Zidane's Headbutt Discussion and also some stuff on that FIFA World Cup 2006 thing

[Spatvark]

France 0 : 0 Switzerland (FT)
I take it back, that second half was terrible really. Switzerland should have scored in their final attack to snatch victory, but Frei's use of his hand took the ball away from the Swiss player just behind him who couldn't NOT score. That was just bleh really; the first half was more enjoyable, but still not that great.

[Resha]

The arguing between Zidane, Thuram and Gallas was pretty nasty. They're not united, the French team. It's like they've swapped places with the Dutch, meh. Things are just not right with the team as a whole -- problems with Domenech, between the goalies, problems with the fans -- I thought I saw some restive French fans in the crowd, nasty -- and clearly they need something new, something fresh in the team; they're calling back players!

I'd expected that of Ribery, but he didn't dazzle me today either. I was kind of impressed with Vikash Dhorasoo and his mighty close miss, but all in all it was a very, very lacklustre performance from France. Henry's godly for Arsenal, but even he didn't impress me today. His shots just didn't convey he had conviction and drive. :/

Kudos to the Swiss defence, though. Great to see guys like Senderos and Djourou doing so well. They've come so far!

[Spatvark]

Part of Henry's problem is his role in the French squad is not the same as his role in the Arsenal one. For France, he's basically an out-and-out striker, but for Arsenal, he's usually all over the pitch, with heavy support from the midfield players, and they build their attacks around him. France instead rely upon Zidane to create the play, leaving Henry standing around up front, and even then, Henry's movement off the ball in the first half was pretty good, but he was looking pretty fed up during the second.

[Resha]

Meh, don't get me wrong. I love Henry beyond anything in the universe, and I'm not criticising him. I guess I just have too high expectations of him, sometimes. Who doesn't? Hopefully his next few games will be better. He'll be tired too, having been playing till the very brink of the WC, what with the CL and all.

[Russielloyd]

Come on Kaka! show the world what you're all about and that Ronaldinho is overrated.

HT
Brazil 1
Croatia 0

KAKA!! My man scored! told you lot he was brilliant!
The match was a bit dull, Croatia did well to hold Brazil off for as long as they did and had some chances themselfs but Kaka has ruined any chance Croatia had of picking up points, with an amazing goals.

Leonardo agrees with me, that he'll be the one to watch!

One thing though, take Ronaldo off, he's just completely useless, he's not doing anything at all, just totally not interested.

[Spatvark]

eh, the match is far from over in my eyes. Brazil have looked shaky at the back and, at least before the goal, Croatia looked confident going forwards. It'll be interesting to see how both sides start out the second half, but it's always risky to rule out the Croats.

[Russielloyd]

Brazil will play the way they always do with attacking flair and they won't change it, sure Brazil defense isn't the best, but their attack outways that, there's no way i think they'll lose or draw this match.

Croatia will come out now and be more open trying to find an equaliser, leaving them vunrable to attack, Kaka and Ronaldinho will find more space to run into and create more chances, therefore ripping Croatia apart!

[Cz]

France were atrocious from start to finish, and I can see them struggling to even qualify on that performance. None of the old guard are what they used to be (although Zidane still managed to deliver a few killer passes) and the likes of Ribery aren't going to replace them. The Swiss did very well, with an organised performance that recognised Henry as France's only attacking threat and dealt with him accordingly.

Brazil haven't been spectacular so far either, and Croatia have defended admirably. For forty minutes they looked as likely to score as the champions, with Prso looking dangerous out on the left. That Tudor free kick was poorly defended, and shows that Brazil can be beaten as easily as any team by a well-delivered set piece. Croatia are looking much better than they did in 2004, and they might just make some progress in this year's tournament. Nevertheless, Kaka's goal was nicely taken, and with the pressure now on Croatia, Brazil should now be able to dictate the pace of the game. I predict them adding to their lead in the second half.

Oh, and props to Mark Lawrenson for coining the phrase "Corridor of Uncertainty".

[Russielloyd]

Adriano has been non-exsistent.

[dragoonknight_kain]

Ronaldo did nothing, Adriano was useless too, but Robinho did well enough. Lucio and Juan were good too, but with this team we're going nowhere. And wtf is Parreira thinking? Keeping Juninho on the bench the whole game?

[Cz]

Hmm, looks like I was wrong. Brazil's second half showing was little better than the first, and they were rather fortunate to come out with the three points. They're still a great side and I'm they can go all the way, but this performance has certainly made their position as favourites somewhat shaky. They looked very much a beatable side today, and that can only be good news for England.

[Loony BoB]

If Croatia could put their shots within the goalbox but not DIRECTLY at the goalkeeper, they would have won that in a big way. Pretty even match in the end.

[Croyles]

I was with Croatia the whole way, and I reckon they deserved to win, especially the performance they gave in the second half.

Ronaldo is fat.

[-N-]

Plus USA didn't have the mighty Friedel in goal, so they were bound to get stuffed! Thats what got them to the quarter finals four years ago.

Yeah, he was majestic in 2002. I remember almost quitting tennis to go back to be a soccer goalie. I love watching goalies in action, and I didn't enjoy watching the USA match much at all.

[Psychotic]

South Korea v Togo
It seemed to me that Togo were relying too much on star player Emanuel Adebayor, and he was just a useless lump in that game, to be honest. Good finish by Kader, though. As for the Koreans, first I'm gonna comment on their fans. They seem to have a lot of female fans that scream in a high-pitch whenever they or their opponents attack, which amused me. The team looked lacklustre until the introduction of Ahn Jung-Hwan at the start of the second half, but they deserved the win.

France v Switzerland
I was actually taking a...uh...siesta at the start of this game, and only woke up in the 35th minute. It seems I didn't miss much at all. They're relying too much on Zidane, and should instead base their team around Henry. A poor result against the Koreans would be the end of their World Cup, and I hope the Koreans can do it, really. Switzerland looked average. Nothing special, but nothing poor.

Brazil v Croatia
What a surprise, Brazil are not the all-conquering demi-gods that they were hyped up to be. They still managed to look casual and confident though, and that could be their downfall. I thought Croatia were unlucky not to come away with a draw, and poor finishing let them down.

Noticed how hardly any of the teams on the poll (ie, the favourites, a couple of dark horses, and, uh...the USA) have performed well in their first match? Germany looked dodgy at the back, England, Portugal and the Netherlands faded, Italy looked shaky at times against Ghana, France couldn't even scrape a win, and Brazil were fortunate to beat Croatia. Argentina are the exception, as they played quite well against tough opponents, although they didn't seem so confident in the second half. As for the dark horses, Mexico seemed slightly unsure against a poor Iran team, and really only the Czechs seemed fully in control of their match. Oh, and Spain haven't played yet, but I wouldn't bet against them going 1-0 up in the first half, before looking vulnerable in the second.The second matches shall prove interesting...