World Cup 2006 - No Haters Please

[theHawk]

Ghana 2-1 now thanks to a penalty kick....

 

[freeandfun1]

nah....most of the refs are making stuff up...the games are getting too fast for them plus FIFA's new foul rules are causing any little thing to be a foul or a card

there is always nationalistic stuff at these matches same at euro and champs league.....only people that seem to care is the press

Perhaps.... I would think so and would totally agree with you except the same refs will call one game one way then when the USA plays call it much closer. I watched the ref in today's game in a game a few days ago and in it, he was letting the teams play. Today, this ref is trying to control everything and also, it is the inconsistency that is driving me nuts. Calls that should be cards arent' being carded and calls that shouldn't get a card are getting a card. It's crazy.

 

[freeandfun1]

Ghana 2-1 now thanks to a penalty kick....

And a bogus penalty at that. If anything, the Ghanian player should have been given a foul for taking an obvious dive. The USA player headed the ball out of play and it isn't as if he kept the Ghanian from scoring with his "foul".

 

[GotZoom]

Yup. I honestly think bias against the USA is going to ensure we do not make it to the next round.

Yeah, yeah, go ahead and say we are just being sore sports, but it is pretty obvious we are getting the short end of the stick on calls. Too bad too... I thought international play was supposed to be about the game and not politics.

BTW: Did you hear about the controversy over the Ghanian player showing the Israeli flag in their win over the CR? I guess it caused an "international incident" according to the sports announcers and he was made to apologize for any "insensitivity" he showed toward "non-Jews" or some such shit. Politics seem to be dominating the games.

Yeah..all the controversy is pretty stupid too. He plays for an Israeli First Division soccer team and was doing it to honor them and thank their fans.

 

[GotZoom]

To this point in the game, the ref has called 24 fouls against Ghana and only 8 against us.

Of course, the penalty was huge. Suspect...but huge.

 

[manu1959]

Perhaps.... I would think so and would totally agree with you except the same refs will call one game one way then when the USA plays call it much closer. I watched the ref in today's game in a game a few days ago and in it, he was letting the teams play. Today, this ref is trying to control everything and also, it is the inconsistency that is driving me nuts. Calls that should be cards arent' being carded and calls that shouldn't get a card are getting a card. It's crazy.

yep 100% of the time they are wrong to 50% of the supporters

 

[freeandfun1]

Okay.... it's NOT just the officiating... the USA is NOT putting in much of an effort. Once they get behind, they just seem to give up or at least, get careless.

 

[manu1959]

Okay.... it's NOT just the officiating... the USA is NOT putting in much of an effort. Once they get behind, they just seem to give up or at least, get careless.

diisagree....arena should have been playing olson, dempsey, lewis and johnson from the get go....they play with pace and passion unlike a couple of the cardboard cut outs he seems to favour

 

[freeandfun1]

Question: Why has there been so much hype about Beasley? This guy hasn't done squat in this Cup. If anything, he has ruined several of our break-away chances by slowing down the tempo and allowing the Ghanian players to get back to defend.

I gotta give kudos to Ghana though... they have played well and they deserve to advance.

 

[freeandfun1]

diisagree....arena should have been playing dempsey, lewis and johnson from the get go....they play with pace and passion unlike a couple of the cardboard cut outs he seems to favour

That I agree with hence my post about Beasley.

 

[manu1959]

Question: Why has there been so much hype about Beasley? This guy hasn't done squat in this Cup. If anything, he has ruined several of our break-away chances by slowing down the tempo and allowing the Ghanian players to get back to defend.

I gotta give kudos to Ghana though... they have played well and they deserve to advance.

beasley is "fast" that is it....he is too frail to play at the international level....mls he was fine...at psv he gets cut down both in the dutch league and the CL....now michael essian for ghana that is a midfielder

 

[GotZoom]

Italy advances!!! Forza Italia! What a second goal - Inzaghi's run from midfield! Bella!!!! (of course, CR had pushed nearly everyone forward but it was still nice)

An excellent game..lots of action. Over 30 shots with 14 on goal.

Italy played well but will have to do a lot better with finishing their advances forward and getting their shots on goal to advance further.


And the U.S........we gave it a good shot. Actually played pretty well it looks like. 7 shots - 3 on goal. Ghana finished with twice the fouls called on them then we had called on us.

We actually scored a goal..and came close on quite a few shots. Even without that suspect PK call, we needed a win; not a tie.

We have a lot of preparation to do before South Africa in 2010.

 

[Nienna]

Guess my husband will be rooting for England, now... they're still in aren't they?

 

[GotZoom]

Guess my husband will be rooting for England, now... they're still in aren't they?

Yes. Finished first in their group; will play Ecuador on Sunday at 11:00 EST.

They are now in the "one loss and you go home stage."

They should beat Ecuador. Then they will play the winner of the Portugal / Netherlands game.

Either one will be a great game; and they have a decent chance of advancing after that.

 

[Nienna]

Yes. Finished first in their group; will play Ecuador on Sunday at 11:00 EST.

They are now in the "one loss and you go home stage."

They should beat Ecuador. Then they will play the winner of the Portugal / Netherlands game.

Either one will be a great game; and they have a decent chance of advancing after that.

That should keep my husband in a good mood.

 

[GotZoom]

I need to start betting money on these games. I predicted 4 or 5 to nil for Brazil. They won 4-1.

I predicted 2-2 for Croatia and Australia. Game was tied 2-2.

Geez.

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Brazil wins the group.

Brazil showed their dominance again. Even after going down 1-0.

And I guess I should send Ronaldo an apology e-mail. It took him 2 games to show up...but show up he did...2 goals. A definite influence on this game.

Brazil just outplayed Japan, no question. 21 shots (14 on goal), 60-40 time of possession.

Aussies advance in second with their tie with Croatia.

Weird game.

One of Croatia's players received 2 yellow cards and was not ejected. Then when he received his 3rd, the ref sent him off.

Viduka hugs the referee while the game is on.

Italy - Australia and Brazil - Ghana in the next round.

Both will be excellent games.

 

[manu1959]

zwei Ziele in 10 Minuten sehr nett.

 

[akiboy]

In ur dreams man!! England Rocks!!!

I bet England screw Brazil in d semis !!! ( A classic free kick by Becks and a Rooney finish will see us thru !! )

 

[no1tovote4]

In ur dreams man!! England Rocks!!!

I bet England screw Brazil in d semis !!! ( A classic free kick by Becks and a Rooney finish will see us thru !! )

I'd cheer for that... That would be a serious fun match to watch!

 

[GotZoom]

Little behind but.....

Yesterday wasn't very surprising.

I thought Ukraine was lucky to come out with a win. Sheva isn't impressing as he usually does. I don't think AC Milan made a bad move by letting him go.

Spain, France, and Switzerland played good enough to advance. None of them will make it very far if they don't step up and play better.

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Germany - Sweden

Germany started our impressive..anytime you can score two goals in the first 12 minutes you stand a good chance of winning.

I sure did like the way they worked together up front. Of course, now they play Argentina. I doubt we will see Germany after that.

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Argentina - Mexico

Mexico has played well; I was a bit surprised that they held Argentina as they did.

And if anyone say Argentina's second goal; that will probably be the goal of the tournament.

If you haven't seen it, go here:

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/match/template.html?id=50

Click on Video Highlights.

Maxi...just amazing.

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England - Ecuador

I think England will go through, even with Owen out. Ecuador has held their own well, but this will be the end of their run.

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Portugal - Netherlands

Tough one here. I have always liked Holland. The have been less than impressive though the last few games. I'm really feeling Portugal on this one.

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I won't be online Monday or Tuesday so I will throw my thoughts out for those games.

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Italy - Australia

Forza Italia!! 2 or 3 to 1 for Italy. Australia was lucky to make it this far; this game is their last.

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Switzerland - Ukraine

I am going with Switzerland for two reasons. First, Urkaine has not impressed me in the least. It is Sheva + 10 and you will not do well if you rely on one player. Second, I think an Italy/Switzerland game would be pretty exciting.

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Brazil - Ghana

This is going to be a fun game to watch. Fast paced and I really think Brazil will go nuts with goals. I can see 5 or 6 to 1 for Brazil. Ronaldo seemed to come alive last game and I think deep down inside, they hate the fact that Argentina scored 6 goals against an opponent.

Plus they know their next game will be against Spain or France (probably Spain) so they will need a good warm up before that match.

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Spain - France

Spain by at least 2..feeling even maybe 3. France is just...well, they are just boring. Barthez doesn't need to be in goal. Zidane just isn't the superstar he used to be.

Spain has played very consistant and solid in every one of their games. They won't make it past Brazil, but France will not be that difficult.