The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Thread

[Aerith's Knight]

With all these teams sucking, I think this might be the biggest chance the Netherlands has had to win this cup in decades.

[Psychotic]

I can see England getting another draw, and the USA beating Algeria. And from a footballing perspective, that would be no bad thing.

I don't know. The USA have been rivalling England for boring and dire football, apart from a late rush today.

[JKTrix]

Thread not authentic enough (mock if old).

[Jings]

I can see England getting another draw, and the USA beating Algeria. And from a footballing perspective, that would be no bad thing.

I don't know. The USA have been rivalling England for boring and dire football, apart from a late rush today.

At least the yanks showed a bit of passion today, like they actually wanted to play for their country. England are rivalling France in the 'can't be arsed to be here' stakes.

[Croyles]

I was talking to my mom yesterday and she told me of her South Africran friend who had two things to say:

1) She wishes everyone would shut up about whether SA can do it, because they did the Rugby World Cup in 1995 or whatever it was.

2) Vuvuzelas are not a tradition, the woman is younger than I am and remembers a time without them, they aren't even 15 years old.

Thank you! Now people can stop acting as if they are.

[Laddy]

I. Am. So. Pissed. But this also means we have a very, very, good chance of qualifying now.

[charliepanayi]

Netherlands 2 Japan 0
Ghana 2 Australia 1
Denmark 1 Cameroon 0

[Cuchulainn]

I WAS impressed with the US support & the team, I have to say. I love it when there's that much passion for this game. It's a game that invites more passion than any other due to the low chance of goal, each one is like an eyegasm when your own side scores.

Yestwerday I just got annoyed at Kiro's 'if you want us to like this sport' comment.

If only the England players showed the asame passion as theitr fans (one opf the few I heard chant over those god awful plastic trumpets). I will NEVEr agree with booing though & England fans are the WORST for that.

They Boo the coach, they boo players, they boo the tea lady & they boo Bees (lol boobies).

[charliepanayi]

Passion isn't the problem with the England team, basic footballing ability is.

[Cuchulainn]

Passion isn't the problem with the England team, basic footballing ability is.

Disagree. They have players with unbelievably ability. It's playing as a team that's the problem...and tactics.


Englanditis has hit the Dutch too by the looks of it.

[seiferalmasy2]

England have a very good team when it comes to the talent but unfortunately they are not playing as a TEAM. They have no confidence and they are not playing with any passion.

Capello is mostly to blame for that since he doesn't exactly instill passion in me either... Need a better manager like Shearer and a team that act like lions not these pussy cats.

[charliepanayi]

Shearer a better manager than Capello? Do you talk rubbish on every topic seifer? This England team underperforms whether the manager is Hoddle, Keegan, Eriksson, McLaren and possibly now Capello. Maybe it's not the manager, maybe it's the players?

[Aerith's Knight]

Englanditis has hit the Dutch too by the looks of it.

Except we still win.

[seiferalmasy2]

Shearer a better manager than Capello? Do you talk rubbish on every topic seifer? This England team underperforms whether the manager is Hoddle, Keegan, Eriksson, McLaren and possibly now Capello. Maybe it's not the manager, maybe it's the players?

I said someone who could ignite passion and make the team work as a team and yes that man is much better than capello. I could do better than capello. I think the record so far in this tourney isn't exactly great is it.

So yes Shearer would do a better job. A manager isn't god you know, he can only work with the team, and any blind idiot can choose this team.

The problem with england is the passion and the confidence something this guy cannot instill. That isn't rubbish it is purely common sense.

Sven, Mclaren and capello all useless managers at getting Passion out of a team. 2 of them foreigners which isn't any good either.

Give me Shearer and when we are back here we will see how much different the team is, then you would soon shut up. The problem is your lack of understanding at what makes a team, you read too many tabloids and watch too much hollywood. You think a manager is defined by his success abroad or at club level and you think you can just plonk capello at England and expect him to get the best out of the team.

Well, think again, because this is the real world, BRO.

BBC Sport - Football - BBC pundits on England

Capello? lmao.

Shearer: (Read it.)

Alan Shearer
Former England striker on Match of the Day

It was really, really poor. We were all expecting a big improvement from the USA game.

We thought of excuses for that game. We said they went in not wanting to get beaten in the first game of the tournament, trying to settle in. But there were no real excuses at all.

We can't sit here and defend them. They were devoid of ideas, they kept on playing the long ball up to the front two which quite clearly is not working. There's no goals there, something has to change.

We should have been doing to Algeria what they were doing to us. They looked more comfortable on the ball then we did with players like Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney and Ashley Cole. You can't tell me that they're not better players than Algeria. But Algeria were better than England.

We criticised the French and their coach Raymond Domenech - the lack of passion and commitment. That wasn't there from the England players.

It has to be fear. They played well in the qualifiers but it's one thing qualifying, now it's on the big stage and the players have to deliver.

Rooney hit out at the supporters for booing at the end but they are entitled to express their opinions. They stuck with the England players for the majority of the game and they've travelled thousands of miles to get here. Three quarters of that stadium was full of England supporters. Wayne can't say that.

He's frustrated. His performances haven't been up to scratch. He doesn't look fit to me. Whether he's got the hump with someone or whether he's carrying an injury, something doesn't seem right.

[Mo-Nercy]

The problem with england is the passion and the confidence something this guy cannot instill. That isn't rubbish it is purely common sense.

You know, if I represented my country in a World Cup-like setting, I don't think I'd need anyone telling me to be passionate.

Besides, passion is an intangible thing. It's a term that gets thrown around a lot in sports media, but it's pretty silly to treat it as the sole reason as to why England aren't playing well.