can't draw a foul or fool the ref. :p

Meanwhile, I cry buckets because I'm in my parents' house and they discontinued extended cable and I have no World Cup coverage and France/Spain are on in 4.5 hours. *cries more*

Doomie

06-27-2006, 03:38 PM

Am I the only one who likes Italy? Guess so. =[

Well, according to Neel we're not a good enough team. =[ Considering Buffon is thought to be the best keeper in the world. Cosnidering Luca Toni is the last person to score 30 goals in one season in forty years. Considering Fabio Cannavaro is one of, if not the, best defender in the world. But hey, who says having some of the best players means you win? :D

Note To Neel: Their last World Cup before 1982 would have been in 1942 had it not been for World War II and the fact that the airplane carrying all their players crashed and burned. Just thought I'd bring that up.

Sorry but FIFA is full of bull. They organized this whole load of refereeing. Seriously. It's always the same. The powerhouses always get through when a 'lesser team' should get in. Why not have a final with say Brazil/England/Argentina/Another powerhouse vs a 'lesser team'. What if the 'lesser team' won. Wouldn't that be an amazing game to watch?

Yeah, DAMN GREECE THOSE POWERHOUSES. THEM AND THEY'RE OUTSTANDING FOOTBALL. I BET THEY DIDN'T QUALIFY FOR THIS WORLD CUP TO GIVE THE OTHER TEAMS A CHANCE. =]

I also reiterate that Neill NEVER touched the ball in his dive. That the referee has only one shot to look at it, and may have made a mistake. AND DON'T TELL ME THAT GROSSO COULD HAVE JUMPED OVER considering that when Materazzi tackled, his own player (I think Pirlo) was able to jump over, but the Aussie wasn't. Go figure, huh?

Russielloyd

06-27-2006, 04:17 PM

Considering Fabio Cannavaro is one of, if not the, best defender in the world.

Now yo're just taking nonsense there. Sure he's is great, i wouldn't be disapointed if he was playing for Blackburn, but he isn't best in the world.

Who scored for Brazil, i missed the first 10 mins. Stupid world cup chart told me it was a 5pm kick-off.

Loony BoB

06-27-2006, 04:23 PM

4 mins: Goal - Brazil 1-0 Ghana
Ronaldo breaks Gerd Muller's World Cup finals goalscoring record to give the defending champions the lead. Kaka puts Ronaldo in and the Real Madrid man mugs Richard Kingson with a trademark stepover and slots the ball home. It's Ronaldo's 15th goal in World Cup finals.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991528.stm

Doomie

06-27-2006, 04:23 PM

Ronaldo.

Russielloyd

06-27-2006, 04:30 PM

Yes, my man Kaka making things happen! Oh and nice one Ronaldo! :)

*ETERNAL FANTASY*

06-27-2006, 04:48 PM

ouch ghana conceded another goal...not good for Ghana not good at all

Loony BoB

06-27-2006, 04:48 PM

I see Ghana are winning 4-2.

Russielloyd

06-27-2006, 04:49 PM

Bloodyhell, i go to the toilet, next thing i hear through the wall is that Adriano has scored! Pick their bloody moments why don't they!

Resha

06-27-2006, 04:57 PM

Ronaldo in the fifth minute. :p Ghana played him onside -- ugh, terrible slip up. They're doing it an awful lot -- playing extremely high up the pitch, and suffering immensely when Brazil break through.

I really, really want Ghana to win. Always just a slim (!!!!) chance, especially without Essien -- but for a while there in the middle, they really looked like equalising. Ugh, that pathetic and uncoordinated save from Dida off that Mensah header. Should've been a goal. Ghana will be very lucky if they get through the game without any red cards -- four of their players are on yellow cards already. :( I hope they don't add to their woes.

They really have to rethink the way they're playing -- their attacking is beautiful, but their finishing is awful and they just go to pieces everytime Brazil have a break on a counter-attack or something. It's...not cool.

dragoonknight_kain

06-27-2006, 05:00 PM

Parreira is so stupid. He insists with the likes of Emerson and Cafu. The only thing they do is slow down the team. Btw, Adriano was offside, but Ronaldo wasn't, and there's no way he'd miss that goal, so Ghana can't complain.

And Dida was damn lucky when he prevented that goal.

EDIT: Emerson is out!!!!!! Hooray!!:p

Resha

06-27-2006, 05:02 PM

Adriano WAS offside. :mad2: But it was pretty close, so yeah. But he WAS. Offside.

But then again, what was up with booking Adriano for a dive, then? Was it a dive??? :confused: I'd cheerfully believe so.

Edit: Aw, Ghanian coach banned. =( Well, I'm off. :p

Croyles

06-27-2006, 06:06 PM

Ghanian coach banned? What?

06-27-2006, 06:14 PM

Poor Ghana. They suffered from the same trouble as they did in their previous matches, in creating plenty of chances but not having anyone capable of putting them away. In fact, every single one of the African nations had the same problem, with the possible exception of the Ivory Coast. Still, there's no shame in going out to Brazil, I suppose.

Resha

06-27-2006, 06:46 PM

Ghanian coach banned? What?
He wasn't allowed to sit at the bench, for making a fuss over the Adriano goal I think.

Aye. Ghana played valiantly, but Brazil were the better team -- they have a few fundamental problems, Ghana. But still, it was a good spell for them.

It was a really sweet game, too. So much camaraderie between the players on both teams :D The Ghanians really seemed to like stroking Roberto Carlos' shiny head. (He had a pretty poor game by his standards imho too!)

Croyles

06-27-2006, 08:41 PM

Spain 1 - 0 France.
I didnt see the goal but wasnt it a penalty???
OOOOOHHH FRANCE JUST SCORED! That was a good goal!
Spain 1 - 1 France.

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-27-2006, 08:46 PM

Game on!

Yamaneko

06-27-2006, 09:03 PM

I don't know why Spain insisted on playing that stupid line defense. France thrives on those kinds of passes. Spain was also dominating until that point. Hopefully they regain their momentum in the second half.

Loony BoB

06-27-2006, 09:50 PM

I jinxed Spain! Oh well, back to supporting England, I suppose... boring. :(

-N-

06-27-2006, 09:50 PM

Am I the only one who likes Italy? Guess so. =[

Well, according to Neel we're not a good enough team. =[ Considering Buffon is thought to be the best keeper in the world. Cosnidering Luca Toni is the last person to score 30 goals in one season in forty years. Considering Fabio Cannavaro is one of, if not the, best defender in the world. But hey, who says having some of the best players means you win? :D

Note To Neel: Their last World Cup before 1982 would have been in 1942 had it not been for World War II and the fact that the airplane carrying all their players crashed and burned. Just thought I'd bring that up.Yeah, I guess you are the only Italy supporter. Yeah, you're going to take some <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> for it. :p Yeah, Italy would have won a ton more cups back in that era (they got '34 and '38 fo'sho') but too bad they were FASCIST. And yeah, who says having some of the best players means you win? Good stars definitely do not imply a good team.

In other news today, I shed a single tear for Spain.
Only one though, because I don't speak Spanish.

06-27-2006, 09:54 PM

Heh, maybe France don't suck after all. :D

Russielloyd

06-27-2006, 09:54 PM

Spain 1
France 3

Typical Spain! Play some bright football, but yet, find themselfs going home earlier than expected.

Damn, those bloody frogs, they should be home now. Brazil will do them over!

-N-

06-27-2006, 09:56 PM

*jaw drops to the floor at the sight of a third French goal*

REMATCH 1998!

Yamaneko

06-27-2006, 09:56 PM

NO!!!!!!!

Well now Brazil really needs to kick some French ass!

Argentina - Brazil for the final.

Russielloyd

06-27-2006, 09:58 PM

NO!!!!!!!

Well now Brazil really needs to kick some French ass!

Argentina - Brazil for the final.

No damn you!

England - Germany Final! :p

Loony BoB

06-27-2006, 09:59 PM

The World Cup, aka the UEFA European Championship, featuring Argentina & Brazil.

Psychotic

06-27-2006, 09:59 PM

Xabi Alonso is a god, and was the best player on the pitch. The other central midfielders, Fabregas, Xavi, Vieira and Makelele were also fantastic.

Fernando Torres and Thierry Henry are overrated divers.

Typical Spain, really. Showing great promise early on, before faltering in the knockout stages.

3-0 flattered Brazil, and was harsh on Ghana. The thing about Brazil is that even though they don't play well, they can still win 3-0. Impressive.

It amuses me that the two stars of France 98, Zidane and Ronaldo, both of whom have been accused of being past it, scored today, and will meet once more in the next round.

Resha

06-27-2006, 10:00 PM

AAAAAAAAH I SO HAPPY. :D:D:D:D

The French have seriously sorted themselves out. Zidane -- forgive me. I honestly thought Spain had a squad capable of winning this game, and the whole WC in fact. :p But they were somewhat outplayed by France tonight. Not entirely -- I saw that Garcia and all had quite a few good chances.

Henry....:( Offside...much??

I hate Puyol I am so happy he fouled =D And GOSH, Ribery. WHAT A GOD! I was really angry at first because I thought Domenech had taken Ribery off for Zidane, but as I later learnt he'd kept them both on, so yay. *joy* None of the ref's decisions were particularly disputable, so good on HIM.

That grin on Henry's face as he hugged Zidane after the game. Oh gosh, it was WONDERFUL! :D

*Also, Spain being slated as perennial underachievers was the truest thing ever said.

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-27-2006, 10:05 PM

I'm happy for France but just as sorry for Spain. As Zidane showed us today, you cannot keep a good player down, I never doubted him for a second. As for Henry's behaviour he should be disappointed with his lack of sportsmanship as I am disgraced with his dishonesty. I'm just glad he didn't do that in an Arsenal shirt

Russielloyd

06-27-2006, 10:07 PM

Henry, although he is a great player. But what a twat for trying to get Puyol sent off, he's gone down in my books after that,

Croyles

06-27-2006, 10:14 PM

Damn, those bloody frogs, they should be home now. Brazil will do them over!

l0l do you actually have a reason to hate the French apart from being English/Welsh?

Yamaneko

06-27-2006, 10:18 PM

An England - Germany final would be about the most boring final there could ever be. There's no soft touch, no finesse in that game.

Psychotic

06-27-2006, 10:20 PM

According to a survey conducted with citizens of every country in Europe, France is the most unpopular country among its fellow European nations. I don't think their popularity in Spain has improved over the last couple of hours. :D

Oh, that reminds me. Time to strikeout Spain on the poll. Oh, never mind. Someone already took care of that.
An England - Germany final would be about the most boring final there could ever be. There's no soft touch, no finesse in that game.If only you'd seen the last game between England - Germany. I'm sure Croyles will be VERY happy to tell you all about it :p

Croyles

06-27-2006, 10:28 PM

If only you'd seen the last game between England - Germany. I'm sure Croyles will be VERY happy to tell you all about it :p

No I wouldnt actually :p, :middlefinger:

An England - Germany final would be about the most boring final there could ever be. There's no soft touch, no finesse in that game.

Germany v England games probably arent the best from a spectators point of view, but between German and English fans, its the best the game can get lol.
But have you seen Germany play since they started the world cup? Its not the same sort of team it was 8000000 years ago. A different style.

Yes thats right, its Germany - England, not England - Germany. :p

Russielloyd

06-27-2006, 11:09 PM

Damn, those bloody frogs, they should be home now. Brazil will do them over!

l0l do you actually have a reason to hate the French apart from being English/Welsh?

Don't say that ever again! l0l. I'm not W***h.

and...

French, it's their "I'm better than you" attitude!

That good enough!? l0l

Croyles

06-27-2006, 11:15 PM

"Location:
S.wales"

I just figured you were from that, no offence. :p

And yeah I guess the reason is good enough for me :)

Doomie

06-27-2006, 11:27 PM

lol @ Spain

That's it.

dragoonknight_kain

06-27-2006, 11:35 PM

Ok, I wouldn't mind if Brazil had lost to Ghana. I don't care if Brazil doesn't win this WC. I won't be bothered if Portugal beat us. But we can't lose to France AGAIN! NOT AGAIN! :p

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-27-2006, 11:39 PM

I really thought Spain would dominate France what a shocker!

Aphelion

06-27-2006, 11:42 PM

Damn, those bloody frogs, they should be home now. Brazil will do them over!
I hope so. But if 1998 comes back to (overweight) Ronaldo's mind, we're pretty much screwed. Cafu and Roberto Carlos are naturally slow, Adriano isn't doing much (besides scoring on offside, that is), Juninho is sitting on the bench... We're gonna need some luck to win.

Too bad for Spain. Better luck next time. (Isn't that what we've been saying for 50 years now? Oh, sorry.)

Yamaneko

06-27-2006, 11:50 PM

I've seen Germany play as a team for many years now. I'm not particularly fond of their football. If the final is England - Germany ( :p ), I will go for Germany. :D

The Captain

06-28-2006, 12:25 AM

Brazil versus France could be very good. So could Argentina versus Germany. Portugal versus England is sort of murky for me since England STILL hasn't shown me too much. Finally, does anyone think the Ukraine have a chance against Italy?

France - Brazil

Zidane looks in form, it would seem the "old man" still has some magic left. I'm not really a fan of the French team, but I love watching Zidane, I must say. Yet, as a whole, I think Brazil is just too loaded, there are too many weapons there.

Side questions: What's up with Adriano and Ronaldo? I was hearing talks of some sort of rivalry going on between them, what's the deal? There was a moment in the game where it looked like Adriano didn't pass to an open Ronaldo, which flies in the face of Brazlian soccer. Does it stem from the Euro Cup in 04? Where is Ronaldinho, he's not really made an impact yet.

Can Henry STAY ONSIDES? Does Zidane have some more magic left?

Argentina - Germany

I'm really looking forward to this game. Both teams are playing well, though Germany hasn't really gotten pushed too hard yet. Still, Klose looks fantastic and the Germans are really using the home field to their advantage. Argentina, I still think, is the only team that might have more depth than Brazil, and they seem to be in form, though did they perhaps peak too early during the first round? I've been hearing rumors of some unrest about playing time, especially with Tevez and Messi. In the end, I think the Germans get through here, somehow, someway. They seem to have that magic "Home team run" going.

Italy - Ukraine

In my opinion, Australia gave Italy all it had and deserved better, but them's the breaks. Still, that makes two underdog teams, Australia and the USA, who gave Italy all it could handle and it makes me really wonder what Italy has left. The Ukraine, I must admit are a mystery to me as I haven't seen them play, but from what I've read, they're very tough and physical, which doesn't translate too well to Italy, which is drawing more and more criticism for its questionable fouls being rewarded in their favor. That's Italian tradition, but could this be the tipping point? I'm going for an upset, let's pick the Ukraine here. Proving what Seinfeld made famous.

Aside2: Tough break for the Swiss as they became the first team EVER to lose without allowing a single goal in the World Cup.

Finally,

England - Portugal.

England has underachieved by a lot of people's standards, but are still plugging away. Beckham bought himself one more match, but if he doesn't deliver here, I expect the English to be ruthless. Losing Owen is a severe blow indeed, but looking at the flip side, Portugal is going to be missing some big players too due to red card suspension. Also, what's the latest on C. Ronaldo? Is he going to play? If not, I think England might find a way, but unless they really improve, it's going to be mighty tough to get past the next opponent.

To recap:

I like Brazil and England, Germany and in an upset, the Ukraine, who might not be weak, at least according to the game of Risk.

Feel free to comment, correct and answer my questions, since there's a lot I don't know because I'm a Yank and my knowledge of soccer isn't as great as all of you across the pond and around the world.

Take care all.

Yamaneko

06-28-2006, 12:36 AM

I want Ukraine to go as far as they can go.

Psychotic

06-28-2006, 12:43 AM

Couple of comments on The Captain's post.

Side questions: What's up with Adriano and Ronaldo? I was hearing talks of some sort of rivalry going on between them, what's the deal? There was a moment in the game where it looked like Adriano didn't pass to an open Ronaldo, which flies in the face of Brazlian soccer. Does it stem from the Euro Cup in 04? Where is Ronaldinho, he's not really made an impact yet.I haven't heard of any rivalry between the two, although you can be sure that they would like to score more goals than the other, but I didn't know it was public. If you mean by the Euro Cup in 04 the European Championship held in Portugal, then Brazil were not present, because it is a tournament for European teams. I absolutely agree with you on Ronaldinho, and perhaps the pressure and hype has got to him.
Also, what's the latest on C. Ronaldo? Is he going to play? If not, I think England might find a way, but unless they really improve, it's going to be mighty tough to get past the next opponent.Apparently he is indeed going to play, but I don't think it will affect much. To be honest, I think C. Ronaldo is extremely overrated, and while he can run at a defender and do all sorts of fancy tricks, his final delivery is poor, and I'd rather England faced him than Simao of Benfica. I do agree with you about the need for us to improve, but so far we have mostly faced teams that want to shut up shop and defend (an exception being Sweden), and I doubt Portugal will do this, so perhaps we will see the best out of England in a much more open game.

The Captain

06-28-2006, 12:54 AM

Oops, silly me, of course Brazil didn't play in the Euro Cup. I'm trying to recall which it was then.. I vaguely remember a tournament where Ronaldo decided not to play and in his place, Adriano exploded onto the scene. There were some commentators on some of the South American networks and newspapers saying that Adriano thinks he should be the superstar striker of the team, not Ronaldo, but I wish I could find the links, oh well.

Take care all and thanks for the info!

dragoonknight_kain

06-28-2006, 02:27 AM

It was on the Confederations Cup. Adriano played really well, but I don't know about any public problems with Ronaldo. But it does seem that Adriano is jealous. Today he tried dribbling the keeper only because Ronaldo did it. Against Lucerne, before the WC began, Ronaldo didn't pass the ball to Adriano (he was offside). Later on, it was Adriano's time for not giving the ball to Ronaldo (he was in a good position to score). I think that all problems come from Adriano. Ronaldo is acting normally in the field (he was the one who passed the ball to Adriano in the goal against Australia).

And Ronaldinho isn't playing well because he's playing as a midfielder, not as a striker. As he said, in Barcelona, he dribbles a couple of defenders and then has a clear view of the goal. In Brazil, he is playing so behind that, even if he dribbles 3 opponents, he's still far away from the goal. Also, unlike in Barcelona,he has defensive duties, so he also has to run a lot more, and he then gets tired earlier. It's all Parreira's fault, not his.

Croyles

06-28-2006, 02:55 AM

I got to admit that Germany's football isnt exactly entertaining, and it never used to do well with the popular stereotype of the extreme military-like efficient Germans, but thats all changing for me in this world cup, I really think they have come together as a team. Now, whether we can beat Argentina will have to be seen, but i'm a pretty optimistic kind of guy! :D

Loony BoB

06-28-2006, 10:52 AM

Apparently he is indeed going to play, but I don't think it will affect much. To be honest, I think C. Ronaldo is extremely overrated, and while he can run at a defender and do all sorts of fancy tricks, his final delivery is poor, and I'd rather England faced him than Simao of Benfica.
To be fair, as an international he's about 200% better than he is at Manchester United, probably because of the playing style. Having said that, he made more tackles than any other player in Manchester United last season, and he'll run up and down the pitch all day. As a winger, he's right up there because of that. Some of his crosses may be poor, but the rest of his game is fantastic, and he probably makes as many good crosses as Simão purely because he's ten times more likely to get the ball off the opposition than Simao is. Simao may be more dangerous at club level, but at international level Ronaldo has him pipped. More tackles, more ball, more crosses, more goals.

I really hope that Italy is demolished by Ukraine. Of the other teams, I only really care for Argentina, Germany and England. It's great being a neutral, you can like both of those latter two countries. :p

Russielloyd

06-28-2006, 11:56 AM

There was a moment in the game where it looked like Adriano didn't pass to an open Ronaldo, which flies in the face of Brazlian soccer.

Adriano is like that, he is a selfish player and thinks he's the sol pupose of the Inter Milan squad. In my eyes i don't rate him.

tomamar04

06-28-2006, 12:43 PM

Adriano is, along with Ibrahimovic and Robinho, the most overrated player at this World Cup. Give me Fred any day...

btw, I've seen the future... Germany will beat Italy 2-1 in one semi and England will beat France AET in the other.

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

06-28-2006, 01:02 PM

Yes C.Ronaldo will be feet to train tomorrow so he should be able to play against England.

Sunny Day Suicide

06-28-2006, 02:40 PM

I vote Brazil because

1) I have love for my country

and

2) They've won 5 world cups, why stop now?

I do fear Argentina though. They have a good chance of winning.

Lychon

06-28-2006, 08:52 PM

I vote for GERMANY or ENGLAND: everyday...anyday.

-LYCHON

P.S. I'm 1/8th black.
P.P.S. Psych, I'm 1/8th Jewish.
P.P.P.S I'm totally cereal.

Psychotic

06-28-2006, 10:29 PM

Adriano is, along with Ibrahimovic and Robinho, the most overrated player at this World Cup. Give me Fred any day...Add Lampard to the pile, too. I thought Robinho looked dangerous when he came on against Australia, although I don't know how well he did against Japan, as I was watching Croatia - Australia.

Croyles

06-28-2006, 10:43 PM

2nd place in fantasy football! Considering I missed the first 8 days and missed one other day too im doing pretty damn well :p

The Captain

06-29-2006, 12:39 AM

My system crashed the last two days before the tournament started, so I wasn't able to field a complete roster for the fantasy competition. It also proves that I shouldn't have waited until the last two days to fill my roster up. Oh well, that hasn't taken away from excitement of the games!

Take care all.

Russielloyd

06-29-2006, 05:58 AM

2nd place in fantasy football! Considering I missed the first 8 days and missed one other day too im doing pretty damn well :p

You was in it from the beggining.

06-29-2006, 06:20 AM

By happy coincidence, the team I picked at the start of the tournament and changed once during the course of and then left up until now consists of Englishmen, Portugese, Argentines, Germans, Brazilians, Italians, A Frenchman and a Ukranian. :D

Blitz Ace

06-29-2006, 08:11 AM

2nd place in fantasy football! Considering I missed the first 8 days and missed one other day too im doing pretty damn well :p
You actually had an advantage then... you could see who the form players were when you picked your team. All the rest of us didnt know whether all the 23 we picked would play... no surprise you're doin well then.

Croyles

06-29-2006, 04:49 PM

2nd place in fantasy football! Considering I missed the first 8 days and missed one other day too im doing pretty damn well :p

You was in it from the beggining.

I was in it, but I had picked 11 players for my line up consisting only of 4 different teams, and they werent even the ones that actually played first, because I didnt know how to play these fantasy games. I think I had like 20 points on the 17th of June, while the top player had 150+ by that time.

I am cancelling my aol account and wont have internet from the 1st of July until late on the 8th. So wont be able to post during that time.

The Captain

06-30-2006, 06:48 PM

Great game. Germany advancing on PK's. Big saves from Lehmann.

Tough loss for Argentina. A few big questions too. No Messi? Why'd they take out Riquelme?

Take care all.

Loony BoB

06-30-2006, 06:51 PM

The moment Riquelme went off, the whole Argentine strategy seemed to fall apart. Even if his passes forward weren't the best, he certainly makes such a difference to the structure of the side overall. Messi not being played will be on everyone's lips in Argentina.

I want to know what got Heinze so fired up. He's usually a very calm, friendly guy with a lot of respect towards opposition - at least when he's played for MU he's been that way.

Yamaneko

06-30-2006, 06:51 PM

Messi doesn't usually start. They want the more veteran players on the field.

I really wanted to see Argentina go on, but after that display during penalties, I feel Germany deserves to go on. This is the first time ever that Argentina loses in penalties during a World Cup.

The favorites now, and who will probably meet in the Finals will be Germany and Brazil. This time Germany has the upper hand.

Psychotic

06-30-2006, 06:55 PM

I don't think taking off Riquelme was necessarily a bad idea, but taking him off for a defence-orientated player like Cambiasso instead of an attacking one like Messi was what caused the downfall of Argentina.

Being English, it was hard to know who to support, so in the end I decided to support the game going to penalties, so I'm pleased. :D

Croyles

06-30-2006, 06:56 PM

OMG THE TEARS!!!!!! I DONT KNOW IF CAN HOLD THEM BACK!
I would have liked to see it end before penalties, but this way we seen that Lehmann WAS a good choice instead of Kahn.
Ah its a dream come true!

eestlinc

06-30-2006, 06:56 PM

Why did Argentina pull their starting goalie?

Loony BoB

06-30-2006, 06:57 PM

Decided to try to find out what the problem was that enraged some of the Argentinians - apparently Lehmann left his line before Cambiasso struck the ball.

EDIT: eest - the starting 'keeper got stretchered off.

Yamaneko

06-30-2006, 06:57 PM

It was clear during extra time that Argentina wanted to force penalties because they assumed they had the advantage.

Ukraine is really my last hope. After them I really don't care. I might even support Germany because it will be awesome for the home team.

Russielloyd

06-30-2006, 06:58 PM

Argentina are such bad losers, i saw a Argentina player literally fly in and take a swing at one of the German players.

Messi has only just recovered from a thigh injury, so it could of possibly flaired up again, but saying , if he did have a injury, we would of known about it.

Ah who cares, Argentina are going home!

Yamaneko

06-30-2006, 06:58 PM

Why did Argentina pull their starting goalie?
He was hurt.

EDIT: Actually I will not support France. :D

eestlinc

06-30-2006, 07:00 PM

ok. hard to tell that from the internet feed. still, why would they want to go to penalties when their best goalkeeper is out? Seems pretty arrogant to think you can win a shootout without your top keeper.

Yamaneko

06-30-2006, 07:02 PM

I heard Germany hadn't even practiced much for the possibility of penalties.

Outer Heaven

06-30-2006, 07:03 PM

Too bad my Argentina lost:cry:

Loony BoB

06-30-2006, 07:04 PM

eestlinc

06-30-2006, 07:05 PM

to be fair, Argentina did take a lot more shots than Germany in the extra time.

Yamaneko

06-30-2006, 07:06 PM

From the way the commentators were talking over here, taking Germany to penalties is a very ballsy thing to do, apparently they're very clinical about them. As shown, I guess the commentators were right!
I was listening to the Hispanic commentators here. They were really fair I thought.

Psychotic

06-30-2006, 07:08 PM

From the way the commentators were talking over here, taking Germany to penalties is a very ballsy thing to do, apparently they're very clinical about them. As shown, I guess the commentators were right!From what I gathered from our commentators, neither team had been defeated on penalties before today, and they kept mentioning how both had beaten England on penalties, just in case we had forgotten.

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-30-2006, 07:13 PM

I would encourage the manager to pick who he wants to take penalties. It was quite simple for me to predict the outcome of the two misses. I prefered to see Argentina in the semis due to their one-touch passing, their imaginativity and their individual talent but I guess seeing Germany in the semis isn't too bad. Add my name to the list of people questioning why Messi wasn't fielded. I'm pretty confident Germany will reach the final now.
btw did anyone see that tiny bug crawling on the football before one of the goal kicks?

Loony BoB

06-30-2006, 07:35 PM

Am I right that if Friedrich, Odonkor or Podolski get a yellow in the semi final - and Germany win - that they'll miss the final?

dragoonknight_kain

06-30-2006, 07:37 PM

Next flight: Buenos Aires. ROFL, Argentina is out!!!!!:p

Yamaneko

06-30-2006, 07:53 PM

Am I right that if Friedrich, Odonkor or Podolski get a yellow in the semi final - and Germany win - that they'll miss the final?
Yes.

Croyles

06-30-2006, 08:14 PM

Or Frings

black orb

06-30-2006, 08:59 PM

>>> The defeat of Argentina was Jose Pekerman`s fault.. First he didnt let Messi play and then he changed Crespo and Riquelme, what the hell was that guy thinking?! :screwy:

Russielloyd

06-30-2006, 09:12 PM

It's been announced that Jose Pekerman has resigned as the manager of Argentina.

Talk about keeping up to date! Wikipedia have already updated his profile to say he has resigned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Pekerman

By the way,what a head butt by Buffon on the post, i think that hurt just a bit.

Resha

06-30-2006, 09:15 PM

The last time Germany'd lost on penalties was in the Euro something finals in '76. So yeah. O_O Great game; so happy Germany are going through, even though the Argies played much better for the majority of the game. The Germans really pulled stuff together after the Argentine goal, though. Yay!

Riquelme wasn't really having the best of games imho. He kept losing the ball, and his set-pieces were...well, okay. I know Ayala got the header off one of his corners, but he muffed a fair few by side-netting them in the first half. :p It was a bit unfortunate for Pekerman, really, with Abbondanzieri having to go off. It cut his substituting options; but how could he not send Messi on?

Lehmann = <3. I'm so glad he did good tonight -- I think he faced a lot of unfair criticism after the Champion's League final. (Wish Riquelme'd gotten a penalty against Lehmann! Bwahah.) Nice to see the camaraderie between Kahn and Lehmann before penalties too. :)

Nice goal from Zambrotta. I thought Italy would sweep this one, but UKraine are really putting on the pressure now >:O

Edit: And fuck, just as I pressed send. -_- They get their second -- undeserved, and Ukraine DID deserve one! Toni. Finally. Unlucky Ukraine.

Doomie

06-30-2006, 09:28 PM

3-0 Italy is quietly dominating the game. They got the first goal and then started playing defensively. Knowing that Ukraine would get desperate, they waited for them to do so, and got their opportunity through Ukraine's mistakes. The Italian defense is just outstanding. If they make a mistake, they WILL correct it. Nice blocked shots. Although the cross-bar shot made me sweat.

EDIT: Undeserved how? They worked for that goal. It was a nice corner kick by Totti, and a nice header by Toni.

Croyles

06-30-2006, 09:31 PM

I thought it was a pretty even game, despite Argentina having most possesion in first half. Argentina are known for short passing, while Germany planned to go more on the counter attacks, and the German defence was looking solid throughout apart from when Klose, the striker, decided to mark Ayala. As soon as the goal came however, germany pushed and pushed and pushed, and eventually Klose scored from cross of Micheal Ballack (who despite being injured, managed to play the whole of extra time). The cross somewhat luckily flicked off Tim Borowski onto Klose, but the goal was fully deserved.

I reckon the Germany fans were silenced too early, they could learn something from the English. NEVER. STOP. CHEERING!

3-0 for Italy now. I thought Ukraine would put up more of a fight.

Psychotic

06-30-2006, 10:03 PM

Am I right that if Friedrich, Odonkor or Podolski get a yellow in the semi final - and Germany win - that they'll miss the final?Yes, and that's exactly what caused the infamous Paul Gascoigne tears. Maybe we'll see some more, and I think Odonkor will end up crying anyway if English commentators keep pronouncing his name wrong. Same for poor old Dirk "Kite" really.

Suddenly my tip of Italy doesn't look so bad, especially with Luca Toni finally finding some form, although Ukraine were poor, and Italy have yet to face a top side, or at least, a top side in working order (Czech Rep. were missing Koller and Stajner, and Baros wasn't fully fit)

Resha

06-30-2006, 10:04 PM

EDIT: Undeserved how? They worked for that goal. It was a nice corner kick by Totti, and a nice header by Toni.
Mind yoo -- I posted that when Ukraine were totally owning the second half. Italy hadn't done a thing since coming on, then. :p But yeah, they played really well after that. I just thought that Ukraine should've gotten a goal during those 10-15 minutes, but Buffon seemed unbeatable!

Croyles

06-30-2006, 10:33 PM

Hope no one minds me asking but, is it some sort of rememberance day for World War I in England? Because the World Cup news always seems to be followed by World War I...

Psychotic

06-30-2006, 10:40 PM

I do believe it is because it has been 90 years since the Battle of the Somme. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme)

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-30-2006, 10:41 PM

Goalkeeper screwed up on the first goal. One blip and the rest of his team face an even steeper challenge. I did feel Ukraine deserved a little something since at one point they had two really good chances which demonstrated a showing of willingness to get back in the game.
I feel for Ukraine, especially Shevchenko. A player of such calibre might never get a better chance for gold, silver or bronze at the World Cup......................

Anyway I'm happy to see Italy reach the semis (which they should have) and it makes this game in Dortmund all the more exciting.

Russielloyd

06-30-2006, 10:58 PM

Tomorrow it is.

Battle of the Somme, if im correct.

Croyles

06-30-2006, 11:02 PM

Ok thanks for the info!

I was looking at the players' quotes after the germany - argentina match and, well i dont often say this, but argentinian players really seemed to be bad losers about it, and thats not just about the fact that they started lashing on the german players, and one guy running and hitting the other in the back of the head.
Penalties isnt all about luck, yes its part of it, only in the fact that the goalkeeper might make a lucky save. Everything else is keeping a cool head, not getting nervous, being confident, and shooting well. Ayala made a poor shot, and I dont think that is being unlucky.
I guess I would probably be saying the same thing though, so i'll keep quiet...

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060630/1/8gc4.html

Bart's Friend Milhouse

06-30-2006, 11:40 PM

Um guys could I possibly draw your attention to a thread I made in this section that concerns the European Champions League (http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=87640)
It's just a little concern I had about the prejudice against smaller nations of football and I'd really like some opinions from other followers of the much celebrated sport. Thanks

Croyles

07-01-2006, 12:32 AM

Taking to advertising now are you? :p

ljkkjlcm9

07-01-2006, 12:44 AM

Germany is going to win, the home field advantage is too big to overcome... the US is the only team to choke at home, well and Japan too in 2002, but Korea did well that year

THE JACKEL

Croyles

07-01-2006, 12:57 AM

Not really, loads of teams that hosted the world cup didnt win it.

-N-

07-01-2006, 05:49 AM

I can't hate on Italy for that performance. But I can try. :p

Shoden

07-01-2006, 05:26 PM

What does that ref think he's doing!? Did anyone see that? What did Rooney do so bad to get a straight red card? There were 3 portugeusemen grabbing Rooney's arms. We're being robbed.

Jimmy Dark Aeons Slayer

07-01-2006, 05:56 PM

I hate that darn giant!What you talking about did you see what Rooney did to Ricardo!?

dragoonknight_kain

07-01-2006, 05:57 PM

Yes, Rooney deserved only a yellow card, at most. FIFA probably instructed the refs to sent off anyone who stars a fight, to avoid another Portugal-Netherlands.

Edit: Rooney pushed someone, I don't know who.

~SapphireStar~

07-01-2006, 06:00 PM

Yeah I missed that part and was told that 2 defenders fouled Rooney and he got a red card!? That ref should be shot. I hate extra time, its such a pain in the butt!

one guy running and hitting the other in the back of the head.
I was wondering about that. Does anyone actually know the reason for it? It wasnt the whole Argentina team though, just that one prat who have made Argentina look like very sore losers. I was backing Argentina, but now ...England or Brasil I say.

Shoden

07-01-2006, 06:01 PM

But The Portuguesemen pushed Rooney first, triggering the fight. no Portugeusemen were booked in the incident even the ones that grabbed Rooney's arms. The handball in the penalty area wasa robbery though.

Yamaneko

07-01-2006, 06:38 PM

This doesn't look good for England.

EDIT: Haha, Viana misses too.

EDIT2: Wow, a lot of misses today.

EDIT3: OMG

EDIT4: Kind of funny how it all came down to Ronaldo. Tough luck England. :D

Doomie

07-01-2006, 06:44 PM

Fucking Portugese.

Outer Heaven

07-01-2006, 06:44 PM

England is out!

~SapphireStar~

07-01-2006, 06:46 PM

England is out!
Yes thank you, we know.
Oh my god, how sick do I feel right now.
WORST MATCH EVER! I blame the ref for that whole mess of a match. No Beckham, no Rooney and no Owen. Disgrace.

That polls going to look every odd now.

Craig

07-01-2006, 06:47 PM

smurfing Portugese.

Yamaneko

07-01-2006, 06:47 PM

Hey Psychotic, I believe you have to cross England off the poll. :cool:

Shoden

07-01-2006, 06:48 PM

Once again Portugal win by cheating, hope they fail next round.

Russielloyd

07-01-2006, 06:48 PM

Why does this always smurfing happen to us, again we get punished for hard work and better overall play. :mad2:

Doomie

07-01-2006, 06:48 PM

As long as Italy's there, I'm good. :cool:

~SapphireStar~

07-01-2006, 06:49 PM

Once again Portugal win by cheating, hope they fail next round.
I'll give two grand to whoever kills the Portugese team and makes it as slow and as painful as that match was.

Doomie

07-01-2006, 06:51 PM

Is it just me, or is it that every time an "English" team loses, it's because the other team cheated. :p

~SapphireStar~

07-01-2006, 06:52 PM

Well that whole business with Rooney was ridic.

Russielloyd

07-01-2006, 06:53 PM

I'll give my house away to the person who beats the sh!te into Ronaldo.

dragoonknight_kain

07-01-2006, 06:53 PM

Ricardo was awesome, but who would think Gerrard AND Lampard would miss? Btw, the handball wasn't a penalty.

OMG, if Brazil wins... we will play against Luis Felipe! :(

Oh yeah, Gilberto Silva in Emerson's place, Juninho in Adriano's. Looking good!

black orb

07-01-2006, 06:54 PM

And now it's Netherlands v Portugal to decide which team gets the right to knock England out on penalties! :p
>>> Lol..

~SapphireStar~

07-01-2006, 06:55 PM

I'll give my house away to the person who beats the sh!te into Ronaldo.
Where do you live? We have a family full of die-hard England fans and Im sure we can arrange something. I myself want to give the cocky git a good kick up the arse.

Resha

07-01-2006, 06:56 PM

He pushed Ronaldo. If the ref gave the red for THAT, he's daft, so I refuse to believe that someone so incredibly THICK would be allowed to referee at all. I have to believe that Rooney said something vile. Maybe like, "fuck you ugly ref! ^___^"

Rubbish. I thought Portugal deserved to lose and lose BADLY. Played for damn near 60 minutes versus a 10-man team, and they squandered it. It was pathetic. Penalties was an awful, unfair way for England to go out.

Lampard; he's not scoring this World Cup. At all. -_- Didn't he want to prove himself? Good job. Gerrard -- what happened? Lacklustre. Eriksson is nuts. GOODBYE. What the hell is wrong with him? Why did he take LENNON off for Carragher? Negativity playing? Why couldn't Lennon have taken the penalty? Jesus Christ.

Gah Ronaldo >:O It's seriously unbelievable that Rooney could've gotten sent off for either the step on Carvalho or the push. Wtf?

Also.

You forgot the crucial detail of "On penalties". And since when did you like football? :p

!!!!!!!

Ronaldo's officially Public Enemy #1 in England now, judging by how he got booed. But I think it's a tad unfair on him. (Hi Manure fans! Hi!)

07-01-2006, 06:56 PM

Rooney didn't get sent off for anything violent, he was fighting for the ball with two players, one of the portugese went down and Rooney stood on his balls. Standing on a player when they're down is a sending off. Did he do it on purpose? Did he bollocks. The commentators were trying to make out like he lost his temper and stepped on him, but anyone who isn't blind can see he was trying to keep his balance and it was an accident. Still, we played better after he went off and there were three or four chances where we should have scored. Most obvious one was Aaron Lennon not using enough power to score, but you can't really blame him because he probably didn't want to use too much and spanner it so he overcompensated. The ref was slightly in favour of the Portugese, but you can't blame all it on him. The system we were using wasn't working at all, Rooney and then Crouch pretty much got bollock all support for most of the game, there were more of the same old long ball tactics. Lampard still didn't have his goalscoring touch with him either. Owen Hargreaves played really well defensively and in the second half attacked better as well, never gave up. Aaron Lennon did well when he was on as well, and you can't fault the defence, they were outstanding for the most part. When it comes down to it in the end, bad tactics, bad squad selection and one very good/lucky Portugese goalkeeper are why we're out.