naiwf 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 That Japanese goalie sucks. The ball was hit from distance and didn't curl at all. Lame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 That Japanese goalie sucks. The ball was hit from distance and didn't curl at all. Lame. It's a shame He made like five world class saves in the first half and to misjudge that ball was unfortunate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 Now the Brazilians are just toying with the Japanese defense. They would have put up at LEAST 6 against the Americans. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to get bounced by Ghana. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anorak 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 I see 'Spider' Kalac is still terrible then. Played just three games for my local team over ten years ago and played so badly that he's still considered about the worst keeper we've ever had. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maztinho 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 Now the Brazilians are just toying with the Japanese defense. They would have put up at LEAST 6 against the Americans. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to get bounced by Ghana. Brazilians toy with defense that's what they do. They'll score 4 probably by the end of the day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 The Socceroos won't die!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anorak 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 They will in the next round. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLAGIARISM! 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 I cannot believe Kalac is at AC Milan. I should have tried out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 Great to see the Aussies advance but what a debacle at the end by the ref He misses a blatant hand ball by a croatian player in the box Kewell was offside when he scored the goal A Croatian player got a second yellow card and wasn't thrown out ( He ended up getting a third yellow before finally being sent off) Anyway Bill Plaschke brought up a point that as a hispanic has been eating at me for awhile Where are the hispanic players on team USA? Seriously there has to be a young man out there from a Mexican or South American family that is really good at soccer, I live in L.A. and I have seen tons of latino kids that live and breath soccer and you are telling me there ain't one of these kids out there that has translated that passion to skill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted June 22, 2006 Wait 5 more years... You're right though. There's a ton of guys and kids at parks every weekend playing soccer and for some reason it's turned to nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLAGIARISM! 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 Great to see the Aussies advance but what a debacle at the end by the ref He misses a blatant hand ball by a croatian player in the box Kewell was offside when he scored the goal A Croatian player got a second yellow card and wasn't thrown out ( He ended up getting a third yellow before finally being sent off) Anyway Bill Plaschke brought up a point that as a hispanic has been eating at me for awhile Where are the hispanic players on team USA? Seriously there has to be a young man out there from a Mexican or South American family that is really good at soccer, I live in L.A. and I have seen tons of latino kids that live and breath soccer and you are telling me there ain't one of these kids out there that has translated that passion to skill. Welcome to the wonderful world of referee Graham Poll. He's a twat, and compensates for not being consistent by showering everyone with cards. I wouldn't be surprised if the three yellows to one player were just to give him extra enjoyment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2006 Where are the hispanic players on team USA? They're all playing baseball. Fortune and fame come in MLB, not MLS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 I woke up at 5am this morning, turned on the TV, and my first thought? "What the fuck is Kalac doing in there?" We dominated ther first half after that goal, and it was the same scenario after the second goal. I don't care if Kewell was offside, their should have been two other penalties go our way during the course of the game, so I'm going to take that as the fuutbaaal gods shining down on us. Italy next, and while Anorak may scoff, they'll give the Italians a harder time than the US did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 Where are the hispanic players on team USA? They're all playing baseball. Fortune and fame come in MLB, not MLS. If they're good enough, they can make just as much in one of the big UEFA leagues. MLS certainly isn't the pinnacle of soccer success in the US, no matter what USA Soccer would have you believe, and the US isn't going to have any future World Cup success if the majority of their players are from MLS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 Where are the hispanic players on team USA? They're all playing baseball. Fortune and fame come in MLB, not MLS. If they're good enough, they can make just as much in one of the big UEFA leagues. MLS certainly isn't the pinnacle of soccer success in the US, no matter what USA Soccer would have you believe, and the US isn't going to have any future World Cup success if the majority of their players are from MLS. Yeah, but to make it to UEFA and make the huge money you need to be a stud by like 16 or so. Most American families don't have the means or ability to send their kids overseas to play against the best competition, and then again we're not one of those countries where kids turn pro until they're finished with HS except for golf and tennis. American kids also know that if they can be the next LeBron they too can make big money and not have to leave the country. Most American kids wouldn't know Ronaldinho, or how much he makes even if he walked by them with a Ronaldinho jersey on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deancoles 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 Do any of the MLS teams have a Youth Academy? My team is a 3rd Division English team, we use our academy to produce good players who become 1st team players and if good enough they get sold for a big transfer fee. At the moment we have 200 youngsters on the books between the ages of 8 and 18. Edit: it does cost between £250,000 to £500,000 a year though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Cucaracha 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 Nice to see Graham Poll flying the flag for England and keeping the run of terrible second half performances going. France this evening, fingers crossed for a Togo victory. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 He missed two obvious penalties against Croatia at key points in the game. So, boo to him. But he didn't call Harry offside, so perhaps he was making up for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 There is a scenario in which France and South Korea could have to draw lots to determine who advances to the knockout stage. If France wins by one goal and South Korea draws with Switzerland, and France scores exactly two more goals than South Korea today, they'll be deadlocked and have to flip a coin. Can you imagine the heartbreak of not advancing because you called tails and the coin came up heads? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 France don't deserve to go through on their performances so far anyway. They've been utter crap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murmuring Beast 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 Ah, you can always rely on an Englishman to miss a couple of penalties at a World Cup... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anorak 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 He won't make it out of the group stage with that performance. Maybe he's half scottish. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A Happy Medium 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 I think D.C. United has an academy...and maybe Chivas USA as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murmuring Beast 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 He won't make it out of the group stage with that performance. Maybe he's half scottish. Ha, good one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted June 23, 2006 I think D.C. United has an academy...and maybe Chivas USA as well. They both do, but the academy doesn't keep them from making poor career decisions like Donovan. He ruined his career when he decided not to stay at Leverkusen and come back to the MLS. He ruined all hope of a career overseas with his performance in Germany. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 Welcome to the wonderful world of referee Graham Poll. He's a twat, and compensates for not being consistent by showering everyone with cards. I wouldn't be surprised if the three yellows to one player were just to give him extra enjoyment. That may have been the funniest thing I read all day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2006 Round of 16 Bracket Germany Sweden Argentina Mexico Italy Australia Switzerland Ukraine England Ecuador Portugal Netherlands Brazil Ghana Spain France Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystery Eskimo 0 Report post Posted June 24, 2006 Italy have got to be pleased with how thats turned out. And I look forward to Spain crushing the French. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
megaadvice 0 Report post Posted June 24, 2006 Strong draw except for this bit. Italy Australia Switzerland Ukraine But we should certainly have 3 very good last 8 match ups. Which will certainly be better than the last world cup where we had only 1 game with two "top teams" in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rising up out of the back seat-nuh 0 Report post Posted June 24, 2006 I'm backing Ghana to take Brazil out. If not, Brazil/Spain should be good. Actually, every team in the bottom half of the draw (with the possible exception of Ecudor) is a damn good team. You've gotta back Argentina for the final though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites