Guest The Son of Sting Report post Posted June 1, 2002 Saudi Arabia - that was one of the worst WC performances i have seen. Denmark - they looked really good, could cause a few upsets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anorak Report post Posted June 3, 2002 England were really lucky to get away with a draw against Sweden, the second half performance was abysmal. I'm hoping against hope that somehow we can raise our game for Argentina but things don't look to encouraging at the moment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest muzanisa Report post Posted June 3, 2002 Italy, Germany and Argentina have all looked good so far. The atmosphere at the stadia seems strange. Rivaldo is a cheat and should have been booked, Brazil shouldn't have had a penalty and were pushed all the way by Turkey; yet all the commentators were gushing over their performance. Truly Brazil are the Manchester United of National Football teams. Watching football early in the morning does not feel right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anorak Report post Posted June 3, 2002 I can't get used to it either, especially with my 2am/10pm bedtime routine. I only just got up in time for the England game on Sunday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Vanilla Midget Report post Posted June 5, 2002 gotta love being in australia right now, soccer from 4 in the afternoon til 11pm at night, sweet! rivaldo is under investigation now, and will probably (and deserverdly) be suspended. his behaviour was fucking disgraceful. of course germany looked good, they played saudi bloody arabia, anybody looks good compared to them! england were damn lucky to get a draw, sven seemed clueless to me when he subbed vassell who was their best player, and left owen on, and he didnt get near the fucking ball all night. on a side note, danny mills is a fucking tool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anorak Report post Posted June 5, 2002 I hate most Leeds players, Mills is probably one of the worst. America beating Portugal was a shock, it exposed how weak the Portugese defence can be and they left themselves too much to do. I think it's a good thing to have unexpected results and surprises in the first round as it keeps people's interest more, i don't want to see too many one sided matches. Japan and South Korea's results and overall performances were impressive as well, it always helps the atmosphere of a tournament when the hosts do well and manage to make the second round. They both have a chance certainly, America vs S. Korea will be pretty interesting given thier surprise good starts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Vanilla Midget Report post Posted June 5, 2002 south korea will probably shit all over the usa, their hometown support is too damn strong although i still expect portugal to make the round of 16, they simply have a couple of players who are far too classy for the rest of their group (Figo). as i type, we are 86 mins down with Germany leading ireland 1-0 after Klose scores his 4th for the tournament (golden boot anybody) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Vanilla Midget Report post Posted June 5, 2002 holy fuck, robbie keane with a 92nd minute equaliser!@@!@!@!@!@!@! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alkeiper Report post Posted June 5, 2002 Thank god I'm a morning person. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted June 5, 2002 holy fuck, robbie keane with a 92nd minute equaliser!@@!@!@!@!@!@! That was pretty much my reaction. That and jumping up and down and smiling. Ireland's got a great shot at the round of 16 now, all they have to do is not screw up against the Saudis. Roy who? :-D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RevEvil Report post Posted June 5, 2002 If only the USA game wasn't on here at 2 in the morning. Damn school. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anorak Report post Posted June 6, 2002 I've got a bit of Irish blood in me so that was a great moment, they more than deserved a draw in that game. I'd give anything for England to beat Argentina tomorrow but i just can't see it happening to be honest, fingers crossed anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Vanilla Midget Report post Posted June 7, 2002 im hoping for eng to win tonight as well. i think they have a chance, but need to play fast and direct, otherwise the args will close them down. also, eng need to be patient in defence cos we know that arg will carefully build the play up. finally the most important thing is for them to keep their tempers under control. a draw is a good result for eng tonight though, as while sweden should beat nigeria (eng definitely will), sweden will surely lose to argentina. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Vanilla Midget Report post Posted June 7, 2002 sweden 2, nigeria 1 englands task just became markedly harder. they now really need a win tonight, or at least a draw and hope that sweden lose to arg. im also assuming eng beats nigeria Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest caboose Report post Posted June 7, 2002 ENGLAND BEAT ARGENTINA MOTHERFUCKERS~! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~! 1-0 BAYBEE~! ENGLAND BAYBEE~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest muzanisa Report post Posted June 7, 2002 Good result. Even deserved, but something that BBC ITV and Sky News all failed to pick up is that Owen dived to get the penalty. Maybe he tripped over "the foot of god" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest caboose Report post Posted June 7, 2002 I wouldn't call it a 'dive' per se. There was contact, and Owen made the most of it. So perhaps Games-menship and a little Karma for Simeone over acting 4 years ago when Beckham flicked him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics Report post Posted June 7, 2002 There was contact, and Owen made the most of it. So perhaps Games-menship and a little Karma for Simeone over acting 4 years ago I'm glad England won, but don't forget Owen dived for the penalty 4 years ago too! England played well and deserved to win, especially considering the obvious handicaps of having Mills and Heskey "playing". The task of getting a favourable result against Nigeria should be made easier now that they have nothing to play for and are out of the tournament. Here's hoping Ireland can get the 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia next Tuesday! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest caboose Report post Posted June 7, 2002 It's not like the Argentines or any other national side would hesitate to dive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics Report post Posted June 7, 2002 Every side has certain players more prepared to bend rules than others, it's just that some teams (naming no names (apart from Argentina and Germany)) seem to cheat more than others. Ireland, of course, has no cheats, and any fouls against Ireland are the result of a dive from the opposition, or a genuine mistake by a completely honest player. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted June 7, 2002 Speaking of dives, boy, hats off to FIFA. They sure taught Rivaldo a lesson, didn't they? Wooopty-Doo. 7,500 dollar fine. I'm sure he'll never dare try a stunt like that again. **Note: This post contains 25% off the USRDA for sarcasm** Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anorak Report post Posted June 7, 2002 What a result!! I didn't think England had a performance like that in them, i certainly didn't think our defence could keep Argentina out for ninety minutes but we defended brilliantly. The last 15-20 minutes were a nightmare with England conceding too much ground and the game taking place just in our half but we made it through. BUTT and Ferdinand had great games but overall it was a real team effort. I'm a natural pessimist at heart (Leicester fan!) so i'm not getting carried away, to not make the next stage now would be a crushing dissapointment though as its more than in our hands. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mystery Eskimo Report post Posted June 7, 2002 Owen didnt dive, he was clearly tripped. We are far too cynical in this country at times, and today we just need to recognise one of the best England performances ever, full stop. Nicky BUTT looked world class, which is something I never thought I would be saying. Oh, yeah: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Vanilla Midget Report post Posted June 8, 2002 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! go england!!!! owen didnt dive, the penalty was clearly there. also, i thought ashley cole played pretty damn well the entire match!!!! but all around, a big FUCK YOU to argentina, and i hope you miss out against sweden~!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics Report post Posted June 8, 2002 but all around, a big FUCK YOU to argentina, and i hope you miss out against sweden~!!!!! I couldn't agree more!! A shock win for Croatia today against Italy leaves that group wide open, and Mexico could take control of the group if they beat Ecuador tomorrow (I'm not usually interested in the fortunes of the Mexican team, but there is a Mexican at work who I talk to about the world cup! ). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Son of Sting Report post Posted June 8, 2002 Italy,France and Argentina could all go out now. I guess if they do Brazil,England and Germany would be favourites. Even if Owen did dive it would only have been Karma for Maradona cheating in 86. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics Report post Posted June 8, 2002 I wouldn't consider Germany as anywhere near favourites. They were made to look good by a shocking Saudi Arabia performance, and made to look second best by an Ireland side that's missing their best player. England improved dramatically between the Sweden and Argentina games, and if they keep that up, they could go far. Don't count out Italy or Argentina yet though, they both have a win under their belts (unlike France, he he! ). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest muzanisa Report post Posted June 8, 2002 really enjoying it so far. Wondering if any of the big guns are going to fall at the first. Best performances I've seen have been Ireland, USA and England. Best team so far is Brazil. Italy, Argentina, Portugal and France have all been turned over although Italy can feel aggreived the others were outplayed. Only ones who seem to be totally out of their depth were Saudi although they really improved in their second game and China. I need to get a world cup chart and work out all permutations to the final, I know that England and Argentina could meet again in the semis but that's about it. All of the probable last 16 all could conceivably win it only USA, South Korea and Japan would really shock me and who'd have thought that USA and S Korea would be well placed to qualify in the same group as Poland and Portugal? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest caboose Report post Posted June 8, 2002 Well I expected USA to get their asses handed to them by Portugal but I guess you never know. As for S.Korea, never dismiss the Host nation. Sure they won't win it, but they were always going to be pumped for the World Cup cos of the crowds. Besides they are not to bad, they have qualified for the last few World Cups. I still expect Italy, France and Argentina to qualify but my two teams, England & Spain(I'm born in England and my mum was born in Spain), are going good so i'm happy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics Report post Posted June 10, 2002 Although no-one has ever believed me, for a few years I've been saying that the USA could cause upsets once they got their act together (ie, a regular professional league) but in the last world cup, they got ther asses handed to them, so they weren't fancied this time around. I was surprised when USA beat Portugal, but not as astounded as the majority of TV pundits were. Besides they (South Korea) are not to bad, they have qualified for the last few World Cups Only because South Korea play in the Asian qualifiers (except when they qualify as co-hosts), and despite being the worst footballing continent (apart from Oceania, which the Ozzies win every time) get 4 world cup spots, so it's only through being the best of a bad lot that they qualify. If the world cup participants were the actual best 32 countries in the world, does anyone really think that Saudi Arabia and China would be there instead of the Netherlands and the Czech Republic? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
