World Cup

[gruesomeBODY]

So the World Cup starts tomorrow, well technically today, but whatever. Id anybody excoited about this? I just hope the US can get out of the bracket and at least do somthing this time around. Hoepfully, Donivan plays like he should and put a few in the back of the net.

[Lenny]

:eek:!! I had a nice little post lined up to post as well. :(

I'll post it anyway.

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In answer to your first question, I'm extremely excited. Rooney's been given the go-ahead to play in the knockout stages, and we've got the best team we've had since '66. We're also second favourites at the English Bookies with 7-1 odds that we win (Brazil are the favourites at 5-2).

The US didn't do all that badly in Japan. You got further than us... then again, we DID play Brazil with a weak team. Where'd you get up to? Semi's?

In fact, my bad - we both dropped out of the Quarters.

US 0 - 1 Germany
England 1 - 2 Brazil

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Quick reminder of the groups:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y97/Lenny1882/worldcupdraws.jpg

England are in the easiest group - B.
US are in group E. The only hard match might be against Italy.

And the list of matches:

England v Paraguay (Frankfurt) Tomorrow
England v Trinidad & Tobago (Nuremberg) 15th June
Sweden v England (Cologne) 20th June

USA v Czech Republic (Gelsenkirchen) 12th June
Italy v USA (Kaiserslautern) 17th June
Ghana v USA (Nuremberg) 22nd June

The second round is played from the 24th to 27th June.
Quarter Finals are on 30th June and 1st July.
Semi's on the 4th, and 5th July (third place playoff on the 8th).
And the Final is on Friday 9th July.

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Btw, at the bookies, America are at odds of 100-1 to win.

Actually, looking at the figures - Italy are 9-1, Czech Republic are 33-1. So they might be a bit difficult.

But there's no way of telling until the match is in progress.

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Good luck to both teams, then. Methinks I might watch the USA games, if I've got nothing else to do. Just watch England tomorrow - you might get to see us play like magic... but T&T aren't exactly hard, so it'll be a boring match.

[gruesomeBODY]

i just want to watch all the games available to us. Ill sit back with some beer and watch and hopefully our teams get to go against each other later on in the tourny

[HandOfHeaven]

I'm watching Germany vs. Costa Rica in a few minutes here. Then Ecuador vs. Poland at 1:55 PM CST. I want Argentina to win, but they are in what is said to be the toughest group. Both of these are on EPSN2.

They are televising all 64 games on ESPN networks and ABC.

[MightyJoe]

ITs soccer, lololol. Sorry random soccer comment. However, I was watching the Germany vs Costa Rica game, first goal by Germany was just money, better be a Sports Center top 10.

[Sovereign]

Fucking Grass Fairies.

GO TEAM USA!

[gruesomeBODY]

the germany game was a blow out but the poland game was awesome. Ecuador kicked ass.

[HandOfHeaven]

Germany's defense was disappointing. Their keeper sucked too. I can't believe they tried to use an offside trap at an international level. Otherwise, they had good control, and that last goal by Frings was amazing. That, along with Lahm's goal, are real pretty goals.

Poland came out very sloppy, and never really gained momentum. Ecuador didn't really show too much dominance, but it got a pair of goals. I don't think either team can measure up to playing in the final.

[Lenny]

Out of the 7 goals scored so far, I've only seen that one with the offside trap. :mad: Nice goal though.

The thing about Germany is that they always have a bad start. No matter whether they win, lose or draw, they have terrible starts. But once you get into the knockout stages, they really become good.

And Argentina are in a horrible group. The Netherlands can be absolutely amazing when they get into their stride. You've heard of Total Football, right? And there's the second rule of the World Cup (only broken twice, last year being the second time) - no team, no matter how good, or how talented, can put up with a journey acorss a major ocean. Which unfortunately means all the South American countries, and USA. :p

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I don't care how badly we play tomorrow - I just can't wait to see us play. If anyone IS watching, then look out for:

Gerrard
Crouch
and maybe Walcott.

- Gerrard should be playing up front with Lampard, with Carrick holding the fort behind the two.
- Crouch is... well, he's 6 foot 7. Looks like a gangly owd fool, plays pretty damn well. And if he scores, look out for his "robot dance".
- Walcott is our wildcard. 17 y/o. Never been tried at Premiership level, never mind International. Yet he's rumoured to have terrific pace and a knack for getting into tight spaces. But, he's no Rooney.

Then there's the obligatory Owen running, Beckham crossing, and Sven sat on the bench looking mildly interested... jumping up and clapping sedately if we do something right.


Don'tcha just love that? When people start talking about their football team in the "we" sense?

[HandOfHeaven]

I'll be up at 8 AM sharp to watch them take on Paraguay. Paraguay were the runners-up at the 2004 Olympics, although there were 2 red cards issued to their team. I'm guessing that's because they were playing their South American rival Argentina. I hope that England at least makes it to the semi's.

[Lenny]

You and 60 million other people. :p

I'd like to see this "Donivan" fella play. From what I've read, he's quick down the wing and has got a pretty good pace. Apparently your whole team is quick. But what's up with your keeper? Ain't he got some kind of back injury?

[HandOfHeaven]

Even so, he's solid. You will be amazed at Donovan's play though.

[Lenny]

If he's as good as I've been hearing, then he should be an interesting guy to play against... that is if we meet up in the Quarters, Semi's or even the Finals.

To quote directly from a little World Cup thingy I picked up from a Newspaper:

How do you beat them [USA]?

Catch them on the counter-attack. The domestic Major League Soccer is slow in comparison to the Premiership and less technical than Serie A or La Liga. High tempo, high quality football could unsettle them.

Now I don't really watch Premiership matches all that much, but let me tell you - they can be as slow and as boring as wathing paint dry. If that's the case, and if the American Leagues are slower, then I shudder to think what you have to put up with.

Once again, it'd be interesting to see how you handle the Czech's. 5.00pm on Monday, I'm gonna be watching. :p

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EDIT: Right, 10 minutes before the match.

Watch out for Beckham's crosses, Terry on set-pieces, and Owen and Crouch up front.

And I'm off again.

COME ON ENG-ER-LAND!!

[HandOfHeaven]

Your quote is right, the MLS is slower than the Premiership and Serie A. But, the USA has proven that they can definitely keep up with international play.

Did you see Beck's amazing goal in the 3rd minute!!!???

[Lenny]

Lol, sounds like you liked that.

Actually an OG by Gamarra, but we're letting Beckham have the glory. You'd better get used to that - he's an absolute demon with his free-kicks and crosses. So accurate.

Paraguay only really had one chance, didn't they? Right at the end of the First Half. In the Second Half they nearly got through, but we still held them... even though we played abysmally. That's our problem - we can keep up the tempo and whatever in the First Half, stunning everyone, then when we come out for the Second Half we lose our Killer Instict.

Methinks Sven was stupid bringing Owen off. Sure, he hasn't played much and needs to not be playing so much he tires himself out, but did you see how Crouch had no-one to head on to? Or when beckham broke through, knocked the ball across the goal mouth... and there was no-one to get it. Owen would've scored that, no questions asked.

Lampard had his chances too. He was unlucky not to score. We should've got a second, but we just didn't take the chances. We need to play more as the tournament goes on we will get better.

And the fact that we had a wanker for a referee didn't help one bit. Yellow card for Gerrard, because someone jumped over him... but no free kick given. Yellow Card for Crouch for a trivial little tackle. And all those free kicks and decisions going Paraguay's way. But what happens when Downing, amking a superb run down the wing, is taken out with the ball 10 feet in front of him? "Carry on!" Absolute wanker.

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Let's see if you fare any better. I really do hope for you that you don't have a stupid ref. They can really ruin matches. If you don't have that South American ref, or that Swiss bastard we had for our game against Portugal in Euro '04, then you should be OK.

[HandOfHeaven]

I liked the England game, but I thought it was dangerous trying to hold on to a 1-0 lead. I would have gotten another goal just for security.

[Lenny]

You really liked it? I 'spose it wasn't that bad... but I've seriously seen a lot better. And there were no Owen runs! :cry: Just wait till you see one... he ought to do one. He first came on against Argentina in '98, had a run, and BAM! Jeez louise was that good. Did the same against Brazil in 2002.

To be perfectly honest - the way England play football, naturally, is to get a second goal after a first. But Sven, being Sven, an itsy bitsy Swede, coaching the England squad, with the spirit of Italian football in him, prefers to hold onto each goal.

IF we'd've had Owen when Beckham knocked across the goal mouth, we'd have scored.
IF we'd've had Owen when Crouch was heading them up, we'd have scored.

And IF, it's a gigantic IF, IF we'd've had Rooney playing, we'd've got hundreds of goals (well, slight exageration, but he works absolute magic. Not even Gerrard or Owen can receive the ball with their back to the goal, surrounded on every side by defenders, and still score).

Don't you think we played absolutely awful during the second half though?

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Going back to:

I want Argentina to win

1. Never tell that to an Englishman. You'll get your head kicked in. :p
2. The beat Cote d'Ivoire 2 - 1, and got 3 (out of 5) yellows in the process.

[gruesomeBODY]

Argentina played terrible, they are lucky that Ivory Coast couldnt put the ball in the back of the net. THey played like pusses.

[Lenny]

I'd never have thought you'd be one to like Football. :p

Don't forget, they're complying with the "second rule" of the World Cup - no team, no matter how talented, survives a trip across a major sea. It may sound like a load of rubbish, but look at past years - it is true... excepting maybe Brazil.

And Argentina have really gone down in standard these past few years. We've been beating them for a few years now - before France '98, we didn't stand a chance.

If they played that badly, then I'd be surprised if they make it out of their Group of Death and into the knockout stages.

[Atnas]

... And where do you find the time to keep track of all this?

[Lenny]

I'm revising for my last week of GCSEs, of course I have the time to keep track of it all. :p

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Today's results:

Serbia & Montenegro 0 - 1 Holland -- fun match. The Dutch had a lot of good chances.

Mexico 3 - 1 Iran -- haven't watched the highlights for this yet, maybe in a bit.

Angola 0 - 1 Portugal -- still going.

EDIT: Angola 0 - 1 Portugal -- a lacklustre, match apparently. The written commentary I've read is exceptionally boring.

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I'm happy!! Every single match for England from now until the end of the tournament is in late afternoon or the evening!! WE'RE SAVED!!

If you're wondering - we don't like the heat. We'd much rather play in torrential downpour than midday heat. So you should see us play a lot better in our remaining matches., And hopefully we'll se Owen with his runs, Rooney, and maybe even our novelty mascott prove he's too old to be wearing nappies.

[Ganga]

England played terrible, they won by the other team's own goal..... I call that a lucky win for England. U.S is even worst, 0-3 says it all. So far, I like Holland the best.

[Lenny]

I'm sorry, but Landon Who?! I watched the whole game, and he did sweet F.A.

First impressions of the American team:

- Defence. Defence. Defence. You'd be safer putting a fence up around the box than relying on the defence you've got. The Czech defence was good. They managed to stop you having any major chances... but the number of times they broke through yours. Rosicky's second goal was because of that. Granted, all three defenders nearly got there, but he should never have got into that position.
- Defence again - in the box when there were corners and free kicks, your men lost their targets easily. Then again, it is very hard to mark at a time like that.
- Third point of defence -- pet peeve. Onyewu. I don't like him one bit. :p

Good point about your defence -- first part of the second half it really was awful. But around the 65 minute mark, it started to improve a lot.

In fact, that seems to be the main thing I thought was bad about your side. The Defence.

It's hard to push against the Czech's - if you somehow manage to get through their midfield, then you've got their defence to deal with. And if you notice, when they closed a man down to tackle, a lot of te time it was two Czech's to the one guy.

Reyna's shot on target in the 27th minute was a scrocher. He was really unlucky for it to hit the post - he had Cech beaten completely. The same with Johnson's chance in the 70th minute. He had the power, he had Cech beaten, he just missed by a snail's whisker.

In the last 10 minutes you really picked up the pace. You probed the Czech defence much more, with one or two real chances - you even managed to break through! But I think McBride as a lone striker was a bit silly. He was relied on too much, the poor guy.

Sorry to be so negative... I started watching the match thinking you'd win, if only by 1 goal to nil. It really disappointed me, but I did see some great football in the Czech side.

You've got a hard group, with hard matches - especially in Italy and Czech Republic. Methinks if the defence problem was solved, and Donovan had chance to show off his blistering pace, you'd win.

And let me say, you have boring fans. :p Sure, they dress up, but where was the "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chant? You'll never beat the Europeans fan-wise.

Altogether - could've been worse. Johnson, for me, was your man of the match. And the Czech's are hard opponents. At least the match kept me well and turly occupied for the full 90 minutes. Watching Australia v. Japan got kind of boring in the end, because they just kept on doing the same over and over and over again. That wasn't the case with this match.

I look forward to your match against Italy.

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EDIT: Just seen Gang'a reply.

We did play terrible. Especially in the second half. Hopefully on Thursday, when it's cooler, we'll play better. And there's news that Rooney might play, which is a great thing.

[Ganga]

And let me say, you have boring fans. :p Sure, they dress up, but where was the "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chant? You'll never beat the Europeans fan-wise.


If it was the world cup of basketball or "football" then you might actually see some real fans. For soccer you are consider lucky if you find 1 out of 100 people in the US actually care about the World Cup. It's kinda sad.

[Lenny]

Still, you've got to be one of the most self-important countries in the WC, let alone on the planet. I expected to hear some "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chants, if only at the start of the match. Singing the national anthem was pretty quiet too - another thing Europeans really go for. :p

[Ganga]

oh man, Japan couldn't hold up for the last 7 minutes, I was actually chanting for them.

[Lenny]

I was hoping Japan would win too. :p

They nearly had a couple of chances in the last few minutes.

But Australia! Man alive!! Talk about a comeback. That was absolutely amazing!!!

[Lenny]

Wahey!!

We've won our second game. :D

And this time round, we had the awful first half, brilliant second.

First goal - Beckham crosses a lovely ball into the box, Crouch gets over T&T's 6' 7"cher, and scores a great header.

Second goal was an absolute scrocher from Gerrard, left footed from just outside the box.

Brilliant! :D

First time we've scroed in the second half for 8 years, and we got 2!

[gruesomeBODY]

no offense Lenny but i thought England played like shit. They got lucky that the 2 subs came in and actually did something. I think Germany might be the team to beat, if not Brazil. We will see how the US does against Italy tomorrow and hopefully we pull out a win so we can have a chance to go onto the second round.

[Ketchup22]

who cares its soccer its not as fun to watch as football

[Lenny]

No offense taken - we did play shit. But we did do a LOT better in the second half than the first. Sure, Rooney didn't do anything much, but he did bring moral to the team.

And Lennon and Downing played superb.

And, if Ecuador can pull out a draw against Germany, and we the same against Sweden, Germany WILL be the first team we beat in the knockout stages. :p

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I hope you do do well tonight, as it would be a shame to see you out of the competition so early. Hopefully you can get your defence sorted out. We'll loan you Terry if you want him. :p

EDIT: Man alive, that was one hell of a match!!

Sure, I've seen 10 men against 11, once I've seen 10 - 10. But I ain't never seen a house fly! I mean, 9 - 10.

4 goals - 3 scored by the Italians, and the one from Beardsley.

I must congratulate America on that performance. It really has been on of the best of the World Cup so far. Really entertaining as well - it reminded me of late night Division 1 football in the middle of November. Blood and guts and everything else.

Absolutely superb!!

[Sovereign]

Lenny. You ever start a brawl?

[gruesomeBODY]

The game was awesome, but the red cards were unnecessary. I understodd the italian red card, maybe because blood was spilled, but the other two were terrible. The US held its ground and grinded a tie, which is much better then a lost. I sure hope that Italy beats CRupblic and US beats the surprise G

[Lenny]

Lenny. You ever start a brawl?

Nah.

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The Italian red card WAS needed. I agree to an extent of Pope's red card, as he already had a yellow, but the other one was just mad. Must've been that time of the month for the ref.

You were unlucky to only get a draw. Donovan played better than in the first game too - he was up closer to McBride this time, which might be a reason.

At least you're still in the tournament. You group is the only group so far that looks so uncertain.

[ArtfulDodger]

I'm serbian, and I guess it's in your blood from birth to like soccer if you're European. I decided to be a little patriotic and buy a Serbian flag to show that for once I do have some spirit. I put up the flag in my bedroom window before I watched the Serbia vs. Argentina game.

Now, to be honest, I knew we wouldn't have beat them, but I didn't think the score would be 6-0 Argentina for Christ's sake.

...I burned that flag. I burned it gooooood.

[Lenny]

I was going to say that S&M still have a chance, but then I just saw the table. :(

Don't forget, you were drawn into the Group of Death... still a shame though.

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England again tonight. :p Can we beat Sweden for the first time in 38 years?

[Willkillforfood]

The Dallas Cowboys (U.S. football team) are gonna run into your precious world cup's final game and shank everyone. That's how hardcore we are.

[Lenny]

And we'll run around you with the ball and make fools of you all trying to get it off us.

Don't forget, Brazil will be in the final - the team with the most talent in the world. Try and take on Ronaldihno and YOU will be run into the ground.

That's how Hardcore WE are.

[Ganga]

oh well, U.S blew it. It's not like we are going anywhere at second round anyway, since we'll be facing brazil.

[MightyJoe]

Yea, they failed huge in the game vs Ghana. Choke artists.

[Lenny]

It's a shame you're out. I was looking forward to England playing you. :(

Then again, if we carry on playing like we are, we'll lose to Ecuador.

Anyone see the matches yesterday - Brazil v Japan and Australia v Croatia? Simunic (Croatia) got 3 yellows before going off. Stupid English ref. :p

[Ganga]

Japan was up 1-0, I guess that piss brazil off alots, they score 4 goals after that.

[Lenny]

The ball possession in that match was...

Brazil 63%
Japan 37%

Heh heh.

By the end it really did look like Brazil were toying with Japan. I missed a lot of it, but didn't they sub off Dida [because of boredom] and replace him with a keeper who has scored 50-odd goals in his international games?

[Ganga]

Anyone saw the Argentina vs. Mexico? That overtime goal was beautiful.

[Lenny]

Yes, good goal by Rodriguez. But I wanted the Mexicans to win. They were all over them in the first half. Such a shame they couldn't carry it on.

How ugly is the Argentinian side?!

[quikspy67]

Damn no team Canda.

[gruesomeBODY]

That chest trap kick will go down in history for the world cup because it was that beautiful.

[Lenny]

Joe Cole's was better. :p And Cole doesn't look to bad, either. The Argentinians are so damn ugly.

Someone told me that they think the Italians are the 'Prettiest' Team... but they sure have dirty tactics - he never deserved a penalty! Diving wanker.

And the ref's really have been awful... Portugal v Holland match last night -- 16 yellows, 4 reds. Ah well, no Deco and t'other guy for our Quarter Final match. :p

Talking about our match against Equador -- now THAT is why Beckham is kept in the team. :D

[Ganga]

Why is all the power houses are winning... how fun to predict.

[HandOfHeaven]

I hated seeing Totti score that PK in injury time.

[Ganga]

wow.. it was so painful to watch ghana play, 22shots(9 on goals). I was hoping they could score one point atleast, they played very nice in passing, but god, they can't shoot for shit.

[Lenny]

Painful to watch Ghana? Painful to watch Brazil. I was falling asleep half the time.

They really are one of the most boring teams to watch play when they're like they are now.

score one point

That's football. This is Football - it's a "goal". :p

It would have been nice for them to score, they even had a few chances. Shame they didn't, though.

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Anyone watch the Switzerland v Ukraine match?

Ukraine played pretty well. And Switzerland managed to get through their matches without conceding. :p Pennie Shootout doesn't count.

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Spain v France should be fun tonight. 50-1 that France get a goal, methinks. They're going OUT!

[Ganga]

They couldn't even get one pennalty kick in out of 4 tries, Swizerland is either unlucky or they need someone that can shoot. France beat spain 3-1, wow, I didn't expect that one.

[Lenny]

They took off Frei just before the end, didn't they? He's their best scorer.

If he had been left on then the Swiss would have scored at least 1 out of the 5.

I didn't expect France to win either. When I saw that Spain had socred from a penalty I was thinking "there we go. Au revoir froggies", but no. :(

So, QUarter-final matches:

30/06/06 Germany v Argentina
30/06/06 Italy v Ukraine
01/07/06 England v Portugal
01/07/06 Brazil v France

Methinks that the winners there will be Argentina (just about - pennie shootout, maybe), Italy (again, a close call), England (maybe I'm just too patriotic :p) and Brazil (sure, they're not firing on all cylinders yet, but they will be when they come up against a real opponent like France).

What do you think?

[HandOfHeaven]

I know that Argentina - Germany is going to be the best matchup, and the England - Portugal game is gonna be a difficult struggle for England.

[Lenny]

Germany v Argentina will be a great match.

And you really think so about the England v Portugal match?

Don't forget they're missing two of their best players due to red cards, and Ronaldo may be out because of injury.

We beat them at Eruo 2004... except we had a bastard Swiss ref who disallowed two of our goals, made us play silver goal, then pennie shootout.

And look at Rooney - he's played 3 matches, yet look at how he performed against Ecuador. He actually looked like he got fitter as the match progressed.

[Ganga]

30/06/06 Germany v Argentina : I would say germany would win on this one
30/06/06 Italy v Ukraine : I have no idea on this one
01/07/06 England v Portugal : England
01/07/06 Brazil v France : ... who else

[gruesomeBODY]

The only two teams i care about that are left are Italy and England. A) im Italian and B) the english are all thaqt bad>

[Lenny]

YES!! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Deutschland, Deutschland über alles."

HAHA!! Goodbye to the ugliest team of the WC. :D The only other team that could stand between us and the Trophy.

What a match that was too!! Germany and Argentina were so evenly matched! But the penalties, man alive! Those Germans do know how to kick. See how many went into the bottom right corner, though? That was the Argentinian keepers' weakness. And Germany exploited it.

Oh, I'm happy! :p

[HandOfHeaven]

It's too bad Rooney got that Red Card. I wanted England to win. Why didn't Crouch take a PK? He is a forward, should have a shot.

Oh well, not much to say, Portugal came out strong.

[Scotty]

well england are out too wooohooo!!!

[Lenny]

It's too bad Rooney got that Red Card. I wanted England to win. Why didn't Crouch take a PK? He is a forward, should have a shot.

Oh well, not much to say, Portugal came out strong.

Too much to say...

Rooney did not deserve a red card. Anyone who is tripped like that steps back in reflex. At first I thought he should have got a free kick, but you can see on the replays that he's fighting un-nessecarily for the ball. Yellow at most.

The person who SHOULD have got the red was Ronaldo. He is the most shit-stirring little cunt I have ever seen! Before the match he headbutted Rooney. Then when Rooney finished his little scuffle, who was it who ran straight to the ref like a little boy? Ronaldo. He got the ref's attention. He went out of his way to annoy Rooney. He's his fucking team-mate at United for fuck's sake!! And then, after Rooney is off, the camera cut to him, and the little fucking cunt winked at his bench! HE HAD THE AUDACITY TO WINK!!

But that's what you get when you've got some Swede at the helm, making bad decisions. Oh yeah, let's take Walcott. Untried, untested, unused. We could've had Defoe! But noooo, let's take him along as a novelty mascott. Yeah, that'll help.

Crouch can't take Pennies. Take it from someone who watches all the England games. Crouch is hopeless at Penalties.

To be perfectly honest, I was on the verge of tears at the end of the match. We played so well. Even with 10 men. It took the Portugese 120 minutes to beat us, and even then it was with pennies.

Our best chance in 40 years... gone. Maybe we'll do better under someone who has grown up and played English football. We'll have Owen, Rooney and Crouch still in 4 years. We'll have an experienced Walcott. Same with Lennon and Downing. The two Coles will have matured, and Carrick, Carragher and Hargreaves will have upped their games. But that's it for Neville. That's it for Beckham.

And, once again, that's it for the WC.

I don't care what happens now. It means sweet fuck all to me. I'm not coming back to this thread, unless it means I can shout some of my anger and anguish at some unlucky member who says slightly the wrong thing.

My last words:

France will lose to Brazil tonight.
Germany will fight a close contest with Italy but pull through.
Brazil will go on to slaughter Portugal, and beat Germany on penalties in the final.
And Portugal will win in extra time against Italy for the third place spot.

[gruesomeBODY]

well, the goalie for portugal was amazing. He stopped your boys cold. THat and Beck's was out. And at this moment, France is beating Brazil and Italy will win it all if Brazil loses. Germany sucks

[HandOfHeaven]

Germany is very strong, it's hard to tell whether they or Italy will advance. I think France will mop up against Portugal. Zidane didn't look like 34 during his game, he looked like 24; shouldn't be retiring.

[Dar_Win]

Let's go Italy!

[Sovereign]

So apparently the brits lost.

My dad said the british fans are going to burn down berlin.

[gruesomeBODY]

and kill some people named ronaldo, whining bastard

[Dar_Win]

That Germany game was awesome.

[Ganga]

Brazil lost. Too many stars can't make a great team, it's a good team, just not great team.

[Lenny]

BAH!! I can't help it!! I've got to keep in this thread. :cry:

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Yes, Ricardo IS a good Keeper. I hate to say it, but he is good.

As for Becks - hes resigned as Captain. He'll probably play 5 or 6 more matches, to get his 100 caps for England, then he might resign altogether. His career is going nowhere at Real Madrid - being England Captain made him what he is.

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I've noticed that my Brazil prediction was awfully wrong. Bloody French.

I now say the Germans will win. :p

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And yes, Sov and Grue, like true English Football Fans, we all have a dark side. Expect German police to arrest hundreds... and Christiano Ronaldo is not going to be able to show his face in Britain again. I wouldn't be surprised if Rooney, Neville, Ferdinand, and maybe a couple of others, really hurt him in Pre-Season Training. The whiney bastard.

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Forgot a bit. :p

Brazil lost. Too many stars can't make a great team, it's a good team, just not great team.

They're great individuals. They play as individuals. They don't bond as a team. That's their main problem.

Look at something like the Dutch side in the 70s - 74 particularly. Throughout the whole tournament they played Total Football as a team - and they were mostly great individuals playing together.

[gruesomeBODY]

And Italy is going to the World Cup. I am so excited. The game was awesome.

[Ganga]

Wow, the in the second half of the over time, score at the 13 minutes. Dam, once again, German just can't beat the curse.

[Lenny]

Methinks I'm the curse here.

I say England will beat Portugal. We lose.
I say Brazil will thrash France. They lose.
I say Germany will beat Italy and win the WC. Italy get two raggy goals. Cheeky bastards. Germany should've gone on to Penalties and beaten them.

Hmmm...

COME ON YOU FRENCHIES!!!

Heh heh h... oh bugger. That means Portugal will win.

BAH!

[MightyJoe]

Should be Italy over France.

[gruesomeBODY]

I think its going to be a great match. But i really want to see Italy pull through. I love Pirlo so much. He is the shit, especially on that back heel pass to score the first goal against Germany. But i do think France has more depth on the bench which could hurt the Italians. Oh well, LETS GO ITALY.

[HandOfHeaven]

It was a good game. Probably would have come down to shots from the mark if Zidane didn't score. I think Christiano Ronaldo had a good game, despite getting booed.

On that note, I think all you Brits (Lenny included, of course) are just sore losers looking for someone to blame. Clearly Rooney stepped on the guy's groin, and that was why he got a red card.

Italy 2-1 over France is my prediction for the final.

[Lenny]

Of course we're sore losers. We're too passionate to take controversial decisions lightly.

Still, it was EVERYONE but the Portugese who booed Ronaldo. So there are obviously at least 30,000 other people in Germany who don't like him, and there's bound to be people elsewhere.

Until Ronaldo (and the other Portugese players) crowded round the ref and started whinging, he looked as if he was only going to give a free kick. Usually you'd pull the card out straight away.

Saying that, though, they're not allowed to book for dives any more. Thank God the Portugese aren't in the Final - it'd be a fiasco. And the guy who is reffing the final is the guy who gave Rooney his red.

And I've just completely lost my train of... there it is! How sweet it was to watch the Portugese get beat because of a Penalty. :) The Europeans know how to take penalties - as hard as you can.

[Ganga]

I bet money on the French.

[Lenny]

To say they started off so badly, they've done pretty well now. Then again, most teams that win the WC have an awful start. :p

I'd agree.

[Lenny]

Jesus... Zidane has just been sent off. Stupid, stupid man!!

And it's that bloody ref again. What is it with him and sending teams key players off?!

Still, France look like they're playing better... they'll hold it until penalties. And the Italians can't do penalties, apparently.

[gruesomeBODY]

Jesus... Zidane has just been sent off. Stupid, stupid man!!

And it's that bloody ref again. What is it with him and sending teams key players off?!

Still, France look like they're playing better... they'll hold it until penalties. And the Italians can't do penalties, apparently.

Dude, did u see what he did. He should have been kicked off. Headbutting another player, should equal a red card.

[HandOfHeaven]

Zidane deserved to be sent off. After all, he did headbutt the guy in the chest purposefully. That's striking a member of the other team, a mandatory red card.

[Chruser]

Zidane deserved to be sent off. After all, he did headbutt the guy in the chest purposefully. That's striking a member of the other team, a mandatory red card.

And what a headbutt it was! Haha.

[Ganga]

Yea it was, but it is not worth it to ruin your name like that.

[HandOfHeaven]

Yeah, it was pretty stupid. It was cool seeing the other guy curl up into a little ball though.

[Lenny]

I know he deserved to be sent off... I'm not disputing that. All I said was that ZIDANE was stupid.

And pointed out that the ref has sent off two teams best players.

[Dar_Win]

That had to hurt so bad.

[Lenny]

All because Matterazi supposedly said:

"You son of a terrorist whore."

Methinks Zidane might be touchy about his mother's Albanian roots, well, who isn't a bit touchy when it comes to insulting ones mother... but at least we don't headbutt someone.

[gruesomeBODY]

well he did get the mvp of the world cup, so his name is tarnished all that much

[Lenny]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/13/zidane_headbutt_outrage/

Look at all the different "Video Footage".

-----

Talking about Italy, you might know this Grue, their top 4 clubs have recently been in court over match-fixing charges. People expected all 4 to be demoted, meaning that their best players would be sold off to pay for the loss of income. Here's the punishment for the teams:

Juventus - demotion to Serie B. 30 point deduction (they will start the season 30 points behind every other team).

Lazio - demoted to Serie B. 7 point deduction.

Fiorentina - demoted to Serie B. 12 point deduction.

AC Milan - NO demotion (they stay in Serie A), however they have been thrown out of the Champions League (European Cup), and have a 15 point deduction.


Which means that Juve, Lazio, and Fiorentina, will probably end up selling sme of their best players - ie some of the best players in the world.

Oh, sorry. ALL are out of the Champions League.

[gruesomeBODY]

yea i heard about that. Frankly, i dont follow the Italian leagues like i should, but i hope that it works out. I will start this year following it more often and hopefully the italians get out of thier own way and start playing soccer.

[Willkillforfood]

damn italians and their mafia and their pizza.