World cup 2002

[Guest alkeiper]

USA    1

Korea  1

 

The US can now advance to the second round simply by tying Poland.  A Portugal loss to Korea will do the trick also, but they looked mighty good against Poland.  All in all, a good performance for the Americans.  Kudos to that Korean player for playing on despite the cut.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

portugal were quite impressive against poland, and i would tip them to go over south korea this fri.  usa have surprised me, and at the moment, i would say they are odds on to take their group.

 

france v denmark starts in 20 minutes, *HUGE* game in the grand scheme of things.  i think the return of zidane should see the frogs get up. in the other game, i expect senegal to take at least one point against uruguay (thus sending those fuckers home :)) and for tomorrow: GO ENGLAND!!!

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

Denmark 2, France 0

Senegal 3, Uruguay 3

 

who would have thought france would not score a goal at this world cup????

and thank god, uruguay are out, THAT IS WHAT YOU GET FOR ELIMINATING THE SOCCEROOS!!!!!!!

 

so thats denmark and senegal through from group A

[Guest redbaron51]

well that was probably the most lobsided reffing I have ever seen. (Senegal/Uruguay). I mean Senegal could win a ball cleanly and would still get a foul or get booked.

 

And whats with a yellow card for killing time...if your up a goal isn't that the whole point?

[Guest Anorak]

and thank god, uruguay are out, THAT IS WHAT YOU GET FOR ELIMINATING THE SOCCEROOS!!!!!!!

Australia didn't deserve to qualify and i'm glad they didn't make it, i never want to see Kevin Muscat anywhere near a world cup.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

and thank god, uruguay are out, THAT IS WHAT YOU GET FOR ELIMINATING THE SOCCEROOS!!!!!!!

Australia didn't deserve to qualify and i'm glad they didn't make it, i never want to see Kevin Muscat anywhere near a world cup.

we deserved it more than saudi arabia, china, tunisia and poland to name a few.  our national coach came out and said that we would have made the 2nd phase from group a, and i am totally inclined to believe him.

 

yeah, im not too keen on having kevin muscat anywhere near a world cup either, though some of our other players (kewell/viduka/emerton to name a few) deserve to be in it, and if we get direct qualification for oceania (as blatter has promised to do) asia does *NOT* deserve 4.5 places, (we are better than most of them), the aussies should figure prominently in germany 2006

 

last night: ireland 3, saudis 0

Germany 2, Cameroon 0 (talk about yellow cards, there were 18 of em here!)

 

so ireland go on to face spain (hehe, good luck to em)

and germany face either paraguay or south africa (although it could be a reasonably tough task, as they have about 3 players out on suspension from the cameroon game)

[Guest caboose]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!

England are through and Argentina are GOING HOME!

Yeah BAYBEE~!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!

 

Denmark will be tough however...

[Guest Anorak]

England vs Nigeria was terrible but who really cares? Today was all about getting the right result and not slipping up. I'm glad England and Ireland have made the knockout stages, they were both professional and spirited in their performances. Its a very open competition this time around and several teams will fancy their chances with the two favourites going out, there's not an awful lot to seperate most teams left.

[Guest muzanisa]

Argentina and France were my picks, good job I didn't put  money on it.

South Africa were unlucky but I reckon Senegal can do well (wasn't this the world cup where an African team were going to win it?)

Ireland will have to be bloody excellent to beat the Spainish, but they have nothing to lose and have shown up Roy Keane something terrible.

Only seven sides have ever won the World Cup of them Argentina, France and Uraguay (?) are out leaving Brazil,England,Germany and probably Italy. Of those I'd fancy a Italy Brazil final if it's possible.

[Guest caboose]

South Africa were unlucky but I reckon Senegal can do well (wasn't this the world cup where an African team were going to win it?)

Back in 70's Pele said that an African side would win the World Cup by 2000, but they didn't.

Nigeria were actually quite good in 1998, but they had no discipline.

As for winning it this year, I have a sneaking suspicion that a team who has never won it before is winning it this time.

And of the teams so far, Spain and Denmark have a good chance, and they've never lifted the Cup before.

 

Come On England, Come On Spain.

[Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics]

Ireland will obviously be the underdogs, but I feel they have a realistic chance of progression.

The back four are solid, if unspectacular, same with the midfield, and with Duff and Keane up front with Quinn coming off the bench, there's always the chance of sneaking a goal.

Don't forget that Ireland beat, and eliminated the always good Netherlands.

 

Come on Spain.

 

Screw you, sucka.  !)

 

EDIT- typo.

[Guest muzanisa]

I reckon Ireland can do it, but it will not be easy.

Finnian has been great and is apparently being chased by man U. As a Fulham supporter this is not good news.

Breen hasn't even got a club and who do the rest play for play for anyway.

France put their early exit down to the premier league being so tough and finishing so late.

i suppose that having so many of ours coming from the nationwide is the reason we've progressed then.

[Guest caboose]

If Ireland beat Spain, win the game(a penalty shoot out doesn't count), I'll get my cutom title changed to 'I Suck'.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

ireland have a pretty tough task now, beating spain wont be easy.  england-nigeria was a very boring game, and england would be pissed they didnt win, cos now they have to play denmark instead of senegal.  at this stage though spain is a little shaky, as while they have shown they can score, they have also shown their defence is pretty poor.  brazil have been pretty impressive (cafu has been brilliant), though they havent played any really decent teams yet.  italy need to get over the fact they were robbed against the croats, otherwise they too could face an early exit.

 

at this stage, england, denmark, sweden, italy (if they get through), spain (if their defence improves) and portugal (if they can get through) all look pretty good right now.

[Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics]

england would be pissed they didnt win, cos now they have to play denmark instead of senegal.

I reckon that England would prefer to play Denmark rather than Senegal as they know more about the Danish players aand their style of play, whereas Senegal, despite their 3 matches so far, are still fairly unknown and are potentially full of surprises.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

hmm, i reckon they have actually got a fair bit to worry about in terms of tomasson, the english havent really come up against any strikers in top form yet, and the danish defence was pretty good through the group stage.

 

brazil 5: puerto rico 2 brazil are like spain, awesome offensively, but piss-poor defence

turkey 3: china 0 no surprises there, and i dont expect turkey to survive past the second phase now.

 

huge games happening right now though, mexico-italy and croatia-ecuador

could italy be the 3rd highly rated team to go home early??? i dont think so, tho they will definitely need to beat mexico, as i cannot see croatia failing to beat ecuador.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

as i typed that: mexico 1: italy 0... things looking bad for the azzuri

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

italy 1: mexico 1, so both teams go through

ecuador 1: croatia 0, croatia would be mighty pissed here, they only needed a win against the bottom side in the group to go through.  there will probably be riots happening in croatia as we speak

[Guest]

Now, here's an interesting scenario.

 

Is the U.S. better off coming in second in group D (and thus playing Mexico) than if they win group D (and thus playing Italy)?

 

I mean, if you think about it, the U.S. is more familiar with Mexico and has beaten them before in international play (though not in a world cup match).  Also, I think one of the U.S.A's strengths in the World Cup is their ability to be underestimated by other teams "Oh, the Americans can't be that good, this is soccer!  They suck at soccer."  I think Italy's experience in group play -- barely squeaking in -- leaves them in a position where they are much less likely to take their spot in the knockout phase -- as well as the American team -- lightly.  Mexico's qualifying with plenty of room to spare might make them more susceptible to "coasting" and getting *TOO* comfortable.  (But then again, having lost to the yanks in international play before might make Mexico "immune" to brushing off the Americans as well.)  Neither matchup would be easy for the Americans, but Mexico might be a better matchup?

 

Just something I thought of this morning.  Thought it might warrant being kicked around a bit (PUN! Aarrrrgh!)

[Guest starvenger]

You make a good point, but right now it's better to do what's in your control (i.e. win) and figure the rest out later.

 

And right now, it's probably a bad idea for any nation to say, "oh, team x sucks, it's a walkover".  You do that and you could be hanging out with France, Cameroon, Croatia and Argentina.  This probably also applies to the US.  You can't look past Poland until all 90 minutes have been played...

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

look past poland, and the exact same thing that happened last night to croatia will happen to the usa.

[Guest Anorak]

Italy deserved to go through in the end, they could have topped the group if they had been a bit more clinical in their finshing throughout the three games. Its going to be interesting to see if they will go with Totti or Del Piero for the next round, they obviously consider them too similar for both to start a game judging fromwhats happened so far.

 

I'm looking forward to South Korea vs Portugal, it could be a really entertaining game as they both play good football and the Portugese really need a win to go through. The four goals against Poland were useful but you would have to back the Americans to get the point they need against what has been a woeful Polish team so far.

 

Japan should be fine against Tunisia but Russia vs Belgium is a real crunch match. The Russians are in the driving seat to some extent because they only need a draw but Belgium proved against the Czech's in the playoffs that they can pull off big results in key matches. The legend that is Marc Wilmots (won me some money once!) will again be crucial to them, even in his thirties he remains their driving force. I think they have really missed Emile Mpenza at this world cup, Wilmots has always had a knack for getting goals but they shouldn't really be counting on him to provide their firepower.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

wilmots is in top form, and you're right, the portugal-south korea match shoud be a cracker.  i imagine portugal will come out on top, south korea showed against the us that they are questionable at best in front of goal, and while portugal's defence isnt that great, i expect them to put a few past korea.  figo to have a blinder i'd say, its about time he stepped up.

 

japan are safe to go through, and i think belgium will survive as well.  they are in reasonable form, and as you said anorak, wilmots is a god among men right now.

[Guest MaxPower27]

I've been watching some World Cup games, mostly the replays after work and before PTI, but I have a few soccer questions, and figured you guys would know:

 

What is "Stoppage time"? I watched the Italy v. Mexico game, and they went into it, but stopped it suddenly.

 

What are the different positions? What does each position do?(besides goalie)

 

What's a yellow card? Red card? What are the effects of these, or are they like a power play in hockey?

 

I'm starting to get into soccer, so these answers would help.

 

Thanks guys!

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

stoppage time is time which is added on to account for time lost due to injuries/goals/fouls, etc

striker: scores the goals, does very little defending

midfielder: does pretty much everything, playmakers

defenders: defend, adn also counterattack, etc (depends a lot on the team - eg, brazil's wingbacks (roberto carlos in particular) play very attacking and almost as attacking mids)

 

not at all like powerplays.  yellow cards are a warning, get 2 and you are sent off (cannot come back on, or be replaced).  also, you can accumulate yellows but that becomes more complicated.

 

red card is instant sendoff, you cannot come back on and cannot be replaced.  also, if you get sent off by any means, you incur a suspension.

 

sorry if this is a bit muddled, im in a rush.

[Guest MaxPower27]

Not rushed at all, thanks a lot! World Cup soccer is hella better than MLS any day!

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

japan 2: tunisia 0, no surprises here, so japan top the group and go on to play turkey, and as such should make the quarters.

belgium 3: russia 2, thrilling finish, second only to the uruguay/senegal game the other day in terms of excitement.  tho belgium now go on to face brazil, who are in good form, so imo its goodbye belgium.

[Guest franchise632]

What in the blue hell just happend, Poland up 2- Nil in the 5th  friggin minute!!!!! Okay this could be ugly. Lets hope recent history of American soccer doesnt, USA is 0-10-1 in World Cup play when there opponent scores first. And that call on the Donovan called back goal was pretty weak.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

we've got that game delayed here, but i wouldnt fret too much usa, portugal is a man down and not even looking like scoring right now, tho south korea is looking strong, though if scores stay at 0-0, usa go out.  tho as i said, that isnt looking likely.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

portugal down to 9 men, beto sent off for second yellow.  20 minutes to go, and usa still down by 2.  portugal need the draw, and the us need portugal to lose, this is a pretty thrilling end to the group stage.